#the first time they fused was a complete accident-

[axewchao]

"Let's see if you can handle... THIS!"

A different Dalwig fight, where despite the two halves regularly being at odds, they've reached their own little equilibrium: defeating a shared foe! With Dalex's stamina and Ludwig's magic skill, this Dalwig is sure to come out on top, no matter how long it takes them!

Think you're in trouble? The best way to get out of it is to find a way to make them bicker; despite their appearance implying otherwise, this hybrid is actually a bit unstable, with Dal's aversion to causing major injury being at war with Lud's inherent desire to go all out. Once they start an argument, Dalwig falls apart, giving you a chance to either turn the tables or make a run for it.

Dunno how far you'll get, especially if an angry Ludwig starts chasing after you, but it's worth a shot. =w="

[mostlysignssomeportents]

The true post-cyberpunk hero is a noir forensic accountant

I'm touring my new, nationally bestselling novel The Bezzle! Catch me in TOMORROW (Apr 17) in CHICAGO, then Torino (Apr 21) Marin County (Apr 27), Winnipeg (May 2), Calgary (May 3), Vancouver (May 4), and beyond!

I was reared on cyberpunk fiction, I ended up spending 25 years at my EFF day-job working at the weird edge of tech and human rights, even as I wrote sf that tried to fuse my love of cyberpunk with my urgent, lifelong struggle over who computers do things for and who they do them to.

That makes me an official "post-cyberpunk" writer (TM). Don't take my word for it: I'm in the canon:

https://tachyonpublications.com/product/rewired-the-post-cyberpunk-anthology-2/

One of the editors of that "post-cyberpunk" anthology was John Kessel, who is, not coincidentally, the first writer to expose me to the power of literary criticism to change the way I felt about a novel, both as a writer and a reader:

https://locusmag.com/2012/05/cory-doctorow-a-prose-by-any-other-name/

It was Kessel's 2004 Foundation essay, "Creating the Innocent Killer: Ender's Game, Intention, and Morality," that helped me understand litcrit. Kessel expertly surfaces the subtext of Card's Ender's Game and connects it to Card's politics. In so doing, he completely reframed how I felt about a book I'd read several times and had considered a favorite:

https://johnjosephkessel.wixsite.com/kessel-website/creating-the-innocent-killer

This is a head-spinning experience for a reader, but it's even wilder to experience it as a writer. Thankfully, the majority of literary criticism about my work has been positive, but even then, discovering something that's clearly present in one of my novels, but which I didn't consciously include, is a (very pleasant!) mind-fuck.

A recent example: Blair Fix's review of my 2023 novel Red Team Blues which he calls "an anti-finance finance thriller":

https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/2023/05/13/red-team-blues-cory-doctorows-anti-finance-thriller/

Fix – a radical economist – perfectly captures the correspondence between my hero, the forensic accountant Martin Hench, and the heroes of noir detective novels. Namely, that a noir detective is a kind of unlicensed policeman, going to the places the cops can't go, asking the questions the cops can't ask, and thus solving the crimes the cops can't solve. What makes this noir is what happens next: the private dick realizes that these were places the cops didn't want to go, questions the cops didn't want to ask and crimes the cops didn't want to solve ("It's Chinatown, Jake").

Marty Hench – a forensic accountant who finds the money that has been disappeared through the cells in cleverly constructed spreadsheets – is an unlicensed tax inspector. He's finding the money the IRS can't find – only to be reminded, time and again, that this is money the IRS chooses not to find.

This is how the tax authorities work, after all. Anyone who followed the coverage of the big finance leaks knows that the most shocking revelation they contain is how stupid the ruses of the ultra-wealthy are. The IRS could prevent that tax-fraud, they just choose not to. Not for nothing, I call the Martin Hench books "Panama Papers fanfic."

I've read plenty of noir fiction and I'm a long-term finance-leaks obsessive, but until I read Fix's article, it never occurred to me that a forensic accountant was actually squarely within the noir tradition. Hench's perfect noir fit is either a happy accident or the result of a subconscious intuition that I didn't know I had until Fix put his finger on it.

The second Hench novel is The Bezzle. It's been out since February, and I'm still touring with it (Chicago tonight! Then Turin, Marin County, Winnipeg, Calgary, Vancouver, etc). It's paying off – the book's a national bestseller.

Writing in his newsletter, Henry Farrell connects Fix's observation to one of his own, about the nature of "hackers" and their role in cyberpunk (and post-cyberpunk) fiction:

https://www.programmablemutter.com/p/the-accountant-as-cyberpunk-hero

Farrell cites Bruce Schneier's 2023 book, A Hacker’s Mind: How the Powerful Bend Society’s Rules and How to Bend Them Back:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/06/trickster-makes-the-world/

Schneier, a security expert, broadens the category of "hacker" to include anyone who studies systems with an eye to finding and exploiting their defects. Under this definition, the more fearsome hackers are "working for a hedge fund, finding a loophole in financial regulations that lets her siphon extra profits out of the system." Hackers work in corporate offices, or as government lobbyists.

As Henry says, hacking isn't intrinsically countercultural ("Most of the hacking you might care about is done by boring seeming people in boring seeming clothes"). Hacking reinforces – rather than undermining power asymmetries ("The rich have far more resources to figure out how to gimmick the rules"). We are mostly not the hackers – we are the hacked.

For Henry, Marty Hench is a hacker (the rare hacker that works for the good guys), even though "he doesn’t wear mirrorshades or get wasted chatting to bartenders with Soviet military-surplus mechanical arms." He's a gun for hire, that most traditional of cyberpunk heroes, and while he doesn't stand against the system, he's not for it, either.

Henry's pinning down something I've been circling around for nearly 30 years: the idea that though "the street finds its own use for things," Wall Street and Madison Avenue are among the streets that might find those uses:

https://craphound.com/nonfic/street.html

Henry also connects Martin Hench to Marcus Yallow, the hero of my YA Little Brother series. I have tried to make this connection myself, opining that while Marcus is a character who is fighting to save an internet that he loves, Marty is living in the ashes of the internet he lost:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/07/dont-curb-your-enthusiasm/

But Henry's Marty-as-hacker notion surfaces a far more interesting connection between the two characters. Marcus is a vehicle for conveying the excitement and power of hacking to young readers, while Marty is a vessel for older readers who know the stark terror of being hacked, by the sadistic wolves who're coming for all of us:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I44L1pzi4gk

Both Marcus and Marty are explainers, as am I. Some people say that exposition makes for bad narrative. Those people are wrong:

https://maryrobinettekowal.com/journal/my-favorite-bit/my-favorite-bit-cory-doctorow-talks-about-the-bezzle/

"Explaining" makes for great fiction. As Maria Farrell writes in her Crooked Timber review of The Bezzle, the secret sauce of some of the best novels is "information about how things work. Things like locks, rifles, security systems":

https://crookedtimber.org/2024/03/06/the-bezzle/

Where these things are integrated into the story's "reason and urgency," they become "specialist knowledge [that] cuts new paths to move through the world." Hacking, in other words.

This is a theme Paul Di Filippo picked up on in his review of The Bezzle for Locus:

https://locusmag.com/2024/04/paul-di-filippo-reviews-the-bezzle-by-cory-doctorow/

Heinlein was always known—and always came across in his writings—as The Man Who Knew How the World Worked. Doctorow delivers the same sense of putting yourself in the hands of a fellow who has peered behind Oz’s curtain. When he fills you in lucidly about some arcane bit of economics or computer tech or social media scam, you feel, first, that you understand it completely and, second, that you can trust Doctorow’s analysis and insights.

Knowledge is power, and so expository fiction that delivers news you can use is novel that makes you more powerful – powerful enough to resist the hackers who want to hack you.

Henry and I were both friends of Aaron Swartz, and the Little Brother books are closely connected to Aaron, who helped me with Homeland, the second volume, and wrote a great afterword for it (Schneier wrote an afterword for the first book). That book – and Aaron's afterword – has radicalized a gratifying number of principled technologists. I know, because I meet them when I tour, and because they send me emails. I like to think that these hackers are part of Aaron's legacy.

Henry argues that the Hench books are "purpose-designed to inspire a thousand Max Schrems – people who are probably past their teenage years, have some grounding in the relevant professions, and really want to see things change."

