#also major karma for the rest :)

[andthesunwillalwaysshine]

EXCUSE ME THE MUSIC IN TOUCHED AS SOON AS IT CUTS TO SPUFFY CUDDLING RIGHT AFTER ANYA TELLS XANDER IF THEY’RE DONE HAVING SEX SO SHOULD EVERYONE ELSE PLEASE JUST STAB ME IN MY HEART ALREADY WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS EPISODE 

BONUS: and the thumb caressing HIS HAND - the hand caressing HER HAIR and THE HEAD KISS +++ THE SOFT LOOK ON BUFFY'S FACE AS SHE WAKES UP AND THEN LOOKS AT HIM OH TOUCHED IS A VERY BEAUTIFUL EPISODE

[your-local-granny]

okay before i forget. i've been trying to put my finger on why people saying phoenix and maya are 'sibling-coded' pisses me off so much and I think a big part of it is how important mia is to both their introduction and also the foundation of their relationship and how calling phoenix and maya 'siblings/sibling-coded' waters down all of their relationships

phoenix wishing that maya was mia is a very big part of maya's arc as well as a big sticking point in phoenix and maya's relationship. phoenix spends the majority of turnabout sisters wishing that 'the chief' was there and when maya fails to channel her he shows outward disappointment. this is something that maya obviously picks up on and internalizes as we see throughout the rest of the games. most notably maya shows remarkably little self-preservation, throwing herself at von Karma's taser and in contempt of court to help edgeworth (and by extent, phoenix). she openly admits to feeling useless when she can't channel mia and phoenix never refutes this out loud until he of course presents the bullet to her showing that she wasn't useless. phoenix is notably bad at expressing his thoughts/ and feelings so its honestly debatable whether this gets through to maya but thats neither here nor there

on the other side of it, maya wishes that phoenix would be the caring adult figure that she was missing for most of her life (and especially after mia dies) and phoenix does not do a great job of being that figure. he likes her sure, and they're good friends, but he's definitely not nurturing or sensitive whenever maya is in distress. at the end of turnabout sisters when mia tells maya to "take care of phoenix" for her, maya starts calling him nick (because that's what mia said phoenix's friend calls him) and their dynamic for the most part is solidified. maya is not able to find mia in phoenix and accepts him as his own person and a part of her life as a friend.

phoenix has a more complicated journey with viewing maya as her own person partially because of the whole spirit-channeling thing, and partially because maya is younger than both the chief and himself. phoenix is constantly looking to a mentor for guidance and feels out of his depth for most of the cases in the trilogy. he frequently wishes that mia could be there, and is shown to value maya's ideas less, or at the least question them more at face-value. nevertheless, by the second game phoenix relies on maya greatly as shown with how he copes (or fails to cope) with her absence in rfta and 2-4, and 3-5. phoenix views her as both an integral part of his life and support structure, but also views her as someone he has to put on a brave face for, much like pearls. maya is phoenix's young friend that he leans on and wishes to protect.

maya's love for her sister is a core theme that spans the entire trilogy and culminates in maya almost dying in 3-5. phoenix's love for mia is a constant driving force that pushes him past what he believed himself capable of, and encourages him to trust those who become those closest to him. phoenix and maya's relationship is colored by their own relationships to mia, and how they view each others relationship with mia. they both represent a part of her that they never knew as well as a part of her they can keep loving in her place after she is gone, but most importantly, neither of them will ever be mia. no one else can be maya's big sister and no one else can be phoenix's mentor. they meet each other as two strangers set adrift by the same lost mooring, and though they'll never be secure in the way they were before meeting each other, they have a friend to help keep themselves afloat.

[animentality]

Dude I'm so confused

Why are the redditors refugees here-

Whats up with the tag 196

AND WHY IS EVERYONE BEING SO NICE WITH THE TWITTER REFUGEES CAME WE GAVE THEM HELL (almost)

The Reddit refugees are here because several subreddits have gone private in protest of reddit's new policy of charging third party developers for access to its API.

Hence the term reddit blackout.

196 specifically was a very queer friendly subreddit that had one rule: that you post before you leave. 196 is trending because those Redditors have come here and they're basically sharing their memery here instead as they protest reddit's greed.

As for why we're welcoming them when Twitter refugees were seen with a little more irritation, well.

Think of the culture similarities.

Tumblr and reddit have far more in common than Tumblr and Twitter.

Twitter is about clout and manipulating algorithms and discourse in 280 characters or less. It's about bad takes that reach the right people and it forces you to see things you don't want to see and it's crawling with the worst people imaginable and you're forced to see them, all the time. They also brought bad tagging and 2016 Tumblr discourse with them, because Twitter culture really involves starting fights for clout and braindead opinions that no one really wants to come back to Tumblr culture.

There was a time when Tumblr did the same thing, but worse, with more words...but nowadays, it's really calmed down.

The worst people...went to Twitter after the porn ban. Ironically, it made the site less toxic and hostile.

But then they came back.

And it was like...hm. no thanks. Stay back where you came from.

But Tumblr and Reddit have much more in common.

Both have a more streamlined way of customizing your online feed. You can choose what subreddits you see on your home screen, just like Tumblr only shows you the content of your followers, on your dashboard, and in chronological order rather than what's trending. You can join a very specific weird niche group of freaks with a shared obsession, and not care about the rest of the site at all. You also don't have a character limit on either site, which lets you ramble more and share weird detailed stories.

Reddit might have karma, but like Tumblr, the majority of people are lurkers and not posters. It also allows you to downvote bad opinions, and moderators who have to adhere to certain guidelines of behavior, which means a lot of banning disruptive people.

Granted, sometimes their mods are power hungry, but. You know.

It does more to control its users than Tumblr do, and that's a good thing in terms of keeping toxicity and illegal shit off its subs.

Reddit also has a way more leftwing attitude than you would think.

It has a reputation for being full of incels but I honestly think that's outdated.

It's cleaned up its act quite a bit since the old days.

I see way more vile shit from Twitter and TikTok. Like seriously.

Twitter is crawling with conservative bots and propaganda machines and just outright inflammatory lies. TikTok literally has the worst comment sections I've ever seen, like edgy teenagers cracking racist and misogynistic humor and acting like it makes them different and special. Its algorithm also spoon feeds you garbage and is designed to be as addicting as possible.

At least reddit's culture, while chauvinistic and regressive in certain subcultures, is mostly on the tech positive, atheist libertarian side.

It can be a little pretentious and caustic about certain subjects, and a little full of itself. Some reddits are also very male leaning and disregard female concerns in favor of moaning about how men have it worse than anyone else on earth.

But for the most part?

...well.

I welcome them here, because if they left reddit in protest, then we always support protests. But 196 specifically is also a queer subreddit, and we support that even more.

Plus they're funny as fuck.

What's not to like, really?

You should welcome them with open arms too.

[grunckle]

My view on the cycle.

Cycles are probably the most mysterious part of Rain World lore, and a common consensus I see on them is things involving multiple, branching timelines. However recently I've heard a theory that I believe fits in much better with the narrative and lore.

The main base of the theory is the karma flower dialogue from Moon,

"This is a hallucinogenic plant. They used to call it a 'Wheel Flower'. It became the symbol for enlightenment as it momentarily enables a creature to let go of its carnal self, and to contact the selves of other planes - dreams, memories, imagined worlds."

