#and although they kinda fail at it they seem to be the most normal of the group LMAO

[fluffydeoxys]

Sanford and Deimos Scar Resource

In making my designs for Sanford and Deimos, I wanted them to reflect every injury they've incurred thus far in Madness Combat. So I've put together a resource, noting every significant injury that would result in a scar.

I've simplified it into a basic reference, but note this does not include the injuries from MC11-12, or Dedmos Adventures. They're quite complex/detailed and are better referenced from the original source material.

Under the cut is the full record/screenshots of my findings. (I'm sure someone has already done this, and if so, I'm sorry!)

[Madness Combat 5.5] Their first injuries. Deimos is on the left, Sanford is on the right. You could interpret it as Sanford's injury is larger, whereas Deimos's is smaller.

[Madness Combat 6.5] This is the injury that gives Sanford the bandages on his torso.

[Madness Combat 9] Aww, they're friends. Sike, they're not. Random Engineer win here.

[Madness Combat 9] Two bullets put Deimos down, but

11 additional bullets are what eviscerate his body and finish him off.

[Madness Combat 9] Sanford gets his turn of being hurt later (nowhere near as badly, though), although this injury doesn't seem to appear later in the animations/isn't bandaged. It actually just disappears when Sanford momentarily pops off-screen at the end of MC9.

[Madness Combat 9] My screenshot kinda sucks here, but Hank is piercing the upper left collarbone/shoulder area of Deimos here when using him as a body decoy. Also he gets a shitload more bullets in him but cmon the guys had to deal with enough already.

THE OTHER PLACE - SANFORD

When it comes to the permanence or nature of scars incurred during the Other Place, it's not entirely clear. We've seen only Deimos reemerge from the Other Place, and most of his injuries were filled in/over with rocks. You could stylise these scars as normal scars, or remain as black markings because they are essentially points of "corruption", worsening and growing with time. Personally, I headcanon it as parts of the S3LF and body being damaged and eroded by the Other Place. Regardless:

[Madness Combat 11] Shortly after entering TOP, Sanford's injury is still red, but

it darkens into the corrupt blackness after he warps through a door.

[Madness Combat 12] Slightly worsened injuries, or perhaps lightly redrawn. Note some scars/injuries on his back as well:

Likely from Doc's first failed attempt to retrieve Sanford here:

and then lastly, yeooowch !

THE OTHER PLACE - DEIMOS

This one isn't as interesting because everyone knows about Dedmos Adventures and the wiki has some images, but here's at least an image compiling how his state visually worsens.

[twilightofthesandwiches]

so what's your take on the kris hand severance prediction

Hmmmm...

So my first thought when I saw all of Susie and Noelle's 'Severed Hand' Dialogue in Chapter 4, is that it's already very applicable to what's going on.

Like... the irony of the situation is that Noelle and Susie are basically right. There is, in fact, a 'severed' independently-operating Human organ acting antagonistically to it's supposed owner in the basement.

We even started possessing Kris' SOUL when they woke up one morning.

So maybe, if The Severed Hand already is kinda equated to the SOUL... maybe it will end up being our 'Vessel'?

Like, Kris ends up losing a hand and then we end up possessing it. Essentially giving ourself a body to interact with the world and finish the Game while also freeing Kris from our constant control.

(To be honest, I was never totally into the idea that we'd just track down the Discarded Vessel and possess it. It just seemed like a far too simple and clean a solution to the complex moral problem at the center of the game. The Severed Hand is at least a more interesting and freaky idea. And since while the Hand has a bit more ability to interact with the world than the disembodied SOUL does, but not as much as Kris or the Discarded Vessel, it's also kind of a genuine sacrifice on the part of the Player for the sake of Kris' agency... While also a piece of Kris has been undeniable sacrificed for our sake.)

But also... thinking more about the other references to Kris losing their hand...

And especially the one in Chapter 3's hidden '1225' room...

With the heavy connection being drawn between Kris' hand and Dess... I've started wondering, what if Kris' hand is sorta already gone?

Basically, the scenario I'm imagining is something along the lines of; Kris was with Dess when she got Gaster'ed or whatever, they held on to her to try and save her as she was taken, but she 'slipped through their fingers.' (Just like they fail to grab the item in the ball machine, which is probably a Guitar Pick, which symbolizes Dess)

So now they feel terribly guilty about their 'failure' to save her, leading to the 'promise' to the Ominous Phone Voice of Probably Carol... And also touching Dess just as she got disappeared 'infected' their hand with a Mild Case of Metaphysical Nonexistence.

So while their hand seems Normal most of the time... it is kind of in a Quantum State of non-existence/still kinda connected to Dess wherever she has gone to. Although right now it's only evident via Weird Metaphysical Stuff like the Shadow Crystals or... whatever is up with that Ball Machine.

It's like, symbolism to how Dess' disappearance made Kris feel like they lost a part of themself and they usually can repress it and pretend that they're fine and whole... but they're not, not really. Maybe it also gives them some sort of a connection to the deeper planes of metaphysical bullshit going on in the story. Like, maybe this is why they can access the Egg Rooms?

