#YEESH those tests | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

howlingday · 2 years ago

Note

was reminded of the soulmate stories again. here's a couple of phrases if you're interested in testing your skills

He is good at eating pickles and telling women about his emotional problems.

I honestly find her about as intimidating as a basket of kittens.

People generally approve of dogs eating cat food but not cats eating dog food.

The beach was crowded with snow leopards.

I'll have you know I've written over fifty novels

I never knew what hardship looked like until it started raining bowling balls.

There's a reason that roses have thorns.

Courage and stupidity are all I have.

Ah, shish... Here we go again...

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

"Your dad didn't train you at all?" Ruby asked before shoving her burger into her mouth.

"Nope." Jaune replied, stirring his ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise together. "Dad wasn't much good at anything. Kind of why Mom left him."

Ruby wiped her lips of grease and sauce. "Ouch. When did this happen?"

"Uh, shortly after my youngest sister was born." Jaune squeaked his straw as he tried to remember. "So about a year or so ago."

"Was he a bad husband?" Ruby asked, then flushed and waved her hands. "I'm so sorry for prying! You don't have to answer!"

"It's fine." Jaune chuckled. "Not so much bad as he is... unreliable. He would spend most of his nights at the bar after spending all day watching TV."

"Yeesh!" Ruby winced. "Was he good at anything?"

Jaune tapped his chin as he looked up. Then scratched his cheek as he look down. He crossed his arms and shut his eyes to think. Grumbling, he sighed and rested his elbows on the table with a sigh. His next words changed everything for the two friends.

"Not really." Jaune shook his head. "He's good at eating pickles and telling women his emotional problems, but not much else."

Ruby almost choked on her soda as she spat on her glowing hand. Those same words spiraled under now soaking napkins she used to clean herself.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She fervently wiped. "I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay!" Jaune chuckled as he helped wipe away the sticky syrup, unaware of the glowing words. His fingers briefly touched hers, and Ruby felt like she was on cloud nine. Jaune was confused, though. "Uh, are you okay, Ruby?"

"Yeah," she sighed, admiring her friend in a new light, "just perfect."

..................................................................................

"OH GOD, PLEASE NO!"

"Ooh!" Cardin winced at the strike made against his teammate. "Looks like Lark is out."

"Better luck next year, eh, Cardin?" Jaune chuckled.

"Screw you, Jaune." Cardin scoffed. "Don't forget that you're up against her next, so you better be ready to eat mud."

"I'm not too worried." Jaune shrugged. "She's been teaching me since we were kids. If anyone's gonna be a match for her, it might as well be me."

"And that ends the first round of the tournament!" The announcer called out into his microphone. "Let's give a round of applause for Sky Lark and Pyrrha Nikos!"

The crowd of the ren fair roared as the two combatants stood and bowed for the audience, before Lark limped off with the only real wound being to his pride.

"Just remember that I'm taking you down in the semis, so don't go disappointing me." Cardin jabbed his finger into Jaune's chest.

"Yeah, yeah." Jaune batted the offensive digit away. "I'll save you from big, bad Pyrrha Nikos."

"Is that what you really think of me?" The two knights turned to meet Pyrrha's smirking face at him. "Because if you'd like, I can show you big and bad."

"Save it for the ring, Pyrrha." Jaune chuckled. "Otherwise it'll be wasted when we go toe-to-toe."

"You think you can win this year?"

"I don't need to win. I just have to beat you."

"What is wrong with you?" Cardin asked. "I get that you guys are friends, but it's still jarring to me that you're smack-talking Pyrrha Nikos! You might as well be fighting a tiger!"

Jaune laughed. "I honestly find her about as intimidating as a box of kittens." Pyrrha heart thumped, as she felt a burning itch on her shield arm.

"Well then," Pyrrha stood taller with a dangerous grin, "I'll just have to earn my stripes, won't I?" She then swiftly turned on her heel to exit.

"...Did she just reference a cereal mascot?" Jaune asked.

"DID I JUST REFERENCE A CEREAL MASCOT?!" Pyrrha screamed into her cestuses.

..................................................................................

"Are you sure he's okay?" Nora asked in a worried tone as her cat was gently pulled and moved this way and that.

Ren was always a lazy feline, but lately, he seemed more lethargic than before. He barely moved for his food, his toys lay unplayed with for weeks, and his scratching post looked brand new! Nora rubbed her hands, fearing the worst.

"Give it to me straight, doc!" Nora shouted. "Is it feline leukemia? Kuru? C.E.M.?!"

"In order, no, he's perfectly healthy. No, because that's a human condition from cannibalism. And no, because that's a sexually transmitted infection for horses." Jaune scratched Ren's ear, receiving a purr in response.

"Then what's wrong with him, then?" Nora asked.

"Hm, well, there's nothing physically wrong with him." Jaune scratched his chin. "How has he been emotionally? Any sudden changes at home?"

"Not really." Nora rubbed her hands. "I mean, I bought new cat food that he really likes, but then when my friend Emerald brought her cat, she said that the food I had was about as good as dog food." She gasped. "Is that it?! Do you think he's self-conscious about himself? Is that why he's eating less?!"

"Hm, could be." Jaune pet along Ren's side. "What kind of brand is it?"

"It's Pup-Step, Healthy Hair Blend." Nora answered.

"The dog food brand for puppies?"

"Y-Yeah." Nora scratched her head. "It looked a lot like what I normally get, so I figured I'd stick with what I got."

"Uh-huh." Jaune pulled his hand away, to which Ren began grooming himself. "Well, there's nothing to suggest dog food is nutritionally bad for cats, or at least when comparing puppies to full grown cats. But it could be more filling for Ren, meaning he's less likely to move around as much. I'd suggest sticking to your usual brand for now."

"So he's not self-conscious about what Em said?" Nora asked.

Jaune shrugged. "I mean, people generally approve of dogs eating cat food, but not cats eating dog food. With that in mind, though, I think it would be best to feed animals what they're meant to be fed."

As Jaune was looking away to write in his medical book thingie, Nora felt her heart jump almost through her chest. She quietly leaned down and peeled open her sock, where blue letters danced across her foot. She brought herself face to face with Ren, who was sitting quietly in the office.

"Everything okay, Nora?" She stood straight, her face lightly flushed from the surprise he gave her. "You were staring pretty hard at Ren."

"Uh, y-yeah, I, uh, just had a lot to think about when I get home." She lied smoothly.

"Well, if you'd like, I can take the dog food off your hands. I can swing by your apartment to pick it up."

"Yeah." Nora nodded, an idea brewing in her head. "I think I can work with that."

..................................................................................

"So how long have you been here?" Jaune asked the woman.

"Too long." She replied, staring into the fire she made. "Long enough to lose track of time."

"Do you remember what brought you here?"

She nodded. She prodded the ash, stirring ember and dust into the air. With amber eyes shut, she deeply inhaled through her nose, before letting out a long exhale from her lips.

"There was a plane." She said. "We were on a cargo run for the Schnee Dust Company. The next thing I knew was being riddled with bullet holes, and watching three people die from gunshot and fire. I held on for dear life to... something. It might have been a dust crate, or one of the ration containers on board, but when everything went loud and black, I passed out."

She stood up, walking past Jaune to the mouth of the cave. The storm still raged with wind and rain and thunder. She pointed out to the mountain on the opposite side of the island. Jaune immediately understood.

"So you crashed that mountain?" Jaune rhetorically asked. "And you somehow made your way over here?"

"Mm." She nodded, returning to her seat by the fire. "I nearly died on my first night." She turned and removed her coat, revealing her back to him.

He blushed, and moved his hand to cover his eyes, but stopped at his mouth. The beautiful woman's back was scarred with deep cuts, the deepest set just barely missing her spine. His other hand moved out to touch it, but was swiftly caught and held to himself. She returned her coat to her back, tossing her raven-black hair out of the coat.

"The white leopards," she said as she turned around, "they're all vicious killers."

"Snow leopards." Jaune nodded.

"Did you see them?" She asked. "When you crashed?"

"I was shipwrecked and had to swim to the island." Jaune chuckled. "So yeah, the beach was crowded with snow leopards. Absolutely lousy with-"

A thunderous boom caused Jaune to jump and turn to the storm outside. As he turned to the cave, Kali removed her coat, feeling a warmth along her back. As she turned, she saw the words, those fated words shining over her scar from the white leopard.

"Um, Kali?" She turned to see him blushing and looking away. "What are you doing?"

With a smile, she loosed her coat fully, exposing herself to the man on the other side of the fire. She felt a wind blow from the storm, as if the island itself was trying to stop her. But it was futile, as she felt her heard thunder in her excitement with a tremendum that rivaled the beasts of the of her shared home. Since her arrival of fire and blood, Kali finally understood her role, her purpose for being here; she was the queen, the apex predator of the mountains, the jungle, the seas, and the island.

And she was hungry.

..................................................................................

"I refuse."

"Willow, please-"

"Do not 'Willow, please' me, Jacques," the snow-haired woman glared at the stringy gentleman next to her, "I refuse to allow my good name to be dragged through the mud simply to appease the more simple-minded masses."

Jaune sat there with a scowl as his publisher and the 'Marquess of Mystery,' as she was so often praised, discussed and debated over his potential big break as comic book writer. Jacques Gele, of Bittersweet Publishings, had the brilliant idea to illustrate his ex-wife's mystery novels into a graphic novel. What he failed to mention, however, was how bitter the divorce had left her, as she held no warm feelings for him, or anyone associated with the name Gele attached to it.

"If I could interrupt," Jaune suddenly spoke up, silencing the bickering former couple, "because I think this conversation is going nowhere."

"Agreed." Willow nodded. "I suggest we end this farce, and you go back to your toy store."

"Woah! That's not fair!" Jaune held up his hands. "We're both well-known authors."

"Hardly." Willow scoffed. "I craft pulse-racing tales of intrigue and wit. You scribble inside bubbles for children to understand."

Jaune could have been angry. He should have been angry. This woman had just insulted his dream job, looking down upon him and his craft. But he didn't, and chose to switch tactics instead.

"I guess you're right." Jaune sighed, earning a smirk from Willow. "You author countless novels, and I write for comic books. Or, well, I wrote for comic books. Now, I author my own graphic novels."

"Simply another name for the same craft."

"Not quite." Jaune held up a finger. "While it is true that both are illustrated, the key difference is that a graphic novel is it's own intellectual property, and don't belong to larger companies, like Amaze or Black Bull."

"Oh, and you believe that simply because you wrote a few of these so-called 'graphic novel masterpieces' in your time?"

"Hey, I'll have you know I've written over fifty novels, and while I'm not on your level of skill, I'm still owed some respect."

Willow quirked her brow at that. "Is that so?" She lifted her right hand, as though she were checking her fingernails, but in truth was glancing at the shining ring of words glittering around her palm. Something that Jacques had failed to do in the time since she met her. "Then perhaps we should discuss this further, in a more casual environment?"

"A more casual environment?" Jaune repeated.

"Yes." She nodded. "This office is so stuffy, it makes it difficult to think. If you would like, I'd be willing to discuss this further this afternoon. Say, three, at the the Café Rosita?"

"Uh, sure." Jaune turned to Jacques. "Does that work for you?"

"Unfortunately, I cannot attend." Jacques stood with a sigh. "I have a meeting with another client then. I have all the documents, so don't worry about signing anything. Just... good luck, Mr. Arc."