The theory summarized is that when we sleep, we can have possibly countless dreams of death. These are our, "cycles" in game. But eventually we wake up into a true reality, which is revealed to us when we progress and rest again. In this way the player and all other creatures act as a sort of seer to other terrifyingly realistic subconscious probabilities, (dreams and imagined worlds) until actually experiencing one true reality. If death is your reality, then you simply reincarnate, which is what happens in hunter's campaign via cancer death.

Karma fits into this by being the one thing that "remembers" these dreams. Even if your death wasn't real, your karma is still affected by it and is tied to you in reality.

I prefer this theory to the timeline theories because of the aforementioned karma flower dialogue, but also because timeline theories have a whole lot of complications when it comes to how ancients tracked time and objectivity. I just believe this theory is a good bit simpler and fits better into what we're already told.

But of course it poses one problem, with this theory it implies that all the slugcats we play as (except Hunter as I mentioned) would have never actually "died" in real life. But, if you've ever played Dark Souls and heard of hollowing then you might know what I'm getting at. By giving up, you do die. And the vast, vast majority of Rain World players give up. Very few make it to the end, the ones that did are skilled enough to have never died outside of these subconscious worlds.

[hana-no-seiiki]

I saw that you need ideas, so how about a yandere from the Neons? I mean, I would like to see more content from them since they represent the elements in Honkai star rail, by the way, sorry if you don't understand, my English is bad... I leave you a little drawing of a masculine makima (it has nothing to do with it, but as a gift ) xd Also, I don't know if I'm the only one, but Nanook makes me handsome >///<

(Sorry, I had already finished it but the work was stained hahaha and I did it again)

Yus the Aeons are so cool looking!! You really feel like they’re actual gods of the universe, especially since you don’t see them first hand (at least for now). Also Masculine Makima reminds me of Karma Akabane lol. I’ll draw it in my style, and add it here as an extra for you ♥️

Hb we mash those two topics up together actually?

warnings: mild yandere themes. mild spoilers for csm. major canon divergence. reader takes the shape of a masc/amab character but it isnt their original form.

status: unedited. updated art.

YANDERE! AEONS + VARIOUS! HSR x AEON OF FEAR/CONTROL! READER

You have no memory of your conception, only that you started existing for what felt like an eternity.

You represented fear and despair, but unlike IX whose mere presence drove humanity into insanity, or the rest of your fellow aeon’s godlike status amongst the world,

you walked around as a normal, ordinary human being.

As normal as an Aeon can get anyways.

In your current lifetime, you took the shape of Himeko’s “brother”, planting fake memories into her mind and being the one that urged her to travel the stars. While she was the navigator, you took the role of conductor before creating Pompom to supplant you.

Welt always knew you weren’t just a regular person. Your eyes always felt distant, so far off that not even a century’s worth of trail blazing would allow him to come close. As such he mostly kept cordial relations with you.

The youngsters of the bunch on the other hand, never seemed to realize the sheer magnanimity of the danger you held and always hung around you.

Particularly that Caelus. The newest addition to the crew. The stellaron within him always pulsed in some sort of giddiness and excitement whenever you were around. The boy couldn’t help but be a nervous wreck when he was around you. Stuttering and stumbling was a common occurrence whenever you so decide as to just breathe at his direction.

You knew what those Stellarons are, their nature, their purpose, the way they were created. In fact if you wanted to, you could have taken the Astral Express straight to the source of it all, your partner: Nanook.

However that would have ruined the fun of it all. So you chose to let them have their little adventures before the final confrontation.

Also because you signed a contract to not meddle with Nanook’s business in exchange for your freedom. But that was another story to tell.

“Why . . . why do you continue this farce? This utterly worthless play?”

IX’s voice rang within your ears and no one else’s. You were the only being it ever gave the time of day to. You imagine it to be the reason why insanity slowly built itself within the recesses of your head.

“You may see the entire universe as worthless . . . but I,” You breath hitched. You looked around your room. Time was frozen. Everything turned grey. You weren’t afraid of the others in the express hearing you, just that the following words you were about to spout out felt like bile on your mouth. “I suppose I’m still a bit like them in a way. I wish to see the world without its evils.”

“And destroying them. That is my first step.” You summon an orb of golden light. Stellarons. The creation of the very thing that made you loath all evil. Including yourself. You will eradicate these and then Nanook yourself. One day.

“Is that why you send those hunters out?”

“Perhaps.” The orb within your hands get covered in chains, quickly getting crushed within the metal like substance as it soon disappeared.

“Do as you wish. Just do not bother me like that imbecile.”

“I promise. I will be much worse than Yaoshi.”

IX remained silent for several seconds, no doubt regretting its decision of associating with you before adding, “. . . And do not die.”

“That one I cannot guarantee.”

Your room’s color returns, time continues. Signaling the end of two Aeons’ encounter.

Nanook, the Aeon that threatened to eradicate all that you love. All so they could have your soul once more. Within your gilded cage. Within your original body that lied dormant.

The Destruction will no longer be a path. That is a guarantee you write upon the stars when your Trail Blazing lifetime eventually comes to a close.

The stage is set, your actors ready.

All you needed was the cue.

Your gloved hand arose, pointing towards the express’s windows in the shape of a gun.

“Bang.”

[matrixriot]

hey. are you alive?

your heavy eyes stared up at the ceiling of your dorm room. there you lay in bed and it was too hot and too cold. half of your body was absolutely surrounded in your pillows and blankets, while the other half was sweating.

you undoubtedly had a cold.

you also had a major test that you spent all night studying for.

karma, i guess?

so there you were, laying flat, while trying to use your phone to call one of your classmates. you just needed at least one of them to answer so they could let mr. aizawa know you weren't going to make it to the exam.

'god, why today of all days' you thought.

scrolling through your contacts, you eventually landed on kirishima's. no way your own boyfriend wouldn't answer your call.

but you also knew he was probably doing some early morning training. so you decided to leave him a couple of texts.

you: kiri im sick :(

you: can you tell aizawa so he doesnt try to kill me when i show up again

you: whenever i show up again

you: if i show up again D:

you turned off your phone and rolled onto your side. a couple minutes later, you heard a buzz from your phone, but you couldn't muster the energy to roll over again to check who it was.

a couple more minutes later, you heard a gentle knock on your door. you couldn't even bring yourself to get up, so you groaned loudly in reply, hoping whoever it was would try coming in.

you hear the doorknob twisting and the door softly creaking open. you hear some shuffling footsteps and the sound of a plastic bag in someone's hands.

"hi." the mystery person says.

you could recognize that voice anywhere.

"...i am here to be your nurse."

'god, he's such a derp' you thought before bringing your torso up from your bed to see,

"KIRI!" you exclaim.

"hi baby." he says, smiling brightly at you. he points at the plastic bag in his hands.

"i brought you some medicine and porridge." kirishima sets it down at a table before going towards your bed.

"oh, don't touch me, i'm all sick, haha." you say, putting your hands up, waving them defensively.

kirishima gently grabs your wrists, "it's okay."

he puts your wrist down before going to the plastic bag to get something. you flop back down onto your mattress and exhale deeply.

a couple minutes go by, kirishima is still fumbling around in the plastic bag, and you're still lying down in silence.

"hey. are you alive? you haven't said a peep!" kirishima teases, before walking back around to your bed. he was holding a damp cloth. he brought one of his hands to your back, helping you up. his hand rests on your back as he hands you the cloth. you bring it up to your forehead.

"wait. is it too hot or too cold, or should i-" kirishima panics.

