#so they're not Specifically defense team

[morninkim]

The Great War is largely over, the majority of Autobots and Decepticons have come to a truce following the deaths of their leaders, Optimus Prime and Megatron. But tensions and errant groups still remain after centuries of civil war, and Autobot City may get caught in the crossfire as Earth's prime Cybertronian Outpost...

Meet Autobot City's main defense team in Transformers: Reconstruction!

Individual character profiles under the cut or under the tag "tf reconstruction"!

[heavens-aesthetic-kitchen]

Why the TF2 Defense Trio deserve more recognition

The people have spoken, I have decided to create an essay disguised as a post on this godforsaken website because it's a free country goddammit! (I would have done it either way lmaooo, I have a lot of shit to say about these maniacs) To start this formal essay glorified very serious shitpost, why should you as a tf2 fan care about these 3 men? They're so "boring" and there's not much going on with them. If ya took a second, let's pause with what was being said. YOU MUST BE OUT OF YOUR GODDAMN MIND to think such thoughts, we must shake you out of cuckoo land by giving you an in-depth look into these three so that you understand where I'm coming from. Let's start in order:

Demoman:

After being in the fandom since 2019, there's always one character I always thought wasn't given much anything in the fandom at all. Even taking ships out of the equation, there's barely any fics I've that focus on Tavish Finneagan Degroot specifically that I've seen that isn't a compilation fic (I read a lot of x readers, don't judge me). Believe me, I checked ao3. I went through Demoman's tags and I tried very hard to filter a lot of the crossover and relationship tags, yet there's less of Demoman himself, than there's him just existing as a side character of a story. Which is honestly sad, I honestly think Demo is one of the more kinder mercs compared to a lot of the team. This man made friends with the BLU soldier, despite knowing that they were supposed to be killing each other. Sure, it's unclear whether or not Demo did actually go through with it and it's just a ruse, because the voicelines in WAR! don't have a set timeline. But I do think that Demo would have tried to keep his friendship with BLU soldier. He's very chill. I've never actually seen him get violent against his friends and family, despite being a drunkard. I honestly think he's one of the sweetest people in TF2, he takes good care of his mom and haunted sword lmaoooo. Jokes aside, he seems like a genuinely good man and I barely see anything that suggests he's sadistic. He's a chaotic and loud, but not bad. Not bad at all. The fact he can still do his job well, even after drinking so much that his body created a whole distillery, is even more impressive. He is damn good at what he does and works very hard. He's had multiple jobs, even as wee little lad. Despite what people think of him, the fact he's getting paid 5 million dollars a year, is proof he knows what he's doing. He loves his job and couldn't bear the thought of not working. I feel like his backstory isn't talked about enough in the fandom either. When you think about it, it's kinda fucked up that he was put in an orphanage by his biological parents until he was in the right age to be blowing people up. Not only that, his eye socket was haunted by the Bombinomicon so that every halloween a giant eye would manifest, attacking him and his friends. Even Medic couldn't help him and instead resorting to scooping the part of Demo's brain where he remembered so he would stop asking. He most likely has a lot of stories for you, I see him as the type that has a lot to say. His past is the most fleshed out and complete out of all the mercs, which I really appreciate, you can do a lot more with him. Also another thing, during Unhappy Returns, he took the time to reassure Soldier that he wouldn't think he's a civilian. He didn't brush Soldier's worries aside and instead comforted him. I wish I had a lot more to say about Demo because I am baffled that he isn't being gushed about as a potential partner. He has the excitement and like zero baggage. A thing I also wanna point out is that he seems to be insecure of the fact he's a black scottish man with only one eye during Meet The Demoman. I may be reading into things a bit too much, but it makes me wanna be like "NOOOO don't talk about yourself like that, bro. You're so cute UGHHH" Also also he's handsome. Sure looks can be subjective, but I still think Demo has a face I would kiss hehe. He looks great with his beard and his cheeky ass smile. GOD I could gush about him all day, but I have to move on rip.

Heavy:

Honestly, I'm having a hard time just finding the words to describe this amazing man without giving him the respect he deserves. But I'll sure try. Heavy has had a difficult life and I've always admired how strong he was. Not just of his muscles, but he endured one of the toughest situations and still kept moving forward with his life even though it was traumatizing. You see why I'm even having a hard time talking about him? I can't really get down into the weeds, without getting serious for a min. I feel like the fandom doesn't give him much credit for being able to deal with so much. He's the rock for his family after his father disappeared (atp I think he's dead, which is the cherry on top this depressing sundae) and I wouldn't doubt that he would be the same for his team. He's a man of few words, but that makes him all the more intriguing. Just because this man has a lot of brawn does not mean he's dumb at all. Despite how he acts in the battlefield, Heavy is observant and clever. Although, it's implied that Spy being Scout's dad is an open secret between the mercs and Miss Pauling, the fact he figured it out without saying it directly must mean he has a lot more going on. He's also educated, getting a phD in Russian Literature. It's not a STEM program, but he actually got a doctorate and went to college, that's a lot more than half of what the mercs did lmaooo. Also he has a bit of a softie side, not just for his mom and sisters, but also other creatures as well. I respect him so much for avoiding violence against those dogs during the Showdown comic. Not only shows what an absolute sweetheart he is, but also how much he's able to think quickly on his feet. Heavy is very direct and blunt, I don't see him as the type to lie about his feelings. I appreciate that he doesn't feel the need to sugarcoat anything, he'll get the job done and he ain't playing. There's no fluff, he knows what he wants and that's to rev up Sasha and ram through sons of bitches without any worries.

I feel like I wanna point out, his story seems the most unexplored in the fandom, even though it has a lot of potential for ANGST factor. I already broke down how sad it is, but I just feel like it isn't said enough. Can I just say how cuddly he looks?! GAH, I feel like he would give the warmest hugs! The way he smiled in Unhappy Returns when he finds out his family doesn't need to live in fear anymore, just melts my heart! He's so protective over his family and friends! I wish I had a lot more to say about this guy because I just can't stop finding more things about him that go unappreciated. I had to literally edit this part so many times before moving on, he just has those little details you don't notice until you take a second and have that OH MY GOD moment

Engineer:

I was getting so hyped, when it was finally our resident southern nerd's time to shine. GOD I have so much to say about this man. It's been over 5 fucking years and I have never stopped simping for this man since 2019, I think I'm gonna go insane from how much I've been repressing, I go feral when he's around. Anyways enough stalling. I don't ever think a fictional character has ever made me swoon quite like Engineer, I really mean that. I have ask and pleaded to whatever god was listening to give me a man like Engie. To me, he is everything I ever wanted and more.

First, I wanna talk about what makes him attractive to me. His accent. His southern charm, UGH he's killing me with that smooth voice and chivalry! I swear this man could make me faint just from existing. The way he smiles is so warm, his insults are so corny I love them. That five o clock shadow GAHH! I'm getting butterflies all over again. I swear I love all three of the defense bois, but Dell Conagher has my heart wrapped around his gunslinger metal finger. All those personal reasons aside, I've always thought Dell Conagher was a very interesting character in the world of TF2. He might not have much screen time or goofy shenanigans like the other mercs, but that doesn't mean you can ignore him oh no no no. This man is important within the whole story of Mann Co and TF industries, his grandfather being the catalyst of the game's events and the comics going forward. The Conaghers are the SOLE REASON why Team Fortress 2's story exists. I find it strange that the fandom hasn't done much with this fact because you can do a lot with this idea. Engineer knows a lot of shit and would be the biggest threat to Helen, if not for the fact that his family has been helping her for years.

Like his backstory, he's not seen much in the battlefield, but he has a lot more going on behind the scenes. Imagine the possibilities. He is damn intelligent and he knows it. While Dell is very sweet and has a southern charm, this is a facade to hide his God complex and sadistic tendencies. If you think this man is just your boring gentle engineer, you've got a big storm coming. It's heavily implied that he sawed off his own arm so that he could use the gunslinger. This man works on projects with Medic and doesn't question the moral implications of putting a human brain in a pumpkin. Hell, he threatened his own employer, even if he was an old man (Granted, Blutarch dug up his grandpa's grave, so he probably should have gotten something a lot worse than just Dell telling him to fuck off). Engineer is more than the texan egghead sweetie pie, he is a mercenary for a reason and I would argue that he might be as insane, if not more than, the rest of the team. No sane man would willingly work with a bunch of war criminals if he wasn't also crazy. That's the thing I really like about him. I love playing as him in the game because it represents his character very well. He technically serves a supportive role to the team with his buildings, but he is a killer with a lot of tools in his disposal, With the right amount of training, he can absolutely dominate in the battlefield.

I feel like he's one of the people that underestimate and assume that he's an easy target, but he's a lot more than that. He has a lot of layers that makes me want to learn more about him and what he has to offer.

In Conclusion:

These guys are cool. Lmaooo okay I won't just end it there. I genuinely believe that they're not getting the recognition that they deserve, they've got a lot more going for them if you pay attention. Sure they might not always be the loudest or most prominant character in the story, but what they lack in quantity, they make up for in quality TEN FOLD. They don't have to be your favourite, but you should at least give them a chance. You never know, they may surprise you.