(Schrems is the Austrian privacy activist who, as a law student, set in motion the events that led to the passage of the EU's General Data Privacy Regulation:)

https://pluralistic.net/2020/05/15/out-here-everything-hurts/#noyb

Henry points out that William Gibson's Neuromancer doesn't mention the word "internet" – rather, Gibson coined the term cyberspace, which, as Henry says, is "more ‘capitalism’ than ‘computerized information'… If you really want to penetrate the system, you need to really grasp what money is and what it does."

Maria also wrote one of my all-time favorite reviews of Red Team Blues, also for Crooked Timber:

https://crookedtimber.org/2023/05/11/when-crypto-meant-cryptography/

In it, she compares Hench to Dickens' Bleak House, but for the modern tech world:

You put the book down feeling it’s not just a fascinating, enjoyable novel, but a document of how Silicon Valley’s very own 1% live and a teeming, energy-emitting snapshot of a critical moment on Earth.

All my life, I've written to find out what's going on in my own head. It's a remarkably effective technique. But it's only recently that I've come to appreciate that reading what other people write about my writing can reveal things that I can't see.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/17/panama-papers-fanfic/#the-1337est-h4x0rs

Image: Frédéric Poirot (modified) https://www.flickr.com/photos/fredarmitage/1057613629 CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

[irisintheafterglow]

One-Shots

Gojo Satoru

You Are In Love - "you're my best friend," and you knew what it was

...Ready For It? - knew he was a killer first time that I saw him

Hits Different - it hits different 'cause it's you (or, struggling in a situationship with gojo satoru)

Never Grow Up - meeting megumi for the first time

The Archer - all of my enemies started out friends, can he hold on to you?

invisible string - the first time megumi uses ten shadows

even in my worst times, you see the best in me - being the strongest has its downsides, but at least you're suffering with him

life's no fun without a good scare - you have the brilliant idea of playing hide and seek in a corn maze against the most powerful sorcerer in the world. should be fun, right?

it's all me, just don't go (meet me in the afterglow) - satoru is jealous but refuses to admit it.

every dead end street led you straight to me - former fuckboy gojo has some things to say at the top of a mountain

i hate accidents, except when we went from friends to this! - coworkers to lovers with a healthy amount of teenage eavesdropping

Geto Suguru

The Great War - somewhere in the haze, got a sense I'd been betrayed

Back to December - you gave him all your love and all he gave you was goodbye

say you'll remember me - you were destined to fail from the start, so why does it hurt so badly when he's gone?

dazzling haze, mysterious way about you, dear - need some fluff after reading all the angst above?

tell me that you love me, love me 'til my lips turn blue - being partnered with suguru on a mission takes an unexpected turn

what if all i need is you? - after failed attempts to find a date to a relative's birthday party, your best friend acts as your fake boyfriend.

Blurbs/Drabbles

the stakes are high, the water's rough, but this love is ours - holding satoru and letting him rest, even if it's only for a little bit

it took so long to know someone like you - he doesn't know who he is with you and it scares both of you

bad days and blanket burritos - good ol' satoru bf fluff

Imagines/HCs

And the touch of a hand lit the fuse

how gojo and geto react to their partner being obsessed with them (fluffy !!!)

Gojo Satoru

What, like it's hard? -> law student!gojo

general hcs

when he buys a motorcycle

I'm with the band -> rockstar!gojo

rockstar!gojo meet sexyy

the valentine's day show

quiet moments and teaching you guitar

Falling for you, on and off the ice -> hockey player!gojo

someone steals your usual rink slot

watching a game

living in winter, i am your summer - he's terrible at figure skating

Kachow -> professional racer!gojo

on the radio

smoke his ass! - pro racer!gojo needs some motivation after a newcomer to the track pisses him off

Geto Suguru

oops? - satoru finds out that you've been seeing his best friend

a quiet moment in the aquarium

napping with you :)

scare actor!suguru

Save a horse, ride a cowboy -> gunslinger!suguru

gunslinger!geto au

Theta Phi Fuckhead -> enemy frat!suguru

ancient grudge, new mutiny

move fast, keep quiet

half the things that haven't happened yet

Series Masterlists

End Game (volleyball captain!gojo x you) COMPLETED

Co-Parenting Megumi with Satoru COMPLETED

I Don't Wanna Live Forever (gojo x you during shibuya) COMPLETED

[rozeliyawashereyall]

Sibling photo!

W/O the photo frame

Ik the left arm looks kinda off but hush

Now get ready for a long fucking rant about my listeners

Starting with Dennys! AKA Mariah Rose

(I'll do the others later)

Doing this just so I can keep her backstory from constantly changing or fusing with others

Alright so! :

Mariah is in her early 20s (maybe 23 or 25?)

Freckled ginger supremacy /hj

She has a bit of a stutter when she talks and is kinda insecure about it

Though shy with new people at first, a completely different person when they've known each other for a few months. By that, I mean she goes from a shy, quiet girl to a chaotic, loud menace

Has matching orange highlights with her brother

By the request of her strict mom, she entered university at about 18, dropped out at 21, and went back a few months later and finished her degree at 23

She has an electrical engineering degree that she still hasn't used because finding jobs is kinda hard

A very new employee at denny's

Literally only started working there to spite her mom

Mommy issues

Dad is pretty cool with whatever she does tbh long as she stays safe

Has 2 younger siblings who are twin sisters (Alicia and Amy) and 1 older brother (Henry). They all have a pretty strong bond!

Smoked for a year, quit because her sister Alicia developed asthma

Her other sister Amy wears hearing aids and really likes to draw!

The twins Alicia and Amy are 12 years old

Her brother is in his late 20s, engaged, has a medical degree, and works as a doctor in a hospital

Mariah struggled with her mental health for a few years, which is also why she dropped out before going back when her health improved

Used to wear glasses before getting eye surgery (paid by her dad cuz ain't no way she had enough money for that)

Did soccer in high school before breaking her ankle, leading to a few difficulties with walking for a few years, so she quit. Still kinda has pain in her leg whenever she walks

Occasionally does random arts n crafts with her sister to spend time with them

Also includes doing pranks on her brother

Was very alone and lonely from elementary to middle school, slowly started to get more extroverted in high school

Mariah only had very few friends. She wasn't really bullied or kept out of the group, but more like girlie was too anxious to approach anyone. So, her friends were the ones to initiate friendship first

Gal is so chaotic when she gets more comfortable. omg, comes from having multiple siblings, lol. In later stages of high school, she definitely started getting a bit more of a troublemaker, but not to the point of getting written up or kicked out

Def a people pleaser, girl says yes to almost anything (too nervous to say no cuz she doesn't want to upset anyone) her friends are usually the ones who say no for her

Prefers darker clothing and gets cold pretty fucking easily so she always has a jacket on her. Also has some walking problems due to the soccer accident I mentioned in the rant, so she's almost always sitting (gets a pass from the teachers to stay inside the classroom during recess) and sometime brings a walking stick with her if her leg is really acting up

Denise and Sarah from @piffany666 and @rustycopper4use taught her the ropes when she started working in dennys /hj

And that's all for now! Lemme know if you have any questions about her

[wackyrumble]

Barry the Chopper v.s. Roommate

Barry the Chopper - Fullmetal Alchemist

Barry was a butcher turned serial killer, who as punishment had his soul bound to armor and let him keep his murder weapons in exchange for guarding a place. He agrees to not kill when meeting the main-ish cast because of a woman he's fallen for and doesn't want her mad at him. He remains comedically docile aside from jailbreaking a woman who shot him in the hand. Read more about Barry below.

Roommate - Diary of a Tourney Kid

A clone of Adam Ruins Everything that came out wrong. He debunks things in the same way as his original, but completely incorrectly. Bill Cipher turned him into a hand puppet and fused him with a clone of another character. Fought Walter White and his evil shadow self, Walter Black. Read more about Roommate below.