"it's perfect." you respond, a soft smile on your face. a blush creeps up onto kirishima's face before he quickly turns around.

"LET ME GET YOU THAT PORRIDGE BEFORE IT GETS COLD" he exclaims.

you noticed the awkwardness in his voice and your eyes scanned the room in a somewhat confusion.

you chuckle to yourself before bringing the washcloth down, somewhat in shame.

"this is humiliating." you say in disappointment. here you were, being a nuisance to your boyfriend, when you knew that there was a still a big exam that he could be preparing for.

kirishima swiftly turned around, bowl of porridge in hand, and walked back up to your side.

"um excuse me." kirishima started "there is nothing humiliating about needing a little help. also, you're sick! it's only the manly thing for me to help my beautiful girlfriend."

he brought a spoonful of porridge up to your mouth, and you, in defeat, opened your mouth. kirishima fed you the porridge until the bowl was empty. he whispered little affirmations like "good job" "there you go" as you ate.

you then asked, "so you're not mad at me?"

kirishima looked at you in confusion.

"mad at you? my girlfriend? mad at my girlfriend for being sick?"

kirishima set the bowl down on your bedside table before sitting down on his knees beside your bed.

"you're sick. that's not your fault. im just here to take care of you. okay?"

you huff. "okay" you gently replied.

kirishima got up, giving you a forehead kiss.

"now, as much as i'd love to be your little nurse all day, i still have a test to take."

you smile up at him.

"mmkay. i'll be waiting for you." you say.

"just rest for me." kirishima says, before walking out your dorm, shutting the door behind him.

your heavy-lidded eyes soon shut, feeling relaxed. you take a nice nap, waiting for your lovely boyfriend to return.

-

when you wake up, your eyes are met to kirishima, leaning his head on your bed, asleep! he was knelt down by your bedside, arms folded acting like a cushion for his head.

you brush his bright red locks out of his eyes and stare lovingly back.

his eyes flutter open.

"hi again," you say.

me when sick y/n needs her manly bf to take care of her (>'-'<)

[chris-prank]

Peaceful post-apocalypse settings have always been one of my favorite tropes! There's just something so freeing about the thought of humanity being set back to simpler times...(boomer ahh mindset but wtvr)

That said, may I request more Martin content?🙏 He's such a sweetheart!! Maybe something about reader wanting to join him on a hunt? Him teaching them how to? Or just any ideas you have for him really

Hope you have a lovely day mwuah :)

With the deplorable state of our world right now, it’s perfectly fair to prefer a time without the complicated life of the city 😆 so I totally get you 🤝 Also I’m so happy that you called Martin a sweetheart 🥺, if we take away if yandere tendencies he really is! And have a great day too ❤️❤️❤️

Yandere hunter x GN reader

CW: animal death, manipulation sorta, reader get frozen by fear/ fear response

･*:.｡..｡.:*･*:.｡..｡.:*･

“You want to go hunting with me?” Martin asked, surprised, while casually throwing his crossbow over his shoulder.

He felt extremely flattered that you wanted to take part in his daily duties and by looking in your hopeful eyes, he couldn’t dare deny you anything. So after you changed into more appropriate clothes, the two of you were ready to go into the forest. You walked hand in hand, looking like you were going on a romantic stroll. In reality, this adorable display was a safety major, since the surroundings were filled with traps Martin had previously set up. He said that it was to make sure that nothing or no one could escape him while he hunted. Whatever that meant.

“So what are we looking for exactly?” You asked while keeping an eye out for any sounds in the crisp autumn leaves.

“It depends… there’s usually deers roaming around this time of year.”

“We’re going to kill a deer?!” You repeated, your jaw hanging wide open. You thought you were going for something smaller like a rabbit or a bird at the very least.

He grinned and winked at you. “Only if you can actually do it.”

“Hey!” You pushed his arms while sticking your tongue at him. “I’m a very independent and capable person.” You added while puffing your chest out jokingly.

The man next to you seemed to mumble something under his breath, but since he didn’t repeat himself despite your lack of response, you figured it was nothing important.

***

You couldn’t believe you two had found one. Of course, you knew that Martin was skilled in tracking animals, but still, what were the odds! The deer was lazily drinking from a small pond, unaware of the crossbow pointed at its neck.

Martin had helped you get in the right spot and revised with you the shooting position he had taught you before. But you kept shaking. The idea of killing an animal seemed so simple and inconsequential, but now that you were faced with the reality of the situation you just couldn’t do it. That’s when you felt his warm embrace enveloped you, your back now pressed against his chest. His hands crept up to rest over yours, steadying your grip on the weapon.

“It’s ok, you don’t have to do anything.” His voice was so calm, so enticing. It was pulling you in a sense of comfort and stability that few people had the chance of experiencing, “you can just rely on me.”

You simply nodded, you just wanted to lose yourself in his presence and forget that you had the life of a living being in the palm of your hands. Then his finger was over yours and, without hesitation, pulled the trigger. Everything went by so fast, as a shrill shriek followed by a loud thump made all the birds take flight from the surrounding trees. You slowly lowered the crossbow, still a bit in shock of what had just happened. In response, Martin rubbed your arms up and down in a soothing manner.

“You were so brave for me.” He whispered against your ear, “but don’t worry, you won’t have to do it ever again, I’ll be brave for the both of us if you let me.”

･*:.｡..｡.:*･*:.｡..｡.:*･

Karma love to make a fool out of me 💀 it’s always when I say “oh it’ll take a while for me to complete” that I suddenly get a wave of inspiration. Not going to complain too much though, it’s always better than having writer's block.

[yanaleese]

◈ Love Me, Kidnap Me, and Love Me More ◈

Yandere! OC Karma x Calculative! Gender Neutral! MC

VER EN ESPAÑOL. MUY PRONTO

Synopsis: You put blood, sweat, and tears into your work. Little did you know, your secret admirer, Marka does it too.

Content warning: Yandere and literally anything that goes with it, violence, hypnosis (not on reader), drugs (implication), and yes there will be a Part 2

PLEASE SUPPORT PALESTINE WITH MONEY, OR WITH A CLICK

Scores, talents, personas.

THESE are the factors that classify the education system. Although not immaculate, it serves its purpose - to send vulnerable people into the workforce, and devour them whole. Their livelihoods, their time, and the minuscule bits of energy left inside of them.

But there are some who are born with advantages, and some who have to work their ass off for it.

I, unfortunately, have the latter. Things don’t come easy, instant, or perfect. I am actually quite idle, I enjoy the freedom of gaining knowledge and insight. Uniquely, tried and tested knowledge that is critical for survival.

And that, is how I manage my late nights. By listening to “Advice to Survive” with its host, McGregory Callahan.

Back in the 60s, he was a CWO-4 Navy Seal officer, a rank given to an exclusive few. And now that he’s retired, he humbly shares his advice to the community, and showcases guests every now and then to keep the show alive. But majority prefers to listen to his voice, which I strongly agree with.

“And so, ladies and gents…” His voice was smooth and husky. “It’s time to sign off, folks. Stay safe, and always remember…” I chuckled, saying his closing lines with him.

“Live, not die, and try to survive. Thanks everyone.”

As the radio chipped off, the sun poured its rays into my window, as if the heat wasn’t enough. I groaned, my eyes leading me to my collection of “wake-up” capsules. Tempted, and deceived, I slithered my way over to it, dropping another 2 or 3 in my mouth.