Okay so thats enough of that, I couldn't find a divider above this message, so you're getting this grainy ass gif. Honestly, I put way too much effort on this shitpost lmaooo, but I just wanted to get my thoughts out in a more concise manner. If you want to add more stuff about these three that I didn't mention, feel free to do so. Anyways thanks for reading

[fandomxpreferences]

It's Me, I'm The April fool

Funny Story Universe

Pairing: Jake Seresin x Mitchell!Reader, Platonic!Bradley Bradshaw x female!reader

TW:mentions of pregnancy, brief mention of breeding kink I think thats it

Summary: Bradley really needs to learn to mind his own business.

Word Count:2.1k

"Well, fuck."

You and Jake stare down at the two pink lines in disbelief, thoughts coming and going at warp speed. Jake is borderline buzzing with happiness and excitement but waits to see your reaction before showing it. 

He looks at the side of your face, trying to get a read on what you're feeling. Truth be told, you aren't sure. There's a mixture of glee and excitement, you know that much. You love Jake more than anything, and the idea of having a mini Seresin running around causes your heart to swell with love. 

Overpowering all of that though, at the very forefront of your mind flashing in giant neon letters, is fear. Not fear of becoming a mother or of Jake running for the hills never to be seen again, but fear of your dad.

He specifically told you to be careful, yet here you are, staring parenthood in the face. It almost makes you laugh because you know exactly when you got pregnant. It happened the same night Mav found out and nearly had a heart attack just at the prospect of you dating Jake. 

In your defense, you usually were careful. It's not your fault that your dad didn't learn his lesson about tempting you and Jake. It also doesn't help that Jake fucking Seresin has one massive breeding kink. You weren't exactly complaining at the time.

"Talk to me, baby. What's going on in that pretty head of yours?"

You're broken from your trance and turn to face your boyfriend. 

"Dad is going to kill us." 

Jake has the nerve to laugh, and you smack his arm with a scowl. 

"It's not funny, Seresin!" 

He manages to get his laughter under control, stifling tiny giggles as he tries to put on a serious face. 

"He's not going to kill you. You're his only child and carrying his only grandchild. Me, on the other hand? Let's hope the only thing he finds worse than a grandchild out of wedlock is a bastard grandchild."

Jake can see you trying not to laugh at his antics, and his stomach flips when he manages to get a smile out of you. 

"There's my pretty girl. We'll figure out Mav later, okay?"

You scoff and roll your eyes, settling back on the counter with your arms crossed. 

"Yeah, because that worked out so well last time." 

He pokes your sides and you almost hate how he manages to cheer you up even in the tensest situations. Almost.

"Well, now we know. I'll make sure to climb to a higher surface so he can't reach me." His face is completely deadpan, and you snort. 

"You're fucking ridiculous." 

Two weeks later, you've both fallen in love with the little bean, and you've had to physically drag Jake out of the baby section in every store you've set foot in. 

You're just leaving the doctor's office, a small black and white sonogram tucked into Jake's back pocket. You're twelve weeks along, and Jake is riding a high only comparable to racing through the skies.

The two of you chat in the car on the way to the Hard Deck; you're supposed to meet the team for drinks. You are still figuring out how to get around that, seeing as no one knows about your little surprise. 

"Do you think they'll have my eyes?" Jake asks, and love explodes in your chest. 

"I hope so. Honestly, I think they'll be a carbon copy of you." 

The thought makes his head swim, and he's consumed by images of a little blonde-haired boy or girl running around with his self-assured attitude. He knows they're going to be a handful, between his arrogance and your ability to charm anyone that looks your way. He can't wait. 

You stroll into the bar, immediately sitting by the pool tables to watch a heated game between Rooster and Coyote. The next couple of hours is spent laughing and making bets on who will win. 

It's not until Rooster orders a round of shots that you start to panic, and Jake can see the way your pupils widen as you try to think of an excuse. The tequila is set down in front of you, and you just stare at it. 

Jake slams his back, and when he's sure no one is looking, he takes yours too. You give him a grateful smile and pray that this isn't a night of heavy drinking. If Jake is doing double, he's going to end up getting his stomach pumped. 

Unbeknownst to you, Bradley does see the interaction and frowns but decides not to say anything. Maybe you're just not feeling well. He doesn't give it much more thought. 

But then, when everyone is leaving and he's walking with you to Jake's truck, something happens. Jake drops something, and when he bends down to pick it up, he sees a little white square sticking out of his pocket. 

He doesn't think twice as he plucks it out and looks at it, always too nosy for his own good. 

You freeze when you see it in his hands, and Bradley's face is as white as a ghost. His eyes rake over the image for a solid minute as you and Jake watch, waiting for the impending explosion. 

"What the fuck am I looking at?" Bradley whispers, and you gulp. 

He peers down at you and takes in the way you're wringing your hands and shifting back and forth. 

"Y/N, what the fuck am I looking at?"

His voice is almost too calm, and you think you broke him for a second. Jake glances between the two of you but remains silent. He's almost certain that if he dares to utter a single word right now, Bradley will be on him, and unlike Mav, he could do severe damage. 

"Surprise?" 

Bradley looks like he's about to faint and vaguely registers bile rising in his throat. 

"No, nope. This is a prank, right? I know you're not dumb enough to get pregnant when Mav expressly told you not to. Maybe Hangman, but not my baby sister." 

You chew on your lip, and Bradley has to fully walk away for a second before rounding back and halting in front of you. 

"Are you fucking kidding me? Do you get off on pissing off Mav or something? You're going to be a single mom!" 

He's practically yelling at this point, and you shush him harshly before yanking him closer to the truck, away from prying ears. 

"No, I'm not, Bradley. Jake isn't going anywhere." 

He gives you a bewildered look and throws his hands up in the air, doing a complete spin to try and process the new information.

"Maybe not by choice, but Mav is going to kill him! I don't mean get angry and yell. I mean full military service, casket in the ground kill him. He just told you three months ago not to get her pregnant out of wedlock." 

He's facing Jake now, and you have to credit the blonde pilot for never wavering in the face of adversity. 

"Well, I actually have a solution to that problem." He shrugs. 

You and Bradley both look at him expectantly. If he has any ideas, you have yet to hear them. 

"We could just elope." 

Bradley barks out a disbelieving laugh, but you don't find the matter funny at all. Marry Jake? Usually, the thought of marrying a man you've been with for less than a year would send you sprinting in the opposite direction, but this isn't any man. 

It's Jake, the man that makes you laugh when you're crying and always eats your mushrooms because you can't stand the texture. The man who was so over the moon at becoming a father that once he knew you were okay, fell to his knees and hasn't stopped talking to your non-existent belly since. 

You're already attached to him for life, and the thought has crossed your mind. You don't hate it. 

"Jake, don't marry me just because I got knocked up." You sigh, and he shakes his head. 

"No, I've been thinking about this since that first night. Just seemed too crazy. It makes perfect sense, though, and Y/N Seresin has a nice ring to it. 

You smile brightly at the sentiment and slowly nod your head. 

"Okay, let's do it. Let's elope."

Bradley lets out a sound akin to a wounded animal, and you're suddenly reminded that he's there. 

"This is the worst idea I've ever heard. Mav will think you're doing it out of obligation and try to stop it. You can't be serious."

You ponder for a few seconds, and Bradley can almost read your thoughts. He doesn't like the look on your face, the one you get right before you drag him into one of your harebrained schemes. 

"So we won't tell him until after."

You say it as if it's the most simple thing in the world, and Bradley's knees almost give out. This is the worst deja vu he's ever had; how the fuck does he keep getting wrapped up in this shit?

"No, absolutely not. Last time you said that I aged ten years in six months. You're pregnant. You can't just hide this for months. How far along are you?"

You release an agitated sigh and lean up against Jake's hood. 

"Twelve weeks."

Bradley's eyes widen, and you would almost feel bad if it didn't look so funny. 

"Twelve wee- what did you get pregnant the night he told you not to?" 

You know it's a rhetorical question but answer anyway. 

"Yeah, actually. It's kind of funny when you think about it." 

Bradley actually sits on the gravel this time, staring ahead into the abyss. 

"It's actually not funny, and I wish I could think about literally anything else. Why am I always the one that has to keep a secret? I hate keeping secrets." 

He's whining, and you stifle a laugh. 

"Because you're always sticking your nose where it doesn't belong. You do this to yourself."

He shoots you a mean glare, and you nudge him with your knee.

"Cheer up. This means you get to be the witness."

His head snaps to look up at you, and his mouth falls open.

"Objection!"

Your eyebrows shoot up, and you choke on a laugh. 

"You can't scream objection in a private conversation, Roos."

He leaps to his feet, and you adjust the angle of your head to stare up at him. 

"Well, I just did. It's one thing to ask me to hide something like this. But you want me to witness your elopement and not tell anyone?"

Jake finally steps in and subtly nudges Bradley back a few inches; he's gotten a little too close for his liking. 

"Well, you're the only one who knows. Besides, it should be someone important to us. We'll have the big wedding after all this is said and done."

Bradley stares him down for a second and ponders the idea. 

"You think I'm important?"

Jake scoffs and throws his arm around your shoulder, pulling you into him. 

"That's what you took away from that?"

Bradley nods, and Jake closes his eyes, already regretting his next words. 

"If I say yes, then will you do it?"

You look on with amusement and give Bradley your best puppy dog eyes. 

"Guess you'll have to find out."

Jake pinches the bridge of his nose and tilts his head back to look at the sky. 

"Fine. Yes, you are important to both of us, and we would love it if you were the one to be there."

The words are almost like acid on his tongue, and he'll never forgive the grinning pilot for making him say it. 

