#so in theory though that could be replaced....It would be scary...........

[loveletterworm]

everytime i experience a weird issue with either my computer or external hard drive i get worried because whenever i look up how long these things typically last the answer is 3-5 years and these are both definitely within the range of 3-5 years old....But they are expensive to replace...and scary because my files..........I like my files....

[elproxxy]

Last night we set out to conduct some field research on miss Jaeger, so I've compiled some intel and working theories about her mechanics for those who would like the heads up.

(spoilers under the cut for those who want to experience the learning curve themselves)

Massive shoutout to our lil research team: @traitorousfruit, @mustymausoleum, @trial-n-harerror, @elgarwhore, @cyberneticslasher ✨

Note: I planned to include a video compiling a bunch of clips but tumblr is being funny about it, so I've made a few key snippets into gifs instead to give a general idea, and included one clip of what is either a possible bug or a more complex mechanic.

What we knew:

When she spawns, she targets the person closest to the insertion gate.

You can't hide from her, you can only evade her. Her only real weakness is her speed, but she will continuously pursue the target for the duration of the trial and will always take the shortest route towards them.

The regular insertion gate siren will sound, and then a second louder and deeper alarm will sound to indicate that Henrietta is spawning.

What we learned:

If she grabs you, it's an instakill. There is no knocking or downing, she will simply grab the target and begin to execute them. This can be prevented by another person kicking her.

If she kills the target, she will instantly select the next nearest player and begin to target them. If the original target is revived, she won't switch back and will continue to pursue the new one.

If you get directly between her and the target she'll take a swing at you. Each successful hit does a full bar of damage, and if you remain in her way she'll keep hitting you until you're downed. These hits are surprisingly fast, so if you're in a confined space you'll go from full health to incapacitated within a few seconds.

Her hit range is pretty large and she can lunge a good distance - if you're not fully blocking her but are still within that hit range along the path she's following, she'll lunge at you (covering a fair bit of distance quite quickly). Her movements are still relatively slow when lunging though, so in open spaces these swings can be dodged.

Rigs do not work on her. She is invulnerable to all of them - even a stun will simply knock her slightly, similar to how a brick or bottle would knock a heavy ex-pop (she will still flinch when hit with throwables, and can also be momentarily distracted by them).

It doesn't matter who's closest when the normal siren starts, or when the insertion gate actually opens - it seems that whoever is closest the moment her specific alarm begins will become the target (additional theory below).

She will spawn when you start the main objective, but she will also instantly return to the nearest insertion gate once that objective is complete - this can be a little scary the first time you see it because she'll speed up slightly (note: in Teach the Police Officer this actually occurred upon simply locating the reel, not replacing it).

You don't have to be in front of the insertion gate to become the target - being in a room behind the gate can also trigger selection if no one else is closer.

Normal player walking speed is fast enough to keep away from her. You don't have to sprint, you just have to keep moving. When we were experimenting we were looping her around a car and found that continuously walking will allow you to consistently widen the gap between you.

Working theories:

There were a few instances where Henrietta would switch target after deployment - we're unsure what is part of an intentional mechanic, and what could potentially be buggy teething pains. If it is intentional, then we're still trying to figure out exactly what does and doesn't trigger this. Our working theory is that kicking her out of executing a target may cause a switch, but this doesn't seem to be consistent so far - this could be because of a bug, or could be a chance based mechanic (e.g. 50% chance of switching target if kicked).

I am wondering if, when two people are the exact same distance from the gate at the point when her alarm sounds, it is either causing a bug or could be a mechanic which makes her essentially flip flop between the two people as targets (this is easier to understand with the clip below).

She will jump down co-op shortcuts if the target goes into a lower floor, but we still need to test if she can climb up or even potentially jump across shortcuts, but I'm doubtful this will be the case.

If you get too far from her (changing floors, sprinting too far away etc.) it appears that she may just respawn from a closer insertion gate, but we also need to test this more.

Hopefully this will be helpful, and if anybody wants to add to this or counter anything with their own experiences please feel free! I'd love to hear what people think of her.

In summary I think she is a really interesting and genuinely nervewracking antagonist. Red barrels have honestly hit it out of the park with her character design, her interesting mechanics, her heartbreaking dialogue, and the incredible sound design (from the chilling spawn siren to the cracking of the radio and the subtle suspenseful music that accompanies her). Season 3 has started with a bang and I can't wait to see what comes next.

Disclaimer: these are just our observations, they may be technically inaccurate, and will likely be subject to change/development in further updates.

[ofeliaxoxo]

hii! firstly, would like to say a big thank you for all the amazing charlos scholarship - amazing theses (with evidence! which i am extra appreciative of)

secondly, about alex characterization, i think he's usually just depicted as a Nice Fellow™ in many of the F1 grid fics (where alex sadly does not have much screentime) but i think the alex centric fics (more specifically the george/alex ones because i haven't taken the leap into the carbono/thai sweet chilli fics) they bring out alex's little mean streak which is what makes him so entertaining to me. like he's just a chronically online diva with 13 cats and a zoo! as for the carbono dynamics, i think there's just a shortage of content rn and also the two of them are just more mature (not to say they can't be silly, tomfoolery has no age limit) but they do seem very competitive in all the challenges (ie. the great american games). i think the recent ea challenge was a fun time to look at alex - i cant get over alex's reaction to lewis' score (you got 🫵 replaced by him🫵 and you 🫵 outscored him) - though some people think alex was being a hater, i do think he was just being a silly guy 😔 anyway i think alex is a chaotic guy (he really does have some insane online footprint in his previous podcasts/videos) who is often just simplified to a nice boy (which he is! but he is also very whimsical)

yay i am glad you enjoy my charlos ramblings x

i actually dont think alex was being a hater im pretty surprised to hear people did. im with you on the silly guy theory. i also love carlos's smiling headshake and "incredible" in reaction.

im not familiar with his game so nothing i say about alex can be paid any attention really i admit that, BUT to me i dont really spot the mean streak..there are drivers on the grid who to me are much more cutting/intimidating/genuinely snarky (said with no hate in my heart why would i gaf). i think any Alex genuine meanness would certainly be undercut by the fact that he's just not scary. i think there is something there along those lines absolutely but let me circle back once i can word it coherently. if anyone wants to present an alex meanness thesis to me i would legit welcome it, because i always hear it said but i simply dont see it myself really. he gets so tongue tied and says random things then barks with laughter. that man is by no means socially inept but i do suspect him of a certain level of social anxiety. ok maybe anxiety is too strong a term but he fumbles!

lets take the haha you got replaced moment for an example. i think there are drivers on the grid who could have delivered that joke, either consciously or unconsciously, in a way where the recipient would have been like. ok damn jesus christ i fucking get it. but alex was just so excited to say it that any true sting was taken out. the vibe was excitable child has awesome joke to tell indulgent babysitter. he kind of stumbled over his words trying to say it and once he got it out he was like ha ha!!:D Making fun of Carlos :D

idk...is anyone picking up what im putting down...alex scholars..help me

[bonzos-number-1-fan]

TMAGP 5 Thoughts: Getting Babadooked

Honestly, I didn't really vibe with this one. I didn't hate it or anything but it didn't really grab me. I'm not really sure there is a whole lot to say about it either. It's an interesting premise in a cerebral sense but I don't think the incident itself was super compelling.

Spoilers for Ep 5 below the cut.

I think the setup was pretty great but when it got time to do something spooky there wasn't really much of it there. The build up was compelling enough. A movie that's so obscure information on it in any sense is hard to come by. The singular review being not overtly strange but not really a review at all. A contest that's pretty clearly a scam of some sort. Some hints that the theatre was wrong, a single weird staff member hinting at more, spooky popcorn, etc. The movie itself is entirely mundane except that it's a home-movie of your own family, with a detail you never noticed while you were living that movement. Then it just sort of ends.

It really felt like it could've done with a couple more minutes to give it a bit more of an ending. The conclusion, while scary to think about as a full scenario, lacks so much detail and happens so abruptly it's hard to feel like there is really much of a conclusion at all. Just a minute or two of blind panic and a hurried attempt at an escape before they get kidnapped, and presumably, replaced would've been a much better climax which the final post on the site would've helped reinforce. There was even a narrative device worked in that would allow for all sorts of fucked up stuff to happen and still be coherent in the format. [UNINTELLIGIBLE] is just [EXTENDED SOUNDS OF BRUTAL PIPE MURDER] by a different name and could've done a lot of great work in leaving that sort of imaginative space for the listener.

For the office drama portion of the episodel; Klaus being the IT manager before Colin is an interesting detail for sure. Wasn't entirely expecting that but it explains a few things. It doesn't significantly alter any of my previous understanding other than suggest that the precursor to the OIAR's system might be a little bit more fringe. As in if Klaus set up Freddy entirely then the Klaus sheet might not be from a German version of the OIAR. The response 121 came back a lot sooner than I was expecting but still feels a bit like a slow burn.

DPHW Theory: 2377 lines up well enough. It was mostly a weird time where they got compelled to do something. Makes sense, not too exciting.

CAT#R# Theory: CAT2RB is properly filed this time around but still not a whole lot to say. You could assume the ones that were wrong are all wrong and so the tria prima thing is back on the table but with so few data points it's hard to call any of them anomalous. R# could be some sort of scale indicator now though. Rank C incidents supernaturally affect single people or objects, Rank B's can affect larger areas or spread from person/object to person/object, Rank A's are wider still, and Rank S's are on very large scales. That idea fits pretty well with what we've seen so long as you labour under the assumption that the effect an incident can have doesn't map directly with its Rank. Daria's incident ranks higher than the violin but lower than the Institute. Whatever happened to Daria was passed onto her through another means so is higher even though the violin ended up killing more people it never grew beyond just a violin. Where as the Institute is a hole building that's seemingly supernaturally tainted.

Header talk: Disappearance (undetermined) -/- Invitation is fairly interesting. Showing some broader concepts than I think we've previously seen.

[wouriqueen]

2x06 thoughts - part 2 - Claudia & Louis

part 2 of my thoughts about the episode

"I'd like a couple of months where you don't tear things down or fuck things up" ???? What the hell is he talking about? He says "I had you covered" but as far as he knows Armand was the only threat - and mainly because Louis told him about Lestat and Claudia's role in it! This man continues to be very audacious. The instinct to blame everything on Claudia that Lestat, Armand and apparently Louis share is sooooo....

"I had you covered." Interesting though, that he said that. Like I said I think it's about Armand and how Louis thinks their relationship could shield Claudia, but I saw a theory that he might've agreed to becoming Armand's companion despite still having reservations in part to protect Caudia. Interesting point that could be seen as confirmed here!

Louis seeing how Madeleine sees Claudia and feeling reassured. He loves her so much. I love it I hate it. He's got useless love in abundance.

Claudia free. The moment Claudia decides she'll find a way to have Madeleine turned, there is a shift. She's confident. She has a path forward again. And knowing she has Madeleine by her side makes it even easier for her to ask the big questions, like when she asks "did you mean it?" to Louis about her being a "burden", or calls him out when they meet again about still playing the part of "Daddy Lou". Opening those cans of worms is less scary, less painful now. They don't have to be so dependent on each other's feelings. They miss each other, they're a little jealous of each other's companion, but that dinner scene really felt like they could've fixed it. Fuck.

Romantic relationships: the end all, be all? On that subject, I found it interesting that Louis softened to Madeleine's presence only when the girls said it was romantic. As if friendship would not be a valid foundation for companionship. Of course this is linked to both Louis understanding how hard this is to come by for Claudia, and to him not having had friends even as a human, and therefore not realizing the importance of it.

But it also seems very in line with the all-encompassing vision of love that he's experienced with Lestat, and that I feel he will experience with Armand. Lestat didn't like Louis visiting his family. Armand will not like Louis doing more than just consuming Daniel. Your companion is your friend is your family is your lover.

Of course by that logic you shouldn't need more than one, and of course Claudia was always the third-wheel from the moment she wasn't a "daughter", aka a product of the relationship. And Louis is jealous of Madeleine, this stranger who's leaving with Claudia, even as he feels she might be better to her, even as he knows Claudia was always the outsider. He misses her, but also, he needs his throw pillow. For when his lover won't look at him kindly.

"I didn't care". Louis reopened his wound and drank his own blood and tried to throw up - made a whole mess in the apartment. He obviously cared very much about Claudia leaving. He's clearly being petty because he feels abandoned, but I think this was also a good way to show how sometimes his suppressing of feelings comes back out in the body (starvation, strict diet, gluttony, addiction, self-harm, etc.).

Projecting, my good friend. Louis is so very funny though. "Is she a replacement for your sister?" sir that is what YOU did. Even if that was true, it's not your place to say it. Also kind of felt like he could only make sense of Claudia's bond with Madeleine by viewing it through the lens of his own experiences, like needing a replacement for someone (though Idk how much he's aware losing Grace played a role in him having Claudia turned) or entering a romantic companionship.

2x06 thoughts - part 1 - Madeleine & co

2x06 thoughts - part 3 - Armand & co

[orions-belt-buckle]

Owlscop

The Owl House X Petscop AU

Sprites design

I redesigned the characters' in-game Petscop sprites to fit the AU. This was very fun and I'm pretty proud of what I came up with !

Players' sprites

Golden Guardian (Guardian redesign) : This redesign follows the classic shape of the Petscop Guardian, but makes it look like the Golden Guard. It's wearing the golden Guard outfit, so does every sprite. Instead of the classic head of the Guardian, this is the Golden Gard's mask, but following the normal head shape. All the colors were color-picked from Petscop sprites to match its aesthetic. The Golden Guardian of course still doesn't have hands

There are 4 sprites for the players is Petscop. The basic one, the Guardian, is the one that represents you when you are playing the game, always. When you encounter another player though their sprite will be a Guardian with a different head. That head is something that symbolizes a specific player. This is called the Multiple Player Theory (MPT for short).

