#I am an expert procrastinator

[emi-the-gremlin]

As you see I am not at all a fucking idiot

[the-stray-storyteller]

I can't look at preparation of haloalkanes from thionyl chloride, halogen acids, phosphorus halides, alkenes, alkanes and whatever the fuck I didn't name any more.

*goes into a corner and cries*

[virginsewerside]

vibecheck does martinaise get flooded or the physics of the pale dont let sea levels rise somehow? asking for a friend

[tofupixel]

Thank you for getting me to finally try pixel art! I‘ve always wanted to get into pixel art but I never knew what to start with and always ended up procrastinating. Your blog and the post you made on learning pixel art were what finally pushed me to give it a go. It was really helpful and I managed this little animation in Libresprite.

I definitely want to improve and your art is like the ultimate goal lol. Do you have any tips or instructions for how to get better or on what to focus on in the future? I‘d appreciate any kind of criticism/input you are willing to give! How do you manage to make such gigantic and beautiful landscapes?

thank you!! and i'm so happy you decided to give it a real go, you're doing great already!! the rendering on the body and the pink shading is really nice.

i can help a little with animation stuff but i'm not an expert, ill write something out about backgrounds at the end

i hope you don't mind but i edited the sprite a little, just to illustrate some stuff

🤺Animation stuff

i added an extra frame near the top of the arc so it slows down. this is called ease or slow in/out and usually happens at the beginning and end of movements. u can do even more slow but this is just a quick version

i also removed the middle frame (where the tail is straight down) to make the swing appear a bit more powerful. this could be the principle of timing in the same video. you can exaggerate smears if you do this, its up to you!! lately i tend to exaggerate stuff a lot, things arent super noticable in motion

i also got a good bit of advice from nickwoz that helped me, basically when you begin to animate, it really puts the rest of the sprite being still into focus. try to think of how you could animate other parts of the body, even subtly. and sometimes if individual pixels stay still they can catch the eye in an unintended way as well, just keep it in mind!!

if you want to learn animation more, you could take a look at duelyst sprites, they have incredible idle and ability animations, i study them a lot

heres one i downloaded a long time ago. i recommend just downloading stuff you like and looking at it!! i have a huge collection of pixel inspo. slowing animations down can really help you understand whats going on. its just a bunch of simple elements put together that makes it look so good.

IF U WANT MORE RESOURCES/ARTISTS I REOCMMEND TO GO AND STUDY LMK!!! IM LIKE A WIKIPEDIA, I AM A BIG FAN of pixel art and love to share

🌿 OK lets talk about landscape stuff

it looks like you have art experience already, but im gonna talk as if youre a complete noob cos it might help some other people who read this!! ur doing great 👍

❓ how to learn: study (and practise a lot)

what i mean by study: draw it, copy it, try to understand it. you can try to change characteristics about it. changing the angle or lighting can help u understand how something works in 3 dimensions.

sometimes it takes time, dont worry, you will figure out your own style through doing studies, its all a process

❓ how to draw landscape details?

study pixel artists and how they do it recommendations: fool, slym, jubilee, deceiver

also please look at real world references!! you got to build that visual library

❓ how to learn composition?

study traditional artists or animation. i did a ton of studies of ghibli backgrounds which i think helped my growth a lot recommendations: arcane, studio ghibli, traditional painters

im gonna break down a piece as well and maybe that will help. this is one from 2022 but its still one of my most popular and its pretty simple too!!

if we remove all the fancy stuff what we have is actually really simple. just a few large, overlapping shapes that all point towards our focal point. it's the brightest area with the most contrast and many edges point into it.

go to pinterest or google and just search "pretty landscape" or "mountains" or something and you can see what i'm doing is nothing special or unique!! break it down into bigger shapes to begin with, its just different areas of material mostly.

and heres how you can make any landscape from any colours. purple sky or mountain? orange grass? ok !! it all works, it doesnt matter. i just blend the colours.

when parts of the landscape are in the distance they become closer to the sky colour as there is more "sky" in between you and it. its called atmospheric perspective. so if the sky was red, the clouds would fade towards red.

OKKK i dont know what else to say so i hope that helps!! honestly 90% of what i do is intuitive and hard for me to really explain, so you dont have to know The Rules, you just kind of pick up stuff as you go.

GL and thanks so much for showing me your art!! please keep going!! 💕💕💕💕

[missyandthemisfits]

Obi/Hinawa x Reserved!Fem! Reader 

A/N Requested a whiiile ago, I'm so sorry for the wait *cries in procrastination*

)()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()(

Akitaru Obi

- Obi likes to think he's a nice cross between a serious, strong willed leader and a fun guy to be around - and he'd be correct in his assumptions.

- He doesn't take himself too terribly seriously but also knows when and how to command authority and as such, has experience handling all sorts of personality types; so meeting someone as even tempered and reserved as (Name)?

- Truthfully, it's almost like a breath of fresh air .

- He approaches her like he approaches anyone; with kindness and a warm smile, careful not to startle her out of her book but speaking just loud enough for her to know he's addressing her. 

- Somehow, she's still a bit jumpy despite his approach but he makes sure not to draw any attention to it, introducing himself with an outstretched hand, patiently waiting for her to take it. They're pretty fast friends and from then on, it's like they lean towards the other's company more than they realize.

- It's subconsciously grained into them a few months after meeting; Anytime they're in a room together one will gravitate toward the other, sitting or standing, exchange glances and smiles all the while, even during team meetings. 

- She just feels... really seen with him. And very safe. 

- And she's always incredibly attentive, able to scope out his emotional state with pinpoint accuracy, even when he's trying not to make a spectacle of it.

- In fact, they soon realize how much emotional support the other provides, mere seconds later realizing just how much the other means.

- He wastes no time confessing his feelings.

- "-And I know this might be sudden, but I'd very much like to take you out to lunch some time. Honestly, I think you're a real catch (Name), and I'd hate to miss out on the opportunity. Life's too short." 

- The confession is so forward yet well meaning it sends (Name) into shock; a blushing, stuttering shock.

- But he waits patiently, albeit slightly nervous, for her reply; it's a yes, of course. 

Takehisa Hinawa 

- Hinawa is...a very no-nonsense individual, one could take a single look at him and tell.

- It's because of this fact that he actually strongly prefers someone a little more reserved than most. That said upon meeting (Name), he was convinced that if the infernals didn't eat her alive, the rigorous Fire Force training would. To his surprise, he was dead wrong. In fact, she excelled.

- She was capable of taking out swarms of Infernals in seconds with expert offensive abilities partnered with spot on defensive capabilities. She was tactical and focused, something he noticed many of his peers lacked even on the battlefield. He grew to respect her prowess, honestly. 

- "Excellent work out there, (Name)."

- "!!!"

- She gasped loudly, startled at the approach of the man and his seemingly random compliment. 

- He watched in disbelief as she subconsciously backs into a wall, facing him, face reddened. 

- He doesn't necessarily lose respect for her, but he certainly thinks twice before approaching her unexpectedly again - not hard for him at all, but she does feel pretty bad for overreacting.

- Works up the nerve to apologize but also stumbles into a very unexpected confession. 

- "...Th-that is to say... I respect you as a Lieutenant and-,"

- "So am I wrong to assume you want a pursue a romantic relationship?" 

- "Um...!"

- (Name) is at war with herself for a few more moments and he sighs, running a hand through his hair with the tiniest blush, gaze averted somewhere to the side. 

- "...I only ask because I myself might be interested..."

- It's... less than romantic but (Name) can tell it took him a lot to say it. She could tell they'd be taking their time in this thing, together. 

)()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()(

[honeybubbledivination]

What Does Your Higher Self Want You To Know? ✨🐝

[tw!!. mentions of sexual situations for a pile, mentions of trauma and possibly abusive situations. Please use your own discretion and discernment!!!]

Hey, hey!!! Thank you for your patience for this reading! Honestly, had some procrastination moments and had some things come up, so it took me a little longer than usual! I have a few disclaimers for this one because it gets a little heavy in some of the piles.

Make sure if you are leaving an abusive situation that you are doing things the safe way. I don’t know details of specific situations, but please make sure that you’re doing things in a way that keeps you as safe as you can be. There’s nuance to every situation and I’m not an expert to your life. I’m just a 22 year old young woman on the internet. Reach out to your community for help if you can. Be safe! I am not a professional nor do I offer legal or medical advice! I just interpret cards! Thank you! ✨🐝

[Sacred Light Oracle’ by Anna Stark and Selena Moon are the cards featured below to represent the piles!]

