#the demo is SO GOOD and I'm loosing my SHIT

[homkamiro]

I LOVE THE TF2 MLP AU SM. it gives me sm nostalgia to when i was a kid and i and everyone in the fandom made pony aus of franchises we liked- im so happy cringe is dead and tradition is alive 🥹

ALSO THE INFECTION AU POST. GOOD SHIT;!;!!!!!!!!!! gore and body horror are inseparable from (hopefully only the mature part of) the mlp fandom and i felt so giddy jumping for joy kicking my feet up seeing that it had a resurgence!! Your post of this au with your tf2 ponies was my introduction to it!!! Nature is healinggggg

That post is BOMB. WE GOT: 1) HEAVYMEDIC ANGST. 2) PYRO & ENGIE ANGST. 3) BOOTS & BOMBS ANGST. 4) DADSPY ANGST. 5) SNIPER ANGST. ITS GIVING💅🏽💅🏽💅🏽 and the way the disease spreads differently for all of them is so creative!!!!!! Engie wants to sever the infected body part but cant cus its on his back and he needs medics help for that (and med is way too far gone to do any operation), and scout doesn't want his wings severed even tho that would save him cus he still wants to fly!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

also soldier misinterpreting the request is so good. And pyro wanting to help but not being allowed to cus they'd try to burn engie. Demo drinking himself to death cus he cant handle seeing his friend in the state that he's in. Sniper disappearing cus he wants to be with his parents during this horrible time even tho they have a strained relationship. Spy wanting his son to live through this so much that he's planning to sever his wings himself. And heavyyyyyy. Heavy breaking his heart everyday still taking care of medic knowing he's going to have to kill the love of his life soon. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Anyways sorry for fuckin. Screaming in your asks and basically just repeating what you wrote sgjdjd. I just really love this au (and especially that comic with scout, medic and engie!!!) and the infection au post made me so nostalgic to the early days of the mlp fandom that the adhd went mental and i had to shout about it lol- feel free to not respond to this! Youre awesome! Keep doing you!!!!!!

(also youre really good at drawing gore????? Hello teach me pls)

WHAT A BIG FEEDBACK OHMYGODヽ⁠(⁠(⁠◎⁠д⁠◎⁠)⁠)⁠ゝ

Anyway I'm really super puper glad you liked my au!! I was a little hesitant to post it, since AU in AU sounds weird but I'm glad I thought otherwise - cringe culture should be dead!! Mix your hyperfixations it's good for your health!!!

AND AHHHHGGGGGH You noticed so many details thankyouuu🥺💗💗💗The best thing about this AU is that every ship and brotp can work so well in this story. Engie first helping Medic but then ending up being also infected??? Spy checking up on Engie and making him eat since he's too stressed to take a break??? Demo, Heavy and Pyro comforting each other after loosing their friends??? Spy and Scout both raging on Sniper for leaving like a coward??? Or maybe Heavy, as an earth pony, comforts Scout after he just got his wings amputated??? So many possibilities!!

Don't worry, I love when people are noticing all the details and just get,, really invested into my stuff, it really brings me joy and you made my day so much better!!🥺🥺I feel honestly a little insecure, since my pony designs and thoughts may not be the best, but I'm glad that so many people still like my mlp×tf2 stuff!! It's really endearing to know that finally something I like making is also likable to you!

About gore -- I have no idea😭I love gore but it's a pain to draw properly and scary, you'd need practice and references (I mostly use art references since yknow,,,real photos can make me sick)

[spontaneousful]

Amber and Xiao friendship incorrect quotes + headcanons

yes, this is based on that Xiao demo video where he and Amber fight together to show-off Xiao's moves

Xiao: Hey, thanks for checking in, I’m ✨still a piece of garbage✨

Amber: Do you need help getting up? Xiao: Nah, I'm cool down here on the floor.

Amber: Don't quote me on this, but I believe murder is illegal!

Xiao: Okay, if we can't do it by sheer force, we'll do it my way. Amber: But your way is sheer force?

Xiao: Are you listening to me? Amber: *nods* Xiao: What did I just say? Amber: *nods* Xiao:

Xiao: WHOEVER CAUSED THIS MESS IS GOING TO- Amber: It was me. Xiao: ...Is going to be forgiven because everyone deserves a second chance.

Amber: *casually taking four stairs at a time* Xiao, falling behind, taking two stairs at a time: Fuck you fuck you fuck you fuck you fu-

Xiao: I’m terrible at expressing myself. Amber: Don’t worry, actions speak louder than words! Xiao: Yes, but my actions are also bad.

Xiao: I’ve been described as a ‘heartless villain’ and a 'little shit’, but I prefer… 'has alternative ways of having fun’.

Amber: We have to plan, we have to figure something out. Xiao: When have any of our plans ever actually worked? We plan, we get there, all hell breaks loose.

Amber: I would say I outdid myself, but I’m always this good, so I simply did myself. Amber: Wait-

Amber: *Hugs Xiao from behind* Amber: *Tucks Xiao's hair behind his ear* Amber, whispering: Eat all the frosted animal crackers again and they'll never find your fucking body.

Xiao: What's that? Amber: Chocolate. Xiao: What's chocolate? Amber: Candy. Do they not have candy where you're from? Xiao: Yeah. Grapes, nuts. Amber: No wonder you're so bitter.

Xiao: What happened to your nose? Amber: I used it to break some guy's fist.

Xiao: I have a plan. Amber: Good! As long as we aren’t breaking the law again, I’m open to hearing it. Xiao: Amber: Xiao: I no longer have a plan.

Amber: I made tea. Xiao: I don't want tea. Amber: I didn't make you tea. This is my tea. Xiao: Then why did you tell me? Amber: It's a conversation starter. Xiao: It's a horrible conversation starter. Amber: Oh, is it? We're conversing. Checkmate.

The last one is totally how they met. Amber was going to Liyue and Xiao appeared to save her from some monsters (whether she needed the help or not is debatable) She wants to find out who he is and asks around until she finds out about Xiao living at the Wangshu Inn. She tries get him to come out for multiple days. One day, she decides to bring tea and the ^ conversation happens. (Xiao was going to disappear after he aaid he didn't want tea so Amber blurted out the next line and Xiao was so confused he had to stay lol)

Also, for the stairs one, they're both the same height but Amber has longer legs + she's used to having to keep up w/Eula. Zhongli would slow down for Xiao whenever he used to follow him around

Their relationship is basically:

Xiao: oh, look at this tiny little mortal who is naive to the suffering of this world and is so fragile any wrong move will make her fall over and die. She needs to be protected from everything and herself.

Xiao: baby

Amber: he reminds me a little of baby collei. he's so sad and has that self-deprecating edge. He's an angsty teenager who needs to be shown the bright side of life.

Amber: baby

[crabonfire]

unsure if it’s been done before, or if you’re comfortable with it, but mercs as parents ? :]

the way I gasped when I saw this bcs omg yes!!!! mercs as parents babeyyy B)

Mercs as parents!

characters: all mercs!!

warning: none!! some are a tiny bit sad but still hapy

NOTE!!! sorry this is very...long overdue. when exams came out I just got writers block, I had to focus on exams...thank god they are ending in a couple days GAHSHHDHDHFHF

also some are shorter than others...m very sorry bbg :(

♡Scout♡

• aw

• I don't know this is honestly really cute

• he has some... Doubts. Like any parents do, but seeing the happiness on your face and your child(ren) s face whenever you talk to him? that makes all the worry go away baby.