Full description of Barry:

"i really dont think theres ever been another character quite like him. hes so much. his backstory is that he was a butcher who decided to be a serial killer one day because chopping up animal meat wasnt doing it for him anymore and then when he got caught and sentenced to death the government instead had his soul bound to a suit of armor that looks like sans undertales fursona and let him keep the knives he used to kill people in exchange for guarding the lab they did it to him at. and then he spends the show as a comic relief character. like hes the funniest guy in the whole thing. after his first appearance the secondary "good guy" squad run into him and decide to make him their sidekick in exchange for intel, and because they have Some moral standards they tell him chopper no chopping and he agrees because one of them is a strong confident sniper lady hes decided hes in love with and he doesnt want her to be mad at him, and then he just sits in an apartment and has sitcom shenanigans for the next couple volumes. except for when he randomly decides to stage a jailbreak for a different lady who he met once and whose only interaction with him was shooting him in the hand. and then he goes back to playing chess with his roommate. he meets his own soulless body and his first instinct is to try and chop it into little pieces and assumes anyone else would do the same thing. said body later kills both of them on accident and after that hes never mentioned again. like theres just a comic relief serial killer for a while, who doesnt actually kill anyone after being told not to but is constantly bringing up how much he loves to chop people to death with a big knife, and everyone is like "classic barry" and then he dies and the narrative goes "well alright time to move on from that". hes scared of other souls in suits of armor despite being one himself. he has cat ears. jerma likes him"

Full description of Roommate:

"OK OK OK SO LIKE. HE'S FROM THIS MASHUP TOURNAMENT HOSTED ON SOUNDCLOUD & DISCORD CALLED "DIARY OF A TOURNEY KID, RIGHT? YES, IT IS BASED OFF OF DIARY OF A WIMPY KID IN NAME, THEMING, AND A BUNCH OF THE CHARACTERS IN IT. AND YES, THE ENTIRE PREMISE WAS STARTED BY GREG HEFFLEY TRAPPING A BUNCH OF PEOPLE IN THE DIARY. LOOK. OKAY. THAT ISN'T THE POINT HERE. (including a few real people but. roommate isn't one of those real people, LOL)

so Roommate is, like, a WEIRD case. he's a clone of a TV personality version of a real guy(adam conover specifically the whole thing he does in, like, adam ruins everything), but is SPECIFICALLY STATED TO BE A SEPERATE CHARACTER IN LORE. LIKE. HES A WHOLE OTHER GUY. HE DOESNT EVEN ACT LIKE HIM. HES LIKE. THE SCOOBY DOO VILLAIN EQUIVALENT OF A MAN. all he does is run around and "Debunk" shit but hes getting it all totally WRONG. It's like, if someone who never watched adam ruins everything before took one look at its name, the blonde, glasses wearing combover having guy on the cover, and went. "oh, this guy is gonna be HORRIBLE, isnt he". and in the shows case thatd be wrong but in roommate's case, he's...he's so pathetic. he's not even the same guy at this point. (and also literally isn't. but)

He never even manages to intimidate anyone even once. not even mr beast and ninja fortnite, (part of a team called Dubious Duo) who he just. VERY much annoyed via "ruining" twitch. He also got turned into a meaty handpuppet and fused to another clone of a different character by BILL CIPHER, of all characters but then immediately fell into a hole. He got his shit beaten out of him by a 19 year old punk catboy JUST before this, too. the punk catboys name is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart BUT HE IS IN NO WAY RELATED TO THE REAL GUY. HES LITERALLY JUST. SOME RANDOM TEENAGER.

Also, extra fun facts about him include: during an event that happened on the discord, he canonically went ":3". He made his own ytp and posted it on the soundcloud account, too. he put a bunch of goofy wacky cartoon sounds in it. (his mashups use these sounds a lot outside of the ytp, too.) (incase you REALLY wanted to hear the ytp, though. here it is: https://soundcloud.com/doatk/ytpmv-02?in=doatk/sets/bonus )

P.S: extra information from a friend because they like to infodump this sort of thing & this isn't nescessary at all. but: He gets the fandom nickname of "Roommate" from his connection to Collegehumor & the Insane Clown Posse song In My Room, which he used in the tournament & is strongly associated with. He's so. He's so normal.

(P.S, P.S: THE IMAGE I SENT WITH THIS IS TECHNICALLY ART OF HIM FROM A CROSSOVER WITH ANOTHER SOUNDCLOUD TOURNAMENT THAT HAPPENED. BUT. its the best render i have that isnt done in like. ms paint LOL. IN SAID CROSSOVER (WITH A TOURNAMENT CALLED "THE PERFECT TOURNAMENT") HE ALSO FOUGHT WALTER WHITE AND HIS. EVIL SHADOW SELF, CALLED WALTER BLACK. WHO WAS LITERALLY HIS SHADOW.)

also: nobody in the fandom knows what his deal is, either. they literally just couldnt catch the real adam conover at first so they (In canon) just went "well! time to make a clone, i guess!" and then he came out WRONG."

[neondiamond]

🌸 Recently Read Fics - April 2023 🌸

These are all the amazing fics I read over the past month (from shortest to longest). Don’t forget to leave kudos and comments to show the authors your appreciation if you read any of these! 🤍

🌸 Rainy Days, New Adventures by @greenblueish (1k, G)

After a bad day, Louis decides to take a walk in the park where he meets a special man with a special little companion.

🌸 His and Hers by @hellolovers13 (1k, T)

It's just a blanket, it shouldn't make Harry freak out like this.

🌸 Do You See What I See by @allwaswell16 (2k, T)

Harry may or may not be rescuing stray animals as an excuse to see the very hot local veterinarian.

🌸 Changing Weather (For Worse or For Better) by @haztobegood (3k, M)

Five times it's raining and one time it stops.

🌸 Just a little taste by @lunarheslwt (3k, G)

Harry is a vampire that comes home one night, grappling with the darkness that comes with being one. Louis offers him unwavering love, acceptance and the one thing he needs but is reluctant to ask for; permission to bite for the sake of comfort and safety seeking.

🌸 Things Unsaid by @londonfoginacup (4k, G)

Where you have a tattoo of the first thought your soulmate has when they see you.

🌸 There’s More Than Meets The Eye by @faithinwalls369 (4k, NR)

Loving from afar left room for wonder, absent embarrassment and an eradication of stuttering. Falling at one's feet, metaphorically or physically is thrown into the mix, when Niall and Liam play cupid’s arrow, throwing a blindfolded Harry and Louis together. Chemistry isn’t Niall’s chosen subject, but when sparks fly, it’s something he should consider.

🌸 some time to borrow by @sun-lt (8k, T)

In which Louis breaks his arm, Harry buys a car, and they do what they can with the time they have.

🌸 Station 28 by @justahappycloud (10k, G)

Some people meet by accident. Two unassuming worlds that weren’t supposed to even graze each other clash, and in an unexpected twist of destiny, they fuse into one. It’s destructive. It’s life changing. It’s, unequivocally, a complete and utter mess.

Darling, you are my favourite accident by far.

🌸 Keep Driving by @dedtobeginwith (11k, M)

Louis works as a driver contracted through the local cancer institute. All of his clients are associated with the hospital—mostly patients and their families heading home. One rainy afternoon, he picks up Harry.

🌸 Somebody’s Got Your Trainers On (It’s You) by @greenblueish (28k, E)

The one where, after two years, paediatrician Harry returns to Silver Street Hospital and with it to paediatric nurse Louis' life.

🌸 saw some things on the other side by @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed (61k, M)

When Louis moves into the mansion he’s inherited from his great grandfather, he has a plan that consists of three things. One, he’s going to finish writing the next novel in his series. Two, he’s finally going to get over his ex-fiancé. And three, while battling writer’s block and having to resist the urge to kill off the main character in his books – the hot detective based on his ex-fiancé – he’s going to restore the mansion to its former glory.

Unfortunately, Louis’ plan doesn’t take into account the fact that instead of writing murder mysteries, he will find himself in one.

🌸 another friday night by @wabadabadaba (73k, M)

Louis Tomlinson thought signing to BMG would mean he would be free to make his own choices.

He should have known better.

Tasked with getting a public girlfriend, Louis decides to try his hand at finding the right woman himself. From the moment he met Lennon Adair he felt a connection with her but he had no idea how deep that connection would go.

🌸 And What If I Were You by @jacaranda-bloom (109k, E)

For Louis, will losing his sight give him the clarity to realise what is right in front of him?

For Harry, will losing the love of his life give him the strength to finally open his heart?

And can they find their way back, before they lose each other forever?

A story of love. A story of loss. A story of fighting for each other, no matter the odds.

