#though I am thinking of how Violet will be implemented

[the-fengverse]

WOAOOH Teaser

Pokémon Scarlet: Winds of Adventure on Our Horizons!

ARC OVERVIEW: 

Arc 1- Paldean Winds Arc 2- Scarlet Horizons Pt 1 Arc 3- The Teal Mask Arc 4- Scarlet Horizons Pt 2 Arc 5- The Indigo Disk Arc 6- Mochi Mayhem

LOGLINE:

The introverted daughter of the Top Champion must come out of her shell despite society's pressure and embark on a journey across Paldea and beyond in search of her treasure...

[ecargmura]

Pokemon Horizons Episode 61 Review - Flow And Ryme

We’re finally at Montenevera Town so Roy can do his Implementation Test, but doesn’t this episode feel a little clunky? I feel like they were trying to squeeze in so many things before Roy did his battle but the battle went by super fast, like a snowstorm, and it just ends. Please tell me I’m not the only one who had this feeling?

The kids have some free time before battling Ryme as she’s not in her Gym, so they meet a bunch of Greavard. I like that creepy Pokedex entries continue to make their appearance in the anime as the kids learn that Greavards suck life essence from those around them. Speaking of creepy Pokemon, Terapagos gets itself into danger again when two Drifloon kidnap it by carrying its bag straps. I could only sigh at this scene because Terapagos wandering off and getting into danger has become tiresome to watch. Though, it was amusing how the Drifloon were carrying it because it is known for taking children or Pokemon to the afterlife. Does this hint that Terapagos is going to die?

Nemona makes a reappearance when she shows up to rescue Terapagos from falling. She’s here to hope to get a battle at Ryme’s concert. Like how Terapagos gets into danger as a recurring thing, Nemona getting denied a battle seems to be a recurring thing as well. I wonder if Nemona is being set up to be Roy’s rival or to battle Roy in the future.

Then we get to the battles. Roy battles MC Sledge before battling Ryme. While Roy does get a win from MC Sledge, he loses to Ryme rather harshly. He loses his momentum when things get too desperate, he terastalizes but doesn’t even get to use it as Fuecoco gets knocked out. I have a lot to say about the battle against Ryme. It’s way too fast-paced. The moment it starts, Kilowattrel gets knocked out and then Fuecoco knocks out Houndstone and then Fuecoco struggles with Toxitricity before getting knocked out. Though, there were some interesting aspects about the battle. Roy’s loss was because of predictability. He used the same strategy as he did in the battle with MC Sledge, which Ryme saw. This is why she was able to wipe the floor with him. He needs to amp up his strategy if he wants to improve and not rely on the same song over and over again. What Ryme said to Roy about being a failure of a partner to Fuecoco was harsh, but it was needed because Roy wasn’t in sync with him.

I guess my only solid gripe is that the battle wasn’t a Double Battle. Ryme was the hardest Gym Leader for me when I was playing Pokemon Violet because I didn’t expect a Double battle, hence why I struggled so hard due to going in blind completely lacking a strategy.

Complaints aside, I really liked Ryme’s rap. People usually find anime characters’ rapping cringe, but not me. I seriously enjoyed the tempo and presentation of Ryme’s rap. I think it flowed well. Maybe she can be a contestant on Paradox Live (which I am a fan of)? Roy’s rapping was handled well too! He can participate in Paradox Live as well! 

My predictions for Roy’s rematch is that he’s going to find ways to battle using different songs for different moves. Maybe that way, Fuecoco can finally evolve, which I am expecting next episode because it does feel like it’d be the perfect time for him to evolve. If anything, I sort of want Roy to focus on training Kilowattrel because Electric moves can be very useful when facing Houndstone. What are your predictions for next week’s episode?

[herald-divine-hell]

My Journey Through Thedas

As Veilguard downloads on my PC, I thought to give my journey through the Dragon Age games and what BioWare's fantastical world has meant for me over the years.

Let it be known, I have been critical with aspects and elements of Thedas' worldbuilding, as well as routes I thought have been fascinating to delve into but BioWare either did not think or were incapable of actually implementing in game (Leliana/Inquisitor). Despite this, Dragon Age is one of my favorite series of all time, and this is my first ever Dragon Age release! So, why don't we go down along memory lane.

I first played Dragon Age in the summer of 2015, at my aunt's house in Texas (at the time, I had lived in New Jersey). While waiting for my family to get ready to get ice cream, I asked my aunt if I could hope onto my cousin's PlayStation 4, because of how terribly bored I was. Thankfully she agreed, and while going through his game sections, I noticed this really cool dragon covering, with a man weilding a sword and shooting a something like a green lasso at the dragon. On it, it read Dragon Age: Inquisition. I was, and still am, a huge fantasy fan, so the sight of that looked really fucking cool. So I hoped in, and went on my cousins save, and there he was at, seemingly just having arrived at Skyhold. I was utterly confused, so I went back and started - as I should have done - a new game.

And oh, boy. Was I excited. The character creator (despite nowadays a weird revisionist take that somehow DAI's character creator was actually bad - I'll give the hair tho) was absolutely fantastic, and since I love nobility I picked a male Trevelyan mage...who was white with violet eyes. (I can't recall if that was the time I started to like Dragon Age, but I played mostly white characters). And oh boy, I was in for a treat.

The opening cutscene was amazing, and there I saw the greatest thing that has ever graced my screen - Leliana, hooded and beautiful. At the time, I thought she was actually Muslim, because I thought her shawl was a hijab. Silly dumb fourteen year old Tim, lol. But I fell instantly in love with Leliana, especially when she stopped Cassandra from beating my ass for someone I had no idea I did. ("She likes me!" No, child Tim. She just wanted info. "No, she loves me.")

And from there it grew. I went and bought DA:I on my Xbox, and began to read Dragon Age Fanfiction, specifically Leliana and Inquisitor. One of my favorite fanfics was actually the Leliana/Inquisitor Trading Secrets by dats__gayyy (who never wrote that Trespasser epilogue :() Shoutout to them for introducing me and giving confidence to write my own fanfic. But at the time, I noticed a heavy leaning toward women, so I thought it was only fair that my first real Inquisitor should be a women rather than that prototype Trevelyan on my cousin's PS4. And in that year, the Hamilton soundtrack came out, right before they went to broadway. It was a match made in heaven. Hamilton - Trevelyan - they sound similar, no! And as I read Ron Chernow's Alexander Hamilton, images and thoughts of Alexandra appeared before me. A hyperactive, bisexual mess who loves to write and refuses to sleep? Perfect for Leliana! And from there, Alexandra Trevelyan, dearly beloved for so many of my friends were born, scarily pale skin and green-golden eyes all!

And from there, Dragon Age saved me. Without Dragon Age, I don't think I'll be alive. I certainly wouldn't have made a Tumblr and met all my lovely friends who provided a safe and secured space for me to explore and recognize my depression and anxiety, and who loved me despite my many, many faults. There were tough times in this fandom, and great times too, and though I may share my frustrations, I still remember going through Haven for the first time to reach the Breach, and seeing Leliana's face, and a very sparkly-eyed Tim whose heart was going to burst from his chest at the sight of her. Can't believe next year will be ten years since I fell for that Orlesian bard, lmao. Now I understand the Warden's pain.

No matter if this game is good or bad, thank you BioWare for making this. Thank you to all the developers unjustly let off by EA after Veilguard's development was over. Thank you all for existing! Now, let's go crack some eggs!

[kosmic-arts]

Roxas, Namine, & the Reality That Carl Jung is Real

OK SO. this video is great and is an even more detailed, succinct version of what i was talking about in my roxas/kh2 plot analysis post. please watch, this is such good food for thought. for a while ive really been thinking about the meaning of nobodies in kh, and how i feel the concept has been gradually bastardized over the course of the story- but disregarding that lmao! i have been making the connection myself about how similar nobodies are to the concept of the shadow in carl jung's psychology theories, and boy howdyyyy was it great to see i wasn't the only one, because violet howler mentions the same in this video. as ive mentioned before, i feel like roxas and namine should have never been pushed as being their own separate people, rather as reflections of sora's and additionally, kairi's worst aspects. or at least the parts of themselves they repress. roxas and namine should have always been vehicles to help strengthen the main characters, rather than growing into people of their own- that way the ending of kh2 would've actually been the happy ending that they were clearly trying to push that it was for roxas and namine. but only to backpedal in ddd.... in the video, violet howler tries to argue the contrary- that the further developments in the series for roxas and namine to separate as whole people from sora and kairi are logical extensions of their representation as shadows- but i just disagree. i already mention this in my post linked above, but sora and kairi should've grown as people and actually gained the memories and experiences of their nobodies when they merged; the whole plotpoint of confronting the side of themselves they wouldn't rather acknowledge should've been wrapped up ages ago in kh2 instead of being stretched out for so long. roxas and namine's stories and connection to one another should've been more tightly written to more properly lead into their ending of returning to their counterparts. i am still miffed about how roxas spends so much of days chasing after xion who gets to have all the character development and hard choices, instead of the guy you're literally playing as- ok.... although ill say namine is written a lot better, as she gradually grows into having her own initiative- and its nice that kairi in kh2 also starts to express the same urge as she decides to stop waiting for sora and riku and just go find them herself. anyway. i will say though, i am very so-so hmmm lukewarm about the whole "nobodies can grow hearts" shtick. in a lot of ways, i like the idea. BUT ONLY when you think about it through this context: through forming connections with others, and holding on to their humanity so to speak- nobodies can grow a heart of their own and regain their humanity. thats cool! kingdom hearts is about the importance of friendship and connections, and all that- so having such a thing have real physical results in the nobodies is a powerful concept. that, and it really does fit with the whole nobody/shadow carl jung representation going on. BUT THATS NOT HOW ITS IMPLEMENTED IN GAME. xemnas in ddd says the body will replace its missing heart at the first chance it gets- not when the nobody makes connections with others. which is why i hate the growing hearts bit, because its very clearly a poorly thought-out escape for the nobodies' major dilemma. same thing with how a person can be recompleted by killing the heartless and nobody. thats fucking insane because it makes it so that the answer to all the organization's problems was to commit seppuku all along!!! nothing of value is lost, everyone is technically immortal if they lose their heart to darkness and split- just shoot their two counterparts and you get to live again. its so bad help alright. i'm starting to lose the point so i will end this here lmfao. long story short, i agree with everything in the video except most of his reasoning that the weird shit at the end of kh2 and postgames made any sense and is justified by the carl jung shadow theory comparison. kthx, watch the video its cool :)

[sortofaflynn]

Violet crossed her arms during the pause between exchanges, giving Rinzler his time to think. She had a lot on her mind as well, such as her fear of anything bad happening to Viva. She hadn’t been to the Grid many times, but seeing the humanity of these programs, their sentience and the whole world that had been made of their system made her think of and feel for them as if they were people too. In a way they were. They certainly had human essence within them, having been written by them, they had their own views on users despite never having been programmed to do so. Violet had learned from her few experiences that some even doubted the existence of their users. As said by René Descartes, “I think, therefore I am.” There was no reason to see them any differently you’d see an alien, or any other member of a different species than your own. Violet certainly enjoyed the things she found herself pondering whenever she was here, face to face with a creation of one of her own. Soon enough, she’d get to see hers.

Rinzler definitely wasn’t the only one losing his train of thought. It was a miracle Violet caught him beginning to sign with how deep in her train of thought she was. She hid this well though, subtly redirecting her attention in hopes he wouldn’t realize. “That’s what I’ve been focusing on lately.” She answered, looking at the area of his helmet where she assumed his eyes would be. She couldn’t see through it, but if Rinzler were paying attention to where she was looking, he’d notice the attempted eye contact. “She’s doing well. I ran a test on my computer before I came in here, she managed to find some things I didn’t even know about.” Violet seemed as proud of her program as ever, feeling more fulfilled than she ever had before when Viva not only brought attention to intentional security flaws she implemented into the test system, but some that were completely accidental as well. Viva was highly functional, and Violet was confident her implementation would be a good thing for the Grid. If not pushing limits and breaking boundaries by those set before you, what is innovation? That was a large portion of her thought process while writing her.

“Yeah, you can meet her. Probably makes sense.” Violet casually responded.

“i need you to focus.” (for action themed prompt) -@riinzler

Violet sighed, almost not catching what Rinzler said because of it. She wasn’t looking at his hands until about halfway through, but she was still able to understand based on what she did see. Thank god for her mother having been hard of hearing and herself having a high chance of needing hearing aids one day, or else they’d be a bit screwed.

“I am focusing.” She responded directly, definitely a little bit annoyed. Sure she was trying to focus, but she wasn’t really succeeding. Every few moments she’d space out or get distracted by the smallest thing, throwing her off completely.

[bobbyinthegarden]

2023 Reading Challenge

Fantasy: A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin

Mild spoilers ahead 

Starting off my 2023 reading challenge with a book I’ve been meaning to read for years: A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin. I’ll be totally transparent here and say that fantasy is not a genre I typically tend to gravitate towards, and so I’m not as well read in the genre as I maybe should be. However, I sense that this may be changing because I absolutely adored this book with my whole heart and devoured it in only two days – I quite literally couldn’t put it down!

A Wizard of Earthsea was first published in 1968 and is the first book in a series of six (which I am absolutely also going to read as well as soon as I can get my hands on them!). The book follows its young protagonist, a wizard named Ged (or Sparrowhawk), as he embarks on his wizard training, and later faces off against forces beyond his understanding. The fantasy world in which Ged lives is called Earthsea, and it has no major land masses, like ours, but instead has many hundreds of islands, and so its people have a universal dependence on sea travel. Magic, in Earthsea, is not hidden, but is openly acknowledged and understood by the people, though most people are not able to practice it. The magic works on the True Name idea, in which everything that exists has a true name (that sometimes even they don’t know) and if you can learn a thing’s true name you gain power over it, and so a lot of the training process for young wizards is memorizing many, many of the true names of different things, so that they can exercise power them. Obviously, as a concept, this isn’t something that is unique to this book, but I absolutely loved the way the way that it is implemented within the story and the worldbuilding, as something that is a fundamental building block of both the culture of Earthsea as a whole, and the specific plot of the book.