• such a good dad. he smothers them with love and affection, definitely pretends to be santa claus on Christmas (if you celebrate it) and teaches those kids to be tough.

• DEFINITELY takes them out to play baseball. your kids are baseball fans take it or leave it.

• I really don't have much to say other than the fact he'd be a great dad, I think this will teach him a lot about himself and make him a better person, I love dad scout.

♡Soldier♡

• I feel like he'd be a bit too aggressive on the child(ren) at first, not understanding how fragile they can be until he really sees them.

• he's much more gentle and quiet around them, trying his best not to scare them.

• I think he has some gender role problems to deal with, so talk through it with him.

• but anyways, he's a great dad honestly. he cradles them and plays with them everyday, making sure that they are always happy.

• he may not understand much of a child's need or their limits, and you two may fight about that. But understand that he will definitely learn, give him time, he is trying his best.

• he's not good at comforting, but he's great at pep talks and hyping his kids up!!!

• he teaches them to be brave and strong, telling them stories from when he was in war. Its all fake, but who cares honestly.

• overall decent dad, just needs to change some of his habits.

♡Pyro♡

• WOAHHH

• Super understanding parent.

• I feel like he went through a ton as a child, explaining why he acts childish sometimes, so I think he's be a very understanding parent when it comes to his kids.

• very patient, and fun!!

• I bet for a fact that the kids love him, spoils them a shit ton.

• he loves to draw with them, putting their drawings up in your shared bedroom so he can admire them when he wakes up.

• he's a bit doubtful of his ability to parent, he thinks he's a bit too unprepared. But as long as your here, he's not too worried.

gosh I love pyro

♡Demo♡

• this guy was SO PUMPED when you two decided to have kids

• but oh boy is he anxious.

• he will not drink ever around them.

• he's quite sweet to his kids, calling them lad or lassie, along with cute ass nicknames because he just loves them so much.

• loves to hug them and carry them whenever you go out, piggy back rides, princess carry, whatever it is, he loves it.

• he likes to mess around with them a lot, and probably the type of dad to go with their kids dumb ideas even though they might go horribly wrong or are just stupid.

• he loves his family. does he think he's a bad parent sometimes? Yeah, but every parent does. You just give him a hug and he'll forget all about it.

my man fr!

♡Heavy♡

• i love misha :( my big mercenary man misha:((( I love him sm....

• gosh I'm smiling as I'm typing this ok

• he's the best dad ever.

• he's strict, of course he is. but you've seen this man in the comics, he knows when to let loose.

• he cooks for them everyday, making them school lunches, teaches them Russian, and teaches them to defend themselves if it needed to be done.

• he's also so sweet, and he tells you and his kids he loves them everyday. Heavy is not embarrassed, why should there be a need to be embarrassed? He loves you guys.

• he loves to read them stories before bed, and he loves to give them bear hugs and carry them.

• when the kid(s) saw him, he was scared that the kid(s) would be scared of him. But when they hugged him and gave him a bright smile, he melted into a puddle and chuckled, giving them a forehead kiss.

is the reason I love heavy because my dad left me for 7 years of my life and even as he came back he still didn't give me affection till this very day? maybe. but we'll never truly know.

♡Engie♡

• Hshdhdhjfjfjfj men. I LOVE. MEN.

• ueeuueue....ue...:(...ueue,,,uee!!! ;(((

• so...so sweet. MAN.

• calls them all sorts of nicknames.

• this man has never had any doubt in his life.

• he will kiss, hug, carry, cradle, comfort, just smother them with so so much love.

• makes inventions for them, and if any of them are ever interested in engineering his heart will explode due to happiness.

• he spoils those mfs so much you gotta tell him off sometimes. He's honestly so sweet it hurts.

• he will take so many pictures, and have them on both a physical album, and one he keeps in a camera he made himself. So that incase one is lost, he still has the other.

• I...I don't know man. He's the perfect dad. I genuinely don't know what else to write.

engie..kiss me challenge? UM...sir why do you as a man have cute lips? for me to kiss them? whore

♡Medic♡

• hell nah.

• he probably just wants one kid, he thinks more than one is a mistake LMAOOOO

• he's not very affectionate, not that he doesn't want to be, but he's scared to overwhelm the child.

• overall tho, he's actually quite sweet.

• he'll leave the affection up to you, but of course he will spend time with the kid...its his kid too after all 💀

• he likes to call them nicknames too, and likes to ruffle their hair a lot.

• probably will only bond with their kid over scientific stuff or whatever the kids into, he has to tone down the insanity a bit, but they are sweet together. The kids a bit messed up like he is to be honest, and he finds that endearing.

"Papa look!! I drew an anatomically accurate heart! Do you like it?"

"Oh mein gott, zhis is quite beautiful! The detail... Amazing work mein schatz :) ruffles their hair "

• he doesn't understand or relate to children much, but he tries, he really does. He will spend days trying to find a solution to make your child feel better if they were ever sad. He's a good dad, and he will try to be the best if he can.

aww he's so baby girl

♡Sniper♡

• aw baby girl

• definitely has a lot of doubts, but he's happy.

• like medic, probably just wants one kid.

• if it was a girl he'd definitely call them "daddy's little girl"

• he's always smiling around them, they just make him so happy.

• he's honestly struggling every day, having to ask you for comfort or advice on if he's doing it right. Doing what right you ask? Parenting.

• but just be there with him through it all, he's a great dad just anxious.

• he talks to his kid about how to survive in the wild, showing them his collection of cool yet a bit weird stuff from his past work experiences. Some are a bit...too weird. Remind him to not show the kid the animal eyes he has in a jar from that one time he fought off a radioactive iguana.

• him and the kid get along pretty well, to be honest...he's starting to change his mind about only having one kid.

♡Spy♡

• sobs

• he doesn't want to...at first.

• well,,,he doesn't want to mess up like he did before. How he left scout, left his past behind, he doesn't want to do that to you because of his cowardness.

• but in the end, he loves you, and he loves the child, so he will try his best.

• he's a great father, have you seen him in that one Christmas comic?

• he will smother that child with love and gifts, and will train them to be kind at a young age.

• he's still extremely doubtful of his ability, but just comfort him. he's doing great, he just can't seem to understand that right now.

• but he's sweet, he loves them, and you, and isn't embarrassed to admit it (like misha!!!)

• he's a bit distant from the child at first, but as time goes by it'll all be fine. he doesn't want to hurt his child, not again.

sobs. Great dad, major issues.

done!!!

YAY!! sorry I haven't written in months,,exams.

[thedramaticduke]

Soo, because I'll otherwise loose my mind, here my ranking for the eight stories (of course, big spoilers follow, also for the endgame)

1. Osvald

This was pretty much a safe card to get into my favourites. A broken science man, who first starts out with wanting to avenge his wife and daughter, but then realises that his daughter is alive and saves her? That's good shit for people with father issues right there.

But what really got me with him was... everything around him. How he slowly warms up to the other travel companions, how he lets other close to him again. In the last travel banter with Partitio he talks about how he realizes that he managed his journey only because of his companions, and how he finally sees the sense behind small talk and. It's so great. He was my starter and even though it was really funny at the beginning how that lone wolf suddenly was surrounded by five children, Temenos and Castii, I could see him lead my squad at the end against Vide. That's what I call character development.

And I know that after the epilogue the first thing he did was run back home, confronted his fear and hugged his daughter. Trust me, I'm Square Enix.

