#Ten Scales of Karma | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

caq1e · 3 months ago

Text

i've been trying to rationalize why clay terran's death hits me more than pretty much any other victim, even though the exact intricacies of his character are not the most plot relevant, and i think i finally got it. some of it's that he's the series' first new science freak in a while, yeah, but i think above that it's the emphasis on his ambition.

ace attorney does not like to kill real characters. it doesn't. referring to the main series for the rest of this post, we very rarely get to see a character for one section of one case before they die, with a few notable exceptions. as a result, because we don't get to know the characters very well, we as players are left to pick up the remnants based on the reactions of those still alive. ace attorney creates tragedy and emotional impact through the emotions of those who knew the victims. the victims' personas, therefore, are shaped by others' experiences with them: were they nice or mean, compassionate or abusive, nurturing or strict? while their relationships to others are crucial to their selves, they aren't everything about them.

clay is an astronaut. and unlike pretty much every victim in this series, that's not just his job, it's his life's purpose. the majority of clay's character is shaped through apollo's perception of him, sure, but what's also emphasized is his dream of being an astronaut. he wanted to be an astronaut since he was a child. he went to cosmos, became acquaintances and friends with the employees, surrounded himself with space. and he got the job. i know ace attorney ages can be taken with a grain of salt, but he was going to go into space at twenty-three, where the youngest astronaut in real life was twenty-five. any sizable gap in age below the norm tends to get lawyers deemed prodigies, excluding most themis students, so clay could probably be considered one as well. he was brilliant and remarkably hardworking and dedicated his entire life to reaching this goal, and he... didn't. he died with his dream ten steps in front of him.

when a character is an exception in one way, they tend to be in many, and they also tend to be defense attorneys, for some reason. the two victims with the most ambition at time of death, from my perspective, also have the most pre-death screen time: mia fey and dhurke sahdmadhi. their ambition may be on different scales, but they both died with tasks unfinished. mia had yet to reveal the corruption of redd white and the truth to dl-6, and dhurke had yet to restore stability to his country's legal system. they were both incredibly committed to fulfilling these goals and died while actively pursuing them.

the contrast between these two and clay is the individualism factor. dhurke wanted to see his revolution through, but he wanted a better future regardless of whether he was its leader or not. mia's connection was due to her familial involvement, but she also just wanted to uncover the truth behind redd white's obscurations and reduce corruption in the legal system. these goals are personal, but they aren't limited to them. they are goals that these two aspire to achieve, but they themselves don't need to be the ones to achieve them; in fact, they aren't. phoenix apprehends white, exposes manfred von karma, and discovers misty fey's disappearance for mia, while nahyuta and apollo work to reform khura'in's courts for dhurke. clay wanted to go to space. while a less noble goal than those i'm comparing him to, it's also more intrinsic to himself. he was supposed to be the one in space. there's no one to take over his dream because it's his alone. when he dies, that's it. it'll never be done. while his compassion definitely implies that he would be proud as long as sol starbuck touched the stars again, that isn't his dream. it's not the same as him doing it himself.

another similarity between mia and dhurke is that they are also the victims with the most post-death screen time. mia is channeled constantly through the first trilogy, to the point where she's almost as constant as any living character. dhurke lives for days, concealing his death while being channeled and not revealing the secret until almost the end of 6-5. as a result, these two get front row seats to their goals being fulfilled by their successors. mia's there to help phoenix take down white in 1-2, is certainly made aware of the results in 1-4, and even reunites with diego and re-defeats dahlia in 3-5. dhurke assists apollo leading up to the final court case, and his presence sticks with apollo as he develops his defense office.

clay does not get post-death screen time. he's only mentioned, like any other victim, after his death, and the large bulk of it is regarding the minutes before he's killed. not only is his dream unable to be fulfilled, but he wouldn't get the chance to see anything come of it, if that was even possible. he's not aura, staring out of a prison cell as part of her life's work flies off without her input. he's dead. no seeing the future, no willing on a successor to continue for him, no closure. dead and gone.

i'm not going to go crazy in depth right now, but, considering all major victims, the final truth of clay's death is done pretty poorly. as the successor to investigations, a duology that deals with international affairs in incredible detail, dual destinies is notably lacking. the organization behind the phantom isn't explored in the slightest; what was the point in making them a part of something bigger in the first place? there's no inciting event, no motive, not even a name, and from my point of view it just makes dual destinies feel unfinished, like there were plans that couldn't be made reality. there aren't any hints towards what the organization is doing, no legs to theorize on besides real life events, and it's not portrayed in a way that leaves it as a clever mystery. some international organization wants to sabotage the rocket launches for an unknown reason, so people die. that's all. clay dies due to reasons completely unknown to players, which is just so unsatisfying. not only does he not get closure, but we don't either. it makes me desperate for any new information to justify his death, to make his murder mean something, just like others who are integral to plot. this isn't entirely the point i was trying to make, but i think it's significant enough to mention. or maybe i just wanted to talk about it. not too sure.

clay terran suffers the awful fate of too much ambition and too little closure. this alone made his death have the greatest lasting impact on me. i'm not sure how it is for others, but the sadness of those left behind didn't usually trigger a large emotional reaction in me. however, the way clay's extraordinary dedication, implied intelligence, and nigh inevitable success were ripped from him right at the very end, with no possibility of a successor due to his own personal stake in the goal, made his death hit me through the heart like no other ace attorney victim. and also, just a little bit, because he's a new science freak.

#import em #ace attorney #aa5 #clay terran #tempted to tag mia and dhurke bc i talk about them so much. i think i won't but i want to #long post #very long post my bad #fun fact i actually didn't like clay at all when i was actually playing dd #i was so pissed over the 3d models and the changed vas that i kinda hated everything #but i was also mad about how he was written (badly)#now he's my favorite though #i think it's pretty obvious that i'm obsessed with him based on the length of this alone #one essay down. many more to go #i haven't actually played any aa in ages so if any of this is super wrong lmk lol

56 notes · View notes

possum-quesadilla · 2 months ago

Text

Chapter 10 of Lonely Remnants, “Wildfires have been eating you inside my head, Trying to smoke you out or burn you alive in it”, is here! Strap in, folks. I can’t tell you how excited I am to share this one with you all.

PLEASE READ THE TRIGGER WARNINGS ATTACHED TO THIS CHAPTER AND PROCEED WITH CAUTION. THIS CHAPTER IS PARTICULARLY ROUGH. I KNOW I SAW THAT A LOT, BUT IT IS VERY TRUE HERE.

Extras! :)

- The lyrics for this chapter’s title are from “Please Just Stay Dead” by Nichole Dollanganger! They are meant to reflect how Lydia’s image of her bold, strong brother is being irreparably altered, maybe even ruined.

- “Like a doomed man trudging towards the gallows, sure but unsteady. Like a dead girl walking.” - Heheh, foreshadowing.

- “The trail led into the road. It ended on the other side, next to the memorial. Not before it was… smeared on the road. Splattered all about, like the cause of it had been… impacted. Her fears were confirmed when she found one of those strange paw / feet among the large, dark smudge of blood and goop in the road.” - Yep, they got hit by a car! Karma, I guess.

- “It was… feasting on some festering roadkill with a terribly feral and manic fervor.” - That was Lawrence’s last ditch effort to try and regain control and heal their body.

- “The side of his face the ear had fallen off of seemed to be following suit. It was starting to turn to the goop and slough off, part of the flesh hanging limply off the cheek and exposing his blackened, cracked jawbone.” - While the whole rejection idea is based on the ending of “Bride of Re-Animator”, this particularly horrific mental image is based on an effect from “Smile 2” that really stuck with me!

- “His dad and twin loved him, but it… it weren’t enough to counter the hatred of his mother.” - Lawrence’s accent fades away as the Shoggoth talks more and gains more control as he gets weaker.

- “Lousy bum’s been drinkin’ since he were ten years old.” - Not by choice! But the Shoggoth is being really judgy regardless.

- “Joined a band, saw the country, got his wrist broken by a boyfriend.” - Band mention! There’s a whole bunch of fun lore surrounding them that lives in my head. Also, the rotten boyfriend who broke his wrist was Cyrus! Can’t escape that fella.

- “It suddenly reached up, placing a hand over the left side of it’s face, covering up the exposed bone and one of it’s eyes.” - This was it trying to stop it’s face from falling apart more. It didn’t work.

- “Mrs. D helped him fix himself. Clean up all the broken pieces ‘n make somethin’ outta them.” - A reference to “Dead Mom”!

- “Of all of the moments in his long drive, of all of the cars he passed, he had to hit the one containing two of the people he loved most.” - This bit was inspired by a similar moment in the movie “Signs”.

- “She remained still as the grave.” - heheh, more foreshadowing.

- “No, Scarecrow. You died too.” - Woof. There’s been hints throughout. Hell, even in the start of the first chapter! - “She was the lucky one. By some miracle, she made it out with only some minor head trauma and the loss of a substantial amount of her hearing.” - I even put “Living Dead Girl” on the Lonely Remnants playlist for this purpose, lol.