Before the conversation could continue further, Jacques left the office, leaving an incredibly confused client. Jaune then stood and nodded to Willow. "Uh, see you at three."

"At Café Rosita."

"Café Rosita," Jaune nodded, "it's a date."

..................................................................................

This was probably the worst field day in the history of, well, ever. Jaune and his fellow instructors were so focused on their games that they never noticed Nora stealing equipment from different courses to make Olympus Mount, the most grueling obstacle course in the shape of a mountain. How she managed to build this monstrosity within so little time would be impressive if not for it's swaying structure threatening to topple over everything onto everyone.

"Jaune," Yang jogged up to him, "we just did a head count."

"Is everyone here?" He asked.

"No. Well, yeah, every student is here."

"Who's not here?"

"Ruby, my sister." Yang rubbed her arms. "I'm really starting to worry about her." She then groaned. "I knew she shouldn't have been an aide."

"Easy, easy..." Jaune patted the air. "Just take a deep breath. She's smart, so she's probably inside, using the restroom, or she went out to her bike, or-"

"HI, YANG!"

"-or she's on giant death mountain."

"RUBY! GET DOWN FROM THERE!" Ruby shouted from the peak.

"LOOK! I WON THE MOUNTAIN GAME!" She waved a red flag over her head. "NORA OWES ME A HUNDRED LIEN!"

All eyes glared to Nora, who sheepishly scratched the back of her head. "Uh, to be fair," she nervously chuckled, "I would have climbed it myself, but Ren needed help with one of the courses." Ren simply shook his head.

A strong gust of wind blew, making the mountain sway especially hard. It was coming down soon. Ruby squeaked as she ducked low, close to the mountain surface, made of plywood.

"It's going to collapse!" Yang shouted. "We need to call the police, or the fire department, or the militia, or-"

"Call the hospital in case something does go wrong." Jaune said, grabbing Yang's shoulders, bringing her back to reality. "I'll climb up there and try to bring Ruby down safely."

"But you-"

"I'm the only one here with mountain climbing experience." Jaune said, stepping away.

"It was an indoor rock wall!" Yang argued.

A cloud passed over, then broke away to cast the sun's light onto Jaune. With a serious and determined face, he looked like an action hero... in an orange safety vest. "And I'm the best damn shot we've got."

Jaune ran up to the mountain and found his footing on some bowling pins and traffic cones. Climbing over the ledge, the plywood until his hands feet wobbled, but remained steady. He followed the path of deflated balls up the incline until he reached lacrosse and hockey sticks forming a bridge, tied together with weighted ropes.

The mountain shook again, and debris began to fall from above. Covering his head, he ran up the path as pieces of sports equipment, from football mats to hockey masks to even bowling balls fell towards him. One bowling ball smashed his wrist, but he powered through. He could feel the injury start to swell already.

One final climbing challenge. It would be hard with only one hand, but he had to reach the summit. Yang was counting on him. Ruby was counting on him! With his elbow, he replaced the use of his hand by digging into the soft wall as leverage. He nearly reached the summit when his fingers slipped and he began to fall backwards!

A pair of delicate hands grabbed him by his wrist and pulled him to the peak. Ruby panted as she fell on her butt. The tower swayed over and over, to and fro, until it finally settled for a brief moment.

"How do we get down?" Ruby asked. "Unless you have some kind of landing strategy planned."

Jaune looked around, hoping to find a miracle. Sonething colorfull caught his eye from under the plywood board. Pulling it free with one hand, he grinned.

"Well, I wouldn't say it was planned, but..."

The wind picked up again, and the world began to shift. Gravity was slowly becoming apparent, as much of the foundation began to crumble. Holding up the colorful fabric, he looked to Ruby.

"I need you to grab two end of this." He explained. "I'll grab one and hold onto you with my free arm." She nodded, gripping two sides with as wide arms as she could. Jaune grabbed an edge and hugged her slim body to his. "Ready?"

Ruby shook her head.

"Me neither." Jaune ran towards the edge and jumped, hurtling towards the ground at not nearly as slow as he expected. Still, it was slow enough for them to descend safely, and he rolled them into the parachute. Crawling free, they watched as Olympus Mount came crashing down, in their opposite direction.

"Holy crap..." Ruby breathed.

"THAT WAS AMAZING!" Nora cheered, appearing right in front of them. "So, what would you rate that? Five stars?" Ren grabbed her collar and dragged her away. "What? Too soon?"

"Ruby!" Yang hugged her sister. "I'm so glad you're alright!"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Yang." Ruby sighed.

"Are you sure?" Yang asked, reached her hands to rest on her younger sister's cheeks. "No broken bones?"

"No, I'm completely fine."

"Good." Yang squeezed the cheeks with her index and ring fingers and thumb, growling. "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, CLIMBING UP THAT DEATH TRAP?!"

"OWOWOWOWOW!" Ruby whined. "I'M SHORRY, YENG! I WANTED TO PROVE I COULD DO IT TO NORA! SHE SAID IT WASH TOO HARD!"

"Well, to be fair," Jaune chuckled. "That was pretty fun, despite the impending collapse." He sighed. "I never knew what hardship was until it started raining bowling balls."

Yang released her sister, and covered her stomach, which seemed to be glowing for a moment. With her fist, she coughed her way out of explaining anything. "Even so, that was a stupid thing to get into. I'm glad you're okay, Ruby, but I will have to tell the head honchos about all this."

"Aw, man..."

"You can go tell your side of the story." She jutted a thumb towards Jaune. "I'll keep an eye on Mister Hero here."

"Okay, Yang." She ran off.

"That was dumb, by the way." Yang said.

"Eh," Jaune shrugged, "not much else I could have done."

"Sure." She held out a hand. "Let's take you to the nurse's office. Might need to get some heat on that wrist."

..................................................................................

"Are you enjoying the evening, Mr. Arc?" The woman crooned in her silken dress, a fiery red marked with golden flames crawling up in a pattern that made them dance with every step.

"I am." Jaune answered honestly. Sure, he was deep in enemy territory, a casino ruled over by a malevolent shadow figure known as the Black Queen, and one wrong step would end with him dying a horrible, painful death shortly after. But hey, free soda, right?

"That's good." The woman smiled, much like a serpent before striking a hapless rabbit. "Would you care to play a game? Craps?"

"No, thank you. I already went."

"Atlas Hold 'Em?"

"I don't trust Atlas with much of anything, sorry."

"Spades?"

"Uh, Clubs? Hearts? Diamonds?" Jaune Arc was a secret agent for his wit, not his charm, but even that failed him at times."

"What game would you play then?" She raised a brow. "Surely you haven't been here for so long and only played on the slot machine?"

"Of course not!" He laughed, not revealing that he was actually at the bar, waiting for his root beer vanilla cream swirl. Apparently they didn't think to serve non-alcoholic cocktails, so it took a while for his drink to arrive. "But if you had a board, I'd be willing to play a game of cribbage."

"Cribbage?" The woman balked with genuine surprise. "I didn't think there was a soul alive who still plays such a game."

"Well, this is an isolated casino," Jaune then openly mused, "deep in the jungles of Mistral and not near the coasts of Menagerie."

"As it so happens, there is a cribbage board, but it's not open to just any players."

"Oh, and how do I get to such a board?"

She chuckled. "Come to my room at ten tonight, and I'd be willing to show you~."

"T-Ten tonight?" Jaune gulped. "Uh, I mean, b-but that's so soon, and I'd like to attend some of these tables."

"Oh, the tables will still be here," she traced a finger along his throat, "but it would be rude to deny a lady's invitation." She turned away, a sway to her hips as she sauntered a few feet. "Shall we?"

"Uh, y-yeah, just, uh, let me use the can."

Minutes later, Jaune was in the restroom, checking the stalls before pulling the ear microphone from his collar. On the other end, Goodwitch scolded him.

"I'm sorry! I panicked!" Jaune whimpered as Goodwitch growled obscenities, reminding him to not blow his cover.

"She already knew my name, and now she's inviting me up for cribbage. "Dialogue on the other end followed. "I DON'T KNOW HOW TO PLAY CRIBBAGE!" More scolding followed.

"I don't know! Blake and I were talking about it, and I got it stuck in my head." He sighed. "So I guess I gotta lose at cribbage, huh?"

A different voice spoke up. "Really? You'll help me out, Blake?!" The voice continued. "Yes, I'll buy you a board. How much would it cost?" A brief description followed then. "HOW MUCH?!"

"Mr. Arc?" A voice called. "Are you still interested in our game?"

"Uh, y-yeah, sure!" Jaune called back, hiding his microphone in his collar, heading out. The woman met him outside, as lovely as ever. "Sorry, I, uh, had some bad soda."

She giggled. "Oh, Mister Arc," she crooned, emphasizing his title, "so uncouth. Perhaps you should save your sailor tongue for our game?"

"Perhaps I shall." Jaune chuckled, following her into the dimly lit room.

"FUCKING SHIT!" The woman cursed as Jaune placed his peg in the final hole once more. She composed herself once more, though flaring from her nostrils a great deal. With gritted teeth, she praised him. "I guess it's not surprising for a man as yourself to be skilled at a game so few play."

"It's more luck than anything." Jaune chuckled. "Fifteens, thirty-ones, pairs, flushes, and runs. I guess if the cards like you, they really like you."

"Oh?" The woman smiled. "Then I suppose my cards really do like you, don't they?"

Jaune glanced at the deck he sloppily shuffled. In the dimly lit room, outshined by the casino strip lights outside, he admired the rosebush deck. Bleeding hearts and ensnared diamonds seemed to glisten and shine along with the unperturbed spades and scored clubs.

He dealt the cards between them, one for one until both had six cards in their hand. Being his crib, Jaune carefully looked over his hand. King, Queen, Jack, Ten, Ace, Nine. All one suit. His hand was too good, and it made the decision difficult for him as a new player.

"Of course," he chuckled, "there's a reason that roses have thorns."

The cribbage board crashed to the floor as pegs flew through the air. Jaune was suddenly pinned under the beautiful woman, who he could now see was wearing an eye-patch, emblazoned with mark of the Black Queen's organization, GRIMM.

"You think you're so clever," she growled, "waltzing into a lion's den, and prodding the beast like it's a game..."

"Actually, I-" Jaune's words died as his lips were smothered and invaded by the sinister woman's own. A faint glow behind her eye patch served only to raise further questions. Now, here he was, pinned beneath the no doubt evil woman as she continued to unbutton his disguise.

"Get this stupid thing out of here!" She tossed the microphone aside, catching her pize between her teeth, nibbling on his neck.

"A-Ah! Easy, uh..." Jaune blinked. "I'm sorry, what was your name again?"

"Cinder Fall," she answered, removing her dress, "and you'd best remember it, because I intend to make you scream it until I'm satisfied."

Jaune gulped. "Y-Yes, Miss Fall." A thought occurred to him. "Uh, won't your boss be looking for you?"

"Perhaps, but I am privy to my privacy, and any of her plans rely on my attendance."

"Oh, okay." Jaune nodded. "So now what?"

"Now?" She ripped off his shirt. "Now you show me how you sailors really peg."

"Uh, okay," he then spoke loudly, "I HOPE NO ONE CATCHES US!"

"Oh, believe me, no one will." She smirked, removing the last of her clothing. "Now lose the pants and get over here!"

"Of course, Cinder." Jaune smiled. For his first solo mission as a secret agent, he'd say he didn't do too bad. He neutralized an enemy combatant, gave the codeword to send in the ground troops, potentially stopped the end of the world, AND he was going to get laid! A plus, definitely!

