#there's so many...and they're all out there and they're alive and we live alongside them

[mymarifae]

it's so cool that there's animals out there

[evilminji]

Saw it mentioned, have to wonder >.>

Just? HOW Ecto-Contaminated ARE the Fentons? Maddie and Jack?

We as a Phandom rather rightfully give them flak for their neglectfulness and single minded pursuits... but SHOULD we be?

Or has that ship long since sailed?

Even before the portal, they were working with countless samples. Were EXPOSED to the prototype, alongside Vlad. Not directly. Not full, standing in front of it, exposed.

But?

Isn't radiation still radiation? They were IN the room. Less then about a yard or two away. And on top of that they NEVER stopped researching.

How much Ectoplasm particulates have the breathed in? Absorbed through skin contact? EATEN?

Those weenies? The ones that came alive? Have they eaten those INCREDIBLY TAINTED meats? What about subtly tainted things? Things that got Ectoplasm on them, but didn't meet the threshold for reanimation?

What about cups? It's a viscose substance. Does a dishwasher REALLY clean those cups of every trace?

How... how many YEARS of build up, have accumulated in their systems?

Jack Fenton kool-aid man's his way though WALLS. His wife moves faster and with greater agility then a woman her age should rightfully be ABLE too. They lift weapons, with ease, that normal humans would buckle under.

Their son survived the impossible.

Was that house a petri-dish of ecto-contaminations? Who checked in on them. Who would even NOTICE if the local "crack-pots" were slowly... slipping. Grins getting too wide. Eyes too bright. Minds too strange. Becoming... Obsessive.

Who would notice if they started to lose track of time. Of meals. Of their daughter. Then their son. Lost to the BEAUTY of RESEARCH. Of SCIENCE. Ghosts.

They would shake themselves out of it. Again and again. Where is their daughter? Their kids? Weren't they about to make lunch? Why is it dawn? Why are the kids sleeping on the floor? They would frown and promise themselves they'd do better. They're parents now!

They love their children.

More then ANYTHING. Their kiddos are the best thing to ever happen to them. They love them so, SO much. So why? Why are they having such a hard time remembering? Focusing? Why do they keep getting distracted?

Consider another father. Box Ghost.

Which is more important to him? Lunch Box or Boxes?

What a cruel, unspeakable thing to ask. You'd be kicked out of any haunt you dare voiced it in. The core of his soul and the greatest thing he's ever made, his bestest baby girl. He would tear himself apart, trying to chose.

The father in him would not hesitate, his daughter, every time. But the GHOST in him? Boxes, with out question. Like a glitching, error filled, feedback loop. One but the other, but the one, but the other! Until something gave or it killed him.

Or until the question no longer applies.

Do you think Jazz realized her parents... weren't well? She wouldn't realize WHAT was wrong for over a decade. But? Watching them fight themselves, fight each OTHER, confused and distressed...

Which is more important? Their Kids or Their Research?

Human enough to fight their Obsessions, but Limnal enough it causes severe distress. Their kids, they insist. Their KIDS! They argue! Research, Research, Research. Hisses something they can't control, wrapped around their brains and nerves and SOULS.

A compulsion they can't fight.

And Jazz watches it eat up their family and lives. She doesn't understand. She hates it. She goes to the library and on the computer and all she can find to compare it too, is "mental illnesses". It's tearing her family apart. Making her parents break promise after promise, even when they TRY. Making EVERYBODY cry.

She wants to fix it. When things get broken in their house, they FIX them. She can too. She tries for YEARS.

But are the Fentons broken? Or are they just... no longer quite human. Is the tragedy not that they got "sick" so much that they were left alone with innocent children who were NOT?

A ghost can not help, being what it is. And what is a Limnal? If not a very, VERY Ghostly Human? Box Ghost is an excellent father to Box Lunch. But would he be an equally good father to a human toddler? Would ANY Ghost?

They would TRY. Would love them and read parenting books. May even successful raise them. But it would not have been wise. Nor without great struggle. We can all admit that. There is far more to raising someone then just loving them.

And never mistake it, the Dr's. Fenton love their children. Would burn heaven and earth for them. March the gates of hell and kick open the doors to heaven. Even file their taxes. Make small talk.

But should they have been TRUSTED with children? Should ANY severally Limnal? I argue... not without a mitigating force. A nanny, a caretaker, Grandma. Uncle Peter, who's getting back on his feet, might have spider powers, who's to say. SOMEBODY.

Because let's be real. If Jazz had not been as likely Limnally inhanced as she was? Unusually mature and nimble? That situation was a powder keg. She kept them from dying from injury or starvation. Kept Danny from her parents dangerous research and devices.

If EITHER of them had died?

Well... ask yourself this: What would happen to Box Ghost, if a Box killed his daughter?

@hdgnj @nerdpoe @stealingyourbones

[pyreo]

was sweeping up some map completion for a gift of exploration and just got reminded of so many cool things I like about original gw2/worldbuilding

I love Orr and how weird and alien it is. The ambience of sitting there with everything damp, dripping, made of coral, literally a lost world that doesn't fit above water any more. I love how oily the sky is and that occasionally a huge shadow sweeps over you as something like Blightghast/other risen dragons go by overhead. I love that it looks like this

It's so otherworldly. I especially like the eerie birdcalls (I know it's just a real bird I'm not used to, but it's so unique and strange)

I like that the end of the Pact storyline doesn't feel... hopeful. At all. Orr is blighted and diseased, mottled with decay, with lost journals from people who were never going to survive. I like that the story culminates here, grandiose but mournful. You're trying again but this place you're in was already lost, with thousands of lives, and it doesn't feel like triumphant reclaiming. I like that none of the game through these >10 years has really framed oncoming war, and fighting to survive, with glory. I like that the fight through Orr doesn't really feel righteous. It's no clash against a tyrant or something with belief in good over 'evil'. It's just sad. Trying to get through and survive it.

I like the clearly LOTR-emulating Orr music, particularly how this one goes into a male chorus at the end-

I like how an entire map is called Malchor's Leap and that clues you in to it being named after something and then you can go find out and it's just even more depressing. But at the same time, it reiterates the history of Orr - that human gods lived there and it must have been full of incredible splendour and that's gone and you will never see it, you can only try to imagine based on the wrecks of cathedrals.

And speaking of the human gods, I just like how each race has their own take on religion and they all get something tailored to their outlook. Nobody disputes one religion over the other like in our world - each one is generally assumed to be true on some level, and in some cases, provably real, but each race gets something different from their history and belief system anyway. Humans used to live alongside their gods but have been abandoned and none of them know why (and we eventually do find out what happened). Norn can invoke a governing spirit from any creature alive and choose the one that they'll serve best, but these spirits can be killed and you can see what happens when they mourn them. Sylvari have a stone of commandments from their long-dead benefactor that has completely fucked up their society because they aren't sure if following the tenets is wise or brainwashing. Asura actually believe there is an equation that can solve the entire universe and everything is part of a grand scheme beyond knowing, which is something more like a philosophy than religion but deserves mentioning because it means the Intellectual Goblin Race weren't made into cut and dry atheists as a cliche. They believe in something and have personal interpretations about it. One of them even made a machine to make the Eternal Alchemy viewable that drove someone insane when they used it and I just like how things asura do tend to backfire.

And the Charr. I mean. They're the atheists and it's all because they were duped into technically following a human god for a while and they're never going to get over-- no, wait. They started getting over it and the Flame Legion integrated with regular society again after their leader was deposed, because things moved forward and changed, and I like that too.

I feel like I can talk and talk on and on about this fictional history because it... just.... works? It's all part of a tapestry of cause and effect and meaningful characterisations. And they deliberately set up the basis for their playable races and then made the story NPCs generally turn those expectations around - Caithe being a grief-ridden assassin, Rox being a superstitious oddball, Zojja being irrational, Canach starting out as a pompous asshole.

I like the Ceera is still around in HoT and if you took the personal story route where her husband died, she still hasn't forgiven you and never does.

I loved Zafirah (bring her back!) showing that badly rooted spirituality can be redirected into something healthy and healing without being negated.

I like how many NPCs show up as part of a story step and you can ask if you know them and they'll say oh, yeah I was in the Pact with that whole thing? Or 'I saw you from a medical tent in maguuma and didn't think I'd make it', constant callbacks and the sense that minor characters have a continuous existence independent of you.

I like how solemnly the game takes its wins. The initial campaign against Zhaitan makes sure to kill characters off and made bringing Destiny's Edge along to it feel like its own entire obstacle. Heart of Thorns smashes any confidence the Pact has after the base game and takes an intentional sacrifice to be won, and I still think about him. Going after a literal god in Path of Fire costs you your life. Going after Kralkatorrik, with Destiny's Edge's guilt weighing on you, costs you your own child. Saving the fate of the world by fulfilling the exact conditions for Aurene to ascend costs you your child again, being taken from you so that the whole world stops rocking on its axis, losing your baby as she turns into a deity. Icebrood Saga puts you in the shoes of a relatable, easygoing crew on the opposing side, then sits back and waits for you to kill them all to continue. When you fight the final dragon as the final boss in Dragon's End you don't want to kill her at all, and she begs you to leave and get away so she won't harm you while you try, in bitterness and desperation, to end her unfathomably long life.