Hunter MPT Guardian : This is Hunter-Paul's avatar. Originally, Paul's avatar is called pyramid-head since its head is the red pyramid that symbolizes Care's dance. I thought : what would symbolize Hunter best ? And especially a happier Hunter ? Of course that would be Flapjack, Hunter's best friend and Palisman. Which is perfect because Flapjack is red, much like the original pyramid. It's also not a human face in both cases. To fit better the aesthetic and to symbolize the older Hunter, I decided to go with the Flapjack tattoo design as seen in Watching and Dreaming.

Belos MPT Guardian : This is Belos' avatar. It's based on Marvin's, which is originally a green mask that is quite scary in its deformity. What represents Belos needed to be green and monstrous too, which could only be his Palisman-monster face and its inhumane smile. Both Marvin's and Belos' faces are the closest to a humans face between the three MPT avatars. For this design too I tried to keep it simple with the shapes and no shading.

Amity MPT Guardian : This is Amity's avatar. It's inspired by Belle's, which is in Petscop a circle, specifically a drawing of a girl's face that we assume is Tiara aka who she thinks she is/wants to be. So for Amity, I went with the Blight Industries' logo. It represents Amity very well because it is an Abomination (what she loves most) as well as a symbol of her parents' company (who she thinks she is/should want to be, the perfect daughter, witch and heiress) and it's purple like her. It also replaces Belle's drawing perfectly since it is also a circle with a face in it.

Hunter A, B and NLM

In Petscop, we encounter care A, B and NLM in different locations. Her face in the 3 states is also drawn on a piece of paper at the beginning. She has her own sprites different from any Guardian. Since Hunter is Care in Owlscop, I changed these to look like him. Because this is Hunter-Cqre and not Hunter-Paul, the redesign looks like him back when he was the Golden Guard, especially for his outfit.

Children that went through a Rebirthing have 3 different states: A, B and NLM (Nobody Loves Me). A is for when the child is ok, B not so much and NLM is a mentally broken person.

All the colors have been color-picked from Petscop (Care and Guardian sprites).

Hunter A : This is Hunter before the abuse, as a freshly made Grimwalker. For that reason, he is a Hunter we have never seen in TOH. I removed his scar, damaged ear and characteristic dark circles. Indeed, these are all consequences of Belos' abuse. His hair though is close to what it is the first time we see him.

Hunter B : This one is close to the actual Hunter we see on TOH except more disheveled to match the evolution of Care's sprites.

Hunter NLM : This is the same design as Hunter B, but in Care NLM's pose.

[dolphin1812]

The weather that Hugo describes feels very indicative of the mood in Paris, with the winds of cholera brewing a storm of popular anger. With respect to Gavroche, though, this is immediately relevant in that it makes him cold (and Magnon’s children are freezing, too). The cold is especially bad since, like his sister, he often goes several days without eating and wears rags.

Watching Gavroche take charge is so cute! He tries to seem so confident in front of the younger kids (saying that having nowhere to sleep isn't a big problem, for instance) even though he’s also suffering. As we saw with Mabeuf earlier, he’s genuinely generous, too. Not only is he helping these children, but he gives his scarf to a poorly clothed girl, demonstrating his general kindness and good nature. The girl’s lack of a response reminds me of the line from before about the Thénardier children not noticing their new siblings because they were too impoverished to be aware of their surroundings. It’s a sad parallel, but it reflects well on Gavroche’s character. And his kindness and confidence work! The kids are soon happier! They’re all still in a horrible situation, but he’s lifted their spirits.

His exchange with Montparnasse is hilarious. He has no respect for him whatsoever. On the one hand, that lack of respect is one of the many gamin traits Hugo listed that Gavroche embodies. On the other, though, it shows his casual familiarity with crime. Montparnasse isn’t scary to Gavroche because he already knows his world, using the same slang and recognizing the people Montparnasse talks about. As for Montparnasse, his ease around Gavroche is a reminder of where he came from. He was a gamin, too, so Gavroche is equally familiar to him. It’s funny to read, but it does indicate that Montparnasse’s life is one of the most likely options for Gavroche’s future if he manages to age out of being a gamin. That Montparnasse seems cool to the young children probably isn’t a good sign for gamins more broadly, either, as he may seem appealing to children with so few options even though he’s horrible.

(And he’s not even that good at crime!)

I love how he warns Gavroche about the officer, though! It’s a kind gesture, and it’s clever! According to Donougher, in the French, there’s assonance with the syllable “deeg” in everything he says (“je te dis,” “ma digue,” “si vous me prodiguez dix gros sous,” “d’y goupiner,” “mardi gras”). 

And we’ve reached the heavily symbolic elephant! Gavroche literally lives in the ruins of empire. Hugo says we can’t know what it means, so in that sense, we should be careful not to overestimate how clear its meanings are, but that he explicitly states that it’s difficult to know also pushes us to search for symbols in it. And it’s not all bad! It’s grand and majestic (maybe even “great!”), like Napoleon I was to Hugo. But it’s also a carcass that’s being worn away by time, and it’s unpleasant to look at for “respectable” people in particular (much like its gamin inhabitants are ignored and looked down on). 

And it’s also been replaced. Hugo frames it as an inevitable change like that of classes, drawing on 19th-century theories of the “natural development” of societies to explain why the elephant’s era ended. The emphasis on ideas over power feels like an indirect criticism of the Napoleons, with the idea of a republic being the progress that their dictatorial power can’t counter. 

That aspect, in general, feels the most significant. Napoleon did some good; his elephant is now a shelter for Gavroche, and his rule inspired many in France by giving them hope that they, too, could advance socially and that their country would be influential. But this is a hollow sort of “good.” The elephant is a shelter, but only because there are homeless children who need it (and, as Hugo points out, it was a real need; the fiction here is based on a real case). France’s empire couldn’t last because it was against republican principles in France and across Europe. If the elephant was in such a bad state so soon after Napoleon I, then, imagine how much worse it would be to bring its idea back with Napoleon III! 

Hugo even says that the good of the elephant came from God, not Napoleon!

Another note: the elephant is for someone that other doors are closed to, once again illustrating the importance of open doors. Gavroche wouldn’t need the elephant if he weren’t a social outcast. His poverty would not be this desperate if people respected him and helped him.

His use of the wire is very creative! But that it’s all from animal enclosures in the Jardin des Plantes drives home that animals have more than he does (and are given more by society). It’s worse than Valjean not having a place to stay when the dog had a house, in a way, because at least the dog was tied to a family in some way, either as a pet or a work animal; the animals of the Jardin des Plantes are there as a spectacle alone, and it’s for that spectacle that they’re given good quality things. His narration is hilarious, but it’s heartbreaking, too.

[honkceasar]

Okay big infodump that might not make any sense about The guy who didn’t like musicals, Black Friday, and genloss!!! They’re very similar and I think that’s very cool!!!! I love finding similarities between media I enjoy!!!!!!!!!!

‼️Spoilers for all 3 episodes of generation loss, Black Friday, and The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals!!! Also various descriptions of gore!!!‼️

-So this isn’t really an actual in-depth comparison but both the hatchetfield musicals and genloss are live comedy-horror shows that reuse actors and have an edited version posted on YouTube later and I think that is a really funny coincidence lmao

Okay so the first real thing that stuck out to me is that the comedy to horror balance of genloss is SOOO reminiscent of the hatchetfield musicals!! It’s part of why I adore genloss so much honestly. Starkid already has such a place in my heart, so watching something that gave that same comedy-to-horror balance made me fall in love with it immediately.

- Tgwdlm and Spirit of the Cabin I think are most similar in terms of tone. Both genloss and tgwdlm have that quality of “not scary until you think about it but once you do it’s HORRIFYING” concept and I’m SUCH A SUCKER FOR THAT. Granted, the horror of the first ep of genloss doesn’t hit that hard without the revelations of the second, but I feel like my point still stands. Also they both kind of poke fun at the horror genre in general?? Tgwdlm is supposed to parody the ENTITE horror genre, and I feel like with the amount of references to old horror movies in spirit of the cabin, I think it’s safe to say ranboo was doing something similar. (Also they both involve strange colored goo that replaces the appearance of actual gore?? Like when I realized what the slime was in genloss I couldn’t stop thinking about Charlotte’s blue intestines in Join Us And Die)

- While I don’t think it’s as great of a comparison, ep 2 and 3 of genloss definitely have a tone similar to Black Friday. Black Friday and The Mastermind of the Warehouse both have parts of them that are so absurd you start to wonder how it’s ever going to get that scary and then a bombshell drops out of NOWHERE. Like the feeling I got between What Do You Say and Feast or Famine in BF was the same as Charlie’s silly slime dissection turning to real blood and guts. I’d say towards the end of Black Friday it starts to feel like The Choice, but I don’t know how similar I could really say they are without reaching lol.

Okay here’s where I might just really want these to be more similar than they are BUT there’s also some really fun plot similarities between the hatchetfield musicals and generation loss!

- Mind control!! They both kind of have mind control! With tgwdlm, the weird goop shit can make people do things they normally would NEVER do. (Paul participating in a musical, Charlotte hurting people, Sam literally pointing a gun at his wife’s head and later ripping her insides out.) Wiggly in Black Friday also alters people’s perception in that way, making them more violent and desperate. The comparison of tgwdlm and genloss gets me the most though honestly. I think about how Professor Hidgens sings “you’ve just got to give up your choice” in Let It Out a LOT in terms of genloss ranboo. Nothing gl!ranboo does is HIS choice. He has to comply with the various games showfall makes him play if he wants to live or have any free will at all. Any time he breaks through the control and the filter, he becomes even more of an npc. None of his choices are his own.

- Okay this one’s more funny than serious but all of the hatchetfield shows and genloss have fucking time loop theories that make me insane actually. I keep desperately trying to make What If Tomorrow Comes make sense for genloss cause of the time loop implications but I’m really just grasping at straws lol let me BELIEVE.

- THE PROTAGONISTS DONT WIN (and it makes me so sad every time). Literally everyone in tgwdlm eventually dies/becomes a weird singing zombie. They even lure you into a false sense of hope with Paul and Emma that they managed to escape, just for it to be revealed that Paul has already been transformed and Emma has no hope for survival. In Black Friday, Wiggly remains undefeated, and the implied ending is that they get nuked by Russia due to the misplaced bomb. (tomorrow never comes!!) In generation loss, Sneeg is always so close but never truly reaches freedom, Charlie dies the moment he understands what has happened to him, and ranboo…..well. ⬛️ He even gets that same false sense of hope!! He defeats showfall, shuts it all down!! The exit is right there!!!!! He’s going to escape!!!!!! Just for him to get captured and crucified. The audience doesn’t even get to know if death really freed him. It’s that same kind of cruel ending where the protagonists efforts just,,,, don’t accomplish anything. The hero doesn’t succeed, and suffers for trying at all.

-there’s also like,,, religious imagery in Black Friday and genloss but nothing really to compare there, just neat

Okay silly rant over!!! I just really like genloss and the fact that it feels so similar to previous fixations I’ve had just makes it even more special to me :^)

[fairykazu]

operation: is wanname real? ft. scaramouche x fem! reader

notes: this was my yoiscara fic on ao3 but i replaced every yoimiya part with reader stuff

it wasn’t odd that wanderer has a significant other. yeah, he was a fatui harbinger but he said that’s all behind him now. lumine wouldve believed it couldve been childe or hell, even mona. but name? now that’s suspicious. she has discussed it with paimon and honestly, they had different theories. paimon said that wanderer might have been harassing name into dates. but lumine pointed out that scaramouche might have done it but not wanderer and name would never let that slide. two solutions: they’re actually just friends or they’re actually together. 

“paimon hopes it’s just friends.” paimon said. lumine doesn’t really care if they’re together or not. she just wants to make sure they’re both safe and if it’s real. paimon agreed. so it’s time for their super secret top mission: operation: is scaramiya real?

the travelers split up into spying the pairs. lumine took up the job for wanderer and paimon asked name upfront. “psst, officer pie nom nom?” lumine asked into her walkie-talkie, an invention she recently got from fontaine. her walkie-talkie picked up paimon’s voice, 

“copy that, ying! tcch!” lumine lowered the walkie-talkie as it no longer detects the frequencies. she spotted wanderer’s indigo hair as lumine tried to walk up to him casually. but already, the older male turned around and met eyes with lumine. 

he furrowed his brows, already suspicious of lumine’s next moves. lumine nervously laughed as she rethought the process of paimon calling dibs for name and it all made sense. well, wanderer isn’t hard to tolerate, right? just a simple question. “what do you want?” wanderer asked, sternly. she crossed her arms. lumine mockingly mimics wanderer’s crossed arms, 

“can i ask you a question?” lumine asked as wanderer’s brows seemed to furrow even more. so scary! she might even leave a permanent dent in her face. almost as if wanderer knew what lumine was thinking– what if he developed mind reading like nahida??? he changed his expression to be more neutral. well, whatever the definition of neutral is to lumine. 

“you already did.” lumine rolled her eyes as wanderer still stared daggers into her skin. lumine wondered how paimon’s mission is with name. 

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨♡୧⋆ ˚｡⋆

paimon managed to find name nearby komore teahouse. the girl was preparing teabags and packaging up some orders. she looked giddy but more than usual. paimon assumed it could be about anything but it was most likely about wanderer. but not wanting to jump into conclusions, she floated her way to name. 

name looked up to paimon as she smiled and waved. she removed one earbud from her ear and asked, “hey, paimon! what’s up?” paimon smiled back. name is outgoing and the total opposite of wanderer. archons, she’s even compared to taroumaru.