"Okay, I'll do it. But you have to tell Mav soon!" He points his finger at you, and you recoil. 

"Don't point that thing at me, Bradshaw." 

He lowers his hand, and you clap, giddy at the impending nuptials.

"Okay, we'll put it together and let you know. Right now, I want nothing more than to crawl into bed and sleep. This kid is sucking the life out of me."

Bradley snorts and tilts his head to the side. 

"Yeah, I would imagine a Seresin will do that to you." He mutters, and you kick him in his knee. 

"Ow!" He yelps, reaching down to grab the area while hopping on the opposite leg. 

"Watch it. They're half Mitchell too, you know."

Bradley scowls when Jake coughs to cover a laugh, and you turn to hop in the truck. Jake opens the door before giving his friend a nod and driving you home. This should be very interesting.

[celestialholz]

Today in Gay People: Hassel.

There's something I've noticed about our resident art teacher, and that's... well, Flapple. I mean, we all know how gay the whole Applin deal is, but... well, it's where it is that's particularly interesting.

This is Steven Stone's team.

This is Cynthia's team...

This is Wallace's team...

I could go on. (And yes, I'm using champions because, like Hassel, they're important, powerful NPCs with a proper team, and let's be real here, Hassel is five minutes, that Tournament Dragonite and a fuck to give away from kicking Geeta out of his office.)

But the point here is... well, that penultimate slot. The fifth slot in a champion's team - or fourth, in Hassel's case - is reserved for the vice-captain role. It's the Pokemon hardest to take down before the ace, meant to weaken you up - the secondary signature mon. We see here with Milotic - defence for days, Marvel Scale, offensive too. And we see it with Armaldo - excellent attack, difficult type. And then we see it with Gyrados - Dragon Dance, Earthquake, power. Utility. That second-to-last slot is designed to weaken you up for the finale, the real powerhouse of the squad. Leon does it too - his fifth slot is the starter strong against yours, the one you may not have a counter to if your team-building isn't on point.

... And then we have Hassel.

... Now, there's a few things to note here.

Flapple shares the same quad weakness as Noivern, which leads. That's, er... different.

Flapple, statistically, is the weakest Pokemon here. Not by a lot - Dragalge is only ten points or so better, but it's a defensive Pokemon. It's meant to fill that role, as well as being a counter to Fairies.

Flapple isn't the utility mon most penultimate-slot mons are.

... And yet, here it is. Now, I could draw upon Hassel's six-mon Tournament team here, which adds Dragonite into this slot instead, but the Tournament is Hassel fucking about. He's been chilling in the staffroom and someone's gone "oh, that champion-rank kid's up, get out here." The Elite Test line-up is him at work. He's specifically chosen to leave a pseudo-legendary at home... for Flapple.

And why would he do that? @edgeanescence pointed out on the EphemeralArt Discord that the penultimate slot is meant to represent the trainer; the personality and the heart of them, as well as acting as vice-captain. And, well...

Cynthia's is a Milotic. Grace, beauty, the defence of Sinnoh against Cyrus.

Steven's is an Armaldo. A fossil, a Rock-type, the strongest of all fossils at the time - perfect sentiments for him.

Wallace's is a Gyrados. Power, controlled by a former eighth gym slot; ferocity in water.

... And Hassel's is a Flapple. Like him, she has power, but what she represents as a Grass/Dragon is much more important to him than raw offence or defence. She is his softness; she is his tears, and pride in his students; she is part-Brassius. Whether Brassius gave him the Flapple or not is irrelevant, though it's pretty compelling that he did - this man takes a representation of his heart and of his love into battle over the Dragonite, who has 120 more points of stats. By rights, even if he's leaving the Dragonite at home, Haxorus should be here if this is about power, not Flapple.

And you can tell me that it's about game balance as much as you like, but oh look:

Brassius's rematch team, everyone, and look at that penultimate slot.

Look at that Arboliva sculpture, with Brass's own spikiness and Dragon-type purple-tinged blue.

Brassius is not like Appletun, the obvious counterpoint here. Brassius is drama; Brassius is a man formerly weak, much like Smoliv; Brassius is not home comforts, apple pies, yet he's surprisingly kind and encouraging. Reminding you of anything?

... Ah, yes. Arboliva, depending on mood. And, if you're not already convinced...

That's Flapple, in the Violet dex. Strong, and covered in clay. Like a fucking artist, or a man who loves a sculptor.

When the chips are down, when they show up to work, when they have important, key battles, Hassel and Brassius don't just take their Pokemon to the arena.

They take themselves, and they take each other.

[onyourowndaisymae]

what your fav obey me love interest says about you (except they're only the reasons i'm attracted to them) (the sequel)

Lucifer

you want someone to have all the answers for you and to take the stress of being perfect off your shoulders

the sexiest thing a man can do is handle anxiety-inducing situations for you. if someone made a doctor's appointment on your behalf you'd swoon

Mammon

you like flawed love interests who, at the end of the day, still have a very solid core of kindness and love

you want to date someone that is obscenely proud to simply hold your hand or be known as your man in public

Leviathan

you are introverted and want a partner that understands your struggles

a partner's struggles with accepting/offering affection are endearing to you (whether for teasing reasons or because it's relatable. or both)

Satan

a person that likes cats is a person worth investing your energy into. understands boundaries, doesn't need constant attention, will feed strays w you... def a winner

receiving a love letter would actually kill you (said positively and with so much yearning)

Asmodeus

you want someone to bully you into loving yourself

there's a little rush in locking down the hot person everyone wants and knowing they're obsessed with you and only you

Beelzebub

being around someone who is constantly eating makes you feel less weird about eating anything ever (bc who the hell is gonna notice when he's gnawing on drywall next to you?)

there's a small part of you that wants to relive the silly romcom dream of cheering on your partner at their sporting event and having them almost get pummeled bc they're so enamored with you while they're supposed to be playing

Belphegor

napping together is a real and actually pretty nice date in your head

you find a combination of forwardness and bashfulness endearing. watching someone be so open about how much they desire you (and even tease you about wanting them!! the nerve!!) to blushing and getting defensive about their affection towards you is. mwah. chef's kiss

Diavolo

you like the idea of someone so important making time and space in their life to be a normal partner for you

you have an authority kink admire strong, driven people who devote themselves to their duties

Barbatos

acts of service is your (receiving) love language

hidden power/authority is attractive to you, especially when it's not flaunted or shoved in people's faces

you watched black butler at a critical age and thirsted after sebastian

Simeon

you are team "men should dress sluttier"

you want a partner that's strong, sensible, and stable to balance out the active trainwreck that you are and will continue to be

Solomon

having a partner willing and actively teaching you (specifically in a subject you're good at, it's not fun when you're shit) is kinda attractive ngl

a goofy motherfucker also being super skilled in a surprising array of disciplines AND able to defend you in case of emergency (looking at you, lesson 11 of nightbringer) is so hot

[the original]

[dgrailwar]

Round 11, Day 1 - Team Alter-Ego

"And then there were five. So, who's next? I'm sure the others are all shaken at the idea of Servants actually dying. The horror of it all. Best to keep up the momentum, no?"

SERVANT DETAILS

HP: 3/3

Team Alter-Ego has all 1 Command Spell remaining!

Servant Skills:

Melt Virus (EX Rank) - When engaged in a Free-for-All, inflict all foes with a -3% demerit. If Meltryllis gains 1st place in the Free-for-All by a margin of 10% or more, inflict a -3% demerit to your foes for their next round and gain a +3% boost for your next combat round.

Crime Ballet (A Rank) - When engaged in a one-on-one, increase the Alter-Ego Class Trait one-on-one boost to +5% rather than +3% (+6% if targeting a Servant that's Playing Defensively).

Saint Graph Expansion (B Rank): When engaged in a Free-for-All, gain a +2% boost. Additionally, if Alter-Ego finds herself in a tie against an opponent in a one-on-one (according to the final results, including boosts), her opponent takes a wound and a -2% demerit while she fully escapes damage and gains a +2% bonus for the next round.

Class-Trait:

ALTEREGO-CLASS Servants fight at their best when given a specific target. When engaged in a standard one-on-one confrontation, they gain a +3% boost. If attacking a Servant 'Playing Defensively', they gain a +4% boost instead.

PRETENDER-CLASS Servants possess an inherent trickster nature. If they fall in last place during a Free-for-All, if there is a gap of 3% within their final score and that of the Servant in 2nd place, they can evade taking a wound. Additionally, if they're victorious against other Servants, other teams cannot attempt to study the Pretender in order to gain a percentage bonus against them.

[artbyblastweave]

Hey so, thought exercise, how do you think Taylor would fare if she got dropped into the invincible universe? For the sake of mechanics let's say she literally gets dropped in via doorman portal or something.

So one thing about Invincible is that I think it's setting is protagonist-centric in a way that Worm's isn't. To the extent that Invincible's setting has worldbuilding- worldbuilding that isn't, like, ported in from the books's early association with the confederated Image Comics shared universe- it's worldbuilding that exists to convey the impression of a big-two-flavor universe. Here's our spin on the undersea kingdom, here's the riff on the Martians, here are our riffs on SHIELD, on Gotham, on Themyscira, on 70s blaxploitation-adjacent heroes, and so on. This is the entire ethos underpinning the Guardians of the Globe in particular- piggybacking on pre-existing audience affection for the Justice League to convey that it's a Big Fucking Deal when the guardians get blendered in issue 7.