Pile one: Cathedral of Light

Forever & Always - TS TV

Snow On The Beach - TS feat Lana Del Rey

Mamushi - Megan Thee Stallion feat Yuki Chiba

Do I Make You Nervous? - Lilyisthatyou

‘The Wild Unknown: Archetypes’ by Kim Krans: The Vessel, The Self, The Orphan, The Ocean, The Queen, The Bridge, The Box, The Empty Room, The Shadow

‘White Ligh Oracle’ by Alana Fairchild and A. Andrew Gonzalez: Seraph of 963Hz, Tantra of 639

‘Tarot of The Divine’ by Yoshi Yoshitani: 2oP, KoW Rx, KnoW Rx, 6oC, 3oC, 4oS Rx, 6oP, 5oP, 1oC, The Hermit, KnoP, Temperance, The Moon, 3oW, The World, The Star Rx, 3oS, 1oP, The Fool, 4oC, QoW

Welcome to your reading, Pile One! I have an inkling you’re a returning bee! Or, if you’re just seeing this, go check out my other pac readings to see if they resonate with you! I feel light right now you’re a little in your shadow. The energy of the highest self that came to me for this section of the collective is very light and airy, but I can feel the depth under the surface. You may be a water sign or have prominent water placements (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces) as well as Libra placements. Also, three, six, and nine may be significant. You’ve been struggling with letting a certain manipulative energy go. I wouldn’t say they’re masculine or feminine because I feel like they’re really just a narcissist and they aren’t aligning with anything specific because that would limit how they can utilize control. They’re manipulative, thinks with the wrong head, and drains your wallet. I see you’re still focused on what could be versus what is. Your shadow is there to protect you and help you blend into ‘darker’ energies, but I don’t feel like I’m talking to someone of ‘dark’ energy or anything like that. You’re not a bad person for being a little spiteful or petty, but your higher self is asking you to let go of this energy that’s holding you back and step into a period of color. Bridge the gap within yourself and realize while being human is complex, respecting yourself is not. One message that stood out to me was from the ‘White Light Oracle’. “This oracle brings a message straight from the Divine to you: Let me love you.” Let your higher self love you. Who cares if you’re single or have to leave friends or family behind? When you have yourself, you’re not alone. You are one person who can’t abandon you, so focus on being creative and getting your bag! I hope this brings the final confirmation that you needed! Be good to yourself and invest in YOU! No more energy vampires, no more wasting time on idiots! Be kind and patient to yourself and find ways to heal and get what you need out of this life! If I pull on this energy again, I better see improvements! (Just kidding, but I really do hope that if you resonate with this and you relate to my previous readings with these themes, I sincerely hope you find peace within yourself and your life. You deserve to be happy and not have to feel like you’re constantly defending yourself and your actions. Especially since you haven’t done anything wrong. 🫶🏻). Please stay safe as for some of you I feel like this situation is really, really toxic. Make sure you have all of your bases covered and move with caution! This isn’t for everyone, but for some of you I felt like you needed to know that you’re seen and heard by God and you’ll get through this with a little tactfulness, faith, and patience. You will get through this! Love and Light, busy bee!!!

- Bunny 💛🍯

Pile Two: Cosmic Gateway

The Prophecy - TS

Slither - Metallica

In Between - Gracie Abrams

I Can Do It With A Broken Heart - TS

‘The Wild Unknown: Archetypes’ by Kim Krans: Alethia,The Underworld, The Vision, The Mask, Kairos, The Cave, Gnosis. The Sustainer, The Pilgrim, The Self, The Queen, The King, The Lover, The Kiss, Agape, The Heart, The Flame, The Threshold

‘White Ligh Oracle’ by Alana Fairchild and A. Andrew Gonzalez: Spirit Bear of 396Hz, Dvara Patra

‘Tarot of The Divine’ by Yoshi Yoshitani: 3oS Rx, The tower Rx, the devil rx, 10oS, KoS, PgoP Rx, KnoW rx, The magician Rx, 7oP, 5oS, 8oP, 8oS, 4oP, 2oP, The Wheel of Fortune, 3oC Rx, The Moon, 4oS Rx, QoW, KoP, Judgement, KnoC, Death, The Star

Pile Two! Welcome! This collective’s higher self spoke of overcoming a lot of pain, grief and now coping with loneliness as you navigate a new chapter of your life. I see that you’ve spent a lot of your life being forced to believe that you’re less than what you truly are. You’ve had people come in and out of your life and always assumed that the only common denominator is you, so that means you’re the problem. You aren’t. I wouldn’t say that on a whim because accountability for your actions is the base of being a decent human, but it feels like everytime you mess up you take responsibility for it. You own up to what you’ve done and you try to make amends I see that recently, there was a situation with a longtime friend where you had to finally put your foot down. They were purposefully putting you down and blocking what is rightfully yours (manifestations and things that are divinely yours). Heavy on the leech energy. You may have never been in a relationship or only have had kinda halfway relationships (situationships, friendships with unclear boundaries). Or you just overly romanticize toxic situations and relationships due to your upbringing and have no real concept of a healthy relationship. You’ve spent a lot of your life believing that you’re unlovable, Pile Two. And that’s just not the case. You’ve been able to cut out the bull from people trying to siphon off of your energy and get back to what is really important, you’ll be able to focus on yourself and learn to truly love and uplift yourself. In doing this, you’ll be given what you’ve always wanted. Someone to love you as much as you love them and truly understand you. (All things take work, don’t expect perfection after the first date.) They may remind you a bit of the friend you cut off, but they aren’t here as a test so use your best judgement and work through your triggers! Now, please use discretion and discernment with anything I say about love. You aren’t here to just give love. You’re here to receive it, too. And that includes yourself. You are love, you’re made of it. Embrace the inner beauty and complexities that is your existence and realize that though the journey may have been painful to get where you are now and you may feel more alone than ever, YOU are worth fighting for and the only person that will ALWAYS fight on your team is yourself and whatever deity you follow. It’s good to be cautious and critical of your surroundings, but loosen up and remember to still relax and have fun! Princess/Prince Charming isn’t just gonna knock on your door! I mean… unless they’re a Fed-Ex worker hehe. Just kidding! Lighten up and enjoy life, Pile Two! Your higher self wants you to enjoy your journey from here on out! The storm is over, go find the rainbow! 🌈✨

- Bunny 🍯💛

Pile Three: Violet Fire

Meddle About - Chase Atlantic

Distracted - Honey Revenge

Put You Through Me - Arrows In Action

Caraphernelia - Pierce The Veil

(honorable mention: Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too - Say Anything)

‘The Wild Unknown: Archetypes’ by Kim Krans: The River, The Starborn, The Flame, The Vision, The Underworld, The Unseen, The Hunter, Thanatos, The Shaman, The Mentor, The Storm, Eros

‘White Ligh Oracle’ by Alana Fairchild and A. Andrew Gonzalez: Ivory Wish-Fulfilling Crow, Archon Barbelo

‘Tarot of The Divine’ by Yoshi Yoshitani: 4oW, 1oW, 6oS, 5oW, The Moon, 4oS Rx, 10oC, 4oC, The Sun Rx, The Empress Rx, 3oP, 9oS Rx, KnoW Rx, The World, 10oP, Death, 9oC. KnoP Rx, 8oC, QoP, 1oC, 8oS, 5oC Rx, 3oW Rx

Hey, hey, pile three! You had an emo phase and never left it, didn’t you? (Same hehe) This energy is a bit overwhelmingly sexual, but then once I started pulling more and more I realized you seem to use your sexuality as a front or overly sexualize yourself. But!! This isn’t a bad thing!! It can be really powerful as long as you are remembering that you aren’t just a sexual object. You’re a human being and worthy of respect and tenderness. It’s okay to have a darker aesthetic and be into more ‘taboo’ things (within reason, don’t do gross illegal stuff pals), but you need to remember that you’re allowed to be multifaceted and utilize that unique energy for a multitude of different things! Humans have complexities and you’re allowed to embrace that! Please, please remember to be kind to yourself and don’t use your lifestyle as a way to actively punish yourself! Plus, I hope you’re using that energy to manifest what you want out of this life! It’s potent! Use your energy for fun and I honestly believe you could be a great psychologist or maybe a sex therapist? Something of that sort! Use your knowledge and any kind of pain to help people! (If you’re comfy with that! Everyone’s journey is so vastly different, but I really did feel there was a sweetness to this collective that not very many people get the privilege of knowing because they write you off because you’re too attractive or considered too sexual or whatever. That’s stupid. Everyone has trauma and everyone is supposed to heal. I hope you find more people in your life that get to see another side of you and make you feel genuinely safe enough to ease your guard.) You’re powerful as you are, but just remember to be soft with yourself. You’re worthy of sweetness. Love and Light, little bee!

- Bunny 💛🍯

Pile Four: Light Activation

(You’re The) Devil In Disguise - Elvis Presley

Dial Drunk - Noah Kahan

Bejeweled - TS

My Own Worst Enemy - Lit

‘The Wild Unknown: Archetypes’ by Kim Krans: The Threshold, The Hunter, The Judge, The Crone, The Thread, The Destroyer, The Creator, The Shaman, Anima Mundi

‘White Ligh Oracle’ by Alana Fairchild and A. Andrew Gonzalez: Solve Polluti 741 Hz, Spirit Owl of 852 Hz

‘Tarot of The Divine’ by Yoshi Yoshitani: 1oC, 10oC, 10oW, The World, PgoS, 8oW, 3oC Rx, KoW, PgoW, 9oP, 4oP, KnoS Rx, The Moon Rx, The Emperor Rx, 7oP, KoS Rx, The High Priestess Rx

Welcome, Pile Four! I’ve never read for this collective and it was honestly a tougher one! This collective is very secretive and was kind talking in riddles a lot. I had to kinda piece things together like a puzzle! What I got from your higher self is that you’re in a crone era of your life, so you’re probably a bit older and towards the ‘end’ of your life. Meaning, you don’t have those super hard life lessons as much as you used to in the maiden or mother days! You’ve integrated all parts of yourself and you know when to utilize your shadow aspects and your light aspects! Today, I felt like I was supposed to just give you a warning about a potential false guru or prophet. Someone is pretending to be something they aren’t. It may be a group or you’ve known this person from the time they were a child to adulthood. They’re coming out as court-cards swords reversed (King, Knight, and Page as mentioned above.) They could be wishing you harm or trying to do something behind your back to drain you. I do feel like you’ve already pinpointed who this is and you’re well aware of what to do next. Otherwise, there was mention of another young person who seems similar to this swords person. They’re more creative, less vindictive, and have a passionate spark for life (King + Page of Wands), or they might be connected to this person in some way! Like a child or something like that! They’re going to be fine and won’t fall down the same path as the Swords person. This was very specific and I hope whoever’s this is for gets it! Special thanks to your higher self for allowing me to relay the message because they didn’t seem to want to tell me much at first, but I was able to gain some kind of respect from them! I hope you got what you needed for this! See ya around and good health to you! ✨

- Bunny 💛🍯

Bunny’s Note: Thanks for buzzing by for a reading! And thank you to you and your high self for allowing me to peep into your energy to offer some advice to you! I may do a divine feminine reading next! Specifically about shadow work or possibly doing a reading on some entry level shadow work. I’ll brew up some ideas and see what I can figure out! Thank you so much again for all your support and interacting with my posts! It’s means a lot to me!! I hope this post was able to give you the guidance or clarification you need! Love and light, busy bees!! If you’d like to tip me, my ko-fi is below! The minimum donation is $1! No pressure to send anything!