I grumbled. Regret seeped into my veins, my body woozy and tense. Once again, I stayed up.

And of course, it happened to be a Monday morning; where I had a morning class. “Well fuck me gently with a chainsaw.” I began stuffing my bag with my utensils, paperwork, snacks. I could never get used to this shit. “I hope nobody pisses me off for the rest of the day.”

◈

“The bell. Ugh, the damn bell. Never have I wanted to smash that thing into pieces.” You could barely make out the crowd, more or less. Not even your best friend’s face.

“Wait. You had a rough night…again?” Heidi glared, her eyes were practically glowing with concern.

“Maaaaaaybe.” You slurred, taking baby steps to your seat. “Good thing my seat mate is a quiet kid.”

Speak of the devil, Marka entered the room, his footfalls silent as he strolled to your direction. His timing was impeccable.

“Good morning, Marka.” You mumbled, your eyes not meeting his. Besides, there were no eyes thanks to his bangs.

“Heh…” In response, Marka gave an exciting grin, happily waving a good morning back to you. How he could be energized on a Monday morning, was a complete mystery to you.

Actually, a lot of him is shrouded in mystery. Or rather, in suspicion.

Other than the weird name, Marka was supposedly from the countryside of Honduras, Tegucigalpa. His parents were also from Honduras, and he worked as a pizza delivery driver, and stayed at a friend’s apartment for shelter, with the purpose of redoing college thrice to get a degree. While some of this is true, some of it didn’t add up.

For example, his idioms. Sometimes he would say “Puchica” , “Chero”, “Chivo” - and when I looked them all up, the common denominator was El Salvador. He said his parents came from Honduras, so how can this be true?

“[Y/N].”

Then him, being the pizza delivery driver. You don’t often order pizza, but you’ve never thought that pizza could smell so shitty. You could remember him rushing to one of your afternoon classes, and instead of smelling like oil and grease, he smelt like weed. What the fuck???

“Hello? [Y/N]?”

Plus, the fact that he is redoing the course a third time. And yet, every single exam he is perfectly scoring an average mark. He also ends before everyone else, as if he has all the time in the world.

That’s not normal.

Though you’ve never confronted Marka about this, you preferred to remain silent. Times are harsh, and you weren’t willing to stretch out a hand when you could barely help yourself.

But there is NO way that you’re befriending someone as suspicious as him.

“[Y/N]!!!” Heidi whisper-shouted, breaking you out of your thoughts.

“[Y/N], please answer-“ Mr. Dimmy paused, clearing his throat. “Actually. On second thought, please see me after class. Thank you.”

You bit my lip, letting it bleed. Fuck. You spaced out again.

“Sir I-“

“No buts, no coconuts.”

While cursing yourself internally, you decided to take out your vent book out of your bag, only to be stopped by Mr. Dimmy once more.

“[Y/N]. Can you please answer the question on the board for me, please?”

Shit, you just opened your bag.

“Give me a moment-“

“[Y/N].”

Clenching your fists, you gave a plastic smile. It was understandable where he was coming from, since he didn’t want his star pupil to daydream for the second time.

“My bad, Sir. Hopefully I’ll get this right.”

As you were busy solving the equation, Marka decided to do you a favor and close up your bag. So by the time you came back, Marka grinned, hoping for a thanks to come out of it. But you decided to ignore the kind gesture, continuing to pay attention to the board. You had enough attention for one day.

◈

If there was one thing you loved, it was clocks. It was nice to know how the time passed, whether it was rapid or abnormally slow. And of course, it was slow.

“[Y/N], this has happened on multiple occasions.” Mr. Dimmy rubbed his temples, exhausted from having the same conversation with you. “We, as staff, made it clear that you can take days off.”

“I’m very sorry Sir, but I can’t do that-“

“[Y/N], enough with the excuses. You are not enough getting enough sleep, and it’s affecting your concentration.”

Scores, talents, personas: nothing on this conversation applied to that. Kindness was a pain in the ass.

“And so, I’m going to ask the dean to personally give you a suspension. A whole week suspension.”

You had to hold your tongue. Why do you have to do triple the work???

“Sir. I’m behind on what I need to cover. I’m begging you, please just let it slide.”

“But [Y/N], you are three weeks ahead. Taking a week off is enough right now. Trust me.”

You glanced at the clock. It was 9:47, the minute hand approximately reaching the next minute.

“If I see you Tuesday afternoon, I will personally escort you outside. That is all.”

Rubbing your eyes, you ran to the top of the stairs, before making yourself out. You couldn’t believe what just happened.

“[Y]-[Y/N]…” It was Heidi.

“Heidi. I’m done for the day, so I’m going home. Text me later if you’re curious.” Your demands were quick and stern.

Poor Heidi snuggled her books, her expression shaping into pity and guilt. If only you could just take a break.

◈

“Giggles, after giggles. These fucking cuches don’t know when to quit it, don’t they?”

“Markaaaa…” She snorted, sounding exactly just like he called her: a pig. “Teach me a little Spanish, no?~ ❤️”

Marka shook his head, his face clearly showing discomfort.

“Come on, we wanna hear it! Maybe we can fuck it up, you know?”

Damn that Rico bastard. He never knew how to read a room.

“I said no.” Marka ran his fingers through his bangs, revealing the swirling darkness within his eyes. “Now learn to be good little shits, I’m in a bad mood.”

Immediately, the entire group stood completely still. Before seconds later, horrifying shrieks escaped people’s lips. Some froze in horror, sweating profusely. Others just ran away from Marka, while some fought with him. Luckily, thanks to his physique he could handle his attackers pretty clearly.

“Ha…shame…” He continued to hit Rico with every punch, starting to see blood oozing out of him. Marka couldn’t help but grin in sadistic glee. “This hypnosis is always pure luck for me.”

Grabbing the leg of one of his classmates. Marka twisted, fractured, and even jumped on her leg, which was perfectly in sync with his words.

“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. FUCK.” Marka cursed out loud, growling in frustration. Every time he thought about you, the feeling wouldn’t go away. “I just wanted to do a good deed. Why. Won’t. They. Love. Me.”

Hearing the classmate’s sharp cry, Marka kicked the person away from him, heading to your locker. It was encased in a shitload of locks, all of them personally made by yourself. You knew how to be efficient and useful.

Too bad Marka knew lockpicking a bit too well. “It’s been a while since my last rejection…so let’s see what’s here now-“

With a clink, he guided his fingers to first few letters he made….only to find them….

Crushed.

“….”

He should’ve been used to this by now. The dust, the grime, the dead spiders. After finally getting a fresh new locker, it was understandable that you cleaned up the space.

But you didn’t. You decided to make your old locker your new dumpster bag instead - including his love letters.'

His scarred thumb clutched the pink envelope, or the crushed up ball that it was. He could remember the time he had to go off on business, missing college for an entire week. He had to stay low due to a shot out, which resulted him gaining a major injury in the shoulder and his left hand. He didn’t mind the injuries due to past experiences, but he was…depressed. Marka couldn’t see anyone, neither be online lest he got found out. It was a decision that both he and José made for his safety.

And so, to satiate his loneliness, he wrote to you. Even though his left hand was twitching in pain, he wrote. Even though his brain was telling him to stop because of the pain; he wrote. He wrote because he knew that you gave him the happiness, the hope that he needed for this world. Yes, you were flawed…but with each other, the two of you could heal one another’s scars. Right?

“….Ha….”