2. Ochette

I'm sorry, but I couldn't put her lower. Ochette's story was so nicely put together - I love how all three legendary Pokémon beasts have separate stories, but one element that unites them all: how humanity destroys nature without reason or remorse. But still Ochette stays strong and kind and has hopes and... God, that was great to see. That moment when she befriended Glacis and the other companion was honestly beautiful.

The only thing that annoys me is the fact that the dark huntress was so... irrelevant at the end. I expected a plottwist around her, something like 'haha, this character from story X was actually her!' but... no. Shes just an evil fanatic who has only one appearance when she gets killed by the other companion. A little bit lackluster tbh.

But yeah, Ochette is my daughter and I would kill for her.

3. Castii

That third chapter. God damnit.

I'm really surprised how much I liked Castii at the end. Once again, family issues and all, but also... her story is so dark. She could save the day, but so many people had to pay for it and it was so brilliant how you could go into the empty village from the beginning (it was even part of the demo) and ask yourself "what the fuck happened here?" before all becomes clear. Its so bittersweet and I'm all here for it.

4. Partitio

I know, his story is not the most... logical one. But sometimes you want to live in an indulgent fantasy where you beat capitalists up and then they see the errors of their ways and where a rich sugar daddy aristocrat gives you 80 billion dollar because you inspired him enough. But yeah, he's just so fun and I love how, even though so many people change throughout OT 2, he always stays the same idealistic optimistic moron who inspires the people around him. And how Ori pretty much confirmed that the reason she saw hope again was because of Partitio? Whoof.

Also my head canon is that Mister Roque and Pepe had something going on while they built Orerush. I mean... come on. Two single men, with no woman by their side but really close, and Partitio even calls him uncle in german? Thats sus right there.

5. Throné

Technically, this story is right up my alley. I don't know what it keeps from being higher up except the fact that the Claude twist came a little bit out of nowhere. But there are so many small scenes that I love, how the girl in Mothers Garden swears revenge and still gets a happy ending, how happy Father is that he still got to be a father (his whole story was fantastic btw), how you're not thrown into Lostseed but travel there throughout her last chapter and then are met with such despair. And yeah, the end was similarly bittersweet as that of Primrose from the first game, what I love. At the end, freedom reeks of blood, but... it was worth it.

6. Agnea

The step up for the fluffy stories from the first to the second game is insane.

But yeah, I talked about it once already, but what makes this story special for me is the journey in her mother's footsteps. When her father gave her her dress at the beginning it nearly teared me up lol.

But yeah, her whole story is just so sweet and cute and anti-capitalistic (she kinda has Karen-energy but in a good way) and how it all tied together at the end with all the people from the different chapters coming together at the festival of graces was great. And this story has easily the most background lesbians (the traveling group, Dolccinea and Victoria...), it's amazing.

7. Temenos

...yeah. This is my biggest unpopular opinion from this game xD

But yeah, what really annoyed me about Temenos' story was, similar to Cyrus' story from the first game, that it tries to be a detective story, but... it's the most predictable story of all lol. From the beginning I was like 'yeah... the sacred guard was responsible, wasn't it?' and it kinda took my investment in that story out of it. Also I like Temenos and Crick, but not as much as most of the fandom, I'm afraid - there was something that didn't click with me, I guess. Even though the Stormhail-Route was still pretty sad ngl. And even though Kaldena was my third to last end boss, she still nearly killed me, so here's that.

8. Hikari

Hikari is really a sad case because his story could have been even more tragic and sad. But he suffers the most from bad writing - Mugen is such an 'evil for the sake of being evil' antagonist while being the stupidest person ever (that moment when he killed everyone because 'they could be vengeful later!' made me literally facepalm) and I still don't understand why Ritsu hates the emperors and their war mongering so much, but then ends up working for the biggest war monger of them all. I lowkey expected him to betray Mugen but... no. He's just vengefulTM and randomly turns good two seconds before dying.

But I liked Hikaris arc and turning the shadow hold into the light hold was a great idea. Generally his first and last chapter were pretty atmospheric and I really grew to like Kazan as a mischievous, but sympathetic ally that his betrayal really stung. Generally, the second game had much better written and more engaging stories than the first, it didn't have any Tressa-like story where I didn't particularly care about anything. But still, Hikari kinda deserves better.

[dusterson]

∎ continued from here with @chainsxwsmile

Dustin had been too busy making a spectacle of himself to see the creature's wince or hesitance. All he could see before his fumble, was a big loping figure, ascend from the midnight-dark quarry waters. Any moment its head would surely split open into many maws. He'd not armed himself to come upon a Demo-beast. Let alone one of this hulking stature. In the water it had not looked so imposing; a quiet sort of horrifying instead that, when it breached the shoreline and revealed itself in full, become a terror like blinding lights and sirens.

And then he'd seen it had eyes.

Amidst his flight and cowering that followed, he reasons with himself: if it has eyes, is it from the Upside Down? Dustin prayed his words were falling on sapient ears, or that the beast's ears were also the ears of the spirits of nature governing the woods and wilds. Germain had told him about such entities, that either light or dark, demanded respect. Had he stumbled upon one of his old man's tall tales, a true story in the flesh? He thought of those stories, flashes of the celestials and monstrosities that once enthralled him as a child returning in vicious dread.

From where he lay on his back-- because what was the point of outrunning a spirit of the forest (or a fucking bear) when it could reach him before he'd rolled over to his hands and feet-- Dustin lifted his head to see how much time he had to plead for his life before it got eaten. Just in time to see its muscles roll into motion, he looked away again as the ground shook gently beneath the underbrush as the quarry monster approached. Then craned his neck to look again.

"You're.. Jesus fucking shit-- uhm... hi..? Hello, spirit.. creature-thing of the, forest oh my god I'm so fucking stupid-- please don't kill me." He brought his palms together in apologetic prayer (not that he'd admit that's what he did or name to whom or what) and continued, "I, did not mean to intrude on, your, territory good ser or, or ma'am-mm'ohmyfuckingod I'm just. Gonna." His limbs inched twitch by twitch to unfurl, and slowly get to a squat. Granted he survived sitting up to do so. He glued his eyes to the monster, making no direct eye contact in case that was a threat to its kind, but watching that his slow ascent to a slightly-less-pathetic grovelling position did not disturb it.

Hands held loosely midair as if this were a cop or something he'd been found by, he paused. Why's it not attacking? "You actually, listening to me talk or..?" Maybe he could get out of this maim-free after all. "I can, leave? If you, want, I won't come 'ere again I swear."

[crystalelemental]

Triangle Strategy continues. I'm on chapter...13? I think? I forget exactly.

To go through decision points I've had to make:

Visit Aesfrost (I did both in the demo, and fuck Hyzante in particular)

Refuse to surrender Roland.

Refuse alliance with that one house I can't remember. Silvio. That loser.

Reveal the illicit salt trade.

Refuse to hand over the Rosellans.

About to make a choice on battle tactics, haven't decided yet.

The game's events are coherent and interesting enough. If that sounds lukewarm, it's because it kinda is. I feel like the most interesting tidbits tend to be in the history books, which is not really where I'd want the focus of the game. Don't get me wrong, the general political machinations are interesting, and I think as a novel this would be pretty engaging. It's just...this is a game. And I'm doing a lot more reading than playing. Moreover, this being a game, they can insert little side shots that...kinda completely ruin the vibe of a game that attempts to force meaningful decisions.