I really love Ged as a character, how flawed he is and how much his character learns about himself over the course of the story is really wonderful. The plot itself is a pretty typical Campbellesque Heroes Journey, but his arc is intensely psychological, beginning the book mostly good natured but full of arrogance and pride at his superior magical abilities, something he is forced to confront when his ego leads him to displays of immense power that he doesn’t yet understand, that causes him and others significant pain, this awful mistake humbles him, forcing him to recognise the darkness that exists within him and ultimately make things right.

One thing that is also worth mentioning about this book is race. Almost all of the characters are people of colour, including Ged, who described as having ‘copper skin’. Ursula K. LeGuin’s father was an anthropologist who did extensive research into Native American cultures, particularly the Yana people, and this seems to have been a major inspiration for Ged and many of the other characters, including Ged’s close friend Vetch, similarly being described as having ‘dark skin’. LeGuin herself said on the subject:

My color scheme was conscious and deliberate from the start. I didn’t see why everybody in science fiction had to be a honky named Bob or Joe or Bill. I didn’t see why everybody in heroic fantasy had to be white (and why all the leading women had “violet eyes”). It didn’t even make sense. Whites are a minority on Earth now—why wouldn’t they still be either a minority, or just swallowed up in the larger colored gene pool, in the future? […] I think it is possible that some readers never even notice what color the people in the story are. Don’t notice, don’t care. Whites of course have the privilege of not caring, of being “colorblind.” Nobody else does. I have heard, not often, but very memorably, from readers of color who told me that the Earthsea books were the only books in the genre that they felt included in—and how much this meant to them, particularly as adolescents, when they’d ound nothing to read in fantasy and science fiction except the adventures of white people in white worlds. Those letters have been a tremendous reward and true joy to me. So far no reader of color has told me I ought to butt out, or that I got the ethnicity wrong. When they do, I’ll listen. As an anthropologist’s daughter, I am intensely conscious of the risk of cultural or ethnic imperialism—a white writer speaking for nonwhite people, co-opting their voice, an act of extreme arrogance. In a totally invented fantasy world, or in a far-future science fiction setting, in the rainbow world we can imagine, this risk is mitigated. That’s the beauty of science fiction and fantasy—freedom of invention.

I encourage you all to read the entire article that this quote is from, here is a link

However, one downside of the book that I will mention, is that there are elements of misogyny within the work that does seem a little jarring (the whole “weak as women’s magic” thing in particular), especially from a writer like Ursula K. LeGuin, whose work is usually hailed as extremely feminist (just check out her book The Left Hand of Darkness, and you’ll see what I mean). LeGuin herself has acknowledged that this is a shortcoming of the book and I’m told that the later books in the series are much more feminist than the first one, so I’m exciting to see how my opinions will change when I’m able to read the other books in the series.

Despite that, this book was a truly great start to this reading challenge, I’m really looking forward to reading both the other books in the series, and some of the other books that I have in mind for the different genres!

[newspecies]

my thoughts on scarlet and violet so far!

i like the designs theyre pretty cute so far :] im sooo glad woopers getting the attention it deserves <3 BUT Koraidon having wheels even though its using its legs to run is really throwing me off. like the front wheel looks more normal because its a lizard and lizards sometimes have the throat thing going on but with the addition of the back one it just looks really busy and moving around looks awkward. Miraidon on the other hand makes a lot more sense and just looks cool as hell.

character designs are pretty okay as well. i like most of them but penny looks like a boyfriends character so im kind of on edge.

im really interested in how the gym progression is going to work like if whatever gym youre going to changes level depending on what your team is at or what. i think being able to choose what gym youre going to is a nice way to implement open worldness into the game i appreciate it.

terastallizing looks sort of cool? honestly the crystal effects are kind of hard to look at for me and their crowns are a little silly. i am excited to see how some specific pokemon look though and their funny hats arent that big a deal. i can see why other people might like it. i do kind of feel like pokemon is forever chasing the high of mega evolution without actually using mega evolution which is getting a little old. the old games were just as fun without transformations in battle i dont think we need something like this in every single new game.

[tsaritsa]

BEYOND THE WIDOW’S WEEDS: AN INTERVIEW

by Violet Whittaker for PRIMA Magazine (photographs supplied by Riza Mustang)

“I don’t like to hear that I was poised, or maintained a good appearance for the cameras. I am not a movie actress.” On the fifth anniversary of Führer Mustang’s assassination, Violet Whittaker sits down with his widow, Riza Mustang, and listens to her open up about her husband, the horrifying moments leading up to his death, and what the country meant to him.

CENTRAL EVENING TIMES MUSTANG SHOT DEAD Gunned Down During Campaigning In Eastern District

FÜHRER PRESIDENT MUSTANG was assassinated today. The President was shot as he gave a speech at the recently completed Amestris-Xing Railroad Hub. The Governor of East District was also badly wounded, as well as a number of diplomats representing the Empire of Xing. The President died at 3.07pm. After a burst of gunfire that cut down the President, he was rushed to Eastern General Hospital, where emergency blood transfusions were given. He was 47, and was in the final stages of an incredibly popular re-election campaign that likely would have seen him take on a third fifth-year term. He is survived by his wife, Riza Mustang, who was also in attendance today. Preliminary reports suggest she was also injured, but these are unconfirmed as of printing.

On December 3rd, 1932, four days after becoming the country’s most famous widow, Riza Mustang slipped on a mourning veil. The delicate shroud reached beyond her waist, and it moved lightly in the cool winter wind as she followed her husband’s coffin in the cortege that travelled from the official residency of the Führer President to the Philip Andersen Military Cemetery. The veil was sheer enough to reveal her pale, drawn face – though not completely. The widow of Roy Mustang, just as much as she was during his tenure, ensured she was both visible and protected from the public eye.

“I don’t like to hear that I was poised, or maintained a good appearance for the cameras,” she says now, five years later, on a similar, windy December 3rd.  “I am not a movie actress. I never have been.”

Although largely withdrawn from the public eye since his assassination, Riza Mustang has not been resting on her laurels. She is heavily invested in projects that focus on economic development in deprived areas of Amestris, as well as increasing the capacity and reach of educational programs for young women. Those who she works with on a daily basis agree with the assessment that Riza Mustang is a hard worker; albeit one who shies away from taking credit, preferring to uplift others over herself.  

“People always tell me that he would be proud of me, for the work that I do.” A strained kind of smile graces her face. “There’s no doubt that he would be. It’s just quite funny how people assume to have known my husband better than myself.”

Whether she intended to or not, Riza Mustang’s actions and presentation of herself to the public in the minutes, hours, and days after her husband’s assassination is embedded in the cultural zeitgeist of Amestris, arguably just as much as her husband’s impact on the country. Her quick thinking, reflexes, and experience as the Führer’s primary bodyguard, ensured that the assassin had only moments at best to flee the scene – something they were unable to achieve. Lucas Alexander, a 23-year-old university student with ties to Aerugean intelligence, was apprehended only 11 minutes after the first shot rang out. As Riza was performing CPR on her husband, she was also instructing his service team about the trajectory of the bullets, spray pattern, and likely points of origin. While there have been many enduring images of the two during Mustang’s tenure as leader of the nation, none will ever surpass the visceral impact of her covered in blood, attempting to revive her husband and simultaneously protect him from further harm. The country was torn in two at the violent exhibition in the evening newspapers, but sources close to Riza claimed the embargo on those photos was dropped deliberately at her command. She was quoted as saying “I want them to see what they did.”

I don’t ask Riza who ‘they’ are – widely understood to be the loudest of Mustang’s political detractors, whose divisive rhetoric was thought to directly embolden the attack in the first place. I don’t ask her whether the quote is true or not, or whether she regrets not being officially assigned as her husband’s primary bodyguard for that day.

Instead, Riza explains her frustration that such a large proportion of the attention surrounding her husband’s assassination was rooted in her actions and image, rather than what she believes to be more important. “It was like people wanted to forget the fact that these attitudes – particularly around the projects being implemented in the East – were not coming out of a vacuum. My husband was famously vocal in his defence of all Amestrian’s, regardless of race or creed. To see his name and legacy become entwined with a political circus that serves to undermine his achievements rather than honour them is disgraceful. It should not have mattered that I tried to save his life on that stage. It should not have mattered that I looked ‘the part’ as I watched them bury him in the earth. Roy was the sum of his parts; not mine.”

Although she had come to expect – and anticipate – attempts on her husband’s life, not only for what he personally represented, but for what his station represented as well, Riza agrees that Amestris has a fraught relationship with its leaders. “I don’t think it’s lost on many people that we’ve lost two of the last four leaders by successful assassinations. Roy wanted to address the crevasses in this country that we collectively have gotten very good at ignoring. Establishing the railroad formally with Xing was a decade’s worth of bilateral work, proving not only to our neighbours – but to ourselves as well – that we could forge bonds with one another, rather than break them.”

Her disaffected outlook is perhaps why she has pulled back from the public eye – not that, she admits, she ever enjoyed being there in the first place.

“I don’t have the patience for politics – for people,” she hedges, over a cup of earl grey. “I remember some of our critics complaining about how closed off we were here –” she gestures around us, in the small homestead on the outskirts of Central that the Mustang’s called their home for the entirety of his presidency, the home that she still resides in, five years on, “– saying we needed to be more accessible to the people – namely, my husband needed to be accessible, needed to be available for everyone at any given moment.” Riza laughs bitterly at that, fiddling with her rings, clearly deciding whether or she wants to continue down this train of thought. “He joined the military when he was eighteen. His move into politics immediately followed his retirement as a General. My husband has always belonged to this country, and to her people.”

“On the whole,” she begins after a lengthy pause, “We were happy to play that role. The power and prestige that comes with this kind of position – you have to acknowledge it, make some sacrifices. You have to give to receive in turn.”

“I don’t want his legacy to be reduced to a few, violent moments,” she continues. “But unfortunately, it will remain that way until this country comes to grips with its history in its entirety. We need to see what we’ve sacrificed willingly, and what we’ve taken in return.”

[hyperpsychomaniac]

The Woodchuck Leader Assessment - Chapter 4

DT17 Fanfiction

Summary: When Launchpad’s ability to supervise children is called into question, Dewey tags along on a Junior Woodchuck trip to support his best friend.

Chapter 1

Also cross-posted on fanfiction.net.

***

Dewey slipped into his and Huey’s tent. And found not only Huey, but Violet and at least a half dozen of the other Woodchucks.

“What…”

“Shh!” said Huey.

“Oh yes, I am claiming running through camp in my underpants,” said Doofus as he rubbed his hands together. “Back off; it’s mine!”

No one argued.

“Am I interrupting something?” Dewey snatched his pillow back from one of the other kids.

“We were discussing the implementation of stage 2 Competent Leader Protocols,” said Violet.

Dewey raised an eyebrow. “So what was stage 1?”

“Behaving for Launchpad.”

“And stage 2?”

The faintest smile touched Violet’s beak. “Only behaving for Launchpad.”

“Yeah.” Huey hugged his knees to his chest. “I’m not sure stage 2 is going to be enough, all by itself. I mean, LP’s great, but I don’t know if we can depend on him. If he can’t supervise us… it was like Mr Russell said, there’s nobody else. What am I going to do without my Woodchucks?!” He lunged at Dewey and dragged him towards him.

Dewey extricated his brother’s fingers from his shirt. “Calm down. I don’t care about your Woodchucks. But if what we’re talking about is going to help Launchpad…” Dewey chewed his lip. On the bus, Launchpad had just been, off. What the heck had happened between him and Mr Russell? It had to be something to do with the kid who drowned, but Launchpad didn’t want to talk to him. He was his best friend and Dewey knew if it was something important he’d want to share it with him. The fact he hadn’t… yeah, really off. “So, only behaving for Launchpad…?”

“A combination of multiple children needing walking to the bathroom, Doofus running around in nothing but his underwear…”

“Or, I could ditch the underwear.”

“No. … toilet paper, someone crying for their teddy bear, at least one item of Mr Russell’s clothing hung off a tree, and we make every attempt to respond to his orders with…?”

“Okay, Boomer,” said all the Woodchucks at once.

“Of course, the whole point is if Launchpad comes back we all immediately behave to prove he can control us,” said Huey, “or NO MORE WOODCHUCKS.”

“Boo,” said Dewey. “Huey may actually be right: it’s not enough. Launchpad needs better than that. You don’t just want to behave for him. You’ve got to prove he’s the sort of leader who would do anything to protect you. Here’s what we do: we set up a scenario in which some poor helpless child needs rescuing, because although we know Launchpad sometimes needs help with things, he’d never let anyone he cares about get hurt.”

“Yeah, who…” said Huey.

Dewey stood up and stabbed a finger into the canvas. “And I shall be your damsel in dew-stress!”

***

Launchpad flung the bus door open. “Aw man, LP. What are you doing?” He’d fallen asleep. Outside, the rain had lifted and the morning was wet and cold. “You can’t tell your Woodchucks they gotta sleep out in nature when you spend the night on the nice warm bus.”

He crammed his hat back on his head and jogged back down to the campsite. He slipped in the wet leaves and slid down a short section of the path, which resulted in a rather painful stop courtesy of a medium sized boulder, but at least it bought him a couple extra seconds.

Launchpad skidded into the campsite. It was quiet, too quiet. In his absence, Violet and Huey should have been awake and setting up a campfire for breakfast. But, maybe, he’d avoided the embarrassment of getting caught.

A tent flap opened and Jack emerged, rubbing blearily at his eyes.

Launchpad grabbed up a piece of firewood, then just pulled himself up short of pegging it into the firepit. He didn’t need to pretend to set up the fire.

“Well, there you are,” Jack grumbled. “When you said you wanted me to help I didn’t realise you were going to dump the kids on me for the entire night!”

Even with the realisation he didn’t need to look busy for Jack the man’s words made Launchpad’s heart sink. He’d messed up. He’d ditched his Woodchucks and even though an adult had been there to look after them… he’d left them alone with Jack Russell.

“Where are the kids anyway?” Launchpad lifted the flap to Huey and Dewey’s tent. Empty. Great. At least they knew how to take care of themselves. Nothing would be wrong. This was just something else for Jack to put in his report.