[octochick]

My personal favela five headcanons (and bonus redstone gang trio ones)

Cellbit - So this wet cat of a man has a Backstory. You know. Born a catboy, occultists took him and experienced on him, ascended, learned some rituals and escaped. Was kinda out of sanity at that time so he kinda became a serial killer, classical Cellbit things. He was indeed rescued by Felps after Alcatraz, and had to get some reeeeealy intense therapy... how Felps found a therapist that would effectively treat him is a mystery, but he did and slowly, Cellbit got better. Nowadays, he looks like a mostly normal man. Mostly thanks to his appearance distortion ritual hiding the biggest part of his scars, the tatoos from when he was a guinea pig to occultists and his cat ears. Oh and he also has faceblindness.

Felps - A Felps from the felpsverse that decided to go on a simple vacation to meets some old friends but was dragged to the island. This Felps is actually a quite important Felps, being the one to bring the Felpses that die outside of the felpsverse back home. Sometimes he likes to substitute for other Felpses (The Fuga Impossível universe doesn’t actually have a Felps, it was this guide Felps the “Felps” there). He used to hang quite a lot around some of the few non-Felps entities back on felpsverse, like Rubens. Physically, he has some small differences that distinguish him from the other Felpses, like how he always walks barefoot and how he can float some centimeters off the ground. He can’t really die, but can be hurt. He bleeds black, has lots of spirals over his whole body, and any chunk of flesh that is ripped out of him turns into goo. He has a small mental link to the greater Felps conscience that sends small bits of information about the other Felpses memories whenever he needs it.

Mike - So Mike started out as a simple slime hybrid, orphan, met Pac at school and the two ran away when they finished 9th grade and did some shit, including going to prison. But well, they get out and try a new life for themselves of scientists, with pretty good results if they do say. Anyways, things got kinda freaky when the two figured out genetic modification. So Pac, at the time a simple human, decided to be reasonable despite Mike’s and his own voice and just did a simple fusion. Now, Mike, very confident that his hybrid status would make him sturdier to more extreme transformations, decided to go a little crazy. First was creeper, complete success. A touch of spider, only for the wall climbing? Yup, splendid. Now... blaze? Blaze fucked things up beyond repair. The blaze dna didn’t interact well with his slime dna, fused into magma cube dna and overwrote a lot of his own genome. He almost died and his body became almost unrecognizable. If analyzed, he is around 1% spider, 5% human, 16% slime, 23% creeper and 55% magma cube nowadays. His body is basically a slime mold, vaguely human in shape, red fading into pink, lightly explosive with large eye spots. Despite this body having its uses, Mike was always used to a human body so he and Pac worked hard to make him a robot body. His body went through lots of versions, and it still is being updated. The most recent version has a digital TV face, fingers that have deployable tools (A staple since the second version), and a complex camouflage system. If you pay attention to the joints, you can see glimpses of his true body.

Pac - So Pac used to be a human, but now he is a third planaria. His leg suffered more than Jesus. Despite the rumors, Cellbit DIDN’T eat his leg. But he did bite it. At first it wasn’t all that bad, excluding the obvious, but he still could walk ok, things just got bad when they returned to land and it got infected so bad the leg had to be amputated, bellow the knee. So one of the first things Tazercraft built when they got their lab was a prosthesis for him. And thing were well and swell, buuuut a lab accident happened and Pac’s leg had to be amputated further, over the knee. New prosthesis, everything ok again. Genetic modification time! Mike’s adventures are already written, but Pac decided think a little bit more about it. He decided to go for planaria, because of their regeneration capabilities. He went, got that planaria dna and almost died. But he survived. His leg, for some miraculous reason, got regenerated, but not perfectly, so nowadays he needs a cane a lot of the time. He does wonder what would happen if he is cut in half, but its better to not think about it too much.

 Now the bonus Viniccius13 and DaviGamerHD because they were for a very long time the only minecraft channels I watched

Viniccus13 - He is something of a demigod, almost omnipresent and omniscient, but only on his home world. He is basically a ginormous redstone circuit, the size of a minecraft world, that reached sentience. He can feel and see through all the redstone that is from his home world, and he can “contaminate” the redstone of other worlds to also do that. His body is completely made out of redstone. Think of him a little like a mushroom. He, the man, is the fruiting body, and the redstone underground is the hypha. But he can’t survive outside of his world for very long, he will simply crumble and loose consciousness. To be able to go to other worlds he uses a stabilizer in the form of sunglasses.

Davi - Davi is a hybrid of deer and dryad, a little of a strange mix. His antlers form a ring over his head like a halo, but they have lots of cracks and fractures, and are also very uneven with different growth patterns, caused by his frequents deaths in Viniccius world. Some of Richarlyson body language reminds Forever of Davi, so he calls Richas Davi as a small joke.

[lemon-drop-soda]

Alright alright, I guess I'll talk a little bit about Fractalis before I head to bed tonight.

This guy started life as a drawing prompt, specifically the one where you gather up a bunch of your favorite characters and make an OC based on patterns that you notice in all or most of them. If you know anything about my taste in Men(tm), I'm sure the type of person he at the very least starts out as would come as no surprise to anyone.

Though I should probably explain what he is to me now, so here goes (after the cut)

Fractalis in his current form is a Zariel Tiefling. His adolescence and early adulthood was filled with a bitterness brought about by being marked by Zariel by blood, and thus against his will. He wanted no association with the warmonger of Avernus, he wanted to be listened to as a developing person, not a devil pawn destined for evil. Orphan tieflings are a dime a dozen in Faerûn, it would be more shocking if he did know who brought him into a world that he would learn hated him for existing. His hormonal changes didn't help things, as they brought out a rage in him that he tried in vain to blame solely on the archdevil's influence. His hot temper was short-fused and violent. He knew in his core that he was capable of being kind, rational, honest, a person worth listening to. Yet nobody taught him etiquette when it came to interpersonal conversations, meaning he often came across as blunt and rude when he thought he was simply telling the truth. Rumors and lies from his peers spread about him behind his back, as is often the case with gossiping youth who may not know better. He grew to resent the act of spreading malicious lies with a passion that often ended in broken bones and bruises (moreso on the other side than his).

One too many violent incidents landed Fractalis with a poorer reputation than what he wanted in the first place. He found himself disciplined by Flaming Fists regularly during his time living in the Outer City of Baldur's Gate. He had seen the inside of a jail cell multiple times of his own volition. His reasoning for surrendering was that if he could explain his position--what exactly made him so angry that he would resort to violence, why he would rather be left alone than persecuted for being associated by the infernal blood he had no say in--then they would have no rational reason to keep him for long. What ended up happening was that the Fists who regularly met him in the slammer decided to direct his physically inclined problem solving ability into training as a mercenary. He completely by accident grew into a fighter capable of directing combat with the same conviction he has when sticking to his beliefs. His blunt honesty was honed into a pragmatism that could be challenged only if the challenger was ready to receive a swift ass-kicking from him. Opportunities from more naive challengers became far less frequent when it became apparent that Fractalis knew exactly what he was talking about.

For once in his life, he was being listened to. Not just as a fellow man, but as a leader.

Yet even as his peers among the Flaming Fists grew to respect him, he couldn't help but feel as though his infernal rage was what was truly influencing those around him to bow to his whims. Despite feeling capable of holding his own, he simultaneously felt like he was being controlled by the anger within him, prickling at dissent with a juvenile, knee-jerk retaliatory response with terrifying consistency. His reputation was still marked with a streak of violence that he never asked to remain with him. And before he can even think of disappearing to a far-off corner of the realm, a place where he can burn that reputation away...

He was drafted into fighting in a war he wanted no part in. He accidentally became a prime candidate to fight on the front lines. Though he fought as he was trained to--with confidence and relentless force of will--it was in slaying those he was told to kill that began to quell his rage. Ironically, it was facing the kind of battle his own Infernal influence yearned to revel in that sated what he believed was an unquenchable pyre. Fight after fight, victory after victory, senseless death after senseless death. He did as he was told to, and in doing so, he was at odds with his own morals. A kind man doesn't cut down someone who thinks and feels like he does just because he has no say in what side of the trenches he's on. He felt he could only rationalize his trail of blood in the name of protecting those in his squadron for so long. He had to, for once in his life, silence his honesty, as not to ruin morale, for if he were honest, he would've left long before the battle began. The battles wore on him far more than any petty squabble that occurred in his youth.

He returned to Baldur's Gate a hero of war, but he also returned tired. His hands were covered in the blood of those he never knew. His soul weighed heavier with the murders he committed lingering with him long after the dust settled.

Enough was enough.