Take the Silvio situation. Now, in an ideal situation, I would be looking at this through Serenoa's eyes and thinking on what I know. Logically, I'd probably take that deal. We're running on empty and can't fight this forever. But. The game insists on having a bunch of side scenes, including one of Silvio actively cursing your success in the last battle as ruining his intent. And because that scene played...we know exactly where this is going, long before it goes there. In a novel, a brief aside would just tip off the reader about what's coming, and probably be innocuous enough, or a hook of "oh man, that motherfucker, how are they gonna get out of this?" But when I'm playing the game, the tension of the decision is gone. I know what you're up to. Serenoa wouldn't, but I do, and I can now make decisions outside the scope of what the character should know and feel.

Which leads to problem 2: pacing and the general gameplay loop. So far, the voting sessions have been fairly...let's say not my favorite. In some situations like Silvio, it's actively annoying thanks to knowing exactly which way this goes regardless of your choice. Even when the decision is a bit more complex and you don't know exactly how things are going to go, sometimes there's a really obvious answer and instead of just pointing it out, you have to go hunt for specific pieces of information in a slow, drawn out exploration sequence to use as argument, one at a time, against the people opposed to your intended action. A good example is whether to go along with the illicit salt trade deal, or to expose it. And it's like...guys. Listen. If we do this, the guy running the show has so much dirt on us. We do this? We become the fall guy when he's done with us. Completely under his control. We can't take this deal. But I can't argue that with people outright, I have to dig through dialogue options to find the way to just bring up this very clear point.

The back and forth also leads to an odd situation where I feel like your characters are still fairly flat, despite talking so much. They're all very "Strong convictions, loosely held." Once you realize that the unlock dialogue isn't always beneficial to swaying someone, you can kinda crack everyone. Like I broke Erador down regarding Silvio's alliance first try, despite being told this would be like talking to a brick wall. Everyone claims to have strong personality and beliefs, but they all can be swayed in ways that average out to the whole cast being kinda mellow and, if I can be blunt, uninspired. No one stands out. And I am a character-centric kind of person. I don't care how involved your worldbuilding is, or how actually coherent your complex political plot is. If I don't give a shit about anyone in it, I'm going to stop caring. And the setting doesn't really do much to endear characters to you, really. Everyone is kind of an asshole? Like, Hyzante has a literal slave class they justify as goddess' orders, and Aesfrost's whole freedom scheme is quite blatantly stated to be a privilege of the strong while the weak are trampled. It's been very difficult to care about events, because no one had really gripped me.

Fortunately, there are two (2) characters I am now wholly invested on as of this chapter. Cordelia and Avlora, I'm a big fan of what you two have going on right now. Keep up the excellent work. I hope Cordelia gets her desire and stabs Gustadolph in the throat. Probably not given how the tone of this game operates, but I like her moxie. I remain cautiously optimistic on her tale. Every character named Cordelia is a winner in my book.

Kinda got sidetracked there...the pacing generally feels off, because it's like an hour of talking, 20 minutes of exploration, 15 minutes of playing a map. Which is not a great ratio. It may be because I'm coming off of Unicorn Overlord, which is delightfully fast-paced and engaging to the point I can drop three hours on it and feel like 20 minutes passed, but this game is like the polar opposite. Those 15 minutes of map fucking drag, it takes forever to beat one thing. I mean it doesn't, it takes like 15 minutes, but you get what I mean. It feels much longer than it is because things just move slowly, and actions take forever, and I have to keep fist-fighting the goddamn camera to stay at an angle where I can fucking see anything, because every time an enemy moves it has to whip around to some bizarro shot like it's trying to hide what it's doing from me. The camera thing actively gives me a headache, it's probably my least favorite part of the game. And the fact it keeps spinning means I keep having to orient which way my buttons work, because this game just cannot fathom looking at something directly, it always needs to be at a 35-55 degree angle, and depending on which side of 45 it is, the down button is either left, right, or maybe sometimes actually down. Drives me nuts.

My stance on the game is that it's fine. I'm enjoying myself enough to keep playing it, but I'm less able to binge it. I find myself needing frequent breaks just to work up the energy to slog through more narrative about characters I'm not invested in, or resting my eyes from dealing with the camera. But it's not bad, and there's at least some promise to how thing could resolve. Like with Cordelia, I remain cautiously optimistic.

[asha-mage]

The fact that Edelgard, who KNOWS what it is to be imprisoned by the TWSITD, who knows the suffering of being chained and experimented on by these monsters, who knows what it is to live in a dungeon praying every night to the Goddess that rescue will come only for it never to arrive, to be nothing more then a stepping stone used by the Agarthans for power-

The fact that when presented with the faintest possible hope of rescuing someone who is suffering the same way, Edelgard seizes on it with her whole being, risking everything, her ambitions and her plans and her future, all for the sake saving one life.

And after she succeeds, after she pierces the lie of the Agrathan's invincibility? She realizes she has the strength to save everyone from them.

And then she does.

[bramblequill]

No More Running: Chapter 4 - Straight Through the Heart

Eddie stumbled through the trees, grateful for the little slivers of light the moon shone through the trees. He knew these woods pretty dammed good, but since the Upside Down he didn't particularly like the dark anymore. There was always the involuntary shuddering as goosebumps would prickle along his skin and raise the hair on his neck. He always felt he was being watched in moments like this, but he knew... he KNEW it was just residual fear from trauma. Trauma was a bitch like that. It had its way of sinking its claws into you (just like a demo-dog) and keeping ahold until you either stood your ground – faced and killed it, or let it become your all-consuming state. Eddie fought every goddammed day to not let fear and anxiety overtake him. The panic attacks had become less than that first few weeks back... but sometimes... sometimes it was still bad.

His eyes shifted rapidly searching for signs of where you had gone. He had a pretty good idea of where you would be heading assuming you knew of the clearing where people would sneak off for bonfires and beer. It wasn't quite his picnic table in the woods behind the school, and it wasn't quite skull rock... but it was nice. It was large enough to host at least a good 15 people and secluded enough that you didn't have to hush your voices making it a hot party and make out spot.

Sure, enough he found you where he expected. Fighting with himself, he couldn't decide if it'd be better to make some sort of noise to alert you to his presence or come quietly and slowly. He didn't want to spook you. You were hunched over sitting on a log, your sobs loud, whole body trembling. He could see you fidgeting with something but couldn't quite tell what you were doing. He cleared his throat once deciding it was best to make himself known... but you didn't hear him... so he coughed, loudly... and then stepped out into the clearing. He could see you better now. Your jeans were ripped at the knees (much like his favorite pair) ... usually this was taken as a fashion statement but in his world, it was just because Jeans were expensive and getting a new pair didn't happen all that often. You wore a loose fitting, very faded W.A.S.P. shirt and your hair fell around your face coming down from its ponytail. You looked up at him from where you'd been staring at... what were you staring at? Your arms? Oh... he saw now... you sat with a silver pocketknife grasped in your right hand and he could see the beginnings of slender red slices on the top of your left arm. The little angry gashes looked high enough that you'd be able to hide them with a hooded jacket, even if you pushed the sleeves up a bit... and Eddie knew that had to be intentional. His heart pained for you in that moment as you stared at him, shell shocked... no longer audibly sobbing but tears still leaking from your eyes.

"I'm sorry if I scared you" Eddie said as he stepped only slightly closer "I live in the trailer across from you... I saw you take off and you seemed upset, so I wanted to check on you..." his voice trailed off as his heart thundered in his chest. First impressions man... they matter... and he definitely didn't want to come across as a creep... "Shit... I wasn't like WATCHING you... I was in my van, just got home..."