“hi name! i have a question,” paimon asked as the taller woman nodded as a signal to say more. she was tweaking on whatever tea recipe she had. “are you seeing anyone?” 

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨♡୧⋆ ˚｡⋆

“what?” wanderer said, his face dropping into disbelief. lumine could joke right now that wanderer’s puppet joints were creaking from the shock. the traveler tried to stifle a laugh before saying again, “are you seeing anyone?”

wanderer pinched his porcelain skin, “no, i’m not. why are you asking that?” lumine squinted at wanderer’s body language to see if he still had the tell from his harbinger's days. wanderer scoffed but the little bit of his lips curled up. there it is. he’s lying. but lumine knew that she couldn’t push the anemo wielder a bit more. 

“okay okay, just asking because i know you got those admirers!” lumine teased as wanderer cringed. “they were asking.” 

“again?” wanderer asked even though he already knew the answer. lumine was in relief that the azure haired man didn’t catch up to her lie. she nodded to wanderer’s question, 

“again.” lumine watched the indigo eyed man trying to gain back her composure. 

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨♡୧⋆ ˚｡⋆

you were absorbed in your thoughts though your red tipped ears gave it away. paimon waited patiently for your response despite being super impatient the whole time. it was clear that name was fighting herself for how to reply but paimon accidentally cleared her throat. not in a “hurry up and answer way but more like in a “this is awkward but i have no clue how to leave '' way. 

“ah sorry, paimon,” as paimon tried to reassure you that it was completely fine and she could be misunderstanding paimon. but you gestured paimon to come closer, “i can tell you anything and you won’t tell anyone, right?” paimon nodded despite crossing her fingers behind her back.

“yes, paimon promises.” you gleamed as paimon had to squint a little because of how much you were glowing. 

“okay, between you and me, im seeing this guy and he’s a bit cold at first. but he’s so adorable and our tenth date together is being under the stars in the chinju forest. i think, around 12pm? well, it’s always night there but shhh, he’s so cute.” you overshared as paimon kept a mental note of what you were saying to recount to lumine. although, you were obvious of who it was… kind of. paimon got the memo. 

“woah, that’s so cool, nickname! but lumine is calling paimon,” paimon pretended to get a call from lumine. “bye-bye, name!” she nodded as paimon waved goodbye. paimon flew away enough further where you were. she opened the mini map in her tiny backpack, gifted from aether, and teleported to lumine. 

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨♡୧⋆ ˚｡⋆

once lumine and paimon were together, they conspired with each other on the next move of the operation. paimon summarized what she heard from yoimiya as lumine recounted her visit to wanderer. “okay, what now?” the pixie asked as lumine tried to make up the next step. 

operation: is wanname real? (pt 2. the tenth date) 

“you said that the date started around 12pm?” lumine asked, holding a white chalk. paimon nodded as lumine wrote “date: chinju forest, 12pm, go a bit earlier than the pair.” on the board. on the left of the chalkboard, there was a key for colors. pink being name, teal for wanderer, blue for paimon and yellow being lumine. “so the game plan is to find a hiding spot in chinju forest and i think i remember some because of windtrace. do you know where they’ll be?” 

paimon raised her hand as lumine stifled a laugh. “yes paimon?” paimon cleared her throat as she floated to the board. 

“no, but name said that they’re going to watch the stars.” paimon answered, picking up another white chalk and writing it on the board. it was sprawled next to lumine’s neater handwriting. 

“hmm, that could be a cliff-ish area. okay, that’s the plan? any objections?” paimon raised her hand again as lumine gestured her to continue. paimon was still thinking of what to say, scripting it in her head.

“no but what about disguises? do we wear the leaves on our head or wear camouflage?” paimon asked as lumine took out her wallet. 

“hm, do you think anything is cheap for–” she dug around the light blue pouch. “– four pieces of mora?” paimon winced, 

“no… but do you think we could ask childe for help?” lumine raised a brow, 

“we’re not going to use childe as a personal bank, paimon.” paimon’s slight smile of mischief slowly turned into a frown, “you know he would let us!”

“it’s game plan, paimon.” lumine replied as she opened her map. she selected a waypoint near chinju forest. paimon flinched at the map, 

“can we not teleport? it makes me feel sluggish.” lumine looked as if she was debating between walking there or teleporting. she left the opened map on the table and came back with a treat for paimon. “here, have this.” 

paimon quirked a brow, “what?”

“it’s a dessert with slime. eat it, pie.” lumine replied. paimon took it and ate it hesitantly. paimon usually has naps after food and she is similar to a dog. kind of. eats, sleeps and doesn’t pay rent. anyway, paimon may seem like she’s brave but she still hates the taste of medicine. after paimon was finished, she was in a food coma. lumine scooped her sister into her arm and the other held the map. she selected the waypoint. 

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨♡୧⋆ ˚｡⋆

wanderer feels like something’s off and it irritates him. today was the day to stargaze and make flower crowns with name. clenching his fist while the other handheld a basket with various flowers from their respective nations and foods. he already cleared the surrounding area from the monsters or fatui members, which some recognized him. but he swirled them away before they could question his actions. 

taking the blanket from the basket, he laid it down on the lush grass. each time he walked on the grass, it lit up just a little. something with a bioluminescent plant or something. nahida told him before but he doesn’t remember. he placed down the plates of shimi chazuke and– he winced– dango. not like he hates name's favorite food. just not his type or it reminded him of someone else.

nevermind, he took out his k-phone to call name. the phone buzzed with an outgoing call sound while he waited. “hi babe,” wanderer flushed at the nickname and thanked god for name not being here yet. “im on my way! don’t wait up!” 

wanderer laughed, “i won’t.” he could hear name's giggle in the call. rustles of leaves coming from the call or was it in the forest? “wait, nickname, ill put you on mute for a bit. i think there’s a hillichurl camp nearby.” 

“okay!” 

wanderer knew by his heart that there wasn’t any hillichurls or whatever since he cleared it the moment he got there. the bushes were rustling and as wanderer creeped closer, it was only a bake dankui. the little animal danced a little, playing a little charm. wanderer rolled his eyes as it did its disappearing act. he called back name, “nevermind, i was just paranoid. where are you right now?” 

“near the gate!” 

“okay i’ll walk to you.” wanderer replied as she marked the location on the map. namehummed in response and the call ended. she followed the stone scattered path down the hill until he saw the top of name's head. name was dressed in a tank with a tiny bow in the middle with jorts. wanderer remembered when name insisted that jorts were a statement in which wanderer replied, “you mean, a fashion question?”

when name's eyes met wanderer’s indigo ones, her face lit up and she waved frantically. her pace up the stairs went faster as wanderer was about to warn her to go slower. his girlfriend managed to fall on her face. wanderer stifled a laugh since he was always prone to laugh at people falling. 

the indigo haired boy walked down the cobblestones stairs. although there were lanterns dimly lighting the path, it was clear the what or who was glowing the brightness was name. “give me your hand,” wanderer said. maybe a bit too sternly but name ignored the cold facade, knowing that her boyfriend meant it in a good way. “hurry up or else, the food will get cold.” 

name's softer and was in wanderer’s calloused hands as he led his girlfriend up the stairs. the night in the forest is everlasting but never too cold. maybe too spooky for the average person but wanderer enjoyed that fact. it meant no one would bother his date with name. wanderer’s smile curled a bit at the thought. the two lovebirds were at the date location, and it was decked out with more decorations than before. strange. 

well, wanderer can ignore how strange it is right now since name looked mesmerized. “how is it? the scenery here should be quite breathtaking.” name laughed, “it’s… amazing. how did you find this place?” 

name sat next to wanderer as she took out the flowers from the picnic basket. there were flowers all around the world. from sweet flowers to qingxins to even sumeru roses?? she inspected them a bit, swirling the stems around her fingertips. it looked as if they were recently ordered too? how long was wanderer planning this? 

“well, when i was younger, i found it when i was wandering around. ironic since–” he rolled his wrists a little, ball joints moving. “your name?” 

“yes. anyway, do you want to make the crowns now or watch the stars even–” 

“— even though they’re fake.” name finished. wanderer’s smile curled up again. she was listening to his mindless rants about tevyat despite maybe not agreeing to them. cute.  

[2n2n]

Hanako-kun can't leave school. At first I thought that meant that all seven mysteries couldn't either. But Tsughimori can and Mitsuba also managed to leave. Is that why Hanako-kun is a special case? Do you think that since he died he has been imprisoned in the school, although there are theories that he didn't die in the school?

recently was asked about and discussed Amane's bound-to-the-school status

Theories that Amane didn't die in the school draw from how unusual it would be for the boys to be in their socks on school grounds

but I guess they could just be really chillin

and the fact that the Red House (?)becomes so cursed, and the family apparently ALL dying in an 'ikka-shinjuu', or family suicide. It would be odd for half of the family to die at school, and the other half at home, and yet this resulting in only cursed house rumors and not cursed bathroom those creepy twins died in, or something ... more likely everyone was discovered at once, in the Red House, and it was difficult to tell what order, whos idea, or whos responsibility it all was... simultaneously dead family is scary, rumorworthy.

[that said this information may be apocryphal as it's coming from the Minamoto, and Teru is telling it in such a salacious way. It could be corrected or told differently and more accurately, later]

So far we don't have evidence that dying somewhere, alone, makes you 'bound' to that location. Even so, most spirits would just disappear, anyway. No matter what, something unusual happened to Amane's body that altered him into a kaii (possibly consuming a part of Tsukasa, kaff).

There can't really be any theories for how he got to the school.... why he would be bound there. We just don't know anything. Hanako and Sakura are the only 'bound' individuals, and it seems to have to do with their duty in the system. Both of them are more responsible for the mysteries and overseeing them, while the mysteries themselves are replaceable, and free to move. Or perhaps something happened to do with Hanako's seal. Who knows. Though I don't get the impression the Nagisa/Minamoto run the mysteries, since they do not like them and would rather destroy them? Would prefer a Severance situation, less work for them overall? They just do not seem like the originators of the solution, or else they would just enforce it as cops more themselves ... So for that reason I would imagine the binding isn't related to the grandma Minamoto stuff, unless she distinctly was down for school imprisonment as a temporary solution for Hanako, given she could not DEFEAT him.... or maybe sympathized or something... and there was no better, option, at all?

We don't even know when or why he takes the name 'Hanako'... other than, it's simply a ghost story which was becoming prominent in his era.

Much to learn about (:

[charliedawn]

Eddie Munson x Reader

(I saw a theory that Eddie might be Number 10 and I based this story over that theory. Enjoy.)

Every night.

It replayed in your mind. Over and over again.

The screams and suffering of the other residents of Hawkins National Laboratory filling your ears, making them bleed. The hurling alarm and the screams of staff members being torn to shreds mixed with their horrid screams of pain and death. Your shivering form huddled in the corner of a wide white room, forced to hide and listen to everyone dying on the other side.

It was excruciating.

You were haunted by the dying screams of your siblings and suddenly, you woke up and desperately gasped for air.

It was the third time this week..

The third night you were haunted by the ghosts of your past.

Flashback :

You used to be considered as powerless by many of the scientists your Papa worked with, but Papa always believed in you. One day, he decided that interacting with one of your pairs may help you develop your talents. You agreed vividly and was eager to finally meet one of your siblings as well as make Papa proud. He protected you, or so you had always thought until the incident.

You were to have your first contact with one of your siblings and Papa thought to meet Number 1 would be the perfect introduction and to see your reaction to another patient.

You were excited and grinned from ear to ear on your way there, impatient to finally meet another person like you, but also incredibly nervous. Papa could feel your impatience and squeezed your hand lightly with a knowing smile.

"Don’t be nervous. I’m sure he’ll like you."

You beamed at him and when you stopped in front of a door identical to yours, you were convinced that you would find in Number 1 an equal and even a friend..However, when Papa released your hand and opened the door, your confidence vanished, replaced by a terrible fear in your gut that made you hide behind Papa. Number 1 was standing perfectly still in the middle of the room and his eyes were already staring at you. There was something incredibly wrong about him and you tightened your grip on Papa’s shirt..

"Come on in, little one. I don’t bite."

Number 1 tried to coax you with a sweet smile, but your initial feeling about him only grew and it made shivers crawl down your spine. Papa gave you a worried glance and gently lead you forward.

"Come on, daughter. Let us begin."

You wanted to beg Papa not to leave you alone with the man. He was scary and you shook your head stubbornly. Papa frowned disapprovingly and raised a finger warningly.

"One.."

You still held onto him and refused to let go.

"Two.."

He raised a second finger and you closed your eyes, bracing yourself for the pain. You knew what happened when you disobeyed Papa, it didn’t make you any more prepared though. When he used the remote control in his pocket to send electric shocks through your collar, you fell to the floor and writhed in pain on the cold floor, hot tears running down your cheeks, until the pain stopped.

Papa knelt next to you and grabbed the back of your neck to get you to stand up.

"Are we ready to begin now, daughter ?"

You still had tears in your eyes and considered begging him, but you knew your pleas would fall into deaf ears and had no choice but to agree. You were so impatient before, but now, you wanted to be anywhere but here. You nodded slowly before advancing cautiously inside the room.

Number 1 was still waiting for you with a sickening sweet smile and extended his hand towards you.

"Number 1. It’s a pleasure to meet you, sister."

The word ‘sister’ felt wrong coming from his lips and you didn’t dare step forward to even take his hand. But, you then heard Papa’s voice from the different speakers present in the room.