- “ “I haven’t been very truthful at all.” It’s fingers brushed over the scales dotting it’s nose.” - Every time it lied, it gained a snake scale, since snakes represent deceit.

- “We are… human suffering, given form. Anguish and agony, writhing deep below the earth. I am of Lawrence’s. Of all the pain and hurt he felt.” - Yeah sorry it was a metaphor for trauma and self repression this whole time. Mostly. Also, this is what Otho meant when he said “… always were the most… potent out of all of us, little brother.”

- “No more watchin’, no more peepin’, and…” - This is a reference to “Bigtop Burger”. I couldn’t help myself. Cesare was my main inspiration for the Shoggoth.

- “… I could always feel him, faintly, in the back of my mind. Breathing in the dark.” - GOTCHA WITH ANOTHER “Asteroid City” REFERENCE!

- “I… I am just a beast of the stony soil.” - This is inspired by a famous line from “Pet Sematary”, which inspired Lonely Remnants! It’s the first horror story I read at eight years old, lol.

Tag list: @raineisinkless @c0zmo-writes @musical-fiend @katslitterbox

(Want to be tagged in future updates for CorpseJuice / LoopJuice? Let me know!)

#beetlejuice #beetlejuice fanfic #corpsejuice #lawrence beetlejuice shoggoth #beetlejuice the musical #lydia deetz #barbara maitland #adam maitland #beetlands #beetlelands #shoggoth 88 #lawrence graham #lonely remnants #corpsejuice chapter #corpsejuice extras

19 notes · View notes

crossphine · 2 years ago

Text

❦ 𝚃𝚘𝚐𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚂𝚘𝚊𝚛 ❦

❧ Pairings: Xiao x Reader (GN)

❧ Summary: While looking for him, you stumble upon Xiao in his bird form. You help him with his feathers as you find out something he was keeping to himself

❧ Contents: Hurt/comfort, bird!Xiao, fluff, wing grooming, a kiss at the end

❧ Word count: 2.9k

❧ Author’s Note: Xiao in his bird form is an obsession :)

Xiao wasn’t at Wangshu Inn when you got there.

The fireworks were long over, the night was still and quiet in the Marsh. You’d bidden your goodbyes to your friends, vague in your explanation of where you were going and giddy in your trek towards the inn. You weren’t naive to Xiao’s duty—you knew this night was one of the most violent ones in terms of demonic activity, which meant that it was the busiest night of his thankless task.

You knew, so when Xiao told you that he might not be able to spend time with you, you understood perfectly; getting your hopes up was inevitable, though, especially since you had come from hours of laughter and celebration in the Harbor.

Truly, the only thing you wanted was a moment of respite with Xiao. Reminding him of how thankful you were for his efforts was something you tried to do often, whether through words or gentle caresses he wasn’t used to yet.

Those hopes were dashed like a candle flame against a storm. Your shoulders fell when you took in the empty balcony, the plate of Almond Tofu suddenly feeling heavy in your hands. Leaving it on the railing, perfectly balanced out of habit, you stared out into Liyue’s scenery in hope of spotting flashes of green and black; knowing he was up and fighting would bring you some sort of comfort.

You saw nothing, though, and you couldn’t help but worry. Was he doing alright? What if his karma was giving him more trouble than usual? What if the monsters were too much for him and–

No.

You shook your head, shoving that thought aside immediately. Xiao was strong, he had to be alright… right?

The temptation to call for him was like an itch, a twitch of your fingers. Only once should be enough and when he came, your mind would be at ease. You’d explain to him that you were simply fretting a little and then you would wish him good luck.

“Xiao?”

A second passed, then two, then three, then ten. There was no push of Anemo behind you, no voice to confirm that he’d heeded your call—there was only the breeze and the rustling of the leaves filling the silence, with your increasing heartbeat soon joining in.

He didn’t answer, and if you weren’t worried before, you were definitely worried now. There was no way in Teyvat you’d stay there and do nothing, not when there was a chance that Xiao was hurt or in need of help.

Making sure you had everything you needed, you headed out.

————— ୨୧ —————

Searching for Xiao was harder than you expected.

Constantly calling his name coupled with questions of his whereabouts was not only fruitless, but it attracted monsters to your location. One horde was all you could manage before you decided to look for him in silence and prayed to the Archons that you’d somehow find him.

The peaks of Liyue were tall and intimidating to look at from below, and thinking about scaling them made you wish that you were able to teleport like Xiao. Fortunately, Jueyun Karst was eerily quiet, so you told yourself that you would only climb if you heard movement from above.

After minutes of checking caves, nearby enemy camps and trying to find elemental traces, you stopped dead on your tracks when you heard… something, right above you. You couldn’t pinpoint what the noise was, and it was extremely soft, akin to leaves in the wind but not quite. There was no certainty that it was Xiao; it could very well be an enemy, but a possibility was better than nothing.

You were silent and careful both as you climbed, making sure you wouldn’t alert whatever was up there, if it even was something alive. The added effort of controlling your breathing tired you when you were nearly at the top, and you didn’t dare look down.

The strange noises of movement were still audible, which meant your efforts had paid off. The second you were close enough, you peeked over the edge of the stone; it took all of your willpower not to gasp at the sight that greeted you.

Right in front of you, under the moonlight and perched atop of a rock, was the most beautiful bird you’d ever seen. Its back was to you, but it was preening its feathers and that gave you a wonderful view of them—they were a dark green, with hints of turquoise underneath and fading to gold at the tips. While some of them were mangled and bent at awkward angles, the wings were still majestic and a part of you felt as if you weren’t supposed to be looking at this.

It was too breathtaking, too gorgeous and bewitching, and your first thought was that it had to be an adeptus. There was no other explanation for its beauty and size.

Gathering yourself, you pulled your body up as carefully as you could, using the fact that the bird wasn’t looking at you and was busy to your advantage. Apparently, though, the Archons had had enough of giving you a streak of luck, because as soon as your second foot touched solid ground, pebbles were pushed behind you and down into the ground below, which was enough noise to startle the bird into looking at you.

Gaze locked on its torso out of respect, you didn’t move, not even when you saw how its demeanor changed the second it laid its eyes on you. The previously relaxed feathers were now pulled close to its body and you could tell it was preparing to move its wings, either to fly away or scare you off. You took a step closer, slow and steady, not because you wanted to make things worse but because being so close to the edge made you more nervous.

The bird—adeptus?—didn’t take kindly to this, immediately spreading out its wings and letting out a low hiss. Even through your panic, you couldn’t help but think that it was still beautiful. Looking up in order to look at it directly in the eyes, an apology and words of reassurance brewing on your tongue, your heart just stopped.

Its eyes were pools of pure amber with a single black pupil in the center, as piercing and sharp as the spear he used. Your own eyes narrowed in recognition, unspoken threat all but forgotten, and if the eyes weren’t enough, there was a purple diamond in between that confirmed it for you.

“Xiao?” you asked softly, even if you were completely sure.

The name garnered another reaction from him; he immediately looked away, even more tense than before, and began flapping his wings to take off.

“Wait, no!” you called, trotting up to him before he left. “Don’t go, please.”

Xiao stopped and gave you a glance. You pleaded silently, a chaos of emotions swirling inside you; surprise, shock, relief, happiness, amazement. Finally and with a huff, he tucked his wings away, breaking eye contact but staying in place; he appeared smaller, almost bashful, and nothing like the intimidating display he’d given you earlier.

Without a word, you tested the waters by approaching and sitting down on the rock, which was big enough for the two of you. He didn’t escape, much to your relief, but he seemed uncomfortable, what with how he shifted in place and accommodated his wings.

“Are you okay?” you inquired and it was difficult to understand his silence like this, with his face turned away. The air was easily breathable, the wind was refreshing, so his karma wasn’t acting up, which was a good thing and the one that had worried you the most. Xiao didn’t appear to be injured either, now that you could take a better look at him; ignoring the unkept feathers, everything else looked perfectly fine and healthy.

So, if he was alright, one question remained: why?

Why didn’t he answer your calls? Why was he in bird form? Why was he so aggressive when he first saw you? Why was he ignoring you now? Why, why, why?

You wished you could have all of those answers, but Xiao was clearly not in a talking mood at the moment, if he could even talk in this form. He shifted again and after what seemed to be an inner battle, he finally reached under one of his wings and plucked out a feather, dropping it to the ground; some tension left him once he was done.

Right. You’d interrupted his preening when you found him. Was that the reason—or one of them—for him being uncomfortable?

“Xiao, I can help you, if you’d like me to. May I?”

He turned to you and stared; you smiled. With the bird equivalent of a sigh, he nodded and turned around so his back was to you. His long, feathered tail ended up on your lap. Then, almost shyly, he spread his wings for you.

“I’m going to touch you now, okay?” you announced. It was something you always did, for his sake, to prevent him from jumping and flinching and stressing out. In the dead of night, when the world was asleep and the two of you were huddled close on a bed, you always murmured what you’d do at first, until he relaxed in your arms. Let it be caressing his hair or placing gentle kisses on his lips and his cheeks, you made sure he was okay with everything you did and you had never taken it too far.

The most you’d done was have a heated make-out session and you wouldn’t ask more of him.