[hylianchampion17]

My “Clothing of Hyrule” project is here!!!!

after months of work and procrastination, i’m ready to show you guys the first draft of my Clothing of Hyrule google doc!!!

keep in mind some spelling may be incorrect and some sections are not fully finished, but it’s pretty far along now so i wanted to get your feedback on it! enjoy :)))

special thanks to @silaluke for inspiring parts of this project!

[losing-dog-art]

I just drafted all of this then lost it I'm going through a wall

Finished murderbot concept!!!

With bonus version with clothes 🎉

I have been making a lot of art lately (this is because I am procrastinating other things 😶)

Explanations below the cut (there was going to be a video but tumblr decided to fuck that)

So I have this old post about some head cannons for MBs appearance, but doing this full body design involved more thinking

I find it interesting that MB really only ever describes it's appearance when it's relevant to the plot/fight/scene, so anything that isn't relevant is left to our imagination. That being said:

MB says all it's inorganic parts are covered by a long sleeve shirt with a collar, pants and shoes. This means no inorganic parts on its face or hands

MB says it has no organic parts on its feet.

Slightly deeper cuts but MB mentions that it has inorganic and organic parts around its knees (I believe in exit strategy) and that it has an accessible company under its ribs (artificial condition)

People are often surprised when they see MB out of armor -- people who aren't familiar with secunits don't expect it to look as human as it does

MBs skin is canonically clear af (network effect I think)

Based on those handful of canon details, you can imagine Mb a lot of different ways -- this is great! And I've said before I think Martha Wells does this very much intentionally. So, that being said, here is some of my thoughts in this interpretation:

Based on that last point, MB looks surprisingly human. For me, this means soft facial features, eyelashes, and more organic parts than you might expect. Also, the inorganic parts are also round and nice looking -- this is partly just me thinking in a fun sci-fi way but also secunits are designed to be comforting

I've seen some people give it mechanical legs that are kind of bird-like or resemble running prosthetics. I think this is super cool and it makes a lot of sense-- those legs are basically a better form of bipedalism and let you run faster etc. BUT they would significantly change your gait. And thus be something MB considers when it is trying to pass as human. So I gave it more human feet, with the important toes and everything

I'm no expert on robotics or anatomy, but I really tried to think a little bit functionally. How would a secunit fold? How would it bend over, squat down, etc? I tried to give the look of some kind of shock system in the ankles, and conical-axis based joints. the hip area is probably the weak point in my design in this areas, idk, imagine ball bearings or something

For clothes, it's pretty straightforward. MB describes this more than a few times, but I tried to give some slightly fun sci-fi decoration bits

I tried to think about how androgyny might be generated in a silhouette in an unintentional way -- androgyny that is the result of functional design decisions and not aesthetic ones.

Idk. I had a lot of fun with this. This took about 4 hours (I've been trying not to overwork stuff lately and let the process show through) I might try and post the speed-draw video later? As a reblog perhaps. Idk Tumblr didn't like it the first time

Also a girl on bumble mentioned reading all systems red and I had to act so normal

[stormy-river]

Transcripts from the Humanity Hotline

If someone else has done something similar to this, I haven't seen it and I apologize. Otherwise, this is something I thought would be funny, and writing allows me to procrastinate on other things. Without further ado,

As an effort to foster trust and good will in the wake of the intergalactic treaty convention, many ships from the allied planets began to integrate other species into their crews. The need for experts and mediators to handle interspecies conflicts became quickly apparent. Of all the species, humans were reported to cause the most problems and misunderstandings, leading to the creation of the Humanity Hotline.

-------

Thank you for calling the humanity hotline. You will be connected with an operator shortly to answer any questions you may have regarding humans. This call may be recorded for training purposes.

Operator: "Hi, thank you for holding. My name is Mindy. What can I call you, and how may I help you today?"

Caller: "Yes, hello. I am Krryssk, the Personnel Officer of my ship. We recently hired a human, and she has been exhibiting strange behaviors. I am unsure how to handle this, or if I should worry for the safety of the crew."

O: "Alright, could you describe the behaviors? When did they start?"

C: "Yes, when we first hired her approximately six days ago, she was very quiet and kept to herself, fitting perfectly with the usual dynamic of the crew. But today, multiple crewmembers have reported that she has been making gestures at them and gave them things she calls, 'crochet', that she claims to have made. The crew is unsure of their purpose, and why she seems to be targeting only some of them with these actions. I searched our archives for this 'crochet', and found that is is made of yarn from an Earth animal's skin? What should I do to stop this? Is it some kind of code or signal of predatory intent?"

O: "Ah, I see. First, the yarn used for knitting and crocheting is not made from skin. Some yarns are made from the wool, or hair, of an animal, but yarn can also be made from sources other than animals. I believe I know why your human is acting this way, but to confirm my theory, are the crewmates she is... 'targeting'... the ones she works with the closest, or interacts with the most? And do the gestures involve moving an open hand back and forth in the air?"

C: "Yes! Yes, how did you know?"

O: "Alright. It is most likely that she is trying to befriend her crewmates. Hand-waving is a non-vocal greeting, acknowledgement, or goodbye, and some humans give gifts, such as handmade crochet, to people they care about or want to get to know better."

C: "So there is no predatory intent? I had heard that humans needed to socialize, but the captain said they hired the least social human they could find."

O: "Yes, many of the asocial or low-social species have done that, only to find that the human wasn't actually asocial, just shy or introverted. If possible, the crew can make their own gestures of acknowledgement in response to a wave, and just say, 'thank you,' for the gifts. That will likely keep her happy. For the long term, if the rest of the crew are asocial and uncomfortable socializing with her, you may want to hire another human or other social species. It's never good to have only one social crewmember."

C: "I will speak to the captain. Thank you."

End Transmission

[datesinredink]

Yan turtles (rottmnt) with an m/c that’s allergic to reptiles/turtles? Idk I just think it would be funny (not Donnie trying to get m/c into getting injections to help the allergy-)

ANON I AM SO SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG BCIRBIFUNUIEH

Super duper sorry i ended up procrastinating really hard and i guess god took issue with that because he struck me down with multiple QAs and a Feelings crisis but the tests are over and I finally managed to sit down and finish Raph's part- seriously i struggled with him and mikey a lot but i guess it was kinda worth it in the end because Raph has an entire 110 more words to his part than the other three- hopefully it makes up for my lack of knowledge of his character. Enjoy!

Donnie

“My inspiration for this device was simplicity-”

Yeah you’re getting a hazmat suit until your allergies either magically disappear or he figures out some other solution

You’ll probably have to do a lot of tests, including possibly a blood draw but I’m no medical expert- since I headcanon Leo to be the medic he’ll probably end up helping too

After he finally puts the pieces together, he’ll start working with Leo to engineer a medicine to help suppress your allergic reaction, and maybe even be able to get rid of it entirely

Also anon you’re very right, you may be subjected to becoming the human pincushion of allergy shots while he figures it out. It’s safe. No it won’t kill you. Yes he made sure. Just, uh, maybe don’t ask your best friend their opinion on needles for a while….

In the meantime, he completely hates the current situation. He finally meets someone that he’s (mostly) fine with touching him, and they CAN’T TOUCH HIM without a HAZMAT SUIT. Just the worst. Awful times.

Normally, he’d have you around almost always, but, unfortunately, that’s currently not ideal.

Starts trying to keep things extra clean around the lair for you. Also everything that can be sanitized is sanitized. Good luck in the cleanliness prison after you get kidnapped later on.

The best about keeping distance, since he already wasn't super touchy before this whole situation. While he might tap you on the arm or something once or twice, it's nothing serious and you won't have a problem with him on that front.

Going back to the hazmat suit real quick, while it does do its job well, it's definitely not the most comfortable thing to wear, and you'll probably end up getting too hot pretty quick, so chances are you won't willingly be wearing it all too often. Donnie may occasionally force you to wear it, but otherwise you (usually) just... don't have to.

Leo

He’s the one who finds out you’re allergic. It was an accident he SWEARS. He only wanted to give you a pat on the arm when April first introduced you to them! How could he have known you’d get hives where he touched you?

At least he knows how to treat it. He managed to guide April through treating it, after which he sulked while rereading some Jupiter Jim comics.

Has a personal grudge against your immune system for daring to make you allergic to him. How dare your cells get mad about him.

When Donnie tells him that he might have “a fix, bro”, Leo jumps at the opportunity- oh thank god, he can finally hug you!

…Doesn’t mean he’s not super bad at focusing on actually working on it. Don’t worry, he’ll fix it eventually, just have a little patience.

Honestly, this is your chance to BOOK IT away from them, because none of them are as clingy as they will be after your allergies are cured/suppressed, which gives you more time to leave New York before things go from bad to worse.

Anyway, Leo’s about as clingy as he can be without physically clinging onto you for hours on end. Constantly hanging around you, like a ghost haunting their killer, except you’re not the one who kills people.