"Daughter..Play nice."

You sighed in defeat before taking a tentative step forward and raising your trembling hand to greet him. However, Number 1 frowned unsatisfactorily at your simple wave of greeting and in three long strides, was invading your personal bubble.

"Are you afraid of me, little one ?"

He asked with a curious tilt of his head and you looked away, finding it impossible to hold his inquisitive stare. You were afraid, terribly afraid and it was a miracle you weren’t already passed out by the presence of his deeply disturbing energy alone. Number 1 wasn’t impressed by your lack of answer, and neither was Papa who spoke again.

"Answer the question, daughter."

You closed your eyes and cried out.

"Yes ! I’m afraid of you !"

There was dead silence in the room for a couple of seconds until Number 1 asked.

"Why ?"

You didn’t answer and after a moment, Number 1 stood so close to you, you could feel his breath on your face as he repeated louder and more firmly.

"Why ?!"

You winced at his unempathetic tone and huddled yourself in a corner of the room to break into sobs under Number 1’s cold and unforgiving gaze.

You could feel Number 1’s interest in you grow and your distaste for him with it. He was studying you, staring at you with unhealthy interest and turning around you like a predator around its next prey. You felt a knot in your throat because of the unspeakable fear taking over you and his eyes relentlessly fixed on you. Your fear for him wasn’t like anything you had ever felt before.

It was primal, instinctive.

He was waiting for an answer, but when he realised he wouldn’t get one, he looked in the direction of where he knew Papa was watching the both of you.

He waited for permission to touch you, you realised and gave a pleading look in the direction where Number 1 was staring at.

"Don’t do this, Papa."

You begged him, but Papa wasn’t understanding or merciful when it came to his experiments, and you were no different.

"Proceed."

Your eyes widened at Papa’s instruction and you tried to get away, run before he could catch you, but you underestimated Number 1’s reflexes. He quickly grabbed your wrist before you could get away and it made you snap your head back towards him, your heart beating a thousand times a minute. He yanked you back and trapped you beneath him before you could protest and your pleads fell into deaf ears as you screamed.

"Let me go ! No ! Please ! Don’t touch me ! Papa ! Don’t let him do this !"

But, you then kept still and Number 1 was surprised, wondering if you had finally come to your senses ? However, he was then yanked back by an invisible force, stronger than any of the mind force fields he had ever faced before with any of the other kids.

Suddenly, you felt all that power surge through you and Number 1 groaned loudly in surprise and pain as you started sucking his very essence out of his body. Papa was watching with great interest as you floated up in the air and raised your hand to suck Number 1’s energy. He was right about you. You were holding back and one interaction with Number 1 released all of your self-restrains.

"Fascinating.."

He muttered as he took notes of the results and he smiled as Number 1 seemed to truly struggle into keeping you at bay. Number 1 was struggling. An interesting development that would surely prove useful later..

However, far from feeling threatened or backing away, Number 1 welcomed your attack and the pain it caused him. He even opened his arms wide and stood back up. Even though you seemed to be feeding on his powers, he didn’t look afraid. He even chuckled darkly before tilting your head up so you may look in each other’s eyes. He then gave you a sadistic satisfied grin and didn’t cower from your touch as you tightened your grip on him and devoured waves of his powers one after the other, unable to stop yourself.

"Greedy girl..", he called you and you shivered, suddenly desperate to get out of his grip, but he didn’t let you. He kept you in place and whispered in your ear.

"Take your fill. I give it to you. All to you."

He knew the hold he had on you and took advantage of it, relished in it. He took sadistic pleasure in watching such a tiny little thing take him as its source of energy.

It was terrifyingly exhilarating.

However, he was disappointed when you couldn’t hold on any longer and passed out. He caught you in his arms and then, Dr Brenner ran in. Number 1 looked up at him and held you closer to him, almost protectively as he flashed the doctor a bloody grin.

"I like her.."

It was only a few weeks before the slaughter.

But..Papa had instructed you to stay in your room after your incident with Number 1, locking you up until he was sure you wouldn’t be a danger to the other children. If you had succeeded in sucking a large part of Number 1’s powers, he didn’t want to risk endangering the other children.

‘The weakling’, you heard some of your siblings call you in the dark of the night when they past near your cell.

You didn’t mind.

It was better they thought you as weak than dangerous..

You were never brought forth or participated in the games, so nobody knew of your existence other than by rumours or occasional discussions with the guards.

Papa even denied your existence.

But, everything changed when you met Number 10.

It had started after another examination from Papa who still held the hope that you would show the same talent you had demonstrated during your brief interaction with Number 1, but was once more disappointed when you couldn’t even levitate a paper cup.

He still patted your shoulder encouragingly though, showing you the fatherly affection and care you needed.

"Don’t worry. You will get it eventually."

You smiled weakly, even though you wanted nothing more than to make him proud. You wanted to participate in the different games and tests with the others..But, it wouldn’t be safe.

You could feel them. All of them. All of the other children. Your brothers and sisters.

You knew them, but they didn’t know you.

Unaware of the pain it caused you to be so close, and yet so far from them.

The paper cup was still standing in the middle of the only table present in the room, as a perpetual reminder of your failure, and as long as you couldn’t at least levitate it a notch, you were stuck.

But, you refused. You wouldn’t use your powers anymore, not if it meant hurting anyone else.

However, something unexpected happened.

You heard much lighter footsteps coming your way and held your breath, your eyes fixed on the door. You also felt something else, something warm and inviting. Was there someone there ? Someone other than Papa ?

"Hello ?"

You recognised the small and shy voice of one of the other children, one of your ‘siblings’, as Papa called them: Number 10. How had he even succeeded to access your level ? You thought only Papa had access to it ? Or, even knew about it ? You looked up at the heavy door separating you from your surprise guest and wondered if you should actually answer ? Would Papa be angry ? Would you get punished ? You bit your lower lip hesitantly before finally giving in and answering.

"H..Hi."

You stammered and heard the footsteps getting closer, until you could actually feel a telepathic link between the both of you. You then felt his presence in your head and something else, a warmth like you had never felt before..It was pulling you in.

"I knew there was someone in there. I'm 10. Who are you ? And why are you locked up in here ?"

You could already tell that he was nothing like Number 1 and tentatively got closer to the door, pressing your ear against it. You opened your mouth to answer, but remembered that you didn’t have a name. Papa said that you would earn one as soon as you would be able to use your powers and join the others. He only ever called you 'daughter' and you were never bothered by it, until now. You gulped and took a money to think of an appropriate name to give the boy.

"I'm..Infinity. And I’m here because I'm..not strong enough yet. Papa said I had to wait."

He must have felt the dejection in your voice, as he replied thoughtfully.

"Must be lonely.."

You didn’t answer. You didn’t need to. You bathed in his warmth and closed your eyes. It was nice, so very nice..It felt like home.

"Say..When I’ll be out of here, would you like us to be friends ?"

You asked—without truly thinking your words through—and you then heard 10 shake something in his hand, a magic 8-ball which usually guided him in his decisions. You knew about it from the other children who talked about his obsession with it. He smiled widely when the small black object gave an affirmative answer.

"It says I will. And the magic ball never lies ! I’m sure you’ll get out of here and we’ll get to play together soon !"

You smiled at his enthusiastic answer and raised your hand to lay it flat against the smooth surface of the door, wishing you could see him. You could only feel him, his warmth and you knew at that moment, you just knew you needed to protect him.

However, before you could reflect more about your feelings, 10 heard other footsteps coming his way and Papa calling his name.

"Sorry. I have to go, or Papa will be mad. Bye, Infinity !"

"Bye, 10.."

You smiled to yourself until his warmth was out of reach and your smile vanished, the coldness of the room piercing your skin and mind at the same time. You wrapped your arms around yourself in order to keep a little bit of that warmth with you, but unsuccessfully. Now that you knew such a kind soul existed, you could only hope to stay close to it. You wished 10 would return soon..

But, the coldness and numbness didn’t last long, as 10 came coming back to see you in the days following and every time, he would bring a little bit of that warmth with him.

You were growing accustomed to him and his gentle warmth, until one day, it was replaced by hot white pain and death. You had trouble breathing as the pain only worsened and the screams grew louder and louder. You could feel them, screaming for help and fighting the inevitable, until there was nothing but deadly silence. The silence was worse than the screams and you collapsed to the floor in tears, as you knew this silence could only mean one thing..

They were gone.

They were all gone..

10’s warmth had disappeared.

You sobbed loudly in pain and tried to scream—but no sound made it past your lips—as your head was filled with their memories and your body was suddenly overwhelmed with their powers..It hurt. It was like living thousands of deaths. It hurt, but the pain was quickly replaced by wild and unbridled rage thundering in your body as you forced yourself to find the reason of such pain and agony.

You raised your hand to push your mind out of your body and finally, reached Number 1. You felt his growing frustration as he wasn't gaining any power from the children and your rage took incommensurable dimensions as you realised he wasn’t feeling any regret or guilt at the blood spilled and that he would continue to spill if he wasn’t stopped.

It was insupportable.

However, you felt this sense of dread take over your heart as you realised you were unconsciously sucking the powers of your dead siblings. He would come for you. And, you then realised with horror that the warmth you had felt in 10’s presence for all this time was in fact his powers, drawing you in like a spider to a fly..

The true reason for your imprisonment occurred to you. It wasn’t because you were weak or not ready, it was because if you had stayed in the others’ presence, you would have sucked their energy dry.

However, now that they were dead, their powers had no more corporal vessels and were now circulating freely in the air, open for the taking. It filled you with enough energy to burst the door open and even though you were still in pain, the path of chaos and blood not yet finished by Number One, made you stand up. You shakily walked out of the room, your legs trembling as the pain didn't seem to dissipate, only turned into white hot rage inside of you, fueling you with enough energy to blow up the whole compound if you wished to.

The walls were covered with blood and bodies were blocking the walking path..A carnage. You covered your mouth and nose in order not to throw up at the overwhelming smell of blood and death surrounding you.

You were so shocked and blinded by rage that you didn’t realise your feet leaving the floor. You floated above the corpses and started searching for Number 10’s body among the slaughter. Finally, you reached the room where he was and tried not to cry as you found him in such a terrible state..You knelt down next to him and raised a trembling hand above his cheek, his warm and bright mind turned cold and lifeless now..

You sniffled and whispered an apology in the shell of his ear before something else caught your eyes..His magic 8-ball was still in his hand. You took it and wiped your tears with your forearm before shaking it, unconsciously asking it if you could still save 10 ? After a moment, the ball flashed its answer.

As I see it, yes.

You closed your eyes and gently pressed your forehead against 10’s, concluding that it was worth a try. You opened your mind and tried to reach out for him and his warmth. You could feel that he was still there, his will to live keeping him somehow alive and your mind called him back to you. You used your powers to repair the damaged cells of his body and keep him alive. You repaired his body, but then your eyes fell on your bloody hands and you knew that if you gave him his powers back, Papa would make him stay, and you could lose him again..You could end up hurting him, the same way Number 1 had.

So, you decided that to keep him safe, you wouldn’t give him back his powers. You apologised to him mentally before placing your hand above his chest and sucking the powers out of his body.

After a moment, when you were sure there was nothing more that you could do, you opened your eyes and begged him to come back.

"Please..10..You can’t leave me. Open your eyes. You promised me. You promised you would become my first friend. I need you.."

Suddenly, 10 gasped loudly and jumped awake, panting as if just woken up from a bad nightmare. He blinked rapidly to get use to the blinding light and slowly turned towards you. You let out a laugh of relief before hugging him tightly.

"10 ! You’re alive !"

However, he fainted before he could return your hug and you leaned him back on the floor.

"You’ll be safer here.."

You then sensed Number 1’s presence and your need for revenge for your siblings and yourself took over your mind. You stood up and left the room. You started walking with determination towards the main playing room and opened the doors wide.

You walked in and found Number One holding a girl in the air with the power of his mind. You recognised Eleven, one of your sisters.

You immediately raised your hand to help Eleven and pull her out of his mental grip. You ripped her out of his hold and she fell to the floor. You ran to her and took her pulse, relieved to find that she was still breathing. Number One opened his eyes and frowned in confusion for a moment at your presence before his features softened and he chuckled as he recognised you.

"I knew Papa was hiding you somewhere. After all this time, we meet again..Infinity."

He said your name with a malicious smirk on his face and you felt that utter rage and hatred towards him, that repulsion that you had felt during your first encounter. You took a fighting stance and Number One cracked his head and showed you his gruesome work with large arm movements for the purpose of exaggerated theatrics and make you afraid once more.

"Do you like what I did with the walls ? I must admit..I was hoping you would see it."

"You killed them.."

You stated coldly, looking around at the devastation with tear-filled eyes. The first time you had ever stepped out of your room alone, only to witness such terrible picture of cruelty..But, Number 1 didn’t take count of the horror or sorrow on your face.

"Join me. You, me and Eleven. Aren’t you curious of what we could accomplish together ? We could be a true family, one that my family and Papa failed in giving me."

He extended his hand towards you, expecting you to take it and turn into the monster he knew you could become..But, you defiantly stared at him and slapped his hand away.

"There is no us. The only way you’ll take my powers ? It’s if you kill me."

You felt his faint annoyance, but it quickly changed into a will to kill as he raised his hand to do what he had done to so many before.

"I’m sorry we couldn’t come to an agreement."

You raised your own hand and blood started dripping down your nose, ears and eyes. You could feel him trying to find a way into your mind, probing your brain for that switch off button, your weakness to suck you from the inside out. You screamed and felt your will weakened, even though you had the power of your brothers and sisters, you didn’t know how to control it and were afraid..Number One smiled victoriously..