Taking his silence as an answer, you ran your fingers down one of his wings, almost gasping at how soft it was. It reminded you of his hair, equally soft and somehow well-kept. You used your other hand to caress his neck, down to his back, but you stopped when his entire body shuddered.

“Sorry, is that a no?”

Xiao chirped.

He chirped, and you almost lost yourself right then and there in a second of pure bliss. Such a melodious sound, and you had to resist the urge to aww at him, lest he pecked you.

You took his noise as a negative, just in case, and kept one hand on his neck instead, thumbing the feathers there, while your other hand took care of straightening up feathers and plucking out unsalvageable ones. Xiao barely flinched at the pain, but he’d tremble and ruffle his feathers whenever you decided to scratch at his neck.

He would let out a low thrum, but wouldn’t really object, so you continued either way.

Minutes into helping him, taking care of the other feathers while he worked on his underwing, his wings looked ten times better; they almost shone under the moonlight, reflecting that beautiful tone of green and gold.

There were a few left for you to take care of, but before you could continue, a gale kicked up.

It was strong, too much so, forcing you to cover your face. Fortunately, it stopped soon enough, and the scent of Qingxin lingered in the air, mellow and comforting—familiar. When you opened your eyes, you found yourself looking at Xiao’s back, his human back, though his wings were still there as was his tail.

The opening of his shirt was perfect to house the origin on his wingbones while his tail came from somewhere on his lower back, ever so slightly lifting the white material. You saw how his gloves fell to the ground before he looked behind him for a second, moving his wings a little as he sighed.

“I don’t have enough energy to transform fully. The use of power tonight forced me to revert back to a beast to recuperate,” he explained, his breathing ragged, like he was agitated. Perhaps the transformation was draining and left him panting.

“You could’ve stayed as a bird, I wouldn’t have minded,” you said, placing your hand back on him, on his nape. Xiao said nothing, but you managed to hear him huff; ah, that was a sound you recognized better.

Wordlessly, you went back to your duty of feather care, occasionally scratching his skin and applying pressure; a lazy massage, but one you hoped would bring him comfort. There was something bothering him still, and now he could talk—you could wait as long as he needed.

Even if your view of him wasn’t the best one, Xiao in his human skin with wings was a majestic one nonetheless. You knew he was somehow related to avian creatures, given what he told you about his tattoo, but he had never told you more. He never told you he could turn into a bird, or that he was a bird, for that matter.

Perhaps it was something you should’ve assumed, taking into consideration what you knew about Cloud Retainer and Mountain Shaper, but jumping to conclusions regarding the adepti was never good, so you never even speculated.

“Were you– Are you… afraid? Of me?” he spoke, breaking the silence, which you were thankful for. His question, however, caught you off-guard completely. Afraid? Of him? Where did he get that idea? The thought of him thinking you feared him made your heart ache and throb in sympathy.

“I’m not. I was a little shocked when I saw you, but once I figured out it was you, I was completely fine.”

Xiao moved a little, his wings moving with him, stretching for a moment before coming back.

“You should be,” he said then, his stern tone betrayed by his still-agitated voice. You were about to protest when he continued, “Now you know what I truly look like.”

You frowned, confused. You wanted to say something, anything, but you were at a loss of words and not because you agreed with him. If anything, getting to know this side of him, the one hidden underneath his human guise, his true self, only made you appreciate him more.

How couldn’t you when the soul you’d fallen for was the same, no matter what he looked like?

“I never wanted you to see my true form,” he added as a whisper, his voice full of regret, even sadness and shame.

Your hands trembled at the honesty of his words, at the unfiltered intent behind them. Xiao had gone through so much in his millenia of being alive, from losing his family to carrying a burden as heavy as the entire world on his shoulders, all alone. You’d managed to open a hole in his defenses, giving him love and affection and comfort to the best of your abilities and he accepted them hesitantly.

Yet, the breach of mortality had never been taken care of—tales of the yaksha being beastly creatures were everywhere and, perhaps, they’d gotten to him. He didn’t wish to scare you away, he didn’t want you to find him unsightly.

He was far from that.

Standing up from your place behind him, you went to kneel in front of him. His face was flushed, but you focused on his eyes and his hands. He’d taken his gloves off earlier, and at the time you didn’t know the reason, but now you did; his hands were dark green, the same tone of his hair and his wings, and it faded into his skin color near his forearm. Moreover, where nails should be there were claws, sharp and dangerous if you didn’t know who you were dealing with.

Carefully, as if approaching a scared finch, you cradled his face in your hands. Xiao relaxed in your hold, becoming pliant and leaned into the touch. Keeping one hand there, you reached down to take a gentle hold of one his hands—he tried to pull away but you tightened your hold, firm but not painful.

“Xiao, listen to me,” you began, thumbing his skin and smiling at him. “That form of yours, no matter how beastly it might be in your eyes, is still a part of you, and I love you. Nothing will ever change that.”

He was silent, but he was listening and you didn’t need more. The only thing you wanted was for him to understand that your feelings for him transcended outer appearances and the line between mortals and adepti. He could be caked in blood, emerging from debris as he screeched at an enemy to return to the shadows, and you would still love him unabashedly, wholeheartedly and unconditionally.

“I love how selfless you are, how caring and thoughtful, even if you don’t know how to express it. I love how honest you are, I love our days and nights together. I love your heart and your soul, whether you have hands and feet, or wings and talons.”

You rose, leaning in closer to him as you thumbed his lower lip. Xiao remained speechless, but his eyes, avian and hypnotizing, called out to you in a silent plea. You nudged your nose with his as a request—he brought his free hand up to grab your wrist tenderly.

With his permission, you closed the distance between your lips and caught him in a searing kiss. It turned your blood into magma, like Pyro blazing through a field. Xiao kissed you back with urgency, uncharacteristic of him but you welcomed it nonetheless.

You’d told him how much you loved him, and now you would show him.

masterlist

#genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #genshin x reader #xiao x reader #xiao x you #bird xiao #genshin hurt/comfort #📝 my stuff

579 notes · View notes

helyiios · 1 year ago

Note

Imagine Benji taking a bullet for Ethan and then telling Ethan to leave him behind and complete the mission

“It looks worse than it is—“

“That’s not—“

“Seriously Et—“ he gasps, blood pours and he has to hold back his wince, “Ethan, I’ll be fine. It’s fine, I’ll manage.”

“You were hit in the stomach, Benji !” Ethan all but shrieks, and his friend silently tries to recall a time he’s ever seen him so afraid. “I’m not—I’m not moving from here until we get backup !”

Benji rolls his eyes perhaps a little too sassily for the other’s taste, dabbing delicately at the open wound that was turning his otherwise pale skin a deep shade of red.

It was fine. Literally. It was his stomach. Worst case scenario he wouldn’t be able to bend over and sleep on it for a month or two, so what ? Nothing too dramatic, really.

“Okay, so you’re going to lose our tracks on the two criminals we’ve been hunting for months—Ethan, look at me when I’m talking,” he groans, forcing the other to turn his face back so their eyes met, “for months, just because I got shot in the stomach ?”

“YES !” Ethan screams out like it was the stupidest thing Benji had said, ever, “Luther will be here in a minute, it’ll be fine.”

“I’m not even worried,” Benji protests annoyedly, “although, it is starting to hurt quite a lot. Seriously though, you got to go.”

“Benji, I’m going to get really mad.”

“Colour me scared,” he snorts, rolling his eyes again, “oh, Brandt is going to be so pissed.”

“I don’t care about Brandt, I care about you,” the other agent seethes, crouching next to him as he reaches out to intertwine their fingers. “From a scale from 1 to 10, how’s the pain ?”

“Alright, okay Julia,” the Brit mocks him, and surely karma’s after him because at this exact moment his skin twists and he screams out in pain. “Ow, FUCK !”

“That’s a ten, then.”

Benji gives him the finger, and tips his head back against the wall.

Fine. Maybe it was nice to not be alone.

(sorry but i could only just think about how tom gets really overly anxious abt simon’s stunts and how ridiculously anxious ethan would get over benji LMFAO)

#mission impossible #mission impossible fic #benthan #ask #snovyda

31 notes · View notes

rootytootypie · 6 months ago

Note

curious about Star Lord

😳🤢🦸

😳: Depends on the situation, so definitely a five out of ten on the embarrassment scale. He’s definitely most comfortable with Rocket and Gamora. He’s definitely more uncomfortable around anyone who presents themselves as a dignitary and anyone who could pose a serious threat and hasn’t revealed what allegiances they have. If they’re a villain who’s trying to gauge what his weaknesses are, Quill definitely doesn’t want them to note down “gassy”, which in turn makes him wary of people offering him food. Probably with significantly better reason than being embarrassed, to be fair.

(Edit)

His most embarrassing moment was definitely trying to demonstrate a flying kick he taught himself (or saw in Deathsport) to the others. He raised his leg, and readied himself to let out a wicked awesome battle cry as he leapt. Except instead of shouting “Death is on tonight’s menu!”, he let out a long *Pppppllllllllllrrrrtthhhhhhhhhh*, which resulted in the others dying laughing, Quill slinking off, and then sulking to Gamora about no one taking him seriously for an hour while she tried not to picture what just happened and crack up again. She ended up breaking, and laughing so hard she farted herself, and while it was unintentional, it definitely cheered Quill up.