Well, regardless of the details, if Kris really is going to lose their hand (whatever it's cause its Quantum State of Non-Existence got resolved or it just got chopped-off in the Normal Way), it would be pretty tragic for them. From what I've heard, it's not impossible... but it is a lot harder to play Piano with only one hand...

[dinogoofymutated]

NSFW!Gladiator/AFAB!reader

Tmi warning but I'm about to start my period and I've been loosing my mind over fictional men. It's like ovulating but WORSE. Mostly over Cable, but @lina-lovebug sent in an ask about gladiator from episode 6 and although I'm definitely going to write it I got distracted while doing research on him and this kinda happened!!! Speaking of which, in your ask you said you were starving for content for him so I figured I go ahead and tag you :) sorry if NSFW isn't your thing.

Anyway, Big, serious men with no humor are making me absolutely feral this week IM NAWING AT THE BARS OF MY ENCLOSRE UGHHHH For those who don't remember gladiator is, He's the hot purple dude that punched the shit out of the bird lady lol

TWs: MDNI!!! Pnv sex. Name calling. Not degradation tho. Too many positions, too much stamina. Purple alien man doesn't know how to process his feelings for you™

Imagine annoying gladiator with your every being. You just can't help it. Most of the time the stoic man just ignores you outright, never smiling nor even acknowledging you, period.

To be honest, he didn't like how talkative you were. You were always running your mouth about something or other, and when you weren't, you were teasing him. Holding simple and insignificant "victories" over his head due to your origin as a mutated human terran.

On your side, you just wanted him to acknowledge you. You figured he wouldn't be able to ignore you forever. Whatever strange relationship the two of you had, the one thing that seemed to affect him the most was your mutant abilities - or specifically, the parts of your abilities that effect your stamina.

When you realized you had a stamina bar that very much rivaled gladiators own, your teasing had started to take a turn towards something a little more lustful.

You just never expected Gladiator to take you up on your offer to have a friendly little "stamina competition."

You've lost count of how many positions the two of you have gone through. Both of you are panting, sweaty- sticky. Really sticky. Who knows how much time is passed, but neither of you are willing to quit now. Gladiator currently has your knees over his shoulders, pounding into your slick cunt steadily. His hands are holding onto your hips in a tight grip, pulling you onto him each time he bottoms out.

"You are... infuriating. Annoying. Agh- Hah-... Greedy. I've pushed you to the brink, and still, you want more." Kallark says above you, his voice still surprisingly steady in between his moans of pleasure. Your own throat is sore from taunting him in between your own moans and screams of delight.

"I-fuck! I can go as long as you go, pretty boy." You say, smirking at him. Gladiator Scowls at you, face flushed, sweat beading down his forehead. You doubt you look much better, the both of you pushing each other to the farthest limits of your stamina. You let out an embarrassing shriek as Kallark leans forward, bending you in half as he presses your thighs to your chest, hitting the deepest spots inside of you. Kallark's usually steady thrusting begins to become a little more frantic as he starts to reach his umpteenth peak of the day. -but his thrusts become unsteady. Inconsistent. You're finally starting to tire him out, you think.

"Aww, look at that- ah... You're beginning to slip, Kallark." You taunt him. His hand reaches up to cup your face harshly, his grip slightly tighter than normal. He turns your head to face him as his heated gaze pierces your own.

"Would you- please, stop talking."

By the time the two of you are finally out of breath, you swear that At least an entire 24 hour period has gone by. Hell, maybe even longer. You and gladiator are sprawled out side by side. Your eyes are closed, fading in and out of consciousness as you try (and fail) to collect yourself. You feel weight shift next to you as Kallark rolls onto his side. He's full on against you now, a hand settling on your chest to feel the quick beats of your human heart. It's strange. Not like him. You open your eyes, finding yourself lost in the sight of Kallark. He's looking at you with a mix of fond emotions, and for the first time, it's almost like his brain has stalled. Like a computer stuck in between the loading screen.

"Kallark?” You whisper. He doesn't respond. Doesn't even blink.

“You okay there, big guy?" You try again, biting your lip. Kallark's gaze catches the motion, then trailing down to the bruises he's left in your neck- “hickeys” is what he remembers you calling them. He can feel his heart do something strange, and he chooses to look back up at your face instead. Your flushed cheeks. Kiss-swollen lips. Messy hair. He feels a familiar heat as his body reacts to such a lustful sight.

"Vixen. Temptress. I know not what you've done to me. " Kallark finally says, thumb gently pulling your bottom lip away from the pinch of your teeth. You raise an eyebrow at him, not mockingly, just confused. He then reaches up to brush the hair from your face, an action fueled by a much more gentle warmth in his chest.

"...I don't believe you know what you've done, either." He whispers. You can't help but smile at him, especially as you reach up to caress his cheek and he leans into the contact with a sigh.

"Well… we have plenty of time to figure that out together."

