#An Instruction in Shadow

[nzbookwyrm]

October 2024

[sffinsiders]

Review: An Instruction in Shadow By Benedict Jacka — SFF Insiders

[rheadionne]

Check out my review of An Instruction in Shadow by Benedict Jacka 

[witchcatyoshiko]

Reading An Instruction in Shadow by Benedict Jacka

And, I’d be dead.

When the guy is like “this sh*tty man in history did this sh*tty thing” my first comeback thought was “and that’s who aspire to be?”

And then continued with “when he decided that was it because his son had brought dishonor to his family? Then I would think you’d be pleased I’ve come to see you. Because if I do what I intend to do for general life things you know like paying common bills, not threatening people and strong holding an entire family for position and power, things I’m sure you’re not familiar with then I think you’d be interested in making sure into least don’t step into murky water. You know just preempting that cover up habit you have.”

So yea… dead. But, like the cat, completely satisfied.

[jaewritesfic]

Melon AU Part 4

Cass is quietly adamant that her new cling-on be taken to the Batcave, no matter the concerns Bruce raises.

If he's honest, his protests fall a little flat even to his own ears. The fact of the matter is that he looks at the midnight apparition she holds and just…can't bring himself to fight very hard.

The creature clings to her like a desperate child, claws curled into her cape in a way that's bound to leave holes. Bruce hasn't caught so much as a glimpse of the face since it grabbed onto Cass, head resolutely tucked into her shoulder. That long sinuous tail is wrapped around her waist and down one leg as if the slightest disconnect could wrench them fully apart.

She was right, it's scared and it needs help.

Bruce almost thinks convincing Commissioner Gordon to lift the police barricade at the end of the alley will be the difficult part, but he's proven wrong. Gordon is more than happy to foist the situation off onto the Bat colony, it's just a matter of figuring out actual transport.

It's not that Bruce doesn't want the creature in the Batmobile. It's that nobody is sure the creature will respond well to someone other than Cass being in proximity to it.

Bruce may be feeling distinctly sympathetic, but he's still not comfortable leaving his daughter totally alone with something strange, unknown and dangerous.

He doesn't want Cass alone with it - them. They probably won't respond well to anyone but Cass being close enough to be in a car with them.

Ultimately this culminates in Bruce pulling the Batmobile around and trying to be very. Very. Quiet.

The shadow creature hasn't raised their head from Cass’s shoulder once, so hopefully as she climbs in the back with her clingy cargo they won't notice they're not alone.

…nobody is going to claim this is a good or creative plan. It's kind of just the only option they can think of.

The creature clicks and whines as she climbs in, aware and nervous about the enclosed space probably, but they don't raise their head or move.

If anything they just wind themselves around Cass a little tighter.

“Shhhh,” Cass hushes gently. “Car. Take us to safe place. I promise.”

Bruce is used to her cowl enough to be able to tell she's glancing at him in the rear view mirror.

Thankfully, the Batmobile can autopilot to the cave. His presence is solely because he refuses to leave her alone with their new…guest. That means he can sign at her.

Did you get a better look at the injuries?

She shakes her head minutely. Hm. Bruce had feared that was the answer, considering how fast the creature had plastered themselves to her.

Do they seem to be losing a lot of blood?

A tiny shrug. Not a yes, not a no. Bleeding, but not gushing. Or maybe she's not sure how much without a visual, though if it was egregious she'd feel it even with the suit.

The heat of it, the slickness.

Bruce decides the shrug is a tentative good sign.

“Let's play questions,” Cass says suddenly, hands rubbing gentle, comforting back and forth patterns against a back so dark it looks like a void. “Nothing scary. Get to know you questions.”

There's no answer, but it doesn't seem to faze her. Of course not. She's Cass.

“Will you play? Tap once yes,” she says softly, tapping the creature's back with her index finger once, “And twice for no. No is okay. You can say no.”

There's a long moment where Bruce watches them in the rear view and nothing happens. Then Cass's cowl shifts in the way that means she's smiling.

“Thank you. Pronouns first, okay? One for she-”

She taps once.

“Two for he-”

She taps twice.

“Three for- oh. Thank you. Good boy. I'm she.”

The rest of the family exposes themselves as listening, quiet murmurs and exclamations over the comms at the new knowledge that their creature considers himself male.

Bruce isn't surprised that his kids have been listening with baited breath.