He could see you were wary, it shone BRIGHTLY in your eyes, and of course you would be. You didn't know him, and he clearly had just found you in a very private moment. You were shuffling on the log, hurriedly trying to jam the knife back in your pocket and cover the little wounds with your hands, which also made it look like you were hugging yourself as you tried to wipe your cheeks on your shoulder with a shrug of each. "I've seen you." was all you said. Your voice so very quiet, almost a whisper.

Eddie indicated towards the log opposite from you, silently asking to sit. "Yeah? I'm not always the quietest when I come in and out of the park, sorry about that" he forced a shy smile, awkwardly shrugging and playing with his rings... God the anxiety was forming a ball in the pit of his stomach again... a coiled serpent threatening to unwind...no no not right now. Eddie had always had a soft spot for people when they were hurting. Probably due to years of abuse at the hands of his peers and a drunk father when his father WAS around. He was forever the shepherd... finding and comforting lost sheep...giving them a place, a friend group, a "home". Sitting here in front of him now you definitely looked like the type of person he could welcome into his group easily... well at least he knew you had good music tastes if your shirt was any indication of the fact. Shit... had he been quiet to long?

You were picking at the cuticles of your fingers now, eyes cast downward as you said "I personally don't mind. You've got good music tastes." you force a slight smile as you look back up at him

Eddie grins brightly, "Thank you! And if your shirt is any indication, you do as well? W.A.S.P huh? A girl after my own heart!" Eddie clutched at his chest then in a dramatic fashion stumbling off backwards off the log hoping to make you smile

He was rewarded for his silliness with a brilliant half smirk and a chuckle, "My mom used to listen to them a lot growing up. This was hers" you say as you tug the bottom of the shirt slightly before going back to picking at your skin "Do you go to the school here? I just started... yesterday. It was shit."

"Yep. I'm kind of a celebrity there" he laughs "This is my third dammed senior year... liked it so much I had to stick around ya know? But I think this is the year I finally decide to move on."

"Ahh... a repeater... yeah, I did that too. This is my second senior year technically. We've moved... a lot." you went quiet then, shifting your gaze back to the ground

"Been there, done that too. Moved in with my uncle when I was like ... umm... 8, I think? Or was it 8th grade?" he scratched his face cringing "Sorry... shitty memory."

You just smiled at him slightly but then an awkward silence settled between you two. Eddie shuffled his feet in the dirt. God why wasn't he better at this... girls... girls' man always gave him some trouble. He tried to be carefree and not care what people think but deep down it was quite the opposite. He didn't want to spill all just yet... he didn't want you to see him in pities light or think him a dammed freak.

"So, like... feel free to tell me to shut up or whatever but... are you okay? You don't have to like to tell me, I know it's not any of my business... but if I can help..." he trailed off

It was your turn to shuffle your feet around now... rubbing your hands along your arms. He could tell you were suddenly self-conscious, and he felt bad for it, but he wasn't the type to turn a blind eye in situations like this. "I know you don't really know me, but you can talk to me if you need too" he said quietly sliding off the log to sit on the ground, back propped against the wood pulling a baggie from his pocket, taking out a joint he looks at you "You mind?"

You shake your head at him indicating you didn't care if he smoked and followed his suit on sliding down onto the ground. He noticed you wince but decided not to mention already feeling like he was pressing for so much. He lit his bud and took a long drag, head falling back as he exhaled before offering it to you. He wasn't sure if you smoked but he didn't want to be rude.

You took the joint, and he watched from a sideways glance, head still upturned, as you suspended the roll between your thumb and forefinger and took a long drag. You took two more before you passed it back to him also sliding off of your log. He watched as you drew shapes in the dirt next to your leg... it was apparent you were thinking, and he didn't want to disrupt that. He waited. He shared his weed, and he waited. It really was a beautiful night he thought to himself. The breeze was not quite warm but also not cold and it blew so softly against his skin. The air was fragrant with the scent of his bud and in distance honeysuckle. Crickets and frogs sang their night songs surrounding you two as the moon shone high in the sky, peeking through treetops. He felt himself relaxing into his earthly seat more, softness overtaking his limbs and mind...keeping his sighs internal as he didn't want you to think that he was bored or impatient.

"It's my dad" your soft voice broke his thoughts "He's a prickhead... and he drinks, like, a lot. It's been like that since mom died. Ironically a drunk driver." she scoffs "He came home pissed off. I don't even really know why. I never know why." you were picking up stones and tossing them back at the ground now. "He always brings it home. Whatever's pissed him off I mean. I'm just so tired of it. Tired of cleaning up his fucking bottles and vomit, tired of being told how fucking useless I am, tired of the smell of urine in our goddamn homes or having to move and change schools so much because he can't stop getting into trouble for either whipping his dick out in public or fighting or God knows what other fucking bullshit he's up to. This is it. Once I finish this last month and a half, I'm gone. I'm getting the FUCK out of here and I'm never coming back. I can't do it anymore."

Eddie felt like his heart was shattering in his chest. Fuck he could relate. He scooted a little closer to you, the toes of his shoes meeting yours and wrapped his arms around his knees as he rested his chin on them and looked to you. A part of him wanted to reach out and take your hand and comfort you... but ... realizing now, he didn't even know your name.

"I don't know why I'm telling you all this." your voice was barely a whisper, tears streaking your cheeks

'Fuck it' Eddie thought to himself before reaching a hand out and wiping away the glimmering jewels of anguish. "I'm so sorry...no one deserves any of that. I'm not trying to take away from your experiences by telling you this, but I felt like I should share too. My old man was the same way... always in and out of prison or gutters after binders. Always drunk... and fuck he was such a hateful drunk. My mom died too...overdose got her. I think that broke dad... I mean he wasn't like father of the year or anything before that, but it only got worse after she died. He stopped caring so much about me... I became more of an accessory to his needs. He had me hotwiring cars for him so he could make get aways or just steal them outright. He taught me how to pickpocket. I didn't feel right doing any of it, but he really didn't give me a choice."

"Are you still living with him?" you asked quietly, amber eyes burning into his.

"No. Thank God no. My Uncle, Wayne... he came and took me in after the 3rd time of my father going to jail. Uncle Wayne is the best, man. Truly. He really showed me what a father SHOULD be. He did all the things you would expect. Took me fishing, patched my knees when I'd fall, consoled me when I'd angrily fight against him. Man, I don't think he's ever even raised a voice at me. I'm so goddamn lucky. So. So lucky." Eddie let his own voice trail off now... he hadn't meant to go on a tangent, and he definitely didn't want you to feel like you were throwing his uncle in your face. Sorry..."

"Don't be. He sounds amazing. I'm so glad that at least one of us has someone like that. At least I won't have to be here much longer. I don't know where I'm going to go yet... admittedly I don't really have a plan..." you laugh softly and shit, it's like music to Eddie's ears "I probably should start figuring that out." you shrug "I've applied for a few scholarships so maybe something will pull through, and I've got a little bit of money saved aside."

"Hey, we don't always have everything figured out right? If I've learned one thing from watching my uncle over the years, sometimes it's better to just not try and plan everything out and just kind of let everything happen as it will. I mean like obviously try to have some money on hand because you don't want to like to starve but... sleeping in the back of a van is always better than being around people who don't want you in their life."

"Yeah." You said softly, glancing back up at Eddie. "All I know is I can't wait. I can't take this much longer... so I'm glad the end is in sight" you laugh again softly, wrapping your arms around yourself in a hug. Eddie felt his heart wrench again. He could swear it stopped beating for a moment and sank all the way into the pit that was his stomach. Not only did your forearms bear sign of years of self-harm... so many little white scars dancing across your freckle kissed skin, but there just barely visible under the sleeves of your shirt were various bruises... a rainbow of healing stages and all the same fingerprint size. He knew then, he understood the unspoken battles you were waging at home... and suddenly he found himself feeling incredibly protective of you. Yeah, he didn't know your name yet... he'd only officially spoken to you for probably what was a few hours at this point... but in that moment... seeing the burdens you have been carrying alone... he knew he had to stay by your side.