[s3r3n44]

VICTORIA SFW ALPHABET 💋🎰

(For valentines Day, because it's coming up)

𝑽𝑰𝑪𝑻𝑶𝑹𝑰𝑨 𝑺𝑭𝑾 𝑨𝑳𝑷𝑯𝑨𝑩𝑬𝑻 🌹💋

ᥫ᭡

“𝑌𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑒 𝒉𝑎𝑠 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝐺𝑂𝑇 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙...”- 𝐵𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑆𝑎𝑏𝑏𝑎𝑡𝒉, 𝑁.𝐼.𝐵

= Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

-Victoria is a total love bug. She loves her friends, family, and especially her S/O. She's always doing the most for them and wants to make them feel as special as possible. She shows her affection in whatever way her lover wants. Shes able to please almost whatever needs. She loves gift giving, she loves spending time with her s/o, she's great at words of encouragement, all that jazz. She's up for almost anything however she tends to lean on giving words of affirmation, and gift-giving.

B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?)

Victoria is a very loyal person. She'd bite someone's head off for the people she loves and WILL defend them unless proven guilty. She normally starts friend ships randomly, and not always at the bar. Like, she'll compliment a woman's top and immediately start up a conversation with them and in an hour, they're best friends. She's pretty much a social butterfly. She can talk to just about anyone, about almost anything

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

Victoria likes lying on her s/o Chest and vice versa. She sees it as very sweet and close. While cuddling Victoria, she tends to stink of these things: Hairspray, expensive strong perfume, a slight cigarette smell, and a slight smell of alcohol. She still has a somewhat clean smell. She HATES those smells and always tries to cover it on her although she fails. It rarely leaves her, so she drowns herself in perfume and such.

While cuddling, she likes to stroke her S/O hair with her nails as a way to soothe them

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

Victoria would be a liar if she didn't admit she thought about getting married or fantasized about it. The thought of committing and loving someone forever is something she enjoys. Not only that, but she enjoys the idea of her in a pretty wedding dress, all her loved ones around, having the time of her life. She rarely brings it up. If you were to talk to her, she wouldn't seem like that kinda girl to be all about commitments. Prejudging, to say the least?

Victoria loves cooking and loves cleaning. Although she HATES cleaning up for others if they can do it themselves. It pisses her off. She isn't great with messy people and likes things her way. Her way or the highway...

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

Her last partner was a total shit show. Crying, screaming, all that. The first love always hurts the most, huh? It would feel like a stab to the heart if her s/O ever broke up with her. She'd try not to go bonkers and not seem like the crazy ex, but she'd question them a lot and try and figure out what she did wrong. I can see her acting out in many different ways, honestly depending on the situation/person.

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? Quickly don't to get married?)

She commits when her s/o wants to commit. She's always committed, so it would be her partner's turn to commit. She's obsessed with the idea of commitment- her s/o 'belonging' to her kicks her. Makes her feel important. She knows it might freak out her s/o if she ever talks about how ready she is for commitment, so she rarely talks about it but HITS TO IT...

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

Victoria isn't heavy-handed,but just very firm. Her hugs are firm, and her hand shaking is firm, but I think she'd be more gentle once in a while. Like touching her s/o, she's very gentle to not hurt them. But she can be more firm sometimes. She grabs onto them randomly, squeezes their hands, hugs them tightly, etc. Emotional though? She might seem like a bitch and oh so mighty and tough but she is a softie, and doesn't try and hid it. She had a soft spot for kids, animals, babies, and the less fortunate.

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?)

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)

Her hugs are firm and warm! Her smell is strong too as well. She is pretty playful with her hugs in all honesty. She kisses all over her s/o face during the hugs on occasion. She has a thing for covering her partner's face in kisses, almost as if marking what's hers. If her s/o is shorter than her she'd pick them up for a and bring them close to her chest and kiss their forehead. She's a very strong woman, to say the least

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?)

Victoria is a very jealous person. However most of the time, she keeps her jealousy internal because the things she gets jealous about are very small. But unless they become bigger, she of course says something. This includes her partner flirting with others, spending more time with others, etc. Victoria tries to talk with her partner but might slip in a few mean words, unfortunately. She'd be mad at her s/o until they apologized, or if the silence was too long and Victoria decided to move on. Although that would take a bit, Victoria tends to hold grudges

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

Her kisses are very minty. She always has some sort of gum and or mint in her mouth. Her kisses would be very sticky as well, since her lipstick. She leaves a lot of lipstick stains while kissing her partner. Her kisses tend to be 3 seconds and very sincere and sweet. Her favorite spots to kiss her partner are their face, collar, stomach, and arms/hands. She mostly kisses her partner's stomach when she's feeling silly and wants to make them giggle.

Where does Victoria like being kissed? Mostly anywhere, but she loves getting kisses on the hand. It makes her feel special :3

L = Little ones (How are they around children?)