And the entire short but brilliant arc with Joko made sure we don't really feel empowered or just about the choices we've made.

It's just. Been really fucking good.

[spinjitsuburst]

ninjago fic recommendations because i have so many Thoughts about them

gonna share some of my favorite ninjago fics bc they're so so so good and i want people to talk about them with me

Land of the Living by @captainbrookeworm - An evil scientist bent on using Lloyd's powers to resurrect his enemies chooses a poor one to start with - with Morro back alive he has to help Lloyd escape the facility, find a way to stop the bad guy, and keep the rest of the ninja from throttling him as everyone learns to adjust (pretty sure this has a sequel that i still need to read)

when you think you're all alone by @mondothebombo - A fic about a deeper look into what things were like for Jay aboard Misfortune's Keep. Lots of hurt, lots of comfort, lots of Jay needing therapy (TW: this fic contains depictions of torture and discussion of sexual assault so please be careful!) (also i've drawn fanart for this fic huehue)

The Ice Emperor and the Earth Dragon by @mcfanely - In the events of Secrets of the Forbidden Spinjitzu, things are changed when Cole gets zapped to the Neverrealm alongside Zane. With two ninja trapped instead of one, we get a different look at how the Ice Emperor comes to be, and just how far Cole is willing to go to protect his brother (this fic broke my brain ngl)

Current Hunger by @thoriffix - After a mission gone wrong, Jay's behavior begins getting more and more unstable. Dangerous. He's hearing whispers in his head, things that aren't there, and the ninja are noticing. Little do they know the danger is much bigger than anything anyone could've imagined (TW: a lot of psychological and body horror)

Play to Win by @sadisthetic - A Skybound one-shot. After getting captured on Misfortune's Keep, Cole didn't expect to be thrown into combat, much less against Jay. A one-shot about Jay and Cole and the worst round of Scrap N' Tap imaginable (tw: violence duh)

Visionary by @k1ngtok1 - A fic about Lloyd, getting an innermost look at the history of the people he cares about most

Would You Like to Enter Prime Empire? by @finn-m-corvex - A fic where Prime Empire carries out somewhat differently, with the ninja separated from Jay and having to work with him from the outside of Prime Empire

There's a Smell of Stale Fear by @spinchip - A one-shot about Jay tending to Zane in the aftermath of a traumatic event. A lot of reflection on Zane and what he's been through. (TW dark themes)

To rise after the fall by @k1ngtok1 - A series of fics centering around Cole and his realization that he has oni heritage. It's so cute and good and yes please read this series i am Begging you

Would You Like to Enter Stardust? by @aureallegories - Something goes wrong when Jay enters Prime Empire. Becoming a corrupted code in the game, Jay forgets the ninja entirely and becomes one of the hardest bosses in all of Prime Empire (i've drawn fanart for this fic too huehue)

Masking and Unmasking by HelloThere3306 - A one-shot set in the movieverse, all the ninjas identities are a secret until Lloyd's gets revealed to the group by accident. The ninja have to set aside their biases to get their green leader back.

[obsidianstrawberrymilk]

do you have any specific theory regarding kunikida’s backstory? i honestly never thought about how he might have met fukuzawa when he was much younger, always assumed it happened after he dropped out of uni, but this makes much more sense tbh. i’m huge on the idea of him coming from a military family (would explain how he could’ve met fukuzawa and why on earth he knows how to operate every fire arm in existence)

I have so many ideas about Kunikida! The idea of him coming from a military family is definitely interesting - it fits with the author irl and would explain a lot of his mannerisms. I'm partial to him having an estranged relationship with his family in general, because it's mentioned in Kunikida and Katai's Magnificent Days that eventually Kunikida grew to spend more time around Katai than he did his family, and because most of the ADA don't really seem to have family outside each other. No one they worry about being pulled into things when they're accused of terrorism or targeted by the Port Mafia back when they were still antagonists, etc. With Ranpo, Atsushi, and Kyouka we know their parents are dead; with Yosano, Dazai, the Tanizakis and Kenji we know that even if they're not dead they're not really involved in their kids lives enough to matter much at all. I'm inclined to think Kunikida's are similar; we know they exist, but I don't think he has a good relationship with them, if they're still alive (they could have died after he met Katai).

In terms of his past, I definitely think Kunikida had a violent past. Man is way too down with casually throttling people - between that and his extensive knowledge of weapons, as well as how good he is hand to hand combat wise, it makes me think he must have had a tumulus past.

I saw a fanfiction once where he was a child solider in the Great War alongside Yosano, making weapons for the army - while I don't think it's canon, or else it probably would have been mentioned when her backstory was, I think the idea of Kunikida being somehow trained as a child solider definitely has merit. Given how people with Abilities tend to be weaponized in the BSD-verse, how strict Kunikida is despite having a hatred of authority and a tendency to violence, it makes sense to me. It's canon he dropped out of college, but he was also working with the Agency by age 18/19 at a maximum, so I think it's possible he joined college while working there and dropped out.

Another option is him having been in some sort of high school gang. Blonde hair in anime is often used to denote delinquency - so I think it's a given Kunikida was a delinquent as a teenager (especially given his attitude). In this case, his familiarity with violence would probably come via brawls with other gangs and such. I've also seen ideas of him being something of a teen vigilante, which is also definitely possible - teenage Kunikida without a sense of direction for his moral compass, I could see going that route.

Either way, I think he met Fukuzawa young. I've theorized at age 15, to mirror how Chuuya met Mori at 15, but I definitely think he met him before adulthood. I think Fukuzawa was the one who gave him his Ideals notebook, both the physical thing and the direction Kunikida needed to develop that sense of morality and desire to save people we see in canon. I think Fukuzawa had to be instrumental for him - like, why would Kunikida, who dislikes authority and is rude to basically everyone, respect and defer to Fukuzawa so much? Why is Fukuzawa one of the first people we see him use honorifics for? What would cause that type of a relationship?

So yes, I think meeting Fukuzawa was a huge turning point for Kunikida, however it may have been. Maybe he gave him a sense of direction and a way to harness his idealism via the Agency; maybe Fukuzawa was the one who taught him how to help people with his abilities all together. Either way, I can't see someone like Kunikida having such a deep deference and respect for Fukuzawa without him being deeply linked to who Kunikida is as a person, at age 22.

I also wonder if however Kunikida and Fukuzawa met, if it was originally negative or antagonistic. By the time Dazai's Entrance Exam rolls around, Kunikida clearly knows well what Fukuzawa is talking about when he mentions testing Dazai, so Dazai's clearly not the first one to go through that. Given we know neither Yosano nor Ranpo had to pass an entrance exam to join the Agency, our choices are down to either Kunikida or Katai as the first people to take one, which... if it was Kunikida, why would Fukuzawa want that? Why would he want to make sure this guy, specifically, was a good fit for the Agency morally, given Kunikida's such a moral character? What was it that made Fukuzawa want to test Kunikida, if that was what happened?

[luna-rainbow]

Thanks again for answering my ask and sorry to bombard you with these.

I absolutely agree with you about Bucky and Zemo on TFatWS. This might be long as I have so many thoughts about this. The series seems to fail to understand T'Calla wasn't just someone who helped Bucky although he was of course. He was his friend. The movies don't get everything right with Bucky but I think Bucky and T'Calla's relationship is one of the high points. We don't see them much but when you do you can tell Bucky respected T'Calla immensely and not just because he's a King. He seems to be really genuinely fond of Shuri as well, asking her to call him Bucky instead of the formal Sargeant Barnes.

I know I said it before, but the Wakandans are his friends/his protectors/his adoptive family. He is not just some white guy with colonialist arrogance who expects favours from the African State. If anything its the other way around- he fought because he felt he owed T'Calla and his family a debt.

As such- I do not think he would ever have helped the person who killed T'Callas father. Yes he didn't know T'Chaka, but that is his friend's father. Its like if he found out someone killed Steve's mother and worked with them. Like slapping his friend in the face, and I can't see him doing that.

Also, finally can we talk about how the show robbed us of the emotional impact of T'Challa's death on Bucky? He's sad about Steve leaving but I firmly believe would have grieved for T'Calla too. He's lost not one but two of his best friends within a very short space of time, so he's got grief alongside all his other problems to deal with. Don't know how that man managed to stay sane. Well relatively sane and didn't have a complete breakdown.

Thanks for all the asks!

I love the idea that T'Challa and Bucky had a strong bond. I agree I think Ryan Coogler intended in that short post-credit scene to show that Wakandans have accepted Bucky as part of the family.

The kids are peering down curiously at him as he sleeps, and he doesn't startle, nor does he startle them when he wakes. There's a high degree of mutual trust there. He lives in their community, not in a boxed off high tech room like the one where he was put to sleep. They dressed him in their ethnic clothing and colour-coded it to match Steve. Someone tied (and probably combed) his hair for him when he didn't have a prosthesis. Someone has folded a blue shawl and tied it into a pretty sling to protect the stump of his arm. This is the image of a guy that was being well looked after -- not just in an impersonal, we gotta keep him alive kind of way, but in a what can we do to make his life better kind of way, and if that isn't some sort of family I don't know what is.