"Your power will soon be mine.."

He said confidently before renewing his efforts and viciously digging into your mind. You could feel your strength dwindling away, but soon found another source of power uniting with yours. You took a look behind you and found Eleven standing there, attacking Number One and helping you stand up against him.

You both screamed and while Eleven opened a portal to the Upside Down, you pushed him inside. Even though you shouldn’t, every cell of your body trembled in satisfaction, feeling the terrible pain Number One was in, trapped in it now and forever.

This was the moment when Papa arrived and saw the bloodbath surrounding the both of you and he uttered in a horrified whisper, too shocked at the sight to speak normally.

"What did you do ?"

Eleven was shaking and hid instinctively behind you. You could feel her fear at Papa’s horrified look and you decided to clear out any misunderstanding by sharing your memories with Papa who seemed to take back his composure as you explained the situation.

"We got rid of the problem."

Papa nodded before looking at the opening behind you with a frown.

"This will need to be closed."

You turned around and tried to close it, but found it impossible. You then understood why when you looked at Eleven who was so weak, she could barely stay up. You grimaced as you perfectly knew it was impossible for you to close a portal that wasn’t even your doing.

"Will you stay ?"

It was a simple question, but you could feel the desperation in his voice. Papa needed you to stay. Now that everyone else was gone, he needed someone else to stay with Eleven to keep doing his experiments. You couldn’t do anything about it. She had to stay, even if it hurt you to admit it. And, deep inside, you still held affection for the man who had raised you, and you still trusted him.

"I will.", you eventually accepted, "But, I need you to do something for me first. 10 no longer has his powers and I want you to make sure he lives outside, in a loving family."

You thought of 10 and as it would be unfair and selfish of you to ask him to stay. Papa nodded understandingly, turning towards the corridor where he had left 10.

"He will be taken care of..I promise."

You weren’t even surprised that he knew about you and 10. He was probably the one who had left the door open for 10 to find you.

You closed your eyes and looked up at the bright light hanging from the ceiling.

You were exhausted.

You turned towards Eleven and smiled before taking her hand in yours.

"I will be there for you. Always."

Eleven looked up at you and nodded. You then followed Papa and sent one last goodbye to 10, wishing him luck with his new life. Papa would place him in a family that would love him and he would be happy. You smiled to yourself.

At least, he would be safe..

End of flashback.

A few years later :

You were sitting on a bench, just outside of the school, waiting for your brother to show up. The Henderson family had decided to adopt you a few years back, after finding out that you were alone. And now, you were happy and proud to be a Henderson and calling Dustin your brother, even though he could be a handful sometimes..

"Dustin..Where are you ?"

You muttered to yourself, looking at your watch and tapping your foot on the ground impatiently. You were supposed to meet with Robin and Steven in an hour..He was going to make you late.

You then took a deep breath before opening your bag and getting out 10’s old fortune ball, the only memory remaining of your years at the lab.

You had been assigned to keep an eye on Eleven, but had ended up escaping with her when the demogorgon crisis had started.

You still held onto the hope you would find 10 and explain everything, but you also knew it was highly unlikely. Papa had promised you that he would be safe and taken care of, you could only hope he had kept his promise..

You sighed before shaking the ball vigorously, waiting for an answer to appear.

"Sooner than you think", your answer came in bright white letters and you smiled, always earning optimistic answers from the magic 8-ball.

You then heard a noise behind you and turned around quickly, prepared to face any kind of danger. You were surprised to only find a man standing there with wild brown locks and a tiny smirk on his face.

"Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you. I’m Eddie. Dustin said you would be there and sent me to tell you he has a ‘secret mission’ with his girlfriend."

You rolled your eyes. Why weren’t you surprised ?, you thought ironically before opening your bag and getting out the lunch you had prepared for you and Dustin. You wanted to surprise him by taking him to the mountains and stargazing, but seemed like your brother had other important matters to attend to. And, knowing Dustin ? His secret plans involved talking to his girlfriend and convince her to change his grades.

As long as it didn’t involve monstrous creatures or aliens, you didn’t need to intervene and could just enjoy your freedom.

You then noticed that Eddie was still standing there awkwardly, not sure if he should stay or go, and you smiled before tapping the space next to you invitingly.

"Come on. You can keep me company. My afternoon is suddenly free and I’ve got enough food for two."

He hesitated for a moment before finally sitting down next to you and you handed him a sandwich.

"Here. Made by yours truly. You can eat it, but be careful of the poison.."

He seemed stunned for a moment—wondering if you were joking or not—until you winked playfully at him and he smiled before taking a bite—playing along.

"No problem. As long as you’re not afraid of me cursing you in return ? Don’t forget that I’m rumoured to be a friend of the Dark One ! Dustin will eventually show up, and I would hate him to find his sister cursed."

You laughed and leaned back before taking a bite of your own sandwich. The boy had no idea what it would take to kill you..The mere idea being funny to you. You had faced evil scientists, Russian spies, demogorgons and the Upside Down..At this point, you could almost ponder if you were immortal, or just so damn lucky ? You looked down at the fortune ball in your hand and stroked its side with your thumb. You wondered if it was 10 protecting you all this time ? Eddie’s eyes landed on your fortune ball as you shook it once more and he let out a small laugh.

"Funny..I used to have one of those."

You stopped shaking it and suddenly, raised your eyes to look at him intently, hope suddenly filling your heart again as you stared at him. You didn’t want to make him feel uncomfortable, but you were searching for anything that would prove that it was him..

"Really ?"

He seemed to notice your staring and coughed a little in embarrassment, massaging the back of his neck nervously and looking away as he answered with uncertainty.

"Yeah..But, I lost it a long time ago. Anyway, I should probably go."

He turned around to leave, but you surged forward to grab his wrist. Suddenly, your eyes widened as warmth filled your very core, the same warmth you had felt all those years ago. You looked up at him and saw it in his eyes that he felt it too. He tried to stand back, but you held on. You were not willing to let him go so quickly after you finally found him. He have you an expression of confusion and looked at your fingers wrapped around his wrist, wondering why he seemed to know you. Why was he feeling this way ?

"Wait, number 10. Please..Don't go."

You pleaded and Eddie’s eyes widened significantly. At the name, Eddie's attention perked up and he asked with a small frown of confusion.

"What did you just call me ?"

He seemed genuinely confused and you shook your head, huffing a laugh at your obvious blunder. 10 was long gone and you shouldn’t try to search for him or desperately try to find a ressemblance with any stranger you meet. You realised your mistake and immediately retreated.

"You..You just make me think of someone.."

It couldn’t possibly be him. You just held onto the impossible hope that you would see him again and released him. You shook your head and stammered awkwardly.

"I..I’m sorry, Eddie. I shouldn’t have done that. You just..You just remind me of an old friend and.."

"Infinity ?"

He interrupted you and you snapped your head up to meet his eyes, your initial shock quickly replaced by a huge smile of relief.

"10 ! Yes. It's me. It's Infinity."

You tried to reach for him again, but he cowered from your touch, as if your sole contact was burning him. This was when you realized, he was afraid of the truth.

"It can’t be..You..You’re not real."

You felt your heart squeeze a little as he shook his head and turned in circles, trying to process what you just said. The name sounded so familiar to him and he remembered your voice so clearly now.

"It’s..It’s really me, 10. I missed you..so much."

However, his reaction to the whole situation wasn’t exactly how you had suspected it to be. He stopped and looked at you with a bewildered expression and huffed a mocking laugh.

"Nuh-huh. You don’t get to ‘miss me’. Do you know how much I suffered from this ? I had doctors, telling me for years that I was crazy and that it was only the result of my impressively wild imagination."

You opened your mouth to answer, but realised you had no words that would make him feel better and offered him an apologetic smile instead.

"Well..You always had one hell of an imagination and..I liked that about you."

He shook his head at your obvious attempt to sweeten him up and smiled before giving you a look of disbelief.

"Compliments usually work with me, but not this time, sweetheart. You left me. And why couldn’t I feel you afterwards ? Why couldn’t I communicate with you ?"

He asked you with his arms crossed over his chest and you could see he was upset, and he had the right to be. He reminded you of what you had done to keep him safe and you lowered your head in shame as you remembered the screams and the blood.

"Not by choice. I made a deal with Papa. It was the only way for you to be safe. I would have done anything for you."

You explained and Eddie’s eyes softened at your confession. But, he didn’t let it go and asked.

"Why ?"

You froze at the unexpected question and Eddie took notice of that. He sat back in front of you and took your hand, so you had to look at him.

"Why ?"

He repeated purposefully and you took a big breath to gather the courage to answer him. When you finally looked up at him, his eyes were wide open, waiting for an answer you probably couldn’t give him, but you tried.

"The first time our minds linked..I felt a connection with you. There was this..warmth. You were the first human being besides Papa that I had ever connected with. I had this instinct to keep you safe and I knew that taking your powers away was the only way Papa would let you leave."

Eddie’s eyes widened significantly at your confession and you expected it.

"W..What ?"

It was not something he wanted to hear, but it was what you felt and the decision you had to make so he may live a normal life.

Dustin arrived before he could reply and you were never more grateful to see your little brother’s face. He grabbed your hand and dragged you after him, waving at Eddie.

"Hi Eddie ! Bye, Eddie !"

You didn’t look back at him, you didn’t want to know what he was thinking..afraid of the rejection or horror you would see in his gaze.

You had taken something from him, and there was no way he could understand or agree with your decision.

He would hate you..but, you would always love him.

Time lapse to when Eddie is hiding from the police and you are his supply runner :

It was the third time this week Eddie called your brother for supplies and you could see that your brother was becoming annoyed by the phone calls and unceasing back-and-forth’s. So, you decided it was time for you to face Eddie and replaced your brother on one of his supply runs.

However, when you entered the cabin he was hiding in, you didn’t expect to find him stuffing his face with popcorn. You couldn’t help but laugh as he looked at you with widened eyes and puffy cheeks.

"What are you doing ?"

"I'm stress eating !"

He replied with his eyes wide before taking another mouthful. You shook your head in disbelief before taking his packet away from him.

"Hey !"

He moaned in protest, upset that you would interrupt his snack time.

"It’s not good for you !"

You scolded him lightly with a smile and he rolled his eyes.

"Yes, ‘mom’."

It was your time to roll your eyes before throwing the bag of supplies at him.

"Here. I doubt it will last the day, but it has everything you need."

You thought you would be able to walk out and leave him be without having to talk about last time you were alone, but he didn’t let you. In an instant, he was behind you and slammed the door shut, preventing you from leaving.

"Eddie.."

You uttered his name warningly, but he didn’t budge as you tried to open the door again. You knew you could easily use your powers to make him move, but you wouldn’t. Eddie had never tried to harm you, he wouldn’t start now and neither would you.

"Y/N..Stay."

He whispered pleadingly. You knew what he wanted. He wanted answers, but so did you. Was he angry at you for taking away his powers ? He didn’t seem to be, and maybe was it the reason you were avoiding him ? Because, you knew deep down that what you had done was wrong.

"I don’t think it’s a good idea."

You whispered back, but still leaned back against him..He was so warm and his embrace felt like being surrounded by gentle waved in a sea of softness.

"Are you afraid of me ? That I will kill you ? Do you believe what they say on the news ? Is that why you haven’t come see me until now ?"

You closed your eyes and turned your head away, but he tip your chin forward and made you look him in the eyes.

"Please, tell me the truth. You told me you would. I just want to understand."

You let a tear slip down your cheek as you admitted.

"I’m not afraid of you, Eddie. Because, I can see that you are a good person..But, I’m afraid that I will become like Number 1. He was blinded by power and this hunger consumed him. I feel the same hunger, everyday. And I’m afraid that if I get too close to you, I will eventually let loose."

He stayed silent for a second before raising his hands to squeeze your shoulders sympathetically.

"You’re nothing like him."

He said confidently and you didn’t know you needed to hear those words so badly, until you broke into sobs and pulled Eddie closer.

"I’m sorry. I’m sorry I wasn’t strong enough to stop him."

He shushed softly and stroked your hair gently, trying to soothe you the best he could. Eddie still had glimpses of that night, and the fear he felt when facing Number 1 was nothing like what he felt when he was around you. It was strange that, even after all those years, things hadn’t really changed between the both of you. He rested his chin above your head and even though he was scared, he felt better when he had you by his side.

However, your moment was interrupted by voices coming from the outside.

"FREAK ! We know that you’re here ! Come out now !"

You immediately wiped your tears and tiptoed discreetly to the window to take a look, recognising some of the Chrissy’s friends and her boyfriend. If they found Eddie, they would denounce or hurt him. You wouldn’t let them.

Fortunately, your eyes fell on the boat where Eddie had been hiding in all this time and jumped inside.

"We need to go, Eddie.", you hurried him and he followed you, helping you in getting the boat on the water.

Once the boat afloat, he jumped after you just in time as Chrissy’s boyfriend noticed the both of you.

"Get them !"

He jumped in the water after you and someone else did, but he was suddenly floating in the air and you covered your ears and screamed as you could hear Vecna sucking the life out of him and it brought you back to the day when Number 1 had killed all those children. Eddie tried to calm you down by wrapping his arms around you, but couldn’t you hold you down and was pushed in the water by your struggles.

Both Eddie and Jason Carver witnessed as Patrick’s extremities started shrinking, his jaw dislocated and his eyes were sucked right into his skull with terrible squelching noises while blood dripped down his mouth, ears and eyes. When Patrick’s body fell in the water, you also fell to your knees. Eddie quickly got back in the boat and held you as you muttered weakly.

"He’s back, Eddie..Number 1 is back."