With his rage burnt down to smoldering ash, Fractalis left his home city and traveled east. He had no place in mind to settle on, he just knew he had to be somewhere far removed from the Gate and his Flaming Fist brethren. He settled on the small hamlet of Mouth o' Gargoyles in Cormyr, becoming a woodcutter to keep himself busy. He enjoyed the solitude, as it was nice to not be constantly surrounded by new faces and new people he would never get the chance to know or understand. Here, even though he had avoided actively standing out and asserting himself as he was required to do so back in Baldur's Gate, his reputation formed around his newfound reclusive tendencies. He found freedom here to become the kind, rational, honest man he knew he could be. The inevitable rumors about what he really uses his woodcutting axe for still bothered him, but the mood here was markedly different than in his former home. He was far too tired to explode in fits of rage anymore. He had more time and space to voice his frustration to those who hurt him. He didn't have to beat someone to a pulp to get them to listen to him, nor did he have to threaten to do so (as much).

It wasn't much longer after he became one of Mouth o' Gargoyles' "locals" that he me his wife.

(I'll introduce her later but for right now I am tired and ending this post lmao)

[watcher-servant]

Counter guardian ARC

(Including 1st and 2nd ascension)

1st ascension: Rusted Knight

2nd ascension: Professor Arc of the Clock tower

3rd ascension: Counter Guardian (secret/undecided)

Class: Shielder, Pretender, Saber

Parameters:

Strength: B

Endurance: A+

Agility: C

Mana: B

Luck: E

NP: B

Class Skills:

Magic Resistance: B, Cancel spells with a chant below 3 verses. Even if target by greater magecraft and rituals, it is difficult for them to be affected.

Riding: B, Most vehicles and animals can be handled with above average skill, even vehicles that did not exist in the time period one was alive in. Can't ride phantasmal species

Self Defense Field: B

Personal Skills:

Auric Arts: B, Due to gaining a better understanding of aura, along with gaining proficiency in magecraft. He is able to weave techniques together allowing the use of circuits and the manipulation of aura in a tangible form

Guardian Spirit: B, A composite Skill combining effects of Eye of the mind (False) and Battle Continuation. Holds a natural instinct of tactics, which became sharper over time, capable of complete analysis of his enemy and battlefield. Due to his endurance and determination, he is very hard to put down. As he will keep fighting until his foe is dead, he can no longer move or allies can finish. Gains a rank when protecting someone.

Self-loathing: C, Doesn't hold himself highly even with earned wins. Suffers from imposter syndrome, the only pro is that he won't underestimate any enemies.

Noble Phantasm:

Crocea Mors: C+, Originally a weapon that had passed through his family, was upgraded with first partner's weapon, later broken during the fight aganist her killer. In this new world was reforged using a black key. Later with both sword and shield enfused and saturated in his aura started to fuse with his body. Is able to summon a complete copy of the sword in energy form that ripples.

Aura Amp, Enhancing the soul: B, His original semblance allows the amplification of aura's natural abilities. This also applies to prana allowing healing, energy replenishment, and enhancement. Can also infuse his aura into a weapon to strengthen it and apply different effects.

Lore, Abyss of the soul: B, The dark side of aura he discovered by accident. The complete opposite of aura as it allows the absorption of energy and even having its own gravity like a pseudo black hole. Can also be manipulated like aura and usually takes form of a gauntlet shield.

Chevalier's Shard: ???, A mystic code that he created during his time as the Kaleidoscope's apprentice. It allows him to instantly don armor, giving both physical and magical properties. Once infused and enhanced by both lore and his aura, it allows a complete change that further enhances ability. However, its locked due self-imposed restrictions saved for foes up the ranks of world ender or beasts.

Juniper, celestial jackalope: B, the loyal mount of the rusted knight due to bonding with the rider. She can use a form of the knight's abilities. Channeling energy into her horns makes a similar effect of aura Amp and even heal wounds of allies. By calling her true name, she's able to unleash a concentrated beam of energy.

(Context: Lore ability is from Silver by Imyoshi, also a good reference for Jaune using aura more.)

(2nd image is made by Diahwasher1910)

[pikahlua]

MHA Chapter 361 spoilers translations

This week’s initial tentative super rough/literal translations under the cut.

tagline 1 ミリオの言葉を受けて… ミリオのことばをうけて… MIRIO no kotoba wo ukete... He receives Mirio’s words...

tagline 2 No.361 異変　堀越耕平 ナンバー361 いへん　ほりこしこうへい NANBAA 361 ihen   Horikoshi Kouhei No. 361 Accident   Kouhei Horikoshi

1 友だち… ともだち… tomodachi... “Friends...”

2 みっくんとともちゃんに一緒に遊ぼって言ってね みっくんとともちゃんにいっしょにあそぼっていってね Mikkun to Tomochan ni issho ni asobo tte itte ne “Mikkun and Tomochan said let’s play together.”

3 いるもん… iru mon... “I have them...”

1 みっくんとともちゃんが転ちゃんは優しいからって言ってくれたもん みっくんとともちゃんがてんちゃんはやさしいからっていってくれたもん Mikkun to Tomochan ga Tenchan wa yasashii kara tte itte kureta mon “Mikkun and Tomochan told me, ‘Tenchan is kind’”

2 モンちゃんだって僕と散歩したがるもん‼︎ モンちゃんだってぼくとさんぽしたがるもん‼︎ MON-chan datte boku to sanpo shitagaru mon!! “and even Mon-chan was eager to take walks with me!!”

3 僕ちゃんと友だちいるもん‼︎ ぼくちゃんとともだちいるもん‼︎ boku chanto tomodachi ga iru mon!! “I do have real* friends!!” (Note: “Chanto” means “proper,” which I’m writing as “real” here.)

4 ご go “S-”

5 ごめん gomen “Sorry”

1 “Oops!”

2 何だ今の…⁉︎デリケートなとこに触れてしまったのか…！ なんだいまの…⁉︎デリケートなとこにふ���てしまったのか…！ nanda ima no...!? DERIKEETO na toko ni furete shimatta no ka...! “What was that just now...!? Did I touch on something delicate...!”

3 それより…… sore yori...... “More than that......”

4 生えたての触手とは比べものにならない本体の堅さ はえたてのしょくしゅとはくらべものにならないほんたいのかたさ haetate no shokushu to wa kurabe mono ni naranai hontai no katasa “The freshly-grown tentacles don’t compare to the hardness of his real body”

5 薄皮一枚破れないなんて‼︎こりゃマズいぜ…！ うすかわいちまいやぶれないなんて‼︎こりゃマズいぜ…！ usukawa ichimai yaburenai nante!! korya MAZUi ze...! “I can’t tear through one thin layer of [his] skin!! This is bad...!”

6 フーー FU--- “Hmm---”

7 "分裂"する…！ "ぶんれつ"する…！ “bunretsu” suru...! “I’m splitting...!”

8 身体は完成した！「死柄木弔」は完全に「僕」と統合された筈だなのにまだ融け切っていないものがある からだはかんせいした！「しがらきとむら」はかんぜんに「ぼく」ととうごうされたはずだなのにまだとけきっていないものがある karada wa kansei shita! 「Shigaraki Tomura」 wa kanzen ni 「boku」 to tougou sareta hazu da nanoni mada toke kitte inai mono ga aru “[My] body was completed! ‘Tomura Shigaraki’  should have been completely integrated into ‘me,’ but there is still some thing that hasn’t fused.”

9 「弔」でも 「とむら」でも 「Tomura」 demo “Something that is neither ‘Tomura’”

10 「AFO」でもないもの… 「オール・フォー・ワン」でもないもの… 「AFO」 demo nai mono... “nor ‘AFO’...”

1 志村 しむら Shimura “Shimura.”

2 長引くと ながひくと nagahiku to “If this is prolonged”

3 面倒だ めんどうだ mendou da “it will be troublesome.”

4 あ‼︎ a!! “Ah!!”

5 待て！ まて！ mate! “Wait!”

1 時間稼ぎに構う理由がない きみにかまうりゆうがない kimi (kanji: jikan kasegi) ni kamau riyuu ga nai “I have no reason to care about you (read as: time-buyer)”

2 多少は怯んでくれると思ったのに！ たしょうはひるんでくれるとおもったのに！ tashou wa hirunde kureru to omotta noni! “I thought he’d be somewhat scared!”