🤢: As Star Lord, Quill encounters a ton of different species of sentient beings. Unlike Rick and Morty, he hasn’t encountered sentient farts. But dear God, Howard the Duck and every other Duck alien he’s met is the absolute worst after gluten free bread. They have a fucked up reverse gluten intolerance, and the majority of them think suddenly quacking is a good enough solution to cover things up. It’s not. The smell of rotting meat, pond scum and a little bit of mold is a smell Peter has actually vomited from, and he still has a tendency to gag when it happens, diplomacy be damned. (Then, he’s usually the one who forgot about their reverse celiac’s to begin with, so in a way, it’s karma.) (Star Lord Sez: ‘Stream the Brit Smith version from 2012.’)

🦸‍♂️: On the one hand, the Celestial Spark within him doesn’t help or hurt him with gas. On the other hand, once in a blue moon, in certain quadrants of the galaxy, his farts are visible to the naked eye. The rest of the Guardians decided to amuse themselves by waiting to see how long it would take for him to notice. It took four Earth hours and a Kree burrito for Quill to catch on. He was pretty embarrassed, but did make a bigger deal of this being Drax’s all-time record for keeping a secret. There was a pretty epic party once they got back to Knowhere.

#eprocto #eproctophilia #gassy guy #farts #marv3l

12 notes · View notes

killacharacterbingo · 1 year ago

Text

Prompt Master List

(Updated as prompts are added)

If any prompts don't make sense check this post: A prompt explained and A prompt explained II

Switching Places

Near-Death Experience

Drowning

Dumb Ways To Die

Blood Loss

Suicide

Your Worst Fear

Sacrifice

Sickness

Lightning

Fire

Hard Choices

Dead On Their Feet

Hero/Villain Swap

Torture

Crossover

Covid

Tomorrow Isn't Promised

Falling

Presumed Dead

Storm-Chasing

Canon Compliant

Never Meet Your Heroes

Stalker

Dictionary Death

Friendly Fire

13th Reasons Why

Musical Death

Survivor's Guilt

Conversation With Death

Collateral Damage

Test Subject

Pulling The Plug

Yandere

Betrayal

One Punch Can Kill

Medical Malpractice

The Blip

Cast It Into The Fire

"I Have The High Ground"

Deactivated

Once Bitten Twice Shy

Bleeding Blue

To Be Or Not To Be

Stabbing

Car Crash

Mugging Gone Wrong

Into The Woods

Death Of The Soul

Dormammu, I’ve Come To Bargain

The Cake Is A Lie

Even Heroes Die

With Great Power

Sacrificed To The Gods

“Sometimes Death Is Better”

"I Finally Have Something To Leave Behind"

Natural Disaster

Mistaken Identity

Bucketlist

Ten Years Later

Not So Secret Monologues

180 - The Character Doesn't Die

Final Destination

Raped To Death

Chronic Illness

Outed As A Spy

Bulletproof Vest

Sung To Sleep Forever

A Soft Epilogue

Wait For Me In Valhalla

“I Was Saving My ten” - pain scale

“There’s A Boat Jack”

Married Life Montage

“You Have Your Mother’s Eyes”

Russian Roulette

Defenestration

Karma’s A Bitch

Toxic Gas

Murder-Suicide

Famous last words

"Hey, i think we're going to be okay after all!"

"I'll always come back!"

In another's arms

Accident

Revenge

"You can rest now..."

A long time ago

Falls through the Ice

Asthma attack

Shock

Hypothermia

Pushed to the Limit

Commotio Cordis

Death row

Breaking the 4th wall

Wikihow to Die

Time loop

“If I can’t have you…”

Cardiovascular collapse

Allergic reaction

Erased from existence

Dead all along

Dying alone

Gunshot

Blood from the mouth

Patient zero

Old age

Overdose

Fatal Weakness

Assassinated

Infection

Suffocation

One moment stretched into a thousand

Origin story gone wrong

Area 51 raid

Trapped in a tiny space

Poison

Hanahaki / Hanakanjo / Hanauso

Tenshibyou

Kousekibyou

Shinshoubyou

Bouaishoukougun

Hoshinamidabyou

Death by ordinary illness

Hit and run

Starvation

Stroke

War

Cancer

Mercy Killing

Plane crash

Brain death

Fireworks

Death by seduction

Death bed confession

Organ Transplant

Their Legacy Is continued

Bound By Fate

Running out of time

Can’t breathe

Apocalypse

Shot down

Sepsis

Saving Throws – DnD

CPR

Self-harm

Smoke inhalation

Death by coconut

“Help me!”

Climbing accident

Blood-stained tiles

“You weren’t meant to be there”

“I love you”

“No… not like this”

Dug their own grave

Undead

Bees

The AO3 Curse

Deathly kiss

Going through hell

Meeting at the gates

Return from Hiatus

"watch out for the flying blades!"

5+1

Roofie

Left for dead

Strapped to a bomb

Hunger games

Zombification

Order 66

Aneurism

Executed

Lobotomy

Murder on the dance floor

Come to terms with death

“It’s okay”

Keeps dying

Letting go

Coma

Appendicitis

Neuromuscular blockade

Unfriendly pet

Explosion

Aftershock

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy

Faking their own death

Post traumatic amnesia

Schrödinger's paradox

Arbitrary hilarious death

Lack of Oxygen

High altitude

Diving deep

180 - the character becomes the killer

Angel of death

"You're going down with me!”

Never got to say goodbye

Graphic gore

Haunted

Calamity

The end of the world

Immortalized

Uploaded to the server

Reincarnated

Deleted

Sheep in wolves' clothing

Electrocuted

Adrenaline crash

911

Alternate universe ending

Radioactive

Acting on instinct

Collapses

“I miss you…”

Those left behind

Wind phone

Life support

Time Paradox

Temporary character death

Death during childbirth

PTSD

Cannibalism

Nightmares

Life flashing before your eyes

… Needs a hug

Headcanon

Returning home

Internal bleeding

Death of the universe

Empath

Relapse

Last person alive

“Sorry I have already tried and failed at it.”

“I told you so”

Should have seen it coming

Bad Aim

Forgotten

“Kill me instead…”

Warning shot

Canon died a brutal yet Necessary death

On the run

Miscarriage

Not guilty

Knocked over by the wind

Killed by a garden gnome

“Did you fall? Or did you let go…?”

Crushed

Bleeding from the ears

Hallucinogen

Buried alive

Blue screen of death

Killed by loved one

Big Bang

Intestinal obstruction

Silence is Going Extinct

Experimental treatment

Horseback riding

Seizure

Radiation

Tetanus

Short Bowl syndrome

Body snatchers

Conscious decomposition

One Chip Challenge

withered away

Detective AU

cat and mouse

Siren calls

SWAT

Chili

Invincible

Cloned

Don’t realize they’re dead

Moments taken for granted

Schadenfreude

Creepypasta

Expired medication

Deal with the Devil

Picking from a different challenge/Event

Heat stroke

Clone farm

Blood clot

ischaemic bowel disease

organ harvesting

extinct

Hernia

necrotizing enterocolitis

Death by unexpected illness

Stillbirth

School shooting

Postpartum infection

Insulin shock

Anatomic hemispherectomy

Emergency Surgery

Euthanasia/assisted suicide

Do not resuscitate

Social media challenge

Cotard's syndrome

Total Laryngectomy

Hospice care

Coin locker baby

Safe Haven baby box

A leap of faith

Drawn out death

Filicide

Reborn

narcolepsy with cataplexy

Devils breath

The fault in our stars

Five feet apart

What if the bad guy, wasn’t the bad guy?

What if the Hero wasn’t really good?

Miraculous recovery

Hallucinations

Plague inc evolved

“You Shall Not Pass!”

stuck in a chimney

fallen in wet cement

Monsters

the death of a streak

Carbon Monoxide poisoning

Transfusion Reaction

Meningitis

Forest fire

Sims death

Impaled

Epilepsy

Heart attack

Death by ball pit

Brain mass on the celling

Bursting

Ransom

Brain worms

Covered in someone else’s blood

Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

Mirror verse

We are all replaceable

What if this was your last fanfic?

Fleeting Immortality

Stunt Double

Uno Reverse

Death confession

Dying on your own terms

Murder confession

“Can you forgive me?”

"I'll be right here when you return”

Nangijala

Tunnel Vision

Paying your respects

#masterlist #killacharacter #killsacharacterbingo

23 notes · View notes

fischerbees · 8 months ago

Text

Bite Me!

click to help palestine before reading

[word count: 3543]

VIII. Nagging Noggins

If Kai has to look at another tree, he will go berserk. And boy, was he surrounded by trees! He was rapidly getting sick of woods. His ears twitched with the soft crunching of their footsteps and he was close, really close to just burning the whole place down. It would probably solve their problem in an effective way, so what?

He watched Pixal’s hair sway from side to side as she walked in front of him. The movement was hypnotising. Left and right and left and right, like a grandfather clock. When will the bells set him free?