You have flashbacks demonstrating that there was capital-S Superhero Stuff going on in the seventies and eighties, or as far back as the thirties with Immortal, you create the impression of a status quo, a big pond in which Mark is a little fish. And to Kirkman's credit, some effort clearly went into making sure that the non-Mark capes are sufficiently fleshed out that you can believe that they've got other stuff going on in their lives. But at the end of the day, it's the Invincible universe. You don't see a lot of people talking about the Guarding the Globe spinoff. Many of the most interesting characters- Cecil being a big example here- are interesting because of the ways in which they bounce off Mark specifically, the ways in which he chooses to deal with them. The universe is less of a character in the story the way that Earth Bet is- it's just the place where Mark's story, specifically, is happening. If there's a codified setting bible, I'll eat my hat.

Now of course the world of Worm is, in many ways, equally Taylor-centric, because that's what it means to be the protagonist. But owing in part to the themes of the story, and in part to the sheer number of false-start protagonists Wildbow played around with before settling on Taylor, it's very good at conveying the idea that there are many stories happening in this setting and Taylor's is just the one this particular work happened to focus on. There's an actual point to doing OC worldbuilding for what the superhero scene looks like in Wormverse Denver or Seattle or whatever- whereas you can come up with superhero teams for Invincible-verse Denver, but what actually ties them to that universe? What are you getting out of putting them in Invincible specifically, that you wouldn't get from whipping up a barebones MASKS setting to support your OCs? Anyway. This is a really long way of getting to my real point, which is that I think the question is less "how does Taylor bounce off the Invincible setting" and more "How does Taylor bounce off Invincible the character, around whom the setting orbits even when it pretends not to."

This I'm unsure of, because where do you stick her in his life where you get an interesting dynamic? One thing that's interesting here is that Mark's overall character arc already involves learning a lot of taylorisms- the strategic ruthlessness, the shift from a good-evil dichotomy to a helping-not-helping dichotomy-so what about his arc is going to change if they spend time together? Why would they spend time together? Given the different power levels on display, what would differentiate her, in his experience, from the dozens of filler capes that exist for him at the level of "vague acquaintance?" This is assuming she's active as a cape at all, which she might not be if this is Post-GM. Mutual association through Cecil and the Global Defense Agency might be a hook- maybe they're paying for her new arm or something- but would she latch her cart to Cecil's wagon in the first place, barring some obvious crisis situation? Hard to say. If she's depowered, and present in his life somehow in a civilian context, well, that's a fast-track to not being part of the story anymore either, given how Mark's civilian connections slowly fading away was kind of a quiet plot point.

There's some configuration of these pieces that could be interesting, but I'm not quite sure what they are. Soliciting input here.

[motocorsas]

okay i actually do have a hottake re: marc hater in unhinged confessions. as a marc disliker i think i see where they're coming from but disagree with the delivery. this is gonna be a long one.

they're correct about everything, like from a factual standpoint. marc did win an absurd amount of races in the 2010s, he did push honda to build a bike that favored his style, he did leave for ducati and he does still get tows.

but i think they're overinflating how much those facts affected his career. like, 2013 still happened; that wasn't a bike that favored him and he was riding on tracks he'd never even seen before. he's naturally talented, there's no way around it. and i see how that can be frustrating too -- i started watching motogp in about 2017 and i didn't like marc from the get-go. frankly, no matter how many exciting overtakes or impressive saves there are, if you can predict the outcome of a race before it starts, it's not a very entertaining one, or at least it adds up to a pretty boring season. that's how i felt.

as far as the concept of "overcommitment": this is a very niche term, also called overconformity, used in sports sociology. the idea proposed by some sociologists is that sportsmen subscribe to the ethic of the sport -- the pervasive ideas on what the sport should be, and what it means to be participating in it -- but some take it too far, and it becomes self-sabotage. sociologists jay coakley and robert hughes describe the core tenets of the theory:

overconformity is not just about wanting to win or be superior to other competitors, it's an uncritical belief in the mythology of a given sport.

coakley and hughes' framework was developed to explain deviance, or a deliberate action that breaks the rules or norms of a sport. they use multiple examples, but focus on the use of PEDS.

here's the problem: is marquez deviant?

he's certainly sacrificed his own wellbeing to get ahead. i think this is a functional analysis when looking at marc's injuries, multiple of which have temporarily or permanently disabled him. he internalized the messages of the sport, that winning is the only option and injuries can or even should be sustained to achieve it. but he's not breaking any rules by riding injured, he's doing something glorified as heroic. same thing with hitching tows, which is perhaps closer true deviance; a tactic disliked by many other riders that benefits one participant at the cost of another. a ban on towing would be difficult to enforce, so the practice goes unchecked, even if it is typically outside the boundary of acceptable behaviors. where anon's analysis really falls apart is in his off-track decisions, like choosing to switch from honda to ducati. he made an informed decision to switch manufacturers to improve his performance. that's just the way the game works.

when speaking about the ways he contributed to the development of the modern honda project, my opinions start to get a little messier. because i do think that bike was made with his specific style in mind, and i think that's selfish. but i also think just about every rider is selfish, because that's how the sport works.

there have been outliers, teammates dedicated to the craft, the altruists ready to defend their garage-mate's championship hopes at the price of their own. consider jack miller's defense of pecco bagnaia when they were teammates. but even his opinions changed:

the above quote was published in 2021, just before the misano grand prix, which pecco did end up winning while miller finished fifth. the next year, he had this to say:

not all riders are going to sacrifice their career for another's. that's just not the way it works, especially if, as i discussed above, said rider has fully internalized the sport's ethic. though marc's prowess on the honda did come at the cost of more riders' success than just one teammate -- the independent teams leasing hondas also have to contend with the bike and its quirks, leading to plenty of nasty crashes. marquez himself acknowledges it.

the honda of the mid to late 2010s was the sharpest of the v4s, took a very angular line that required absolutely godlike reflexes in order to turn correctly. you had to know exactly when and where to shift, brake, release the brake, and open the throttle again, and you had to do all of this with milisecond-perfect accuracy. just about only marc was able to make it work. if you disagree, don't listen to me. listen to jorge lorenzo, who said this in an interview with Motorsprint earlier this year:

the exception to this rule was pedrosa, who was able to adapt to the honda build, but still didn't win a championship.

i've spent enough time building my argument. what all of this amounts to is that yes, your honor, marc marquez is guilty of being too good at motorcycle racing. he has sacrificed his body and plenty of other riders' in the name of creating the perfect team, the perfect bike, the perfect career.

it's up to you to choose how to feel about all of this. personally, i don't care for him, but more than that i worry about his safety and his mental state. i think if he sustains another head injury, it may be time to make the executive decision to retire. brain damage is serious, and though he recovered from the vision problems that plagued him in 2021, they have the potential to return if re-injured. i may buy into the villain narrative from time to time, but i recognize that it is just that, a narrative. a story i tell myself to make sense of the sport. we are all in charge of our own interpretations. in summation: marc fans are not "brainless". let's make sure marc doesn't end up that way either.

[sassypantsjaxon]

I've seen quite a few people comment on how Sensoji bullied Shouta in high school, but I've never seen anybody talk about how he didn't treat Hizashi or Oboro any better.

Like...Shouta literally doesn't care??? Shouta just...ignores everything he does??? Which is easy enough when you really only have to put up with someone when your classes have joint training. Hizashi on the other hand? Hizashi's the one who's stuck with him.

Sensoji clearly doesn't think much of Hizashi. We've seen him steal his ideas-and take credit for them, mock him and his friends, and quite literally shove him aside so he can get all the glory in a fight (the interesting thing about that is that 1. Hizashi is smart 2. Even after interning somewhere else, Hizashi is still the only one who knows Oboro and Shouta as well as they know each other. He would have been able to actually analyze and predict their strategies, but by throwing Hizashi away, Sensoji also threw away his best chance at actually beating them)

through it all, Hizashi seems to mostly shrug it off and take Shouta's advice to ignore him. Except when it's Shouta himself that Sensoji takes a jab at. Then Hizashi immediately jumps to his defense.

But still, one has to wonder how much of this Hizashi had to endure during his internship? How often has all this happened? How many times has Sensoji taken credit for Hizashi's ideas? How many times has he shoved him aside and said you're not needed here? How many comments has he made about Shouta or Oboro, just to see how far he could push, then to switch to bullying Hizashi, just to see how much further he could go? And many times did Hizashi just...let him?

Then jump forward to when they're adults. Sensoji's stayed with the Buster Union, while Hizashi's parted ways with them, only to return for one big team up. And...there doesn't seem to be any hard feelings between them. That's not surprising on Hizashi's part, it's been repeatedly shown that he's not the type to hold a grudge (there's a really good analysis on that I reblogged a while back that I can link if anybody wants to see it). And Sensoji seems...annoyed by Hizashi's...exuberance, let's call it, but he seems to actually listen to and respect Hizashi's input. There's no more of the antagonism we saw from him as a teenager.

So there's clearly been a shift in their dynamic. And you kind of have to wonder, was it just Sensoji growing up and learning how to work with others better? Or was there something specific Oboro's death that triggered a change?

[cherrirui-official]

Friendlocke Violet Gijinkas (Part 4/7)

Hell yeah we're over halfway done! Isn't that crazy? I don't have too much to say here sooooooo onto the usual stuff

I plan on posting them in order by groups of three, so there's gonna be seven parts in total, all of which I'll be linking here when done vvv

(Part One) (Part Two) (Part Three) (Part Five) (Part Six) (Part Seven)

!! These will contain personal headcanons I have for the cast, little fun facts, and also spoilers for Friendlocke Violet (for both the edited vids and the streams) !!