I mean...compare with this costume...that looks like some random sweatshirt from some sports brand worn backwards with the extra fabric pinned and pulled over tautly over his right shoulder, complete with the soft elastic cuffs and the weird neckline. Coogler put more effort into a 30 second cameo than TFATWS did for one of Bucky's most emotionally poignant scenes in a series where he's the main character. Sorry I'm never going to pass on an opportunity to shit on the series.

And like yeah, while I don't ship T'Challa and Bucky (I really like T'Challa with Nakia in the MCU), I think they're an underrated dynamic. They strike me as somewhat similar in temperament? Both peace-loving, respectful and compassionate guys, who have a strong sense of loyalty and a fierce streak when someone they love is hurt. And both Bucky and T'Challa are older brothers to younger sisters, and they both have that oldest kid sense of weary responsibility. And for someone who was broken out of 70 years of brainwashing by being reminded of a promise he made, Bucky clearly has a strong sense of loyalty and responsibility.

So yeah, it makes no sense to me that Bucky would actively do something so personally hurtful, so disloyal and irresponsible to T'Challa, without adequate justification.

As for the mourning, yeah. At the time they didn't know how Coogler was planning to write T'Challa out of the story, so that might be why the mourning wasn't in there. To be honest, Bucky's feelings about Steve was handled poorly too. As I've mentioned before, the series avoids actually addressing how Steve's departure played out. Sam and Bucky are sad about Steve's absence, but never talk about the hurtful way Endgame!Steve abandoned both of them, which is far more emotionally relevant. They talk about him as though he had died in a noble sacrifice, not dumped the world on them and went to mess up someone else's timeline.

[sunset-skater]

since we can't draw characters we'll just visualize ideas we know we lack the skill to draw so we need to figure out how to write about them instead. anyways enjoy a before/after of the classified au sambastian polycule, because being abandoned at a remote astrological facility it putting them THRU IT

Sam, back in the city

loved his time living in Pelican Town, but is ecstatic that he gets to experience city life alongside Seb

on disability for his adhd and chronic pain, so he plays house husband but also has the space to just focus on his music. plays guitar on good days, makes digital music when he's having a bad pain day

visits home whenever Seb does, to keep in touch with his parents and especially stay in Vincent's life

always goddamn sunshine even on his flare up days, he's just so happy to be alive and loves sharing it all with Seb

went from saying hi to the guy Seb's on voice with, to getting to know his boyfriend's latest date, to eventually falling for the guy Seb's dating and branching this polycule into a triangle

Sebastian, finally in the city

works part time at a bookstore, freelances as a programmer on the side, loves being able to work with information on so many fronts

owns way too many books cause they're SO cheap through work!

very autistic at work, usually wearing headphones and doing his own thing. his coworkers love that he enjoys all the mundane tasks they'd rather hand off

visits home on the regular to hang out with his mom and enjoy his hometown, calls her lots even when he isn't visiting

plans to move back to Pelican Town someday but is enjoying the city at this stage in his life

takes over the house husband role when Sam's having a bad take, finds so much joy in being able to help out

met Scott online on some astronomy forums, eventually started dating online and they voice chat lots

Scott, working his dream job

cannot believe how lucky he is to be working in astronomy like THIS

has a real firewatch vibe going on, takes care of his base and the surrounding site in between processing collected information

hasn't actually gotten much of a formal education yet, but has enough training from work - and enough research done on his own time - that he knows his way around here better than most of the people he works for

absolutely loves this life, living out in the middle of nature while working in a field of science he loves with all his heart. he even gets to use the equipment during his off hours to do whatever he likes - it's the most jacked up stargazing he's ever done

met this cute guy who loves moon aesthetics but then turned out to be the nerdiest tboy ever??? Scott's in love??? and his boyfriend is a handsome guitar-playing goofball who's always teasing Seb on video calls??? Scott's in love with them BOTH??? how lucky is he

and then a visit to meet the long distance boyfriend turns into a new living situation because extenuating circumstances means that the boys just... can't leave

Sam, isolated by woodlands and machinery

definitely losing it. the least capable of coping with these circumstances, he is NOT built for this kind of quiet. he can't even talk to people online - the only people he's got to interact with are his boyfriends, one of whom is as stir crazy as he is and the other who's so often busy with the work that trapped them here in the first place

is very bad at hiding it. he wants to be a good presence for Sebastian, and when he's in a better mood he's honestly able to lighten the mood, but when he's doing bad he wears it on his sleeve. he spends hours outside alone or holed up in a corner with noise cancelling headphones to make music, just trying to keep himself sane and feel like he's in his own space

he loves Seb so much. they spend so much time together, where Sam cooks or shares his music, Seb reads aloud to Sam or cuddles him to sleep. they try to recreate their old life anywhere they can just to feel okay

he misses his family so bad, but especially feels so much guilt and worry for Vincent. he's supposed to be there for him, yet Vincent's lost his older brother until further notice. he wants to go home so bad, spend an entire year living with his family again just so that he can make up for lost time with Vincent

anytime Seb sleeps, if Sam isn't laying in bed with him then he's set up shop in Scott's workplace so that he doesn't have to be alone. even if he's sitting on the floor with headphones in his own world, he needs so badly to be in the same room as someone. he just wants to see Scott working out of the corner of his eye - experience some semblance of normalcy

Sebastian, paranoia and nicotine cravings personified

hates this place. at first it reminded him of home but now it's such a bastardized version of it, where he resents the technology keeping him here and how the lack of civilization made it possible to keep them here at all. what's he supposed to do, walk into the woods and hopes he survives long enough to find a highway?

that said he tries to keep it hidden. even when this anger seeps through, he says it's the lack of cigarettes or the fact that his bpd flares up easier in such small confines. it's obvious how angry he is with the situation - but he can't bring himself to be open with it

in spite of it finds ways to help Scott wherever possible. he can't believe how badly he misses actually working, so he helps with the non-science work whenever possible. it keeps him busy and helps him feel productive

in spite of this all he still cares about Scott so much. he always sounded like he had some kind of dream job - but now they're trapped here and he doesn't even care. what does this place have, that Scott is so unphased by these surroundings? he just wants to be his boyfriend

he wanders outside a lot during daylight hours, wishing these woods were more like the ones they have at home. the forests he grew up in lie so much further north, and he can't even tell what is and isn't manufactured. how many of these trees were replanted after the original forest was destroyed, and how much of this is actually like this?

he misses his mom more than anything. he could handle all of this if only he could call her and talk through everything he's feeling. instead he just has old voicemails saved to his phone, voice memos she recorded while working so that random sounds of saws and chisels can be heard in the background, and leagues of text conversations he rereads just to feel like she's here

Scott, still working his dream job

feels absolutely HORRIBLE about how getting his boyfriends to visit turned this south. he worked so hard to get permission for them to visit at all - since he isn't sure when he'll actually get a break from work - only for this to happen

copes by sinking himself further into work, both to satisfy the higher ups and hope that he gets Sam and Seb out of here sooner, but also just to lose himself into something he enjoys. to immerse himself in space and all its wonder is escapism undiluted

honestly misses working alone, and enjoys late nights spent alone at the console surrounded only by the joy of science

the one thing he does miss most is the lack of an online presence. ever since they killed their internet connection - only his dedicated work consoles have any kind of connection, and those are glorified pagers with how limited their communication options are. he's got his boyfriends here in person, but everyone else in his social sphere saw him drop off the face of the earth

he doesn't know how to regret bringing Sam and Seb here. he hates that it ever came to this, wishes he had some way of anticipating this, but also he's not sure how he could've known. he just wanted to meet them, show them the pride and joy that is this site, but instead they've all been punished

[cantsomeoneelsedoit]

Ch 42: As Long as They Don't Forget

They call him Captain Puppy Eyes

Did she atone by founding the Sunflower Nursery??

Andy tells her to pour Anheuser beer on his crew's graves to find forgiveness, and Fuuko sets out alongside him. He claims that he wants to make the saloon woman suffer, but Fuuko sees another side to his motivation. And then we get:

🐎COWBOY ANDY MONTAGE🐎

We see the four seasons representing the passage of time between them. In the first one, they're both shooting at a group of normal-looking old-timey Western guys. In the second, they're walking through the desert.

In the third, there's falling leaves and an angel in the background. It looks like they've got a child fighting with them. They're fighting two guys wearing suits and masks that resemble the Union Negator hunters from Chapter 1. The angel doesn't quite match up with the statue in the chapel in Longing, either. I'm so curious about this one!!

Angel comparison:

In the fourth, Andy has buried a friend in the wintertime. There are two other people dressed like Andy and Fuuko.

I love the way the narration boxes explain Fuuko's POV here. Describing the time as eons that passed quickly, like a dream, both rich and deep but also instantaneous--- that's a lot like the effect authors want to create when writing a good flashback.

We see some crumbs about Andy's current crew, and that he's drinking a Budweiser, which came out in 1876 IRL.

Andy and Fuuko's conversation about death raises some questions about Victor. When he's being suppressed, is he "alive?" Can you be alive if you can't challenge? If you can't change?