“Hey, don’t look at me,” said Jack. “I was up half the night telling kids to walk themselves to the toilet. And… where is my hat?”

Launchpad spotted it, swinging high up on a tree branch above Jack’s tent. “I think it fell into a tree.”

Huey exploded into the camp. “Launchpad! We went to get firewood… Dewey’s stuck on the bridge over the river!”

Launchpad’s heart caught. “Oh no, Dewey!”

“Wait, stuck on a bridge how?” said Jack. “Shouldn’t you just… go and unstick him?”

“He’s… really stuck,” said Huey, “Launchpad needs to come pull him out because, you know, he’s strong and a good Woodchuck leader, so…”

The other Woodchucks emerged from their tents, rubbing blearily at eyes, wondering what all the ruckus was about. Launchpad gulped. This was all he needed with Jack here. And then he felt bad, because this was about Dewey, not his assessment. He hadn’t been very nice to him on the bus last night. If he’d got hurt or got himself in trouble after how Launchpad had treated him, he’d feel terrible. At least being stuck on a bridge didn’t sound that bad. In fact, he did wonder why Huey hadn’t just pulled his brother off himself.

“Because he’s a good…” Jack slapped a hand to his forehead. “Launchpad, your damn kids are setting you up.”

“Just be quiet, my best friend needs me. Come on Woodchucks, to the river!”

Usually, it took a bit of coaxing to get them moving but they responded immediately. They all followed Huey, Jack trailing behind them and grumbling all the way.

The river was flowing fast after the rain last night and the roar made Launchpad’s guts tighten. This far down from the swimming hole the river cut through a gully with a rope bridge strung across, the water surging and gurgling beneath. Dewey was halfway across the bridge, his leg tangled in a loose rope, his top half hanging upside down from the bridge with his hands swinging. “Oh, help. I have fallen and my foot is stuck. I cannot get up.” At least he didn’t sound particularly panicked.

“This is ridiculous,” said Jack.

“Hang on, Dewey. I’m coming to get you.” Launchpad put a hand on the wooden stake that anchored the bridge.

“Wait.” Jack grabbed Launchpad’s sleeve.

Launchpad yanked his arm back, but slowed.

“Send these two out after them. They’re half your weight put together and their two pairs of hands will probably get that… classic example of a Woodchuck knot around that poor kid’s ankle undone a lot quicker.”

“That’s… a good idea,” said Launchpad, although the rope bridge looked sturdy and wouldn’t be in any danger of snapping under his weight.

Violet and Huey both exchanged glances. “It would be better if Launchpad did it,” said Huey, rubbing at the back of his head.

“Yeah, just as I thought. You cannot control these kids, Launchpad. You should’ve seen the antics they were getting up to last night. Pretty sure they’ve set this whole thing up to try and make you look good.”

“But I’m really stuck… urgh, forget it!” Dewey rolled himself back onto the bridge and tugged at the knot around his ankle.

Wait, he wasn’t really stuck? Oh. It finally sunk in. Launchpad turned to Violet and Huey as his chest tightened. “You two… set me up?”

“Stage 2 Competent Leader Protocols weren’t enough. We went to stage 3. Dewey’s idea… but yes,” Violet mumbled into her chest.

Launchpad squeezed his eyes shut briefly. “Dewey, come on, get off the bridge, its dangerous out there.”

“I’m fine. I just need to get this knot off… hang on…”

“And you two…” His two most senior Woodchucks looked at their feet. And though it hurt they’d pulled one over on him, Launchpad knew they’d only been trying to help. He swallowed, and lowered his voice. “You don’t have to set up something like this to help me, okay? I really thought Dewey was in trouble.”

“But it wasn’t just for you!” Huey burst out. “It was for all the Woodchucks. If they make you quit then no one will want us and we’ll have no more Woodchucks, and I… I can’t live without Woodchucks!” He fell to his knees and put his face in his hands.

“I too would find it quite devastating,” said Violet.

“Wait, who told you that?”

“I did, genius,” Jack snorted. “Along with a few other truths while you were pouting on the bus.”

Launchpad’s fists bunched at his sides. He’d left his Woodchucks alone with Jack. What had he been thinking? “Like what?”

“I explained how failure badges are supposed to work. Apparently you’ve been flashing yours around like some kind of trophy and giving these kids the wrong idea. Just like you did as a kid. It didn’t matter how hard I tried to get you to understand, I never could get the concept through your thick head.”

“Don’t speak to me like that. And how dare you make these kids feel like they should be ashamed of…”

“It’s not about shame! It’s about reality, and realistic expectations, and not setting these kids up for failure. I don’t know how you fluked your way through to a leadership role Launchpad, but when the cards come down you’re just going to get somebody killed! You know, like you did Calvin. At least then you were a kid; you had an excuse. Not anymore.”

Launchpad’s chest heaved, but this time he didn’t feel like running. “You have no idea, do you? We only went down to the river that night because we had something to prove. If you’d encouraged us instead of bullying us in front of the other kids, just because we failed a couple times, we would’ve waited until we had a chance to try for the badge again. We were kids, it was the only way we thought we could get you to stop. But it was never what were were good at or not, it was always you. You were in charge, Jack. You had the power. And you just used it to make us fell like we were never good enough no matter what we did!”

“Wait, Calvin… he was the kid who drowned?” said Huey tentatively.

Launchpad swallowed hard. “Yeah. He jumped in trying to save me.”

“Oh, Launchpad,” said Dewey. “That’s not your fault.”

“Yeah, I know that now.”

“I’m… I’m going to give you a hug.” Dewey picked himself up and rushed back, but tripped as the still tied knot brought him up short. He smacked face first onto the bridge, sending it swinging wildly, then rolled right off the edge.

Launchpad’s heart caught. “Dewey!”

The rope jerked taut and Dewey swung by his ankle above the roaring water below. “Oh, um, now I really do need help?”

Launchpad rushed out onto the bridge. He grabbed at the rope and started hauling it up arm over arm.

“LP, I’m really sorry,” said Dewey as he was slowly raised. “We didn’t think this out at all. I should’ve got stuck up a tree or something.”

Launchpad gritted his teeth and hauled on the rope faster. “Heh. Don’t worry about that, buddy. No harm done.” Come on. Come on. Because despite Dewey’s calm, Launchpad could see the knot he’d been picking at slowly start to unravel.

“Woah, maybe slow down? I’m getting dizzy.”

Huey and Violet must have seen it too. They rushed out onto the bridge and leaned through the ropes, reaching out for Dewey as he neared.

A frown creased Dewey’s beak. “Seriously guys, I’m fine…”

Launchpad yanked up another loop of rope and swiped at Dewey’s ankle. The bridge bucked, and the rope slipped free. Dewey’s eyes widened, arm outstretched, then his back smashed into the water beneath and he disappeared. He was gone for a split second, then he resurfaced. “It’s okay… can… swim…” He choked off as a slosh of water slapped in the face and went down his throat, and then the current pulled him away.

Launchpad’s hands tightened on the bridge. No. Not this time. He slid under the rope.

“Launchpad, you idiot!” Jack yelled. “You’re not going to be able to…”

The rest of his words were lost as Launchpad slammed into the water below. The shock of cold bit at him. The current snatched at him. Yeah. Far stronger than it looked. There was no way he was letting Dewey brave this alone. He spluttered, and surfaced.

“Launchpad! Violet and I are going to get a rope down steam. You got to get out before the waterfall.”

Of course there was a waterfall. Launchpad saw a flash of blue ahead and struck out with strong strokes, not so much moving himself through the water, but keeping his head above it as the current propelled him along.

Jack was right; there wasn’t a swimming badge on Launchpad’s sash. But that didn’t mean he didn’t know how to swim. Six months after everything had happened with Calvin, and after he’d convinced his parents he did in fact want to return to Woodchucks now Mr Russell was gone, he’d earned it. He could still remember Ms H, who was much nicer than Mr Russell, congratulating him and pressing the badge into his palm.

He’d stared at the embroidered circled as tears filled his eyes. “I… I don’t deserve this.”

She’d got down on her knees and put her hands on his trembling shoulders. “Sweetheart, its okay. I get it. You don’t have to put it on if you don’t want to. The badge isn’t the important bit. You’ve still got the skill, and as long as you know that’s there whenever you might need it you don’t have to prove that to anyone else.”

Launchpad choked as a wash of water slapped into his face. Keeping his head above water became harder and harder as the current picked up. He spotted his friend ahead, clinging desperately to a rock. This close to the waterfall, roaring clearly ahead of them now, the water snatched at Dewey and he whimpered as his fingers slipped across the rough surface. Launchpad let a really vicious snarl of water grab him and hurl him towards the rock. He grunted as his shoulder slammed into it and pulled Dewey into his chest just as the boy’s numb fingers lost their grip.

“LP…” Dewey immediately grappled for Launchpad, his fingers digging like claws into his neck.

Launchpad spluttered as he was shoved under. He heaved himself up out of the water with one arm on the rock, and clutched Dewey to his chest with the other. He hauled them both up high enough they were no longer in danger of getting dunked and the force of the water wasn’t strong enough to pull him away. “It’s… it’s okay… I got ya.”

Dewey’s breath came in spluttering gasps. “Sorry… I… trying to make you look good…”

“I know.”

“It’s cold.”

Launchpad started to shiver as the ice water bit into his skin. “Hey, Violet and Huey are working on it. They’re going to get us out. Probably use maths or something. They seem to be good at that.”

“LP, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do this to you… I didn’t know about your friend…” Dewey sniffed, and pressed his face against Launchpad’s neck.

“Right now I’m only thinking about you.”

A rope, attached to a short fat log, sailed out over them and hit Launchpad in the back. He grabbed it.

“Tie it to Dewey!” Huey yelled from the bank.

Launchpad untied the rope and looped it about Dewey’s waist. “You’re not going to drown,” he said, looking his friend right in the eye as his fingers automatically tied the knots he’d done a million times. “I won’t let that happen.”

“LP, look out!” Huey shouted.

A log spun down the river towards them. Launchpad jerked the knot tight about Dewey’s waist, then shoved him off towards the bank. He pushed his friend clear of the log, but it collected Launchpad across the middle, swept him off the rock, and dragged him under. The quickening torrent grabbed him, and suddenly Launchpad was back in the hell of breathless tumbling terror he’d found himself in as a child.

But at least he’d got Dewey out.

***

A long way below the waterfall, Launchpad pulled himself up onto the bank and heaved out a stomach-full of water. Clear of the torrent he gulped deep breaths, his head resting against his forearms, too heavy to lift.

It had taken every ounce of his strength to reach the bank. His body trembled with cold and exertion. He’d been tossed at the whim of the current, slammed into anything and everything. Even as an adult, as strong as he was, it had been terrifying. He’d thought there was no way he’d be able to save himself, right up until he’d felt the pebbles of the shore beneath his feet. He hadn’t drowned. But all he could think was how much scarier that ordeal would be for a child. How scary had it been for Calvin to fight to save himself in the darkness, and fail? Launchpad shuddered, and as he finally caught his breath his gulps for air became sobs.

“LP!” Huey skidded to his knees at his side. “Thank goodness, you scared us. Are you okay?”

“Dewey?” Was all he had the breath to say.

“It’s okay. We got him out.”

Launchpad whimpered and let his head drop back against his arms.

The pebbles crunched around him as the rest of his Woodchucks caught up with Huey. Launchpad felt small hands squeeze his arms and press against his back.

“Don’t worry, buddy,” said Huey. “Violet and I have everything under control. She’s called for help, and… all you gotta do is catch your breath.”

Chapter 5

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

Top 5 Dumbest Things in The Final Season

I’ve played TWDG a lot, and I can confidently say that The Final Season is my favorite installment, and I’d argue that it’s the best of the series in terms of visuals, controls, characters, and storyline... but that doesn’t mean it’s a perfect game by any means. In fact, there are a lot of issues and inconsistencies you could pick out within the story and the arcs of our characters.

But today I don’t wanna tackle the big problems. The issues on today’s list aren’t a big deal and won’t ruin the experience of the game-- they’re minor and just really, really dumb. They’re things that you probably wouldn’t even notice during your first or second playthrough of the game. Honestly, most of these probably could be easily explained with “shhhh, don’t think about it.” 

But I’m thinkin’ about them because they’re dumb. So, here's my Top 5 dumbest things in TFS. Do note that these Top 5′s are all in good fun, and they’re my opinion. Obviously. 

[also, most of the screenshots used here are from @pi-creates​-- if you haven’t checked out Pi’s blog, I highly recommend you do! :D]

5. Doors make no sense. 

The doors in this game are dumb and make little sense. And you might be scoffing like, “Really? Doors?” and to that I say, “YES DOORS OKAY!”

If you’re like me, you like to look at everything in hopes of finding interesting details and maybe an easter egg. If you look at the all the doors after breaking out of the dorm in ep1, they all have different locks which... why? 

Wait, shouldn’t Clem be able to open this one...? The lock is right there on the outside. 

Why are they different? Also, why are the dorms lockable from the outside? Like, okay, I get it-- ya gotta lock up the troubled youth so that they don’t escape. Fine. Cool, I can accept that... except does this mean that someone had to go around and unlock all the dorms every morning before the apocalypse? What if you forgot a door and a handful got stuck in there for the day? What happens if you lock all these children in their rooms and a fire starts??

And don’t you look at me and try to be like “Pfft, there’s not gonna be a fire--” excuse me?? With Aasim hanging around, and Mitch for that matter, you’re gonna tell me that the odds of fire happening are 0%?

Well, y’know, fine. If there’s a fire, then the kids can just escape through the windows... oh wait--

Weeeeeell fuck the troubled youth, I guess. 

But the dorm doors aren’t even the dumbest doors here-- no, no. That would be the god damn basement door that apparently locks from both sides because game’s gotta game and I guess Marlon has the key?? This dumb door makes no sense. 

Again! I feel like this is a safety hazard?? Sure hope no one gets locked down there, otherwise, you’re fucked I guess?? because there’s no way to unlock or open it from the inside?? After Brody dies and Clem’s looking for a way out, you’d think that she should be able to just open the door at the top of the stairs now that she’s inside but nooooo-- game’s gotta game. 