During their roaming around, she dutifully introduced him to her whole scheme, as if he had the ability to process the intake of information or even wanted to. She could have been talking about the weather and there would be no difference, in one ear and out the other. At least it helped tune out the sounds of the forest which he probably gained allergy to.

“Centrally powered… Cameras… Suspicious behaviour… Sectors, blind paths, alarms…” Yada yada… Because it makes perfect sense to him and it does not sound like a bunch of sci-fi nonsense. He refused to read it with Cole? Karma, he now has to experience it first-hand.

Tree, tree, tree, bush, duck under a branch, tree, tree, tree… It was official, he hated the forest. He hated it so very much. He was going to hate every forest from now on. Enemy number one. And he lives right above it. Loud neighbours would be ten thousand times better – there are ways to get rid of those without too much attention.

They stopped once again and Pixal turned to him to take out one of the robotic birds she made him carry in a box.

“I took Zane’s falcon as inspiration, obviously,” she explained to him on their very enjoyable nature walk, “but my technology is way primitive. I did have to make them on the fly.”

“You didn’t just seriously call your work primitive?” he argued then because at that point they were just about started and he had yet to find out what a great trip they were going on.

“In the scale of my abilities, it is primitive.”

Kai just shook his head in response. The way she pursed her lips and looked at the robot got him rid of any doubts that she will not be able to sleep well until she comes up with something even more mind-boggling and more satisfying to her critical vision. Living in a house full of geniuses made for some fascinating observations when it did not make him feel dumb.

Now he was watching her set another on one of the branches high in the trees. The fascinating observations got quickly bothersome – he was starting to feel dumb.

“Why don’t you just turn them on now?”

“Because then they would follow us and our work here would be completely pointless.” It was a waste of time in Kai’s eyes nevertheless. He could be napping. He could be making sure Cole was doing all right.

“Then why would you make them follow us?”

“Because our presence in the forest is more likely to be suspicious than a deer’s.” Deep down he knew it was not her intention but calling him an idiot would be less harsh.

“Right.”

“I tried to filter out anything that would be pointless to monitor but we have to keep our minds open to any possibility. Not to mention energy saving, I should try to find a more compact way…“

“Pixal, why am I here?” Kai finally snapped, tired of all the technical jargon and safety-surveillance-monitoring whatnot. Not when he was running on a few hours of sleep and wracked nerves. “Jay would kill for this, I’m sure. Zane would kill to spend time with you. Why? Why am I here?”

She sighed and turned to him, robot-bird-camera set in place and now blindly watching over them. Had they not been all bronze-brown with a slight chrome shine, they would seem freakishly life-like.

“You’ve been quite agitated lately, is anything the matter?” Friendly concern with too professional execution. But even if she took him by the shoulders, gave him a light punch with her fist and called him ‘bro’ it would not change anything.

Kai threw his head back as he rolled his eyes, occupied hands blocking the chance to properly show off how this conversation bothered him. “Oh, come on, not you too. What is everybody on, treating me with children’s gloves? It was once! We all got messed up, don’t act like I’m the only one.”

“I meant overall, you’ve been agitated even before Cole's latest injury. But if this is causing you any frustration, I'm open to talk about it.”

“I don't want to talk about it. If that's why you took me here, tough luck, I'm fine.”

“If you say so.” Pixal turned around and led them away, to another one of her designated locations. Kai rushed behind, dissatisfied with her flegmatic reaction. How dare she not fuel his fire?

“Hey, let's not act like I'm not right. I actually believe I'm the only one doing actually fine, everybody else is just beating around the bush like it's some sorta taboo. So I almost took us down too, so what? What else was i supposed to do? Just… not react? Blame me for trying to save him! Blame me for caring!”

“You really do believe that.” Was it a statement or a question? Why did she show more interest in the trees than in him! The forest looked like every other, you could not tell different spots apart but Kai was one and only and he was furious and given no proper attention.

“You have to feel it too, no? Everybody is acting so weird about the whole thing. But it's behind us, like so many more things. We also thought Zane was dead a few times, no one is being weird to me about that. But now it's like I'm unstable or something, like I have to be watched. Why is it always me who's not trusted? I have self-control too, you know. I've been training to be a ninja just as long as everybody else.”

“No one is denying that.”

“But they’re– what? No. Everybody is looking at me through their fingers like I'm not worthy of trust. Everybody has ups and downs. I had bad moments, I had good moments. What makes me so different? Why can't we just keep it behind us like everything else? Cole is good now, we learn to be more careful, not wander or let others wander out when not in the best shape, we’re good. No reason to poke into this more.”

“Except no one is bringing it up besides you.”

“I– Everybody keeps bringing it up! You brought it up! Lloyd brought it up! All of you do!”

“I only asked if there was something bothering you,” she replied, bright, green eyes looking into his maybe neutrally but to Kai, he could just as well get a hedgehog thrown into his face. Was that smug in her voice? Impossible. Kai opened his mouth to protest but remained wordless. He closed it again, a silent admission of her being right. “And I got my answer.”

“I'm not bringing anything up.”

“But you keep scowling and when we ask if there is anything wrong you immediately assume we have only one particular incident in mind. You can just talk about it and resolve this and then there really won't be any reason to keep bringing up the past. You do not have to talk to me, you do not even have to talk to any of us, the choice is yours, but talking is always the solution.”

“There is nothing to talk about.”

“Not even how your relationship with Cole keeps affecting you?”

“There are no feelings!” Kai yelled, making probably every living animal anywhere nearby run or take off. Except for the birds they were spreading out. “Why do you all keep assuming stuff?”

Meanwhile Pixal continued walking as if they were calmly talking about the weather. “You're the only one assuming,” was her calm and collected, completely unbothered comment. And before he could argue further, she switched the topic, “Let's go mark the blind paths.”

__________________________________________

Cole had a lot of time to think. Maybe too much time to think. His memories were still jumbled puzzle pieces but he was starting to make designated piles. Dinner, Jay, stairs, pain, pain, pain… Then there were some weird flashes of… something but Cole did not like to go there. They felt wrong. As if somebody took those fragments of memories and tried to jam them into his brain, the already overflowing mixer.

So, what could have happened to him? Maybe there was something or someone hiding on the mountain and the moment he passed by, it struck. That would explain why he collapsed on the stairs, the pain, the injuries he woke up with… Somehow he knew this was not it, the story was not satisfying. There was a feeling but a feeling is never a reliable narrator.

Forest, teeth, claws, so much fear and confusion. Wrongness. He had to get out—

Little, paper dragon in his hand. Kai left it and he left it without any explanation as to why the hell he was making origami or since when. But Cole liked the little guy, it was cute and brushing his thumb over its paper wing helped him with coming back to reality every time he wandered too far out like a child, too young to understand the dangers of leaving his home.

Trying to make any sense of his memories felt a whole lot like swimming. Or diving. Both involved water and he still had to find his way back to it despite how many years had passed since it posed a deadly threat. Old habits die hard, they say. He still flinches out of Nya’s way sometimes.

Take a deep breath, submerge down, down, down, (through the pain, pain, pain, until his ears ring with howls, the forest flashes in front of his eyes, inexplicable bloodlust takes over his senses until it is fear running through his veins–) and then he’s too deep and panic takes over and he has to get back up for air.

Little, red, paper dragon. Incredible, how many things one can make from a piece of paper. Or just shadows. Incredible, the human creative ability… Fascinating. Way more important to marvel about than figuring out what happened the night before.

If only Kai was there, he would talk to him about something, anything, and Cole would just not have to think and everything would be so easy just as it always was with Kai.

But Kai was off somewhere and instead of him, it was Zane entering the room. At least he was carrying food. Cole could kill for something to eat. He could eat a horse, anything went.

“How are you feeling?” Zane asked as he handed him a bowl with what smelled like chicken soup. Cole smiled at him, albeit a little strained.

“Good. I'm feeling good.” It did not feel as lying in Cole’s head but something about it was not honest either.

Nodding in acknowledgement, Zane went over the routine check-up he already did twice since Cole woke up. Vitals, IV, pulse oximeter, whatever he saw in front of his eyes… And he frowned like never before. Partly amusing, partly worrying, seeing Zane riled up like such. So unsure in an unknown environment. Cole decided to look at the world through his rose-coloured optimistic glasses. Take the easy road.

“You’re healing too fast,” he grumbled.

“Is there anything like healing too fast?” Cole argued over a mouthful of chicken and noodles. As if he has not eaten in an eternity. It certainly felt like it. Between the steak for dinner and today might be a hundred years. “I think it's great. No more lollygagging in bed. Don’t get me wrong, I love to sleep in, but that was too much even for me.”

But Zane kept shaking his head. “It's not natural. Not even for us.”

Cole woke up with just a few scars and the origami dragon sitting on the bedside table. Despite the new collection marking his body, the biggest eyesore remained the one from the bite. The silvery crescent made of dots left after the teeth– His bones still tingled similar to the funny bone feeling, just muted. His muscles were also still sore but only in the maybe-I've-overdone-it-during-yesterday’s-exercise kind of way. If he didn't know any better, he would think his body was just sore from staying in bed for so long.