We see how Andy's crew formed. When they met him, everyone was wearing tattered clothes and looking like they were just in a battle. I'll bet Andy helped them out and then they started following him like Fuuko.

Fuuko tells him that she believes people who have passed remain alive in our hearts and talks about how she feels her parents guiding her.

Andy knows that he won't be alone anymore and he smiles. And then all readers collectively gasp at the next page:

FIRST OF ALL, {ohrwepo%9Ksd46<2[LJS:Fqj3nq4rwe^isdfah!

I can't believe it! The realest, non-battle-related, most solemn and serious moment of major romance, and they still don't kiss!

And she's right-- It's not really the same person and he doesn't really know her as well as she knows him at this point.

The line, "As long as I don't forget, then people won't die" is impactful to this story in so many ways.

First, Juiz has to remember to find people every loop. If she forgets to how to seek out the Negators or forgets who they are, she'll waste opportunities to defeat God.

Second, what does it mean when the story seals off Victor's memories? Are those memories "dead?"

Third, Andy has to remember Fuuko so he can find her in the future.

Also, Andy/Victor serves as a "witness" to the story to remember all the people and events that have happened. If they forget, they'll be missing valuable information that can help everyone.

In one way, it's really sweet that Andy now has a philosophy that he never really has to say goodbye to people bc they live on as long as he remembers them. But in another sense, it's horrifically tragic bc he's already forgotten so much. Everyone from before April 15, 1865 is dead to him, in all senses of the word.

What was the reason she began to fade away? Was it because she told him she loved him? Because he smiled? Because they almost kissed? And what will she find at the next stop in the book?

Masterpost

[timdrakesbussy]

Goblin Destroyer: How the Internet Revived an Obscure Local Band

This is something that suddenly appear in my mind when I was waiting for a public transport near my campus but like ... Stardew Valley's aesthetic looks like they're in the 90s in rural Northern America/Western Europe (though still cmiiw since I don't live in neither of those regions).

So then I thought about Sam's band and the real life band called "Panchiko" where the internet basically rebirth this band. (If you want to know about the band, here's a video)

And I randomly think about some kids somewhere in the SDV-verse came across Sam's band's LP (I'm gonna go with Goblin Destroyer) and asked online forums about it but none got anything so far. Doesn't help the fact that the LP was credited only with their first names which are very very common names. The names in the back of the LP only says Abigail, Sam, and Sebastian with their roles which are drummer, guitarist/vocalist, and keyboardist/synth in that order.

OP then gave more information, like how the label seemed to be from either the late 90s or early 00s and it was obvious that they were from the Republic of Ferngill. Small problem though, Ferngill Republic is not a small place. Sure, it's not a big country, but it's still going to be hard to find the people who contributed to this record, especially since it was decades long. Regardless, this was a step forward. 

I personally think they would not take too long (like Panchiko irl) because of my personal headcanon of Sebastian being chronically online even to his fourties.

The forum was very popular with many tried to remaster their songs or figure out just who they were. So then Sebastian rolled around and was like, "Holy fuck, I can't believe you found a copy of this. Thought they threw them all away in Zuzu City back in '98."

AND PEOPLE WERE SHOCKED AND ASKED IF THIS USER HAS A CLEANER COPY BUT THEN HE WAS LIKE, "lmao I'm the Sebastian credited in the back of the LP. Sadly, no. I do not have the cleaner copy, but I think my husband do keep some in his previous house when we still lived in the Valley."

Obviously, people were skeptical because the internet lies a lot. But they still gave him the benefit of the doubt because this was more information than they previously tried to dig. It was true that Goblin Destroyers were from Ferngill, specifically Zuzu City, and it was correct that they were from the late 90s.

Few months went by without a follow-up so most people just brush him off as hoax because that's what they usually did to lost media, claimed to know and kept it somewhere but unattainable for some reason.

That is, until another user joined the forum and introduced himself as Sebastian's husband who has the cleaner copy back in his old home. The husband was apparently, a very important piece in the band because he was none other than Sam -- another name crossed off the list.

Sam apologized and claimed that it took him longer to find than he expected and to compensate, he and Sebastian did a digital remaster for the LP and will put it to streaming services alongside their previously unreleased tracks.

With the band finally found, some questions arrived. Most of the questions were about Abigail, the drummer of the band, and also about them in general. The only things they knew so far were that Goblin Destroyer was a prog metal band from the late 90s, Ferngill, and that two out of the three members are married to each other.

The two claimed that they had no idea where Abigail was; the last time they saw her was when they still lived in their hometown. Sebastian then mentioned that she joined something called "The Adventurer's Guild", and one of the last things they did together was go to the forest and watch Abigail's improved swordsmanship. That was almost twenty years ago. They just hope that wherever she is, she's alive and well because she was their best friend.

They then ended the forum with pictures of them when they were young and some band photoshoots, needless to say that social media will be filled with their pics for a few months or so because of how attractive they were. The couple also added a recent pic and well, they're still handsome as hell.

It took them a while to finally return as a band; they were not the young adults in a small town who were bored and annoyed with how their parents coddled them anymore. They are middle-aged with a family and jobs, so yeah, it took a while for them to perform again. Eventually, though, they were back as a band. At least a duo for a few months, releasing a new single after twenty years.

Goblin Destroyer did not tour or participate in any music festivals until they were hit by a surprise, Abigail finally returned to the band. She revealed that she's been busy with the guild for over twenty years and is a mentor, so she was so out of touch with the news. She also revealed that she figured out that they went viral through her mentee, who told her about it.

Finally, the band was back in business. This was the dream that Sam had thrown away, and to actually have it tenfold decades later was exhilarating, to say the least.

[gravescore-records]

NeoEarth Bestiary Log 1: Star Spirits

Star Spirits are cosmic beings mysteriously tied to stars, their bodies being astral projections made corporeal to act as a vessel for the star's insurmountable energy. Because of how these physical forms are created, they are naturally attuned to magic. While the magic circles of Star Spirits can be tied to a specific element, all are naturally bound to the element of fire. This binding, alongside regular consumption and bathing in flame to restore energy, grants them immunity to damage from fire.

It's common for Star Spirits to be found in clans that we see as "Constellations". The name correlation between a Star Spirit clan and a sapien's concept of a cluster of stars that form an image is no mere coincidence. Much like most celestial bodies or creatures of divine nature, the birth of new stars, and by proxy, their spirits and clans, are highly codependent on beliefs held by sapient life.

However, while more uncommon, it is possible for a Star Spirit to exist without a clan through several means, such as sapient views on a given constellation changing to exclude a star while the star in question is still bright and burning, or perhaps a singular star had enough of the prerequisites to give birth to its own Star Spirit. We were refer to such oddities as Lone Stars due to these circumstances, but these are but a few examples of endless possibilities.

Within Star Spirit Clans, it is common for Star Spirits to be named after objects or concepts, such as "Thimble, Dawn, Dusk, Alley, River, Thyme" and so on. Usually Star Spirits pick their names themselves, with the exception to this being the clan leaders, who name themselves after titles of nobility.

The first leader of a clan tends to be the oldest when a constellation is first formed. Every leader that may join them after that is determined by the strength of the protostar they're tied to. The more mass that collects during a Star formation and the brighter a newborn star burns, the chances of them becoming a new leader increases greatly. Star Spirits have to be exceptional to be considered for leadership. Often times there will be one to two leaders, but three to four is not uncommon.

Because of their origins of being starbound, they need a lot of sleep, exactly twelve hours of it. Their sleep schedule is determined by their elemental alignment, which will be explained later below. Once these twelve hours are up and its time for a Star Spirit to sleep, their internal clocks will enforce that need and they will instinctively seek out somewhere suitable for their slumber. If a hospitable environment is not found fast enough, they will be forced to sleep regardless of where they are*.

This, however, is if a Star Spirit should choose to regular wake up and engage with others. It's common practice to sleep for long periods of time to prolong their life spans. Rest is one of many factors that determine how long a Star Spirit lives, which also ties into how much energy they cause their stars to burn. Staying awake, prolonged use of magic that needs concentration, and even having their bodies damaged can burn away that energy. If a Star Spirit dies they will reconstitute at their place of death after so many days depending on the damage done. However, if a Star Spirit dies and their star burns out as a result, they will not reconstitute.

As mentioned before, sapient belief is a huge part of a Star Spirit's existence. Typically Star Spirits help keep these beliefs alive by granting wishes, but if for whatever reason a Star Spirit is prevented from doing this or the belief in them dwindles, the star is also affected. Without purpose, a Star Spirit will die faster.

However, it is entirely possible to preserve and even prolong the longevity of a Star Spirit. If it can consume more materia with a high enough energy resource than it can burn energy, it can potentially add several eons more onto its lifespan.

Two types of Star Spirits have been recorded, namely Dark Star Spirits and Light Star Spirits. There are a plethora of things that differentiate them from one another, factors such as appearance, means of construction, and primary elemental alignment. Their alignment can also affect certain attributes of their magic...

Dark Star Spirits:

Dark Star Spirits are born during night hours, with forms created by subconscious minds. Attributes used in their appearances come from concepts and ideas formulated by sapient minds, resulting in Dark Star Spirits typically sharing the appearances of anthropomorphic "fairytale creatures", such as dragons, unicorns, imps, goblins, pheonixes, and the like. Because they are born of traditional dreams, they possess the natural ability to traverse them and even alter them if they so desire.