3 初手は波動さんと環でよろしく！ しょてははどうさんとたまきでよろしく！ shote wa Hadou-san to Tamaki de yoroshiku! “I’ll leave the first move to Hadou-san and Tamaki!”

4 その隙に初登場の俺が爆豪くんを引き離す！ そのすきにはつとうじょうのおれがばくごうくんをひきはなす！ sono suki ni hatsutoujou no ore ga Bakugou-kun wo hiki hanasu! “In that opening, I’ll pull away Bakugou-kun with my first appearance!”

5 その後は そのあとは sono ato wa “After that,”

6 ノーダメで本体と接触できる俺で時間を稼ぐ！ ノーダメでほんたいとせっしょくできるおれでじかんをかせぐ！ NOODAME de hontai to sesshoku dekiru ore de jikan wo kasegu! “I’ll buy time [since] I can come into contact with his main body [and take] no damage!”

7 ただ有効打が見込めなきゃ時間稼ぎは成立しない！だから… ただゆうこうだがみこめなきゃじかんかせぎはせいりつしない！だから… tada yuukouda ga mikomenakya jikan kasegi wa seiritsu shinai! dakara... “However, if we can’t expect my hits to be effective, I won’t be able to buy enough time! That’s why...”

1 俺はおまえの時間を稼ぐぜ おれはおまえのじかんをかせぐぜ ore wa omae no jikan wo kasegu ze “I’ll [just] buy time for you”

2 環 たまき Tamaki “Tamaki.”

3 来い… こい… koi... “Come...”

4 来てみろ来い！邪悪の権化が‼︎ きてみろこい！じゃあくのごんけが‼︎ kitemiro koi! jaaku no gonke ga!! “Just try and come [at me]! You incarnation of evil!!”

5 無理するなイイのが一発入ってる むりするなイイのがいっぱつはいってる muri suru na II no ga ippatsu haitteru “Is it okay to overdo it by taking just one shot?”

6 意識を保つだけで精一杯だろう いしきをたもつだけでせいいっぱいだろう ishiki wo tamotsu dake de seiippai darou “Aren’t you doing your best by just staying conscious?”

1 どうやら君たちは どうやらきみたちは douyara kimi-tachi wa “Apparently, you all”

2 だあらああああ‼︎ daaraaaaa!! “Hyaaaaa!!” (Note: Idk, this is just a fighting noise.)

3 ここは koko wa “This place”

4 お前を倒す為だけに造られた おまえをたおすためだけにつくられた omae wo taosu tame dake ni tsukurareta “was built just for the sake of defeating you.”

5 自分たちの棺桶を拵えていたみたいだ じぶんたちのかんおけをこしらえていたみたいだ jibun-tachi no kan’oke wo koshiraete ita mitai da “were building your own coffin, it seems.”

1 「おまえさァ」 「omae saA」 “You”

2 「何でも出来る個性だからって 「なんでもできるこせいだからって 「nandemo dekiru kosei dakara tte “have a quirk that can do anything,”

3 そうやってウチらの事見下してんでしょ」 そうやってウチらのことみくだしてんでしょ」 sou yatte UCHI-ra no koto mikudashitendesho」 “and so that’s how you look down on us, isn’t it.”

4 相手の事を知りたいと思う度皆離れて行っちゃうの あいてのことをしりたいとおもうたびみんなはなれていっちゃうの aite no koto wo shiritai to omou tabi minna wa narete icchau no “Each time I want to know about someone, they all end up going away.”

5 ヒ… HI... “He-...”

6 ヒーロー… HIIROO... “Hero...”

7 でもね demo ne “But you know,”

8 誰が好きなんだい⁉︎ だれがすきなんだい⁉︎ dare ga suki nandai!? “Which [hero] do you like!?”

9 君が聞いてくれたから きみがきいてくれたから kimi ga kiite kureta kara “because you asked me [that],”

1-2 君たちの事ここでたくさん知れたから きみたちのことここでたくさんしれたから kimi-tachi no koto koko de takusan shireta kara “I got to know about you and a lot of other things here, and so”

3-4 私はもっともっと強くなれたんだよ わたしはもっともっとつよくなれたんだよ watashi wa motto motto tsuyoku naretanda yo “I was able to become stronger and stronger.”

5 混成大夥の真価 こんせいたいかのしんか konsei taika no shinka “The true value of Vast Hybrid”

6 発揮するには時間がかかる はっきするにはじかんがかかる hakki suru ni wa jikan ga kakaru “takes time to manifest.”

7 天喰環のことは私と通形が知っている あまじきたまきのことはわたしととおがたがしっている Amajiki Tamaki no koto wa watashi to Toogata ga shitte iru “Toogata and I know [this] about Tamaki Amajiki.”

1 (Note: This is a list of a ton of foods Tamaki has eaten. I’m not trying to parse all of this right now.)

2 食べれば たべれば tabereba “The more you eat”

3 食べる程可能性が広がる たべるかのうせいがひろがる taberu kanousei ga hirogaru “the more possibilities you have.”

4 死柄木に唯一有効打を通せるとしたら しがらきにゆいいつゆうこうだをとおせるとしたら Shigaraki ni yuiitsu yuukouda wo tooseru to shitara “If anyone can land an effective hit on Shigaraki”

5 "個性"に上限が無いおまえだ！ "こせい"にじょうげんがないおまえだ！ “kosei” ni jougen ga nai omae da! “it’s you, the one with no upper limit on your quirk!”

6 おまえなんだよ！ omae nanda yo! “It’s because of you!”

1 (Note: This is a continuation from the panel on the previous page.)

2-3 サンイーター‼︎ SAN’IITAA!! “Suneater!!”

tagline 振り絞るーー ふりしぼるーー furishiboru--- Mustering strength---

[ploppythespaceship]

Tears of the Kingdom is fantastic so far. Genuinely an incredible game that somehow manages to exceed astronomical expectations. But there are a couple UX things that are surprisingly bad -- "surprisingly" because I feel like a game of this caliber that was delayed so many times really should have caught these in playtesting.

This post contains no spoilers until after the cut. Everything above the cut is basic gameplay mechanics that are accessible within the first hour of play.

1. You should be able to fuse weapons directly from your inventory. It's actually baffling to me that you can't. If I have a gem that I want to fuse to my sword, I have to select the gem, select hold, unpause the game, toss the gem on the ground, switch to the sword, select fuse, select the gem, and select my sword. Why on earth is it that many steps?? It can be slightly sped up by throwing the item on the ground using R and the quick menu, but that's still a lot. You should be able to select a weapon in your inventory, hit fuse, then select a material -- done. This is so obvious to me that I am still shocked it's just not an option. You can destroy fusions from your inventory, so why can't you make a fusion there too??

2a. The materials quick menu is a lot, whether you're firing an arrow or just finding something to throw. Every item you've ever picked up is in a single long row that you have to scroll through desperately to find the one thing you need. Part of this is unavoidable simply due to the amount of materials in the game, and the ability to sort helps a little. But you should really, really be able to set favorites. Ideally the favorites would be in a ring menu similar to the hand abilities, with one of the options being to open the full inventory, but even the option to set favorites that will always appear at the top of your regular list would help tremendously.

2b. Also, while I appreciate being able to craft your own arrow types and not rely on always finding or buying the ones you need, you should be able to stockpile certain arrow fusions ahead of time. I pretty much always want fire arrows, shock arrows, ice arrows, bomb arrows, and homing arrows on hand, and having to individually fuse every single shot quickly gets tedious.

This last one is a spoiler -- don't look under the cut unless you've completed at least one of the main story sections.

3. The sage abilities are incredibly inconsistent to activate, especially when you have more than one following you. I currently have the Rito, Goron, and Zora sages, and they're becoming a lot to manage. If you want to use their abilities, you have to stop, look around to find all your followers, locate the specific one you need, approach them, and press A. And I swear they are never around when you want them, but when you're just trying to pick up some materials, they're practically on top of you and I'm using their ability by accident. I'm not entirely sure what the solution is -- you could give each ability its own combo to activate automatically, but they'd quickly become unmanageable.

[crystallinearts]

so hey guys, I'm doing NaNoWriMo this year! if you want, come be writing buddies with me! https://nanowrimo.org/participants/aj-strong

and check out my latest project, which I'm hoping will be my first published novel (if I'm able to publish it for people to read for free somewhere uwu), The Lovely Disaster Sideshow! It's a mystery, horror, adventure, historical, weird mishmash that takes place in a Victorian Era circus!