Ugh, dumb doors!

4. Abel’s magic shotgun

Did you guys know that Abel actually has a special shotgun? A magical shotgun, if you will?

It’s true, he does. He uses a shotgun that, when he fires it, the buckshot curves around to hit the target when the plot demands it.

It’s true! And it’s dumb!

I know this, because if you yell for Violet to shoot Lilly in ep2, Abel will throw AJ to the grab, pull the shotgun out of nowhere, and fire at both her and Louis.... but somehow--

--only Louis manages to get hit.

Soooo.... I guess the buckshot swerves around and above Violet to ONLY hit Louis? Like, I know she ducks a bit but I still feel like something should’ve nicked her as well?? At least?? Like, are lesbians immune to shotguns and that’s why nothing hit Violet?? Am I only learning this now??

Not only that, but it only got Louis in the arm?? H-how??

But that’s not all!

After Louis and Violet flee the scene, Clementine and AJ are on the run with Lilly and Abel shooting BEHIND them... sooo...

If Abel was behind them.... how is it that AJ’s shot in the FRONT of his stomach??

Like, I guess Abel could’ve been at an angle when he shot but they only ever show him behind them soo?? Do I just not know how shotguns work? Do they curve to hit people in their front rather than shooting straight forward?? Because what??

On top of that, how is AJ not dead?? I know, I know, protagonist powers and whatnot but?? the boy took a shotgun to the belly?? other characters have survived lesser things??

But y’know, the dumbest part about this is the fact that I can’t take Abel’s magic shotgun for myself after the Ericson crew capture him. I could’ve just finished off every delta member if the shots curve and travel to hit their targets.

Or maybe Abel’s the only one who can harness its power.

Either way, Abel’s dumb shotgun is dumb.

3.You can’t hug Louis and Violet during their romance routes. 

Sigh.... Why?

Y’all know that I’m a clouis shipper, and now lemme tell you a fun story that isn’t actually that fun-- Do you remember when the trailer dropped for ep3? And we got some teaser screenshots, with one of them being a shot of Clementine and Louis hugging? Well, I was excited for a plethora of reasons, and that hug? 

I could not wait for this hug.

Then I got through my first run of ep3 and... no hug? Wait, no hug? Why not? I thought--

Oh. Oh, it turns out... it turns out you can only hug Louis if you don’t romance him. 

Ummmm. Huh. Wha- why?? Do you know how dumb that is?? What dingus who worked on this episode forgot to implement the hug option for the romance route?? Rather, what dingus thought it was a good idea to only give the Louis romance two options outside of doing nothing-- Slap Louis, or kiss him?? Where’s my hug?? Why is Clementine not allowed to comfort her boyfriend with a hug when he’s clearly anxious about everything that’s about to go down?

Look, the smooch is great and all BUT it’s not what Louis needs in this moment, ya dingus. 

I’m sure if I asked Kent for answers about this, he’d do one of two things-- go into a long winded essay about how the lack of hug and slapping him totally makes sense within the context of Louis’ character arc and route because of this and that and this subtle detail here... or he’d give a shrug and say “I dunno, reasons??”

Ugh, okay, well maybe they let you have the choice in Violet’s romance route--

...Why??

Again, if I choose to romance Violet, why am I not allowed to comfort my girlfriend with a hug before we do this rescue mission?? Sure, I can reassure her that I’m not going anywhere, which is definitely a better option for a love interest than, oh I don’t know, slapping. But the HUG!

They could’ve implemented the hug option into the romance routes but they didn’t and that’s incredibly dumb. 

2. Magic tree is magic. 

Know what I don’t like? The dream theory. Y’know, the theory that the overly happy ending we got at the end of TFS was all just a dream in AJ’s head to cope with the devastation of the real ending-- the one where Clementine died.  

Now, I can already hear you scoffing at me once more like, “Dream theories are dumb, CJ.” and this time, I do agree with you. 

However, there’s actually some compelling evidence that could subtly point at this theory, such as the backward graffiti in the dorms that was present in Clementine’s nightmare, or the fact that Clementine is, y’know, alive despite being seconds away from death in the barn...

Oh, and then there’s this fucking magic tree. 

Oh, you know... the tree that magically grows in in ep4! The one with the tire swing! 

Episode 3 vs Episode 4

This tree is dumb and makes no sense. What, did they just... plant a tree there? Did they push the tree up that was on the ground and use some magical wood glue to fix it?? Clementine said that Willy helped her with the tire swing so like... is Willy some sort of tree whisperer?? 

Or is this just further evidence of the dream theory where AJ’s lamenting the fact that Clementine never got to push him on the tire swing back at the train station and now she never will because she’s fucking dead??

I don’t wanna think about it. In fact, I’m pretty sure that’s what the devs would tell me-- “Shhhh... don’t think about it.” 

This tree is dumb! 

1. What even is the greenhouse??

So.... the green house. It’s dumb. And inconsistent, both in the story and actual location of it. 

First of all, as you can see in the concept image above, it should be within the walls of Ericson, yeah? And if you’re like, “Well, it’s CONCEPT art so it might not be totally accurate CJ.” and I say, “Fair enough, let’s look that the actual in-game map the characters use then.”

Look at that-- still within the walls of Ericson, though in a different location than the concept art. Make sense? Sooo....

Where the hell is it?

Because it’s not within Ericson’s walls. No, no--

It is WAAAAY the hell out here! You can see the bell tower in the distance so like... huh? Where are we?? This is a long as walk to the greenhouse! 

Oh, and if the weird inconsistent locations weren’t dumb enough, there are different conflicting stories surrounding it, as well! 

First, Marlon says that they had it functional with lots of vegetables, but then it became over grown so they don’t go out there anymore. Then, if you go fishing with Violet and Brody, Vi will tell you she worked in the greenhouse the day the twins were killed last year, which... doesn’t add up? Especially when we actually go there in ep2 and see that Ms. Martin died and became a walker inside, but she died a while ago?? 

Also, how did Ms. Martin get tied up like that? Did she get bit, barricade the doors-- wait, that doesn’t work because how did she barricade the science lab from the inside when there’s a shelf in front of the door?? In fact, shouldn’t the walkers that are inside be students that died?? 

“Sshhhh... don’t think about it.”

Ugh, nothing adds up about this greenhouse and that makes it the dumbest thing in TFS.

---

Honorable Mentions

AJ magically teleporting behind Marlon with the gun. Because plot.

The dumb padlock on the gate Louis/Violet/Tenn climb over in ep4 that they could’ve easily broken

Louis’ jacket that somehow holds Chairles

The padding on Violet’s boot that’s rendered useless because they put it on the leg she doesn’t use to kick walkers away

---

Those are my Top 5 dumbest things in TFS, do you agree or disagree? Do you have anything from this game that’s dumber than what I have listed? Let me know! 

Next week’s T5F Top 5 Characters in ANF Who Would’ve Made Better Love Interests Than Kate

[old-hyper-super-clover]

Trouble in Devildom Town, Part 3/3

Words: 3.520 words

Approximate reading time: 10~15 minutes

Asmo was visibly enjoying this game, humming as he stood up to leave the building.

He got a little startled as he felt something soft rubbing against his leg.

"A cat...?"

Mustering the feline, Asmo wondered why anybody would implement animals into a game like this.

"So you are one of the traitors."

The clicking sound of a loading weapon echoed through the empty room, and a smirk curled on Asmo's face.

The Avatar of Wrath was standing in the doorframe.

"Satan~" Asmo turned around.

"So sorry for killing your partner... You see, I think she got overwhelmed by my incredible kissing talents...! It's very sad, but not the first time I saw that happening, actually..."

Satan pointed his gun at Asmo's head.

"How did you do this?"

"The traitor shop is fantastic!" Asmo laughed. "Your coins increase over time, and there's so much stuff to buy! They have killing pills that knock you out in less then a minute, all kinds of poisons, and countless shooting weapons too, of course..."

"How did you trick her, I mean."

Another chuckle followed.

"Aaah, yes! It was so dramatic, thank you for making me talk about my great plan! I fooled Beel by looking like Clover, and tricked her with the face of Beel. You can also buy this ability to change your appearance. All you gotta do then is to change your nickname, and BOOM! You're somebody else~! It's a bit weird that your voice doesn't change, however, but MAN I played that smooth regardless!

And how tragic they died, both of them, trying to protect what they love but in the end failing because of love itself..."

He stopped as Satan's face formed a deep frown.

But Asmo gave a chuckle regardless.

"Oh, dear brother, and you actually think you could just shoot me like this? We both know my reflexes are better than yours..."

The blond smirked.

"That may be true, but we also know that I am the smarter one."

A wave of surprise shooting through Asmo, he got startled as the cat that had stayed by his side started climbing his leg.

Of course, he wasn't so dumb to let Satan get the upper hand only because of this, so Asmo reached for his pistol and pulled the trigger the moment he pointed at the doorframe.

His eyes widened as he realised Satan wasn't there anymore.

Not even a second later, several shots went through his back, and as Asmo's dead body landed on the floor, Satan stepped back inside, smiling at Belphegor through the window on the other side of the building.

"Nice teamwork" Belphie grinned, punching a bigger opening into the glass so he could enter the room as well.

Satan picked up the kitten, fondling it with a pleased smile. "Indeed, we did quite well~!"

"... Are you talking to me or to the cat?"

Satan obviously did not feel the need to answer that.

"Come on now" he prompted instead. "We should take their stuff and make a leave. There is nothing more to get here."

  Neither Violet nor Lucifer were moving.

His face still hovering above hers, they kept staring into each others eyes, and if not for the high probability of death looming in the air, the girl would have begged to stay in this moment forever.

"Is there anything you want to say to defend yourself?" Lucifer asked.

The girl swallowed her nervousness.

"... You seem pretty confident in your guess despite only having caught me how I trailed off with my thoughts a little... How can you be so sure you are right about it?"

The demon smiled.

"The shop must be accessible through cognition, anything else would be too obvious in the first place. Traitors would blow their cover way too quickly if not with methods like these..."

"So... Innocents can't be absent-minded for a single moment?"

"Oh, don't be ridiculous..." Lucifer purred. "It is simply that I can tell the difference between you trailing off in thoughts and... the look you were wearing before..."

Violet's eyes widened slightly. He was indeed a hundred percent confident in his guess.

"You can really... Read me that easily...?" she mumbled, biting her lip as she watched a sly grin spread on the demon's face.

"Let us say I have been paying close attention to you, Violet..."

A shiver went through her.

And it only got more intense as his body got even closer, his weight on her causing the edges of the stone underneath her to press inside her back unpleasantly.

"Attention to your behaviour..." Lucifer continued. "To your features... your likings, to your way of thinking..."

He made a little pause, giving off something like a sighing breath.

"... Which is exactly why we are finding ourselves in this peculiar situation right now..."

His one hand found hers, and he intertwined their fingers.

"I know how you think, and maybe the favour is one you can return... Either way, you have advantages as a traitor that I don't even know of..."

"... So both of us don't dare to move, as they know the other will have a perfect reaction to follow immediately" Violet finished his sentence.

Lucifer smiled.

"Exactly... Now, how do we get out of this situation, Violet~? Should we see who in the end has the better predictions, or should we wait until someone finds us, to then shoot either of us...?"

The girl kept staring into his eyes, inspecting them and loosing herself in their pretty colours.

Again, a little smile curled the demon's lips, as suddenly, an urge seemed to take over, as he leaned down to meet his enemy in a kiss.

Both of them didn't dare to move anything but their lips, for what felt like an eternity they kept it at their lips dancing like this.

Slowly, as Lucifer seemingly felt in the need of more, a hand reached her waist, gently brushing her with his thumb.

Violet enjoyed the sensation to the fullest, his taste and his touch, forcing herself to imprint every single detail into her memories.

But as she felt Lucifer's breath getting slightly uneven, Violet panicked after all.

So her hand found his neck in a gentle touch.

The thing was...

Lucifer could not remember her having worn a glove before.

He parted from her in a sweet smooching sound, but his eyes were serious.

And as he looked down at her sorry face, he knew he had lost this game.

Violet pulled her hand away, and immediately Lucifer felt an incredible burn spreading from his neck over his whole skin.

"... Poison...?" he asked in a mumble.

As he stumbled backwards, Violet gave another sorry smile.

"Neurotoxins... Applied near the spine, it inhibits communication between your brain and heart, so your body thinks you are dead..."

"... To then actually kill me by deactivating the function of my heart and lungs..." Lucifer concluded. He looked in pain, holding his chest, but also... he seemed almost proud.

"I see..." his lips curled in a faint smile. "Very clever, I must say..."

He tried reaching for his gun, but the poison had numbed his nervous system already, so his body would soon collapse as if it had no bones to stabilise him whatsoever.

"Really, I'm sorry" Violet mumbled.

Then, she picked up his weapons and vanished in the woods.

  --- meanwhile in the spectator lobby... ---

Ghost Clover was sitting on a building's rooftop, still a little traumatized from the sensation of, well, dying.

Somebody plonked down beside her.

"So they got you, too?"

Clover looked up into a pair of purple eyes.

"Beel... Yeah, Asmo killed me."

Ghost Beel gave a nod. "Me too, I think. Weird that everything feels so real in this game, huh? Even pain and the whole process of dying..."

Clover gave a breathy laugh.

"W-well, yeah... I did not... Expect this... But I guess now I know what dying feels like... Yaaay..."

Her friend chuckled a little.

"How did you die?" he then asked. "I hope it wasn't too painful."

Clover had been staring at him, but as he turned his head to look at her as well, she felt her cheeks getting red again.

"U-u-uhm..." she breathed. "Ah, y-y-you know, it wasn't th-that... special... Or worth mentioning..."

However, Beel looked worried.

"Did Asmo do something cruel? Was he torturing you? If he did, then I will make him pay for that-"

"Nononono" Clover bursted out. "DON'T talk to Asmo about my death..!!"

The demon tilted his head.

"Why not?"

"B-b-b-because..." she panicked, knowing that Asmo would spill ALL the juicy details if he saw just the shred of an opportunity, "just... don't, please..."

He seemed confused, but in the end, Beel gave the blushing mess of a girl a pat on her head.