He might end up using your allergy to try and manipulate you away from his brothers. Mikey keeps forgetting to keep distance, Donnie’s suffocating and makes you wear a hazmat suit, and Raph almost treats you like a sopping wet cat that he has to take care of, so why not just stay with him? 

As much as he likes to criticize Mikey for forgetting, sometimes, particularly early on, he gets a little too close, and your allergies flare up, and while he does genuinely feel kinda bad, he will exaggerate his remorse for sympathy from you. He genuinely does try and apologize for it later, and he probably portals you two somewhere nice and gets you a couple of trinkets you like or find useful.

Mikey

Absolutely heartbroken!

His love is allergic to him! This is awful!

2nd most panicked when they first find out. Is their new friend ok? Did they mess up?

If you have a low tolerance for pain/allergic reaction symptoms and cry a little he probably will too. High empathy, man…

He’s really understanding after everything’s resolved and they figure out you’re allergic to them. He tries his best to keep a fair amount of distance between you and him, but he tends to naturally be physically affectionate, so there may be a slight adjustment period. He really doesn’t mean harm though.

He occasionally tries to bring you something from the mystic city that he thinks would be safe- a small figurine, maybe a sketchbook if you also like doing art, if he manages to bargain for/steal a piece of jewelry, he’ll also give that to you.

As I mentioned before, Mikey’s pretty big on physical touch, but since that’s off limits (for now) he’ll try to show you affection in any other way he can think of

Mostly quality time. He likes to take you with him when he explores through the sewers/city to spraypaint a couple of blank walls, and he’ll probably get you to try it too, and regardless of your skill level he’ll tell you it’s great

After Donnie and Leo finish making the cure, Mikey squeezes the LIFE out of you- he doesn’t mean to practically strangle you, but he’s fairly strong and he got excited, so he does feel a little bad afterwards.

Will decorate the hazmat suit Donnie gave you if you let him. He'll put stickers on it that match his and draw fun patterns that may or may not relate to him in some way. Maybe the spots he has, or the face on his knee pads. It's pretty endearing, even if his brothers may occasionally glare at him. In Mikey's opinion, if they're really that jealous, they should add something themselves.

Raph

And the award for most paranoid goes to….

Ok but really, he’s the most overbearing about it. This probably isn’t a surprise, but it’s still something I've gotta mention.

You don’t really have to worry about Donnie making you wear the hazmat suit- he gets it, not a fun sensory experience- other than a couple stand-out occasions, but you will have to convince Raph fairly often that you’ll be fine without it.

To be fair, it’s partially because he also forgets not to touch you sometimes, and while he’s better about it than Mikey and most of the time Leo, he’s also self-aware and protective enough that he’d rather be safe than sorry.

If you’re having an allergic reaction, he’ll either get Leo/Donnie/April to help you, or go find the hazmat suit Donnie made him a while ago when Splinter got sick and then help you himself

There’s a chance he might not do great though, as he’s not always the best under pressure and tends to panic when the people he loves are hurt or in some sort of extreme situation, especially when it comes to you (seriously, he treats you like a porcelain doll), but you can be reassured that he’ll do his absolute best to make you safe and comfortable.

Feels terrible after, pampers you a lot after the ordeal. Every time, not just the first few.

If he wasn’t the one who caused it, then he’s definitely pissed at whichever of his brothers made your allergies flare up. He won’t kill them, and he won’t lose it and drop kick them into tomorrow (yet. If they ever intentionally trigger your allergies he might snap some bones) but there will be a noticeable irritation and tension for at least the next few weeks between him and them.

He’s super excited after Donnie and Leo finish the allergy shots! I personally headcanon him to be the second touchiest of the brothers (Mikey being the most touchy, of course) so there’ll be a lot more casual touch between you two after. Hugs, headpats, you get the idea. If you try to tell him to stop, he’ll be very upset, though doing his best to understand, he will try to respect your wishes.. Before going right back to it after a week tops. Sometimes he genuinely does forget, after all, he does have a fair amount on his plate, but sometimes he does intentionally wait until he thinks he can get away with it again before jumping right back to how things were before. He’ll vehemently deny it, but no matter what happens, you’ll likely never really get him to stop for an extended period of time.

[armandposting]

hey pirate show friends! in honor of my boat graduation and because I'm procrastinating my work I thought I'd make a post about some super basic sail mechanics/terminology for all your writing-about-ships needs. this just covers the very broad strokes that you'd need to convincingly talk about what's happening on a ship while there's other stuff going on, or to insert some ship-based drama. I'm not an expert and I'm only practically familiar with one tallship that's much later in period than the Revenge. but here are some things I did not know before sail training that I think could be helpful or provide some fun jumping off points for writing! this is super long but I am super procrastinating. hopefully it's helpful to someone. if not, I at least wasted a fun hour thinking about things that aren't my day job.

1. what are the basic types of sails?

for a square-rigged ship like the Revenge, you will have both "square sails" and "fore-and-aft sails." square sails are set perpendicular to the masts and, obviously, are roughly square. they are "bent onto" (meaning connected to) the "yards," which are the horizontal pieces of wood that cross the mast. fore-and-aft sails are set going, well, fore and aft, meaning they follow the line of the ship. these can include staysails (triangular sails bent onto the "stays," or wires that support the masts, and therefore run down the middle of the ship), jibs (also triangular and bent onto stays or wires, but going out along the jibboom and bowsprit, which are the spars that extend forward of the ship's bow), spankers (a large trapezoidal-ish fore-and-aft sail bent onto booms (basically like a fore-and-aft yard) off the mizzen mast, which is towards the stern of the boat, and acts as a wind rudder), and more. some older ships also had spritsails, which were small square sails bent onto yards that hang off the bowsprit. they look very silly in my opinion but to each their own. these aren't all the kinds of sails but they'll cover your basics.

ships can also have any number of sails. full size square-rigged ships can have as few as two or as many as five square sails on each mast. the lowest and largest sail can be called either the mainsail or the course, and are further specified by saying which mast it's on (i.e., the fore course, main course, or mizzen course). going upwards and assuming a five-sail mast, you've next got the lower topsail, upper topsail, topgallant (pronounced t'gallant), and royal. the staysails are named for the mast they connect to. so the most forward might be the "fore topmast staysail," indicating a sail that is connected to the upper part of the foremast.

2. how are sails controlled?

the vast majority of sail control actually comes from the deck and does not require having people aloft, or in the rigging (I'll address the reasons to have people aloft in the next section).

each sail has a number of "lines" (ropes) connected to it at different points that control whether the sail is "set" (fully extended) or "doused" (pulled up towards the yard). more lines are connected to the yards and control how the sail is oriented. the yards can be pulled back and forth, some of them can be pulled up and down, and their angle relative to the horizon can also be adjusted. the square sails on a mast all work together as they are stacked on top of each other and often have interconnected rigging. the lines all come down to the deck and are "belayed" (a figure-eight shaped way of wrapping the rope) around a "pin." the pins may be on a rail that wraps around the ship (the "pinrail"), on a rail that makes a square shape around a mast (a "fiferail"), or on a metal band wrapped around a mast (a "spider rail.") (there are other rails also, especially on the headdeck, which is the most forward, and the quarterdeck, which is the most aft. don't worry about it.)

some things you might do with sails from deck:

set sails (pulling the foot of the sail all the way to the next lowest yard so that it is fully extended and can fill with wind)

douse sails (pulling the foot of the sail up to its yard so that it is no longer catching as much wind. you can leave the sail doused if you might need to set it again, or you can send people aloft to furl it if you do not need it or are in conditions where it is dangerous to have a loose sail)

conduct manuevers, i.e. turn the ship

the three basic manuevers are tacking, wearing, and boxhauling, but all of them are just ways to turn the ship and change course. you can look up the particulars of these manuevers if you're interested, but I think the most important part from a writing perspective is knowing the initial commands. there are a whole series of commands for each of these manuevers but the opening ones you might most need are:

for a tack, the captain or conn (person in charge of issuing manuevering orders), first calls "ready about!" one of the other orders that might be dramatic to have in a writing situation is "helms a'lee," which occurs after ready about and prompts the person at the helm to turn it.

for a wear (the most common and least work-intensive way to turn most large tallships, though it loses you more ground), the order is "prepare to wear ship!"

for a boxhaul (essentially a three-point turn for when you do not have a lot of space to manuever), the order is "stand by to boxhaul!"

you can also stop the ship by "heaving to" (past tense: "hove to"), where you rotate the yards in opposition to each other so that the sails form a right angle with each other, which loses you all of your wind power.

these might change by period or tradition, but are the most common I'm aware of.

the commands for setting and dousing sails are pretty straightforward- you're just going to say "on the [fore/main/mizzen], set/douse your [sail]!" someone lower in the chain of command might also say "hands to the [sail] gear." whatever needs to get done is then accomplished by hauling on, easing (letting go slowly and under control) or casting off the relevant lines.