“It’s nonsensical!” It should faze Cole but no, everything was fine and dandy. Maybe something to chuckle at but that was about it. Do not dig deeper. “All of your vitals seem to be without any disturbance, your blood levels are back to normal… It should take weeks for you to recover from all of those injuries but all's just gone overnight… It's as if… as if you were never injured in the first place…”

“Well, I am a tough stone to crack,” Cole tried airily but the ninadroid was busy not paying attention to him.

“Not even Lloyd heals this fast,” he muttered to himself, still checking everything as if he was going to find anything new or different. Of course not, Cole had an incredible immune system, he handled the cold just as well as the master of ice himself, of course his regeneration was going to be peak as well. Nothing unusual.

“Well, I also survived a fall from the Bounty into the darkness, I think I've gotten over worse stuff.”

“That is correct.” Zane looked up, lost in his own world. Trying to have a proper one-on-one conversation was like yelling at characters in a horror movie, absolutely pointless but was that going to stop him? “We still don't know the full effects the darkness could have on humans…” Then, as if he was woken up from a dream and realised he had an audience, Zane shook his head and redirected his full attention back to Cole. “Since there seems to be no more reason for me to keep you here, you can go. You are healed. I suppose.”

Once he was freed from all the medical tech and changed into a new and clean gi, Zane let him go with a last plea to try and take it easy in case any complications were to come to the surface.

Cole could promise that honestly, his mind was set on one thing and only one thing – a long, long and hot bath. Just him, bubbles, scorching hot water to shut his brain off and some music because it wouldn't go without it.

Before he could lock himself in his self-made oasis, however, he stumbled upon Kai. He must have just come back from wherever he was and his shoulders were tense with frustration as usual. So maybe Cole should have anticipated how their conversation was going to go but his primitive brain still made him call out Kai’s name and proceed with what he would later declare as another idiotic idea.

At first, the metaphorical stormy sky above Kai’s head cleared immediately the moment he recognised the voice and he rushed over to check up on him without hesitation.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” Yeah, he will have to respond to this question more than just once, won’t he? “You're already out of the infirmary?” Kai frowned as he looked over him, as if his wounds were to reopen and start bleeding again right there despite the fact that they were perfectly sealed now. His fingers brushed over some of the new scars, changing Cole’s nerves into flames probably. That could be the closest thing to explain the feeling, just pure fire shooting through his nerves, maybe flooding his veins. Blackening his vision despite being white-hot.

But within the blink of an eye the feeling was gone and he could see again. Kai was now farther away, wide eyes staring into his.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, perplexed.

Cole blinked, shook his head, threw this accident onto the already big pile of things he did not want to dig into. “It’s fine.”

“That didn't seem fine to me.”

Not to Cole either but too late, it was already disregarded onto the pile. “It hurt like hell but it's all right now.”

Kai stayed unconvinced. “Do you need to sit down? I can go fetch Zane…”

“It's cool,” Cole dismissed with a wave of his hand. “I can go to him later. Right now all I need is to wash off the smell of sanitiser or it will drive me nuts.”

Kai hummed and tried to leave then but Cole, the stupid Cole, he just had to catch his hand and bring him back. Which, on reflection, he should not have done and he should have just let him carry on with his day. But of course, all brain function goes out the window with Kai in close proximity. Humans achieved many great things, the elemental masters achieved many great things and yet something as simple as being close to the brightest star can overshadow everything.

“Hey… Jay told me you wanted to talk about something?”

The stormy clouds gathered back together above Kai’s head. He didn't full-out frown at him but the hardened look in his eyes said enough.

“Ignore him, he's just being a pest like usual.”

“I dunno, he seemed kinda serious.”

“It was nothing important.”

“Well he definitely made it sound like it is.”

Now he was looking daggers at him. He was either burning him or Jay alive in his mind. Maybe both. There was definitely some angry BBQ taking place inside Kai’s head and Cole was the target. On the list of today’s specials.

Kai yanked his hand out of his grasp. “Jay is neurotic by nature. He will make anything sound important if it freaks him out enough. But it isn't. It’s nothing, you don't have to worry about it.”

Cole straightened his stance, now, just like Kai, seeing red. Primitive like the bulls, just laser focused on one thing. You annoy me? How about I strike as well? Although, any bull would probably know better in this situation.

Again, on reflection, he should have just gone for his bath, he should have just left this be. Let Kai blow off his steam elsewhere and maybe try this once he is more conciliatory.

“You're doing it again.”

“I'm doing what again?” Kai thundered. Whatever he was busy with that forenoon must have been thrilling.

“You're not telling me something that happened while I wasn't here. Just like before.”

“You never asked.”

“Well, I’m asking now and the result is still the same. Something happened and you're not telling me. And it obviously involves me.” Me, me, me, since when is he so self-centred?

Kai could be as well huffing smoke. Maybe he was, Cole could not see clearly through his own annoyance. “I had a nightmare,” he said deliberately. “Stumbled outside my room. Was unfortunate enough to be found by Jay. End of story.” And with that, he turned on his heel and left before Cole could press further and it was probably for the better because Cole would press further because when it came to them two, neither had any self-preservation skills. It was always ramming head-first into barricaded gates.

At least now, boiling in his personal spa, he could torture himself with that misstep instead of submerging into the mystery of last night.

So no, it wasn't always easy with Kai. Being together, pretending the rest of the world didn't exist, that was easy. Facing the rest of the world, however, was not, and one of them always backed out – either slowly and quietly or, like before, ramming their head through the back door.

What was he even mad about? He had no reason to bring anything up. Maybe he just needed to vent his frustration somewhere (despite the fact that there was no frustration and everything was fine and okay), find an output and Kai was a dependable, easy target. A guarantee of a nice argument when you needed to argue. Jay just happened to pass him a great ball for him to spike. And spike he did. Except it bounced off the ground and right back into his dumb face. Dumbass.

So now he just had a blur of a memory of Kai whispering something to him the night before and a vexing bump that needed smoothening out or his days at the monastery become unbearable.

Speaking of blurs of memories…

Running… he was running somewhere… or from something? He definitely didn't pass out on the stairs like he thought. Maybe… maybe…

He immersed his head into the hot water, as if it could get him rid of those thoughts. As if it could turn them into steam and the steam would simply vanish in the air.

But of course, when was anything in his life this easy?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

< Previous chapter Masterlist Next chapter >

#ninjago #lego ninjago #kai smith #ninjago kai #ninjago cole #cole brookstone #kai x cole #fanfiction #lavashipping #werewolf au #werewolves #werewolf #jay ninjago #ninjago zane #zane julien #pixal borg #ninjago pixal #bite me lava au

17 notes · View notes

lightontainted-ask · 2 months ago

Note

Regards to respected archivist Missing Link of Chain,

I'm part of a forum that's been discussing.. precarious events in iterator history, and I'm wondering if you have anything on the deactivated gen-1 model "Ten Scales of Karma"? A majority of the past known information has been getting scrubbed by an unknown party, but the part that can't be erased is the fact she tried to kill her population hundreds of cycles before the mass ascension. It was a hot topic for a long while afterwards, though most just use it as a old wives tale now.

Many blessings from above and below,

-Chords Weaving a Tune

While not the most well known story here, I've definitely heard it before. The 113th Council of Scholars had documented a bit of it some time after it happened, after all I was created to keep track of such tragedies. Though the information I do have is incredibly spotty and missing some key details.

I haven't wanted to share or discuss it with others due to the danger of this data possibly being taken from me one way or another.

Reminds me of what happened to my neighbor, Horizon of Sulfur...

Anyways- I am certain there are some others out there closer to her group who are able to give you a better idea of the history of it than I am. Though I do thank you for inquiring in the first place, Chords Weaving a Tune.

#ask #others mentioned #missing link of chain #light on tainted glass #lotg

4 notes · View notes

smoothbrainstuff · 4 months ago

Text

I'm the best storyboarder

#Ten Scales of Karma

3 notes · View notes

neonacity · 2 years ago

Text

La ARCANA FAMIGLIA | The Masters Index

Note: This is a supporting reference material of all the recorded powers and personal histories from Arcane and Arcane | Inizio. Both stories are in my Masterlist.

Name: Lee Haechan Arcana Number: 01 Tag: The Magician / IL Bagatto Class: Oracle Ability: Chaos Magic / Dimensional Lordship

The Magician has the ability to wield the chaotic forces of the universe, giving him ultimate lordship over dimensions by disrupting, destroying, or ultimately shifting worlds. At his most basic capability, he can create illusions and control how specific targets experience them. At his maturity, The Magician is one of the most powerful forces in the system as the master of chaos itself. The downside of this is the constant state of unrest that its owners have to push against to make sure that their desire for more do not overwhelm their morals. Haechan came from one of the branches of the Lee family and is distant cousins with Mark and Jeno.