Not terrible. She likes babies, and smaller children although she isn't the best with pre-teens and such. She likes the innocence and purity of kids. She loves taking care of things, so kids-

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)

Most of the mornings she's knocked out cold since work and such. But, if she needs to get up, she will. She isn't exactly a morning person and at least takes 2 hours to get ready in the morning. She needs at least 30 minutes in the morning just to wake up and relax for a moment. Shes pretty grumpy in the morning.

But, for her s/o, she will cook them breakfast and clean for them in the morning if they are into that kinda thing. She likes It, so I'm sure she'd do it for her partner.

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)

Victoria comes back at midnight after her job. She is covered in liquor and sweat and just wants to get undressed get showered go to sleep. She would try not to wake her partner up during this, and make herself dinner. You'd rarely spend nights with her, only on her days off you'd be able to fully sleep with her.

While coming home from work, she tries to change quickly and get to bed as fast as possible. She makes sure to kiss her partner goodnight before she sleeps.

O = Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)

Victoria does not have a lot of filters. She'd say some stuff once in a while that would be very dark, but just pass it off as a joke and make it into something less serious. However, I think on her day off, far enough in the relationship, she'd just lay it all on you one day, with no warning, unintentionally too.

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?)

Victoria tries her hardest to keep herself in check but she can let out a few snarky remarks at rude customers. Although, I don't think she'd get rude with her partner on purpose. Might say something too blunt or something rude in an argument but that's about it. But it would take a lot for Victoria to INTENTIONALLY fight with her partner. Most of the time, she just blurts stuff out without thinking.

Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)

Victoria loves her partner to death! She tries to remember anything and everything no matter what. She's very thoughtful and notices everything about you. She knows your dislikes, likes, wants, etc. She loves learning little facts about her Partner. She remembers almost everything, she never forgets... Never 💔

(She never lets things go fully)

R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?)

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)

Pfft, protective. Would chop someone up for her partner, easily. She'd cuss out some random person for her partner. She's pretty obsessed and in love. Victoria is always with her S/O and is very respectful to them. Can sometimes be seen as the dominant one in the relationship. She likes paying the checks, she is the one who plans the dates, etc

T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

As much as she can! Only the best for her s/o. Her blood, sweat, tears, lipstick, and a little extra. She always wants to improve and impress her partner. She likes keeping things fresh

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?)

Being too harsh on others, judgemental to others on accident. She's way better with this now, although she used to just blurt out whatever. She would talk crap about people, to others. Although now she tries to keep it to herself, although she slips and then immediately tries to stop herself. She doesn't wanna be a bitch

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

VERY CONCERNED. She's spent quite a bit on her look, and doesn't ever wanna be less than what she is. Also, she secretly wants her partner to be proud of her, and even show her off

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

Yes. That's all ima say.

X = Xtra (A random headcanon for them.)

She'd give her partner massages

Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?)

A messy partner. She needs things HER WAY. If the couch cushions weren't the way she wanted, she'd freak out. Stuff like that. She doesn't like dust, crumbs, lint, or anything like that.

Z = Zzz (What are their sleep habits?)

Terrible to say the least, almost like a vampire. Sleeps through most of the day, up all night

(Kinda face up on the end...)

Uh, THE END!!

(do you get the ref :3)

[oneshlut]

Can you do The Amazing Digital Circus characters meeting the reader for the first time?

A/N: ofcofc!! thanks for the request, i ADORE writing for tadc! <33 (keeping these platonic since most characters i write for in tadc are platonic)

Another New Home (TADC & Reader) [Headcanons]

Rules For Requesting

Characters I Will Write For

Masterlist

Summary: General meeting/friendship headcanons for ALL characters of TADC

Caine:

Seeing as he's the ringmaster, Caine introduces himself first!

Tries to be a bit less louder than he was with Pomni. She's actually been talking with him lately, trying to get him to be a bit more friendly! And human!

Can you blame him for being slightly rude? He's not even human, so he can't be blamed for not understanding certain emotions.

But you help him understand! He'll ask you from time to time about what certain human things mean.

When you first spawned into the circus, Caine helped pick out a name for you! By that I mean he chose it for you. You didn't get a say in anything.

Your relationship now? Well, he makes sure you don't get abstracted! That's enough for a good friend, right?

Pomni:

Immediately freaked out hearing a new name in the theme song. DESPERATELY hopes you're not too weird, like Kinger or.. Jax? Well, she hopes you're not rude like Jax

After meeting you, she's pleasantly surprised! You two can kinda relate to your situation. Jax likes to call you two the "newbies".

Pomni tries her best to explain to you what the digital circus even means for you, what abstraction is, and what not. She may not be able to answer all of your questions, though.

Thinks you're one of the "normal" ones to hang out with. Tries sticking with you during Caine's adventures. (She just needs someone else that gets her. Luckily, you fit that role perfectly.)

If she's comfortable enough with you, some days she may visit you in your room! Pomni doesn't do this often, though, so feel lucky.

Overall, the two of you are existential crisis buddies! If you become friends with her, be prepared for lots of deep thoughts and.. well, confusion.