You could see the terror in Eddie’s eyes before fainting into his arms, exhausted and overwhelmed by Vecna’s power.

You looked around and found yourself in the Upside Down, in front of a nightmarish house where Vecna was waiting for you. You raised your hand to attack him, but Vecna laughed as you kept trying unsuccessfully.

"It won’t work here, Infinity.."

You took a few steps backwards, but your feet were quickly stuck to the floor by long red roots, Number 1 had probably mixed with the Upside Down and he was using it to trap you in place.

"Your time is almost up..But, you can still change your fate. Join me. Greedy girl. I will satisfy your hunger and together, we will become masters of reality and the Upside Down."

He ran his finger down your cheek and you slapped his hand away, your answer being the same than the first time he had asked you.

"I won’t join you ! Ever !"

He lowered his hand and suddenly grabbed you by the throat.

"Then you will die with them !"

You gasped for air and clawed his hand, but couldn’t do anything other than look at him defiantly before your world fell into black.

When you woke up, you were still in Eddie’s arms, but it was dark and you were surrounded by Steve, Robin and Nancy. They all looked relieved when you sat up and held your head in pain.

"W..What happened ?"

You asked and Robin squeezed your shoulder before answering you.

"You blacked out. Dustin and the other kids had to go distract the adults, but we decided to stay with the both of you and keep watch."

You smiled gratefully at them all before feeling another painful headache and Steve then noticed something glowing at the bottom of the lake.

"Hey, guys ? I see something under there."

He squinted his eyes to get a better look, but it was no use and he knew he had to get a closer look himself. He jumped in the water before anyone could stop him and it took a couple of minutes before Nancy decided he was taking too long and dived after him.

Once you had jumped in the water as well, it didn’t take long for Eddie to jump after you either.

You then saw Steve on the floor, trying to get the horrible Upside Down vampires bats off him. You raised your hand and made their awful heads explode. You could feel Number 1 in your head, or Vecna as he was called now, digging into your skull and you couldn’t stop him. He had grown stronger..

"Join me..Join me, Infinity.."

He repeated over and over, his mind trying to forcefully link with yours and get access to the powers stored in you.

"No ! Leave me alone !"

You cried out and started fighting an invisible enemy with your eyes closed. You could feel him, probing your mind to find where you were. He was everywhere around you and it took Eddie and Robin to physically restrain you before you could hurt yourself. Nancy took care of Steve and finally, Eddie forced you to look at him by placing his hands on each side of your head.

"Hey, Infinity. Don’t listen to him. Concentrate on me. Forget about him. He doesn’t have what we have. Come on."

You tried to do as he said and let your mind focus on him, rejecting Vecna’s control and welcoming Eddie’s warmth in. Little by little, your breathing calmed down and you finally opened your eyes to look at him. He smiled at you and stroked your cheek encouragingly, covering the back of your neck with his other hand to keep you in place.

"Here we go. Good girl. Focus on me. Don’t let the ugly evil entity see what’s going on in that beautiful mind of yours, alright ?"

You laughed and nodded in agreement, pushing Vecna out of your head and this was when you heard it, his last words freezing the blood in your veins and making your whole body tremble under the threat.

"I’ll kill him..I’ll kill them all.."

It was a promise.

"Not if I kill you first.."

You muttered to yourself, staring defiantly beyond at the direction the voice was coming from. You had failed to kill him once, you wouldn’t make the same mistake twice..

You walked forward towards Nancy’s old house and took refuge there. You succeeded in communicating with your brother and smiled as you heard his voice. You thought you would never hear it again..You let your fingers dance among the lights created by the electricity and looked at Eddie whose face was lit up in wonder.

However, when he caught you staring, you both turned your gaze away from each other instantly. Everyone else didn’t notice your exchange, all but Robin who smiled knowingly at the both of you.

"We need to sleep. So, we can take turns to guard the house and..?"

Nancy finally proposed and a hand shot up immediately.

"I’ll take the first watch with Y/N !"

Robin declared, but Eddie immediately protested.

"Not a chance ! I’ll stay with her !"

Both Robin and Eddie glared at each other while Nancy looked at them both with an arched eyebrow, wondering why the both of them suddenly wanted to stay with you, but Steve only shrugged.

"You can all stay awake with her. It’ll be more sleep for me."

And with those wise words, Steve leaned back on the sofa and closed his eyes. Nancy didn’t insist, wanting to stay by Steve’s side and take care of his wounds.

"Fine. But, be careful."

Both Robin and Eddie stood up to take your hand and pull you along. Robin took you apart and whispered to you, while making sure that Eddie couldn’t hear her.

"Say..What’s going on between you and Freakson over there ? Did something happen between the both of you ?"

You rolled her eyes at her obvious innuendo and shook your head.

"No..We’re just friends. He was nice to me when I first arrived in Hawkins."

She took a quick glance at Eddie who pretended not to be staring at the both of you and quickly looked away. She gave you a smile of disbelief before wiggling her eyebrows significantly.

"Huh-huh..“friends”. You can't fool me. Lover boy over there keeps staring at you and I can assure you that when you were passed out ? He refused to let anyone else watch over you. I swear that he growled at me when I tried to take a look at you !"

You both laughed and Eddie blushed, convinced that you were talking about him, but unwilling to admit he was interested in knowing the subject of your active conversation.

Robin continued to talk to you for a while, but she fell asleep first, too exhausted by the events of the day to stay up.

Eddie took the opportunity to move closer to you. You didn’t know why he wanted to follow you in the first place, but you didn’t dare protest. He played with the flashlight in his hands for a minute or two, lost in thought, before he turned towards you.

"We need to talk..about that night."

He seemed serious and you immediately understood what night he was referring to. You knew you had to eventually talk about it, but it didn’t make it any less difficult. You still had nightmares of that night and the Upside Down remembered too.

"I already told you everything I know."

You said and he shook his head.

"You never told me..Why Infinity ? Why did you choose that name ?"

The question surprised you, it wasn’t what you had expected and you thought back of the day you had decided yo name yourself Infinity. It wasn’t because you thought yourself more powerful or stronger than all the other numbers—far from it. Papa used to call you “project Black Hole" and you once asked him what it meant ? He then told you about the stars and a particular black hole..Infinity. The mother of dark holes. The black hole that would eventually swallow the universe.

You didn’t know what it had to do with you at the beginning, but now, you knew.

"Because I didn’t want to forget. They are all a part of me now..All the children who lost their lives that night."

Eddie frowned a bit in confusion, playing with his wrist bands nervously.

"What do you mean ?"

You bit your lower lip and looked away in shame. It wasn’t the time or place to tell him..but, when would it be the right time even ?

"I absorbed their powers when they left, Eddie..Number 1 killed them, but their memories and powers were transferred to me. I felt their deaths and I couldn’t stop myself from feeding on their powers, their “warmth”. I lied to you when I said Papa kept me locked up because he thought others might hurt me. He kept me away because he was afraid of what would happen if I was let out. He first tried to make me sympathise with Number 1, but when Number 1 tried to connect with me ? I almost did what he did to all of our siblings..I almost killed him; absorbed his prime essence and swallowed him alive, just like a black hole.."

You knew Eddie would be horrified by it, even be as terrified as you were when you had realised what you had done. He stayed silent for a moment before reasoning.

"If you can take powers..Can you give them too ?"

He asked and your eyes widened at the realisation. You had never thought about it. Maybe, could you give back her powers to Eleven ?

"Could you..give them back to me ?"

Eddie didn’t meet your gaze after he asked, nibbling on one of his wild brown strands nervously and you could feel for the first time in Eddie’s presence, melancholy..He missed his powers, you realised.

You felt a pang of guilt in your chest and decided that he had waited long enough and that you couldn’t deny him anymore what he was due. Besides, he needed to be able to defend himself.

You turned to face him fully and took a big breath before placing your hand above his chest, feeling it rising and falling, listening to his heartbeat and trying to find the powers you had stolen from him inside you. Suddenly, you felt something stir in you and gasped before opening your eyes and feeling energy coursing through your fingertips and back to Eddie who seemed out of breath.

"D..Did it work ?"

He asked, but the answer came to him on its own as he heard you in his head.

"Yes."

He was surprised, but also strangely relieved that he could hear you again, he felt whole. He smiled and stood up to look around for a small object he could exercise his newfound powers with and his eyes finally landed on a small rock on the floor. He was fascinated as he looked at it, levitating around his own hand and he succeeded in crushing it in his hand.

"You..You really did ! I can’t believe it ! So cool !"

He sounded genuinely excited as he made the little rock’s dusty remains float around him.

"I only gave back what was already yours."

Eddie stayed silent for a moment before sitting back down next to you and looking at the red sky of the Upside Down. He then lowered his hand and let it hover above yours hesitantly.

"That voice..It was you, wasn’t it ? You called me back. I would have died that night if it wasn't for you and I..I know that you tried your best to protect me. I never held what happened against you, not even though when you took my powers away. To be honest ? I felt relieved. But.."

He finally let his hand rest of top of yours and squeezed it slightly.

"..I’m glad you decided to share your burden with me. I’m not a little kid anymore, and I’m less afraid now. I want to thank you, my dear Queen Infinity of the Unknown Lands of White Walls and will fight for you. If you’d let me ?"

You smiled at the appellation before resting your head on his shoulder, closing your eyes in exhaustion.

"You're very welcome, Game Master, future slayer of Vecna the Dark Mage.."

You had played D&D enough times with your little brother his friends to make up a nickname of your own for Eddie. He smiled happily before resting his chin above your head. You intertwined your fingers and opened your eyes just a little to see his eyes reflecting the blood-red sky and find it hypnotic. He was hypnotic. You couldn’t even feel the ominous atmosphere surrounding you, the Upside Down’s demons creeping in the dark, waiting for their moment to strike.

"Do you think we've got a shot ?"

He finally asked you, his brow furrowed with uncertainty and still staring at the red horizon, his thoughts suddenly focused on how to defeat Vecna.

"Number 1 is still under there. His arrogance will be his downfall."

You predicted and curiously enough, Eddie believed you.

"We’ll find a way. I promise you, Eddie. I won’t leave you this time."

You whispered before looking back up at the sky. Eddie nodded before smiling to himself as he remembered something.

"Hey..You'll give me back my magic 8-ball, right ?"

You laughed in response and shook your head negatively.

"Not a chance.."

The final battle was upon you.

Throw the dice.

Win or lose.

D&D was always in your blood and it was high time to finish the game.

And when you finally fell asleep, the sound of a clock filled your head..

[drwormdcg]

Thinking about the Infamous Mono-Color Format

They dropped this on us today and is getting a rather harsh welcome.

this is not a new banlist, it is an alternate format and that's why we shouldn't feel intimidated by it. Having a critical mass of decks balanced out of the format is completely fine because it means unusual suspects will get a try.

And most important of all:

GOOD BYE FOREVER YOU STANKY BITCH AND MARBLE

Not only that, we also get rid of the very cringey Xros Heart deck that became stupidly oppressive on BT11 after a huge banlist hit... SOMEHOW

BWGX will have to now decide between playing Greymon X Antibody or Yuuya to protect it's stack making it extremely less strong too.

We will mourn the lost of some (based) decks though:

Jesmon

Mastemon (my beloved)

Imperialdramon

Examon

Sakuyamon

4GD

etc (I literally cant think of any others lol)

The specific banlist directly hits MelgaX, Grandis and MinervaLoop

Which is FUN.

This is a hit to the core aspects that make the strategies themselves annoying, It is most likely we wont see any of this decks now that they are escentially losing their wincon. But I like to imagine, a MelgaX deck that actually plays like MelgaX intends you to play, a big fucking blocker that controls the board. Or a Grandis that actually cares about combat instead of beating you in turn 3. Minerva losing the rusher completely is sad, when you take in count the other two decks only got a limit. Because having 1 lv5 rusher in the deck that uses the lv5 as a toolbox would have been very fun, but I am biased.

as well as generic good tools like Chaos degrade and DeathX which is an indirect hit to dead animals.

DeathX makes sense because it is a generic tool for black and purple decks that forces the entire format to be wrap around it... in advanced, here it just means black and purple have an upper hand, which they very much need lmao. The lack of a DeathX means that two of the decks I can see shredding in this format will have no checks, Bloomlord and Ulforce.

But Chaos Degrade is a weird choice, the decks that can utilize it the most have an inherent cap by the mono color format, decks that could use it will have to jump hurdles to do so, and then we have to ask, what are we checking with this? Alphamon and WargreyX? (okay those decks are scary) But for your consideration, we have already have a Chaos degrade replacement for monocolor. If you have any idea of the purpose behind this one just tell me.

-That only leave us with theory crafting-

Sadly Bandai dropped this one on us after the Ulticup slots have been purchased for most people, so lots of people were kind of trapped into it, and god forbid TCG players are forced to build a different deck.

I am really seeing Bloomlord-Hydra and Ulforce as a force to be reckon, specially after Mulligan has been confirmed, Thankfully Gallantmon is also there to keep Bloomlord in check, but without Zwart Defeat and a very hindered BWGX, tamer span is very strong, who will check ulforce? Darknigthmon? hell Merva and Bagraa army seem playable in this landscape even, I cannot think of any competent Yellow deck though, maybe there's a build for Ophanimon loop, but do you really wanna play a deck which relies on [on deletion] when the best deck can just bounce you back into your deck?.

This is my first post, I may have gone tooooo grazy, but I just wanted a place to ramble about my thoughts on this cardgame unfiltered. I hope is a nice read, I am not a great writer in the first place.

[a-blue-mask]

Character analysis

Today we analyse Nathan McMillan, from the video game saga of Forgotten Hill. Why? Because I am terribly bored.