"Okay, then I won't."

He stood up and reached out a hand.

"Wanna go watch the remaining living ones with me?"

Clover looked up and smiled.

"I'd love to."

  Violet shot the timer a stressed glare.

Nine minutes were left, and for what felt like eternity, she couldn't find anyone.

Then, finally, as she dashed out of the forest, she happened to almost clumsily stumble into Belphegor and Satan.

"Violet!" the youngest brother exclaimed.

"Guys...! What's wrong, where are all the others?"

"Dead" Belphie stated. "Asmo was a traitor and killed Beel and Clover."

Satan pointed at the forest. "And Lucifer? He was with you, wasn't he?"

Violet flinched faintly.

She wasn't so dumb to blow her cover herself by saying something stupid, but she also knew well that Satan would do everything to try and get her to do exactly that.

"He was a traitor..." Violet stated. "After we both were equipped, he got rid of Mammon and tried to kill me afterwards. I just so managed to take him down, though."

Belphie gave a nod.

"That means Levi is the third and only traitor left..."

Violet was humming in agreement.

"I think he might have gone into the forest as well" she said, already turning around to show them the way. "We should go seek him together."

And Belphie was kind of convinced enough to follow...

Whilst Satan got hold of his gun.

"And what tells me that you aren't lying to us?"

Violet stopped abruptly, turning to flinch at the sight.

"Well... There's not really a way to prove myself other than telling you what happened, is it?"

The blond chuckled.

"Not really, but I don't want to risk running into Levi to then find out you lied to us, you know?"

The girl gave a huff.

"So what? Now you plan to... threaten me until the time runs out?"

Satan's smile widened.

"That is exactly what I had in mind, yes. Because if you truly are innocent, you should be fine with this plan, right?"

Violet could only give a shrug.

"Wouldn't that be kind of lame?" she asked.

"Why should it?" Satan hummed. "I find a well-thought victory plan is more satisfying that possibly running into the enemies hands."

And as Violet gave a stressed huff, Belphie tensed up as well.

"Judging from her reaction, she doesn't really seem fine with the idea..."

As Belphie reached for his own weapon, Violet got sick of this charade and went to grab a weapon of her own.

But with to guns pointed at her, she wasn't really allowed to move a single muscle.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you" Satan wore a sadistic smile. "Even with your little traitor items, you clearly don't have the upper hand."

Violet was going to respond, but an overly dramatic evil laughter cut through her words.

"All of you, you need to take action more quickly!!"

A voice echoed through the air.

"You are so unsure, so tense...!!"

Finally, Satan and Belphie were able to spot the voice's source behind Violet.

Leviathan was sitting in a tree, staring down at them.

"But a true war demands... ACTION!!"

and he pulled several mini bombs out of his pocket, resting between his fingers, ignited as soon as they were visible.

Violet reacted quickly, because as Levi threw the bombs at his brothers, she tried distancing herself from the demons as much as she could, while also taking hold of the telekinesis stick.

Getting closer to the forest's edge, she hectically activated the stick, pointing it at the innocents in hopes of grabbing one of them.

She actually managed to pull Belphie towards her and off his feet, the demon landing face forward right next to the bombs.

But as she was focussing on running again, only faintly hearing Levi's laugh and the other two shouting in panic, a shot hit her shoulder.

The shock of feeling actual real pain led to her knees give in for a second, so Violet stumbled down next to a tree instead of behind it, as originally planned.

She turned, seeing a pair of green eyes glistening in wrath.

While Belphie had stumbled back onto his feet, trying to distance himself from the bombs that were about to go off at any second, Satan was running towards her.

"Don't think I'll let you escape!!" he screamed, and as he threw himself onto her, he pulled out a knife while in motion, jabbing it directly into her chest when landing.

The hit's impact was huge, not only because he had let himself fall onto her, but also because just when he rushed towards her, the bombs went off, practically pushing the blond off his feet.

However...

Bending over her, Satan's eyes widened.

Dizzy in her pain, Violet glanced up, her hand now sliding off from the knife that she had held to that it pierced right into Satan's stomach.

They looked at each other for a moment.

And weirdly enough, both chuckled a little.

"So... Did you find this game to be 'quite amusing' as well...?" Violet mumbled.

Satan smiled.

"Oh... Don't act as if you didn't."

Then, both collapsed, leaving the stage to the last few left...

 Belphie was lying on the floor after the bombs went off, coughing, but his health bar was still high enough for him to function.

He tried gaining a view over the situation, catching a glimpse of Satan collapsing onto Violet.

Then, Levi jumped off the tree.

"Oh Belphie... I'm sorry it had to come this far..." He stopped mid-walking. "Wait, no, I'm not sorry lololol"

Levi stretched out his arms.

"I mean, look how EPIC this is!!!"

And Levi fell into one of his fanboy attacks, going on about how cool all battles have been, how skillfully he had scouted the situation until surprising the three just now.

Sick of listening to him, Belphegor tried to reach for one of the weapons lying next to him, but to his displease, his arm seemed to have broken when being blown away by the bombs.

And as he tried to grab it with his other hand, Levi had already seen through his plans.

"Nah, leave that be, you can't beat me anyways LOL"

"... Shove your LOLs up your ass" Belphie hissed, pissed that he actually couldn't really do much other than watching him.

"Pff, lol, Belphie it's rare to see you this agitated."

Levi came to a stand in front of his brother.

"Now then... Time to use my traitor points for the ultimate weapon..."

Belphegor, and all the ghost spectators watching the scene, saw as Leviathan started to glow.

And when he stopped glowing...

He was dressed in some kind of female anime protagonist dress.

Belphie stared.

And blurted out in such a laughter that it pulled Levi out of his heroic epic moment of (almost) victory.

"... WhAT??" Levi hissed angrily at the younger brother. "WhY ArE YoU lAUGhinG?! This is the most epic thing I could find in the store!! I even had to go find a special secret item to unlock this!!"

"B-bro..." Belphie pressed out in-between his laughter. "You're... You're wearing a skirt...!!"

Levi's mouth fell open in disbelief.

"Uuuh, yes, but this is THE Seraphina's outfit of the second season of..." He stopped in angered grunts as Belphie wasn't listening at all. "Also, look at the giant SWORD in my hand?!?!"

And he pointed at the ridiculously huge blade he wasn't even able to hold up with one hand.

"Ahahaha... Levi, stop, my belly hurts from laughing...!!"

As Belphie curled in the grass, not able to contain his laughter, Levi has had enough.

He didn't even need to step any closer (because of his effin long sword), and thus he could stab into Belphie's side and rob the last HP he had left.

In great euphoria (despite this anticlimactic kill), the otaku let out a scream of victory, raising his arms and festively announcing the traitors' victory.

He jumped in glee, waiting for all the other players to respawn as the round was over.

But nothing happened.

"... What? What's wrong?" Levi took a look around. "Why is nothing happening? Everyone is dead except for me, right?!"

Suddenly, Levi felt something bumping against his foot.

He looked down and immediately started to scream.

To his feet was nothing more but a golden grenade, a crucifix on it's top.

"WHAT?! NOOO!! NOT THE HOLY HANDGRENAD-"

the moment before it went off and teared Levi apart in an instant, the third-born looked up, realising with even greater fear that Mammon was looking at him, the biggest, most sly grin on his face.

With a flash of holy light, Leviathan's character was erased from the map, not even a corpse left of him.

Now Mammon was the one to step onto the open field.

"Well, well, well... What did I say..."

He screamed into the sky while slowly, his family respawned around him.

"Because I am THE great Mammon, the best detective that NONE of you believed in!!! What do y'all say now, seeing how I won the fucking game?!?! Nyahahahahaha~!

Bow down to me, Mammon, the winner of our very first game of TTT!!!!!"

    In the late evening, everyone has sat down to enjoy some snacks and let the day pass in a comfy, warm mood.

They were in great spirits, chatting about the game, pointing out things they liked, things they could have done better.

"Next time, I will make sure not to trust Satan" Clover stated while snatching away a chip out of the huge bowl that Beel was unconsciously hogging for himself.

"Huh? Why?" the blond looked earnestly irritated.

"Dude, you let me die for a cat launcher."

Satan looked at her, but could only gave a shrug.

"... Well, but it was a CAT launcher. And how was I supposed to know Asmo was waiting around the corner?"

While Clover was sighing, Lucifer gave a little laugh.

"There is indeed a lot of room to improve..." He shot Violet a glance. "And I will make sure to not have myself outplayed next time."

Violet returned the favour in a blushy grin.

Then, Beel spoke up.

"Will there be a next time, though...?"

He pointed at the one person that wasn't in a good mood.

Levi was sitting next to the couches instead of on the couch, wrapped in approximately three blankets, continuously mumbling some petty words of "not fair" to himself.

"Come on, Levi" Asmo huffed. "All of us really enjoyed your game. Why are you pouting over ther-"

Levi immediately jumped up.

"BECAUSE I LOST TO MAMMON!!"

"... Well, you sure did" Belphegor mumbled, and to Levi's anger, most of his brothers suppressed some laughs.

"That's right" Mammon chimed in. "You lost to the 'StupidMammon', Levi. How does that feel, huh? Pretty bad, doesn't it?"

Aaaand he shouldn't have done that.

In a great scream of pure agony, Levi dashed out of the room, and even the human newbies knew that he would stay locked away in his room for the next few days.

"... Well, and there he goes..." Violet gave a sigh. "So I guess we won't play it again after all? When Levi hates it this much?"

"Oh, don't worry" Satan mused. "We'll just force him to play, just like he forced us to play with him today."

"Only fair, I think~!" Asmo agreed.

"Yeah!" A big grin spread on Mammon's face. "Then I'll wreck all of you AGAIN! So don't be sad if all the next wins go to me as well, okay?!"

Silence.

Like, heavy silence.

"I wonder who will win next time~?" Asmo then thought out loud.

"Wha? I just said that I-" Mammon started.

"Now that we all know how the game works, we can make better use of all the mechanisms" Lucifer fell into Mammon's words.

"Yes! And with different roles, people might end up showing unknown potential they couldn't use today!" Clover cheered.

"But I'm still-" Mammon tried to say.

"Ooohh, I'm so hyped for the next time!" Asmo laughed.

And they all kept laughing and talking until the late hours of the night,

Completely ignoring Mammon, who ended up, again, desperately trying to finally make people listen to him...

[risingsouls]

Recruited: Chapter 17

[Another chapter down! Again, probably fairly boring and definitely short BUT this seemed like the natural place to end it. I’ll likely do some decent skipping again since I don’t THINK Nabooru will have much to do with the Ginyu Force outside of their arrival and I am IMPATIENT. Again, I don’t want to rewrite TOO much of what we see in canon and I want to get to the REAL fun bits.  😈 😈

Anyway, you know the drill: find the rest of this self indulgent fic along with a few other things I’ve written here!]

Nabooru

Dodoria's absence dragged from minutes to a few hours, and the reaction from the emperor and his right hand man to it evolved from unconcerned, petty jokes about the intruders getting the better of him to suspecting he stumbled upon another village or Vegeta and decided to wrest them of their dragonball or personally deal with the nuisance to save the rest of them the trouble later, respectively. Nabooru sensed her fellow general's fall at the hands of Vegeta, the village he was heading for prior to Dodoria's interception following soon after. She tried to ease her guilt with the two positives that came out of the last few hours: Vegeta likely retrieved a dragonball--and if he was smart he hid it--and Dodoria's death meant one less obstacle for them to deal with. As much as she hoped to take the fat bastard down herself for his overly-violent training methods and , or to at least have witnessed Vegeta kill him, she had to settle for sensing his energy dwindle to nothing from afar. A fact she kept to herself both to continue allowing their mission to stall and in the hope Frieza would send her or Zarbon to track him down. The more scattered Frieza's forces, the better.

As expected, Frieza's patience with Dodoria's supposed dawdling and their hunt being slowed to a halt thinned and, though his crimson stare lingered on Nabooru for several, weighted moments of consideration, he ordered Zarbon and Appule to continue the search for the dragonballs. Nabooru ignored Zarbon's glance at her, though she imagined they had the same though but didn't dare voice it: why not send the newbie out instead of him? Or, at the very least, along with him and Appule.  Zarbon's cocky nature likely drew it up to his transformation offering him an edge in battle Nabooru would not have should he find trouble. But Nabooru wondered if he purposefully kept her close out of mistrust. Did he suspect she would join up with Vegeta if he let her loose? She wasn't even sure she would herself. For the moment, she could be useful staying close to Frieza and she honestly wouldn't put murdering her on sight past Vegeta. Thus, she merely bowed her head and followed Frieza's order to ensure the remaining soldiers on board were prepared and vigilant.

She returned to the navigation deck with her task complete. She bowed when Frieza cast her a singular glance from the screen, and she mumbled an apology for the interruption to his conversation. Upon it, she noted to whom he spoke: a horned individual with violet skin and veins snaking the dome of his cranium. He wore standard issue armor, but his had a white downward arrow with a blue triangle within it etched over an orange circle. 

"I am losing patience with this endeavor. The variables aside, without scouters, finding the last villages will take far too long."

"Of course, Lord Frieza," the stranger said with unneeded bravado. "My men and I would be honored to deliver scouters to planet Namek."

"Excellent. I expect your arrival post haste." The other saluted the tyrant just before the screen blackened again. He clicked his tongue. "How annoying to waste the Ginyu Force's talents on a trifle like delivering scouters and extra muscle I hope to not need."

That name. She had heard talk of the Ginyu Force, the special, elite squad and Frieza's best group of soldiers. Ruthless and precise, they had never failed a mission no matter the difficulty and they outclassed even Zarbon and Dodoria. She trained her face back into neutrality despite her growing anxiety. She doubted Vegeta could handle the Ginyu Force and she for sure couldn't, meaning they needed to gather the dragonballs before they could make it to Namek. 

"Was that Captain Ginyu, then?" She asked conversationally. She cast her senses back out, finding Vegeta once more. Another was with him. Zarbon. Locked in battle, she guessed. Good. Maybe Vegeta could deal with him, too. "A wise choice to have them here on standby if the stories I heard about him and his team are true."