They commonly act as overseers, using this natural dream-travelling ability to better determine wishes one might have. It's also a great way for them to actually live their lives while staying asleep at the same time, but it makes for poor conversation if there's no one there to talk to**.

A Dark Star's natural alignment is infernal or fiendish in nature, typically having colors that are darker in tone, capable of travelling through dark spaces. Anywhere a shadow grows, a Dark Star Spirit can lurk and warp, and in certain instances, they can even influence the darkness around them. Certain effects can cause their bodies to become as dark as a silhouette or make the darkness of a room creep into a light hallway, creating that nauseous and uneasy feeling as you stare into a space that seems a lot deeper than it actually is.

Their sleep schedules start at 7AM and lasts until 7PM exactly.

Light Star Spirit:

Light Star Spirits are born of daydreams during the light hours of day, taking forms made from traits created by the conscious mind. This can result in much more unique and strange physical visages, but can also result in more inconspicuous appearances taking inspiration from everyday objects and creatures as well. Their pallets are also typically brighter and more vibrant in color to match.

They're often great mind readers, traversing the folds of one's mind for their deepest desires, allowing them to inherently know what one wants. Should they choose to do this in secrecy as to not be detected, the person they have chosen to probe the minds of may seem spacey, as if in a daydream-like state***.

They have much in common with their dark counterparts, yet they stand in direct opposition. They can teleport and hide themselves wherever light shines, they're more celestial in alignment and have a natural resistance to radiant light. Their sleeping schedules are 7PM to 7AM sharp, but they can traverse dreams all the same just like their Dark Star cousins. This is, however, moreso for their own entertainment rather than necessity. After all, they're required to sleep 12 hours a day, and someone has to be asleep on the other side of the world, right? Have to live your slumbering life somehow.

NOTES FROM LEAD ARCHIVER CLAWDY:

* In the event that this happens in the middle of our hallways or other areas of Gravescore, denizens are encouraged to bring the unconscious Star Spirit to a safe place on the property to avoid them getting trampled on.

** Consider the possibility of lucid dreaming training to allow for increased chances of interaction with the Dark Star Spirits.

*** Keep an eye on any denizens that start spacing out at random so that we can catch these Light Star Spirits in the act, they can't keep doing this forever!

In regards to the statement directly above: They don't have much of a choice... unless there's a sudden and noticeable increase in this behavior en masse, in which they may be messing with you because they know its getting a rise out of you - 🐾

[charlieslowartsies]

RAHH it’s so cool to see that other people are rereading kgau too, cuz it’s done nothing but lurk in my mind ever since I first found it a few years back, AND that’s what IVE been doing too and I’m having a blast!!

Any commentary on Danny or his character? Or how you came up with him as Jeremy’s kid? Idc I just love that little dude he’s so cool

I often wonder how many times people have reread. If we go by hit count on ao3, I THINK GS or DS has been hit the most? What's funny is they're older and they've been completed for a hit minute, and they're around 10k hits. LW is ongoing, incomplete, and arguably one of my faster completed fics and it's at 10k too lol. I have Danny Fitzgerald comments I suppose! I am VERY tired so I hope these make some semblance of sense xc

Danny was created because I kind of felt Mike had grown used to his surroundings very well. I liked that about Mike! One of the blanket themes of KGA is of course, Found Family. But...I also wanted to explore a more 'holy shit! living robots' reaction. I also needed someone Mike wouldn't LET the gang bully/be cold to.

While Mike worked on ridding them of that learned fear, in the meantime he focused on hiring people that were chill and wouldn't give him more headaches.

So I needed a teenager I decided. I was very hesitant to make him at all. I'm not a huge fan of OCs when it comes to my own writing. It complicates things, and if I wanted a story of OCs I would make that. (Reading them is more fun ^^)

However, the kga series proved I could make something I liked well enough from scratch. Like I've said before, the content we had for Mike Schmidt's character was, yanno, zilch. He might as well have been an oc for a while, until more games and lore appeared over the years. (Obviously KGA does not follow the 'correct' lore. I'm 100% okay with that.)

I hemed and hawed a lot with just keeping Jeremy alive and making Ghost Strings star him, but a fic I loved reading at the time also had an amazing Jeremy and I didn't feel I could write my 'own' version and do it justice. Jeremy as well, if anything, would have a much darker history with the restaurant. Danny was essentially a blank canvas, while still having a reason for being there. He was a fraidy cat--rightly so--but he was determined and he forced himself constantly out of his comfort zone. (I'm sure GS would have been a much different story if Mangle had been active/in the restaurant.)

So, Jeremy had to go. And then I realized I wanted to work on death and loss and that kind of pain.

Danny obviously joins the restaurant for deeply painful and close to selfish reasons, but he's still someone we root for. He's just a dumb teenager looking for something of his father's, not realizing he's the reason he has so little to remember the man by.

All we are made up of is memories. Ours and others, things we take from important people in our lives.

Danny's theme/lesson in GS was 'Even bad memories have a place in a Good life' after all.

Danny's presence in the story helped me explore that mystery, and grief, and what happens when we try to heal ourselves, or when we rely on others to help us, like Bonnie helped Danny. It became a great parallel for Michael/Max Afton, since we learn in Last Shift, YEARS later in the story, this wasn't the first time Bonnie kept something safe for someone out of sheer love and devotion, like Max's beloved cassettes and music-tastes. This was despite Bonnie and the gang being so deeply hurt by Max's attack on them, but he still held on to the Good alongside the Bad.

And of course, giving Bonnet to Danny seemed...so fucken cute and fun and easy. She needed someone, he needed someone, and they just clicked.

My favorite thing about Danny is that everyone liked him so much more than I expected, even just in his first fic. I pursued Finding Freddy with the best intentions, and as hard as that fic was for me, I do not regret making it a Danny!centric fic. It also helps that when he shows up in Lies Within he's clearly done lots of growing, but he's still very mortal and he's very able to die. He still tries to help the restaurant, choosing to embrace the mantle of Day Guard that his father held in the Toys' era. That continued loyalty to Mike ends up being a pretty powerful weapon against the Virus.

Also something I need to explore more is Max is such a puffy little trash cat over Mike when Danny comes onto the scene, although he does lower his hackles within a few months, (and by the time of Lies Within) he's guarded and cautious around Danny. However once Max decides Danny belongs with them, that's it and Max considers him family as much as he's attached to Mike.

One thing I hadn't expected was liking the broship between Ness and Danny that's cropping up in LW. I absolutely want to mull that over more! Vanessa obviously has different...ties and hangups... to Bonnie models, but they really are interesting foils for each other. Esp considering Danny's choices in his older stories and her choices now, including the ones she might still have to make ;)

[malaierba]

I have SO MANY thoughts and notes about Choro and Kara's dynamic but I don't really have the material to do a proper post so I'll just highlight my favourite moments of the duo:

When they ended up as their mom's reserve kids (alongside Jyushimatsu (unrelated but I love the Reserve Trio mostly because imagining Choro survive it makes me feel alive)) and Karamatsu keeps failing at appealing to his mom's affection, Choro straight up tells him "If things go wrong I'll take care of you!"

Then speed forward to like three or four different instances over the three series where Choromatsu falls, and Karamatsu yells "are you okay Choromatsu!? I'll save you Choromatsu!!" but DOESN'T STOP RUNNING KFKDKJF

When the brothers are taking advantage of Karamatsu's inability to say no, who calls him out on it??? Choromatsu!!

On the same episode though Karamatsu once again left Choromatsu to fend for himself against his devil brothers 💀 he's such a coward lol

Episode 24, Karamatsu was setting the mood to celebrate Choro!! He even gave him a surprisingly thoughtful Nyaa-chan thingy! And something painful of course but that's his brand

(I think he'd give good gifts in general, if a bit over-the-top at times)

Then during the Valentine's day episode he gave Choro some choco, all while saying "I like you because you're so lame that I look cool besides you" JDDHFJ this man has got jokes yall

I don't remember much about the Omurice skit they do other than they were VIBING ON THE SAME WAVELENGTH and it was Glorious. I think all the time of Karamatsu calling Choromatsu out like "STOP PLAYING DUMB IM TALKING ABOUT PERVY STUFF AND YOU KNOW IT" and Choromatsu honest to god CLUTCHING HIS INVISIBLE PEARLS lmao

I personally call them the LaLaLand duo, because they both live in an alternate reality made up of alternative facts that support the belief that they're The Proper One/The Cool One, and if I'm honest it almost surprises me that Choro is probably beating Karamatsu on number of episodes solely focused on poking fun at this gap between the reality they try to manufacture vs. The Actual Reality (see: the self-awareness orb episode and the Choromatsu Museum episode).

But at the same time I kind of appreciate that both of them can take a look at their immediate surroundings and call out bs when they see it. PARTICULARLY when Osomatsu is at the heart of that bs. Peak eldest three moments are those where Osomatsu is talking out of his ass, and Karamatsu is making The Exceptical Face that he does only for him (yknow. like 😒 but more Done) while Choromatsu is seconds away from nagging him to filth.