4. so what do people do aloft?

going up into the rigging is referred to as "laying aloft." you do this by climbing the "shrouds," which are those things you always see people in Boat Media climbing on-- they look like big nets or ladders that extend from the rails of the ship up to the masts. the shrouds may go to "cranelines" (small footropes that allow you to access the middle of a mast between yards, which is often where staysails are stowed), to platforms/crow's nests, or to "footropes," which are strung under each yard. there is also the "headrig," which is a system of footropes and stays that form what looks like a net under and around the jibboom and bowsprit and allow those areas to be accessed. all of these need to be tarred and otherwise repaired, and if a line parts (breaks) a new one needs to be rigged. masts may also need to be tarred or painted and other hardware might need to be repaired, checked, or replaced, such as "blocks" (pulleys that help lines move), shackles, and hooks. you might also need to bend on sails, or even replace entire masts if you're doing heavy repairs in port. people doing these jobs might carry tools or materials tied off in canvas buckets, or ride on a "bosun's chair," which is a wooden swing that can be tied to a gantline and used to lift a person up into the rigging or down over the side of the ship (like stede during the lighthouse fuckery or lucius when he's supposed to clean barnacles).

for non-maintenance related activities, the only things that really need to be done aloft are loosing and furling the sails.

square sails are kept, when idle, rolled and tied to their yards (furled). fore and aft sails are also furled, which depending on the sail may also mean tying it to a mast, or it may mean bundling it down against a stay or spar.

before a ship gets underway, the sails therefore need to be loosed (untied). a captain might not order all sails to be loosed at once when first starting out. if there's heavy winds, you might only need a few sails to get the speed you're going for. in light winds, you might need all of them. the order of loosing on a ship with five square sails per mast is typically: lower topsail, upper topsail, t'gallant, royal, course. but this is ultimately up to the captain's discretion. the courses have a lot of power and you might not need or want that much power when the winds are high.

to loose a sail, sailors are ordered to lay aloft, where they range out along the yard of the sail they're loosing. they stand on the footropes and hold onto a metal rail called the "jackstay." on each side of the yard, there are 3-5 "gaskets" holding the sail tied to the yard. these are loosed as sailors lay out along the yard (the knot is called a butterfly and can be pulled out in one easy motion). then each person stops at their gasket and "gasket coils" it, which coils the gasket up nicely so that it sits right at the yard and doesn't flap around the sail. gasket coils can also be undone easily by flipping one part of the coil over and then just letting the rest fall. the sail can then be set from deck.

you might need to "sea stow" a sail if you have to furl them very hastily, for example if a storm is coming. in this case you'd lay aloft, loose a couple of gasket coils, and spiral them widely inboard (towards the mast) and tie them off. the goal is not to look pretty, just to be fast. the sail will be doused from deck, and the hardest part of this is gathering up the sail the rest of the way so that it can be tied down. you lean your hips against the yard, reach over, and gather up chunks of the sail, tucking them under your belly until you have all of it, and then tie your gaskets. it's hard to do because you are not working together as closely or as carefully in a sea stow situation, and also potentially because the conditions are garbage.

sails ideally are stored in a "harbor furl," particularly, as the name implies, in harbor, where you are not likely to quickly need them loose again, and you have the time to put them away nicely. also, ship people judge each other if these don't look nice. this is a much more synchronized manuever. the sail is doused from deck, then sailors lay aloft in the same way as they did for loosing. here, the people with the hardest jobs are the ones up first, who go out to the farthest points of the yard (the "yardarm"). everyone begins to gather up the sail in the same manner as a sea stow, leaning over the yard and tucking folds of the sail under your stomach. the people at the yardarm are also dealing with the blocks and gear at the lower outside corners ("clews") of the sails. their job is more technically complicated and so they control the rhythm of everyone's gathering. once the sail has been folded and furled nicely with the "sun skin" facing out (protecting the rest of the sail from the elements), the person on the weather (side the wind is coming from) yardarm calls, in rhythm, "roll-ing home," or something similar, which prompts everyone to roll the sail up on top of the yard in unison. then each person wraps their gasket around the sail and yard, ties it off, and heads back down. again, that command might vary by period and tradition.

5. what are some things I could throw in my story for drama?

here are just a few:

a line could part! this is actually not uncommon on buntlines, which are one of the lines that help set and douse sails. when one of these parts and there's any amount of wind, the whole ship is going to know about it very fast because the sail, out of control, will start to "flog." this means it flops around in the wind and makes a very ominous sound (like a huge towel being snapped). to fix it, crew needs to lay aloft immediately and sea stow the sail so the bosun or other skilled crewmember can rig a new buntline.

a note about lines parting: manila lines do not have the "snapback" effect that modern synthetic lines do. this means they part more easily, but also more safely. they also get VERY swollen and spongy when it's wet, because they absorb water, and may even start to unlay (where the strands start to untwist themselves). so they can be also very annoying to handle when wet.

you might have to execute a manuever while people are still aloft! this is not uncommon, particularly for people aloft performing routine maintenance, but not ideal in bad conditions, particularly if people are out on the yards. because manuevers involve the yards being pulled back and forth and therefore rotating on the mast, it can be pretty harrowing to ride one through a manuever (or fun, depending on what kind of person you are). there are also pinch points between the yards and the mast that anyone on the mast or shrouds needs to steer clear of so they don't get crushed by a moving yard. "avast!" is a real command used when there needs to be an immediate all-stop due to a safety issue.

you might have to sea stow in really heavy conditions! if you've seen the episode of black sails where flint sails the Walrus directly into a storm, you know how difficult this is. when a sail is full of wind, it's very hard to pull it up by hand, even when doused. dousing only pulls the sail about 3/4s of the way up to the yard, and a doused sail can still catch wind. in truly heavy winds it can be almost impossible to stow.

in high seas, the ship could roll so badly that people on the yardarms get dunked in the ocean! this has also happened on black sails, I think in that same episode. this has never happened to me but I think if it ever did I would just rather fall off in the ocean than get swung back up again, thanks (<-guy who is afraid of heights). this is not a death sentence though, sailors can and have held on enough that they get swung back up and can safely get down. if conditions are bad enough that this happens and you do lose grip and end up in the ocean, it's probably going to be pretty difficult to impossible to get rescued, at least in the 1700s.

someone inexperienced might belay a line that needs to be cast off in order for a manuever to work, or vice versa. this could be an easy fix or it could cause a very dangerous situation. if you lose control of one of the halyards that lifts the yards, for example, that's potentially tons of uncontrolled load that could fall and break any number of things on its way. or if a line is made fast when it needs to be loosed, you could have yards raised crookedly and/or lines breaking as the strain becomes too much.

rope burn! the lines on a ship are often controlling a lot of load and power. if you allow the rope to slip through your hands instead of moving hand-over-hand, or if you just lose control of it, you can get rope burn that can be pretty severe. it's a wound that almost looks like a burn from fire would, especially while healing.

[d4isywhims]

hello friends! 🌷

recently i got an ask on how i edit my instagram screenshots and here in gemville, all you have to do is ask and you shall receive my child

fun stuff under the cut!

this guide will be divided into two parts: how i take & edit my gameplay screenshots and how i edit my simstagram posts

before we get into the actual tutorial, here are a list of things that i use to help me take better screenies :)

gshade

i'm using an older version of gshade because - thanks to my procrastination - i never updated the version before everything went to shit.

2. presets!

i switch around between presets a lot lmao but for the most part, i use ellcrze's gshade preset for my family dynamics save, sunset n vinyl for my globetrotter save & sim download pictures and a modified boho dreams for my tjol legacy save (first post coming up soon!) sometimes i use lithium for cas pics too :p click here for a somewhat detailed explanation lol

3. tab mode camera mod

this camera mod is a godsend and makes taking screenshots soooooo much easier! 😌 i highly recommend getting this mod!!!

i think i mentioned this before in an ask - i edit my screenshots in photoshop before posting them on tumblr :D i don't really do much, just running a few actions and cropping my screenies. gshade does most of the work for me lol

this tutorial by @buglaur is insanelyyyy helpful omg i based my entire editing process on her tutorial, except for the colouring part because i'm lazy hehe

here's an example of my screenshots before and after editing (cropping the screenshot and running some actions)! there’s not much difference because as i said earlier, gshade will basically carry your entire editing process 💀

sometimes i put text in my pics like these screenies below :) i mainly use these two fonts - winkle and lemon milk :D

and that's about it for part one! now it's time for

here's what you neeeeeed

1. photoshop

i'm using a 🏴‍☠️ version of photoshop that i got from a somewhat sketchy website but it runs great so i'm not complaining 💀

2. instagram post template and instagram story template

a HUGEEEE thank you to @windslar for sharing the instagram story template link 😭 she is such an inspiration to me 💛

3. the actual instagram app

this is how i add text and emojis to my simstagram posts lol

disclaimer: i am NOT a photoshop expert. there's probably an easier way to do what i'm about to show you, but this works for me and i don't really mind the steps hehe

first things first, you're gonna want to open the psd files on photoshop and it'll look like this, depending on which file you opened

i usually just hide the layers that i don't need so in this case i'll hide the tagged users layer from the story psd and the bg layer from the post psd.

these are the layers that i hide but you can also leave them on if you want hehe totally up to you my dude. then you'll end up with something like the pics below

now we move on to the profile pictures! so what i do is i click these layers (shown below) and go 'file > place embedded > selected picture'

once you do that, you'll end up with something like this (below)! use 'ctrl + t' to resize your picture to fit into where the profile picture would go.

right click on the layer of your selected picture and click 'create clipping mask'. then you can hit 'ctrl + d' to adjust the picture to your liking!

now for the actual pictures for the posts. click on these layers (shown below) and go 'file > place embedded > your selected picture'

now all you have to do is 'ctrl + t' to resize your pictures, right click on the layer of the selected picture and click 'create clipping mask' then 'ctrl + t' again to adjust the pics!

after this whole process, i'll export my pics to my family dynamics folder on my desktop and queue it up on tumblr! :D sometimes my simstagram story posts have text and emojis like these ones below

all i did was upload the pics to google drive, download it to my phone, add text/emoji on the actual instagram app then saving the story to my phone... a lot of work but i don't really mind <3

aaannnnddd that's it!!!! i can't believe i made this guide 😭 hopefully this helps :D english isn't my first language so apologies for any grammar/spelling mistakes i've made in this post 🙈 feel free to ask any questions and i'll try my best to reply to you asap!!