Ragatha:

Ragatha is always eager to meet someone new in the circus! Despite how dire your situation may be, she tries her best to cheer you up.

Every morning she checks the doors before going down to the grounds, and that morning she found your door. Your design intrigued her, she just had to meet you!

She definitely explains abstraction better than Pomni tried to. When you get nervous about.. well, going insane, she heavily reassures you. Although Caine's adventures may seem like hell, they're actually pretty fun! Sometimes.

Ragatha shows you to your room, before she lets you get to know everyone else. She tries to stay optimistic for you, but you can kinda feel her underlying worries about the situation as she explains it.

She's definitely one of the easier people in the circus to get along with. If you get to know her a bit better, she may open up to you! Ragatha will try to tell you everything she knows about her past self, but she's left with very little wisps of what she used to be like.

Ragatha is on the more nicer and motherly side of the group, so when you can you try to spend time with her. If you put in the right effort, Ragatha will become really fond of you!

Jax:

If you've read my other works, you'll know Jax isn't one for new people. And at the same time he is. He's really indecisive.

But meeting you wasn't too bad. You weren't overwhelmingly annoying, but you did have some elements to your character that he could tease or make fun of.

Your first impression of Jax was.. honestly kind of bad. He was a complete dick, what more do you expect? To say the least, his antics did not help your increasing confusion.

If you still hang out with him after your horrible introductions, he would be.. amused. Becoming friends with Jax was just setting yourself for failure. Walking into a bear trap.

He teased you, pranked you relentlessly, and made sure you failed horribly during Caine's adventures. Why? I dunno, it was funny.

Jax will tone down his asshole nature as time goes on, and the closer you are with him.

You'll know he's placed his full trust in you when he asks you to help him out with a prank.

Zooble:

According to Zooble, her name for you was 'weirdo' in her head until she met you. As is for everyone, I suppose.

Your first meeting was.. awkward? You had asked her how her limbs worked, detachable and all. It was intriguing to hear about, though.

One thing you shared in common with her was probably both of your lackluster attempts at Caine's adventures, before just deciding to give up.

When you were too tired to commit to an adventure, you'd hang out with Zooble. She was nice company, and much different from others who were much more chaotic. Spending time with Zooble gave your brain a rest, a chance to slow down. And.. it was nice.

Zooble may seem unwilling to befriend you, but I promise she's trying. Not many people actually try to befriend her, unless it's Jax. If you count Jax's pranks as a way of befriending.

In all honesty, when you first met her, you kinda thought she would be.. crazy. Like Kinger. Maybe it was her design, with all the colors in all its glory, but you found yourself pleasantly surprised!

As long as you aren't a natural annoying person, or push buttons like Jax, Zooble eill probably grow fond of you! She won't admit it, though.

Gangle:

Oohh, Gangle. She's a tough one. Right now she's focused on her comedy mask, and doesn't even notice you when you first spawn in.

When you come to say hi, she's still in sorrows. She wishes you could've seen her happier side when you first arrived..

You try to help Gangle fix her mask, but you.. kinda end up making it worse. You apologize profusely. Don't worry, she forgives you. She may have just cried a bit more.

The more you hang out with her, the more comfortable she will get with you. She's a tough one to break, so it may take a while for Gangle to become fully trusting in you.

Try not to make any sudden movements or bursts of affection, because she will cry. Gangle, being as emotional as she is, will probably break down if you're too nice to her. They're happy tears, I swear. She's just not as used to affection like she was before.

As you grow closer, you begin to notice the little things. Gangle begins to show hints of smiles, and if you're lucky, she'll giggle a bit at a joke.

If you're patient with Gangle, she'll get attached to you. Sorry, no take backsies. She's just happy to finally have someone to feel safe around.

Kinger:

Kinger is.. a wild card. Don't get me wrong, Kinger is one of my favorite characters, but you have to admit he's a bit startling at times. And confusing. So imagine meeting him after being transported to another reality, already confused enough with your current situation, and now having to deal with Kinger's personality.

Him being a bit, you know.. coo-coo, he kinda ignored you at first. Kinger thought he was just hallucinating again, as per usual. Then you spoke, and he immediately jumped.

Speaking to him leaves you a bit frazzled, but you don't mind. He asks a lot of confusing questions about you, like how many half-syllables are in your name. You don't even know your name yet..

But you spend time with him anyways, he can be fun at times! He's decently helpful on adventures, and is a joy to have outside of Caine's antics. (What I'm trying to say here is that you build fortresses together.)

Kinger categorizes all of his friends using chess pieces. He says your a knight. Not even he knows why, he just one day told you that you seemed like a knight.

Grow close enough, and this humanized chess piece will ramble on and on about plants and insects to you. When he's ranting, you can barely make out anything he says, as his words naturally seem to blend together. Honestly? He's probably neurodivergent.

One day he'll tell you about Queenie. But it's gonna take a while. Estimated 5 years. For now, you two are great friends! In a way, Kinger feels like this weird childhood friend you never had. And Kinger.. still sees you as a knight.