"They are. It's simply inefficient when they could be using their talents elsewhere," Frieza complained, folding his arms behind his back. "But the scouters are invaluable to our mission. It could take days to comb this planet. I am simply disappointed in the incompetence of my crew thus far in dealing with a bunch of slugs and a belligerent monkey prince."

So used to the slurs, to holding her tongue to avoid his wrath, the usual snarky retort barely surfaced in her mind outside of the snap flare of anger over it. Zarbon's energy jumped significantly, further aggravating her anguish. Had he transformed? He had only mentioned the ability in passing, and that he hated to use it because it was horrifically ugly. Considering Vegeta's increase in power, he likely forced his hand, which didn't bode well for the Saiyan.

"Understandable, my lord," she said, bowing her head again. "While this endeavor has been frustrating, I am certain you'll find success."

"Of course I will. One way or another. Even if I have to get my own hands dirty."

Vegeta's energy dwindled to near nothing. Zarbon's returned to normal and headed back in their direction. "I doubt that will be necessary. We'll make sure of it."

"You had best. My patience will not stand much more failure."

Zarbon's arrival saved her from more sucking up. The general bowed to Frieza. His self-satisfied smirk curled her fingers into her palms. She wanted to pound it off his face. 

"Sire, Vegeta has been dealt with. I was sure to make his punishment brutal."

Frieza opened his mouth to respond, but a soldier stepped into the doorway. He, too, bowed. "Sire, I found another village. Unfortunately, we were beat to it. By Vegeta, if the Namekian I killed can be trusted."

The wicked aura from before surged from the tyrant once more, his crimson eyes and features darkening with hate. "Zarbon, what was it you said? That you dealt with Vegeta?"

Terror widened Zarbon's yellow eyes. "I-I y-yes, lord."

"And you. You killed the only witness to where Vegeta might have hidden the dragonball?"

The emperor didn't wait for a reply, the terrified realization dawning on his face enough of one. A flash of hot pink and an agonized scream, and the messenger was reduced to nothing. "Consider that an example of what will happen to you if you fail to bring Vegeta back to me alive, Zarbon," Frieza said coolly. His tail slammed the tile. "I want his dragonball. And then I will take his life."

Zarbon bowed again and hastily made his exit. "Nabooru, find Appule and have him ready a healing tank for Vegeta." Frieza turned away from her. "I will summon you again when I need you. For now, check in with anyone else who has returned from their searches and ensure no others have made as unforgivable a blunder as the last one. If he has, kill him."

"Yes, sire." The Gerudo bowed and exited the navigation deck, glad to distance herself from Frieza. 

As she hunted down Appule, she frantically searched for Vegeta's faint ki signature with no luck. She couldn't surmise if it was because Zarbon had killed him--a mercy, perhaps, considering it made her queasy to consider what torments Frieza would implement to get him to talk before murdering him--or if he was simply too weak and she couldn't sense his energy from the distance or discern it from the wildlife on the planet.

Appule grumbled a complaint about getting stuck with grunt work and the potential of babysitting the monkey prince before heading off to the medical bay as directed. She considered taking her frustration, her helplessness when it came to Frieza, out on him as he shoved past her. But making a scene so soon would jeopardize any chance she had in aiding Vegeta. If he was alive, if she could get a moment alone with him without interference, she might be able to warn him about the Ginyu Force at the very least. Perhaps even help set up some sort of distraction so they could steal the dragonballs. A small window of time remained before the Ginyu Force arrived with the scouters. He had to make the wish before then. Otherwise, their chances would be slimmed ever closer to nothing.

She was halfway through gathering the reports from the few scouts that returned from their searches when she sensed Zarbon return to the ship. She struggled to maintain her composure and patience while she listened to Nabana complain about how the whole planet just looked the same to him and he was sure he got turned around more than once. To Roberry lamenting the loss of their scouters. And Orlen spouting off what she would only imagine passing as slurs to the Namekians. Unsurprisingly, none of them tracked down the last village or the ball Vegeta hid. The latter at least meant that, even with scouters, it would take time to locate the ball. Unless they tortured the information out of Vegeta--which she doubted they would be successful in doing considering how stubborn he was--if he survived Zarbon's onslaught, that is.

Nabooru lingered in her task, allowing the scouts to air their grievances as long as they wished and assuring them that they would have scouters again soon, to ward off suspicion that would come with rushing off to the medical bay to check in on the prince's state and to allow him time to heal. She took her leave after ordering them to stand by for their next orders and strode back toward the medical bay. Her palms felt too sweaty in her gloves and her heart thrummed too hard against her ribcage. She steeled herself against the worst case scenario: an empty pod and Appule gloating over Vegeta's death. She worked through a secondary plan to ensure Frieza didn't get his wish. Zarbon would cease to be a problem at least, and the rest of the soldiers with them wouldn't pose a threat to her. All that would stand in her way would be Frieza, a monumental obstacle that would require strategy and underhanded tactics over brute strength to get the better of.

The doors slid open and she held her breath. Appule was hunched over the console. Her eyes slid over to the healing tank he monitored and swallowed her relieved sigh. Surrounded by the green fluid, Vegeta floated inside the tank, a mask over his mouth and nose, wires attached to his body, and his eyes closed. Whatever damage Zarbon had inflicted upon him was only apparent in his damaged armor and ripped battle suit. Most of the wounds had already faded save for scratches here and there. And if the beating was bad enough, he should be stronger than before.

"If you wanted to see how bad a shape he was in, you should have gotten here sooner," Appule said, twisting around to shoot her a malicious grin. "Zarbon really did a number on him. And it sounds like he's going to have fun torturing information out of him soon, too. Hope they'll let me watch."

"So he's stable, then? Healing up well?"

Appule rolled his eyes. "Of course. These are the new models. They're faster and more efficient. I doubt he'll need much longer."

Gold eyes shifted back to the tank, observing the Saiyan. Searching, waiting. "Can you tell me if he's conscious?"

Appule's hesitation brought her gaze back to him, brows lowering and frown deepening. A silent warning against questioning her. "Right, right. Sure I can check," he stammered. If her new position had any perks, it was that most of the soldiers Frieza followed her orders with, at most, pointless whining. Just as they would Zarbon or Dodoria.

He shifted his attention back to the console. "Brain activity suggests consciousness, but he's been slipping in and out for a bit. Longer strings of wakefulness in the last--"

An orange blade of ki driven through his back and out the other side of his chest morphed the rest of his report into a garbled gasp of pain and shock. Nabooru didn't allow him the chance to scream. She whipped the blade upward, splitting his chest and head in half. His body fell into her outstretched hand, and she tossed it into the empty pod, hidden from immediate view.

She pushed away the moment of guilt as her mind once more suggested she could have likely gotten away with knocking him out, but she couldn't risk what he would tell Frieza when he awoke. She only consoled herself with the knowledge that, if given the chance, Vegeta wouldn't spare him once released from the tank.

Nabooru twisted back around to find Vegeta’s dark eyes open and staring at her. Her lips quirked upward in a smirk despite her mood and the lingering desperation further deteriorating it. “How convenient of you to wake up. I hope that means you’re willing to listen to me.” She cast a glance over her shoulder at the closed door, straining her ears and senses beyond it to ensure no one headed their way. Satisfied, she approached the tank. 

“Frieza’s already recovered five dragonballs,” she began, tone hushed but strong enough to penetrate the barrier between them. “He has them in the navigation deck and hasn’t let them out of his sight since we returned to the ship. Considering he wants to kill you after torturing you to find out where you hid the ball you found, I doubt he’ll let you waltz in and take them.”

Another glance behind her and she chewed her lip, gloved hand resting on the glass. “Whatever you do, you need to do it quick. He’s called in the Ginyu Force and ordered them to bring scouters. And I’m sure he plans to use them to dispose of anyone else who causes him trouble.”

Her fingers curled into a fist and she backed away, noting his eyebrows had twitched downward with the unexpected news. She backed away with her piece said, her next move determinant on his. She pressed the button next to the door and it slid open, and she passed back into the hallway. 

She just reached the end of the corridor when the medical bay exploded behind her, smoke and debris filling the narrow passage in seconds. Nabooru shielded her eyes to see Vegeta’s unmistakable silhouette slide out of the wreckage. She could already hear shouts of confusion amidst the commotion from around the ship. The nearest soldiers joined her demanding answers in their panic. She only needed to meet his gaze for a second, to note the devilish smirk on his lips to understand his plan before his hand raised and aimed at them. She took a step back and crossed her arms over her face in an attempt to shield herself from the incoming blast, her own ki flaring around her. The light of his ki shot toward them, engulfing her and the other soldiers. Their screams echoed off the metal walls as they perished. 

Her last thought before her back slammed the wall and the world around her went dark was one of gratitude. Gratitude that Vegeta only expended enough power to for sure kill the weaker soldiers and not her. Prolonging the inevitable and more selfish than keeping her alive, perhaps, but with what little time she likely had left in life, she planned to use it to end Frieza’s reign. One way or another.

[fly-pow-bye]

DuckTales 2017 - The Least Best!

Well, here it is, the second to last article of this project, and it's one that's going to be controversial. I'm sorry, I have to do a worst list along with the best list, but I decided against actually calling it the worst list. Simply put: calling it a worst list implies these episodes were bad. Do not get me wrong, there are episodes I feel qualify for that, but not more than 10 of them. Alas, it has to be done.

I must have some rules for this list, and here they are:

It has to be an episode of DuckTales 2017. No shorts, even if the shorts combined can make up a full episode. I am also not putting in anything from This Duckburg Life, either.

I have to say something good about each of these episodes. Does not have to be the best thing about the episode, but a good thing nonetheless.

This is my opinion and my opinion alone. I am sure there are fans of these episodes, I just disagree with them.

Let's begin with #10, and I can already tell I'm going to lose some people over this, but I am not sorry.

10. Beaks In The Shell!

I did get some flack for giving this a 2 initially, and I did walk back on it simply because there are worse episodes I have given 3s or would have given 3s, but I just did not think of this one as highly as everything else in the third season. I do not hate it, as it has some clever moments here and there, like Louie's shock about GizmoDuck's identity.

She has a great design, and I do like how she's the hacker girl as a counterpart to Fenton. She just seems to do a complete 180. In the last episode she was in, she was not above blinding children in order to keep her job, and now she just wants to leave F.O.W.L. just like that? I do not really buy it, and I never really found her that interesting in execution, at least in the show itself.

Good thing: Out of all the flack I've given this episode, the ending with the character's individual Gizmo suits is top notch. I like how everyone has an ability that either fits them or is a reference to a previous episode.

9. New Gods on the Block!

This is another "not really one of the good ones, but not really one of the bad ones" episode to me. My decision to put this one below "Beaks In The Shell" goes more with me thinking the Gizmo suits were a little more creative, and how I think this episode could have done better with this idea. Plenty of scenes with Storkules and Donald being a little too close, much to the chagrin of the latter.

There is also this plot where Scrooge wants to make a different team, implying that the kids are not good enough. This may have been a misinterpretation on the part of the kids, making this one of those "misunderstanding" episodes, but it is really vague here. It seemed to me that Scrooge really was trying to get a different team that did not involve his family for the most part. I am not going to say him being called out by Della when he's climbing the Titan is not a powerful scene, but I feel like it goes against the series entire arc of family being the best adventure of all. This isn't a Season 1 episode where Scrooge had to learn that, this is in Season 3!

Good thing: It was cool to see this plot expand the pantheon of Greek gods in this series. The DuckTales 2017 version of Hades, their reaction to Zeus being depowered, it’s all good.

8. The Split Sword of Swanstantine!

Unlike Gandra Dee, or any of the Olympians, the Sword of Swanstentine ended up being a major part of the finale. It is a shame that the hunt for that sword is the least best of the three shorts episodes. The first part with Dewey and Webby features the aforementioned child blinding plot that leads to a couple of cool survival scenes and a clever use of the big fight between Black Heron and Scrooge that happens throughout the episode, but is mostly just okay. The second part with Louie and Violet is a little weak, it's a one-idea premise with a character that I felt needed more development, period.

Huey and Lena's part may have been the highlight of the episode, but it only leads to an ending that is a bit predictable as soon as it comes up. Oh no, the villains have the sword! Nah, just kidding, the heroes have it because of a technicality that they certainly did not remember in the finale. I am a little glad they did not remember the sword's ability to not be used by people who have not earned it, actually, but that's not something that pertains to this episode specifically.

Good thing: As mentioned before, Huey and Lena's part is good. It's mitigated by The Duke of Making A Mess never really appearing again, but that is also not something that pertains to this episode specifically.

7. Happy Birthday, Doofus Drake!

The crew of the show have shown their disdain for the original Doofus. They could have just said that Doofus wasn't indicative of the kind of messaging they wanted to show, much like the original Burger Beagle, or the witch doctor stereotype who first summoned the Bombie, but no, their response to a character that was hated in the original was to make an even less likeable villain out of him! He was alright in "Day of the Only Child!", his debut, and I think that might be because he only had a third of the episode rather than more than half. While the ending is good, and there are some funny scenes with some of his other party guests, there's a lot of awkward scenes to work through here.

There is a plot that does not involve Doofus, but it does not do much good. The B-plot is pretty much shoe-horned in here, with no real connection besides involving characters that are not trying to crash the party. It is about Huey learning to step out of his comfort zone, and we know this because he goes into a video game world and having to learn how to step out of something that is outright called a "comfort zone". There just is not a lot to this plot other than some really cheap references. There's certainly nothing on the same level as Dewey Dew-Night, which is what "Day of the Only Child!" gave us. I guess I decided to put this episode in the Honey Bin after all.

Good thing: Glomgold's scheme involving his puppet son is a good Glomgold scene, and this is the episode that gave us Boyd, so I can't hate on it too much.

6. The Rumble for Ragnarok!

When I decided to re-rate Beaks in the Shell to a three, I was also specifically thinking of this episode as one of the worse episodes that I gave a three. This is a problem with having a series as consistently good as DuckTales 2017 is; there's a little to like in almost every episode, and this episode really knows how to handle pro wrestling as a setting while also making it fit in with the universe. I could see something like this happening in the old comics.