..................................................................................

Space... When Jaune was a little boy, just a wee lad bouncing on his father's knee, he used to gaze at darkened sky. At the moon, and the stars, and wish for the night to never end. Just so he could marvel at all the vast beauty of the blanket overhead.

And then he joined the Star Brigade, and everything sucked forever. When he applied for the military, they had a "special offer" for anyone who joined the Star Brigade, the newest branch of warriors for defending humanity from the scourge of the Grimm menace.

That "special offer," by the way, was an extra fifty lien in his paycheck, which was then rescinded five years later. Now, here he stood, Leading Star Soldier of his own Star Squad. "That's awesome!" said his five year old nephew. He loved the little guy, but sometimes even his love didn't cover how lame it sounded.

But what does that have to do with his current predicament on the moon? Yeah, you know? The shattered moon that hangs in the sky overhead? The one that opens and shuts more than... uh, something, something, somebody's mom's legs? Yeah, that moon.

And Jaune was the point man on this mission "vital to humanity" by attacking a rogue Grimm hive in some hole of a cave on the moon. That meant he was in front of everyone in his squad. He was the only thing standing between himself, and his closest friends of the past three years. They back him in everything.

Including his retreat, which they took a headstart for on the sight of something bigger than a Moon Beowolf. That's a Beowolf on the Moon, if you couldn't figure that out. So Jaune was left alone, armed with little more than his hard-light shield, plasma sword, and titanium-iron knife. He was armed, ready, and trained for this.

And he got tangled up by a Moon Seer. That's a Seer on- Ah, you can figure it out.

He thrashed against the tendrils, but they seemed to be squeezing tighter and tighter, and tighter still. It was trying to choke him! Or, at least, that's what it seemed until he fell the floor slam into his side. Apparently, it just pulled it closer until it decided to drop him, the start the whole process all over again.

The light from his helmet buzzed as he looked around the cave. As he drifted deeper and deeper into the cave, he wondered where he was being taken. The Grimm he met along the way simply retreated to shadows. How deep was he being taken? His oxygen pack would run out eventually. Fear started to grip his heart as he cautiously glanced at his HUD, then gasped as he saw the O2 level shifted! ...From 88% to 87%. Then the Moon Seer dripped him again.

"ARE YOU DONE?!" Jaune roared.

"Yes, they are." He felt the tendrils retract from his form, then slipped back into the darkness. Everything around him was dark, with no walls to catch or reflect the light back to him. The floor was also dark, yet slick with tar-like ichor that clung to his suit and his boots. He searched for the source of the voice, but found none. A drip from above caught his attention, and he followed it to it's source high above, where a pale-faced woman watched from the ceiling.

Her red eyes glared down as black vines writed over her cheeks and from her eyes, where the black ooze fell to the floor. It seemed to be spreading, like fungus, except when a fungus grows another fungus, the other fungi don't slither and crawl from where it grew to make room.

"You have trespassed on Grimm lands." The voice echoed, yet was clear. This thing definitely chose the right place for acoustics. A band would make a killing playing here, but it seemed the only killing to be made was him at the claws of the Grimm. "State your reason."

"The extermination of the Grimm." Jaune answered, as boldly as he could muster. A deep thrum reverbed through the cave. He couldn't tell if she was humming or if that was how she laughed. Either way, he was in danger.

"You cannot exterminate the Grimm anymore than you can exterminate a cancer, mortal."

"I mean, if you catch early enough, then maybe..." Jaune reasoned.

"The Grimm have existed for thousands of years, since the dawn of man," the woman argued, "and it has been so long since."

"Are you... the first Grimm?"

"No." She replied plainly. "But I was there when the first arrived."

"Wow..." Jaune huffed in awe. "So you're super old, huh?"

"Rude." The face replied.

A click behind him made Jaune jump away, his legs straining to be free as he pushed himself. He turned to the sound of the disturbance. Not far from where he stood was a woman, cloaked in the black tar, as blood-red lines accented her figure, and drawing his attention to the subtle curves. He glanced up and could only find darkness hanging high above. His gaze returned to the woman, but she was gone.

He drew his plasma sword and activated his hard-light shield. This unknown entity, be it woman or Grimm or something far more sinister was dangerous on a level Jaune could only dream of. He heard another click, and swung behind him, missing her as she dove into the oily floor.

"Folly, human. Folly." The voice echoed from everywhere. "Your actions speak well of your boundless bravery, but your tongue echoes ceaseless fathoms of idiocy."

"What can I see?" Jaune barked in return. "Courage and stupidity are all I have!"

The air was still and tense. Had he made a fatal error in challenging the darkness? He checked his HUD. O2 at 70%. He took a breath to calm himself.

O2 at 40%?! He suddenly felt a weight pull from his rear, threatening to tear him off his balance. But he held firm, willing himself forward. With a loud hiss, he was free.

With a loud hiss, and blaring sirens, Jaune's oxygen had been depleted. He fell to his knees as his body ached. His vision blurred and dimmed, but he saw a form slowly approaching as his vision, and his life faded. A set of black letters etched over the reaching palm.

He then felt a warm on his body, uneven, yet warmer than he had ever felt in his suit. He found his arm, his only body, lighter as he reached to touch the warm. It was a softness. A softness so pure he had no words to describe it. It was then the warmth moved to smother him.

"Have you finally awakened?"

Jaune opened his eyes slowly to find himself in a brighter room than the one before. The walls were clearer and ceiling, and the ground softer. He turned his head and found the woman from before, her entire form now pale as ivory and lain over his chest. A chest, too, now so pale.

"Where...?" He groaned.

"Home." The voice spoke. "You are home, my king." She pressed her lips to his, flooding his mind with an ecstasy he couldn't words.

The Grimm. The Star Brigade. All of it now what feels like ages ago. For now, there was only one thought on the Grimm King's mind.

How was he going to explain this to Mom?

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vervainvoyage · 2 months ago

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MR5, woot woot! THAT test was the hardest of them all- they wanted me to hack 6 things in a row. Never ask me to do this again. PLEASE.

I'm done with farming for now and getting back to quests, and I have a weird feeling that I got spoiled with some info too soon by doing the Heart of Deimos mission and

being told that apparently, those huge people made me? cool. Nice to know. I like the look of their old buildings, very gold and white, so I can vibe with that. OH and it suddenly makes sense why the extraction points in Orokin ruins look so conveniently designed- because they were designed to be landing points for Frame aircraft. Neat.

Me and Daughter are really vibing, mostly because I applaud her choice of blasting a boyband at full volume on a moon entirely taken over by eldritch mutated meat growth. The horrors persists but we stay silly.

Despite having now... 20 hours in the game, wow, I still run face-first into walls and fall off the map. I applaud Lotus for still wanting me on any missions despite that, though considering how often she tells me to "Focus, Tenno" she might have figured out I just have ADHD and usually forget to put on glasses. She scares me with some of her warnings though- when raiding Vaults, she sometimes says "something's wrong" and DOESN'T ELABORATE. MA'AM. PLEASE. DETAILS.

Also it took my bro a few tries to hammer it into my head that during the drilling missions, when Lotus tells me "The scanner has picked up a target. Go to the dig site" I'm supposed to STAY exactly where I was. Lotus please WHY are you telling me to go somewhere else and then nag me about my excavator getting destroyed 😭 I'm just a little gal, I can't receive this many orders at once, you already know I woke up from the coma a bit uh... uncalibrated.

Anyway, I just finished Stolen Dreams and... well that was a plot hook if I've ever seen one. I am more confused than before that mission. The Codices sound like a random MacGuffin, but I must assume they will show up later and this was just a set up that they even exist. The message though? About "the womb of the sky" being empty? Yeesh thanks ominous machine. Good to know. I'll just. I'll just leave you to it, thanks.

So. It's fun playing a warmachine that goes through enemies like a lightsaber through butter, even if I'm clearly one that lost some vital brain matter during the coma.

#Warframe #voyagepersonal #anyway I have some sketches in the works but finishing them requires uh... stopping the game...

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janetbrown711 · 11 months ago

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A Better (not) Son or Daughter

MK has been acting like a "goody two shoes" at school and it really starts to get on Mei's nerves until she finally reaches her breaking point

tw for the besties fighting, minor fantasy racism, and anxious mental breakdowns

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 8.5 Part 9 Part 10 Part 10.5 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15

Ao3 Link

Mei wasn’t liking how MK was acting at school as of late.

There was just something… weird about it– something wrong about it.

Like how during math class, he started not glancing at Mei’s answers, or at lunch he’d keep quiet, or how during PE he just started laughing along to Qiang’s stupid jokes– and on top of all that she could actively see him hiding or stopping his numerous little fidgets he did during the day.

It was weird!

Of course the teachers didn’t seem to notice the negative behavior, even praising him for “being more focused” which was totally weird because if Mei knew one thing it was that her best friend struggled with focusing just as much as she did (if not more). Of course, his grades were still not the greatest, but he was starting to get C+s and B-s, which made Pigsy proud.

MK really liked making Pigsy proud, so at least he was happy, but… but still. It was weird, and Mei didn’t like it.

What probably frustrated her the most was how she couldn’t even talk about it without sounding crazy or jealous. Like– “Wow Mei, way to be happy that your best friend is getting good grades and is getting your guardian’s approval. You’re such a good friend.”

But it was off! It was weird! It was so very not normal. Annoyingly so.

She wondered if perhaps Qiang was blackmailing him or something, or if it had to do with the whole “Career Day” thing since she noticed the behavior had started right after winter break. Maybe it had to do with Pigsy saying he now “trusted them enough to not need him to drop them off”, which was a lie if Mei ever heard one, but even then she couldn't say why that'd make MK change his behavior. Plus, MK was completely unresponsive to her questioning, especially if it was during class, so Mei was left to wonder all on her own.

Yippee.

“If you keep twisting those noodles you’re going to take the whole bowl, kid,” Pigsy commented with a chuckle.

“Oh! Sorry, Piggy,” Mei apologized, immediately releasing the poor sesame noodles back into the bowl.

“You got a test today or something? Your face is as scrunched as my ma’s playing mahjong,” He laughed a little more, but this time more at the memory than her.

“No, I’m just… thinkin’,” She glanced at MK, who was eating peacefully with his legs swinging (unlike how they’d be at school).

MK suddenly stopped though, looking at her and pointing out, “Uh, yeah we do. We have a history test,” with a mouth full of noodles.

“MK, don’t talk with your mouth full, please,” Pigsy massaged his forehead.

MK laughed and nodded before swallowing. “We have a history test today.”

Right. One of the last ones before school ends. A last ditch effort for Mei to get her grades up, but she wasn’t all that hopeful.

Pigsy glanced at Mei. “Did you know that?”

“Kinda,” She admitted, looking down at her bowl and poking it with her chopsticks.

“You study for it at all?” He then asked.

Mei shrugged. Unless the history had dragons actively involved, she wasn’t interested. And the unit right now was just on some dead chairman guy they were all supposed to really care about, but Mei’s dad had never liked him much, so she didn’t either… whatever his name was.

“Gotta study for these things if you want your grades to go up, kiddo,” Pigsy pointed out while washing some of the dishes from breakfast.

“I know, I know,” Mei lowered her head, picking up a single seed and trying to squish it between her chopsticks. “History’s just kinda… boring.”

“Yeesh, don’t let Tang hear that,” Pigsy joked but Mei could only crack a weak smile.