@saltydkart-reblogs

Designs under the cut!

VRISKA:

Vriska has an extra set of arms that they can retract and extract whenever they please. However, they usually keep those arms hidden.

The long needle she's holding is her trusty sword that she's used since her pirate days. She doesn't use it as much as she used too, but it's good to keep it on her for self defense in case of an emergency.

The marks on thier neck and shoulders aren't tattoos, they're birthmarks.

Good at sewing, as she often would have to fix her coat after getting into epic pirate sword fights. Sara and Vriska are sewing buddies!

It is unknown why they're unable to sleep, but while the rest of the team sleeps they often find themselves wandering around and doing whatever they want.

Artist's note: I based Vriska's design off the fact that I wanted to make her look like a bootleg version of the og Vriska. As in "Hey that's Vriska" but also "That's not VRISKA" if you get what I mean

MALL BINGO:

Trained herself to become resistant to poison (and by "trained" I mean she just ate a bunch of poison until her body became almost immune to it... please don't try this at home.)

Often goes scavenging for items when she's doesn't feel like robbing someone. If she's lucky enough she'll find some good items scattered around because "stupid trainers often leave good shit on the ground for some reason" (due to all the items you can pick up from the ground ingame lmao)

Mal lost her leg in one of her first heists, after she and another pawmi tried stealing from the wrong person at the worst possible time.

The gun she keeps with her wasn't originally hers, it belongs to someone else.

On a more positive note, Mal has plenty of stories and tall tales to share. She learned them from the eldest in her little pawmi group, as they would often tell her stories before going to sleep. Mal will often share those same stories with Peppy Jr and Mykyie Jr.

Can and will bite you. You won't be expecting it. Be warned.

GRUNPILO:

Due to his abundantly long hair, Grunpilo often lets Mal play around with it and style it however she wants.

It is unknown how or why he picked up on puppetry specifically, but it makes him happy so who are we to judge?

Speaking of which, he creates his own puppets by hand, from simple sock puppets to marionettes on strings. The two hand puppets shown are his favorite ones though.

Sometimes he'll be found speaking to them as if they're real.

Not good in social situations or confrontation, so Mal will sometimes have to speak for him. ("EXCUSE ME! He asked for no pickles!" /ref)

EXTREMELY light, very easy to pick up.

And that's all! Only three more batches left woo, hopefully I can finish them by the end of the year lol.

[shuttershocky]

So what are your thoughts on the second AK x R6 Collab? Do you look forward to it?

Personally, I'm a little sad my boys Wamai, Jager, Glaz, etc didn't make the cut, nor any of the Nighthaven crew like Osa and Kali. This makes sense (HG's approach is basically isekaing the Rainbow crew into Arknights and passing them off as funny aliens in a world of animal people rather than using any Rainbow Six storylines, which is probably for the better), I'm just a little sad that among the new batch the only character I actually play often enough to call a main is Fuze.

That being said, I'm looking forward to it. Originium Dust was one of my favorite AK events, and I really liked how HG translated the R6 characters into its tower defense gameplay, they showed some real creativity along with a weirdly specific understanding of Siege memes (such as the Rainbow ops calling Tachanka, Lord Tachanka, which is not something that's canon to R6S that's an in-joke the players have because Tachanka is a terribly weak but beloved and fun character).

____

What makes me confident they'll bring that same creativity to translating their FPS gameplay into Arknights is that they made Doc an Instructor Guard. Like, holy shit, it takes a great understanding of Siege to see a medic character whose special skill is that he heals people and then NOT make him a Medic in AK.

Do you know why Doc's an Instructor Guard despite being a medic? Because when you actually see a Doc in a match of R6 Siege, they don't sit behind their allies pumping them with heals every time they take damage. You only have limited healing darts, and you can heal people at full HP to overheal. No. When you're fighting a Doc, you see him grab a partner (usually Rook), jamming them full of heals while their health is full to overdose on their HP, then healing HIMSELF to overdose his HP, and then both of them run out of cover guns blazing to kill as many Attackers as they can before they are blown to hell.

HG understands that well enough that instead of making him a medic, they make him the Guard class that sits behind another unit, buffing them but also meant to do DPS. That's fantastic, I am completely sure someone at HG remains a dedicated Siege player to this day.

Plus, I do love that the Free units on both R6S events are notoriously terrible but fan-favorite characters. Before his rework in R6S, Tachanka sucked ass, and after his rework he still wasn't picked competitively all that much, but he HAD to be the star of the event because he's Lord Tachanka with an LMG that rips through everything and is incredibly satisfying to use. In the same vein, Fuze is infamous for LOSING more games for his team than winning, since his gadgets are bouncing cluster bombs that often kill his teammates, the hostage they're rescuing, or even himself sometimes while completely missing actual enemies. You pick this guy and it's halfway to a loss already, so you're either a god on Fuze, a madman, maybe both, and that's absolutely why he's the next free unit. Now all of AK can get to experience griefing themselves with Fuze RNG. Fuck yeah.

[sumsumstrashbin]

Hiya! I have another request. May I request one for James where the reader is in a different house (Preferably Hufflepuff cause that's mine, but if you prefer to keep the reader's house neutral (like it can be any of the other 3) idm either) where she's on the Quidditch team, and they beat Gryffindor, making James really sad cause it means the Gryffindor lost the Quidditch Cup that year (they're in 7th year in my head) and a few days later, Sirius comes up to her after a class and asks what she did to James, and Sirius explains that he's been really sad since the match, and the reader takes it upon herself to cheer James up, Sirius having 'accidentally' mentioned that James has a massive crush on the reader... I just have a lot of Marauders' oneshots.... sorry if the plot is quite specific.

𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐮𝐢𝐭 ~ 𝐣𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐱 𝐡𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐩𝐮𝐟𝐟!𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭!

─────── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───────

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬: 𝟕𝟖𝟎

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: 𝐠𝐫𝐲𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐜𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐩𝐮𝐟𝐟, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚 𝐮𝐩𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮.

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: 𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐞?

─────── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───────

The stands of the Quidditch pitch were roaring with life as you dove down on your broom, catching the snitch and ending the last match of the year. The Hufflepuff crowd cheered and waved banners around in excitement, while the Gryffindor spectators groaned and accepted their disappointing defeat. As your team was announced the victors of this year’s Quidditch Cup, you soared down to the field with the rest of your teammates to celebrate.

Amid the celebrations, you couldn’t help but glance over at the Gryffindor team, who was mourning their loss. James, your supposed “rival” looked completely disheartened, his dismay evident on his face. You exchanged a glance, and offered him a sympathetic smile as a truce, but he couldn’t return favour.

He trudged off the field with the rest of his team, and you shrugged off his reaction, continuing to celebrate with your friends.

─────── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───────

A few days had passed since the last game, and the parties were finally beginning to die down. However, your housemates insisted on one last bash to end off the year together before most of you graduated.

You were on your way back to your dorm after dinner to get ready for the party when you bumped into Sirius in the hall. You hadn’t seen him or any of the other Marauders since the Quidditch cup, though you hadn’t noticed that until now.

“Oi, Y/n. I need to talk to you.” Sirius spoke, putting his hands on his hips.

“What about?” You questioned, folding your arms.

“What have you done to James?”

You stared at him in confusion, racking your brain. “What do you mean? I haven’t done anything to him.”

“Merlin, I’ve never seen him so down before. All he does is mope around our dorm.”

“He can’t seriously still be so upset about the match.” You replied in disbelief.

“Maybe if we had lost to Slytherin he’d be less glum, but of course he had to lose to you.” 

“What’s that supposed to mean? What’s the difference?” You asked defensively.

“How could he not be upset when he fancies you as much as he does?” His eyes widened at his own statement, and he smacked a hand over his mouth. “Forget I said anything. Enjoy your party.” He rushed off without giving you time to react, leaving you absolutely dumbfounded in the corridor.

─────── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───────

As you got ready for the party, you couldn’t stop thinking about what Sirius said. Did James really have a crush on you? How had you not noticed? You thought this whole time that his playful banter with you during matches was just team rivalry.

You decided to confirm whether or not what Sirius said was true, grabbing your broom on the way out of your dorm.

─────── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───────

James was busy laying in bed and sulking when he heard a knock on his dorm window. He walked over, inspecting the source of the sound. As he looked out, he spotted you, sitting on your broom and hovering right next to the glass.

“What in Merlin’s name are you doing?” He questioned as he opened the window.

“I’m here to get you off your ass.” As you spoke, you flew right through the window and into his room, hopping off of your broom.

“You’re bloody insane, you know that?” He said, fighting back the smile that was curling the corners of his lips upward.

“You’re the insane one. You’re so upset about losing that you haven’t had the courage to face me since the match. That’s not very “big brave Gryffindor” of you, James.”

He scoffed, rolling his eyes. “That’s easy for you to say. You’re the one that won.”

“Sirius might’ve let it slip that you fancy me. Is that true?”

Surprise and panic flashed across his face, though he tried to play it cool. “What? That’s not true in the slightest.”

“Is that so? Because I’ve never seen you so deeply upset about losing before.”

“So you admit that you watch me?”

“I never said that. I’m just saying, it’s hard to not notice.” You shrugged. “But anyway. I came to invite you to the Hufflepuff party tonight. Like, right now.”