I like to think that they just have an special bond, a sympathetic understanding born from having to see Osomatsu live his best effort-economizing life, where too often they've shared looks that eloquently says "u seeing this bs rn"

So I guess my perception of their relationship is that they're comfortable enough with each other to discuss more personal things, Choromatsu seems to look out for Karamatsu a bit more but on the other hand Kara seems to trust his competence with a degree of honesty (even if he finds it a bit geeky), they can absolutely vibe on the same wavelength, and

I think it's good that they both seem to be Exceptical of the others social persona (Choromatsu more than Karamatsu, which is funny because Kara thinking he's a cool suave guy is so harmless??? Karamatsu on the other hand was horrified when Choromatsu tried to lie about being a NEET in his Christmas card, but other than that he Lets Him Live Laugh Love lol), because if they weren't.... If they fed into each others imaginations??? We'd have reason to worry

I also think that this dynamic is a somewhat recent development, as in, happened post highschool. Idk much about Osomatsu-kun but from what I understand, Karamatsu was more of a shy crybaby (if gluttonous? Call back to the Night Snacks skit where we see a VERY RARE Karamatsu telling Jyushi, arguably his fave youngest sibling, to get his ass back in bed, and all Choromatsu says is "Welp, duh, grub is involved" haha) while Choromatsu had that Godforsaken Temper of his with none of the social conditioning to motivate him to keep it in check.

I like to think about Karamatsu being artistically inclined from middle school, and exploring more earnestly his interests in high school. I used to like the idea of Choromatsu and Jyushimatsu glaring at whoever had a problem with the budding, still somewhat timid High School!Karamatsu being the theatre kid he was born to be, but then again I guess that doesn't quite fit the timeline as we see it in the movie? Shame 😔

Still, something something middleschool and highschool etc, Choromatsu is the one that goes to the McDonald's casheer with Karamatsu's burger and says "he didn't want pickles", and then post highschool they build a dynamic around other things.

[wellbelesbian]

Seven Sentence Sunday

thanks for tagging me @youarenevertooold @artsyunderstudy @alexalexinii and @forabeatofadrum! there aren't many hours left of this sunday and i didn't think i would post anything as i'm super sick with a cold, but i ended up writing a little bit of Keris's POV for a bonus kerixie chapter of my COTTA fic. there's a while to wait before it will be published though!

"I've had to fight for my rights myself. I was at Greenham Common protesting American warheads and fought with the police there, and you know what? It was the most alive I ever felt! That's why the women are running the show, because we actually know what we're doing. And I know especially well. I bet those gay people know what they're doing too, they've been fighting plenty. So if people are going to laugh at you, I suggest you grow a pair and stand up for yourself like we've all been doing!"

i have... thoughts on how the Pride movie approached Lesbians Against Pit Closures, and many of the lesbian characters in general, which i will cover under the cut.

so. the film had a tendency to treat the lesbians as annoying and preachy, and make their attempts at independence seem at best laughable or at worst needlessly divisive. i never liked that, and reading the book on the real events only made it worse.

as the book explains, LGSM could be a loud, politically divided, male dominated group that many women felt they couldn't speak up in. LAPC was necessary for those who felt silenced in the original group or never joined to begin with due to a discomfort with men. the two groups eventually operated alongside one another and you could be a member of both if you were a gay woman, but there were plenty of women who were only a member of one or the other.

and this isn't to criticise LGSM. as i said, they still welcomed women and worked alongside LAPC. many of the men from LGSM stood picketing alongside LAPC when a bar stopped running women's only nights. LAPC twinned with a different village in the north of England, so the existence of the two groups overall helped more people and spread their reach further. the distaste the men have for the idea of a women's group in the movie was nowhere near as strong as it appears to have been in real life.

and we know many lesbians did indeed feel unwelcome around men. they reported being uniquely disliked by the straight men of Onllwyn. while the miners soon got accustomed to the gay men, having at least some common ground with them, they had no interest in lesbians. a sort of "you're not like me, or available to me, so why are you here?" vibe. eventually this attitude seemed to fade and disappear, but by then some women had given up trying to befriend them and had stopped visiting.

however, a lot of the women in Onllwyn were very happy to see the lesbians, as many were queer themselves. some of the lesbians of the group reported having relationships of varying degrees with the Welsh women, and one of the women interviewed in the book was sixteen at the time and came out later in life, being accepted due to LGSM's role in her family's life. today, the village seems very welcoming to lesbians, but that wasn't always the case.

the lesbians also brought with them politics and feminism. while many Welsh women were already politically active (see above when i mentioned Greenham Common, a real protest staged by women of all classes and sexualities before the strikes, and of course they were involved in the miner's strikes), the lesbians fanned that flame and introduced them to new concepts and issues.

Trixie and Keris are my tributes to those two kinds of women. the lesbians of London who got political and struck out on their own, and the lesbians of Wales who only realised they were gay once LGSM arrived and shook up their lives.

anyway. this wound up being longer than i intended.

i'll not tag anyone as it's late, but if anyone wants to share a wip and hasn't been tagged yet, consider this your tag!

[luckyshotwrites]

Ch. 71 // Live On, Uri. // Day xxx

Contents (Warnings): Escape (Angst, death mention, hard vore mention, character and monster info as always). Read full chapter on - A03

Wordcount: 3,000 (FINALLLY)

Song I listened to on repeat for this chapter: Beneath The Brine - The Family Crest

Side note: This will contain experimental writing; first person (Lynette's view) will be implemented alongside third person for the two other essential characters, (mostly) Alexander and (occasionally) Drake. All their text will be italicized for those third-person moments, with the characters' names in Bold at the start and their thoughts in Bold. There may be other characters I write for using this.

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

Claudia

Another Two years. 

They passed quickly. 

Anubis taught her what each feeling meant, from the stabbing poisonous urchins of sadness to the giggle-spurring heat of happiness. It spurred many questions within Urtsi. She made sure to "bother" Anubis with new ones every day. 

"You've killed every single one of your previous owners?" 

Anubis sat with his back against the bars, the same as her. "Of course, when they're given the prospect of wishes, their deep and darkly twisted desires come out." He could feel the warmth coming from her behind him. Her 'wings' came from her back, gently pressing at his.

"And their first wish is always a guarantee." Anubis felt the sour film clot in his mouth, the things they asked him to grant, and what they did to others. He could read his owners' intentions, feelings, and emotions; he understood them better than anyone else. 

"Similar to our favors and the Escora with their "you've captured me" deals?" Urtsi replied, running her wings at the cloth of his clothing. It was rare for a monster to wear such a thing. She understood magus's, but she had not seen many monsters do so. Then again, Anubis did appear human. "And what about the other wishes?"

A smile crept upon his face, and a soft scoff brushed past his lips. "A Jinn can say no to an owner's wish. Every and all wishes until five more years pass," he softly chuckled, "fortunately for me, Mitz can't wish for anything to affect me. If she could, she would have probably made me agreeable." He shuttered at the thought.

Urtsi's eyes flickered back. She felt one of the false Drakin climbing over her legs. It made her smile. "How did you kill your owners if they owned you?"

Anubis sighed, "Most think it's three wishes, and then we're done. And that strong thought of it being over allows our items to vanish from them and gives us a temporary "freedom" until either we or someone else finds our item." 

"Did Mitz know she had more?"

Urtsi watched his face scowl, "we're not obligated to tell our owners the rules, but that was Mitz's first wish." 

He turned his head to look at her side profile. Though, most of her face remained hidden beyond the face plate. 

"Why don't you take that off?" Anubis asked with a playful smirk, "They say you should never trust someone whose eyes you can't see."

Her normal fingers traced along the face plates exterior. It felt smooth, like a seashell fresh from the ocean. It was flexible to curve over her face. 

"The only one who can take this off is the coven leader that brought me up from the red soil." Her hand shifted to the side stuck to her face, "and they are long dead now. So it'll be stuck here, not that my body has yet to grow. I'm matured."

I failed my purpose at maturity too.

She had been told she was left alive to be reburied in the red soil once she reached maturity. Urtsi was supposed to allow her body to be torn apart and repurposed for new children. Those that hopefully were not suntouched. 

For the first time, Anubis's hand went past the bars, and Urtsi froze. Haphazardly filled with curiosity. 

"Do you only see energy?" He asked her. 

Though she couldn't feel if someone touched its surface, it still sent a chill up her spine. She didn't respond, stunned. 

Anubis realized what he had done and pulled his hand back, "I was looking for a seal that binds it to you. In case I could remove it."

Urtsi knew that was impossible. The coven always told her if it was crushed or broken, it'd kill her too. She went to answer the original question he asked. "I can see as I believe you do. You've got hair that matches embers," 

Anubis glanced at the few strands of his hair out of place. The rest was usually up in a bun. "Ah, so colors are darker to you," he said. "I wonder what color eyes you have under there."

Urtsi had never thought of her own eyes, not that she needed to, she saw fine. "If I die, my mask will detach; you can see them then. Though, the eyes lose color-"

"No," Anubis said quickly before she continued. 

He shook his head, still, holding a smile though faint. "You've lived this long. If you decide to keel over while still in this cage, I won't take care of the false drakin snappers; they'll die too."