However, lots of neat references to pro wrestling can't hide that the way they implemented this plot is just flawed to me. The plot to me seemed to go with the moral that one should follow with what is right even if it does not lead to popularity. It does start well with Scrooge, as the villainous Millionaire Miser, telling Dewey to "embrace the boos" of the people that want the world to end. Then they decide that the crowd doesn't like Jörmungandr anymore because...he was being too harsh on a kid? They did not have a problem with Hecka beating up two kids, but when Jörmungandr ties him up with his tail, that's a heel turn? Conveniently, Dewey did not have to learn anything! I can appreciate that they didn't go with what any other cartoon would do and make a farce out of the form of entertainment, but I can not shake that off.

Good thing: Not only does this episode do a great job with wrestling jokes, it manages to throw in a reference to the original that seamlessly fits in with the wrestling jokes. It's too bad the Shield Maiden didn't get to do much, but it's still a positive.

5. The Richest Duck in the World!

I did say I wanted to only rate episodes, but if I was rating DuckTales 2017's arcs, the Louie one from Season 2 is definitely the lowest. Do not get me wrong, the Louie Inc. arc did have some good episodes, Storkules in Duckburg being a highlight, but it is definitely the least memorable arc in the series, and its finale is the worst of that arc. Sure, it was a big shocking moment in "GlomTales!" that he was able to swindle his own uncle's fortune, especially an uncle as sharp and smart as Scrooge McDuck, but the way this episode follows up on that is to make a hundred jokes about Louie being a lazy billionaire until he learns his lesson in a way that returns everything back to the status quo as soon as the real arc of the season comes back in the last minute of the episode. The finale of the entire show made this even more worthless, and I would rather not get into any more detail than I already had in that review.

I think what really gets me about this is how well Scrooge takes this plot, especially when compared to an episode that is coming up in this very list. I know a part of this is because of the villain of the episode, but there was also a feeling that Scrooge just knew that the status quo was going to come back. That just made this episode's conclusion just that much more foregone. The fact that the Tenderfeet had to show up to remind us that he exists does not make this any better. There is another plot about Della trying to call Penumbra, who is not answering her phone calls for reasons she could not have known. Revealing why she can't before kind of made the conclusion of that plot just that much more foregone. For an episode that comes before a major, major finale, it is so unmemorable to me.

Good thing: When Bradford was talking about "magical defense" in the first episode, I was thinking it was a reference to Magica, but this episode does a great job of retconning that into something less predictable. Retooling the Bombie, a villain with origins that are not necessarily acceptable by today's standards, into something more akin to a force of nature is great.

4. The Depths of Cousin Fethry!

The very first Disgusted Donald I have ever given, and, to be honest, it's because I have learned to raise my standards for this show. Don't get me wrong, this show's version of Fethry Duck had a bit of potential, especially as a sort of mentor to Huey, and the idea of the episode could have went to places, but I just found this episode boring at best. At worst, it just exaggerates Huey to an unimaginably nerdy level, up to licking trees to find out what their resin level is and kissing giant plant monsters. Outside of one particular monster near the end of the episode, that is all this episode has: grossout humor and boredom. As much as I get the joke that Launchpad's journey was just so awesome that it could not have been animated, I still stand by the running gag I made in that review.

Good thing: One good thing about the payoff is the camerawork. The viewer never sees that giant krill "monster" in full. They forgot about that in Moonvasion, though I can see the argument that the Moonvasion would make anything look small.

3. The 87 Cent Solution!

The second Disgusted Donald I have ever given, and also the last. Was I afraid to get the wrath? Well, I am certainly not afraid now, as I rate the episode where Scrooge gets "gold fever" over 87 cents getting stolen from him as the third least best episode. I mean, I get it. Scrooge did not get "gold fever" because he lost money. He lost plenty of money trying to fix his own mistakes. He got "gold fever" because someone outwitted the smartest of the smarties and the sharpest of the sharpies. However, I just couldn't find Scrooge's descent into that madness funny. It's not like the "sea monster ate my ice cream" scene from the original that the reboot decided to mock in a different episode, I just feel sorry for him in a way that just does not fit with the rest of the series.

Having the ending be Mrs. Beakley saying "oh, I would have dealt with those silly manchildren by myself" just felt bizarre compared to the rest of DuckTales 2017's endings. It felt more like an ending to that other reboot. It certainly had that "ugh, men" vibe.

Good thing: One scene that one might think I hated was the dance scene with Glomgold set to DJ Khaled's "All I Do Is Win." Not only is Glomgold the best part about this episode, that scene is among the best Glomgold scenes ever.

2. Terror of the Terra-firmians!

This was the episode I considered giving the first Disgusted Donald to, or in the new ratings terms, a 1 Scrooge, but I decided against it because it just was not as bad as the worst that I have seen before I took on this project. I was sure there was going to be an episode worse than this one, because every cartoon is going to have that one episode that does not measure up. Turns out, this was the one episode. The major plot of this episode is Huey and Webby just bickering over the existence of magical creatures who are clearly causing all of the problems of the episode. All this really leads to is the same ending one gets with the M&Ms Santa commercial, except the build up is not as funny. That's not a good sign when this episode is much longer than a commercial.

They throw in a part with Lena and Mrs. Beakley that ends up becoming a major piece of development for Lena. I'll admit: this was the part that made me not want to give it a Disgusted, but now I realize what happened. Lena's plot does not really interact with the Terra-firmian plot, with only the train crash being the only real interaction. It's like they knew this episode would not amount to much in the overall arc nor would it be particularly funny, so they put in this awesome Lena part. I will not get fooled again.

Good thing: As mentioned before, Lena saving Mrs. Beakley is better than the rest of the episode combined.

I was really hard pressed to consider putting in dishonorable mentions. It was hard enough picking 10 episodes for the actual list.

The Infernal Internship of Mark Beaks! - I just never really liked Mark Beaks as a villain. Smartphones may be around for a long time, but YOLO certainly will not.

Raiders of the Doomsday Vault! - The worst of Season 2 is already on this list, so I really stretched to find another episode that was any worse. This is just a case of Della Duck having better episodes than this.

Challenge of the Senior Junior Woodchucks! - In a series that had good season openers, this was decidedly not one of them. Other than introducing Webby 2, er, Violet, it was only good for starting the "Missing Mysteries of Finch" arc.

And now, the absolute least best episode of DuckTales 2017. It's plot important, very much so. It's an episode with Lena in it, usually a bright point of any DuckTales 2017 episode and a very beloved character. It's an episode I felt that was not good at all by DuckTales 2017 standards. That episode is...

1. The Other Bin of Scrooge McDuck!

I know this is the one with that hugely emotional scene of Lena seeing her best friend die in front of her eyes. Of course, neither Disney nor the overall arc of the series would ever allow that, as this is merely a dream sequence that shows that Lena is afraid of her aunt and what she will do to her new best friend, which clearly hasn't been shown in every one of her last appearances. Clearly, we needed this over-the-top dream sequence to really show the kids that Magica is the bad lady and Lena is the good girl. Everything good this A-plot did was done better in "Jaw$!"; they could have just tacked on this episode's ending to that episode, and it would have worked.

Oh, and the B-plot is the dreaded devil in plain sight plot. Huey, Dewey, and Louie befriend a Tenderfeet, the Tenderfeet turns out to be a jerk who tries to sabotage Louie, Louie gets blamed for it to the point where Huey, the usually sensible one, punches Louie in the arm as apparently bullying the Tenderfeet is the worst action he has ever done, and the cycle repeats. After reviewing a reboot that, despite all of its flaws, never managed to fall into it, I was shocked that DuckTales 2017, the reboot that really could, toyed with the worst plot in any cartoon ever and played it straight. I could see the argument that this is one of the better implementations of the forsaken plot, as Louie is already an untrustworthy person even among his brothers and he does manage to solve the problem in a way that fits with his scheming character, but, I am not sorry, it's still a devil in plain sight. Next. Oh wait, there is no next!

Good thing: At least I can admit that this show doesn't pull any punches. Oh no, I'm not talking about the dream sequence, I'm talking about the ending. At first, I did not really like it, as I thought it was another way for the villain to just snatch everything away at the last minute. However, once we learn more about Lena in the next episode, it makes a lot more sense.

And that's the least best! I really did not want to leave this negativity up for too long without its opposite, so the best list will be up on Wednesday rather than next week. Stay tuned!

← The Shorts (Part 2) 🦆 The Absolute Best! →

[merryfortune]

Day 10 / Electric

Clover and Violets 2021

Ship: not applicable | Kyoko/Hayami

Universe: Vrains

Word Count: 1,580

Rating: T

Tags: Post Canon, Meet Cute, Fluff, Implied Redemption Arc

   Hayami wasn’t good at meeting new co-workers. Not for lack of trying though, more like because of trying too much. She wanted to make a good impression. Even if it was a good impression on people who really got into the nitty-gritty of Sol Tech’s shadier dealings.

   So, she put on a big smile and she did what she did best: played the gopher.

   Not to brag or anything but she had gotten really good at making coffee these days. She made a mean dirty chai, in her opinion. She brought out five throwaway cups on a cluttered, wooden tray into the office chambers where they were having their meeting, as well as milk, cream, sugar, any topping they could really want: Hayami was doing her best to make their guests feel at home. Maybe even so much at home that they would drop the facade and use their real names. Akira told her not to be so hopeful but Hayami thought that a little bit of hospitality would go a long way.

   Regardless, she was the last one to walk into the room and Akira closed the door behind her, completing the soundproofing of the room. She smiled, big and gawky, as she set down the tray. And as she did so, she did a head count: their boss wasn’t here but the main entourage of this upper echelon on were, the only one missing aside from Revolver was his little assistant who had duelled Blue Angel.

   “Help yourselves.” Hayami said.

   “Don’t mind if I do.” nattered the man closed to her, he was about mid-thirties to early forties, glasses, and green hair.

   Hayami smiled. She then flicked her gaze to the other two, the other man and the only other woman aside from her,  made sure they were welcome to have some coffee as well. In the meantime, she took her own drink and sugared it to oblivion and beyond. The woman - with sharp cheekbones and devilish red hair - hid a giggle as she did that.

   “Are we all comfortable yet?” Akira asked.

   He sounded a little testy so Hayami made sure that he got his coffee promptly as well: he took it almost black, one sugar and a teaspoon of milk. He thanked Hayami with just his eyebrows before he took stock of the rest of the situation. It seemed so and thus, Akira began the meeting.

   And what a dull meeting it was, Hayami thought. It was dark inside the room and Akira’s voice droned; Hayami could have gone straight to sleep in her chair. Thank goodness she had the coffee. She wouldn’t have been able to keep her eyes open through it, and her mouth closed, too. It was all hypotheticals on top of hypotheticals; action plans for future action plans. Very ambiguous and open ended, she mostly just nodded and hummed in agreement whenever Akira said something she thought made sense or sounded good or if he just needed someone in his corner to back him up. 

   So yes, the meeting couldn’t end quick enough but when it did, there was time to linger. To get up, stand around, stretch their legs. The Knights of Hanoi mostly kept to themselves so Hayami took the chance to clean afterwards. She collected up the mostly empty throwaway cups and all the foodstuffs she had brought over in the first place but that Baira woman couldn’t let fine enough be. 

   Hayami was perfectly capable of doing it all by herself but she insisted. She glared, with pursed lips, and she tried to help Hayami when she did not want the help. The outcome was about what was expected. Hayami attempted to trod off with all of it in her arms; Baira tried to cut in and take some of her burden but Hayami refused with a smile and a mildly annoyed, furrowed brow.

   The two ladies engaged in an exceedingly polite warfare of push and pull and it ended with milk and cream going everywhere. Though, mostly it went all over Baira and that nice white jacket of hers.

   Hayami was stunned with her error and it was, mostly, her error. “I am so sorry.” she said. “I can pay for dry cleaning for you, if you like.”

   Baira laughed. “It's fine, I’ve been covered in worse.” Her laughter was coarse, barky, but jolly and good natured. “How about you just show me to the nearest restroom, huh, sweetie?”

   “Oh, yeah, totally.” Hayami chirped, stiffening up, she loved pet names and didn’t mind if they were used by near or virtual strangers.

   Hayami gathered up what was dropped and with Baira, they dawdled off. The nearest restroom was on the corner of the floor and they got cleaned up there. Hayami helped dab off stains on Baira’s coat, both thankful that it hadn’t been actual coffee that they had dropped on her.

   It felt odd for Hayami to pick up and bundle Baira’s coat but she seemed content to watch, observing Hayami with a sharp eye. Hayami blushed. She didn’t actually think she was that interesting but maybe she was.

   “There we go,” Hayami said, “all done.”

   “You’re good at this.” Baira said and she shrugged. “I’ll be the first to admit, cleaning, housekeeping, cooking: never been my forte, you?”

   “Love all of the above.” Hayami admitted, a little bit embarrassed.

   “You’d be a cute housewife, feeding the OL to wife pipeline, it's an important job.” Baira teased her.

   “Oh shut up.” Hayami playfully replied with a giggle but she toyed with her hair. “Its always been my dream to be a June bride, a bit old fashioned nowadays but I can’t help it.”

   “Better than my dream.” Baira shrugged. “But, like, no, really, if you go and get hitched, I think I’d miss you. Gets so dull being around men all the time. Like they just go on and on, like get to the point, mister or you're as bad as us misses.” 

   “I was thinking the same thing the entire time - and I like Akira.” Hayami laughed.

   Baira smirked. She was really taking a liking to this little lady - and not just because it felt good to be tall around one someone shorter than her.

   The two ladies finished up shortly after. And Hayami had to admit, she had really taken a liking to Baira as well. As mean as a woman Queen was, Hayami did miss having another woman about the office, especially one with sharp wit and the like. She was so socially awkward, having someone more extraverted and graceful about, whilst anxiety inducing, was the good sort.

   And the connection didn’t just stop there, oh no, it started and Hayami was having a hard time puzzling out Baira’s intentions. They seemed a little bit more than just friendly. She was a gift giver, it seemed. Only small things here and there and Hayami was making the point to return the tiny favours but some of the things Baira couldn’t help but unload were a bit odd. And none of them were her actual, literal name and whilst that information was out there on the big, bad internet, Hayami wanted to be entrusted with it on Baira’s terms and consent so she would wait.