“And why would I be interested in attending this party?” 

“Oh, shut up and get dressed.” You quipped. “I’ll be waiting outside of your common room.”

“Fine.” He said with false reluctance, grabbing some clothes out of his trunk.

You mounted your broom, flying out the window but remaining near the opening. 

“Oh, and James?”

“Yeah?” He turned to look at you.

“Dress nicer than that. It’s a date.”

─────── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───────

𝐚/𝐧: 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐰𝐨…?

[gatitties]

Would you ever consider writing a continuation of your ‘Not in my world’ writings?

─ Strawhats, Heart Pirates & Kid Pirates x isekaed!student!reader

─ Summary: you are definitely not made for this world, luckily you have a good protective squad!

─ Warnings: none

Part one / Part three (Kid Pirates)

I have some more thoughts in mind but not many ideas, although I'm open to suggestions with the theme if you would like something specific :')

─ Before you were struggling with the stress of exams, now you're struggling with the stress of this crew, you can't even spend five measly minutes calm because you're already in hot pursuit.

─ Good side, no one knew you and no one seemed to notice you (just like in your class haha…) which got you rid of a 'wanted' poster at least for now.

─ Bad side, you were exposed to a ridiculous amount of dangers from which you couldn't defend yourself (beyond punching or biting someone).

─ Luckily you have a captain who gave you complete security, and when he was being stupid you always had a swordsman watching your back, and if he was lost you had a cook by your side to help, but if he was too busy (flirting) you also had the strength of a cyborg at your side, and if none of them were there to help you only had one thing left…

─ Cry.

─ You didn't underestimate the protection of Nami, Usopp, Robin, Chopper, Brook or Jinbe, but you felt much safer with those four idiots, for no specific reasons, they were the ones who got you out of trouble the most, but you would trust them all with your life.

─ And speaking of crying, it was the best way to deal with all this pressure of the change in the world, even though in your previous life you were not completely happy, the radical change still affects you, Robin was the one who consoled you the most for that and you always come when you feel bad.

─ At least, you left some of your pessimistic thoughts about your future or what was going to become of it, you just have to enjoy the little moments of peace that you had traveling through this world.

─ Sometimes you got a little irritated because everyone saw you as a scaredy cat (which you really were) and they saw you as a baby that they had to protect, you weren't even that little! although you were not going to complain about the protection when you find yourself in trouble.

─ Without a doubt, it was a change of scenery for the better (largely also for the worse) because it helped you forget about things from your old life and rebuild your person, maybe a little change didn't hurt you, but you still feared for your life when side of this team.

─ You definitely get a lot of hugs with Nami and Usopp when something scary happens.

─ Chopper still scolds you for your sleep schedule and has Brook put you to sleep early for your health.

─ Although you have improved your eating schedules and have started eating healthier thanks to Sanji.

─ You also started training with Zoro and Jinbe, not as intensely, just some defense and stamina because you're going to need it if at some point they're not there to save you.

─ It is clear that Law does not make much of an appearance, rather it's his actions that put him so high on the wanted list, he is much more discreet than Luffy.

─ But that doesn't mean that all his demands to keep you in the submarine cause you stress, much less than before, but it persisted in the back of your mind, couldn't he understand you from emo to emo?

─ Luckily, being a student means that most of the time you have to fend for yourself to survive tests, exams, works... without help because good or kind teachers? Nah, that doesn't exist or they're an endangered species, so you pretty much know how to do everything.

─ Or at least learn fast and adapt, you quickly accepted the dangers of the world and most importantly how not to attract attention (it's not like you had done it before), anyway you were learning from the best, Law knew very well how to go unnoticed.

─ The good thing, you took this whole thing as a little vacation, it didn't bother you too much not leaving the Polar Tang, plus it meant less trouble and less fear of someone stabbing you or something.

─ The bad thing, Law was very demanding with everything, he reminded you of a child demanding new toys (surgical material), unfortunately you couldn't disobey if you didn't want to end up abandoned to your fate.

─ From what you know Law is quite strong so you should be around him, the problem is that you are not useful when you get mentally worn out and it seems that if you receive a lot of demands your mind will just shut down and do everything wrong.

─ Of course, your captain will notice and let you rest and urge you to go out for a while when they stop on an island, he will keep an eye on you because he knows that your appearance stands out from the others, he did not have infinite clothes and sometimes you used the outfit with you ended up here.

─ Luckily you always had your back covered, if he wasn't there, Shachi and Penguin would always follow you as a good dynamic duo, they helped clear your mind due to the amount of absurd comments or jokes they told.

─ Bepo is always there for a hug, the best hugs you've ever had.

─ You started some self defense lessons with Jean Bart just for good measure.

─ Law would like to scold you for your bad sleep schedule but he was no one to talk about it…

─ However, he doesn't take long to point out all the things that are harmful to your health, like when you sit like a shrimp causing back pain.

─ You are doomed, if you thought Luffy was someone who made a scandal it is because you do not know this crew, you definitely threw away a long time ago (literally the first minutes in this world) the possibility of ending up in a beautiful or peaceful place, free of anxiety.

─ Before it caused you a bit of discomfort that your classmates didn't count on you with some activities, now you are more than grateful that your presence is like that of a ghost.

─ Kid doesn't care much if you get into fights or if you draw the attention of someone who could hurt you, if you are inside his ship you must be strong, he only cared that you didn't hurt yourself because he didn't want to have to clean your brains from his boat deck.

─ Don't worry about it, Killer has your back, even if he doesn't show it, he feels sorry for you and your unfortunate encounter with his world, because he was the one with whom you vented the most as if he were your own mother, he will do everything possible by talking to Kid so that don't expose you to so many dangers.

─ Kid agreed to be more 'soft' about your weakness since you were useful in many aspects, you know, you're not stupid and you know how to adapt despite being terribly scared.

─ The good side, you were stopped from involving yourself in small crew tournaments, be it wrestling, drinking, or even a little thumb wrestling, not to mention you wouldn't actively participate in anything that required force or violence.

─ The bad side, they started treating you like the most fragile person on the planet (Kid no, he just stopped being less of an idiot with you), you constantly had Heat and Wire as your personal bodyguards but there came a point where it was ridiculous even for you.

─ It's not like you've never felt scared (or harassed) of someone in your other life, not that you were a warrior, but if you had to throw punches, you were going to.

─ This is how you began to learn to fight with Killer, although he didn't like the idea very much either, he accepted because it never hurts to know something about defense.

─ They all agreed not to bombard you too much either with questions or tasks, they knew what would trigger your anxiety and didn't want you sticking any more forks anywhere else in their bodies, Wire was good at calming you down in the moments you were within a second of hysteria.

─ You couldn't determine if you preferred to suffer in your previous life or in this one, but you thought that being here gave you the courage to live that you didn't have before and you believed that you could improve your person now that you didn't feel so much social pressure on you, in a certain way, you were free.

[prism-forgone]

Deltarune Classpect Assignment, or: We've Been Godless For a Very Long Time Y'all

Everything that happens next can be blamed on the tumblr user @vriskologymajor. They literally asked for this to happen in response to me stating i have Some thoughts on the subject x. Enjoy the carnage lmao

Note that this whole analysis is over 2000 words long. I'm putting everything below Susie under the cut but there's also an analysis of Noelle, Kris, Ralsei, Berdly and a surprise someone in there. Please read it. Pretty please.

EDIT: An ask in which I elaborate about the secret bosses can be found here: x

Here's what's gonna happen. I'm going to provide the classpects i believe the main characters can be aligned with and my reasoning for both parts of the title. Be aware this is my own personal opinion and every classpect analyst's opinion is worth its salt because, frankly, classpects are insane. Okay. God. Let's get to this.

Susie // Knight of Rage

Susie's classpect might for real be the easiest and most obvious one I've ever assigned. It seems incredibly open-and-shut once you think about it. I don't think many are going to disagree with at least the aspect assignment but I'm going to monologue about it some more anyway because there's a lot more in support of this than some might think and it's actually pretty interesting.

Rage is the immovable object of aspects - Ragebound are incredibly volatile not only to their environment but to narrative itself. They're unpredictable and can quite literally go against the powers that be (i.e. narrate the story) because they don't feel like following their directions. And Susie does that routinely - she cuts off the player's choice and states their decisions don't matter while being inside an RPG and, in Chapter 1, quite literally refuses to listen to their commands. She is the one that initiates the revelation that her and Ralsei can act on their own, and picks a third option from the two given to the player, splitting the party and leaving its leader alone.

When it comes to less meta elements of this aspect, the main thing that comes up is her strong emotions. Contrary to the name, Rage is not only about anger. It is largely about negative emotions, though. In addition to anger, doubt, bitterness, aggressiveness or fear (specifically of being betrayed, left alone or lied to) are all emotions Susie exhibits quite a lot. Fortunately, she finds a way to utilize those and vent them out instead of bottling them up or lashing out, and she does that by... oh man, utilizing them? If only there was a class that did that, huh-

Yeah, Knights have a tendency to weaponize the elements of their aspect A Lot. With a Knight of Rage, it's something among the lines of a barbarian in DnD - they utilize their negative emotions to gain strength, using it as a means for attack and protection; both literally and on a more interpersonal level. And Susie does both! She's a bully both before and during a good part of Chapter 1 but it seems very much so that she's projecting, especially when it comes to the entry on Noelle's blog. It's a defense mechanism to hurt before you get hurt.