[the-joy-of-knowledge]

2023 & goals

When setting goals please don't forget to set personal goals. This will help you create balance. There are two types of goals:

Dependent goals: These goals are dependent on other people's decisions. College admission, job offers, internship offers, joining a sports team, or membership to an exclusive organization. The success of which depends on your ability, the decision maker's choice, and the competition. You can definitely increase your likelihood of achieving these goals by being competitive and having perseverance. These goals have deadlines and some form of authority and this makes us prioritize them. You may not accomplish these goals at your preferred time.

Independent goals: These goals are unique because they more than likely depend on your willingness and determination. Intermittent fasting, reading 10 minutes a day, brushing twice daily, running challenge, or learning a new musical instrument. These goals are personal, rewarding but difficult because you are competing against yourself. You are competing against your fear, procrastination, unpreparedness, and distractions. There are no deadlines, no reminders, no authority, and it is all up to you. But if you are disciplined enough to focus on one goal and see yourself through it, then there is no mountain you cannot climb.

You need to have at least one of each type of goals. Remember, the systems to achieve these goals are more important than the goals themselves.

Take advantage of the list I created to help you understand this concept better.

Remember, I am not an expert or authority. I am just a lady who enjoys to sharing her observations.

[hanzajesthanza]

explanation of milva's pregnancy and regis' "poll" (baptism of fire chapter 7)

for those that need it. i made a similar post a few years ago, but it was a little more meandering and "well, it could be this, it could be that." but after rereading this scene a bunch more times since then, i'm now more certain of what i have to say about it.

at the end of the novel, it's revealed that milva has been pregnant for the last two and a half months. since then, she has wanted to abort the pregnancy, but has hesitated.

“I spent too long dragging my feet, meditating, hesitating. Now it won’t be so easy…”

currently, she is in the first term, it’s the tenth week of her pregnancy, as regis… decuded, somehow, him being “something of an expert”. and she later tells geralt that the pregnancy was conceived in mid-to-late june, the sunday after the summer solstice. and it’s late august by the end of the novel, when this conversation takes place.

milva knew she was pregnant, as the dryads could tell, but her procrastination (partially) came from there not being a right time to involve herself with it, as she was busy running intelligence for geralt and leading scoia’tael commandos in july.

then, geralt set off from brokilon in early august (around the 5th/6th), and milva followed, feeling guilt out of wanting to abort her pregnancy. she wanted to save his child, ciri, in exchange for the abortion she was about to have performed.

‘(…) For I would like you to find your Ciri, Witcher. To find her and get her back, with my help.’ ‘So that’s why you rode after me,’ he said, wiping his forehead. ‘That’s why.’ She lowered her head. ‘That’s why you rode after me,’ he repeated. ‘You set off to help rescue someone else’s child. You wanted to pay; to pay off a debt, that you intended to incur even when you set off… Someone else’s child for your own. A life for a life.’

the abortion she was planning to have would have been her debt, and following geralt and saving ciri her “baptism of fire.” these are two of the largest themes of the novel (see eithne speaking of debt in ch. 1 and regis speaking of baptism of fire in ch. 5).

milva had a peasant upbringing, in a village in upper sodden. she was taught the very strict functions and definitions of a woman (why she is so enraged about the peasant clogs insulting her in chapter 4 by insinuating that she's not a virgin, and therefore no use to them to hunt a vampire).

she defines womanhood as this traditional homemaker with children running around the feet. and, not wanting to come into this “mother hen with an egg” womanhood, fled home after she killed her stepfather.

(from chapter 2, after they witness the rape of the peasant girl:)

‘(…) I ran away from home. I didn’t want to sweep the cottage and scrub the floors. I wasn’t going to wait until they arrived and put the cottage to the torch, spread me out on the very same floor and…’

from there, she became a hunter, a killer—not maria, but milva—red kite. she killed men for brokilon, led false dryad scalping expeditions, leading them right into traps. this is “the blood that calls her” now.

‘What kind of Red Kite am I? A mother hen with an egg, not a Kite… Milva laughed with the dryads on the battleground, pulled arrows from bloodied corpses. Waste of a good arrow shaft or a good arrowhead! And if someone was still breathing, a knife across the throat! Milva was treacherous, she led those people to their fate and laughed… Now their blood calls. That blood, like a wasp’s venom, is devouring Maria from the inside. Maria is paying for Milva.’

the blood she spilled is blood she will have spilled—through abortion, or pregnancy (or, miscarriage, as it so tragically happened).

milva was conflicted about her pregnancy because it (a symbol of womanhood, the very traditional womanhood she had fled) conflicted with the identity she had come into since she had escaped that life (as a hunter, as a killer). remember that geralt calls her “half-dryad, half-woman,” when mocking the company as it was formed by the fish soup. milva feels this divide herself, tearing her apart, between hen and kite.

milva wanted to have the abortion because she did not want a child, to have a child conflicted with her identity and, i mean, just generally, her life (hard to hunt toting around a baby on your breast). but she also felt guilt that she planned abortion, because of her culture and social norms.

so she wanted to, but hesitated, wanted to, then hesitated again.

she was planning to head back with dandelion once he balked, but since dandelion never faltered as she had predicted him to, she didn’t have a chance to leave the company.

she didn't want to tell the rest she was pregnant, you can guess why, because she to them was milva and not maria, she didn't want to divulge her vulnerability.

‘I thought I’d drink some ergot or some other decoction, and you wouldn’t even notice, wouldn’t even guess (…) I saw how Dandelion puts on a brave face; but thought him weak, soft, not used to hardship. I was just waiting for him to give up and then we’d have to offload him. I thought if it got hard I’d go back with Dandelion… Now just look: Dandelion’s the hero, and I’m…’

during this time, she also didn't want to have the abortion, because it would have slowed the march and prevented them from travelling. similarly, she felt guilt because if she was to carry it to term, it would slow their company even more.

also, how in hell was she supposed to find someone to perform an abortion in this wilderness, in this warzone, anyhow?

well, by some miracle chance, they happened across a barber-surgeon. in a cemetery of all places. what luck for her, a medical professional makes himself known. (this meeting was on the first night of the full moon, the 18th of august).

The root of the [mandrake], which is a valued ingredient in medicine and herb lore, long ago had great import in superstitions, particularly among the Nordlings; human effigies (called alruniks or alraunes) were carved from it and kept in homes as revered talismans. They were believed to offer protection from illnesses, to bring good fortune during trials, and to ensure fertility and uncomplicated births.

but then, of course, the nilfgaardian stampede in the refugee camp happens (chapter 4, mid-day of august 19th) and said barber-surgeon turns out to be a vampire (chapter 5, dawn of august 20th).

and again, milva having being raised in the forest, and being a smart girl, and a human, fears supernatural things with fangs which sprout from darkness and simply disappear into thin air.

‘Don’t take the piss, Witcher,’ Milva growled. ‘You know more about vampires than we do. You’re mocking Dandelion, so tell me. I was raised in the forest, I didn’t go to school. I’m ignorant. But it’s no fault of mine. It’s not right to mock. I–I’m ashamed to say–am also a bit afraid of… Regis.’

so it takes her some time to get over her fear, until said thing with fangs explains himself and assures his friends (chapter 7, late august) … and that’s where we find ourselves now.

milva finally gets a chance, ten weeks into the pregnancy, to get some medical consult (of course regis knew long before this, actually the day after they met, for when she puked after punching the peasant clogs in the face—but he says nothing and just “smiled strangely”).

I think Regis realised the truth. But he kept quiet. He kept quiet until he couldn’t keep quiet any longer. When we stopped to make camp in a deserted woodmen’s shack, Milva led him into the forest, spoke to him at length and at times in quite a loud voice. The vampire returned from the forest alone. He brewed up and mixed some herbs, and then abruptly summoned us all to the shack. He began rather vaguely, in his annoying patronising manner.

so, what is happening in this “husbands and fathers” scene? why does regis poll the men, and why does milva choose not to have the abortion?

regis polls the “husbands” of the company because he wants to pressure geralt into speaking with milva.

(also, my opinion: i think milva probably asked regis to tell all the rest all about her situation, because regis is eloquent and has no anxieties about these subjects, and milva herself is terrified. i can 💯 believe that she told him, ‘oh hell, i don’t know how to say it, you tell them all…’)

‘She demanded,’ Regis began a short while later, ‘that I prepare and give her a strong and powerful… medicament. She considers it a remedy for the problem. Her mind is made up.’ ‘And have you?’ Regis smiled. ‘Without talking to the other fathers?’

this is a good time to remember that regis can be very coy, and sometimes likes to get to his point “rather vaguely.” (unlike the very direct and action-oriented milva (lady of the lake, ch. 7)!)

for instance, in chapter 5, when revealing himself, regis does not tell all the rest himself that they shouldn’t pity him and view as a wretched creature, that he’s actually very powerful, but rather he gets geralt himself to admit that regis’ value would be “bloody high,” so high that he doesn’t believe that anyone could afford it. it's only when geralt admits this that regis finally smiles and “fucks off,” as it were.

so, as it was then then, regis doesn’t immediately state what he believes or what he wants here—rather, he peppers the others with questions to get them to come to their own conclusions, just as a wonderful philosopher does. much to geralt’s annoyance:

‘Regis, you seem to be conducting something like a poll among us. Why? You’re the physician. The agent she’s asking for… yes, the agent. The word medicament doesn’t suit me somehow… Only you can prepare and give her this agent. And you’ll do it should she ask you for it again. You won’t refuse.’ ‘I’ve already prepared the agent,’ Regis said, showing them all a little bottle made of dark glass. ‘Should she ask again, I shall not refuse. Should she ask again,’ he repeated with force.

regis indeed will provide the abortive substance to milva, he won’t refuse here. as geralt points out, he’s the physician, he’s even already prepared the agent. regis doesn’t truly care about the results of this “poll” if one of the company were to refuse and express their disagreement. it’s milva’s decision.

he’s actually not asking them for their approval, at all. so, what does he want? why does he ask? what is he asking for?