   Wait whilst holding onto all those bits and bobs that Baira told Hayami reminded her of Hayami.

   Like hand sanitiser in a pink bottle. Cute, cleanly, and convenient. Hayami liked it but she thought it was a little strange. But not as strange as the extravagantly handled coffee mug that Baira had gotten her. The squirrel motif was a bit too on the nose for Hayami, she thought and the pun wasn’t all that great either. And then when Baira handed her the electric toothbrush, Hayami thought she had gotten the picture. 

   Hayami stared at the offending implement rather than the beautiful cityscape view in front of them, “You know,” she said, “if I didn’t know any better, I would say this was an invitation to move in with you. Or at the very least come over.”

   “I was wondering when you would get the picture.” Baira said with a laugh, happily gazing out to said cityscape in front of them but her eyes kept wandering back to Hayami. She was too cute and a lot more fun than the soiree they were both ignoring.

   “Oh.” Hayami murmured.

   “Oh, indeed.” Baira said. “But, well?”

   “Well, what?” Hayami said.

   “I have a key to an apartment I used to own, would you be interested in visiting?” Baira asked.

   “A little, yeah…” Hayami replied, a bit embarrassed and trying to play it coy.

   “Here, another gift then.” Baira said.

   Hayami looked up at Baira, still holding that darn electric toothbrush with one hand and extending out the other, and Baira dropped something in her palm. Her fingers swirled against the skin of Hayami’s palm flirtatiously and Baira gifted her a key complete with a keyring: one of those cow tag-like keyrings and it had writing on it.

   “Thank you.” Hayami mumbled.

   Baira smirked and Hayami had a closer look at the keyring. She blinked. Taki Kyoko. 103, 3F. Hayami’s heart fluttered.

   “I should give you directions there, yeah?” Kyoko asked. “So you don’t get lost, I mean, this party’s pretty boring and I was the bookworm in uni who never went anywhere but even this shindig’s boring me.”

   “I’d like that, thank you.” Hayami replied with a blush in her cheeks.

[minnuet-archive]

Getting Better

Rating: PG

Content Warnings: None (that I can find- let me know if you find something)

Word Count: 1,802

Fan-fiction or Original Work? Original Work

Notes: For those of you who asked to be tagged specifically in this story, please let me know if you want to be permanently added to my general tag list!

Honestly, I’m proud of some of this, and not as proud of other parts of it, but that’s alright. I apologize for the fact that I’m utterly hopeless when it comes to creating titles. I didn’t make it too different from our world apart from the fact that people aren’t utterly horrible to each other because family (and friends, I suppose) have left me a bit too exhausted for worldbuilding. I finished writing this at around 1 AM so I apologize if it’s hard to follow near the end. All of my anxiety aside, I hope you enjoy!

The world was dying, and there was nothing they could do about it. That’s what runs through my head as I watch Ms. Ngeze gestures and listen to her voice.

"Their laws were really different than ours. They didn't have guilty until proven innocent laws for officer discrimination cases and accusations. Every law was in favor of the government and police." There's a sort of pain in her eyes as she speaks— one that I've never seen before. I can't look at her. It hurts to.

2020. As I think about the things human beings have done, I'm no longer sad. I'm angry. A virus was spreading around the entire planet and a group of ass-wipes lent it a helping hand because they wanted hair cuts? Whether a murderer should be charged was controversial?

It's not even the half of it. An entire continent was on fire (and the rest of the world was soon to be as well), people were losing basic human rights in other countries, and so much more. And even after all that, it took them so long to change.

No. I’m wrong. The world was dying. But there was something they could do about it. And they didn’t.

“You alright?” I shift my gaze up to meet Ms. Ngeze’s eyes and smile lazily. She sets a piece of paper down on my desk.

“I’m fine. Just thinking about how horrible people were to each other— particularly white cis-het men to everyone else. I can’t even imagine having things like what happened to George Floyd done to people like you and I. It all feels so distant, now.”

Her face softens and she speaks calmly, her voice like honey. “It does, doesn’t it?” I don't think she's being honest as she agrees with me, but I don't mention it.

“Yeah. I’m really thankful we can say it feels distant, too. I couldn’t imagine the human race surviving if we had stayed that ignorant and terrible.”

At this, she laughs. “Me either.” After passing out papers to the rest of my row and the class, she walks back up to the front of the classroom.

“Alright, everyone! I know it was upsetting and a little bit hard to hear today’s lesson, but I hope you feel satisfied with what you learned. If you have any questions about your homework or need an extension for any reason, send me an email or come in during homeroom. I’m here all day,” She glances at the clock a moment before the bell rings. “Bye, everyone! Have a nice day!”

Everyone in class stands up to leave, shouting their ‘have a nice day’s and ‘see you tomorrow’s.

I walk down the hall, smiling and waving at friends as I go along. I eventually find my spot in the quad and set my things down on the grass softly. Asa can’t handle loud noises.

Malee looks up from her book. ‘Hey, Hugo,’ she signs.

‘Hey,’ I respond. I sit down next to her and turn to smile at Asa.

They don't smile back, and my own smile fades a bit. “It’s alright. You want to use your phone to talk or do you just want to hang out?”

They shrug and grumble lightly and unintelligibly. I just touch the top of their hand lightly before opening my backpack. “How about we read a little bit?” I pull out my headphones and they pull theirs out, too.

I pull out my phone and open up an audiobook, handing it to Asa so they can play and pause it as they please.

Their current special interest is energy and I’m honestly finding it really interesting. Regardless of whether or not their special interests are "useful", they’re always interesting. Asa’s interesting.

One of the coolest and most surprising things I learned was that 99.999999999999% of the world is empty space between particles, but energy binds it all together. Zero-point energy, to be exact.

As we listen to the quotes of several physicists and engineers, they often pause the book and tell me facts or stories that certain words or phrases remind them of. But not on days like today. And that’s okay.

Listening to audiobooks and eating red bean cakes with Asa is just as lovely as talking to them. They slip their hand into mine and I smile. It’s more than enough for me to understand.

As a soft melody begins to play from the school speakers, I look over at Asa. They nod and we know that it’s three minutes until the bell rings. The music is one of our favorite things schools have implemented to help neurodivergent people. It can help ease them into the transitions from one thing to another, and I love it.

The two of us— who had both been laying on the grass— sit up, and I lean toward Malee, tapping her on the shoulder lightly.

‘Hey. You should start packing up. It’s a minute to the bell,’ I sign.

She nods and gives me a thumbs up before signing, ‘Okay, cool. Thanks for the heads up.’

I nod and begin to pack my things up. When I’m finished, the bell is about to ring. I look at Asa, who seems to have recharged a little.

“You doing any better?” I ask in a soft voice.

They shrug yet again and speak quietly. “I guess.” Their voice cracks from not having been used for over half an hour.

I smile at them and take their hand in mind for a moment, tracing my thumb in a circle over the top of their hand. I look them in the eyes and speak quietly. “I’ll see you after school. I love you.”

Asa nods, and I glance over at Mali who’s standing up with their binder in arm, ready to go. I wave goodbye to Asa and walk toward Mali. The two of us make our way toward the gym.

We sit down for a few minutes and chat about classes and family before Coach Min does roll call.

When Coach Min looks up at me, I smile. She grins back at me. “Hey, kid.”

“Hello!” I respond with a small wave as she goes back to taking roll.

As she moves down the rows, I don't go back to talking with Malee. My mind wanders back to today's history lesson.

It was so different. People were forced into such horrible situations. I bet they didn't learn sign language in school like we do.

I feel a tap on my shoulder and snap my head toward Malee. She cocks her head. 'Hugo? What are you thinking about?'

I shrug and sign back. 'Just the world. We learned about 2020 in history today and it just made me so mad.'

Nodding her head, she begins to sign. 'The world was a mess, but it was angry at itself for being a mess. It took longer than it should have, but people fixed the way the did things. We're okay now.'

Coach Min calls for us to get in a line for instructions, and we do.

I fling my hands forward in pure annoyance before regaining myself and signing back. 'Sorry. I just don't think it's okay. It was a race to the bottom— to being the dirtiest— and no one batted an eye at participating. I hate that we dismiss it so easily now that it's over. It's not even over yet! There are still bad people.'

'That's true. Bad people still exist; they always will. But we know how to deal with them, now,' she retorts. 'We know not to listen to them. Things aren't completely perfect. They never will be. The human species is a flawed one. But we'll keep learning how to be better. There will keep being setbacks and obstacles and we'll keep overcoming them.'

'But what if we get worse again? What if we repeat history again?' I want to scream. Malee's right, but she isn't seeing my side.

'We won't repeat history again. We stopped repeating history when we started actually teaching history— our full history. Look at us, Hugo!' She flails her arms in an effort to emphasize. “Schools and jobs are working to accommodate everyone. The majority of the population treats people of different races, sexualities, and genders with the exact same amount of respect. That wasn't true in 2020. Yeah, there are still assholes. But we'll keep growing. We'll keep getting better.'

I sigh and roll my eyes. 'Why are you so good with words? It's not fair.'

She giggles and smiles her wide smile.

"Hugo. Malee. Please."

Looking over at Coach Min, I smile sheepishly. "Sorry."

We shift our focus to her and listen as she finishes speaking. "Okay, so those are all of your options today. If for one reason or another you have a disability and haven't discussed it with me, or if you have discussed it with me and are having a rough day, come talk to me now. I'll find something fun for you to do."

The entirety of the class runs toward the back wall of the gym where sports equipment was sitting in baskets. A few people follow Coach Min as she walked toward her office.

'You can choose what we do today. I chose on our last free day.'

Malee's eyes light up like a gasoline-fueled fire and she signs at a speed that’s almost too fast for me to read. 'Can we do volleyball? We don't have to play with the others, but I'd love to at least bump and set the ball back and forth with you!'

I grin; her smile is contagious. 'Of course!' We walk toward the wall where everyone else already is and grab a deep violet ball from one of the baskets.

Volleyball isn't really played anymore, but when it became one of Asa's special interests, we all heard about it a lot, and Malee fell in love with it. Now we play it a lot, even though we don't have volleyballs themselves.

Passing the ball back and forth, I can't help but think of what Malee said. We have changed a lot. We have gotten better.

I hope we'll keep doing that. Getting better.

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[hadit93]

Magick 101, part 3: The Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram.

This post can also be viewed on my blog in an easier to read format here.

The Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram is perhaps the most well known and most widespread magical ritual in existence. This rite was created by the founders of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and has been part of most of the modern occult corpus since. Sadly, it has become known as a banishing ritual when in fact it is so much more than that and in the theory section I am going to highlight how it is not a banishing in the way many people think as well as why it is an essential regular practice. It does more than clean the area when done correctly. This post is purely practical, but in order to make the ritual work as brilliantly as possible the theory will have to be assimilated too.

So the first step is the perform the Qabalistic Cross as has been given in my previous post- you should begin and end standing east in the centre of the place you are working.

Approach the Eastern quarter- if you have to walk around the altar walk around it from the left so that it is a clockwise motion. Draw a generic banishing pentagram (See below) either with a banishing implement or your finger. (This pentagram is drawn in the same manner as a banishing earth pentagram but is not the same.)

You should visualise the pentagram in an electric blue colour, similar to the blue you find on a gas cooker. If you struggle with colour simple white will do. You may have to shut your eyes to visualise it at first- this is okay. Again, if you struggle to see, try and feel it then tune in with the vision.

Pierce the pentagram in the centre vibrate the God name “YHVH” (Yod hay Vav hay). On your inhalation breathe in force and pattern the god name into the breath. Upon exhaling release this breath in the vocal vibration of the God name.

Without dropping your arm trace a line to the southern quarter to the point in which the centre of the next pentagram you draw will fit in it. The idea is you are ending up within a circle of blue flame surrounded by interconnected pentagrams also in blue flames.

In the southern quarter repeat as before but vibrate ADNI (Ah-doh-nai),

Trace the line to the Western quarter and draw the pentagram as before but vibrate AHIH (Eh-He-Yeh).

Do the same in the Northern quarter but vibrate A.G.L.A. (Ah-gah-lah) OR (Attah gib-or lay-olarm, amen.) This word of power is a notariqon or abbreviation some sources believe you should vibrate the whole sentence and not just the name. I prefer the whole sentence.

Trace the final line back to the East so that the circles connect, go back to the centre of the working place behind the altar (if you have one) and move to this position in a clockwise manner.

Stand with your feet together and stretch your arms out to the sides as though you are making a letter T with your body. Take a deep breathe and say the following invocation vibrating the names of the angels in the same manner as you did the God names above.

“Before me Raphael,

Behind me Gabriel,

On my Right hand, Michael,

On my left hand, Uriel

For about me flames the Pentagram,

And in the column shines the six-rayed star!”

As you vibrate each archangel you should visualise them in each quarter towering over the area facing you at first and then turning to face outwards in the quarters upon invoking the next angel. There are multiple methods of visualising these angels, here are the forms I use I visualise them with wings, this is not essential:

Raphael- Yellow robes with a violet trim, fair complexion, masculine. Holds a sword.

Gabriel- Blue robes with orange trim, feminine complexion- soft features. Holds a silver chalice.

Michael- Harsh, masculine features, defined chin etc. Red robes with green trim. Holds a golden wand surrounded in flames.

Uriel- Black robes with white trim. Soft features. Holds a wooden disk with a symbol of the hexagram upon it.

The idea here is that these archangels represent the elements, thus the tools they hold all correspond to the traditional tools of elements within their respective elemental quarters. The visualised being is simply a vessel which the force of that being can inhabit. You are giving form for a force to inhabit.

Upon saying “For about me flames the pentagram” you can visualise the circle of flames about you- some like to visualise the symbol of the pentagram being around them. I don;t do this, but you can!

Upon saying “And in the column shines the six-rayed star” visualise a golden hexagram above and below you, shining golden light into your aura, also at your chest a flaming hexagram forms at the centre of the heart.

Finish the ritual by repeating the qabalistic cross.

Allow the visualisation to drop and do whatever it is you are doing.