Here's the cover, and below the cut are some bullet-point details about the main characters!! Let me know what you think so far, and... well, get ready for me to do very little else throughout November XD

ABIGAIL HUGHES AND EULALIA "LALI" HUGHES

Mother and daughter protagonists

Abigail (late 20s) is missing a hand and Lali (6 years old) is unable to speak due to trauma (Abigail’s missing hand and Lali’s trauma are both from the accident which killed Abigail’s husband)

They fill the jobs of whatever needs done within the circus after joining; cooking, mending, running errands

Abigail occasionally performs with Bharata after he teaches her tricks on how to live without one hand

Lali enjoys working with Estelle and Cedar particularly, but the entire circus is protective of her as their youngest member

Native English

RINGMASTER

The circus ringleader, the master of ceremonies who runs shows and hires new workers

A friendly fellow (late 30s-early 40s) who welcomes anyone into the circus, regardless of disabilities or age, as long as they can work in some way or another

Creative in describing the sideshows to attract the attention of the public

In reality a cold, calculating bigot who is bitter toward, resentful of, and disgusted by the ‘freaks’ he employs in the circus

Native English

GWYNN

“The Eyeless Albino” visual oddity (pure white hair, no eyes)

A young man (early 20s) who is completely albino and was born without any eyes

He is entirely blind and relies on other people (most often Bharata and Siobhan) to help him around, though he’s learned to navigate most of the circus by sound as long as he has landmarks to go by; new areas confuse him until he learns the layout

His skin burns incredibly easily, meaning he often carries a parasol to block sun rays even when it’s cloudy

(His parasol also double functions as a makeshift cane) Welsh and a little English

SIOBHAN

“A Marvelous Mouth” sword swallower and fire breather

A young woman (early 30s) who is a former prostitute, leading the Ringmaster to capitalize on her relaxed gag reflex to make her into a sword swallower (and, occasionally when the shows need that extra oomph, fire breather)

Quite heavily tattooed, at least for the time period, she sports many tattoos on her arms, legs, back, and hands, as well as one on her neck; this causes many people to view her as a degenerate and adds to her ‘freakishness’ for the circus

Irish

CAIN AND ABEL

“Two-For-One Twins” visual oddity (conjoined twins)

Two young men (mid 20s) joined at the hip, they’re unable to be separated and sometimes have issues with moving around; they have separate bodies (two arms each, two legs each, separate torsos, separate heads, etc.) but their bodies are fused at the hip and doctors have all told them separation is too risky

They get along fairly well, with the occasional sibling fights, though they feel isolated even from the rest of the circus, stemming from only having had each other for most of their lives, especially given that they were the most recent additions before Abigail and Lali

Native English

ESTELLE

“Silent Angel” trapeze artist

A young woman (early 20s) who is almost entirely deaf and can only hear (barely) if someone is shouting right next to her ear, she cannot speak very well and prefers to communicate in other ways

She can’t read or write, but she’s made up her own variety of gestures (basically an individual sign language) to speak with the other circus performers, and she can read lips quite well

Short, petite, and kind… and will simply walk away from anyone who treats her or her friends cruelly

Spends hours teaching Lali her individual sign language, so that Lali can communicate even though she’s too traumatized to speak verbally

French and English

BHARATA

“One-Armed Wonder” knife thrower

A young man (late 20s) who has only one arm, and is perceived by many others as very clumsy; every household he’s worked for has set him up to fail by assigning him tasks that simply can’t be done with just one arm, leading him to find a belonging in the circus

Wanting to prove everyone wrong, he trained to do something that others thought couldn’t be done with only one arm: knife throwing… and is very good at it

He’s sympathetic toward Abigail and tries to teach her every single tip he has about how to live without one arm/hand

Indian

CEDAR

“Crystal Ball” fortune teller/palm reader/astrologist

A young nonbinary person (mid 20s) who was ostracized from society when they refused to answer to ‘she’, who ran away from home after their parents tried to beat them into conforming

No physical disability aside from dysphoria (which is obviously helped when they’re around supportive people who respect what they want to be called), and very supportive themself of the people in the circus who do have disabilities

Rather easygoing in terms of interacting with other people, they tend to simply go with the flow, but they’re also incredibly perceptive which is what makes them such a good fortune teller; while they do study palmistry, astrology, and tarot, they also employ the use of cold reading techniques (“might as well take advantage of all the gifts I have, including observation, right?”)

Native English

SALEM

“The Lizard Man” visual oddity (has X-linked ichthyosis resulting in scale-like skin)

A man (late 30s) who was cast out from society because of his strange appearance, stemming from his medical condition; people have been ‘terrified’ of his looks before, not to mention fearing that whatever he has is ‘contagious’ (despite him knowing from experience that he’s not)

Soft-spoken and gentle in general, but if one hits the right buttons he’s very capable of getting violent, particularly in defense of his friends

He has anywhere from 1-3 animals (that he’s nursing back to health) in his tent at any one time, even though he’s allergic to anything with fur… he has a soft spot for reptiles, though he adores all animals

Native English

[eiswolfzero]

https://www.tumblr.com/eiswolfzero/749748053308768256/httpswwwtumblrcomeiswolfzero7496571182353940?source=share

Possible twist to explain how infection got into world in the first place:

One of the ponies...is secretly a traitor and is purposefully doing this. They maybe went through the mirror portal or did something and got into context with Gen 1. They see how the world is simpler, more peaceful...or something that drew them to that. They spoke to the Gen 1 ponies and somehow....they agree to fuse together and so created a virus that changes ponies into their Gen 1 forms...so they can live in that happier first Gen paradise.

and if you wanna make it more intresting and add new phases....after a while of being one and then a while of being the other (like after sometime of twilight being her alt...) the memories slowly start to warm and fuse together to create a sorta harmony where they turn into a complete fusion of the two so they can both do their normal life but also have the peace of the Gen 1....like maybe they can talk to their alts in their minds.

Because if Celestia fully becomes her alt...how tf can she move the sun? Luna can't (I think, she didn't seem like she could). If the sun doesn't move, the world is done for. Sooo imagine if inside Celestia's mind (as an example) she talks to her alt and they make a compromise....two minds share a body...fusion...they work together. Make it so they can drink tea all the time AND still move the sun.

Sorry if this is too crazy. Got more ideas as o typed and had to keep ball rolling. Sorry if it's too much...I know it probably clashes with your original idea....so think of it as a funny alternate universe thing or just something to randomly think about for a laugh or idk lol!

Those are really wild ideas! Certainly something to think about for fun! (don't be sorry! I've done my part thinking up the G1 infection, if you want to take it further, be my guest haha!)

It would certainly add something sinister, the infection being on purpose, rather being on accident via Spike.

Makes one wonder how that talk and harmony between G1 and Original pony would go, since the G1 ponies would be the invading once, demanding space and mind and body. Couldn't have been easy!!

[fukuokanodivision]

Yuno’s Thoughts On Division Leaders

Ichiro Yamada

“Yamada? Yes, Of course I know him. ‘The super-famous delinquent of Ikebukuro’ as they say apparently. Labels aside, Truly he’s a good brother figure to Jiro-san and Saburo-san, That makes sense considering they’re very attached to him, Like 2 heavy magnets if you will. It’s nice to be able to cross paths with him whenever I visit sometimes, Just seeing him makes my worries mostly dissolve into nothing. Other than that, He’s a great person to rather be around and I hope the DRB comes along soon so I can battle him someday…”

Samatoki Aohitsugi

“Aohitsugi, Here we go…I’m on the fence to be completely honest. Yes, He often resorts to violence, but he’s also ‘calm’ If somebody doesn’t ‘trigger’ him? Talk about a short/long fuse dynamic we have here. Anyway, Eko rather knows more about him than I do, Take all of M.T.C for that matter. Not only is the team very ‘edgy’, But so is Yokohama (I shouldn’t be surprised.) Crime running for hours on end, I could never survive a position like that, even if my own life depended on it to tell the truth. Overall, Aohitsugi’s a big mystery to me, So I’ll ask Eko more about him instead.”