“From Gotham? One for yes, two for no.”

She hums softly, going back to petting his back gently.

“Me neither at first. Home now, like the back of my hand. Can show you all the best spots. Like burgers?”

There's a long pause. Bruce suspects the creature is having a hard time believing she's talking about and proposing such casual topics.

Eventually she smiles again. “Me too. Will buy you Batburger, I promise. Nectar of the gods.”

An odd little vibration goes through her new friend, audible as well as visible. It seems almost like a weak laugh.

“....bets on shadow noodle’s favorite Batburger order?” Dick asks over comms.

Bruce purses his lips not to huff in amusement. They're almost to the cave, he'd like to stay incognito until then. He wouldn't want to alarm any shadow noodles.

Masterpost

[clochanamarc]

like this post.

[dawnthefluffyduck]

Color practice

[storfulsten]

This could be a new thing, if you don't mind it that is. I was hoping it would be a FNF x Among Us crossover. What I'm getting at here is that I would like you to draw Whitty as Corpse (Black in Among Us Color) cuddling Bf in Medbay, but Bf would Cyan instead of green.

Also they are doing tasks, and one of them would be extremely tired so that's when they decide to sleep together until the others get done with their tasks.

dude I've been wanting to do some type of crossover fnf amongus thing due to letsplayer inspo vibes for like well over a month now but I keep overthinking things and have no clue where to even start ha. but I mean this is as good of a place as any to do so tbh so ye letsgo not exactly what was asked maybe sorry but maybe a little bit ok still

I guess only bf got to take a nap after doing some very tiring leaf tasks whilst whitty get to be all sheriff-y proteccing him from sussy bakas I guess. and gf got to be the sus as a bonus I guess bc lol

[m1d-45]

man red and shade make me Insane because first of all. the age stuff. red is the version of diluc right after the whole shit w his 18th birthday while shade is current-day kaeya, so it'd be reasonable to assume that shade is most likely "older" than red bc of timeline stuff, BUT ALSO. like you cannot tell me that they don't completely ignore that and still go by the older-younger dynamic that both of them remember. you simply cannot. add on how apparently diluc was a Bastard Of A Kid, and boom. full dynamic right there.

so anyways what i'm saying is that if you leave them alone together red will absolutely rope shade into whatever scheme he has. like i imagine that they still have to be led into reconciliation with each other at first, but your god personally asking you to talk out your problems and try to reform your relationship with your (technically kind of) estranged brother is a really good motivator it turns out! it makes it easier to leave them alone together, but give it a week and shade is also glaring at diluc whenever he's nearby and oh no red what did you tell him.

i keep on picturing you coming home after a long day of meetings and walking in on red and shade coming up with an elaborate murder scheme (shade is the one making it elaborate. red would rather just go in and Fuck Shit Up) - teddy anon

you understand my vision

putting shade and red together in a room is. one of the ideas you’ve had.

they’re very different from their base selves, but red still holds a strange animosity. he’s diluc with all the anger and none of the time for it to cool, and shade has a permanent guilt lingering in his chest he never can place. he just feels… off around red, and doesn’t really know why.

it takes quite a bit of work to get red to adjust to shade, but the process only burns shade more. it’s complicated, to put it simply, and takes time.

but that time passes. with enough quiet interactions without you there, with enough trust that the other truly has your best interest in mind.. they can connect. red shares the fire that drives him, shade chipping at the ice digging into his heart. they talk around the ashes of your campfire, slowly coming to a conclusion.

once shade and red fully reconcile, it’s… dangerous. shade’s constant need for your attention mixed with red’s need for your safety and immense distrust of anyone but nikki or the other reflections makes for a startlingly effective team. you’re happy they’ve made up, really, but shade seems to be pulling you away from your obligations more often, and red sticks closer to your side than ever. on one hand it’s nice to see them get along, and you do appreciate the affection, but on the other, it’s more than a little concerning. you just hope that nothing bad comes of it..

(you’re a bit too late for that)

[jaker-shit]

Dont trust anybody who says they’re “not a hateful person/don’t hate anybody”. They’ve obviously never worked any retail or service job.