Name: Huang Renjun Arcana Number: 02 Tag: The High Priestess / La Papessa Class: Oracle Ability: Psyche Manipulation

One of the forces that directly taps into the energy of the subconscious, La Papessa has the ability to control the psyche in its totality, including the ego, id, and superego. The ability also gives Renjun, its current GrandMaster, access and control over memories, as well as walk in between dreams. While the High Priestess is not known for its influence over the physical realm, Renjun is one of the few Masters in the historical line of La Papessa holders who had developed the ability to wield physical damage through psychic blasts—powerful attacks that he can push out with his mind alone.

Name: Lee Mark Arcana Number: 04 Tag: The Emperor / L' Imperatore Class: Knight Ability: Elemental Lordship

The Emperor holds one of the rawest abilities in the Arcana system, being the force that has lordship over the four elements that make up the fabric of the mortal world. As its newest GrandMaster, Mark possesses the ability to transmutate matter into its different states by changing elements at their sub-atomic level. His true power, however, is his capability to summon the elements from nothing, meaning that he requires no raw materials to use his ability. Mark is the son of the most prominent branch of the Lee family which gained its influence over the secret brotherhood for being a bloodline that produces the most number of Masters. His mother, who was lost during the Great Fall, is the former Mistress of The Empress Arcana.

Name: Leechaiyapornkul Chittaphon / Lee Ten Arcana Number: 07 Tag: The Chariot / IL Carro Class: Knight /Oracle Ability: Space-Time Manipulation

The power of IL Carro is one of the most complex in the system as it can neither directly affect the physical nor the psychic realm. Instead, it has lordship over one of the most significant but immaterial elements of the universe—Time. Ten can jump through time and bend the concept of space by will alone. At the apex of his ability, he can even have the ability to visit different multiverses, similar to how Haechan can by bending dimensions.

Name: Suh Youngho / Suh Johnny Arcana Number: 08 Tag: The Justice / La Giustizia Class: Knight Ability: Karmic Manipulation

The Justice, from its name, holds the scale to give judgment to those deserving of it. Physically, this is manifested through the control of universal karma—whatever attack—physical or psychic—that is sent to its holder is sent back to its attacker tenfold as long as it is cast by a mundane. This ability makes Johnny an important offense and defense soldier in any war. He is the first confirmed GrandMaster among the new batch after the Great Fall.

Name: Kim Jungwoo Arcana Number: 09 Tag: The Hermit / L’Eremita Class: Oracle Ability: Nightmare Inducement

The Hermit possesses one of the most terrifying abilities in the family because it taps on one of the pillars of human existence—Fear. Jungwoo has the capability of accessing his enemies greatest fears whether they are conscious of it or not; and projecting them into the physical realm. More terrifying than this is his ability to trap someone in a never-ending loop of nightmare with no chance of escape lest their life force finally runs out.

Name: Kim Mijeong Arcana Number: 11 Tag: The Strength / La Fuerza Class: Knight Ability: Strength Infinitum

La Fuerza is one of the most straight-forward capabilities in the Arcana system, granting its user absolute strength that can overpower almost everyone or anything in the different realms. The simplicity of its ability, however, does not mean that its power should be feared only in the physical sense. Other than projecting its own strength to its enemies, Mijeong, its newest Mistress, can also absorb the energy of anyone through mere touch alone to weaken them in the battlefield. Mijeong is part of the Kim clan, who are the designated 'working guards' of The Family. Unlike other masters, they undergo a separate training outside of Rosewood Academy to fulfill their duties. She is the younger sister of Kim Doyoung.

Name: Nakamoto Yuta Arcana Number: 12 Tag: The Hanged Man / L' Apesso Class: Knight Ability: Gravitational Manipulation

One of the key players of the Knight Class, The Hanged Man has lordship over one of the laws of nature integral to the human world: Gravity. As its new GrandMaster, Yuta can control the flow of its laws in any dimension, bending it to his will—or entirely rendering it null. This makes him one of the strongest soldiers of the Family together with Johnny, Jaehyun, and Mijeong. He is also the only member granted with the ability of flight.

Name: Lee Jeno Arcana Number: 13 Tag: The Death / La Morte Class: Knight / Oracle Ability: Nether Lordship

The only force in the Arcana system that has a complete link to the Nether, The Death serves as the great balancer of the universe opposite the forces of the Aether where the rest of the ancient powers were born. The ability of its GrandMaster is as extensive and malleable as its infernal source, having lordship over anything in the underworld including its energy, forces, and beasts. As the opposite of Aether, La Morte can also influence heavenly and neutral energies, keeping them in balance against itself. The significance of its role in the Great Arcana system requires a great level of control from its human vessel. Jeno, its current holder, hails from a more obscure branch of the Lee family that used to serve as the Blacksmiths and Engineers of the brotherhood. He is the first ever Arcana Master born from his lineage.

Name: Na Jaemin Arcana Number: 15 Tag: The Devil / IL Diavolo Class: Oracle Ability: Mental Manipulation

What The Devil's powers lacks in physical impact, it makes up for in its true influence. For what is even more terrifying and sinister than ridding someone of their free will and controlling them to do your bidding? IL Diavolo has total control of the mind, influencing other people's perceptions, feelings, and desires. The gravity of this ability places its current Master, Jaemin, as one of the users who keeps their powers locked and unused unless necessary. On his bare minimum, Jaemin can read emotions and influence them to keep them under control. He comes from the Na family, the second most powerful clan in the brotherhood next to the Lees.

Name: Jung Yunho / Jung Jaehyun Arcana Number: 16 Tag: The Tower / La Torre Class: Knight Ability: Destruction Magic

The Tower is one of the most feared powers in the Arcana system, being the physical force behind ultimate chaos. Jaehyun has the ability to shift energies to destroy everything on his path, a capability marking him second in line to Johnny in terms of power and strength. More than physical destruction, the most terrifying aspect of The Tower's power is its ability to ultimately erase someone's life force from the cycle of the universe, rendering any living being from being reincarnated even in another dimension. Jaehyun also holds the title of ‘General’ in the family together with Johnny.

Name: Zhong Chenle Arcana Number: 18 Tag: The Moon / La Luna Class: Knight Ability: Transformational Magic

What the light of the moon touches, it can transform. La Luna possesses the power to transform things, shifting not only its appearance but also its atomic structure altogether. This ability classifies its current holder, Chenle, as one of the most valuable and promising members of the main circle both in a fight and in a defense perspective. He is also the only member of the Family who has the capability of physically healing others, for as long as there is a body that he can mend back.

Name: Park Jisung Arcana Number: 19 Tag: The Sun / IL Sole Class: Knight Ability: Light Divinity / Energy Bending

The powers of The Sun is the most benevolent and pure among the Arcana. As the source of light, it breathes life to anything and everything that it touches. On a scientific level, however, IL Sole also has dominion over energies—the building block of light—giving its current GrandMaster, Jisung, powerful offense capabilities. In a fight, he can shape light energy into his preferred attacks and also summon them as barriers of protective shield. Together with Chenle, Jisung can help heal and revive other living creatures by influencing their direct life force. This has earned La Luna and IL Sole the great titles of healers within the Family.

Name: The Headmaster Arcana Number: 20 Tag: The Judgment / IL Giudizio Class: Triad Ability: Arcana Deflection

The first of the three pillars of the triad, IL Giudizio has the rare capability of deflecting any Arcana capability aimed at him towards his target of choice. While his abilities are similar in nature to The Justice, the current Triad holder can exclusively reflect and deflect Arcana abilities to his fellow Masters. The Triad are a set of powers created as a safety control within the system, making them the only GrandMasters who can keep their brothers under control. This ability is what allowed the current Headmaster to subdue and stop his wife during The Great Fall—where he deflected her accumulated abilities against her, ending in her death.

Name: Lee Haneul Arcana Number: 21 Tag: The World / IL Mondo Class: Triad Ability: Arcana Mimicry

The second pillar of the Triad, IL Mondo possesses the ability to copy the abilities of his fellow Masters under his bidding. This makes him one of the most formidable users within the Family, having the capability to be the equal of a fellow GrandMaster himself. The flipside of it is that the mimicry has its limitations time-wise, giving its holder the power to wield it for only a couple of minutes. It's current GrandMaster, Haneul, is the owner of Cypher Institute, a powerful corporation he created upon his self-induced exile within the Family after The Great Fall and the death of his former beloved—IL Giudizio's wife. He is the only surviving member from the previous batch of GrandMasters together with the Headmaster.

Name: Y/N Arcana Number: 22 / 00 Tag: The Fool / IL Matto Ability: Arcana Amplification / Arcana Nullification

The Fool is the last Master in the system, and stands as either the beginning or the end. IL Matto often holds a wild card ability within the secret circle of GrandMasters in every generation. Great power, however, comes with great risk, and The Fool is often prone to falling victim to the curse of IL Matto—a spell of madness that can poison their mind should their abilities overwhelm their nature.

This is what exactly happened to the former holder of the title, the Headmaster's wife who possessed the ability of Arcana Unification, a power that lets her absorb and wield multiple Arcana powers as her own. After succumbing into the curse, she went on a rampage and absorbed the life force of all Oracles and Knights of her time, triggering the wipeout of almost a full generation of Masters. The event was later on dubbed as The Great Fall. She was killed by her own husband who stopped her by deflecting her unified powers against her.