It's not surprising in the slightest - Knights tend to have incredibly low self-esteems. Later on she switches to a different strategy - she lets her strong emotions fuel her attacks and even further down the line, her S-Actions. Her demeanor switches to very explicit protectiveness of her team. And I think something that was kind of the final nail in the coffin for me is that her title in the party is literally its knight:

Doesn't get more explicit than that, I don't think.

Noelle // Mage of Hope

The reason why Noelle is on the list so early on is because her and Susie have opposite aspects and I think that's fun, and that it's easier to exemplify those differences if they're next to each other.

Being a pair to Rage, Hope is an aspect that is also connected to its hero being somewhat connected with the narrative. But, as opposed to the way Ragebound refuse to make things easy for the narrative, Hopebound are a driving force within it, either through acting on their own volition or being forced by an external force. Other evidence includes its symbolic connection to angels, things that are holy (like... Holy Prayer? wow), extreme passion for their interests and a penchant for uncovering what is real and true but perhaps hidden (like easter eggs in a game, for example).

Hope is the unstoppable force to Rage's immovable object. In connection to Hope's alignment to miracles, it fits in nicely with how Noelle is the key component in the Weird/Snowgrave Route, as it reads as something straight out of a creepypasta, something that should not even be possible in the game. (To those who read HS scratching their head about the miracles being a Hope thing, Gamzee was a Bard (a destruction class), and thus ghosting his opposite aspect - in his case Rage. We'll talk about aggressively ghosting aspects by Princes and Bards in just a while, though).

The Mage part might be more complex and less obvious than the Hope part. A Witch might be something that seems more intuitive due to her power level but I'll do my best to make my case here.

Mages internalize their aspect through experience. They take in both the good and the bad that comes with it and learn from it to be able to use it. Their relationship to their aspect can then be quite volatile - sometimes the aspect serves to actively harm them, they have too little or too much of it. And Noelle puts a lot of faith into others and is pretty easy to trust and be swayed to one side or another. This shows the most prominently in the Weird/Snowgrave Route once again, where her blind faith in the hope of getting stronger puts her through the awful experience of being made a tool of destruction.

There's also a fascinating element to Mages and their relationship with external beings. They (along with Seers) are extremely attuned to hearing and perceiving external forces and their voices (like the commands of the exiles in HS - or the player in DR). Additionally, Mages have once been speculated to be the passive counterpart to Witch at some point before settling into the active part of the knowing class duo they make alongside Seers today because while Witches manipulate, the Mages are more prone to manipulation, mostly through something directly connected to their aspect (Sollux by literally fate itself, and Meulin by someone close to her as Doom and Heart heroes respectively). What screws up Noelle in the Weird Route, is her blind belief in who she perceives as Kris and their actions, her sureness in there being some method to this madness and the reason for all this being getting stronger, something she really wants due to feeling weak.

Let's discuss that feeling.

Kris // Witch of Heart

I know! I know. I know this class seems out of pocket but I'll do my best to justify this title, I promise.

Let's start with Heart, the less... offending of the two. Heart as an aspect has to do with emotions and desires, yes, but mostly it has to do with identity, self, personas and literal soul. I'm sorry but this is non-negotiable - if you believe Kris is anything else than Heartbound, you need to reconsider the text again. Yes, there could be some argument about how struggle for freedom can be a sign of them being Breath-aligned but their struggle is mostly for the freedom of self-expression. There are multiple points in Chapter 2 at which we direct them to do something and they comply but use an incredulous inflection or say something that technically is what we picked but in such a tone that it's construed as something completely opposite. Their struggle is centered on identity for sure.

It goes beyond just our influence and Kris's struggle against it, though. There are multiple hints at Kris not really being entirely comfortable with their place in Hometown as the sole human. They don't like thinking about other humans, Toriel says they would wear a horn headband because one time they asked when their horns would grow in. They're clearly usually an introvert and don't like other people knowing too much about them. They look up magic and were interested in the occult at least at some point, and seem to not really want to be themselves.

In what ways are they a Witch then? Many, actually! The first piece of evidence is that Witches break the rules of their own aspect, and I don't think calling tearing your own soul out of your chest and shoving it into a constricting place for just a moment is a stretch. Additionally, they seem to even have a Witch Familiar that is closely related to their aspect and without whom the entire plot would change drastically! It's you. You're the familiar. The soul is the familiar.

And the 4th-wall breaking fun doesn't end there! Despite being possessed, they still retain who they are - no one thinks they're a different person, after all. Which means that us using Kris, Noelle's childhood friend, to exploit her need (dare I say desire, to make the connection to the Heart aspect more explicit) to feel stronger and make her IceShock every moving thing in Cyber City is us utilizing their abilities to manipulate the Heart aspect.

Ralsei // Prince of Void

Remember when I said we were gonna talk about how the destruction classes like Princes and Bards ghost the aspect opposite to theirs in a bit? Yeah, that time is now. Back on the more stable ground because I don't think it's that big of a hot take to argue Ralsei is a Prince of Void, given that it's basically in his title within the team.

Yes, Princes and Bards ghost their opposite aspect a lot. Ralsei accomplishes this by being a walking, talking exposition machine, something that those more familiar with the mind-numbing properties of Aranea Serket, a Sylph of Light (an inverse of a Prince of Void) would know is very up the alley of those who are Lightbound. Ralsei serves as an introduction to lore, game mechanics and other very technical things. However, ghosting the opposite aspect is not the same as being bound to it. Ralsei is still very much Voidbound.

There's an air of secrecy and obscurity around Ralsei. He's not telling us something. He smashes through the 4th wall - something Void heroes adore to do, by the way - like it's nothing by showing knowledge of what he should not be aware of at all - what do you mean EAST classroom. How do you know this and why can you acknowledge this. He can banish us to focus on other characters to talk to Kris one-on-one, causing a narrative blackout of sorts, which is another thing Voidbound tend to do.

At the same time, he shows clear signs of being a Prince that destroys his aspect or with his aspect. As I said, he's incredibly prone to throwing animated exposition dumps at the player but that's not all there is to it. He's literally part of a team of heroes who set out to destroy dark fountains. Not only can he cause narrative blackouts around himself, he tries to make Kris stop focusing on what happened after Spamton's fight, blocking off a path to solve that mystery. "You don't need to know anymore" kind of thing.

Destruction classes are dual in nature through being defined by their aspect but setting out to destroy it. He's afraid of being abandoned and forgotten. He keeps things from both his friends and the player. He doesn't want to fall prey to obscurity. He's secretive and does unexplained things through unknown means, like by just showing up in the Cyber World. As befitting a Prince, he's a walking contradiction.

Berdly // Page of Light

Believe it or not, Berdly's was one of the more tricky titles to pin down. I'm still not fully sure of it but I'm able to argue in favor of this decision.

Light is an aspect of relevance, knowledge and fate. Berdly is someone incredibly focused on academics. However, Pages inherently lack their aspect and literally have to be fed it by someone else who has more of it despite not even being bound to it until they reach a power threshold that allows them agency. Once they do, they're a force to be reckoned with but, as things stand, Berdly admits that Noelle is the real smart kid and he would never be the best in class if it weren't for her.

Despite not being the opposite of an Heir of Void, the narrative seems hilariously allergic to him anyway. He starts reading out loud and literally puts Kris to sleep with it. His monologue is not going to be read by many people because it's happening while there is a time-sensitive multi-part puzzle going on. Queen, the antagonist that moves most of the plot forward, runs away from him. Additionally, Lightbound are usually quite prone to being swayed to do things, and Berdly is a pain for Queen to handle but she does manipulate him quite a lot anyhow. He's flabbergasted when she captures Noelle right in front of him because that's not what they agreed on.

As an aside, one of his attacks is him throwing pages of A+ school assignments. That's the most hilariously Page of Light attack in the history of ever.

BONUS ROUND

Player // Seer of Mind

Bet you weren't expecting that, huh?

Every player is a different separate person but again, classpect titles are more about the place and role in the narrative and oh boy, oh boy. Is there evidence that the soul, i.e. us, are a Seer of Mind in the story of Deltarune.

For starters, it's literally the inverse of Kris's classpect. We're as diametrically opposed to them as possible. Secondly, as stated with Noelle, knowledge classes like Mages and Seers are incredibly attuned to meta-level voices. In Noelle's case that means things like hearing our commands even if Kris is down. In our case it means literal narration. We also know things we have no business of knowing - we're able to do things like hearing characters' thoughts, literally mind-reading them.

A more traditional role of a Seer of Mind (and we know this because there literally is one in HS) is knowing the outcomes and consequences of certain decisions. We literally have the power of reloading and saving to find that out. I rest my case.

[aerkame]

TFP Imagine | Vehicon Reader

Tfp vehicon reader that can actually aim well and almost pushes the Autobots into retreating.

I had this one sitting in drafts for a while now. My inspiration was wondering what would happen if just a single vehicon could actually aim in the show. I noticed they have the aiming ability of a Storm Trooper and couldn't hit a target if they were sitting still.

I may turn this into a series though, I really like this concept.

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

Team Prime would take a surprising amount of time to finally notice that only one vehicon is causing them any real damage. They're so used to the same old fights. Vehicons swarm them, but they're pretty weak and can't aim all that well, and either Megatron or Starscream has to step in to drive off the team.