Pigsy sighed, turning off the sinking and looking at her. “Just try your best, kid. That's all you can do.”

Mei wasn’t really sure she could do her best right now… Heck, she hadn’t really been doing her best since before her parents died. After all, if she were doing her best, she'd be perfect and if she’d been perfect, her parents would still be here.

“Okay,” she said instead, since it made Pigsy happier to think she agreed.

He smiled at her softly, ruffling her hair before going off to grab his keys while Mei shoved a few more bites before throwing the rest in the trash and rinsing out the bowl, which MK copied.

“I can let you copy off of my test if you want, Mei,” Her friend suggested, smiling all innocently.

Mei couldn’t help but roll her eyes with an aggressive huff, making MK step back and give her a weird look, but Mei moved on before it could be acknowledged with words.

She went into her room, shoving a few loose papers into her bag without care just as Pigsy called asking if they were ready to go.

Mei zipped up her bag, giving a glance to the shrine to her parents in the corner of her room. “Yeah! Just gimme a sec!”

Her parents were looking at her with a perfectly neutral expression, their stance and position perfectly neutral towards each other. At least, that’s what it looked like at first, but Mei remembered that photo shoot. It was for a big promotion at her Mama’s company and she had spent hours making sure Mei looked absolutely perfect. In fact, if she focused really hard on her Mama’s dark eyes, she could see her not quite looking at the camera, but at Mei with this look of… expectation. And hope, maybe.

Or maybe she was just paranoid from staring at dead people instead of getting ready for school.

Mei sighed, shoving a water bottle and pencil case into the sidepockets of her backpack.

She shouldn’t be feeling this way. It had been seven months. Her parents loved her. Or love her, if there’s some kind of afterlife or if ghosts are real. But either way, there was love. Mei was loved. It was cool.

Mei ran out of the room and joined her guardian and MK by the door.

“You two ready for today?” Pigsy asked, hand on the doorknob.

“Yes sir, Mr. Pigsy,” MK gave a big, bright-eyed grin.

“As I’ll ever be,” Mei bit her cheek, and with that the three of them were off.

.o0o.

Drop-offs were more like a ding-dong-ditch these days, with Pigsy making sure to step off the subway with them and make sure they got to the stairs okay before watching them disappear, and only then would be begin waiting for his next train (which Mei only knew because sometimes they’d go back down and watch him). If anything, it told Mei he was totally lying about trusting them, but she knew not to confront him since adults were usually sensitive about those things.

It didn’t make the walk to school from the station any easier though, and Mei tried kicking a pebble all the way to make up for being kind of annoyed at MK for no real reason.

“I– um… I could also help you study before class starts… if you want,” MK suggested, and Mei kicked the pebble harder.

“I’m fine. I don’t need help,” She focused really hard on a second kick that sent it across the crosswalk right before a car drove by.

“That’s true, you are really smart,” MK smiled at her but she ignored it, looking both ways before crossing the street, which MK quickly followed.

Mei continued kicking the rock.

“The test is also stuff I mostly knew from my old school– which means you must really, really know it if you’ve been here for so long,” MK continued trying to be all light hearted and stuff, but it just made Mei’s skin crawl, and for once in her life, she was relieved when they arrived at the school.

Instead of leaving the rock, she picked it up and put it in her skirt pocket.

Mei then looked around the yard, seeing some kids playing hopscotch, others doing homework, and a few playing a trading card game. However, Mei couldn’t have been less interested in any of that and so just made her way to Miss Yang’s classroom, which MK scurried to follow like a lost little duck.

Mei greeted the teacher with nothing more than a curt bow before going to her desk, immediately taking out a pencil from her bag and drawing on a crack in the wood.

“Mei, you’re going to get in trouble for drawing on the desks again,” MK whispered, glancing at Miss Yang, but she was busy on her computer.

“Yeah, yeah,” Mei huffed her bangs out of her eyes.

“Mei, Pigsy really wouldn’t like it if–”

“Why do you care so much about what he thinks now, hm? You’re like some little goody-two-shoes– makes me feel sick,” Mei rolled her eyes and scribbled harder.

MK didn’t speak for the rest of the morning period.

Math breezed by uneventfully, with MK volunteering and getting answers wrong like he always did, and Mei trying to not let that annoy her. Reading was boring, science was alright, and then it was time for the history test.

Mei groaned as the “pass-er out-er” handed her her paper, and a part of her thought about writing an insult, folding it into a paper airplane and sending it her teacher’s way, but the fact that Pigsy and MK would be disappointed in her? It was a bit much.

Well, MK’s whole thing felt like “a bit much” to be honest. Like– since when did he expect things from her? Why was he always wanting her to be on her “best behavior”? Since when was he the leader here?

She thought again of her parent’s photo and felt her face get hot with shame as she looked down at her paper. She was immediately bombarded with dates and questions she couldn’t remember if she tried, which only made her face get hotter and hotter. She glanced at MK, who seemed laser focused on the top question about Mao Zhedong’s birthday, and she looked away before he could look back.

Well… at least the test was multiple choice, so she had a 25% chance of getting right by guessing, so Mei filled out random answers before flipping her paper over and resting her head, waiting for the “pass-er out-er” to become the “take-er away-er”.

After five or so minutes, MK coughed, and when Mei looked he was sliding his paper towards her. Mei glared at him, which just made him look confused which made her get more annoyed, and so Mei just closed her eyes once more.

It was another five or so minutes before their tests were taken away and they were dismissed for PE, which also went by uneventfully– until it was yard time.

Mei was still angry by the time they were released outside, and MK was still following her around because despite all that, she was all he had and he knew it.

And, well… that kind of went the other way around too.

But Mei wasn't in the mood for MK today, getting in line for tetherball, a game MK hated, and tapping her foot impatiently as she watched.

“Uh– Mei? I-I don't really… like this game, can we do something else?” MK asked, looking at the other students with unease.

“It's not always about you, MK,” Mei said bitterly, making MK frown.

“Well– yeah, I know, it's just– can't we play something else? Like jump rope or wall ball or something?” MK offered.

“Nope. Tetherball. You. Me,” Mei squinted at the red ball as class athlete, Kija, managed to successfully wrap it all the way around the pole, beating his opponent. Another boy rose up to the challenge, making Mei next.

“You and me? That means you'd have to beat Kija,” MK pointed out.

Mei scoffed. “I've beaten him before, I'll be fine.”

“If you say so,” MK eyed her a bit, but she didn't take her eyes off the ball, watching as Kija and the other boy went back and forth, back and forth, before Kija used both hands to shoot the ball at impossible heights for the average student to fight and he won yet again.

Mei smirked as she stepped up to the plate. “You ready to dance, Kija?”

Kija laughed. “You only won because the whistle blew.”

“Keep telling yourself that and maybe you'll finally get an award for being a ball hog,” Mei cracked her knuckles and Kija growled and served.

The two of them went back and forth, with Mei attempting an angle shot, but Kija managed to snag the chain since he was a bit taller than her. Thankfully though the chain was metal and in stopping her move his wrist was weakened, meaning Mei could go in for a fast ball. If he didn't recover in time, victory would be hers.

Kids watched in awe as Mei hit the ball with overwhelming speed and precision, and she laughed as Kija missed again and again until right at the last possible moment he managed to recover and struck back.

Some kids booed as Mei growled in frustration, hitting the ball as quick as she could, determined to teach this punk a lesson and wipe that stupid smug look off his face.

There was a bit of back and forth, with Mei getting dangerously close to losing her lead here and there but she remained vigilant. After five minutes of intense competition, she managed to wind the ball all the way around the pole and all the kids watching cheered in her honor.

“I don't hear any whistles this time, Kija,” Mei smirked and crossed her arms.

Kija growled. “You're gonna regret that, pony girl,” He threatened, shoving her before storming away to play some other game.

Mei rolled her eyes, taking Kija's place and taking the ball as MK hesitated to step to the plate.

“C'mon, MK, we don't have all day,” she rolled her eyes.

“I– do I really have to, Mei? Seeing you win was fun enough, but I don't really–”

“Just shut up and play, MK,” Mei glared, and MK stood upright in alarm.

She didn’t even give him time to relax before she served, hitting the ball with all the rage and aggression in her heart, causing MK duck and cover his head.

“C’mon, MK, stop being such a coward!” Mei glared, hitting the ball again.

“Mei, stop!” MK shouted at her.

Mei knew she should. That she was freaking MK out and it wasn’t nice. That Pigsy might actually get mad at her if he knew. But her anger felt like a flame in her chest, and she hit the ball again.

“Woah, she’s really going for it.”

“Is she glowing?”

“Why doesn’t Xiaotian fight back?”

“She is glowing! Woah!”

“Someone take a picture!”

Kids were gawking all around Mei, but she was still too angry to pay any attention to the green aura surrounding her and making her heart pound. This time when the ball came her way, Mei grabbed it point blank and let it go before grabbing MK’s collar and dragging him across the play yard until she reached the gate and shoved him against it.

“What the heck is wrong with you, MK?! You’re acting like a crazy person!” Mei shouted at him.

“Me?!” MK was completely lost. “You’re the one attacking me a-and acting like I’m an evil clone or something!”

“You’re the one who’s all obsessed with being all goody-two-shoes-y and getting good grades and not fighting back! What happened?!” Mei twisted his collar tighter and her free hand curled into a fist.

“Mei, stop! Please!” MK noticed and started to cry. “I-I just wanna be good f-for Pigsy! Promise!”

“Stop lying! There’s more, there has to be,” Mei shook him and dared to raise her fist, making MK clench his eyes shut.

“I-I-I’m not lying, Mei, I would never lie to you!” MK sobbed, sending waves of guilt crashing through Mei, but she remained in a fighting stance.

“What’s different, MK?! Hm? All studious, all perfect, thinking that’ll make him happy,” She growled and MK opened his eyes to look confused.

“H-huh? I-I’m not– I’m not perfect, I just wanna be good ‘cuz–” MK glanced around at the other students, before looking back at Mei and deciding to whisper. “‘Cuz Pigsy, he– Qiang’s Dad– he threatened we’d be kicked out, a-and he said things, mean things, about his past a-and he cried, a-and I don’ wanna lose him too, Mei, I don’ wanna,” MK couldn’t speak anymore, choking on his sobs, and Mei let go of his collar, allowing him to sink to the ground.

Mei’s anger evaporated in an instant, only leaving her with an empty, panicked feeling as her chest rose and fell at a feverish pace and kids started whispering around her again.

“Aw man, she stopped glowing…”

“What happened? Did she beat him?”

“Gross! She looks like a demon!”

“I wanted them to fight!”

“This was so lame.”

“Their dad is that pig demon? No wonder.”

“Boo! I wanted to see her punch him!”

Mei stumbled back, finally noticing the hot tears streaming down her face. She looked down at her best friend, who brought his knees to his chest and just kept crying and crying and rocking back and forth. “MK– I– we aren’t–”

Just then she remembered Pigsy’s words all those months ago and it echoed in her mind like a broken record.

“If we slip up like this– get into one too many fights, or get the cops called too often– then you’ll probably never, ever see me or MK ever again.”

A soft “no…” escaped her lips and she fell to her knees, getting dirt all over her knee-high socks.

“I-I– I didn’t mean– I-I just– Y-you were– but now– M’so sorry MK, m’so, so sorry,” Mei began to weep and buried her head in her hands. “I-I ruined it– I-I ruin everything– M’so sorry.”