Next Chapter - Chapter 5

[hurtcomfortetc]

I was thinking the apocalypse timeline, if that's okay! :) and omg thank you for sending me your fic, I'm so amped to read it!

Original Prompt - vaguely-- 

“since you’re looking for TUA prompts” how about Klaus with pneumonia? the others keep joking about how he needs to quite smoking and shit (and telling him to stop whining when he says he’s not good to go with them on some kind of wild adventure”

Okay, so this was a fun one to write! Hope this was in the realm of what you were looking for! :)

MONDAY(28 days sober)

Klauscan hear the distant sound of glass shattering and what might be abookshelf falling down. The sound surprises him, and he sits up soabruptly that he gives himself a head rush, and a splash of watersluices over onto the tile floor. He sits there, listening for yellsof anguish or gunfire. All he hears for the next minute is the faintcongestion in his breath.

“Vanya-it's okay – look we don't have to stop for today-”

Adoor slams.

Klausrelaxes.  

Heslides his head back under water and goes back to wondering if thisis the normal congestion he's had on and off since his cocaine phasein 2012, or if he's just getting sick.

Thenhe starts craving cocaine again.

Hedebates, for the hundredth time maybe, if Sober Klaus still smokesweed.

“Klaus,you better not have fallen asleep in there!”

TUESDAY(29 days sober)

Klauscreaks open his eyes to a blinding light and a grating voice comingfrom the other side of his door. His eyes manage to come to a focuson his clock. 1:30. Klaus is faintly pleased. It's much easier tostay sober when you're unconscious for most of the day. And he's soclose to actually deserving that thirty day chip.

Thebanging doesn't stop.

“Klaus!It's your turn with Five and Vanya today – please get your ass downhere so he'll get off my ass?” Diego calls, and continues bangingon the door.

Fiveis relentless, Klaus muses. He proceeds to remain unmoving on hisbed.

“Yougonna keep moping in here forever?” Ben asks from somewhere in thecorning of the room.

Klauslets out a loud groan that he draws out for almost twenty seconds.Ben covers his ears after ten, but Klaus has to stop and let out ashort cough before he can make it to a grand finale. Gross.

“Seriously?”Ben asks. Klaus peels himself off his bed and does a quick smell testof his underarms.

“Shhhh-I need to focus on finding a clean shirt so I can go make sure Vanyadoesn't end up murdering my second least favorite brother,” Klaussays. His voice comes out rough. Ben, for his part, looks appeased.

WEDNESDAY(30 days sober)

It'sbeen a good day.  He completed an entire arm wrestling match with atangible Ben (turns out that that in death Ben must have somehowdeveloped killer bicep muscles, but no one needs to know how thatparticular match ended) and, invigorated by his sobriety milestone,Klaus dragged himself out of bed before noon and made eggs foreveryone (they burned remarkably quickly, but Allison did eat a pieceof toast he buttered so overall a win).

Butnow it's almost dinner time, and all he can do is lay bonelessly onthe couch and listen to his siblings bicker over one of Luther's“mandatory debriefs.”

“Theday of the apocalypse is over, can't we all stop treating Vanya likea ticking time bomb?” Allison demands.

“Yousaw what she almost did to Diego a couple of days ago, we can't stopworking on this,” Luther fires back.

“Guys,I'm right here, can you just stop,” Vanya adds. There's an awkwardsilence.

“Istill don't know if the math is right, everyone. Look, the best guessis to keep trying at -”

Therest of the conversation is lost to Klaus, who feels something inhimself snap. He hastily lights a cigarette. His siblings cyclicalnonsense arguments give him a craving for nicotine that simply willnot be ignored. He takes a long drag and then feels something catchnauseatingly in the back of his throat. He sits up and coughs untilsomething slimy seems to dislodge.

Hegoes to try another inhale when he sees that everyone is looking athim. He thumps his chest for dramatic effect.

“Smokingkills, kids,” he announces, and waves a finger at his siblings,accosting. Diego rolls his eyes.

“Keepthat up and you're gonna get an iron lung before you're forty,”Diego says.

“Andwhat a thrill that would be,” Klaus retorts. The bickering carrieson after that, and he spends the rest of it tuning out his siblingsand attempting valiantly not to cough.

Hedrags his way out of the room during a longer pause. In the doorway,Allison grabs his arm and slaps something into his palm. It lookslike a bandaid, and Klaus' brain cannot produce what it is.

“Nicotinepatch. I thought you were cleaning up. It might help,” Allisonsays.

“I'llhave to change my shirt. This beige will clash hideously,” Klausreplies.

“Iordered Chinese for tonight– come down later?” Allison asks himas he continues out.

Hethrows a grateful wave behind him.

Hespends the rest of the night alternately chain smoking and hackinguntil his chest is sore.

THURSDAY(31 days sober)

Today,Klaus starts to wonder distantly if there is something wrong with hisimmune system. This cold just doesn't want to go away.

It'sa nice distraction, he supposes.

FRIDAY(32 days sober)

Klaushas just completed almost entirely turning over his room in order tofind the one sketch pad that he'd stashed away years ago. He used toget high and doodle bats and shit during his goth phase.  “Get ahobby” was something they tell you a lot in rehab.

Ithelps that, honestly, Klaus has no energy to do anything but scribbleabsently today. The mere act of searching through his closet justleft him with a racing heart and feeling out of breath. It isactually nice, in a way. The lethargy makes it very easy to settleinto a blanket puddle on the floor with and feel content to scratchout nonsense pictures with a pencil.

Benisn't anywhere to be seen for some reason, and Klaus actually feelslonely.

Ashadow appears looming over him. He looks up to see Five leaning inhis doorway.

“Getup. We're going on a field trip,” Five announces.

“Pass,”Klaus groans.

“Notasking. What, you'd rather laze around here all day?”

Klausdraws his blanket closer around him by way of answer.

Fivegrits his teeth and looks away. His foot is honest-to-god tapping.

“Getup. We need your help. We're gonna let Vanya loose today, and we needall hands on deck,” Five finally explains. Klaus sits up and giveshim an incredulous look.

“DidVanya okay this?” He asks. Five looks at Klaus like he's a cat thathe's trying to coax out of a bush.

“Ofcourse.” Klaus wonders why he bothered asking, his answer trulydoesn't inspire confidence.

“Andhow do you expect me to be of any use?” Klaus asks. On any otherday, he would bask in any remote bit of confidence in his ability,but today the concept of standing up for more than a minute is makinghim dizzy.

“Iseem to recall that you can summon Ben's ghost from the dead, amongothers. Dead people are great collateral if something goes sideways,”Five says.

“Um,great idea, but here's the thing – I can't -ahem- get it up all thetime. Apparently it's more common among mediums than you might think– one in ten!” Klaus says, praying that Five will drop it. Fivelooks at him like he's contemplating murder.

“Look,do you want me to get Luther to come persuade you?” Five threatens.

Klausraises his hands in surrender.

“Uncle,uncle! Christ, let's just get this over with,” he sighs. On the wayout, he grabs his most obnoxious faux fur jacket, partially as a lamegesture of rebellion and partially because he's utterly freezing.

“That'sthe spirit,” Five mutters, and leads the way.