‘What’s this all about then? Unanimity? Total agreement? Is that what you’re expecting?’ ‘You know very well what it’s about,’ the vampire answered. ‘You sense perfectly what ought to be done. But since you ask, I shall tell you. Yes, Geralt, that’s precisely what it’s about. Yes, that’s precisely what ought to be done. And no, it’s not me that’s expecting it.’

ah, more vagueness (which confuses dandelion, and potentially the majority of the fandom).

‘Could you be clearer?’ ‘No, Dandelion,’ the vampire snapped. ‘I can’t be any clearer. Particularly since there’s no need. Right, Geralt?’

what regis wants is for geralt to talk to milva before she decides to go forward the abortion. because her pregnancy and his child are tangled up (her debt, her baptism of fire), which are making it difficult for her to make a decision based on what SHE wants. there's cultural pressure to keep the pregnancy, and quest pressure to drop it.

regis wants geralt to give her his shoulder to cry on, and to tell her something like: "i'm not expecting you to have an abortion just so you can help me out with finding my kid. we'll stick with you as a company, no matter what." and it's not regis that's expecting this, as he says, but milva.

again, if milva keeps the pregnancy, this will mean difficulty imposed upon on the entire company, as she ceases to be a "use" and instead becomes a "millstone" for the company to protect (also this may be why dandelion didn't understand what regis was asking geralt for. because dandelion is also a millstone for the company).

geralt has to tell milva it's okay to be vulnerable. that, uh, being pregnant is #valid? because you see how milva has come to view herself, as a hindrance:

‘You didn’t expect this when we set off, did you? When you let me join the company? You thought: “So what if she’s a peasant; a foolish, country wench?” You let me join. “I won’t be able to talk to her about brainy things on the road,” you thought, “but she might come in useful. She’s a healthy, sturdy lass. She shoots a straight arrow, she won’t get a sore arse from the saddle, and if it gets nasty she won’t shit her britches. She’ll come in useful.” And it turns out she’s no use, just a hindrance. A millstone. A typical bloody woman!’

this talk with milva is hard for geralt, because this means he has to step up and be a leader (which he did not want to be, as he expressed at the start of the novel!)

‘Right,’ the Witcher said, resting his forehead on his clasped hands. ‘Yes, too bloody right. But why are you looking at me? You want me to do it? I don’t know how. I can’t. I’m not suited for this role at all… Not at all, get it?’

so, he's reluctant to speak to her about this, but, well, tough.

It’s now or never, he thought. I can’t run away from it. There’s no point putting it off. It’s got to be done (…)

he speaks to her, providing his support, and offering some significant words about debt and sacrifice:

‘(…) You offered me help in a moment when I needed help very much. There’s no way of paying off a debt like that. It’s impossible to repay something that has no price. Some say everything in the world–everything, with no exception–has a price. It’s not true. There are things with no price, things that are priceless. But you realise it belatedly: when you lose them, you lose them forever and nothing can get them back for you. I have lost many such things. Which is why I can’t help you today.’

‘But you have helped me,’ she replied, very calmly. ‘You don’t even know how you’ve helped me. Now go, please. Leave me alone.’

geralt doesn’t tell her to not have an abortion, but rather provides his support for her no matter her decision. he tells her that he doesn’t expect her to sacrifice her pregnancy for his child, that he cannot repay her if she does. and he reminds her that “some things (…) when you lose them, you lose them forever. i have lost many such things,” he’s talking about the pregnancy, as well as his own child, ciri.

directly following this exchange is the scene of regis throwing the medicament into the bushes, which confirms that milva, no longer feeling the burdens of identity and guilt, decided to keep her pregnancy.

her deciding to keep her pregnancy means something to the company, though: that they will all be extra vulnerable, because soon milva will have to stop riding horseback and will have to rest and deliver. but geralt expresses that he (and the rest) are willing to take on that burden, to slow down the march for milva to carry her pregnancy to term, because they're a company, they're brothers in arms. they sacrifice for each other!

this is reflected in the next scene, the “change of plans” geralt informs regis about, saying that he no longer wants them to go through ysgith as they had previously planned (because it’s too dangrous for milva, which is what regis argues back to him about—“i would say even more than [physically] fit. the hormones…” ... lol, regis).

this is a huge moment for geralt’s character development, as he has come to identify himself as having a company, and then to value his company. in the beginning of the novel, he was willing to sacrifice anything for ciri, and now he has realized that there are some things (some people) which he is unwilling to sacrifice for her.

‘(…) I understood it was urgent. That it was important for you to acquire the information and set off to rescue your Ciri as quickly as possible.’

‘It is,’ Geralt said, looking away. ‘It’s very important to me. I want to rescue Ciri and get her back. Until recently I thought I’d do it at any price. But no. I won’t pay that price, I won’t consent to taking that risk. We won’t go through Ysgith.’

resulting in this reaction from regis, somewhat commending, and intrigued by him:

‘Geralt,’ the vampire said, still not taking his eyes away from the Witcher. ‘You’re a strange man. To make myself clear, I wasn’t being critical. Right, then. We give up on Ysgith, which is dangerous for a woman with child. We cross to the far bank of the Yaruga, which you consider safer.’

their new direction to across the yaruga, however, turned out to be just as dangerous, and with tragic consequences.

[kisha-myers]

I am a chaotic bundle of procrastination... Anyways, here's the next chapter!

Chapter Ten: It Go Boom 💥

You were nothing if not determined to get back home in one way, shape, or form. The means to do so, were just before you - a vast display of unused military vehicles collecting dust. You knew that tools wouldn't be locked up in here, the mechanics would have left them in the tool bins or cabinets located at the very back of the building. You weren't an expert on cars, but you knew that any of them could be tinkered with enough to explode.

:readmore:

Your e/c eyes wandered around the building for a moment longer, the door closing as quietly behind you as you could manage. You weren't exactly thrilled with this decision, but you were desperate. Your mind was racing with all the possibilities and potential outcomes to this situation, specifically how long in prison you would spend if you were caught. You shook your head, reminding yourself that you needed to get home - that was what was most important to you.

You moved quickly, your feet carrying you to the very back of the building, your deft fingers working overtime to gather the tools you deemed necessary to assist in this endeavor. Just as you were about to grab the small container of tools, the door towards the front opened - whomever was there was trying to stay just as quiet if not quieter than you. That notion, didn't sit well with you whatsoever. You took a deep breath, gathering up your wits and scurrying as fast and as silently as you could underneath the nearest vehicle to you.

"I know you're in here sweetheart." A males voice called out, carrying with it a southern drawl that left you both annoyed and perplexed at who was the man behind the voice. Heavy boots echoed through the space, causing your heart rate to increase exponentially. Whomever this was, wasn't apart of the military - that was confirmed when their boots stepped into your line of sight. Black boots, slightly scuffed came into your line of sight, your body tensing slightly as you worked to climb up further under the vehicle you hid beneath to conceal yourself better. Dark boot cut blue jeans hung loosely over them, fraying slightly that the inseam perhaps from the consistent wear and tear that was far than normal.

"Come on darlin', I ain't gonna hurt ya I promise." You didn't care for that phrase, being an avid horror fan (in the sense of binge watching them on Halloween rather than spending the night out getting drunk like most of your friends), you know that sentence brought with it nothing good. You stayed as still as possible, waiting with bated breath for him to either leave or simply start searching in and under each vehicle within the vicinity. You knew he had seen you come in here - there would be no other reason for him to utter those rather unnerving words into uninhabited spaces.

Slow methodical steps, one by one at a lackadaisical pace moved about each vehicle though no move was made to open and or peer underneath any. A rumbled chuckle slipped between his lips as he returned to where he had once been, close enough to you that if you so wished you could reach out and grasp his ankle and pull him under.

A cluck of a tongue and a tsk tsk tsk rattled through the silence, "Now why you gotta be so difficult, Sugar?" He hummed in a rather sickening swirl of amusement and frustration. Still you made no move to leave your designated safe zone - he could go fuck himself, you thought to yourself, if he thought you'd so willingly pop out like a jack in the box.

"I can help you, you know," He purred like a wolf cooing to a sheep luring them to slaughter, "I can getcha outta here." Sinfully sweet candy coated promises slipped from his lips, sultry little whispers into the silence of the room. You refused to even utter a peep, opting to carefully slither your way towards the front of the vehicle.

You knew the only way to get out of this situation was to cause a big enough distraction he'd have no choice but to leave. Your e/c orbs glanced around under the vehicle you claimed as you safe zone and decided that this would have to do. You knew there was a Crack in the fuel tank, you could see the gasoline slowly trickling down onto the concrete. You hesitated for a moment, biting onto your bottom lip as you contemplated the best course of action.

The leak needed to be slightly bigger - you needed a stream for it to ignite the entire vehicle to cause a chain reaction. You also needed more fuel, a problem that was solved when you spotted a full fuel canister at the back of the vehicle just in front of yours. You moved painfully slowly, wanting to stay as silent as possible as he once more turned and headed off the opposite direction of where you were. Inch by grueling inch your crawled until you made it to the gas canister.

Thankful it had a cap on it, you slowly made your way back to your little ticking time bomb of a distraction.

You were meticulously methodical as you worked to create a decent explosion - you didn't want to hurt anyone, you just wanted to get home. You carefully moved about, ensuring you didn't make too much noise and stopping when he'd occasionally make his rounds back to your hiding spot. Finally, after what felt like hours, you were ready.