His hands shook in silent rage as dark droplets dropped on to the paper. I’m sure you didn’t know any better, it was simply a misunderstanding. Yes, yes - it was miscommunication.

It was understandable, since he didn’t make it clear. He didn’t flirt with you since it wasn’t your thing. I guess the letters weren’t either.

Maybe he’d have to try something…a bit more drastic.

“I need to know…do they love me…? Do they not? Maybe….”

Clutching the paper in his chest, he started chuckling to himself. No, grinning madly as he stared at the locker in front of him, his face contorted into something twisted and grotesque.

“Maybe it’s time I should pay your house a visit, hmm? ❤️~.”

NOTES:

Cuche = Means pig in Salvadorian slang. ɪғ ʏᴏᴜ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴀɴʏ qᴜᴇsᴛɪᴏɴs ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴋᴀʀᴍᴀ, ᴊᴏsᴇ́ ᴏʀ ʜᴇɪᴅɪ ғᴇᴇʟ ғʀᴇᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴄʜᴇᴄᴋ ᴍʏ ɪɴʙᴏx.

[glass--beach]

hi do you like ok computer (1997)

because i really just don't get it (especially as the second-best album of all time) but i reeeally want to & i respect your opinion on that a lot

yea that album kinda changed the course of my life lol. wall of text incoming

first - don’t let rym or aoty or whatever tell you what’s good and what isn’t, everybody’s got their own taste & criticisms that go against the grain are very important!! i will say anything that’s that consistently highly rated across different websites & publications is probably undeniably significant and worth listening to. whether listening feels like discovering a new favorite or sitting through a history lesson is where taste comes in. it’s important to interrogate the canon too as there is an enormous amount of implicit bias in what even gets in front of critics and in the metrics they grade music by. review aggregate sites have democratized this process a bit & all the good and bad of democracy has come with that lol.

so, the album gets praised for a couple of reasons - its innovative production, its commentary on the historical zeitgeist, and the pop appeal of much of the songwriting.

production - the album makes heavy use of cutting edge effects units, digital editing, computer trackers, sampling, and even features little bits of voice synthesis. most of it is stuff that had existed in music before radiohead, artists like aphex twin (and much of the rest of warp records’ 90s catalog) and bjork were ahead of the curve in a lot of the aesthetic aspects of okc and had influenced radiohead a lot, which is even more evident on their followup kid a. radiohead was not breaking new ground in using these sounds, but they were among the first to put it all in a rock context, taking cues from the weirder cuts on the beatles’ white album, the experimental “krautrock” band can, and miles davis’ classic jazz fusion album bitches brew.

context - radiohead had grown up during the decline of much of the social democratic programs that had helped to facilitate the education and performing careers of much of their early influences such as joy division and the smiths. by the time okc was being written they had lived through the austerity of the thatcher era, the fall of the soviet union, and now were watching the labour party turn increasingly neoliberal under tony blair. there was a general sentiment in the west that the progress of history had slowed or even stopped in favor of the neoliberal order. at the same time, tech was booming and computers were starting to find their way into more aspects of daily life. the album imagines a boring dystopia, where machines are rabidly advancing but humans are stuck in stasis. a major connecting theme is infrastructure - the airbag through which thom yorke is “born again,” the “cracks in the pavement,” the family politics that separate romeo and juliet in exit music, the mechanical voice of fitter happier giving contradictory directions for maintaining the status quo. even the escapist fantasy of no surprises comes in the form of carbon monoxide. and then, the record ends with the “ding” of an appliance that has completed its task.

songwriting - the band’s previous album the bends really is a pop masterpiece. i recommend it to anybody who wants to get into radiohead but doesn’t vibe with their later work. okc expands that compositional style through, for one thing, the more apparent influence of classical music on tracks like paranoid android or the Chopin homage exit music; let down even features polymetric layering characteristic of Steve Reich. it also features some songs that are too good to even need to push the envelope much, like karma police or one of my favorites, no surprises, which seems to reference the beach boys’ wouldn’t it be nice or the velvet underground’s sunday morning.

to be honest, i like okc mostly because it really spoke to me at a formative time in my life, when i was like 15 and felt heavily disconnected from the world around me. the album deals with those feelings in a very different context but it’s a feeling many people can relate to for many different reasons - i was closeted in a conservative culture, not a depressed british rock star lol. it also was an excellent gateway into many of the bands’ influences, who are also favorites of mine now. most people who love the album don’t really go as deep as i like to with understanding it, but maybe what i said here will give you something else to listen for, idk. maybe you just gave me an excuse to infodump about an album i love lol :)

[caq1e]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[medlarmeadows]

I’m a dance major (and I’m not) 5 6 7 8!

Charlie Slimecicle x fem!reader

Theatre kid au

Synopsis: You and Charlie have been best friends ever since you met in your high school’s theatre club in freshman year. Since then, you were inseparable, even though you were a techie, and he was an actor.

Or, tech week goes really well, with a little luck.

Warning(s): swearing, cuticle picking, slight anxiety, high school theatre tech week.

Word count: 1.5k

A/N: In loving memory of all the high schools that recently finished tech week (I am not American I only saw any of this on TikTok) (Also I assume those TikToks pertain to American high schools? I actually don’t know sorry) (I hope people get the title LOL it's the sound I saw some people used). And thank you to the wonderful @fullofgutsndopamine for beta-ing this for me :)

As a wise man once said, behind every great actor is an exasperated techie.

That wise man was truly wise, because you could find nothing better to encapsulate the current state of your friendship with Charlie.

You were sitting in a pile of wires, trying to hold on to a shred of sanity because who the fuck sorted these wires yesterday, when your goofball of a best friend stumbles into the theatre.

“Y/N!” cries Charlie, practically sprinting towards you with enough energy to power a sun.

“Charlie,” you deadpan, not even looking up from your sorting because whoever coiled these wires needed to be strangled by one –

“Y/N, I’m having a crisis,” he cries again, dramatically flopping at your feet on the carpeted floor of the high school’s auditorium. He reaches for a wire, presumably to start strangling himself, and you snatch it back from him with an annoyed tch.

“So am I,” you deadpan again. “I have no idea who touched these wires last, but they’re tangled as shit and I need to sort them and coil them before rehearsal today.”

In your peripheral vision, you see Charlie freeze in place as a guilty expression takes over his face.

“Charlie.”

“Y/N.”

Exasperatedly, you pause your sorting and stare at him.

“Did you coil the wires last?”

Silence, and you see Charlie’s eyes dart between yours and the pile of tangled wires on the floor, then:

“Maybe?”

You should have let him strangle himself with the wire.

“Charlie, you’re not even a techie!”

“I’m sorry!” He throws his hands in the air. “You guys were so busy after rehearsal, and Nate was shouting, ‘Can somebody help keep the wires!’, and nobody else was free, and the security guard was minutes away from chasing us out, so I volunteered myself.”

You stare at your best friend for a second, absorbing the flurry of words that had just tumbled out of his mouth, before leaning over to flick his forehead.

“Ow!” he complains, holding his forehead.

“Karma’s a bitch,” you say without bite.

“I guess no good deed goes unpunished, huh,” he laments.

“We’re not even doing Wicked, nerd.”

“We should! I would make a great Elphaba.”

Charlie begins to sing the climax of Defying Gravity. You smack his shoulder before he can get too far.

“Shut up, idiot, you’re going to ruin your vocal cords before rehearsals even start.”