[notf1obsessed]

a little flirting hurt no one (Charles Leclerc x Carlos Sainz)

Carlos is hopelessly in love with Lando, but isn't sure how to break it to him. That is until Charles comes up with a plan, to make Lando jealous. Fake dating. But what they don't expect is for their fake relationship to turn real.

Chapter 19: Pretty when you cry

side a/n: I was meant to release this way earlier sorry abt that.

A/N: IM BACK FROM THE DEAD (for now). so super super sorry about all that, a shit ton happened in this past month which kinda prevented me from updating (and also my laziness). I'm on vacation rn but it won't be long and only about 2 weeks. I'll hopefully get back into my habit of posting every 2 weeks if all goes well. In the meantime, enjoy this chapter! (It's pretty short just to move things along but I promise next one will be longer)

Don't say you need me when,

You leave and leave again,

I'm stronger than all my men,

Except for you,

- Pretty when you cry - Lana Del Rey

________________________________________________

When Charles awoke that morning, he found a weight holding his waist down, and an extra leg sprawled over his. Turning his head, he was reminded of the embarrassing scene (in his opinion at least) that had unfolded the night prior. Flustering, Charles quickly rolled away from Carlos's grasp, thankful to the fact Carlos hadn't woken up.

Sitting up, the Monegasque realized there was no escaping this, he was in the middle of the sea for gods sake. So doing what any rational person would do, he got up, brushed his teeth, and plopped back onto the couch phone in hand. His finger mindlessly scrolled through the endless masses of content, passing the time until Carlos woke up and they could go get breakfast.

Much like Charles, Oscar also happened to be awake; barely getting any sleep that night. The scene in the bathroom kept replaying in his head, guilt crippling over him, as if he was the one who had crashed his lips onto Carlos's. Alas, he didn't want to worry Lando, so he kept his doll face on, not a challenging task for him considering he's had to do it many times before in media.

Finally, the Spaniard eyes fluttered open, rubbing circles at them as he yawned.

"Good morning," he said as he got up from the bed and walked into the bathroom.

"Good morning to you too," Charles tried to repeat with the least amount of anxiety in his voice, clearly failing as he cringed at the way he said it.

Unlike Charles, Carlos didn't seem to have an ounce of worry or care in the world, as if cuddling your teammate was the most normal everyday thing to do.

"Are you okay?" The Spaniard asked after brushing his teeth, "after what happened last night."

"Yes, yes perfectly fine you don't have to worry," Charles stated in panic, embarrassment filling him.

"Well you can always talk to me Charles, I'm your teammate and also your friend."

The reassurance made Charles feel a little less flustered and a little warmer, knowing that he could trust and count on somebody was a nice feeling to have.

"Now cmon we need to get to breakfast," he added, grabbing a set of clothes and retreating back into the bathroom to change, "I've already texted Lando we'll be down in 20."

After taking turns changing, the two drivers made their way downstairs and to the restaurant entrance, which to their surprise, was relatively empty.

"There you are!" Lando stated joyfully, "we've been waiting for you two!"

Laughing, Carlos playfully snapped in return, "I said we'd be down here in 20, so impatient."

As they took their seats, Charles couldn't help but notice the tired expression on Oscar's face, dark bags beneath his eyes that barely seemed to open. He's seen this sate before, many times, in himself.

There was something up with Oscar.

Although he knew there was something worrying Oscar , he decided not to approach the subject around a group of people, especially when he knew the Australian didn't trust him enough.

Lando chewed at the plate of hash browns and eggs he had brought, with Carlos and Charles opting for pancakes and eggs.

Oscar however, barely had any food on his plate, to which Charles was quick to notice.

This was more serious than he thought.

"I'm just gonna go to the bathroom, be back in a sec," said the Australian after swirling his food around his plate.

After he had made his way to the bathroom, Charles decided to interfere.

"Me too," he added, knowing for a fact the Aussie wasn't going to the bathroom for the right reasons, let alone any reason. He needed to figure what was wrong before it escalated any further.

Making his way through the restaurant and to the bathroom, he was weary to not startle the younger one, after all he needed to make sure Oscar could trust him.

The Aussie was stood facing the mirror, hands on sink and lost in thought.

"Hey mate," the Monegasque said as he approached the spot next to the other one. He seemed to snap out of thought at the sound of Charles, yet he gave no reply.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he almost immediately replied, voice full of nervousness and doubt.

"I know something's wrong, you can't keep lying to yourself and me," Charles stated, feeling worry for the boy as if he was his own son.

Knowing there was no escaping this, the other let out a sigh, though he wasn't going to just blurt out the full truth.

"I'm just...feeling a lot of weight on my shoulders recently, like this guilt that doesn't belong to me is still burdening me."

"Do you know what it is?" Charles pushed, wanting to get the answer out of him.

Although it was clear he pushed too far as the younger seemed to tense up and divert his gaze.