"That's a little cruel; they haven't done anything wrong."

Anubis reached his hand passed again and flicked her forehead, "Then don't go dying on me." 

...

Another Year. 

The idea started to play in her mind, "They didn't want to die, did they?" Urtsi said aloud. These thoughts began to circle within her mind, along with their voice's pleas while in Mitz's "care."

"They?" Anubis questioned, relaxed upon the bars. The lanterns around them were dimmer today, making it harder for her to see. 

"The members." Urtsi felt at her chest, though the clock was only visible to those outside the family and Hendra. The only time it was visible to another member was when Hendra broke it. "Those I helped punish with Mitz."

"They didn't," Anubis replied. "They simply did something that Hendra didn't like or weren't useful anymore. That's why she's been serving the lower members to us."

Urtsi raised a brow, along with a stabbing in her chest. Why do I feel bad? What happened? The thought of them fighting in the chair reminded her of being buried in the soil. The impending grip of death.

"I-I wouldn't want that," Urtsi said with the burden unmoving. "And I don't feel good about it."

Anubis nodded, like he understood, "Then don't do it. We have such limited control of our situations; you and I are locked away, aren't we? Bound to the will of others."

Urtsi couldn't stop thinking about all the others as she curled down. "We have choices, don't we?"

A faint wheeze of a laugh came from him, "Either do as they say or die."

"Then I don't mind staying here with you and..." she could feel the plethora of critters crawling all over her for attention now. Especially as she was sad, "them."

...

He would visit her for three years, delivering her food a few days a week. Until it stopped. He didn't come, and the lights never turned back on. It had been a week, and she was exhausted. 

Urtsi didn't know what happened; he hadn't told her he'd disappear again. 

She touched the bars, remembering him near. And the door jangled open for the first time in a while, leading into her cave. The nook that no one used anymore for anything but to keep this Fae starved of light. 

It was Kalin. 

Urtsi had not seen or associated with him for years; she thought he had died. Or maybe, it was something she hoped for. 

The pain she thought was long gone started to swell at her back. She curled up in her corner with the other critters.

His pumpkin orange-hue glanced over while he leaned on the cage. He left himself open, purposefully for her to attack. 

"Feeling comfortable, Urtsi?" Kalin's voice hummed. 

Her body fell limp. 

He smiled. "Oh, so I see I'm stronger than you too?" He laughed with a perturbed grin, "And you decided to take on one of our strongest so many years ago?"

Urtsi did not respond. Though the aching discomfort had relinquished, a sliver of sadness remained.  

"Imagine if you weren't stupid. You could have helped us more during the war."

War? Urtsi said in her head, not aloud. 

"What's the matter?" Kalin's tone surrounded her ears, "Where did all that spring and liveliness go? I swear I've heard you down here cackling with Anubis before Mits got jealous." 

She felt the coolness of his gaze. It looked like, at any moment, much like his sister, his hands could come out and grasp around her throat. 

"What happened to him?"

There was a twirl in his eyes, "who knows, maybe Mitz finally killed him," his guffaw pushed her. "Jinns are bound by that powerful item, right? Even if they're dead, that item still has its uses." 

She felt her body curl in, refusing to go onward. Still, she did. Her chain hands grabbed at the bars near Kalin.

He smiled with vigor, grabbed her hands, and brought her straight into the bars with her hands outside them. All the critters in the cage began to bump at the barrier at its bottom as if to try and protect her. Her face smushed against the metal, and the hands at her back came out too. 

"Go ahead, bring those out too." His mouth whispered in her ear, "I've been waiting to taste more of that delicious fae flesh."

The image made her body twinge like a plucked string. "don't."

She could hear him lick his lips near her ear, "I'm behaving; Mama doesn't want you dead yet. You're still heavily imperative for keeping this barrier up while the rest of the family collects whatever they can of this world." Kalin snickered, "But do you want to know a secret?"

"When Mama doesn't need you anymore, she told me you're all mine, Urtsi."

The fear grappled her. It wrestled against her body, making her tremble with its strain. 

"Why do you follow her." Her words came out so timidly. 

Kalin pulled back, grinning, yet his grip didn't let go of her larger wrists. "Why? I wanted to die for someone strong just like our parents," Kalin lifted up his neck so she could see the long-healed gash that led down his chin and down his shirt to his chest. "I specialized in verbal spells, so Hendra tore out my throat." 

The salmon pink-haired male said it with a sense of pride. "She won, but my body had the energy to spare, so it healed me and brought me back. The fun of being a magus." He turned his head to face her better. "I was supposed to be dead, so what better way to spend the rest of my life than following my murderer?" 

Kalin chuckled like it was normal, "I don't care what she decides for us to do. I don't even care about her reasons to collect rare parts." He let himself move from the bars again.

A thought whirled in his eyes as he looked at faint pink arms. "And look at this, I almost forgot." His hands curved around her wrists tighter. "Since you put your hands passed the cage, I can do this-" He said as he bent and snapped them. 

...

It was quiet. There was not another skitter nor anymore climbing at her feet. It had been three more years. And during that time, Kalin had forced her to eat them. Dot, Ern, Poco, Little Uri, and Anubie. She had gotten so used to their tiny pattering inside her cage and their warmth; she still remembered the first time Anubis brought them to her. Urtsi still had yet to see him. Some days she felt like she heard him far, far above. It was most likely her imagination. 

The only one she ever saw now was Kalin, and all he did was mess with her like Mitz did. Except, he'd only do it for a short time. He hated Urtsi. She knew that because she hated him. She hated Hendra, she hated Mitz, she hated Kalin. Whenever she thought of their names, it fetched waves of crushing anger. 

She knew Anubis was alive at least; she could feel their intertwined barriers, which was comfort enough. She had no idea why they still made the two keep them up, but it was the only connection she had to him left. However, Urtsi could feel hers wouldn't last much longer at this rate. The food needed to be more abundant. She expended so much energy against a force she didn't understand outside. 

She only kept herself company again. Talking, whispering, yelling, practicing the new emotions, some against her will. They held her hostage when she knew what they were. 

...

It was the same looping cycle; she had been trapped inside this cage for nearly ten years. She didn't mind the loop; she told herself she didn't care. She started to hear rushing; something was coming at the door, fast. Being in the dark helped sharpen her hearing. The door flew open, and the figure shown by the lights from above made her excitement bubble. 

"Uri," Anubis's voice pinged. A franticness pressed with it. 

Her attention snapped to him, "Anubis, hi. Hello. Sorry about the critters you got me; they made me eat them." She blurted out. She didn't know whether he would be disappointed or mad.

He scanned the cage floor before his hand came up to the bars. The cage started to creak with his magic against it, "you're leaving."

Once he was close, she saw the slowly constricting collar. He wasn't supposed to be this far. It glowed to show that. Mitz demanded him to be near her. 

"What-" Urtsi's smile faded, "stop it, go back to her."

The cage started to open to him until the chain pulled him back. That could only happen if Mitz was near.  

"How dare you." The venom leaked out as she walked through the door. Her messy, unmistakably oversized, and matted hair was hard to miss. "That's Kalin's prey, not yours."

Anubis pulled at the collar around his neck, and Mitz smiled widely, a sadistic greeting, "Hiya there, guess what today is.~ We'll leave soon, so Kalin's gonna..." She made a biting gesture at Urtsi like a dog. 

The fear spiraled inside her limbs. I'm going to die. She wanted to tell them no, say anything, but her lips quivered. She knew he'd do it. Kalin would.

"Look at your body," she said, holding up the lantern. "You'd barely be a snack." 

"MITZ," Anubis growled out, but she kicked him onto the ground and put her heel onto his face, near his eye. 

"You're sickening; you care for a Dirty, Disgusting, Traitor." 

Urtsi jumped up, and her hands threw themselves toward the bars. 

"TOUCH ME, AND I'LL KILL HIM," Mitz said. 

Urtsi stopped, and Mitz's dumb grin remained solid until Anubis laughed from below her. 

"If your goal was to kill me, you would have done it years ago!" He hooted, his arm curled around her leg, bringing her off. It hurt him in the process; Urtsi could see the flash on his pained face, especially as she collided with the ground.

She let out a gasp, "y-YOU'RE DEAD." 

The collar brought him down to her, and then as he collided with her body, the glowing seized. The burning bundle of fire from the lamp bustled out. 

His sinister whisper filled the space, every inch. "I've wanted to silence your obnoxious, deafening laughter since I've met you." Her body continued to twitch, and Anubis grabbed something from her hand, the chain at his neck starting to fade. 

Mitz was quiet; she didn't say anything. And as Anubis stood up, Urtsi saw the hole in his chest, the same as Mitz's. 

Her mouth hung from shock. "A-a." She couldn't say his name.

"I wanted to answer you back then," Anubis said rigidly with heavy breaths, like Mitz, who struggled to heal herself. He left his arm in her body, a weak mist trail leading back to him.

"I hesitated because it was a foolish reason to live." Anubis reached the bars, leaving the trail behind him. His form looked less and less stable. 

"I wanted to live to meet an owner that wouldn't be driven by madness or greed, but that's all us, Jinn, ever have as owners." His other closed hand shakily raised as the canary yellow hue started to dim. 