Optimus and Arcee are the first to notice however, watching you take a good defensive position from behind a boulder between two walls, blasting away at the both of them with near pinpoint accuracy. So much so that both Autobots agreed they needed to retreat further back into the treelines. Vehicon blasters are pretty weak, but you're getting enough hits in on their frames that their very metal is starting to dent and scorch from the constant trauma.

They're left wondering in fear now if the Deceptions started training their vehicons seriously with new blasters or if this is a new member of sorts that joined without their notice. Either way, Arcee convinces Optimus you were the main target for now. They needed to get the heat off of them before proceeding with the mission.

-

You ducked behind the stone that was your current defense, catching a moment to check your blaster to ensure it didn't overheat. These things were stupidly designed for Primus knows what reason...the stupid thing kept overheating forcing you to take cover after just one round of shooting your targets. You could've driven the two Autobots further back by now.

You knew it was dangerous separating from the other vehicons like this, but you also knew they couldn't aim for scrap and would probably be offline by now if they tried fighting Arcee and Optimus head on. Besides, you were in a good spot that neither Autobot could get into. The Prime wouldn't be able to fit between the walls and the femme couldn't come in without getting blasted in the face. It was a win in your opinion. Your vehicon friends don't get blasted while you distract the Autobots and wait for backup.

Backup didn't come though.

It had been half an hour now since Optimus and Arcee were pushed further back into the nearby forest from your gunfire. Every attempt to just go around was met with several blasts far too close to the helm and Arcee was beginning to lose her patience. Optimus needed a plan and he needed one soon if they wanted any hope of getting passed you and get into the mines, mines that were unfortunately too small to groundbridge into.

It made sense that Ratchet would call by now, asking what happened and why he hadn't heard from either bots for so long. Arcee explained in detailed the current situation with the dangerous vehicon leaving a very surprised Ratchet snorting in disbelief. A vehicon? Come on, it's probably some fancy new weapon, we all know vehicons can't aim that well. Right?

Optimus cut in affirming the situation and requested backup via groundbridge at a specific location, they needed backup fast before the other vehicons inside the mines left with the energon.

-

Your shoulders slouched as you ducked below the stone once more after a quick peak. Both the Autobots and yourself have started shooting less and less. You were under the assumption that they must have been getting low on energon too by now. And yet, backup still hadn't arrived for you. Anxiety started to fill your frame as you thought about your past life choices that led you here, not noticing the sound of a groundbridge above your hiding space.

Only when the wall next to you crumbled did you notice your surroundings again. You didn't even have time to register what had happened when a giant green mech practically tackled you to the ground making you shriek in surprise.

-

Bulkhead kept your tiny frame pinned beneath his weight, servos in tight stasis cuffs to ensure you didn't try any last ditch efforts as Optimus and Arcee made their way forward, finally able to get to their goal, albeit lower on energon than they'd like.

Arcee came over to get a good look at you, confirming to Optimus you are just a normal vehicon, nothing noteworthy or special about you or the weapon you were carrying. Optimus paused his trek to the mines for a moment, staring deep into your optics as you lay paralyzed beneath the green wrecker. Of course you mustered up all you could just to glare at him and he quietly commed something to what you assumed were the others.

Within seconds of watching the two disappear into the mines, Bulkhead grabbed your limp frame by the scruff and tossed you through a new groundbridge into the waiting arms of the Autobot medic.

[witchofthesouls]

I would love to see you write some more culture differences between the bots and humans. If you wouldn’t mind :0 I wish we saw some in TFP

Same here. I love seeing world-building and deep lore, especially with other fantasy/sci-fi civilizations.

TFP gave us so much and so little at the same time. It's like going to a restaurant, you have a drink and great appetizers, so you're constantly waiting for the entrée that isn't coming!

TFP is also really fascinating when looking at it with the lens of the caste system and its deep roots within and among the 'bots, even their reduced circumstances. I get the feeling that Optimus is way more casual in way with his team than what the decorum would demand, even with his barriers.

The Autobots would find human cityscapes as quaint. Even the dense sprawls of megacities with towering high rises are paltry reminder of what they're used to.

Cybertron was a planet where its wilds had been tamed. Either reshaped or completely stripped. The Wastelands is/was an apt name for the baren landscapes outside the established city-states.

It wasn't just a large difference in public transport and zoning and sheer scale. It was also the functional design and architecture.

City-states mimicked the layouts of Titans' ground alt-modes. They didn't sprawl outward. Those had set perimeters based on Titans' outer defenses. Instead, the cities expanded up or down.

It wasn't limited to just a parking structure or secretive bases. Whole levels housed entire communities of what castes resided there: occupations, hospitals, sewage, refineries, restaurants, entertainment, and so much. Some mecha go without ever seeing the sunlight or feel real wind, especially those at the lowest of the system. The lowest castes are set all the way at the bottom, among ancient tech and dilapidated buildings. Sorting and recycling what could be kept and what must be sent back to the upper levels.

The concept of "open to the public" would confuse the Autobots. The Golden Age operated its society under the strict overview of a caste system, which expanded to "where" and "what" individuals of a caste could access.

Monster truck rallies fall under bloodsport to them. Bulkhead once scavenged money to watch and do small bets at high-stakes drift racing and lower-tier gladiator matches below the ground. Mecha still had to pay entrance fees to it.

Parks were under the Artisanal caste. Blending murals of legends, careful tending to fauna that are functionally extinct that was tailored to the agreed aesthetic, live music from specific pupils of masters, playing on instruments that merged with the gardens, so it was difficult to tell what was a tool and a plant or animal. And entry to any of it was only allowed for certain castes.

Universities were thriving, self-contained communities, and major points of power. No one off the list would be allowed into its grounds. All visitors and short-term guests were deeply screened and monitored. There is no such thing as "dropping by." Everything is meticulously planned and prepared. Unless a faculty member personally vouches for a guest, they must heed the numerous rules or a risk permanent banning.

Academia had long since been territorial over its talents and quality of its programs and people. They refuse to allow anyone outside its jurisdiction to bully one of its own. No matter the rank or caste, it will close its inescapable jaws around an outsider.

The fact that someone could go to a private university and simply jog upon its grounds is mind-boggling to the 'bots.

As well as libraries and their courses and workshops. So anyone can go? Anyone?! Everyone has access to the knowledge!? Can anyone simply go join a seminar on local gardening? Anyone can just go to a playground and start swinging or playing basketball or flying a kite or dancing to music? Anyone?

Bulkhead had a lot of questions for Jack and Raf since they're locals compared to Miko.

"So anyone can go?"

"Yeah. I used to spend my recess looking up bird anatomy and Ancient Greece and Egypt."

"You had a thing for ancient civilizations?" Raf asked.

"Doesn't everyone?" Jack shrugged. "Pharoahs and gladiators and old gods? We ate that up with mystery books or Goosebumps."

"I read Sherlock Holmes and the Chronicles of Narnia."

"Those are classics. Hey, did you get into The Lo-"

"Hold up," Bulkhead cut in, crouched down and leaning more forward, as if sharing a secret and quietly ask, "So anyone?"

"Yes. Anyone." Jack repeated, rapidly firing off each point with a finger. "Their family. Their friends. Their classmates. Their coworkers. Their pe-"

"Even, let's say, a construction worker. He could just go inside and pick up, I don't know, quantum physics? Anatomy of any frames? Gardening?"

"Sure." Raf squinted and moved to wipe off his glasses with his sleeves. "Clubs and people like to donate more to expand the base. Some of the college professors even leave early editions of their textbooks." Raf readjusted his glasses and beamed. "It's for easier access people and for an industrial copier."

"Oh..." There was a wealth of meaning in that small noise.

"You..." Jack struggled on the concept. Perhaps giant metal aliens didn't need books and could download information from their own internet. "You don't have libraries or schools?"

"No. We did." Bulkhead sighed. "I just wasn't allowed into them."

Out of all of them, Miko would be the to come the closest to understanding them in some ways. 出る杭は打たれる. The nail that sticks out gets hammered in.

As a transfer student from Japan, Miko does have instances of culture clashes with her American classmates and host family.

She's loud. She knows that. But Americans are a different breed with no restraint. In some ways, admirable. In others, incredibly frustrating.

Miko is used to a far heavier workload with long hours after-school and a busy city life. Jasper qualifies between a small and large town that she can't walk around easily on her own with the blazing heat and bitter cold nights and the lack of a car or a bike.

Detention in the US is a joke to her. Stay in school after it's over? She's used to doing that back at home with clubs and cleaning it. On a Saturday? Same thing. Some clubs back home ran long hours over the weekend. Do homework? She already finished it during lunch or between classes because she wants all the other time to herself and the 'bots.

Because Bulkhead gets a realization just how free the kids' social mobility is, he tries to get on Miko over her scrapping at school and her assignments, especially after Ratchet's high jacking their science projects resulted in failure. And that was another strange blow since Ratchet is a medic and a scientist. She's smart and quick and can be rough around the edges and so everywhere, and, to him, Miko deserves everything she could want in her short life. (And wasn't that also a terrifying concept to grasp? To just live and die under a single vorn?)

At first, Miko was getting annoyed because it's similar to the well-meaning nagging her host family does, but she reads the worry he has, and they have to really sit down and speak and soothe over his misunderstandings.

It comes as a huge surprise to her that Bulkhead can just download a language into him. Context and colloquialisms would be missing, and he needs work because he's a mix between extreme formality and, much to her delight, yakuza. And it's all because of her own frustration that English is her second language.