Mei continued to sob, but briefly stopped when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her. She startled at first, until she realized it was MK, and hugged him back, crying into his shoulder.

“I-I don’ wanna lose Piggy either, MK– m’so sorry,” She sniffled and tried to explain herself.

“I-it’s okay– I just– w-we can’t be mean, you know? W-we need to be nice and happy for Piggy,” MK hugged her a little tighter, and she could tell he was shaking too.

“I– yeah, we– we can be good for ‘im, right? We can be good kids, I know we can,” Mei tried to smile but her bottom lip wobbled beyond her control so she squeezed MK tighter as he nodded in silent agreement.

She felt like such an idiot. What was she doing getting all mad at MK for? What did she hope to accomplish by threatening to punch him? She was supposed to be smarter than this, Pigsy already told her what would happen if she got too rowdy. She was supposed to have listened, but she never listened. That’s why her house burned down and that’s why her parents were dead, she could never just listen–

They’d probably get called to the office again. And then it’d be over– it’d be one fight too many and Mei would never see MK or Pigsy or Mr. Tang ever again and be dragged to the bottom of the ocean to be with her weird mystical uncle or whatever.

“M’so sorry, MK, I didn’t mean to, m’so sorry,” Mei repeated so quietly she wasn’t sure he could hear over his own crying.

The pair of them stayed huddled by the fence crying until the whistle blew and the two of them wiped their faces and clothes as best they could and headed back to their classroom, praying to every god or star in the heavens that they wouldn’t get called up and everything would be okay.

But, no. As soon as everyone was back in their seats and ready for their science class, there was a phone call and Mei and MK were sent down.

Mei kept her face stoic and unreadable, like she had practiced back with her parents despite wanting to cry. MK wasn’t nearly as lucky though, since he had never practiced so his tears just streamed down in a hot mess and all Mei could do was hold his hand and urge him onward until they were waiting in the familiar chairs that should’ve had a plaque with their names on it by now.

They weren’t called in for a while, so Mei kept her eyes on the old clock as it ticked seconds away at an agonizing pace while holding MK’s hand.

After a while though, she whispered, “M’so sorry, MK… I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

“I know, Mei, I know.”

Mei clenched her eyes shut and took a shaky breath. “I’ll miss you.”

MK could only squeeze her hand and cry more.

After seven minutes, MK was called in first, though he almost refused to go in without Mei. They didn’t have a choice though, and the two were separated.

Mei buried her head in her hands and stayed that way until it was her turn, only catching a glimpse of her best friend before heading in.

“Miss Long, I can’t say it’s a pleasure to see you again this time,” Headmaster Jiangxi folded his hands and placed them on the table.

“...Are you gonna call Pigsy?” Mei asked, taking her seat.

“It is school policy, Mei. You of all people should be very aware of th–”

“I didn’t mean to–!” Mei interrupted. “It wasn’t even a fight really, I was just– I was so mad– I’d never really hurt MK, not with what I know now– please don’t tell CPS and have us separated or Piggy arrested or expel us, please, please, please, please,” Mei got on her knees and begged, clearly startling the man.

“Miss Long, there’s no need for kowtowing, please,” He urged and Mei took her seat again, face red and hot.

Headmaster Jiangxi took a long breath. “Miss Long, we were never going to expel you or Mr. Qi over this–”

“R-really? What about Mr. T–” Mei slapped a hand over her mouth.

“‘Mr.’ who?” The man looked at her with a hint of concern.

Mei lowered her eyes. “MK told me about something… Mr. Tao said…”

“Ah…” The headmaster glanced at his computer with unease. “I had a feeling something like that would occur. I meant to send an email to dissuade him from presenting, but…” he shook his head. “No matter now, there’s no need for Mr. Tao to know. You said it yourself, it never turned into a fight, did it?”

Mei shook her head. “I just got really, really mad– some kids even said I was glowing, but I didn’t mean to! I swear, I was never gonna actually hurt MK, I just– I was so mad…”

Headmaster Jiangxi nodded to himself as she spoke, typing a few things into his computer and clicking some others. “Am I correct in assuming you’re very familiar with the school’s policy on bullying and violence?”

“Yeah, I remember breaking Qiang’s nose,” Mei confirmed, trying not to smile at the memory.

“In normal circumstances, the two of you would be given lunch detention for a week, on top of a phone call home, but seeing as there was no actual fighting between the two of you and all has already been resolved I see no need for this to go on any records– so long as you swear to be on your best behavior for the rest of the school year, understood Miss Long?” Headmaster Jiangxi gave her a look and Mei’s jaw dropped.

“I– yes sir! I promise! I’ll be the best darn kid in this whole academy, I won’t let you down, I promise,” Mei couldn’t help but beam.

“Don’t get too excited yet, Miss Long. We still have more to discuss,” He reminded, and Mei forced herself to sit back and tried to take a breath, though couldn’t stop her legs from swinging happily.

She waited as he typed a few more things, clicked a dozen more, typed a bit more, and took another breath.

“Your… ‘glowing’... is that something you can control?” He asked.

“Oh, um… I mean it really only happens when I’m really, really scared or angry. I’m just surprised my ‘inner dragon’ didn’t make an appearance too, haha,” She tried to laugh, but Headmaster Jiangxi clearly didn’t find it funny.

“Right… Well, rumors like that are going to be hard to quell, Miss Long, especially with your guardian situation,” He explained.

“But it’s because I’m a dragon, not because I’m a demon. I’m not going to hurt anyone,” Mei frowned.

“I know, Miss Long, but– well– you have brought harm to students in the past–”

“Qiang deserved it,” She muttered.

Her principal gave her a look. “I’m not saying he didn’t, but what I am saying is that I recommend you get this anger of yours under control before it grows beyond my control, understood?”

Mei slowly nodded. “Yeah, I think I get it.”

“You’re a smart girl, Miss Long. You can go on to do many great and important things like your parents always dreamed; you just have to make the right choices,” The man smiled at her softly, and Mei felt her stomach drop.

“R-right, yes. I can– I will. I promise,” Mei stood and bowed.

“I’m glad we could come to an understanding, Miss Long. Your family has always been good to this academy and it would be a shame for us to part,” He nodded at her.

“Yes sir, I understand,” Mei nodded back, fiddling with her skirt. “Am I free to go, sir?”

The headmaster nodded once again. “Have a good day, Miss Long.”

“You too, Headmaster Jiangxi,” Mei meant it as she bowed yet again and stepped back into the outside world.

Well that was strange. But hey, Mei would take what she could get, especially if it meant they weren’t going to be separated after all.

Mei said a quick prayer to her ancestors as a “thank you”, and hurried back to class.

.o0o.

The rest of the day was as Headmaster Jiangxi had warned. Students whispered and kept looking back at MK and Mei– especially stupid Qiang– but Mei was okay because she and MK weren’t going anywhere and that meant there was nothing they could do to hurt her.

During the cleaning period, MK and Mei stayed by each other's sides and swept the classroom in complete silence, which got them a compliment from Miss Yang. It was equally strange for the both of them, but it was a strange day.

Both of them were flooded with relief when the bell finally rang and they were free to board the city bus and ride to Pigsy’s Noodles.

“So… what did Headmaster Jiangxi say to you?” Mei asked, adjusting her backpack as she looked out the window.

“He had a lot of questions I couldn’t answer for a while because I… just kinda kept crying and begging not to be taken away, haha,” MK admitted, messing with the carpeted seating. “He said he wouldn’t call Piggy though, and after that I was able to explain how you were just having a bad day and you didn’t even hurt me and we’re okay now, you know?”

“Ahhh, yeah that explains it,” Mei pieced together. “I was wondering why he was so mellow about the whole thing. I guess I owe you one.”

MK laughed a little. “Maybe… but I’m just glad we’re okay and Pigsy’s okay too.”

“Yeah, me too…” Mei looked down. “I… I really messed up. I don’t know why I got so angry, I just– I don’t know… I guess some part of me thinks Pigsy likes you more than me and you switching to act all good and quiet kinda threw me, m’sorry,” she confessed.

“Hey, it’s okay,” MK smiled and held her hand. “I’m not mad at you or anything, I really should’ve said something sooner about Mr. Tao, but… yeah,” he laughed a little, which Mei copied.

“Still friends?” Mei asked, offering her hand to shake.

“The bestest,” MK shook it and the two of them smiled and laughed the rest of the bus ride before arriving at the familiar noodle shop.

“Hey, you two,” Pigsy smiled as they walked in, drying off a glass with a rag like everything was perfectly fine. “How’d the test go?”

“Oh, right– that did happen today,” Mei completely forgot about everything before recess.

Pigsy raised an eyebrow. “Busy day?”

MK and Mei exchanged a look. “You… could say that.”

This, of course, just made Pigsy even more confused.

“Why? What happened? Some kids get into a fight or something?” Pigsy guessed, moving on to drying off a bowl.

Mei shook her head. “Not really, but it did get kinda close.”

“Yeah, but everything’s okay now and no one really got hurt,” MK smiled at her.

“Ah, I see,” Pigsy nodded to himself. “I gotta say, it is kind of refreshing to hear about kids getting into fights that aren’t you two,” He laughed a little.

“I beat Kija in tetherball–!” Mei blurted out, immediately diverting the conversation.

“Really? That’s impressive, kiddo. Congrats,” Pigsy gave her a smile before going to put the bowl and cup away.

“Smooth,” MK whispered and Mei rolled her eyes, pushing him a little.

It wasn’t long after that that Mr. Tang came back from a long day of studying, and soon the conversation became all about him and the Monkey King– not that Mei minded by any means.

Because this was normal for them. This was right for them.

Things were so right and normal right now and Mei wouldn’t give that up for the world.

#lego monkie kid #lmk #dadsy of two au #mei lmk #mk lmk #pigsy lmk #my fics #hurt/comfort #angst #lil mk and mei deserve the world tbh #i just #oughhhhhh i love my lil babies #why must they fight?#(the answer is I make them but shhhhhhh)

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dndeed · 1 year ago

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Crit Role Miniature Rollout: C3E50 Red Moon Rising

With Andrew Harshman

An analysis of the minis used on CR.

That red moon is indeed arisin’! Oooooey, look at that cinematic shot and cinematic lighting! At the end of the day, I think I have a slight preference for live shows, but the benefit of preproduction is these cinematic mini shots. The same thing probably could be achieve during a live recording with a handheld camera operator (Mega64 does it all the time). But regardless, these shots are awesome for helping establish the scene and giving us a closer peak at all the rad models. Thank you Critical Role production team, it is much appreciated!

Get in the robot Shinji, it’s time for Critical Role Miniature Rollout Campaign 3 Episode 50!

Mini Map Overview

This is a cuh-lassic C2/3 style map, featuring full 3D terrain elements atop a gaming mat. Specifically, a Mats by Mars desert theme base with Dwarven Forge Mountain rocks and blocks. Some wooden stairs and walkway components by Monster Fightclub, and scatter terrain from Pathfinder, HirstArts, and Mantic Games. One tent is from Mantic’s Terrain Crate series and the other is a Safari brand “Civil War Officer” tent famously featured in Campaign 2 Episode 3:

This particular brand of tent must be a popular in the world of Tal'dorei. What about this tent design makes it “Civil War” era? It is a rather tall tent, perhaps the high tent ceiling is made to accommodate an Abe Lincoln style top hat? “d4 score and seven years ago-” harharhar

The medium sized enemy cult member minis in this encounter are a bit mysterious to me. I suspect they are kitbashed models or resin printed. Possibly modular Frostgrave models? Difficult to say for sure. They are a tad generic, nothing super distinctive or identifiable. But conveniently, armed cultist models are a dime a dozen. If you need some for your own game, you’ll find there are ample options.