[deep-spacediver577]

Here I come, rougher than the rest of them

The best of them, tougher than leather

You can call me Knuckles, unlike Sonic I don't chuckle

I'd rather flex my muscles

[frasermints]

Why is Joey's ankle sprain the worst case scenario? Week to week is good I thought

typically, w/ athletes that require a lot of ankle movement (basketball is where i saw most of my ankle injuries) week to week is a good sign. and if we can trust what leafs pr staff are saying (which, if you know me... I Do Not), then his sprain isn't worse than a grade two.

skates are designed the way they're designed for a reason. ankle support is a necessity so you can skate safely. that's why if you watch this video, OP is getting their shit rocked in the comments for wrapping their laces around their ankle - it creates the illusion of stability while actually destroying the integrity of the boot & setting them up for injury.

i have concerns that ayotte and bean and theodoropolous are going to either sign off on him getting back to on-ice activities too early - not even playing just fucking practice - or that woller himself will push too hard the second he's cleared out of a misplaced sense of obligation and he's going to resprain and it will be worse.

if you don't know, high ankle sprains are much worse than your average "i stepped down off the curb and fucked my foot up". high ankle sprains have an at minimum six to eight week heal time, often with the demand of no weight and zero movement for the first two. it can cause a rotational or shearing fracture at the end of the tibia/fibula where the ligaments insert, which was why he got the MRI yesterday. they had to know what they were working with to make sure he wasn't out for the season vs just out "week to week" (it's going to end up being at least a month. prepare for two.) they also sometimes require surgery and plating if there is a fracture involved, mostly because of where the break is. they have to make sure the bones of your leg stay where they're supposed to be.

because there isn't a lot of blood supply to ligament tissue, it's really hard for ligaments to heal. and because i don't have access to woller's mri results or ayotte's/bean's/theodoropolous' brains, i have no idea what they're planning on doing for a rest and rehab plan, if there's an incomplete tear, if it's grade one or grade two. i could keep going.

back to the ankle support skates thing - woller isn't skating miles every single night, but much of his job relies on his flexibility, ability to change direction quickly, ability to quite literally fold in on himself at a moment's notice. his ankles have to be stable AND flexible. that is not possible with any amount of leftover inflammation or injury.

woller is the entire leafs team. as much as i love willy and mo and mitch and everyone else. woller is the entire leafs team. keefe knows this. keefe is not a doctor. keefe has pushed them to the point of exhaustion a couple times this season. the only reason practice was cancelled after mo's 35+ minute game was because he literally could not get out of bed the next day. i don't know if i trust keefe's judgement when woller does come back. i just... i don't have a good feeling about it.

once you fuck up a joint, especially the ankle, especially where woller hurt his, it's fucked up for the rest of your life. he is very likely to do this again at least twice. maybe not during his career. maybe when he's retired. maybe during an offseason. but again - you guys see the shit he does in the net. he acts like he doesn't have any fucking bones. he runs around like he's a puppet on strings. like he's a fucking video game character. he does not treat his body kindly when he plays. i don't know what he does to cool down or warm up or whatever, but he treats his body poorly during games. this was inevitable. and i am scared for what happens during his recovery.

i do not give a fuck if we end this season 32 in the league. i do not care if we use marlies goalies for the rest of the season. all i need is leafs staff to listen to me when i tell them to let joseph woll recover at home for as long as he needs for his ankle to be at 100%, because if they don't, it will not be good for him.

[wrinkleintime]

87/366 my mom picked out a new chair today and im obsessed with how perfect it looks in this corner of her library

[king0fcrows]

.

[witchcatyoshiko]

Reading An Instruction in Shadow by Benedict Jacka

And I was laughing so hard because I imagine Stephen slowly managing to climb the fence and just quietly sliding down oh so awkwardly and uncomfortably while invisible as the guy stands there going “so you think you’re all big sh**?”

😹 just the most uncool escaping of sliding along the floor and rolling away in shadow while people are just yelling to the darkness “you think you know everything” and just silent Stephen being there on the ground back adhered to the wall thinking “could they possibly just explain everything to the darkness please because I’m just full blind right now”

Everyone is like “YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID!” And he’s like… “uh..” thinks about day of walking around with his cat eating a lump of bread and slice of cheese … “could you tell me?”

Alex Verus would call him an idiot for sure.

[indelen]

Wylan absolutely will reach "Toph Beifong pulling everyone's leg about being blind" levels of snark I just know it.

no but theres no way the crows didnt forget wylan cant read at least like??? 10 times?? like they be showing him some letter or whatever and he's all like 🤨🤨🤨 fine paper yea🤨