Warning: spoilers under the cut, also mentions of death, people getting turned into puppets, I'm basically talking about this character's potential issues.

SO, THIS MF (affectionately)

I'll be honest, I think he has some sort of mommy issues.

I mean, the two characters we know he had as "stars" of his shows were both women (the Petersen's mother and Josephine, Jimmy Larson's girlfriend), could be a coincidence but it's weird it happened twice right?

Then in one of the mementoes we have a dead woman in a wardrobe, even with strings attached to her if I remember right. Even if she didn't have the strings, it's still a dead woman in a wardrobe. In a wardrobe just like the Petersen's mother. Coincidences? I think not.

So we have three suspicious female characters, AND we know that his mother disappeared. No one knows what the hell happened to her, maybe the husband killed her, maybe her own kids did, maybe she just decided to move out of town, or maybe one of his husband's experiments killed her. Point is, missing mother figure from a certain point of his life onward.

Next argument to my theory: the fact that he seeks approvation.

We know from the stories on the official Forgotten Hill website that the huge guy in the theatre that eats a lot complained about one of Nathan's shows, and was then turned into a puppet.

A person that doesn't care about other people's opinion would have ignored him. But Nathan had to turn him into a puppet, because the guy didn't like the show. That's clearly a sign he cares about what others think and that he seeks people's approval. He couldn't stand the fact that someone wouldn't like what he did.

Of course for the creators that's probably just a way to characterize him and make him scary, but I really enjoy reading more than there is into this characters.

Then, we have Berry and the "we'll be together forever" theme.

Of course we know that the ritual to turn Berry into a ghost horse head was prompted by his father, but Nathan didn't hesitate nor seemed sad about it. In fact, he was happy that Berry would never leave him and that they would be together forever.

This heavily implies some attachment issues. Yeah, Nathan was a child at the time, but he still should know that everything and everyone dies at some point in life (let's see if I get to the end of this without triggering my thanatophobia :D). He should have learned that, but Berry experience might have taught Nathan that death can be cheated. This could also tie to issues with his mother's disappearance, and so the mommy issues mentioned before.

And his attachment issues are reflected on his work with the puppets. When Nathan creates a puppet, not only can he now control and play with it, but can also preserve it.

Going back to the women I mentioned before, we know that he didn't willingly get rid of the Petersen's mother. Even though he had replaced her with Josephine, he put her into a wardrobe and tried to keep her.

For the sake of the joke I could say he didn't want to let go of Jimmy either, he literally knocked him out on his way out of the theatre, but this should be a serious theory post so let's ignore that.

The puppets theme also suggests the theme of "control". I mean, making someone into a puppet to move them around sounds pretty controlling. And this ties back to the attachment issues, why tying people like that? He could have a normal theatre with normal actors my man, but instead he ties them and makes them unable to move without him. Is he scared they'll leave him? Why would he? Berry taught him that he can even cheat death so that's not the experience that made him worried about that. His mother then?

In conclusion.

Nathan has definitely attachment and abandonment issues that are probably related to his mother. But it's funnier to say that he has "mommy issues" lol.

[wheelsup]

coffee is the sixth love language | part two

Summary: Over three cups of coffee, Spencer realized his feelings for you. And over three cups of coffee, he acts on them. gn!Reader.

A/N: the italicized this time indicates Spencer’s thoughts, not reader’s. part of this story is inspired directly from these comments made by @doctorthreephds on the reblog! thanks for letting me incorporate them :)

category: fluff, sfw

warnings: technically none, but the “profiling” part is kind of a reach.

word count: 3k

     Once Spencer was firmly resolute on asking you out, he knew he wanted it to be special in a way that only the two of you could appreciate. He realized that he had yet to be the one bringing you coffee, and so it felt only right that it should be how he makes his first move. He woke up extra early on a weekday morning to stop by your favorite coffee shop on his way to work because he knew you loved their banana nut muffins and double-brewed coffee. It was an extra twenty-five minutes out of the way for work each way, so you only got to go there on the rare occasion that you had a day off and were not out of town on a case. It might have been ridiculous to drive fifty minutes for a single damn muffin, but Spencer wanted to make this perfect for you by any means necessary. This was one of the special times that Spencer drove his car, needing the extra speed in order to complete his mission.

     He picked up your regular drink order and the muffin and was anxiously on his way back to Quantico. As per his plan he arrived at the office before you did, though not too much earlier because he wanted to make sure your coffee was still hot by the time you got it. If Spencer’s calculations were correct - which they almost always were - you would arrive within a two to four and a half minute window from when he did. Spencer took out a sharpie from his desk drawer and delicately scrawled a message onto the top corner of the pastry bag holding your muffin. He thought it felt like something out of a cheesy romance novel, the kind of novels that you could find in the fifty cent clearance bins, but dammit if Spencer didn’t deserve a little cheesy romance in his life. The other benefit of this was that he thought he would almost certainly choke on his words if he had to ask you himself. He set the two items on your desk and returned to his own to sit and observe. Spencer hoped it would be the first of many coffees he could buy you.

It wasn’t until you had already walked into the bullpen and were halfway to your desk that Spencer realized he had forgotten to sign his name to the bag. How were you supposed to react to him asking you out if you didn’t actually know it was him? And oh God, he left unsealed food on the desk of an FBI agent, with no indication of who had put it there. That is infinitely more suspicious than it is romantic. He wouldn’t be surprised if she took it straight to the trash can. So long for cheesy romance, Dr. Reid.

     But Spencer was absolutely elated when your first reaction was to peek into the bag and gasp out of joy at what was inside. He watched you break off a piece of your beloved banana nut muffin and chew it gleefully, and all he could think of was how cute you looked when you were happy. Shortly followed by concern that a federal agent would so readily eat unmarked food that could have been tampered with. That’s something I should bring up to her on the date. 

     Spencer’s stomach was in knots not knowing if you would pick up on the message. You swallowed that chunk of the muffin and turned the bag over to find an almost illegible black script that you had nearly missed: Would you like to have coffee with me? It just felt like all of the air had been knocked out of your body. 

     It didn’t even take you half a second to know who this was from; there were so many tells it was Spencer. Before you even noticed the note, you knew it was from him when you saw what was inside the bag. The whole team knew what your favorite coffee shop was because you had talked about it enough times. Hell, you even owned a oversized tee with their name on it that you kept in your go bag as a sleep shirt. But nobody knew what your favorite muffin was because you never mentioned it. In fact, if you thought about it there were maybe only a handful of times over the six months you’d been at the BAU that you even elected to eat this pastry in lieu of a real breakfast. But if anyone was going to detect a pattern, it would have been Dr. Reid. Of course he would pick up on the fact that you only picked those out at cafes when you felt like having a sweet treat, or that when Penelope brought in baked goods for the office you would only indulge if you saw your favorite item in the lineup. 

     You already knew it, but in case you had any doubt, the note itself confirmed your theory twice. One indicator was the phrasing choice would you as opposed to will you. Use of would posits a hypothetical, as in hypothetically, would you have an interest in drinking coffee together, rather than a hard, come with me to get coffee. The hesitance in the tone came off as if the sender were testing the waters, wanting to put the idea out there without coming off as too strong. Because it was reserved, it gave you room to think if you would genuinely enjoy doing so as opposed to making you feel like you should oblige. That level of respect screamed Spencer to you. And though it was so glaringly obvious, if you needed some concrete evidence it was the fact that nobody else had such endearingly atrocious handwriting like Dr. Reid. It was something you always found hilariously ironic for a man who often analyzes other people’s writing styles for work. You wondered what his way of scribbling said about him, and hoped he could tell you on that date of yours. 

     You looked straight at him, finding that his eyes were already fixed on you.

     “Yes.” 

     One word was all you had to say to make the lump in Spencer’s throat disappear, replaced by the sensation that his heart was leaping out of his chest. He was going to keep that memory stored in his brain forever, just to replay the moment when the future of your relationship changed with a simple word. Little did he know that when you finished that muffin, you neatly folded the pastry bag and tucked it into your desk drawer, saving it for the exact same purpose. 

_____

     Spencer had gotten to see your favorite coffee spot already, so for your date you requested that he take you to his to make it even. It was small, but incredibly cozy under the soft ambiance provided by string lights and charm of their mismatched furniture. There was one exposed brick wall adjacent to another that was a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf; it housed copies that loyal patrons left behind for others to pick up. All of those books had different colors of post-its peeking out from the pages. It was almost too eclectic and disorganized for what you would expect Dr. Reid to be into, but at the same time it made perfect sense to you.

     “You know, I think I just learned something about you.” You leaned gently into his side to tell him, both hands wrapped around your coffee cup because you were too nervous to know what else to do with them. Spencer was the kind of guy to sit adjacent to you at a table, rather than across, and you loved that about him. You loved having him as close to you as possible. 

     Spencer’s lips pulled at the edges to form a perfect, lazy smile. “What did you learn about me?” The team had an agreement not to profile each other, but under your gaze, Spencer never felt the kind of scrutiny that came with picking people apart. He trusted that whatever you had to say was going to be kind.

     “I think this place says so much about you. Something about how all those books are donations passed on from locals, and that people feel comfortable taking a book off the shelf and opening it up to read what others recommend. The fact that they leave little notes in it for the next reader to share what those stories meant to each of them. Nobody asked those people to do that, but they all chose to take part in these small actions that ended up creating an entire community.” It was one of the most beautifully human things you’d ever witnessed. A group of people engaging in understated and innocent gestures of love between perfect strangers, completely unprompted. “I think you value simple acts, the kind that can take on profound meaning without even intending to. Like when silence feels so comfortable when you’re with the right person.” You paused to take in his reaction as a gauge for how right or wrong you may be. He gave no objection to what you had posited, eyes simply glued to you in intense focus. Spencer was hanging on everything you said, wordlessly encouraging you to divulge more theories you’d developed on him.

     “And, visually, this furniture reminds me of a family home. The kind where some items were handed down for generations, some bought new, and others gifted by a distant relative who has no idea what the family likes.” Spencer’s soft laughter mirrored your own at your very accurate description of the shop’s decor. The room truly could not be more disjointed in its aesthetic, but that was entirely its charm. “It probably reflects that there are some aspects of your life that just don’t make sense to you, that almost seem to conflict with each other. For a guy so smart, I’m sure it’s scary to feel like you don’t understand something, and there are probably dark spots in that brain of yours that you try to hide from the world. But in this room, these things that don’t seem like they work together actually amount to something so lovely. And just like the charmingly hideous suede couch and the oddly fur-covered armchairs, every facet of you deserves appreciation because without them you wouldn’t make up to be the beautiful person you are overall.” 

     Neither of you could pinpoint the moment which your hands had drifted together, fingers loosely intertwined in gentle embrace. There was too much to unpack in what you had said for Spencer to know where to begin. The only thing he could say for sure was that he was astounded by how deeply you understood him without him ever saying any of those things. He considered that maybe you understood him better than he did himself and wished that he could spend his whole life observing the world through the same rose-tinted lenses with which you viewed him. At a loss for words, Spencer chose not to say any right then. The silence I have with you is the most comfortable I’ve ever had. 

_____

     After each of you consumed one too many caffeinated beverages, you still were not prepared to let the date end. You were willing to sit there and have as many espresso drinks as you could to keep talking to Spencer. 

     The universe must have been in support of your romance as the overcast skies broke and began to rain just minutes after the two of you had left the shop. Spencer was walking you back to your apartment, clearly forcing his long legs to slow down their naturally fast stride so to extend how long it took to get there. He could get an extra thirteen minutes with you this way. Spencer was given his perfect excuse to keep the date going in the form of heavy downpour; his apartment was far closer than yours, and he proposed you two should seek shelter together until it stopped. I hope it never stops. 

     Spencer held tightly onto your hand as he ran with you through the rain, giggling all the way to his apartment. He may not like wet, cold climates, but he sure did like holding your hand. Being next to you made him feel incredibly warm somehow when the temperature outside was very much not. And you felt completely at peace sitting on Spencer’s couch wearing one of his sweaters that he lent you. Truthfully, your own clothes weren’t so wet from the rain that it was necessary, but you both pretended it absolutely was just to be able to experience this. 

     It was clear that the rain would be going for a while and all you wanted to do to pass the time was continue listening to Spencer talk. You discovered that when he’s not interrupted, he loves to go on runaway tangents, often bouncing between different trains of thought as one idea sparked him to remember another. It was almost a sport to keep up with him, but it was perhaps the only one you’ve ever enjoyed. It was so easy when everything he said interested you. You loved that Spencer taught you something new every day, but no matter how niche a piece of trivia or shocking an unknown fact was, it could not beat the things that he taught you about himself. He was letting you in on so many unseen dimensions of himself whether he knew it or not, the explicit ones revealing implicit ones. 

     You had happily stayed in his home for hours, absorbing every word he spoke. What entertained you the most was the ability of your conversation to jump from deep, serious places to lighthearted stories filled with jokes and teasing and back again in a way that felt completely natural. Your favorite anecdote of his was the story of how he got addicted to coffee. It was the BAU’s favorite inside-joke that Spencer liked his coffee sickeningly sweet and you always wondered how he could tolerate it. Just looking at it made your teeth ache. When he told you why, you thought that the backstory was even sweeter than the coffee.

     As a twelve year old college student, Spencer found himself experiencing sleep deprivation for the first time in his life. The course load was more rigorous than he had in high school and even the boy genius needed to readjust to the new expectations of college. More importantly, he needed to cope with pulling late nights at the library if he wanted his first degree by the time he was eligible for a driver’s license. The Red Bulls that the other kids seem to gravitate to seemed far too aggressive for Spencer, their potent smell of chemicals a huge turn off. They were definitely not for him. 