Ramuda Amemura

“Amemura, Amemura, He’s also a big mystery. From my time in Chuohku, He just seemed ‘lonely’ or ‘captive’ around the place, Like a lonely ghost wanting to return to the living so badly he’d give up his own soul to be reborn…It’s a unsettling feeling to feel. But as he’s out in Shibuya, He’s something else completely. Like Eko, One thing most of the time and another thing the next and switches between them for the situation. Aside from that, He’s an entity I’m unaware of and I don’t have too much on him.”

Jakurai Jinguji

“Jinguji-san, I know him yes. At first glance, I didn’t know what to expect. I get it, a genius doctor wrapped in an aura of mystery? Wasn’t expecting that. But, He’s greatly a good figure. I’m very happy that Mai-Mai has taken a liking to him. He’s like an elder brother to them almost, Old as time, but has a heart of gold wherever he goes. I’m also glad both of them find solace together, but I’m a tad bit jealous of that to be honest. All in all, Jinguji-san is a good person and I will stay on great terms with him.”

Sasara Nurude

“Nurude-san, Where to start here…Ah, I know. Back on OverDrives ‘Big Escape From Chuohku’ years ago, Osaka was strangely our last destination. Eko may have already told you this, But he by total accident met Nurude-san. I didn’t know any of the sort while Mai-san and I were waiting outside the theatre and he was in there for a while. As we were walking back to the next train, He randomly started tirading on him. He seems interesting enough, So I guess I’ll have to meet him sometime…”

Kuko Harai

“Lastly…Harai-? Like Eko and Mai-san, I barely know him. Honestly, I don’t know what to say about this guy at all. He’s a monk, but has the mind of a tweenager? That’s a strange piece of character for me. His team is, Okay I guess. Visual-Kei musician and a ‘50 looking’ Lawyer…Interesting. There’s not much to say here, He always looks like he’s wanting a fight with somebody, So I guess I can return that favour at least.”

[honey-minded-hivemind]

(I think Pearl!Reader is the sort of gem others trust. (They're a Pearl, and Pearls are believed to be obedient and loyal, so no one suspects them if there's an accident or problem). At first, they blindly did what they were told, following every suggestion and order given, never swerving in their duty or task. But, over the years, they figure out that they aren't so perfect. Aren't as blind to things as everyone else is. They feel like they can see things in a way others simply don't, whether by ignorance or denial or disinterest. The world around them, with their higher-ups and companions (their own family, their own given cluster), just... ignores them. They don't appreciate them. They may give praise, but never a lot, and not ever enough. It's like- they don't think of Pearl!Reader as anything more than a cog in the machine. Expendable. One of a million. Replaceable. Pearl!Reader grows a little from that, becoming less open and naive and more cynical. Sarcastic. Jaded. If they aren't worth much to anyone, then why keep up anything beyond their designated purpose? No more pretending, or lying, or hiding their thoughts. They do their job, whatever job they're given, but that's it. They feel like no one will ever see them as a living being, as their own gem, as lovable... Until they meet THEM-

A Sapphire.

A gem who they can see past, who uses masks and lies to hide behind, someone who feels just as trapped as they did. And Pearl!Reader, for the first time in a long time, feels compassion for someone. Empathy. A need to help. So they approach Sapphire!Reader, trying to alleviate the immense pressure cracking down on them- And sure enough, behind the perfect mask and persona, their is a gem who listens to them, who regards them as funny, who sees them and finds them worth being around. Worth knowing. Worth loving. And Pearl!Reader slowly falls (platonically) in love with Sapphire!Reader, the gem who notices them and chooses them.

How could Pearl!Reader resist them?

That feeling of lightness?

Of pure joy and laughter?

The feeling of love?

It doesn't take too much longer for them to visit Sapphire!Reader whenever they can, opting to hang out with them over their own companions and court (they left their cluster, their family, waiting for once, instead of the other way around). Being with Sapphire!Reader makes them feel alive and present, aware of more beauty and understanding and acceptance than they've ever felt from anyone... It's not surprise that after a short time, they fuse-

And they're...

Complete.

As this being, as this new, whole self, their TRUE self, they feel like laughing. Like crying. Like singing and not stopping. This is... Magic. Enchanting. Loving. And they wouldn't trade it for the entire star system.

When they're found one day by their companions, the other gems recoil in disgust. They see them, and they say they're ugly. Tainted. Monstrous. And suddenly-

They're falling apart all over again.

The utter rejection they feel, the pain, the misery-

It makes them want to turn to dust.

But that depression soon turns to contempt, soon turns to determination.

Maybe their own companions and court and higher-ups won't accept them, their true self, their pure self, nor will Sapphire's... But who said they needed them?

When they go to search for Sapphire!Reader, they find them in the middle of looking for them. Together, they form a plan, a way to be them and be safe and never have to come back to this world of burning light and discordant gems. And in a twirl of light and colors-

They're back.

And on this ship, they have a new destination-

A little planet called: Earth...

(Special note: Pearl!Reader was with/was family/was cluster/ed with the Brotherhood gems, while Sapphire!Reader was part of/clustered with the X-Men gems)

[theawokenmultiverse]

The LORE

First post on here haha! Disclaimer- any and all lore in here may or may not be changed in the future as the project develops, we hope you enjoy it while its here! <3

Characters:

Stain: the force of creation, creativity, and soul

Null: the force of destruction, rebirth, and loss

Piety: the force of thought, wisdom, and free will.

Story:

The Blossom Age

Three forces of chaos made the multiverse. Together they made the multiverse whole. However, Null grew vein, Despite being loved he was not seen as a true “guardian” and was often respected because he was feared. He knew that he would never be as adored as the other two and because of this, he was susceptible to spite.

The roots of spite grew ever larger in his soul until he could bare it no longer and inevitably lost himself. Destruction became hectic, rebirth was no longer an option causing the aus to be stuck in a dormant state and loss was abundant. Those who survived fled to the order of the multiverse, A safe haven for all Aus. Eventually, the entire multiverse would crumble and in its last dying breath, peitys and stain used the remnants of what was left to create the reset soul and by combining their powers they were able to fuse it to Null's soul and shattered it in the process.

The pieces scattered all around the multiverse, planting seeds that lay dormant in the empty aus. The shattering caused a great slumber, freezing the multiverse order in time. That is until one faithful day, two strange beings were sent into the multiverse by accident. Geister and Stellar had accidentally reawoken the universe, however, stellar was trapped while his brother roamed around freely, his memories completely erased by the timelines.

The Reawakening

Stain was reawakened as a code spirit. Upon finding anomalous he could sense a powerful sense of wonder and curiosity deep in his soul.

This caused him to view him as a capable heir to his role, however, he was not a fool. He knew well that he had to train him before he could be able to take up the mantle of guardian. He knew it would take years and years for him to be ready but something was keeping him from being patient. He could feel Piety’s presence growing ever stronger and he knew that he wouldn't be able to prepare him to take up the mantle so he had to at least teach him to fight. The future of the multiverse depended on it. However, even he knew that This new change would not please the council if such a thing remained. Geister was given a new name, anomalous. He could not remember his own nor did he understand the world around him so Stain found it fitting to name him after a word that means to be different or strange.

Stellar however wasn't so lucky, piety's fragmented code whispered to him, promising freedom, love, respect and so much more if he’d allow him to use his soul as a vessel To help strengthen him so he may return to the realm of reality and not be scattered in the fragmented code. In return, he’d get everything he desired. Now piety was no longer himself, he was estranged from his old name so he chose a new one, corruptus. Spying through the code, corruptus soon learned about Stain’s little new pupil and it filled his torn soul with RAGE. With this, he began to push seeds of doubt into Stellar’s mind. Manipulating the memories he had to make him believe that anomalous had abandoned him anomalous could not be trusted for he was a liar! A thief! A disgusting brother abandoner. Why, corruptus was such a better brother to him and he could do no wrong.

After all, he was only looking out for him. At least, that’s what he always claimed. The fusion was painful, it burned. Stellar’s poor little soul felt as though it had been set ablaze. “ do not worry. You will grow stronger and soon you will no longer feel the pain” corruptus would always comfort him with these words. Eventually Stellar learned to harvest this feeling, this magic. It manifested as an odd green smoke that would pour from his soul and eventually enveloped his body. He felt reborn, at least that's what he told himself. To cement this to himself he chose to let his old name die and chose a new beginning, arcana.

Conecept art

(art made by somber scribbles)

corruptus/corrupted null

peity

Official art

(art made by somber scribbles)

Others art:

@azulsundertaleblog | | v

@bonesnbones

| | v