Best Mini of the Ep

This here Mighty Servant of Leuk-o model is mighty neat. Not only is it one of the most impressively large construct models. It is one of the only pilotable construct models! Go for it, hop in for a test drive!

Perhaps a sorta mundane detail for most folk, but I really like the decorative lines of gold patterning. Quality production value.

Worst Mini of the Ep

These large tents are pretty nice sculpts. But they are a downright hassle to paint. Them little frilly flaps along the top there, what a bother. Ain’t got time for those sorta tent trubs.

I’ve painted three of these tents for my own game, that’s over 100 flaps! Yeesh.

See ya next sesh!

#critroleminiaturerollout

#critroleminiaturerollout #criticalroleminiaturerollout #critrole #criticalrole #crit role #crspoilers #dwarvenforge #matsbymars

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cartoonfanaticmonsterrobotalien · 9 months ago

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Solar Opposites: Ultra Opposites The Movie Ch. 6 (from @avaveevo)

Miss Frankie is in jail. Suddenly, a police officer approaches her.

Police Officer: Alright, miss. You made bail.

Miss Frankie: *sighs depressingly* Okay. Thank you for letting me know.

The police officer opens the cell and Miss Frankie is let out. Miss Frankie takes a deep breath and walks out.

Miss Frankie: So, who bailed me out.

Principal Cooke: Hey baby! *Miss Frankie gasp in joy and kisses him* Yeesh, how was jail time? Did they hurt you?!

Miss Frankie: No. They learned a thing or two to not mess with me.

Principal Cooke: I love it when you’re so tough!

Miss Frankie: Thanks, sweetie!

Principal Cooke: By the way, how did you end up in jail?

Miss Frankie: Ugh. Car rent.

Principal Cooke: Honey…

Miss Frankie: I know I know… *then thinks about giving the Solars another chance* You think I’ve been a huge asshole to these aliens?

Principal Cooke: Pretty much.

Miss Frankie then looks down as she sighs. The scene then cuts to school where Yumyulack is getting stuff from his locker, until Daryl comes up from behind him and hugs him. Yumyulack smiles and kiss his boyfriend and the lips as they moan lovingly.

Daryl: Hey, babe.

Yumyulack: Hey honey. How was school today?

Daryl: Ugh, it was hell. I don’t think I’ll be able to ace the test tomorrow.

Yumyulack: Hey relax honey. You’re gonna do great. Plus, *referring to himself* you have the best math tutor around.

Daryl laughs.

Daryl: I know. See you tonight babe.

Yumyulack kisses Daryl on the cheek

Yumyulack: You know it babe.

Then, Yumyulack see the headphone guys picking on a couple of kids.

Aiden: Gimme your lunch money right now, or I'm gonna kick your meek little ass.

Lily: Ow! Hey! Cut it out!

Yumyulack growls and goes up to them.

Jayden: What're ya gonna do, cry?

Yumyulack: Hey! You heard her! Cut it out!

Aiden: Nice entrance, loser. What crazy world are you living in where you think a alien could be a hero?

Yumyulack: Kindly return these kids’ lunch money right now!

Aiden: Come and get `em.... But watch out, ‘cause we’re popular and it’s in our dunnah!

Mark: Uh, it’s pronounced DNA.

Jayden: Don’t tell what I know about, Mark!

Yumyulack: You don’t scare me man.

Aidan pushes Yumyulack

Aidan: What you gonna do? Run away and cry?!

Braiden: You scared now!

Jayden: Look at him tremble! He is scared!

Aiden: What are you gonna do? Cry no-

Yumyulack kicks Aidan in the face

Aidan: Oh, you don't know when to quit, do ya?

Aidan punches Yumyulack in the face

Aidan: I want you to remember this moment the next time you think you will ever be anything more than just a stupid, weak fuck.

The Headphone Kids leave as the kids run up to Yumyulack.

Lily: That looks bad.

Rebecca: Are you okay?

Yumyulack: Yeah. I’m fine. *gives the kids their money* He’s your money.

Eddie: Woah! How do you get them?

Yumyulack: I snuck from behind while they attack me.

Rebecca: You’re awesome! Those headphone kids were wrong about you!

Lily: Yeah! Aiden doesn't know what he's talkin' `bout.

Yumyulack: Well, he’s right about one thing. I don’t know when to quit.

The scene then cuts to Yumyulack heading inside his house. Then, Korvo runs up and hugs him in relief.

Korvo: Yumyulack! I heard what happened! Are you all right?

Yumyulack: Sorta.

Korvo kisses Yumyulack on the forehead.

Korvo: Well I am so glad my son is okay.

Yumyulack smiles and hugs Korvo

Yumyulack: Thanks Korvo.

Korvo smiles.

Korvo: Come on. Let’s get you inside.

The father and son head inside and then Janiz then comes up in desperate and runs up and hugs Yumyulack.

Janiz: Are you okay?

Yumyulack: Yes, why-

Janiz: Did you have any side effects? Outbursts? Glowing eyes?!

Yumyulack: I…What are you talking about?

Korvo sighs.

Korvo: Yumyulack, it’s time you knew.

The three Shlorpians head into Korvo and Terry’s room. Korvo close the door and locks it. Yumyulack sits down as while Korvo holds Yumyulack’s hand.

Yumyulack: Korvo, what’s going on? I’m not in trouble am I?

Korvo sighs.

Korvo: Yumyulack, you’re a Super Shlorpian. Like me and Janiz.

Yumyulack: What?! How?! Does Terry know about this?!

Korvo: Yes. I already told him. And…. it’s been running in our family for generations. Including today. Once a Replicant turns 13-years old, the spirits grant him the spirit of the Super Shlorpian in his sleep, which also becomes their new life source.

Tears start running down Yumyulack’s cheeks as his eyes turn purple with anger

Korvo: Yumyulack? Yumyulack, no!

Yumyulack: Are you…SERIOUS?!

Yumyulack growls as he snarls as Korvo and Janiz gasp.

Yumyulack: SO THIS IS THEIR FAULT?!

Korvo then gives Yumyulack a cooldown hug.

Korvo: Sssh…it’s okay. Just take deep breaths for me, okay?

Yumyulack takes a deep breath but then breaks down crying.

Yumyulack: *tearfully* Why…Why didn’t you tell me?

Korvo: Because, I was waiting until the time was right. Which it is. Janiz and I also inherited this ever since we were kids. My first time however was traumatic.

A flashback plays of Replicant Korvo throwing up

Korvo: *voicover* I was sick… I didn’t what caused it, but I was really ill…

Replicant Janiz: Are you okay?!

Replicant Korvo kept throwing up, which made Replicant Janiz concern.

Replicant Korvo: I-

Then, Replicant Korvo kept throwing up.

Replicant Janiz: Hey hey. It’s gonna be okay…

Korvo: *voiceover* I was also prone to mental breakdowns

Replicant Korvo: *starts breathing in and out*

Replicant Janiz: Korvo, just-

Then, suddenly Replicant Korvo’s eyes starts glowing aquamarine as his skin starts turning black and his fingers turns into claws. Replicant Janiz gasps.

Replicant Korvo: Janiz! *starts growing bigger and muscular* What’s wrong with me?! *robe and shoes starts to tear* Help me…

Replicant Janiz screams in fear. Replicant Korvo roars as he rips apart his robe and shoes and then his horns and wings appear as he roars as tears of rage burst from his eyes.

Replicant Janiz: K-Korvo?

Super Shlorpian Replicant Korvo as he bust through a window and attacks some Shlorpians. Replicant Janiz and runs after him and sees some Shlorpians injured and/or hurt. Replicant Janiz gasp and sees Super Shlorpian Replicant Korvo roaring and runs up to him.

Replicant Janiz: Korvo! No! Stop! Calm down! I’m here! You’re all right!

Super Shlorpian Replicant Korvo roars as Replicant Janiz, who gasp as her eyes glow icy and transforms into a Super Shlorpian to calm down her brother. Super Shlorpian Replicant Korvo gasps as he sees his sister as a Super Shlorpian.

Korvo: *voiceover* I was lucky Janiz was there to save me.

Super Shlorpian Replicant Janiz: It’s okay baby brother… it’s gonna be okay…

Super Shlorpian Replicant Korvo starts sobbing.

Super Shlorpian Replicant Janiz: *hugs her crying brother* Shh… it’s okay… I’m here…

The flashback ends as Korvo weeps.

Korvo: *weeps* That’s when I vow not to transform again. Because, I never want to get anyone hurt. Then, you came along.

Yumyulack: Korvo, I’m so sorry you-

Korvo: It’s okay honey. But, I also transform again when you were just a sproutling.

Yumyulack: You did? But I don’t remember that…

The flashback starts as baby Yumyulack starts crying.

Baby Yumyulack: *wailing*

Korvo goes up to Yumyulack’s crib and picks him up

Korvo: Shh… it’s okay my little sprout… daddy’s here… shh…

Baby Yumyulack stops crying and sniffles. But then, Korvo hears the sound of a monster as a giant horn monster bust in here.

Korvo: HOLY FUCK!

Baby Yumyulack starts wailing louder because he is scared. Korvo, seeing his baby scared and might be in danger, goes papa wolf as his eyes glow aquamarine. Korvo turns into his Super Shlorpian form and roars. The horn monster scratches him on the back. Despite the pain, Super Shlorpian Korvo fires ice breath at the beast. Then, he flies away while holding baby Yumyulack, who is still crying. The horn monster goes after him. Super Shlorpian Korvo hide as he consoles baby Yumyulack.

Super Shlorpian Korvo: Ssh. Ssh. You’re all right. Daddy’s here.

Baby Yumyulack calms down as he coos. Super Shlorpian then hides baby Yumyulack in crate as he starts to whimper in pain. Suddenly, an offscreen green Shlorpian, who looks familiar, comes up to him while the horn monster flies past them and doesn’t see them.

Past Terry: Hey… shh… *soothes Super Shlorpian Korvo’s face* It’s okay… let me help you…

Super Shlorpian Korvo blushes. Past Terry helps heal the wounds on Super Shlorpian Korvo, as he puts a bandage around the wound. The Shlorpian then sees the monster as he gasp and runs up. Super Shlorpain Korvo collapse as he falls asleep. A few minutes later… Korvo wakes up back to normal and gasp upon seeing the monster dead while he sees baby Yumyulack in his arms cooing while sleeping. He then gasp upon seeing another black monster Shlorpian, but it’s not a Super Shlorpian while another baby crying was heard in the background. Korvo looks on but then heads back to smiling as he looks down at Baby Yumyulack who coos again. The flashback ends as Yumyulack gasps.

Yumyulack: What? There was a monster that attack you when I was a baby? And you transformed?

Korvo nods.

Korvo: I did. Because, I was scared my little sprout would get hurt… and I was scared of what would happen you transform into a Super Shlorpian for the first time.

Janiz puts a hand on Korvo’s shoulder

Janiz: We were also waiting for when we told you. Because, we love you Yumyulack.

Yumyulack tearfully hugs Janiz

Yumyulack: *tearfully* Thank you for saving my dad, Janiz.