     He remembered how often his mom used to drink coffee, always in the morning while Spencer got ready for school. Being at CalTech and away from his mother, who remained in Las Vegas most of the time due to her condition, made him so homesick that he took up a coffee habit as a reminder of her. He loved the way it smelled like every comfort he had ever known. 

     Though he appreciated its smell, Spencer, of course, was not ready back then to love the way it tasted. He was still after all a twelve year old boy who had a sweet tooth like any other kid. The bitter drink was almost offensive to him, so he always made his coffee with extra, extra sugar. He was a menace to the baristas at the campus coffee cart because they would have to refill the shaker every time he stopped by. As it turned out, Spencer was actually a little troublemaker in his youth. 

     You utterly adored this story and the way it humanized Spencer in a way that other people did not consider often enough. Yes, he was the genius in incredibly advanced classes for his age, but he was also a little kid who behaved as all little kids did. He also experienced struggle and had to cope with it just like everyone else. He was not, as some chose to believe, a complete anomaly beyond understanding. Those many misunderstood idiosyncrasies Spencer had started to feel grounded as you learned more about him and could appreciate how and why they came to be.  

     But the night was dwindling down and two of you had gone through many stories since the start of your day together. Hitting a caffeine crash, you found yourself unable to keep some rogue yawns at bay. It was only eight o’clock in the evening, not an unreasonable time for you to ask Spencer to drive you back home. The rain was letting up to a mellow drizzle. Spencer was running out of excuses to keep you here.

     But you thought about how still hadn’t heard about his first pet lizard, which he caught in his backyard, and you didn’t yet know what kind of music he listened to when he was fourteen. And you no longer thought you needed to make excuses to stay with him longer, so you told him honestly that all you really wanted was to stay the night with him and keep hearing his stories. So you asked him if he would set on a fresh pot of coffee, just so you both could sip at it, staying awake all night together.

     He happily did so, and while he set the large coffee pot on and took out two cups from his cabinet, he thought, this is the first of many wishes of yours that I’d like to make come true.

______

PART THREE

Tag list: @rexorangecounty @rachel-voychuk @snitchthewitch @spencer-blake-supremacy @happyreid187 @rainsong01 @librarymagic 

[kenkamishiro]

Lost in Translation: Choujin X chapter 1

Fun fact, I was planning to do fan translations for Choujin X with a scan group until it could get a simulpub release, though I didn’t expect it to get one from the very first chapter lol. I’m happy though since it means everyone can read it right away and it doesn’t mess up my schedule.

So instead I’ll be making comparison notes between the EN and JP text to supplement the official translation. I’m not doing this because the official TL is bad (I actually think it’s pretty solid and I hope it will maintain this quality) but because it’s inevitable for something to be lost in translation, and it’s nice to have that additional context for theory crafting and whatnot.

If you want to read it on Twitter instead, the original thread is here, but this is the proofread and way more detailed version 😄

This translation isn’t wrong, but there’s an emphasis on それ (which is TLed as ‘it’) that connotes a stronger, “other, that thing” feeling that isn’t present here. The general idea behind this sentence is: That [becoming a Choujin] resembles more of a disease [than a transformation].

Ely talks like a tomboy, she uses rougher speech patterns and the pronoun オラ (ora), a derivative of the masculine 'ore'. But it's a bit old-fashioned (eg. すまなんだ) which makes sense considering her upbringing with her grandfather on a farm. Hence her country bumpkin speech pattern in English.

Not sure if I should use Ellie or Ely? Ellie makes more sense based on the kana, but Ishida explicitly called her Ely so I might stick with Ely for now... (also istg that blond guy with the huge chin is a reference, I've seen him somewhere)

Tokio, I know your teacher is annoying, but it's rude to call her that lol. This is basically the oppai equivalent of paisen (senpai backwards, it’s slangier). Similar thing actually happened with Ely describing her dream hubby as Goldilocks instead of blond; ‘kinpatsu’ (blond hair) was inverted to become ‘patsukin’, hence the translation as Goldilocks.

Kurohara Tokio (黒原トキオ) and Higashi Azuma (東アヅマ). Kurohara is a common surname, means 'black fields'. Tokio is in katakana, so it’s hard to say what kanji it could be. 'Toki' could be 時 (time) or 外喜 (outside + delight). The 'o' can be the common male name suffix 男 (boy).

But when I think of Tokio, I think of TK's song called 'tokio'. You can read the translated lyrics here. If these lyrics end up being relevant to Tokio's character development I will eat my shoe lol.

Higashi means 'east'. Azuma (which can also be romanized as Aduma, it’s a softer ‘zu’ sound which is why Tokio called Azuma ‘Aju’ earlier in the chapter before correcting himself) is an archaic form of ‘east’. So...this guy is literally East East. The Choujin X equivalent of Moon Moon 😂

Someone also informed me that Higashi Azuma is a station in Tokyo, though the kana are slightly different (アヅマ／あづま vs. あずま). They effectively sound the same though nowadays, if I have to be honest. It’s like comparing the difference between 애 and 에 in Korean.

Tbh this is minor, but worth mentioning just cause it changes the meaning a bit. Tokio is saying something more like, “Why are we even talking about this [the roly-polies] again?”

I think I heard people talking about how the official TL doesn’t match the original text, but personally I really like how this was translated! Sis is using the expression  「爪の垢を煎じて飲む」, which literally means “boiling the dirt under someone’s fingernails and drinking it”. By taking the dirt/grime under the fingernails of someone that you admire, and boiling it and drinking it like a tea, you can become more like them.

But because idioms don’t tend to directly translate well between languages, translators often have to adapt it so that the meaning still remains the same. In English the closest idiom we have to this is “rubbing off on someone.” The “holding hands” bit was added to replace the physical aspect of “taking the dirt from someone’s fingernails” and also contribute to Sis’s sassy and very informal way of speaking.

So Sis is saying in JP (ignoring her personal speech style for now):

You should take the dirt from under [Azuma's] fingernails and boil it so you can be more like him.

And now in ENG it becomes:

You guys should hold hands or something, then maybe he’ll rub off on you.

It now sounds natural in English, still carries the same meaning as the original text, and also suits the character’s speech pattern.

Moving on, in that same panel the literal TL of Tokio’s dialogue is, “Policeman Azuma got dispatched again today,” emphasizing Azuma’s heroic deeds along with his family connections to the police. Another thing I want to note is that this is the second time Azuma has been called 偉い (erai) so far - noble, and now great guy. I’ll just dump the general English definition of 偉い from Jisho here so you get the general idea:

Great; excellent; admirable; remarkable; distinguished; important; celebrated; famous; eminent

But you can tell from how people describe Azuma as 偉い that others look up to him, think he’s a great person and Mr. Perfect. Always being placed on a pedestal by others. (What are the odds this will affect his mentality after the Choujin serum?)

The meaning is still pretty much the same, but I’ll offer a slightly different perspective. Sis mentions that if she were Tokio, she’d burst from the [Azuma] complex. (Clearly Tokio and Azuma's relationship is gonna crack at some point)

Tokio mentions an idiom about hawks (taka) before recalling his childhood memory about vultures. Vultures are called 'hagewashi', but in the chapter it mentions they can also be called 'hagetaka' (buzzard/condor, literally bald hawk).

The kids call him names like "Hagetaka Tokio" and "Hageo". But Hagetaka Tokio only really works in JP cause Hagetaka kinda mimics his last name (Buzzard Tokio doesn't give the same vibe). Same with Hageo. Hage-o = Bald-o = Baldy.

I also think Buzzard was chosen over another name for a vulture like Condor because Buzzard can pass off as an insult.

I would have translated this as, “I wanted to be a lion too...” but this is just personal preference.

A continuation of the 「爪の垢を煎じて飲む」 expression Sis used earlier. Without the adapted idiom the exchange goes something like this:

Tokio: My sister said I should bring home the dirt from under your nails. Can I have some?

Azuma: ...huh? What for, that’s scary. No way.

Tokio: I have to boil it and drink it, apparently.

Azuma: Don’t even think about boiling or drinking it.

But since the 「爪の垢を煎じて飲む」 expression was modified to make it sound natural in English, it means this conversation has to be modified too.

JP: My sister said I should bring home the dirt from under your nails. Can I have some?

EN: My sister says we should hold hands...so I can be more like you. What do you think?

The “dirt from under your nails” part got adapted to “holding hands”, hence how the 1st line from Tokio becomes, “My sister says we should hold hands...so I can be more like you.” “Can I have some?” makes no sense now in this context now, so it was changed to “What do you think?” as a question to Azuma to keep the similar conversation flow going.

JP: ...huh? What for, that’s scary. No way.

EN: Huh? What’re you talking about? No thanks.

Azuma’s next line is similar enough to the JP text except for the removal of “scary”. I think the reason it was most likely removed is because leaving it as it is could be constituted as homophobic (2 boys holding hands, absolutely nothing scary about it as bible thumpers would like people to believe).

JP: I have to boil it and drink it, apparently.

EN: She said to hold hands so you’ll rub off on me.

Tokio’s response to that is explaining what he meant by his proposal. In the original text he lays out the latter half of the idiom (he doesn’t even realize it’s an expression, poor boy), and in English he does something similar by going into why his sister said they should hold hands (so Azuma can rub off on Tokio).

JP: Don’t even think about boiling or drinking it.

EN: C’mon. That’s not how things work.

Azuma’s then rebuts Tokio’s proposal as ridiculous. In the original text he drops a typical straight man response (don’t do *insert whatever ridiculous thing the idiot suggested*). But since Tokio’s proposal in English isn’t as preposterous, his rebuttal is toned down in response by telling him not to take it literally.

Ultimately, even though a lot of this dialogue was changed, I still think it was successful in maintaining the original’s intent. Tokio takes his sister’s sarcastic suggestion literally and brings it up to Azuma, who dismisses it as silly. It would be nice if we could keep the expression as it was in Japanese, but in instances like this where it’s played off of in multiple lines, that’s easier said than done.

軟体 isn’t an actual word, it’s made up of the kanji soft + body. So kinda like Elastigirl, but Flexi was chosen instead. It doesn’t sound 100% right, but I don’t think I could come up with anything better.

Replacing the しい in 楽しい with the C plus that elongated pronunciation makes Johnny sound even more like a stereotypical Yankee, which is why he sounds like that in English 😂

Random but I found it interesting how Azuma called Johnny a youkai (妖怪) instead of something like bakemono (化け物) or obake (お化け) since they’re shapeshifting monsters.

Tokio is worried that if he doesn't do something right now, he's going to lose his friendship with Azuma. The sentence is fine as it is though.

Azuma’s line can also be worded as, "No hard feelings, okay?"

Bestial = 獣化 (juuka) = beast+change = beast transformation

That’s it from me, if you have questions about the TL feel free to send an ask or reply to this post, I promise I’ll check my inbox more often this time 😂

[rowanthestrange]

Seeing a lot of people worrying about the WWTDD stuff and Clara and the potential of Yaz dying.

I feel like we’ve got to be leading up to the Doctor bottling it, and Yaz actually having to take her place in one of these major situations. Not just the wwtdd, but also else why have her able to pilot the TARDIS.

And I know that sounds scary and ‘she’s gonna get herself killed’ but I think that’s actually us projecting the same feeling as Yaz’s doubts, that for some reason only the Doctor can do this. When no, no Yaz can probably do whatever she needs to with some backup. Not necessarily entirely safely, but neither can the Doctor. And the result can get her back into the brain state she was in before (and perhaps let her realise her personal capacity to do good as a leader might actually outstrip what she can do as second-fiddle to the Doctor).

But I don’t think we’re looking at a Clara situation, though there will be callbacks of course - we’ve had them already. I think a lot of those theories ignore that by the end Clara had basically suicidally detached herself from her reality on Earth because it was unbearably painful without Rose- Pink, Danny Pink, sorry, and she was exhibiting classic risk-taking behaviour that comes with that. The problem wasn’t just that Clara was ‘doing what the Doctor would’, it was that she was doing it without the Doctor’s ability to survive death. Which she knew and…didn’t care about. One way or the other. She needed the rush to feel good.

Yaz isn’t like that. She seems fairly psychologically well, of course she likes adventure but doesn’t seem to seek adrenaline compulsively, she has family who loves her and she loves back, a sister who’d probably move the universe for her (and then give her an earful), not to mention Ryan, Graham, and even Dan who all have some experience of this life, with the first two proving they know how to encourage psychologically healthy decisions. She refers to herself as not currently being police, because she already got narked at someone for incorrectly omitting the ‘ex’ in there, and she’s not in her role. But there’s nothing saying she can’t go back to that or doesn’t want to - or with Jack’s help somewhere similarly appropriate.

Clara wanted to be the Doctor because she’d lost everyone else she felt she could conceivably be and it made her feel important and alive. Yaz wants to emulate the Doctor because she’s strong, amazing, clever, knows how to save people. She doesn’t literally want to be her, have her exact life and replace her own. She wants to learn.

This experience in the Temple will probably be enough to remind Yaz of that mortality, and she’ll factor that into decisions in a way Clara didn’t want to, and balance it as best she can. And it’s not like she got into this position by a stupid risk in the first place, she just said sure, she’d try to fix something. So will she have to ‘Doctor Up’, yes. But she’ll still be Yaz beneath it all. And will it work out perfectly, maybe not, and will Sonya save her by miraculously turning up to kick someone in the head, maybe yeah. But I really, really don’t think we need to worry about her dying. Not like that.

And besides, surely my rebuttal is somewhat moot to begin with. After all, heartbeat or not, it’s not like Clara really stayed dead either.