Lighter in hand you knelt behind the last vehicle, dropping the lit zippo lighter and bolting as fast as your feet could carry your out the back door. You counted down in your head, lungs burning from the oxygen you sucked in, in panicked gulps. One... two... three... four... Within four measly seconds, the deafening boom that shook the earth and rattled your heart behind the shelter of your ribs sent you flying forwards, heat lapped greedily at your back and for a moment you wondered if perhaps you'd caught yourself on fire.

Slightly dazed and a wee bit disoriented, you pulled yourself up to your feet and kept running, wiggling between a small enough gap in the metal chain link fence and bolting off into the woods nearby. You weren't out of the clear just yet, but fuck if you were closer than what you were before.

[scribbly-artist]

Noisy Times in the Lab

Author’s Notes: Back with a little fic! I saw these really great scientist-based tickle prompts from @anxious-lee (I’m not sure how to tag people on Tumblr - hopefully this works!) that sparked some inspiration for me. I’ve read the VN recently after procrastinating on it for a long while, so I feel like I could write for the characters easily enough without them sounding OOC. Apologies for any spelling errors as I am very tired. :,) I may even do some clean up in the morning if I find any obvious glaring issues. let me know what you think!!

Word count: ~1,600

It was a typical day at the residence of the Future Gadget Lab. Progress was running smoothly on the microwave-turned time machine and its mechanisms. Experiments were being run, new information was being discovered. Okabe Rintaro and Makise Kurisu had been running tests all night on their machine to determine how far back their D-Mails could go into the past and whether it had any lasting effects.

As one does when pulling an all nighter, fatigue started to set in. Having their friend, Shiina Mayuri, come over in the afternoon with snacks and replenishing refreshments was a god send, but Kurisu in particular hardly had a break. Okabe had a nap on the couch for a couple hours in the day, but Kurisu hadn’t had a wink of sleep. It was starting to get to her, but that was in her nature: to work as hard as she could to sate her growing curiosity to develop this time machine.

Rubbing her tired eyes with her hands, she got up from her seat in front of the time machine, letting out a yawn. She dragged her feet over to see what Mayuri was doing, walking past Okabe who was sitting on the couch, downing a cold Dr P while he was looking at this phone screen, assuming he was on @channel or sending emails.

Mayuri was standing at her makeshift cosplay bench, working on a new outfit for ComiMa. She fed the pink fabric through the sewing machine with expert precision. Kurisu was absorbed in watching her work. On closer observation, it seemed to be a pink mini dress, with off the shoulder sleeves. Adorned on the chest was a big, red, puffy bow. The dress came out of the other end of the sewing machine as Mayuri grabbed it, holding it out in front of her to see if there were any errors in her work.

Kurisu’s eyes moved up and down the length of the dress. “It’s a very nice cosplay, Mayuri. What’s it from, again?” She questioned, shifting her weight to look at Mayuri’s face behind the dress.

“It’s Kirari’s outfit from RaiNet Kakeru! I’ve put a lot of hard work into making this dress accurate to the show,” She beamed, lowering the dress to smile at Kurisu. “I don’t know who’s going to wear it yet, though.”

“What do you mean - didn’t you make it so you could wear it?” Kurisu tilted her head with curiosity.

“No, I never wear my cosplays,” Mayuri set the dress down onto the table. “Besides, my body wouldn’t fit into this. I was hoping Luka might try it, but I don’t think I can convince him. Even though it’d suit him perfectly.” Mayuri pouted.

“Aww, that’s a shame. He’d look super cute in it.”

“Don’t be fooled by the idea, he’s still a dude.” Okabe piped up from the couch, his gaze not leaving his phone.

“But you should totally try it on Chris-chan - I think you could pull it off!” Excitement bubbled in Mayuri’s voice, reaching over to grab Kurisu’s hands. The red head’s gaze whipped over to Mayuri’s face, eyes widening.

“Oh no - I’d never be able to wear something like that. It’s too revealing.” She spoke, shaking her head as she politely declined.

“Sure you could! Your body’s pretty similar to Lukako’s anyway, I think it’d fit you perfectly.” Mayuri emphasised her point by reaching to Kurisu’s sides, giving her a squeeze. Kurisu buckled, choking out a giggle.

“M-Mayuri— where are you grahahabing??” Her words sputtered out as Mayuri grabbed her a little more, now with more intent.

Okabe’s head whipped up to see what all the commotion was. He grinned as he put the pieces together in his mind, standing up from the couch. “Mayuri - have you perhaps discovered the Zombie’s weakness?” They both looked at Kurisu.

“No you haven’t! Don’t even try anything, Okabe!” Kurisu attempted to back away from Okabe, who now was standing up from the couch with renewed interest. Mayuri simply giggled, turning back to her cosplay work. A wicked grin was being cast upon Kurisu’s worried face as laughter erupted from him.

“My foolish Assistant - have you forgotten? I am a mad scientist, and what kind of a mad scientist would I be if I didn’t investigate this little discovery further?” The lab coat-wearing predator gazed down at his target, making her back into a corner of the lab. He stepped closer, making his prey shutter nervously. His hands were outstretched, wiggling his fingers. “What’s wrong, Christina? Cat got your tongue?”

“Y-You’re being stupid, Okabe! This is childish! You just want to put your hands a-all over me, pervert!” Starting to sweat, she tried to say anything she could to dissuade him from what he was very eager to try out.

“If you truely are a super serious Assistant, then surely a little childish tickling wouldn’t affect you, right?” He smirked as he closed in, his wiggling fingers touching down on her sides. The red head immediately burst into giggles, trying to swat his hands away.

“Ahaha— Okabe!! Quit it!” She tried to push him away, but Okabe was a fair bit taller than her, so her attempts were futile. An involuntary smile stretched across her face as she danced about.

“Thank you for making such a grand scientific discovery Mayuri - scientists everywhere shall give you praise for discovering our dear Assistant’s weakness. You will be known in the history books forever. It’ll also knock our dear Christina down a few pegs.” He remarked, letting out a chuckle at Kurisu’s expense.

“Mahahayuri, help me— pleahahase!!” Kurisu cried out, trying to get Mayuri’s attention.

“You need a fun break Chris-chan, and I’ve never seen you smile and laugh like this! You gotta let loose sometimes.” The short hair girl responded with a beaming smile, getting back to her cosplay work.

“I have done well with controlling my hostage, Assistant. She shall not be swayed by your pleas. I won’t be finished with you until I am completely satisfied.” The self-proclaimed mad scientist let out an evil cackle, moving his annoying tickling fingers up to Kurisu’s ribs, drawing more sweet laughter from her. “Now, let’s see. What would happen if I tweak… right, here?” He pondered allowed, his fingers pinching at her lower ribs.

The red head doubled over in laughter, her knees starting to give way, her back sliding down the wall. “Stop being an— stahahap being an idiot!!” Protesting, she squirmed to try to free herself from him. He started to crouch down himself so he could have better access to her.

He was very persistent, moving his hands from her ribs to her sides to keep her guessing. He needed to gather more information for his experiment. “Now, Christina. On a scale of one to ten, how much-“

Okabe was interrupted by a loud round of laughter escaping his assistant’s lips, tears starting to well up in her eyes as she laughed herself silly. He tutted, shaking his head.

“Quit interrupting me with your laughter, I’m asking a question! - how much does this tickle?” He teased as his fingers continued to pinch and scribble, grinning as her cheeks burned red.

She couldn’t think straight to form a response. She just shook her head, her long hair flying in all directions. Okabe figured that if she couldn’t verbally protest anymore, that she was reaching her limit. He pulled his hands away, standing up tall to signify he was done messing with her. Kurisu let herself sink to the floor, sucking in big breaths now that she had the opportunity.

“You’re… you’re SO going to regret that… O-Okabe…” She threatened, glaring up at him. Okabe couldn’t take her seriously after seeing her being reduced to a girly giggly mess, which was way different from her usual cool-headed, mature demeanour.

“You should hold your tongue now that I know your little weakness, Christina. I may exploit this quirk of yours more often if you’re not careful, haha!” He laughed, too caught up in his act to concentrate on Kurisu sneaking away from him towards the coffee table near the couch.

“Now that your weakness is known to the world, I, Hououin Kyouma, brilliant mad scientist, shall use this forbidden information to my advan— HEY!” The mad scientist cried out as his shoulder was slammed with one of Kurisu’s big, heavy science text books. Kurisu was panting and red in the face.

“Do it again… and I’ll hit you even harder…” Her threat was serious, but her voice didn’t sound as scary as it usually would when she would make such claims. Okabe filed this information in the back of his mind, noting that even her swing wasn’t as hard as it has been previously, and his consequence was not as dire as he thought it would be. Maybe she wasn’t all that angry about this.

“Lesson learned. But watch yourself, Zombie.” Even in pain he grinned at her, making her squint her eyes to try to look menacing.

“You should buy me a fresh pudding after all you put me through. Actually, make it two.” She plopped herself down on the green couch, crossing her arms.

“Very well. That’s the least I can do after your sacrifice to science. Mayuri, care to join me?” He asked as his gazed turned to his ‘hostage’. Mayuri smiled and nodded, walking to Okabe.

“Tuturuuu~! Operation: Pudding for Chris-chan!” Mayuri let out her happy little tune as she and Okabe walked out the apartment’s front door, closing it on their way out. Kurisu let out a long sigh as they left, filling her lungs back up with air that they were deprived of a few moments before.

“Okarin, you should be nicer to Chris-chan. She’s helping you so much with all this science-y stuff, it’s the least you can do.” Her gaze moved up to Okabe’s face as she spoke, both of them walking down the stairs.

“She won’t admit it, but I think she enjoyed that little exchange more than she’s letting on.” Chuckling, Okabe and Mayuri went out to pick the most perfect pudding they could find for their dear Kurisu.