Her hands came out, frantically moving past the bars to heal his wound; she wanted to go to Mitz. He stopped her. 

"You'll-" her voice choked, "die." 

"And even though you were a strange Little Fae we picked up." He leaned against the bar. "You've never had a chance to experience anything; maybe that's why you made me feel so free. Your joy, your pure need to go on...that's what made me so desperate to help you..."

He smiled, leaning in with what he had left to kiss her forehead. 

He opened the palm of his remaining hand; it held his ring. His form was turning into mist before her eyes. "The barrier will start to break; so take this, spread your wings."

His last words held her body tightly. It forced her to pick up the ring, "and live on Uri." 

...

Hey, you, thank you so much for reading. It means a lot that I put out a story that people can enjoy! So, I hope you continue to enjoy it as WE have a LOT more to go! YOU BETTER KEEP PROSPERING! (Nonnegotiable).

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What I’d do for a Livable Income (Synopsis/Chapter - List)

[theuncannytruthteller]

Chadwick would've wanted it to be the role the character T'Challa to live on he knew what the character T'Challa meant. T'Challla was created in 1966 during the Civil Rights Era by Jack Kirby to Stan Lee. T'Challa is the FIRST mainstream Leading Black/African superhero. T'Challa has been the focal point even integral to the world of Black Panther and to his nation Wakanda. T'Challa was created to be positive Black Representation he wasn't no side kick; he didn't speak in a stereotypical jive tone or have stereotype features. The whole idea is if the rumor of T'Challa Jr or whatever they call the Child he has with Nakia come true that's an issue. One reason we don't want a Jr. is because of racial stereotypes the fatherless Black Child trope is a no then you have the single independent strong Black Woman. Those things hurt Black people in the long run it only reinforces those stereotypes which is not our reality. Chadwick was fired for standing up against Stereotypes, so I doubt he'd be happy or fine with them adding in two.

(Video by: Tony Weaver Jr.)

His widow even said, "It really was the most powerful piece of work that Chad was able to lay the FOUNDATION for." What do you do with a foundation? You build off it you, so by not recasting and killing TChalla you're killing a legacy and letting the foundation he created be wasted.

No, we don't want Killmonger back nor do we care about the mantle or who takes up the mantle we care about the character beneath the mantle. We care about T'Challa, we're also asking to not use according to the leaks T'Challa will pass away via sickness aka using Chadwick's real-world illness as part of their story which is insulting, disrespectful, distasteful and disingenuous if said rumors are true. Chadwick Boseman's real-world death/ilness as part of the plot. We also don't need a film to teach us or show us how to grieve we see Black Death every day and many have become so desensitized to it. They should've recasted if they wanted to grief take time off reshuffle the film, they did it to make themselves feel better which might trigger someone else. Honestly that is selfish if that's the type of film you're cool with that's you I personally can't get down with that. We don't know what kind of person T'Challa would've been as a father as a King or Husband, he was reunited with his family after the blip for 5 years. On top of all that we don't know how he will deal with the people of Wakanda after opening the boarders, are his people for it or against it how will he deal with it we don't know because his story hasn't fully been explored or told. The most we have seen of T'Challa is him in cameos and only one solo film and him in the what if series without the mantle of Black Panther because it's not about the mantle it's about the character himself. Unless this film is set during the blip it won't make sense. Otherwise, how will you explain killing off a perfectly healthy and alive character?

A tributes as they're calling it don't sell tickets it doesn't market or profit off a dead man's image. That's explotive recently its come out the cast and crew took their new cast and crew to see Chadwick's grave.

Honor: How are you Honoroing Chadwick by killing off the character he brought to life, as his brother Derrick Boseman said he honored them by making sure they had a career.

https://youtu.be/4G4UtrMpGEw

So if they did want to honor him, they'd recast T'Challa to give someone else the opportunity to honor Chadwick by taking on the character he brought to life in turn them having a career as a lead alongside Shuri as lead. But no, they're going to kill off his character putting his family back through that trauma. That's not how you honor him that's how you dishonor him and how legacies die. They say they were Chadwick's friend but you're fine with killing off the character your friend brought to live. That don't sound like a friend to me, I could never do that to a friend I want to honor and respect.

What people have to understand is T'Challa isn't dead, people have separate the actor from the character. Chadwick Boseman has passed on the character T'Challa hasn't.

People don't care about mantles of Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, it's always been about the character beneath that role. Just like no one cares about the 007 mantle it's James Bond they care about the same applies here anyone can take the mantle we don't care it's about the character beneath the mantle we care about with all that being.

[brandwhorestarscream]

Oooh, just go for any and all timelines you'd find interesting for the son-in-law ask? I'd love to hear any of them!

I'll just go down the line then!! :D

So, timeline 1 is canon: Galvatron and Terminus are dead long, long before Megatronus ever even meets Orion Pax. Terminus dies from infection after losing his legs in a mining accident, and Galvatron dies in the gladiator pits after a rigged match.

Timeline 2, the Destructicon timeline, Megatron dies when he's the equivalent of like. 2 months old. So that's out

Timeline 3, the self imposed exodus. Because the warframes abandoned cybertron about a 100 million years ago, Sentinel Prime was never assassin mated: i.e. he's still alive and kicking so Orion isn't ever selected for Primehood. In this one, he and Megatron don't meet until they're both far, far into adulthood--roughly where the first season of Transformers Prime starts--and ol Megs is actually in a committed relationship with someone else. Any guesses as to whom? (It's not Soundwave, though they did date for quite awhile)

Timeline 4 is where we actually get our first look at Megop! Big bad is still the corrupt Primacy and the Senate, so while Orion may never become the Prime in name, he's still a beloved leader of the resistance. Except this time 🤭 he and Megatron are on the same side, leading together as one. In this timeline, Galvatron and Terminus fled from Kaon with their sparkling after being warned of the horrible future by Galvatron-2: Megatronus and Orion met when they were children, and were close friends all while growing up. To be honest, those two were the absolute last ones to figure out they were in love: everyone and their carrier and also their turbohound knew they were going to end up together. In TL4, Galvatron and Terminus have watched Orion grow up alongside their son and are very fond of him: they're perfectly supportive of their relationship and probably also had a bet going on about how long it would take for them to realize their feelings.

Now, timeline 5... here's where we get into the really complicated stuff. In this one, the Senatorial system is abolished before war can ever break out, and that includes the Prime as a figurehead. This is a timeline where all of the civil rights issues are solved peacefully: the Matrix is returned to the gods' Acolytes for safe keeping as a holy relic, and as there's no war nor anymore Primal figurehead, the Matrix isn't called upon to take a new host.

Orion and Megatron meet when they're teenagers-to-young adults, and this is the one with the rapunzel-esque situation for Megatron. Except instead of a tower, he's kept secluded within the walls of Iacon's main Temple of Primus (it makes sense it context I swear, but that's a whole other post of its own). Galvatron keeps him confined out of fear for his life: he's lived through so many lives and has been visited by his previous selves so often it's made him incredibly paranoid and obsessive. Isolation is his greatest love: keep Megatronus away from anything and anyone that could hurt him, sequestered in one of the safest buildings on the planet. As a holy place of worship and frequented by the Chosen Ones of the gods (aka the Acolytes) the Temple is under constant watch from the Primal Vanguard. No one gets in if they're not supposed to be there. It's safe. Megatronus has never set foot outside since being brought in as a sparkling and is extremely sheltered: cue Orion getting dragged there against his will for a research project and falling helm over pedes for this pretty holy virgin type.

...Again. I promise you it makes sense in context. I'll sexualize my religious trauma as much as I want tyvm lmfao 😂

ANYWAY. The first time Galvatron meets Orion it's hate at first sight: via several little misunderstandings he thinks Orion is an invader in the Temple trying to hurt his only child and kinda goes ballistic. Even after everything has settled down and he's knows Megatron is safe, he still despises him. He wants the little upstart to stay far, far away from his baby. Wants everyone to stay away from his baby, really. No one is safe. No one can be trusted. It takes a long, long time for him to be even slightly ok with Orion's presence, and even longer for him to accept it when a relationship does bloom between them.

Terminus, on the other servo, quietly adores Orion. Megatronus really only has one friend growing up in the Temple: the only son of a rather religious Senator, little Shockwave. But he can't visit often so their boy rarely gets to speak with peers his age, and it makes him happy to see Megatronus interacting with another youngling. Orion is polite and sweet and genuinely a good kid, seeing them spend time together warms his old spark. He's really not at all surprised when Orion presents his first courting gift, and gives the young mech his blessing to pursue his only child.

Timeline 6 diverges pretty late and much of TL5's canon carries over. This timeline split comes when they're already married adults, so there's no change there

Timeline 7 is just. Universal oblivion: there is no more universe. So uh... moot point

I hope you enjoyed this! I hope I answered your question ok. I know I didn't exactly touch on High Lord Protector stuff, but honestly it doesn't ever really crop up in Hindsight. I can say, independent of timelines and individual canons, they'd be very proud to see their son ascend to such a position, but would also be scared to death. That's such a big change, after all! And a dangerous position to take on 🥺 they worry about their baby