“Aw you care,” Charlie coos at you, reaching up to pinch your cheek.

You lean back as you try to bat his hand away, only to tumble over your pile of wires. Your groan is interrupted by a fit of laughter from Charlie.

“Now it’s even more tangled,” you complain.

“Hey, hey.”

You glare at Charlie as he scoots over to you to pull you back to sitting.

“You’re looking a little tied up, want some help?”

“I will strangle you – ”

Your voice cuts off when you catch a glimpse of the clock on the wall of the auditorium. You had fifteen minutes till the rest of your crew would start to stream in for rehearsal. You don’t even realise that you had started picking at your cuticles until gentle hands pry yours apart.

You exchange glances with Charlie, your best friend, your partner-in-crime, your actor to your techie. And you know immediately that he has clocked your anxiety for the impending disaster that would be the rehearsal if you don’t get the wires sorted in time.

“C’mon,” his voice is gentle. “I’ll help you and we’ll sort them a little faster. Just tell me what to do.”

The two of you sort and coil the wires in comfortable silence, shoulders brushing whenever one of you leans to grab a wire that was just a little too far away. With two pairs of hands, the wires are sorted and coiled just in time for the first people to start streaming into the auditorium.

You’re gathering the wires in your arms and about to rush off when Charlie stops you.

“Wait, I have – ” he interrupts himself, shooting you a sheepish, almost embarrassed grin as he rummages through his pockets. You look at him expectantly, but the look melts into one of fondness as he pulls out a small keychain shaped like a tech headset.

“It’s a good luck charm for you,” he says proudly.

Your mouth falls slightly open in shock.

“For tech week?”

“For tech week.”

God, you guys were such theatre kids.

“I didn’t get anything for you,” you say, warmth rising in your neck.

Charlie shrugs as he moves to hand it to you, but when he realises that your arms are too full to take it, he bends and clips the keychain to the belt loop of your jeans.

“I don’t need a keychain when I have you!” he says as he pats your shoulders good-naturedly.

You’re saved from having to give him a proper reaction when somebody yells for Charlie to get backstage to prepare. So, you mouth “Thank you” to Charlie just before the two of you are swept up by the whirlwind of chaos that was tech week rehearsal.

In your three years of friendship with Charlie, the two of you had never really gotten gifts for each other, much less good luck charms. But then again, it was your last tech week of your high school career, so maybe you did need it.

Equipped with a good luck charm from your best friend, you were sure that tech week was going to go just fine.

-

As it turns out, you really did need the good luck charm.

Over the week, several episodes of misfortune occurred. First, part of the set piece fell apart during a climax scene. Then, two of the leads’ mics stopped working during two separate rehearsals. Subsequently, two ensemble members sprained their ankles tripping over a prop. In a completely unrelated incident (lie), you now had a broken bench that needed to be fixed. Lastly, you got chased out by the security guard before the techies could keep all of the equipment. You returned the next day to find three wires and a wireless mic set missing.

All in all, it was tech week. And somehow, you got out of it alive.

By some miracle, the set pieces and props were easily fixed. The two ensemble members had gotten injured at the beginning of the week, so by the end of it their ankles were much better, and both were ready to perform. Another techie found the missing wires and mic at the beginning of the last day of tech week by sheer luck when she was cleaning out the backstage area.

You suppose you should thank Charlie for the good luck charm.

You didn’t get much time alone with your best friend during tech week, the both of you being too caught up with your various responsibilities as an actor and techie. So, by the end of tech week, it was safe to say you missed your best friend.

“And that’s a wrap for tech week!”

Your director’s words are met with cheers from your whole crew. Tech week was over, nothing burned down, and you were officially less than 24 hours to opening night.

Charlie finds you as you’re packing your bag, his own bag sitting on his shoulders.

“Hey,” he greets.

“Hey,” you return, bumping his shoulder. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in a week.”

He rubs the back of his neck as he replies, “Yeah, it’s been a crazy week, huh?”

You hum in agreement, before unclipping the keychain he gave you and holding it out to him.

“Turns out I really did need the good luck charm. I don’t think I would’ve made it through otherwise, so, thank you. Now’s your turn to have the keychain for opening night.”

He chuckles, reaching forward and taking it from you. Then, he’s grabbing you by the belt loop and pulling you closer, clipping the keychain back onto your belt loop.

“What – Charlie – ”

“I told you, I already have my good luck charm,” he says sincerely, gazing into your eyes.

The two of you are close, standing inside each other’s personal bubble. You’re acutely aware of Charlie’s hand hovering over your hip where he had clipped the keychain. You’re also aware that you’re so close you can see specks of green in his blue eyes.

“Charlie,” you whisper. “What does that mean?”

His smile line crinkles as he says, “How about I tell you after opening night?”

There’s a quiet moment as he studies your face for your reaction.

“Okay,” you reply.

You’re not sure what drives you to do your next action – maybe because you missed your best friend and the stress of tech week and opening night were getting to you – but you’re pulling Charlie in for a hug before you can stop yourself.

“A hug for good luck,” you blurt out.

For an embarrassing second, Charlie doesn’t move. Then he wraps his arms around you and squeezes you.

The two of you pull away, smiling.

“You’re gonna smash it tomorrow, Charlie.”

“So are you.”

“I think I’d rather not smash anything,” you joke.

Charlie shoves you slightly, and the two of you are chuckling.

The biggest event of your senior year was happening in less than 24 hours. And the two of you were going to get through it by the power of friendship and good luck charms.

[happykinzz]

random marble hornets headcanons i need to share

Amy worked at a beauty boutique and specialized specifically in hair and makeup

She was also one of those super nice girls that would always compliment her clients and boost their confidence, :))

I know it's canon that Tim worked construction, but I do think at one point (either pre or post mh), he worked at a Home Depot or Ace Hardware for a long time.

Speaking of canon Tim facts , since he liked photography I think he specifically liked to take photos of sunsets, monuments, and those weird copper statues of children playing that you find on the street.

Brian played baseball in High School and was pretty good at it

He was so good at it he could've gone pro, but didn't cause his heart wasn't really in it (his parents made him do it in the first place)

Since Brian was a psychology major, I think if he ever graduated he would've become a child psychologist or an EMT

I know you need a lot more than a psychology degree to become an EMT but I just think that job just suits him

Brian also hikes a lot, and takes many photos of the plants and critters he finds along the way

He had a blog that documented all his findings, and always mentioned facts he found about the plants and animals he discovered

Whenever Brian and Tim hang out they like to either watch shitty horror flicks or shitty reality TV ( TLC, Maury, Dr Phil, Real Housewives, etc )

They both like to annoy Alex with their shows cause they know Alex thinks they're all stupid and are "mindless programming"

Alex's mom and Amy got along really well

Speaking of Moms

After Tim's mom abandoned him, she went on to become one of those "Lolcows" that constantly go on Instagram Live and argue with the "trolls" that are being mean to her

She's one of those people that believe that essential oils can cure every terminal illness ever and scams a lot of people with Go-Fund Me's and MLM scams she tries to sell

When people find out she basically left her kid to rot in a mental institution for the rest of his life it becomes a big thing and everyone on the internet is talking about her (karmas a bitch)

Nobody is actually able to get in contact with the actual kid though (Tim wants nothing to do with the situation, leave my man ALONE)

Brian had a lot of younger siblings that he always got a bunch of gifts for whenever he came home for holidays

[anony-man]

This can be read as a standalone drabble, but it is also a sort of follow-up to the drabble written yesterday! The previous drabble can be found here.