Knowing he had crossed a boundary, there was no getting more answers today, he would have to earn his further trust.

"Well if you ever want to talk about it, I'm always here," the Monegasque stated as his final words, stepping away from the marble sink top and towards the exit, "Cya at the table, if you still feel like eating."

The Aussie nodded his head as a salutation, still not looking him in the eye.

While he still didn't feel comfortable telling Charles, it was nice to know someone he could count on .

It was nice to know someone else who cared about him.

[twisted-tales-of-all]

Summary: anon request- ‘73 & 75 with Dom Shownu!! thanks in advance 💕’

73 - "I wanna fuck you right against the glass so everyone can see how good you take it." || 75 - "You know, you look real pretty when you cry."

Pairing: Shownu x afab!reader Genres/tropes: non-idol!AU, coworker!AU, office!AU, boss and secretary!AU, smut, drabble Word Count: 633 Warnings: exhibitionism, office sex, clothed sex, unprotected sex, rebound, cursing once or twice, degradation (of a third party), cuckolding (kinda?), HR clearly doesn’t exist with the way Shownu speaks

Despite the shitshow that happened last night, you make it to work on time and properly dressed. You make your way straight to your boss's office to ask for your tasks for the day. Unable to keep your normally cheery persona, he notices and asks whether you're alright.

Releasing a deep sigh, you confess, "Last night wasn't fun. I'm sorry for letting it affect my attitude at work, sir."

"Do not apologize. Life happens. If you don't mind me asking, what happened last night?"

Shocked that he's taking an interest in your personal life, you quickly explain that your now ex-boyfriend blew up at you and left you crying on the side of the road. You can see his agitation through his white knuckles and clearly visible neck veins, so you try not to mention that the man you're talking about is a coworker, but it seems he already knows.

"And he has the gall to prance in here happily like nothing happened? How dare he treat you this way."

Something about the care in his words makes you release the tears you've been fighting all morning. He nonchalantly passes you the tissue box and waits silently for you to finish crying before speaking again.

"You know, you look real pretty when you cry. Although I never want your tears to fall from heartbreak like this, I find it fascinating that you remain gorgeous despite being in such a vulnerable state."

Dissecting his words, you begin to wonder whether Shownu has thought of you outside of the innocent idea of coworkers. Your mind connects so many dots that may or may not actually mean anything - the proximity of your ex's desk to Shownu's office, your promotion from intern directly to his personal secretary, the number of tasks he gives that keeps you in his sight.

Without thinking, you blurt out, "Sir, do you like me?"

Caught off guard, he stands up and begins pacing the room. Looking out the window and seeing your ex-boyfriend sitting there, however, gives him the resolve to answer.

"Yes. I have for a while. Sometimes, I want you so bad it hurts. There are times where I've had to leave because my thoughts for you grew inappropriate for work." Without removing his glare from the man on the opposite side of the glass, he admits to everything.

Your curiosity getting the better of you, you question, "Like what?"

He turns around to look you directly in the eye as he answers, "I wanna fuck you right against the glass so everyone can see how good you take it. I want to show that idiot out there what he lost."

Looking out at the crew, you find most of the cubicles empty, with everyone out for morning meetings except for your ex. Eager to repay the pain he gave you, you smirk and ask whether your boss is telling the truth. After confirming with him, you take a step forward, take his hand in yours, and tell him to prove it quickly, before the meetings end. Without hesitation, he pulls your face to his and relishes in the taste of your lips. Turning you both around so your back hits the glass, he devours you, victoriously giving you an exhilarating session of rough, almost fully-clothed sex, right behind your oblivious ex-boyfriend, making it all the better for the both of you.

As his thick dick makes you cum, you fail to hold back your moans. With a smirk, Shownu looks at your ex and finds him wide-eyed at the situation, so he keeps eye contact as he pounds into you until he finishes.

Filling you with his warm cum, he mocks your ex, "I bet I'm much better than that asshole anyway. I doubt you screamed like that for him."

[all-pacas]

Do you think chase actually is capable of having a healthy romantic relationship (pre or post cameron)? Any time he wants a romantic relationship, it's always in the most ridiculous circumstances (a nun, a mentally fucked up coworker). He only pursues women he knows won't work out.

I mean………kinda?

First of all, Chase has a running thing where he's a lil bit of a Romantic Idealist. He almost cancels his wedding because Cameron has "normal doubts" (that she stresses have no factor on her love or desire to marry him), because he thinks that's unreasonable. He meets a nun on a massive almost-died rebound, and falls in love. Cameron complains he has a naive view of love. Cameron!!

I'd also argue that, as much as we love to make fun of our girl, I don't know if Chase saw her as mentally fucked up. He knows she's struggling with her dead husband, but on the whole the two get along well, they are friends, he thinks she's kind of annoying and that it's weird she has a crush on House, but he thinks she's a good person. A caring person. Is that a bit of naive romantic idealism? Probably! But Cameron doesn't admit to her insanity, and Chase has a long history (House) of accepting (House) insanity at face value (House). I really think he probably thought of her as his nice, hot, slightly annoying colleague. He respects her! She wants to sleep with him! Win-win!