Janiz smiles and hugs Yumyulack as Korvo joins in. The scene then cuts to Ophelia spying on Daryl. Then, she sees the window from Daryl’s room open as she smirks. She then fires a dart at Daryl, who cries out in pain and falls down unconscious. Ophelia chuckles evilly. The scene then cuts to Terry and Korvo getting an alert.

Terry: What was that alarm?!

Korvo: Yes! Let’s go see what it is!

The two alien husbands then checks the notification from the alarm as they gasp in horror upon seeing Daryl getting kidnapped by Ophelia.

Terry: Holy shit! They got our son’s boyfriend!

Korvo: Yumyulack is not gonna be happy.

Yumyulack: *offscreen* Not happy about what?

Yumyulack comes in and gasp.

Yumyulack: D-Daryl?!

Korvo and Terry then turns into Legendary Super Shlorpian and Solar Flare as Yumyulack starts growling and clenches his fist in anger.

Yumyulack: I’m gonna kill that woman!

Korvo: Who whoa whoa! Yumyulack, you’re not ready yet. You need training!

Yumyulack: What?

Terry takes him to the training courses as he smiles at his stepson. Then, Terry turns into Solar Flare as he starts singing while Yumyulack gets ready to be trained.

[SOLAR FLARE]

I see you're driven by your detestation Your every step is stoked with animus You need a different type of motivation Or there's no way that you can handle this

I know you're thirstin' for vengeance, Yumyulack You're out for blood But you'll only stand a chance if you're out for love

Out for love, love Think of who you care about Protect them and be out For love, love You're gonna fight without gloves Long as you're out for love

As the montage progresses, Yumyulack starts to get better as he fully masters his powers while Legendary Super Shlorpian watches and smiles.

Fuel yourself with the fear of losin' That somebody who's your reason to live Harnеss your heart and you can't help choosin' To fight with all you can give

I know you'rе thirstin' for vengeance, Yumyulack You're out for blood But you'll only stand a chance if you're out for love

Out for love, love Think of who you care about Protect them and be out For love, love You're gonna fight without gloves And when that push comes to shove Yeah, you just might rise above Long as you're out for love

As the song ends Yumyulack glows purple and transforms into his own super suit for the first time as he laughs in joy.

Yumyulack/???: Wow! I look amazing! Just call me… Psylock!

Psylock does his own superhero pose while his dads smile in tears of joy.

Korvo/Legendary Super Shlorpian: Oh Yumyulack! I am so proud of you! *hugs Psylock*

Yumyulack/Psylock: Thanks, Korv. Now let’s go kick ass!

The two superhero alien husbands nod at their son as they fly off to the fortress. Meanwhile with Ophelia and Daryl, Daryl is trying to escape.

Daryl: Let me go you crazy bitch!

Ophelia: Oh be quiet! It’s not like anyone’s gonna come save you anyway!

Yumyulack/Psylock: *offscreen* But we are!

Just then, Solar Flare, Legendary Super Shlorpian and Psylock bust in the fortress and lands on their feet while doing their own superhero stances. Daryl gasps.

Yumyulack/Psylock: Release him motherfucker!

Ophelia: There are three of you now?! Impossible!

Solar Flare laughs.

Terry/Solar Flare: Fuck yeah bitch! Now release our son’s boyfriend!

Ophelia: Make me!

Psylock uses his mind reading powers on Ophelia. Ophelia is thrown into a wall.

Ophelia: UGH!

Terry/Solar Flare: L.S.S! Now!

Legendary Super Shlorpian turns into his super Shlorpian form and uses his ice breath to freeze Ophelia who growls

Ophelia: This won’t stop me! Once I-

But Ophelia is now a frozen statue. Psylock unlocks the cage and embraces Daryl.

Daryl: Yumyulack? You look amazing.

Psylock blushes.

Yumyulack/Psylock: Thanks. *twirl around* A little basic but I think I look nice too.

Daryl: You sure do. *kisses Psylock on the cheek*

Psylock smirks as kisses Daryl on the lips

Yumyulack/Psylock: Now let’s get out of here!

The Ultra Opposites fly off with Psylock holding Daryl

Daryl: You guys look amazing.

Terry/Solar Flare: Thanks. These are our super suits!

Yumyulack/Psylock: Yes they are.

The group lands and Solar Flare, Legendary Super Shlorpian, and Psylock transform back

Yumyulack: Glad you’re okay babe

Daryl: Yeah. See you tomorrow?

Yumyulack: You bet.

Yumyulack and Daryl kiss while moaning. Korvo and Terry smile as they watch Daryl leave and smiles at Yumyulack.

Miss Frankie: *offscreen* Korvo? Terry?

Korvo and Terry turn and see Miss Frankie and Principal Cooke, who is surprised.

Korvo: Miss Frankie? Principal Cooke?

Miss Frankie: Um… hey guys.

Terry scowls.

Miss Frankie: Look guys… I know we had our differences and… *Terry’s face softens as well as Korvo and Yumyulack* and I was wrong to treat you like shit. You guys were trying to fit in. Plus, I wasn’t here lately because of stupid car rent. *remorsefully* I am so sorry for treating like fucked up outcasts. *Korvo and Terry feel sympathy upon realizing she is telling the truth* And I am so sorry. I used to like sci-fi stuff as a kid but my parents wanted me to be a teacher. I know you don’t deserve my forgiveness because for what I did to you guys which are things hurt you… but all I can say is this… I am truly sorry Korvo…

Korvo smiles.

Korvo: Apology accepted Frankie.

Miss Frankie smiles and leaves with Cooke.

Terry: Huh?

Terry then smiles as he watches Cooke and Frankie leaves. Terry then decided to give Frankie another chance too as he placed a hand on Korvo.

Terry: Y’know, despite all the horrible things she has done, I think Frankie deserves that chance.

Korvo: Yeah. So…wanna fool around?

Terry: Hell yeah! *picks up Korvo bridal style and heads into their house.

Yumyulack sighs before looking up at the sky as Perfect For Me by Justin Timberlake (cover by Julia Michaels) plays:

[YUMYULACK]

Mm Mm, mm

I know your favorite song I hear it everyday Whoever made your smile Made it to get in my way And every time you laugh You make that little sound It's just the hardest thing To love you but not know how

So I spend all my nights in the dark and afraid 'Cause I've tried to forget you but these things just don't go away

I hate that you're perfect, perfect for me If I didn't know better, then I would believe We were made for each other, but I'd know the truth You're no good for me, I'm no good for you And I hate that you're perfect You're perfect for me I hate that you're perfect You're perfect for me

What good are words when they always just get in our way And it hurts the most just to know that you don't feel the same, the same So sometimes I get down on my knees and I pray things will change But life is what happens when things they don't work out our way, our way

So I spend all my nights in the dark and afraid, mm 'Cause I've tried to forget you but these things just don't go away, away

Yumyulack sighs.

Yumyulack: I think this might be a new thing that I might like. Glad Daryl still loves me…

We then cut to the Wall where a Bowinian prophet is looking at a piece of paper that reads “Bowinian Church Taken Down”

Bowinian Prophet: *sighs*

???: *offscreen* You got the news?

Bowinian Prophet: Y-yes?

???: Looks like we have much to discuss.

Bowinian Prophet: Wh-what?

???: Trust me. You’ll want to hear this.

The Bowinian Prophet follows the offscreen figure.

#solar opposites #solar opposites au #the ultra opposites #ultra opposites #super shlorpian korvo #terry/solar flare #korvo/legendary super shlorpian #yumyulack/vil gil an t #Spotify

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fictomorph · 1 year ago

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Soot Tags (Roy Mustang TF/TG/MC)

WARNING: This story contains transformation, female to male TG, slime as a TF method, mental change, and reality change

“Ugh. This place looks horrible.”

That was all Ember had to say. The young girl ran her own business as a freelance cleaner, doing any job that paid well enough. So when an offer came to her from a couple of realtors for $3000 to clean a two story house, of course she accepted. Those usually took two to three hours, and would be well worth it. However, she should’ve remembered there’s always a catch for these kinds of jobs. As it turned out, the house had recently been in a fire, and the inside was seared to a crisp. It seemed structurally sound, she checked with a testing whack of the door frame. No debris, but a bit of dust and soot fell. More of a mess for her, but she wasn’t about to die, so...if she was lucky she could get it done by 6.

The hours of tedium passed as they always did, and at 3, Ember had almost finished the first floor. She decided to take a quick break, sitting at the heavily-scrubbed kitchen table. She’d catch her breath, move onto the first floor, and be done with it, she thought as she wiped sweat from her ginger brow. She was about to give herself a good 20 minutes of YouTube before her eyes caught something in the corner. Getting up, she carefully approached it, scared it might be some form of animal. Gripping the handle of her broom tight, she batted at it, only to sigh.

It wasn’t anything alive, but it was still rather odd. It looked like some kind of thick black spiderweb. She paused, looking over it. She had seen these before...what were they? Oh yea! Soot tags! They showed up after fires, something to do with soot particles and low circulation. She reached up to bat them away, only to pause. She’d never actually ran into these before...was she supposed to grab them? She remembered you weren’t supposed to wet soot because that would just make it smear more….if she grabbed them dry, it'd probably be fine.

Tugging on a pair of thick rubber gloves, she reached up to the corner and spooled the soot around her hands, like some kind of goth cotton candy. Pulling her hand back down, she noted a few strands were still there, but it looked like she got most of them. She went to pull her glove off, only to hesitate. Yeesh. The thing had almost completely coated her hand, staining it with its almost ink-like form. At least she still had that other glove...she tried to tug it off with her other hand, only for the tag to almost jump to her other hand!

“The hell? Okay, maybe it’s like…..static charge or something.” She nudged the sink’s handle, almost surprised the water was still running. However, she got a nasty shock as when she tried to wash the soot off, it instead jumped further down her arms! What’s more was the realization that her thick rubber gloves had become silk and stain free, a red lizard marking the back of one. Okay, she may not be an expert on soot tags, but she knew they couldn’t do THIS!

It began to creep up her arms, the thick goo soaking her arms in dark blue fabric. Her frame seemed to tug out, a new coat of lean muscle under the sleeves. She could feel its tendrils wrapping around her, tugging her middle longer, coils causing muscle to appear along her middle. The deep blue became more and more tied to her, small accents of white manifesting along her chest to give the goo a more uniform look.

“I-It won’t come off!” She grabbed at her chest, trying to pull the adhesive off of her. Her chest and shoulders broadened, bones clicking into place. She felt it pour down her legs, growing taller as they pressed out into sleek deep blue dress pants. Even her feet weren’t immune, somewhat grubby sneakers gaining a coat of polish as they became dark black leather.

“What the hell is this stuff-mmmph!” It crept up her face, the taste of overly burnt meat coating her tongue as she was unfortunate enough to get some in her mouth. She felt the soot reshaping her face, jawline becoming sharper and more defined, brown eyes deepening to the same pitch as the soot and taking on a more stern, determined look. The most notable change was her hair, as the soot had wrapped into the fibers of her hair, charring it dark and chopping off a decent chunk.

“G-Get off me!” Her mind was so overrun with panic she didn’t even notice how her voice had changed, now that of a stern (if slightly mischievous) authoritative figure. She had been blinded by the soot, it like a thick, overly applied face mask. Her head began to spin, she assumed from the fumes the soot had to be producing.

She….no, that wasn’t right. He held his head, finally managing to find a weak spot in the soot’s grasp as he pulled it off, gasping.