Chubformers drabble #111!

Characters: Megatron and Soundwave (TFP)

Word count: 1.2k

Soundwave’s efforts were paying off, according to his carefully calculated measurements. If there was one thing that he had learned from the hours spent monitoring Megatron over the shoulder of a flaky doctor, it was that keeping track of his leader’s progress was vital to ensuring his home remedies helped.

Pumping Megatron full of more fuel than he could take every day was good and well, and he always enjoyed the outcome of that sloshy belly hanging from weight of too much energon in his tanks, but there was no point in continuing with the practice if it gave no good results. They needed great results, and great healing progress, if he was ever to return to his rightful place at the head of the Decepticons.

It felt a bit twisted, but Soundwave took amusement in the fact that Megatron seemed so flustered by their attempts at getting him back into working order. The fuel pump regimen was unusual, he had to admit, but it worked, and it worked well. His leader was already gaining back the mass he had lost in nearly half the time he would have without his subordinate’s assistance. What was there to discourage?

Maybe it wasn’t just the forced fueling, Soundwave had reasoned. Maybe it was the constant doting from his third in command, or maybe it was the fact that Knock Out and his hulk of a partner had started to catch on to their arrangement. They couldn’t get away with skipping past the extra medical check-ins without arousing suspicion, even if Megatron’s tests came back cleaner than before with every follow up.

No one’s snide comments or pointed remarks mattered to him, though. Knock Out’s attempts at encouraging more frequent visits only earned a cold stare from Soundwave as he guided their leader back to their quarters, and every attempt their incompetent air commanded made at undermining Megatron in his weakened state was met with calculated karma.

Nothing occurred without Soundwave’s knowledge, but it was only because he was so adamant about ensuring their leader’s health was protected. He had already learned what worked best for Megatron as he healed from his injuries, and what was best was making sure he returned to his normal self.

The hours after a feeding session were often spent pampering Megatron and his achy belly, but Soundwave always had plans for him once the worst of the pain had settled. They were nearing another major mark in the healing process, and he wasn’t going to miss out on a chance to gather every little bit of information on his leader’s progress that he could.

Megatron sat at the food of the berth on a stool far too small for him as he awaited the start of their private check-up. He busied himself with rubbing his belly fat in the meantime, all while trying his best not to let his mind wander. Taking measurements and documenting his increasing weight was definitely done more for their enjoyment than anything, but the fear that something would pop up that pushed his health back and triggered another decline was ever present in his processor.

What was there to worry about? Nothing, that was what. His wounds were healed, and his spark still beat strong. The dark energon he had consumed still tainted him, draining his energy as the days ticked by, but Soundwave was there to keep him going. This wasn’t another day of lying on that cold table while Knock Out picked through his chest and cleared his systems so he could live. This was a normal day of rest, and of recuperation.

He had sat pretty and lay compliant on his berth while Soundwave shoved tubes down his throat and up his valve, hadn’t he? He could make it through a bit of measurements.

The anxiety brewing in the pit of his stuffed tanks was immediately soothed by the gentle touch of lanky servos against his shoulders. Megatron lifted his helm and stared into Soundwave’s face, a small smile tugging at the corner’s of his mouth. He couldn’t see his third’s expression, but it didn’t take much to know Soundwave was looking forward to this.

“Well?” he said, slowly rising to his pedes with the insistent help from Soundwave. “Are we finally ready?”

Soundwave was silent as he nodded. He pointed to the mirror across the room, which was conveniently placed next to his table of strings and measuring tapes. Always prepared, he was, and more than ready to begin.

Megatron allowed himself to be dragged over to the mirror with one of Soundwave’s servos pressed into his back, the other held to the swell of his belly. He stood in place in front of the mirror and watched as his third gathered up the supplies, his small smile widening into a grin of amusement.

“Eager today,” he said, hardly missing the noticeable click of panels or the coils that were slinking free. “Forgive the assumptions, but I’ve begun to believe your insistence on two tubes instead of one earlier was just for show.”

There was a pause as Soundwave moved to stand behind him and reached around to hand over an end of the tapes. Despite his lack of words, Megatron could read the mech’s movements clearly.

“Indeed,” he said with a chuckle as he pulled the measuring tape around his belly and held the slack behind him for Soundwave to take.

The tapes were pulled tight around the mesh of his gut, but never enough for the plastic to dig in. They had to take accurate measurements, of course. Megatron stood still and silent, his gaze drifting over the reflection in the mirror, watching as Soundwave pulled the tapes this way and that, focused entirely on the task at hand.

Well, he was mostly focused. Megatron didn’t fail to notice the small pinches and fondling from those tendrils, their three-pronged digits grabbing fistfuls of his flab and giving it a good jiggle. Every twist or tightening of the measuring tapes meant another pinch or poke in a different area, and before long he was finding it nearly impossible to keep his thoughts to himself.

“Everything is as it should be, I assume?” he asked, almost breathless as Soundwave dropped to the floor to measure his thighs.

There was no response—not a shake of his helm, not a pause in his movements. Soundwave did, however, draw the tapes even tighter around the fat of those legs, and he didn’t stop until the excess was dangling between his fingers while the edges of the tapes dug into the mesh of Megatron’s thighs.

Megatron shuddered as those groping coils squeezed his belly even tighter in a relentless tease. For a brief moment, between struggling to steady his intakes and closing his optics against the measuring tapes unraveling against his frame, he catch Soundwave staring up at his reflection, his helm tilted ever so slightly to the side.

This was all a ruse, then. Measurements were being taken, but not without a bit of fun. Still… Megatron wasn’t going to stop him. No, he wouldn’t. For now, he would let Soundwave have his fun.

The ever-present sensation of those tendrils against his frame loosened, and Megatron opened his optics. At his pedes, Soundwave was staring into their reflection.

“Eager today,” he heard his voice say, a low and staticky sound.

Megatron only managed a breathless laugh in return.

[bubblybloob]

Random brain wave rain world theory. Major spoilers.

So like, the void fluid seems to give you what you most desire, as seen by all the normal endings, as well as Hunter’s, Monk’s, and Artificer’s. Whether or not that it’s even real is also a question, since we know slugpups can’t ascend, yet Arti’s appear in that ending, and NSH is definitely not ascended by the time Hunter ascends.

As far as I can tell, what Saint desires is to ascend every living being, including Iterators.

I think the reason Saint is in a perpetual state of returning to the Rubicon is to specifically ascend all the void worms.

They all rest near the top of the fluid, do you see how far they drag you in the other endings? They don’t seem to have properly ascended like the other creatures, it seems it’s just their job to bring those other creatures to their (most likely fake) peace.

So, in their mission to ascend everything, Saint goes down to ascend the void worms as well, however, the void worms do not like this. Don’t know what does it, maybe it’s the void worms flailing around as they clutch onto their ascending selves, could be the void fluid, or maybe just the massive potential shockwave created by ascending something so… eldritch?? Whatever it is, Saint upsets the balance or someone/thing and gets sent back to low karma and up to the surface in hopes the Saint won’t come back.

But, this is their desire, so Saint does, again and again and again.

It could very well take eons to finish their work given how many void worms there are, but they are determined.

There are other theories I have with some minor details surrounding this. Like maybe the reason Rubicon exists is to specifically prevent Saint from reaching the worms. Maybe, unlike the fake happy endings the void fluid makes, it wasn’t able to give Saint its greatest desire in an illusion, so it was forced to give it the actual ability to ascend? Who knows.