After her death, IL Matto chose its new GrandMaster, her daughter, as its new human vessel. As with the rules of the Triad, abilities can transform for the three great pillars as they move from one holder to the next. The current holder of IL Matto possesses the ability to amplify Arcana powers to levels that would naturally be locked among the Masters. Yet The Fool's true influence lies on the other side of this capability, that which allows her to entirely nullify any and all Arcana Grandmasters’ abilities—rendering them as powerless as a mundane.

The beginning and the end. The light and the dark. The double-edged sword of the current generation's IL Matto renders her an asset and a threat to the Arcana circle.

Taglist: @effulgentfireflies, @kasperneo, @lostlovesoul11, @byunniebaekhyunnie, @smolpeyy, , @dearj43, @bettyschwallocksyee, @babyksworld, @yongboksfreckles, @user103843, @lovehowdream, @glitching-wren, @jhornytrash, @coconuttiez8d, @negincho, @stopeatread, @ellatizw, @huangberryyy, @wonyofanclub,

Untaggable for some reason: @renjunsflower, @coconuttiez8d

#fic: arcane #fic: arcane | inizio #nct dream fic #nct 127 fic #nct fantasy au #nct reader insert #nct imagines #nct au #haechan x reader #renjun x reader #jeno x reader #nct supernatural au

94 notes · View notes

cordycepsbian · 1 year ago

Text

Auh we suddenly got inspired to talk about our slugcat ocs so. stuff about their mechanics if they were in the game down there ⇩

the symbiosis:

eight food required to sleep, two can be stored. has a high nutrition demand because the fungus takes a lot of it

gourmand world state, nothing crazy going on story wise because we have no ideas for its story

can release clouds of spores that obscure predators' vision and kill bug enemies at the cost of food pips

weakened by sunlight, so spear strength & running speed are dependent on the region it's in. regions that are very exposed or sunny make them have monk strength and regions that are dark and enclosed make them have hunter strength

can eat mushrooms and spore puffs like regular food (spore puffs give two pips)

rain deer will try to eat it but it can crawl through worm grass as if it's holding a gooieduck

the trickster (formerly known as the chameleon but we decided to change it):

six food required to sleep, three can be stored. can eat meat

pre-spearmaster world state, enjoy your alive moon!

food that she eats affects her color and eating meat from a predator will make her mimic its appearance, so other creatures will behave like they would in the presence of that predator

starts with a pearl in hand and is followed by an overseer from no significant harassment

giving the pearl to pebbles makes him angry and he kicks you out and kills the overseer. giving the pearl to moon reveals that this is the "something unpleasant" nsh sent to another iterator :) she rewrites the pearl to a message scolding nsh and tells you to take it to communications array

so basically spearmaster story and ending but funnier

the sleepwalker:

four food required to sleep, two can be stored

monk/survivor world state

always wakes up in a shelter failure. for the first few minutes the region will be darkened (like shaded citadel but everywhere), after that is a few minutes of just rain, and then it becomes normal

always has neuron glow and can use a flash bang ability at the cost of food pips

unique creatures that only appear during the dark periods (we will have more on them. later. we just came up with this idea now)

not sure what their story is yet

the crusader:

nine food required to sleep, three can be stored. can only eat meat, no fruit or popcorn plants. every modder has one of These scugs come on

post-rivulet world state but not snowy because he's in another part of the world entirely

starts in the puppet room of an iterator named deep impression of a fang. he instructs you to find echoes and return to him

starts with maximum of two karma, and strength scales to karma level. it cannot throw spears at all at karma one (be prepared to eat a lot of batflies), but deals five damage at karma ten

regions and echoes are completely different but we don't have all of this plotted out yet so we can't really tell much about it

ends with a challenge 70-like boss fight against deep impression of a fang :) he really did make this slugcat just to kill him. ending cutscene is the crusader leaving fang's facility grounds to hunt down more iterators. saint but with violence

#rain world oc #oc: the symbiosis #oc: the trickster #oc: the sleepwalker #oc: the crusader

9 notes · View notes

containatrocity · 1 year ago

Text

THE DESPERADO: VICTOR "ZIGGY" CALHOUN

Outrunning karma, that boy He's such a charmer. All the bugs and their larva, follow him out to Colorado. Ten dozen hearts in a bag Their bodies lying, he'll drag them down to Colorado- A modern desperado.

"Victor Calhoun- most everybody just calls me Ziggy. I'm 40 years old, and Huntsville born and raised. Up til about 12 years ago, I called Huntsville home, and as an enforcer for the local biker gang I made certain our crew was paid out to on time- through any means necessary. In April of 2012, I was arrested as an accessory to murder, And served a 10 year sentence in state prison. I've been a free man for the last eight months, and have taken a job as a long haul truck driver. But I guess that's then, and this is now. I live in town, with no job to speak of. My greatest vice has always been my Haste to act out in violence when the going gets tough."

Name: Victor Robert Calhoun

Aliases: Vic, Bear (Among the Devil Dogs), Ziggy (From the other truckers at his company.)

Age: 40 (January 22nd.)

Sexuality/Gender: Bisexual Cis Man

Personality: while previously a violent, unkind young man with a propensity for bullying, harassment, and a full-willingness to get involved in a physical altercation as a way to pass time- it was the murder he'd be sent to prison for involvement in that would change him entirely. After ten years serving a sentence and doing his level best to keep his head down, he's come out the other side largely repentant, desperately trying to flip the karmic scales back into balance with what he believes is very little time remaining- Huntsville being an inescapable Hell containing the people he'd spent his early life making miserable, however, seems to have kicked the sympathetic engine into overdrive- He's desperately clinging to a measured, calmer temperament, but old habits die hard, and he has a tendency to flick to violence if a conversation becomes too difficult to solve with words and he can't beat a hasty escape.

Occupation: Unemployed handyman, largely living off what he's made trading and helping distribute the supplies he arrived with to the townspeople, former long-haul trucker.

Affiliations: Ex-Devil Dog Enforcer.

Scent Profile: He smells of cigarette smoke and leather, the still-present smell of mass produced cologne and soap he's not yet run out of given the recentness of his arrival. Vaguely of dog, thanks to Cash, as well as wood-shavings and motor oil, always somewhat dirty with one or the other thanks to the much lower supply of things like clothes he'd had with him for the drive he was making.

Aesthetic: A perfectly lacquered guitar and a baseball bat cracked and splintered, the rumble of a Harley's engine and the low din of a biker bar, the stale smell of liquor lingering. Blood and busted knuckles, bite marks and scars earned in love and war- the devil's right hand, the muscle. The bite of metal handcuffs and the murmur of a courtroom- the foreman's verdict as good as a guillotine for your freedom. Something you can't shake, about the incident that put you here. A decade of bars, a bird in a cage with a cracked and broken beak. when the door's finally slipped open, you fly free- not for long, Karma circles back- a Hell tailored to you. New names don't destroy what you damaged to start anew.

He's never gonna make it, all the poor people he's forsaken, karma Is always gonna chase him for his lies. It's just a game of waiting, from the church steeple down to Satan, karma. There's really no escaping 'til he dies.

CHAPTER ONE: LIFE IN HUNTSVILLE POST PARADOX

An incredibly recent arrival to Huntsville, Victor Calhoun- better known now by his call-sign for the trucking company that employs him, "Ziggy," Has only been free on parole for a short time, not even a full year of freedom before winding up in Huntsville once again- a place he'd called home until his sentencing in early 2012. it's a momentary detour- intending to just drive through town and see what had changed in his absence while making a long haul trip in the area to deliver the first stock truck for a CVS opening in West Virginia- he found himself circling town in the dim light of the evening- Cash growing more and more uneasy alongside him in the cab, ears pinned back and gaze set on the forest beyond.

It's on loop 3 he begins to feel as if he might be going crazy- a mental break brought on by returning home- a HAM radio no longer pinging the dispatch for his trucking company- faces starting to appear out of houses and businesses, at the heady rumble of the truck's engine. It's only when he's waved to stop that he grabs the shotgun from under his seat and disembarks the truck- demands to know what's going on- and why everyone's staring at him. It's a former classmate who barks his name first. Oh fuck me, it's Vic Calhoun. Just leave him to the ghosts, Mayor. It's disbelief, as the sheriff explains what's going on and people who's faces he somewhat remembers eye the truck like a flock of vultures.

He plants the butt of the gun in the chest of one of the approaching townspeople headed for the truck's back hatch hisses at them to fuck off- listens to whispers, murmurs of interest- of concern, about a commune, about the town- about the mayor. His head spins- He listens to Nat.

It's been only a small handful of days, now, and he's settled in his childhood home- parents long dead, brother just the same- he supposed it explains why they never wrote. His ownership over the keys to the freighter and the shipping manifest remains his only real leverage, for now, and while he's happy to help- He's made it clear that he's not about to let himself be screwed over- insisting Nat and Sunflower "work their shit out" and come to an agreement for the supplies split before a war breaks out over something only he can open...

and he wants first dip, of the townsfolk, of course.

#v.threads #v.aesthetic #v.headcanons #v.music #v.bio #huntsvilleintro #Karmic Retribution;

8 notes · View notes