“Hm?” Riza poked her head in the room, confused. “Is something wrong, Colonel?”

Roy Mustang snapped to attention, looking back at Riza. The two were investigating a house that had burned down mysterious, signs pointing to it being foul play. “No, all’s fine. I did find these, though.” He revealed the soot tag in his hand, soon scraping it into a jar. “Soot tags. They only appear when a fire is caused by an artificial substance, meaning this wasn’t some stove that just got left on.”

“Hm, that’s certainly something.” Riza took the jar from Roy, looking over it. “Nice find. I’ll leave you be to the rest of your work.” Roy scoffed, leaving his assistant to walk away. That was probably all he’d find here...didn’t see too much of a reason to burn this place down.

Ah well, he shrugged. Just another day at the office.

#character tf #character transformation #female to male tf #female to male transformation #ftm tf #ftm transformation #slime transformation #goo transformation #reality change #Tf

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nellie-elizabeth · 26 days ago

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Grey's Anatomy: This One's for the Girls (21x04)

This one's for the girls, is it? Which girls is this one supposed to be for? This girl is not particularly gripped.

Cons:

The amount of I Don't Give A Shit I was feeling when we get to that ending and Jo and Link are having twins? Godddd I don't care! I want to go back in time and make these two never fall in love, because it's putting me to sleep! Same with Teddy and Owen talking about how they need a chance to connect because work is keeping them so busy. It's not the most insufferable angst I've ever experienced from these two, but it's still not all that interesting.

Also... I didn't mind the story about Mika's sister in and of itself, but it's a bit hard to swallow when I know we'll be saying goodbye to this character soon. Is this what sunsets her off the show? She quits her job to take care of her sick sister? I mean... that's fine, I guess, but it's just a bummer to take up screen time with a new character here when we already know we have so little time left with Yasuda.

Also, no Meredith or Amelia in this episode which is sad to me personally! I've been enjoying them so far this season. Learning that Catherine's biopsy came back negative as like an off-screen detail from Richard was kind of odd too, after all the gravitas from last week. I'm still annoyed with Richard for scolding Meredith, honestly!

Pros:

I did really like the stuff with Ben coming back to the hospital, honestly. It was interesting that he had trouble with the logistical maneuvering of the hospital systems. It wasn't that he didn't know how to do the medicine pieces, he was just tripping up with the electronic system for ordering the correct test, and stuff like that. When it came time to treat the patient in the OR, Ben was a complete bad-ass. He does know what he's doing, but there's always going to be some tension on the first day back. Blue, on the other hand, had this sort of false smug confidence about being better than Ben, but then in the end Ben extended the olive branch by asking for his help during the surgery. I liked this setup! And I liked Winston warning Bailey to back off. It made total sense for his character, after what he went through with Maggie.

While I am a little grumpy about wasting time with extra stuff when Yasuda is not long for this show, I did like seeing the other interns rally around her. And the other doctors too, everyone coming together to brainstorm a good idea for how to help preserve Chloe's chance to bear children while also giving her the best chance to fight her cancer. Very sweet to see Jules go in there and hold Chloe's hand during the procedure.

Levi and James! I love how cute this is and how well everything is clicking. I'm guessing that the reveal is going to be that James has a dead husband, not that he's a big cheating cheater. But I guess we'll have to see! I loved them being so besotted and so nerdy debating their Star Trek vs. Star Wars. Levi is 100% right, by the way, being the captain of the Enterprise is WAY better than being Han Solo. Yeesh. I also loved seeing Helm ever so briefly; I wish they'd ever known what to do with that character.

This is a bit of a shorter review, because I think this was an episode that didn't totally enrage me but also didn't have a ton that I was super excited to discuss? A lot of stuff kind of fell in the middle for me. Like the patient with the BBL, and the debate about elective surgeries and the gendered aspects of making those choices. It was fine, I wasn't mad at it, I just was sort of neutral on it. I miss Amelia, I hope she's back next week...

7/10

#review #grey's anatomy #grey's anatomy review #greys anatomy review #grey's abc #greys abc

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true-blue-sonic · 10 months ago

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What exactly is Silver's dynamic with Blaze? Specifically in Sonic 06, Colors and Team Sonic Racing?

I gave this some thought last night, because I feel like their dynamic between games is actually a bit different. Let's see!

Starting with Sonic '06, there is a bio that mention Blaze sees Silver as a 'younger brother': a Japanese bio for '06 has the term 弟 or otouto in it, which is a way to refer to a younger brother. Specifically, the translation from DeepL I get says "Blaze is strict with [her]self and shy around other people, but [s]he has feelings for Silver, whom [s]he works with, as a companion and like a younger brother." In general, Blaze seems to be the calming factor to Silver's more impulsive and hot-headed nature. She tells him to calm down when he expresses frustration about Iblis' undefeatability after the first battle with it, in the boss battles she's the one who comes in with warnings and tips on how to defeat monsters (e.g. telling him Iblis' weak spot is his head, or that Silver can destroy the armoured parts of the Egg-Genesis), and generally she's just a focused presence that motivates Silver to stick to his mission to save the future.

So generally, in '06 they are shown to have a close bond: for example, in the Test of Friendship Silver needs to undergo, Blaze is the one captured, and she gives him a very genuine-sounding "Silver, thank you." when she is freed again. She furthermore has clear trust in Silver, following him without a doubt when he presents to her a final plan to defeat Iblis that he is sure will work. Similarly, Silver is stated to be "young and somewhat immature" in an interview with Nakamura: he benefits from Blaze's calm demeanour and the fact she helps keep him on track. He is furthermore clearly distraught at the prospect of Blaze sacrificing herself to save the world, doubtfully asking if she is his friend (which Blaze doesn't answer directly, but I think the sentiment is a clear yes, she is, and she likes his naive nature. They say approximately the same in both Japanese and English, though Japanese does not state anything about Silver 'not knowing what to do' without Blaze.). Whether Silver sees Blaze as an older sister or just as a close companion, I cannot say exactly, though. But one thing is for certain: Silver benefits from having Blaze nearby him to keep him focused, and Blaze is similarly fond and trusting of him in turn.

And then the events of '06 got basically wiped, with Silver and Blaze's history alongside it. The first time they are shown meeting again in the games is Sonic Colours DS (where I'm not counting Mario & Sonic Winter DS). And in this game, their dynamic is actually a bit different! What happens is that Orbot and Cubot challenge Blaze and Silver to a fight in Eggman's amusement park, and promptly get trounced. Silver and Blaze lament that it wasn't a challenge in the slightest, but interestingly, in both the Success and Triumph endings, Blaze and Silver almost begin one-upping each other for a bit:

Succes:

Tails: I almost feel bad that those robots picked a fight with you two. Sonic: Heh, talk about unlucky. Silver: Right? Blaze: Don't exaggerate. I merely defended myself. And it was soon obvious how weak they were. I pulled my punches. Sonic: THAT was pulling punches? Yeesh.

Triumph:

Sonic: I'm still just surprised at how persistent those robots are. Tails: You're sure you guys are all right? Blaze: I could handle the likes of those two all day. Silver: Seriously. I could take care of those two myself, easy. Blaze: I could handle them by myself as well! Tails: Easy, guys. We're all friends here, and you work together well. Sonic: Yeah, you guys were in perfect synch. Blaze: Hmph. I suppose it was an easier fight with your help. Silver: It almost felt like we've paired up before. Tails: Wow, maybe you guys were partners somewhere, some time. I guess anything is possible!

Especially in Triumph, we see that Silver begins to almost brag ("Seriously" and "easy") about how he could have taken care of the robots himself, causing Blaze to defensively react that she could have done so by herself as well. I could be entirely wrong, but I do not recall an instance in '06 where the two of them were so competitive together, or almost disregarding of the other's efforts for a second. In other words, in Colours DS they do not seem to think that they needed the other there to help out... but the very moment an indication comes that they were fighting well together, Blaze relents and says that Silver's help was valuable to her all the same. In a kind of gruff, not very flattering way ("I suppose it..."), but definitely there. And Silver is the one who proceeds to point out that they feel familiar to the other, in a clear reference to '06.

What I think can be concluded from this game is that the alleged brother-sister relationship '06 stated they had, or at least their sense of close companionship, is not really there anymore. At least not to the levels it reached in '06. Blaze and Silver are effectively strangers who just happened to stumble across each other, and who are left only with a vague sense of familiarity and none of the memories explaining why that is the case. Silver says it almost felt like they've teamed up before, which to me does not express a clear sentiment of him being sure it actually happened. It seems more like a vague, odd-sense-of-deja-vu kind of musing. And yet, they are still noted to be in perfect sync with each other when it comes to their fighting, even if their statements about said battle might clash with each other somewhat. They're clearly alright with spending time together and are to be feared in battle, but the very tight-knit companionship they once had has been undone along with the events of '06, I think is accurate to say.

In Generations they are shown hanging out together somewhat at the end, but they don't talk, so that indeed brings us to Team Sonic Racing. In here, I feel like they have a closer bond than in Colours DS. Blaze genuinely compliments Silver at the end of a race, telling him he did a good job out there. She is also the one picking up that there's something on Silver's mind, which she asks about directly and gets an honest answer in turn to. And lastly, she very blatantly states she trust him, which I think for Blaze is a big deal: she's certainly less withdrawn than she was at the start of Rush, but she's still not one who makes friends very easily or who is excessively jovial and embracing of the power of teamwork. Laying out her trust so obviously is not something I think she'll do with every character. Overall, Silver and Blaze seem like better friends to me than they were in Colours DS, which makes sense considering they might simply have spent more time together.

So to conclude, I think we can say that Blaze and Silver are good companions. Blaze is the one with the level-headed nature that Silver can discuss his troubles with, and Silver in turn is someone Blaze appreciates for his honest, naive-ish and determined nature. I think it can be argued that Blaze regarding Silver as closely as a little brother is something that was mostly the case in '06 alone, due to them apparently growing up together (the wiki says Silver accepted Blaze for who she was even when other people were teasing her for her fire powers, but I feel like they're muddling Rush and '06 there. There also is no source linked, so I am not sure how reliable that statement is. But Silver clearly did not fear Blaze and her pyrokinesis despite the fact a fire monster is the one who'd destroyed his world, so I can see merit in the statement all the same.). With '06's story never happening in the first place, their close bond has been removed as well, but they seem to be rebuilding it to an extent in the later games. And what is also of note is that in a recent Sonic Channel story wherein everyone's memories were wiped, Silver and Blaze start out gruff and dismissive towards each other also, but it takes very little for them to begin appreciating each other once more. Also there they are in perfect sync in the end when it comes to their battling.

So tl;dr: good companions with mutual trust between them, where Blaze is the more supportive and level-headed one and Silver is the one who relies on her for guidance, but where she appreciates his nature. Arguably not as close as they were in '06, especially not in Colours DS, but I feel like it can be reasoned they are building towards that again with the time spent together in later games.

#silver the hedgehog #blaze the cat #team sonic racing #sonic colours ds #sonic the hedgehog 2006 #sonic 06 #long post #I have entirely mandela'd mind wiped myself here but I am SURE there is *A* bio out there that says Silver regarded Blaze with-#-an 'older woman's allure'#I remember it because I didn't (and still don't) understand exactly what was meant by it #but for the life of me I cannot find it anymore #and thus I also don't know the *exact* context in which it showed up and if it actually said what I think it does...#it probably was a Japanese bio so translating it is going to be difficult for me... but if I just had it that would help tremendously

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