Also, not a believer in the Sliver of Straw making Saint theory, I believe it’s been confirmed wrong? Not entirely sure, don’t quote me on that. Either way, that particular theory wasn’t kept in mind for this. Felt I had to mention that due to the popularity of it.

[owlhead650]

"The Devil of Darchlight Caves"

1012 word essay below discussing Erin as a character in Rejuvenation.

I find it interesting that in v13.5 Erin's first major appearance is in her Darchlight Form, as a devil. This is different to how in V13 her first appearance featured her normal design. It could be that this form, the one said to be 'the true reflection of your soul' is how Jan wants us to see her. Erin declared herself the devil who defies Vitus, a man that sees himself as God. Conventional myth portrays the devil as a prison warden keeping sinners trapped and punished. The devil also normally hates God, despite only punishing people God wants him to. Erin is a much stronger character than the classic devil, rather than punishing those God considers evil or unworthy she accepts them. We see this when she encourages Kanon to embrace his individuality and to reject the idea that he's less than human and only exists to serve. Rather than punishing people Erin liberates them.

This aligns perfectly with how she behaves in Darchlight Caves. The first thing she does is help Florin, Flora and the Interceptor escape confinement witin the glass boxes. During the rest of this sequence of the game we see her wit and cunning as we learn more about Bladestar and decide what to do with this information. I remember in v13 I exposed Flora during that playthrough, but I didn't make the mistake of sharing information with Cassandra because Erin beforehand warns: "Analyse the information, then make a decision. Don't you ever do it the other way around." To my memory that's how it was worded.

Erin's backstory also parralels the devil. She at first obeyed Vitus and basically acted as a spy in the drama between him and Anathea. She was basically parentified and forced to help mediate an unhappy marriage between two adults who weren't mature enough to settle their differences the correct way. Vitus superficially apologised for this and said it was because she was the eldest daughter. This is somewhat similar to how the devil was once a beautiful angel that served God but later wanted to be greater than God and was cast into hell as punishment. Erin eventually reached her breaking point and defied Vitus. She fought him with her archetype powers and was eventually dragged to the basement. Vitus banished her to the unknown dimension and left her there to be forgotten, along with the twins Alice and Allen, which is fundamentally the same as how the devil was banished to hell.

I would also like to comment on how Vitus and Erin fighting with their magic powers until Erin got dragged into the basement is essentially a glorified version of a father beating his daughter, physically disciplining a child and abusing them. When you examine the incident from a grounded domestic angle, that's all it is. Really of all the atrocities Vitus commits as Indriad, his treatment of his children is really the only one I feel personally motivated to make him answer for. I was delighted when I saw his name on M2's (S)hit list.

In future versions of the game I look forward to seeing how she handles the confrontation with Vitus/Indriad, most likely taking place after the Xen raid. Although Erin is resolute and clever, Vitus is still her biological father and the memory of his abuse and power over her isn't so easily forgotten. Defying her creator won't be simple and it will definitely be frightening. The renegade route parralels the paragon route in some ways, like how both routes featured a battle against Talon on top of his tower but in two completely different contexts. I'm excited to see how the confrontation with Vitus plays out on both routes.

I'm expecting Erin to triumph in either scenario, but the overall meaning of the outcome could differ. I wonder if we'll get to see a karma beast design for her like how we saw one with Talon. Talon turned into a Flying/Poison type bird monster, I think it's rather obvious what Erin would turn into. Her personality is subtly befitting of a dark type already, and if we want to take the devil motifs to their logical extreme then she should be a Fire/Dark type that looks like it crawled out of Dante's Inferno. The Infernal Field would be perfect for this battle. It's message is:

"The souls of the damned burn on."

In a worst case scenario like a fight between Erin and the Renegade Interceptor I think this field effect would suit her karma beast transformation. Before Karma turned Talon into a monster we had a trainer battle against him in which he used a Tornados and other strong flying types. I think that Darkrai and the Dimensional Field effect would be powerful buffs that could turn a fight against Erin into an incredible ordeal for the player, even some of her current pokemon like Absol have abilities and moves that the field empowers.

Returning to my more narrative focused predictions, we must consider how Alice being possessed by Vitus will influence events on the Renegade Route. In Paragon her new "Queendom" rose and fell within a day, but that's only because her siblings quickly mobilised to deal with the situation. In the Renegade route we never saw that incident resolved and Melia was swapped with M2, distracting Erin with other challenges. She considers Kanon family and managed to free him, will she achieve the same with her sister Alice? Or will Erin fail to liberate her and instead embrace a darker interpretation of her role as the devil? Erin has a logical mind but her temper can inhibit it. Maybe on the Renegade Route despair at the devolving situation will drive her to fixate on punishing evil rather than helping the innocent.

No matter what she does in either route Erin will always be the cunning, quick witted, candid and beautiful tactician that massively improves Rejuvenation's narrative and cast of characters. If you actually read my whole essay here's some extra pictures as a thank you.

I wouldn't mind going to hell if she's the one running it.

I can't be the only one who looked at Flora's sprite in Darchlight Caves and saw her in a Jotaro Kujo outfit. The true reflection of Flora's soul is that she's like a jojo character I guess. Go on, punch Cassandra for ten pages. Scream ora ora.

Florin is literally such a good boy that his soul is that of an angel. His design was a bit simple but I enjoyed doing the toga he seems to be wearing.

My personal Interceptor oc Asopo. I want to give him as many variants as Melia has, which will take time but I'll get there. This is his darchlight form. I saw how many Darchlight forms turned people into fantasy creatures/characters from general media. I decided that making Asopo a merman would fit in with the other Darchlight forms while being a nice nod to his backstory. His hair in this form is meant to look like the black void of space with some white stars in it. He has a celtic bracelet on his arm and a badge on the cloth that looks like The Core. I gave him that yellow cloth because I didn't feel like drawing him shirtless with nipples.

I hope you liked this artwork and essay, it's probably my most proud work I've put on Tumblr.

[sgiandubh]

Reading comprehension

This info is currently making the rounds in the fandom:

The uber-intelligent Mordorian Sopranos are already chanting the end of OL. 'No Season 8, karma is a bitch' and all the rest.

Ahem. Not at all. Quite the contrary. Let's do a very brief overview, ok?

More than 10% out of a total of 670 employees would roughly mean between a clear minimum of 67 and a possible maximum of 99 ('high in the double digits , but less than 100'). Worldwide - not just the UK.

Considering the fact that we now know that the wide majority of the people involved in the OL production are freelancers, we then restrain the scope of our estimation to those with *** employment contracts in the UK. My best guess? Somewhere between 5 to 10 people tops. This estimate is based on the possibility of the 10% cut being made on an uniform basis, which is unclear: it could be 20% at HQ and 5% elsewhere (Latin America or Canada or other US subsidiaries). I think it's mostly about office staff, not production.

On which planet would 10 people being fired compromise the whole future of a project of OL's amplitude?

Typical preparatory move for merger/acquisition. If they want to look good in front of a new partner/potential owner, they must be interested to show off their best china & finery: OL. It's common sense, ladies: we don't go on dates in a frumpy tracksuit, do we?

Subscription figures look good-ish enough to me.

But hey, why miss an opportunity to simply bitch, when you have no idea of the things you are talking about and apparently also no reading comprehension skills?

Back in a (short) while.