----------

Fiveglanced into the rearview mirror of the car. With Luther crammed intothe passenger seat the atmosphere already feels oppressive enough,but a glimpse into the backseat reveals Vanya nervously perched inthe middle seat, Diego sitting cross-armed and surly on the right,and Klaus completely passed out on the left. The car is packed andradiating nervous energy.

Five eases the car down the bumpy dirt path, the final sign that theyare clear away from civilization. That creep Leonard really had theright idea about a remote cabin in the woods. Plenty of isolation andtrees to practice on. So lacking in human contact is this particularcabin that the unkept foliage lining the path creeps towards theroad, untamed and leaning. The cabin itself is barely a thread awayfrom losing any structural integrity. The windows have maybe threeunbroken panes of glass between them. It's perfect.

Fivebrakes violently, and winces when Klaus' forehead makes a audiblewhack on the window as he smacks himself out of his nap. Not the mostgraceful awakening, but effective. He wants everyone alert.

“Alrighteverybody. Follow me,” he says. He steps out of the car and towardsthe back of the cabin, where he has prepared a paper target on a treeabout fifty feet from the small clearing. It's visible, but wellsurrounded by other trees.

“Diego,wanna demo?” Five asks. Diego furrows his brow, but never turns upan opportunity to throw something sharp. He takes one look at themark and pegs the center ring with a hasty flick of his wrist.

“Doyou expect me to do that? That's not exactly in my wheelhouse, Five,”says Vanya, squinting at the target and looking like she'd rather beanywhere than here.

Fivetakes a handful of loose bullets out of his pocket, and places themon a tree stump.

“Woah,”interjects Luther, “we're not expecting Vanya to have to shootpeople-”

“Ofcourse not,” Five grits out. He expected this, but it doesn't makeit any less tiresome. “This is just an exercise in precision andcontrol.” Vanya looks at him, wary, but she picks up one of thelittle silver ovals and turns it around in her fingertips.

---

Ittakes the better part of an hour before Vanya manages to drill a holedirectly into the target. It's a bit left of center, but by thatpoint, Diego and Luther have finally relaxed an inch of tension outof their shoulders. Vanya is a quick study, and actually pulls asmile when the little tap of the bullet making contact sounds throughthe forest.

Klaus,for his part, has been lounging like the Queen of Sheba on a softpile of pine needles. His eyes seem out of focus, but he claps whenVanya succeeds.  

“Whooooo,you show that tree who's boss,” he calls. Vanya smiles again. Fivewonders if Klaus might have been more of a liability than anything,considering how spacey he seems for all his apparent sobriety, but ifanything it makes Vanya more relaxed when he yells out some stupidline of encouragement than if it had just been Tweedledee andTweedledum trading constipated looks and flinching every time a twigsnapped.

Fiveis contemplating dragging one more round out of Vanya when Klaus sitsup suddenly at attention.

“Woah,Vanya that's kind of creepy,” Klaus says, looking at something inthe distance. Five walks over to Klaus as he stands up, clearlyalarmed. There are goosebumps running down his arms.

“Whatare you talking about, Klaus?” Five asks, quietly. He doesn't wanta scene.

“Theway she's moving the branches of the trees like that. They're gettingall twisty. I mean it's tasteful but definitely a touch odd, wouldn'tyou say?” Five doesn't know why he looks over to see what Klaus istalking about, but he does. There isn't so much as a light breezerustling the branches.

Suddenly,Five realizes what must be going on and he's furious.

“Jesus,Klaus what are you playing at? Whatever you're tripping on is notworth risking this entire training session,” Five spits. Diegoperks up at that.

“Ithought you were going sober, man,” he says, looking at themsearchingly. Klaus, pale and sweating, does not look like thatbenchmark for clean living.

Klausdoesn't seem to notice, and continues looking at the forest, eyesfollowing something unseen.

“Unbelievable,”Five turns away, taking ten paces and breathing through his nose.

“Klaus,it's okay – I'm not doing anything,” Vanya says. She walkshesitantly towards Klaus, eyes wide and sympathetic.

“Leaveit, Vanya,” Luther cautions. Vanya reaches out a hand on Klaus'sforearm, to try to get his attention. Klaus clears his throatthickly, and coughs a bit into his fist.

“Don'tworry, Vanya- I like it, very pretty,” he says. Vanya's eyes widen.

“Guys,his skin's on fire,” she says. “Klaus, are you okay?” Shereaches a hand up his cheek, which is also burning. He doesn'tanswer, just shivers convulsively.

“Couldit be an overdose?” Luther strides over to them. Diego stiffens.

“Doesn'tseem like it to me,” Diego says. “Doesn't present the way itusually does with whatever garbage he's on.” Five's mind feelsblank.

“I'llstart the car. We have to get him out of here,” he says.

“Ithink he's just sick,” Vanya says. “He's been sounding reallyrough all week, hasn't he?”

“Shit,”says Diego. He moves to pull gently at Klaus' arm to lead him to thecar. Five takes the lead and starts for the front of the cabin.

“Wow,you can make the ground all spinny. That's a cool trick,” Klaustells Vanya. At that, Diego loops one of Klaus's arms around hisshoulder, and they start to haltingly follow after Five.

“Let'sgo, Klaus,” he says. As they make a shaky path towards the car,Five throws the passenger door open for them to slide in. They do,and it's now imminently obvious just how out of it Klaus is. Hemanages to maneuver into the passenger seat shakily, and immediatelyburies his head in his hands.

Fivewastes no time turning on the ignition and sloppily reversing thecar. He narrowly avoids bottoming out in a muddy patch. The car digsout and he slams on the acceleration as quickly as the dirt path willallow.

“Doesanyone have any water or anything?” Luther asks, and Five isdecently impressed that it's actually not a bad idea. There isrustling from the backseat as they all turn over the car searchingfor any provisions that will last them the entire ride back towardscivilization.

“Here,”Vanya finds a water bottle strewn somewhere beneath the seatcushions.

“That'sfor you,” Diego passes it to Klaus, who removes one eye from behindhis hand to look at it like it's a bomb. “I swear to god, Klaus,just take it,” Diego warns. Klaus extends a shaking hand andaccepts it. He takes a tentative sip, and then grimaces. That setshim off, coughing deeply. For each second he continues seeminglyhacking up a lung, Five's foot presses deeper into the acceleration.When he finally stops, Five meets eyes with Diego in the rearviewmirror. Diego looks panicked, and that's not a look Five is used toseeing.

“Jesus,Klaus, where's that stupid ass coat of yours?” Diego asks. “You'reshaking like a leaf.”

“Igrabbed it,” says Vanya.

“Wait-maybe we should try to keep him cool? Right?” Luther interjects.

“Idon't know- do I look like I went to fucking medical school?” Diegoasks, shooting a murderous look at Luther.

“Damn,how long has he been like this sick?” Luther asks no one inparticular.

“Ugh,right here,” Klaus says, breathlessly. “You should ask Ben, he'dknow.”

Diegothrows up his hands.

“Helpful!”

Suddenly,the car lights up a bright blue and Ben appears crammed betweenLuther and Five, crouched awkwardly on the dashboard.

Five,thrown for a loop, swerves the wheel and almost careens off the road.

“Woah-Five, get it together!” Luther calls. Ben grabs the wheel and pullsthem back on into their lane just in time to avoid hitting a tree.

“Nice,thanks,” Five breaths.

“Ben,”Luther said, dumbstruck.

“Toanswer your question, he's been out of it for a couple of days. Ithink that's why he couldn't see me anymore,” Ben says. Lutherseems unable to process the information, his mouth still gaping open.Ben rolls his eyes.

“I'mjust saying, please can you find some kind of medical professional?Like, ASAP?”

“Nooooo,”Klaus murmers through his hands.

“Klaus,”say Five, Luther and Diego almost simultaneously, all in some variouscombination of desperate frustration and warning.

Vanyareaches over and put a hand on his knee.

“Ithink what they mean is that it's not a debate. You're going to see adoctor.”

[sftswigan]

Manchester garage punks, Tinfoils, George from the band tells us about their latest single, their money raising effort for BLMUK and how a game of pool completed the band...

Alright hope you’re doing well through this shit time.

Can you tell us who Tinfoils are and where did the name come from?

TINFOILS are a mardy northern bastard garage punk band based in Manchester. There's three of us, and we've all moved here from Yorkshire.

The name came from when I was on an X Files hype. Thought it was a good name for a band, so I just got the Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages before we'd even done a rehearsal! I think it was before we even met Will. I just thought it was a good name, the other two agreed and we ran with it.

Sounds like you had confidence in this band early on then. How did you find Will and what has he brought to the band?

I don't know if I had loads of confidence in the band before we started really, I just thought the name was cool! We didn't really take it very seriously for a long time, took us about 6 months to bother looking for a gig. Was just an excuse to meet and get pissed up at first.

Me and Alex had known each other for a while, and went to a pub in Fallowfield. We were having a game of pool, when two blokes came up and asked if they could play doubles because no other tables were free. We agreed, and one of them turned out to be Will. After that they invited us to some flat party, and at about 6 in the morning on some unknown persons kitchen worktop he mentioned he played bass. We met up a couple of days later and the rest is history.

He's an amazing bassist, and his love for funk has a massive impact on every song I write. Tunes always come out sounding better once I show them to Will and Alex.

Love the bass lines in your songs, The Abyss, especially. Could’ve been a different story if you and Alex decided that was your last game of pool and just handed it to Will and his mate!

Like The Blinders, you also (and I think one or two others have followed suit) made the journey from Doncaster to Manchester. How much of a difference has that made to you and the band?

Definitely! All credit for that goes to our mate Breezy to be fair, he was the one who suggested doubles. He drops it in to conversation every time he's trying to convince us to come out.

Yeah I moved from Doncaster about 5 years ago, I do love it to bits but I wouldn't have been able to do half the stuff I wanted to if I'd stayed. Wouldn't have met Alex and Will, and probably wouldn't have ended up starting a band. There are some decent bands in Doncaster but a lot of it was indie stuff at the time, which I do like but not something I was interested in doing. The music scene in Manchester is amazing at the moment, there's so much music and it's all really different and interesting. Best place for music in the country at the moment I reckon.

Manchester is definitely a great place for music but I think the UK in general has a really good music scene at the moment with loads of good bands about! Though places like Manchester have some unreal venues and bands love playing there.

I wanna talk about your latest single ‘Spitting’ which was released during lockdown. Absolutely love that track! You went to Magic Garden to record it. What did recording it there bring to the song?

Cheers mate, we're really happy with it. I think it added a lot going to Magic Garden, Gavin's brilliant. First of all, it's just way higher quality than anything else we've put out, and I think it manages to sound a lot like we do live. Gavin also suggested we add some vocals in to middle 8 bit, which was originally just instrumental. I quickly wrote something down on a bit of scrap paper in a few minutes, and recorded it in one take, and that's the take in the final song. It's the whole "lap me up I'm stagnant water" bit. We'll hopefully get some more tunes recorded soon, would love another trip to the garden. The music video for the song is just clips of our time at the studio mixed in with some live clips, had a really good time there.

I hear quite a few bands speak highly of him and his influence on their time in his studio. He does seem to get great results.

You recently released some songs on bandcamp that were live demos if I remember correctly. Are they going onto Spotify at any point and also will you be recording any of these? Peeping Tom is probably one of my favourites of yours.

Yeah they're a load of demos we did at Dead Basic Studios last year, we thought it was a shame to have them just lying about. We decided to put them out and donate all the money from Bandcamp Day to BLMUK, every little helps doesn't it. They won't be going on Spotify, but I reckon we'll probably record a couple of them properly one day. Peeping Tom's a bit of a favourite, would love to get that recorded in a studio but there's a million tempo changes so I think it'd probably be tricky to nail down. Its one of my favourites to play live, especially when we're headlining and get the chance for a self-indulgent 10 minute jam with a big sing-a-long. The demos will stay on Bandcamp for the foreseeable, but I think we'll probably take them off at some point.

A great cause, did you manage to raise much? Some really good tracks on there would love to here them recorded like you say.

So what are the bands plans once lockdown is relaxed to a point bands and musicians to get out there and do proper stuff without fear again?

Yeah we raised about £60-70 I think? It was only for the day, when Bandcamp waived their fees. Props to Lewis from Dead Basic for recording and mixing them all.

First things first we need to get in for a rehearsal! I've written a load of new songs which I'm looking forward to working out, I think it'll be a lot of new tunes in the set list when we're back gigging. Hopefully reschedule our tour that had to be postponed, play some tunes, get some recording done, and go out and see some bands! Just got to hope it's not too far off.

That’s awesome! Excited about the new tunes and future recordings...and gigs again obviously.

Hopefully you can squeeze a rearranged gig for us on the tour!

You mentioned how highly you rate the Manchester scene. Which bands should people go and see once bands get to gig again?

There's a tonne of bands to go and see, to name a few: Loose Articles, Blanketman, The Early Mornings, Swine, Springfield Elementary, Giant Boys, The Red Stains, Cold Water Swimmers, and loads of others. There's a lot of different styles about but I do feel like there's a sort of coherent feeling between all the bands around here at the minute. It got to the point just before pandemic where no matter which venue or what day, if you turned up you'd probably see something amazing. Fingers crossed it all survives the lockdown!

There’s some good bands there, really like Springfield Elementary and Swine what I’ve heard of them and also Red Stains. I need to check the others out but we’re very lucky to have so many good bands about and more people these days that are very much into new music!

We’re gonna end the interview with some quick fun questions...

Favourite album/EP of this year?

I'm gonna go with either Zero Dollar Bill by Do Nothing, or The Non-Stop EP by Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard. Can't pick between them!

Also really looking forward to Fontaines DCs new album, and Idles, and The Blinders.

If Tinfoils could tour with any band alive or dead who would it be?

Would love to go on tour with Fontaines DC, Idles or Sleaford Mods. If I had to pick between them, at the moment probably Fontaines. Loving their last few singles, and Dogrel was banging.

Ah wait, Thee Oh Sees! Maybe Oh Sees actually. Any of the above would allow me to die happy.

Is there a song that at least one member isn’t keen on in the set but are outnumbered?

I don't really like The Royal Baby Machine that much, but the other two do.

Chinese food or Indian?

Indian

Lager or Real ale?

Ale, but more of a standard bitter to be honest. Not West Coast passionfruit and jasmine infused with lemongrass IPA stuff, it's rank and I don't get it. Give me a pint of John Smiths over that wank any day.

Festival you’d love to play?

Wouldn't turn down Glasto!

Last one...

Best live band you’ve seen?

Best live band I've seen is probably Idles.

Alex, our drummer says Cabbage at Night & Day was probably the best gig he’s been to recently

Thanks to George from Tinfoils for chatting to us! You can listen to their music on all the streaming services and go and visit their social media pages. Here is their latest effor, Spitting.