Of course, because he's deeply fucked up and needy and has this idealized idea that Love Will Be Perfect And Fix Me, he does kind of set himself up to fail. To Chase's credit, he and Cameron do have a fairly healthy romantic relationship for a couple years there, and he actually seems to be a pretty good boyfriend! He's insecure of House, but besides that? They both work insane hours and spend all their free time together with no issues. He's able to be very patient with Cameron's dead husband issues.

Take the episode where they get engaged. Cameron asks Chase for carte blanche "I'm delaying our vacation and you can't ask why." He isn't thrilled, but he accepts. No questions asked. Trusts her. After two days have passed, he's getting worried, but when he confronts her it's not you lied to me or you're cheating; he tells her he needs to know what's going on now, he gives her a chance to explain. She refuses, and he digs up his spine to dump her. That's pretty good! Good job with boundaries and trusting your partner despite your insecurities!

I'm not trying to make it seem like Chase is the perfect boyfriend and their relationship problems are all Cameron's (although the writing being in her POV doesn't help that). We see, for example, that Chase avoids problems hard (the drawer situation, d i b a l a), that he holds things in and avoids and can't or won't rely on Cameron for support. But overall, he seems to manage to be a fairly Good Boyfriend. I think he could manage a Healthy Romantic Relationship!

What I'm not convinced about if Chase really wants one. I mean, his idealistic love at first sight habits aside. You're not wrong that he attaches to people (like the nun, if not Cameron) he knows he doesn't have a future with. We also never hear of him having any real relationships before or after his divorce: he dated the S&M banker, but that was "years ago," and that's it. We see him flirt and later sleep with women, and honestly every bit of it is portrayed as perfectly polite and nice and consensual — he's not a sleazy playboy, he seems to be on good terms with all his one night stands. He could very easily have a relationship if he wanted, but he… doesn't.

Which could be from any number of things. I don't think it's that Cameron broke him or anything. Chase is a bit standoffish, actually. He's the only one of the old team to never reach out to the new kids in S4; he doesn't like Masters at all, he doesn't like Park and is aloof around Adams. He doesn't open up to people, he's very private. We're used to seeing him in the first few seasons around people he knows and (minus maybe Foreman) likes, but unless he's specifically putting on a charming act to get laid (and we know from All In and the wedding it's very much a charming act), he's actually… kind of reserved. We joke about Cameron picking him to sleep with, but it's probably not a coincidence that he fell for the one woman in his life he was sort of friends with, that he later tried to do the same with 13. Chase doesn't trust people, struggles to open up beyond schmoozing, doesn't have many friends or relationships outside work. I think he could have a healthy relationship, but I don't know if he'd look for one instead of hoping it fell into his lap.

[silvantransthranduiltrash]

No one in legolas’s family has ever had even a slightly normal romantic relationship. And that’s due to 2 things.

The first of which is that they are physically incapable of being attracted to anyone unless they’ve tried to kill them first.

- Oropher and Cloudryad tried to kill each other for years before they started working together, which then lead to a relationship.

- Thranduil has never had more than one night stands, and even then there has been at least some kind of rivalry/hostility between them bc Thranduil has a type.

- Lasgen first met her wife, Oasis, when Lasgen and her squad were trying to intercept a trade between the Animal elves and the Sand elves, and Oasis, an Animal elf, ambushed her and had spear pointed at her throat, at which point Lasgen’s mind bluescreened. The only reason Lasgen didn’t die is bc Oasis’ squad mates called for a retreat.

- Lirion is not interested in anyone

- Kleoyia is like her dad, and is known to have horrible taste in partners. The few that turned into long term relationships always started with a spar/fight of some sort.

- Legolas was childhood friends with Sukanra and Iznake, and they learned to be warriors together, BUT Iznake betrayed the village at some point (he was eventually welcomed back, under many restrictions due to circumstances) and Sukanra was once enraged due to reasons (stick around if you want to find out) to the point that she attacked Legolas and their teacher.

- the running theory with Miriel is that, bc her relationship didn’t involve finwe trying to murder her at some point, this is why her relationship with him failed. It’s a joke, kinda.

So yeah, physically incapable of being attracted to someone unless they’ve tried to kill them first. It’s regarded as kind of a curse. Although, tbf, most silvans (especially the warriors) are attracted to strength and fighting skill more than looks.

The other reason none of their relationships even approach normal is bc only legolas’s seems even remotely conventional.

Oropher and cloudryad never had a wedding, though they are together, largely bc “weddings” weren’t a thing yet, and they just don’t care enough to rectify it.

Thranduil, Lirion, and Kleoyia aren’t married or interested in permanent relationships.

You all know what happened to Miriel.

Lasgen got married with Oasis in the middle of a battle bc “i don’t know if we’re going to survive this, and if i die i want to die married to the love of my life”. They never got a proper wedding ceremony after bc they felt that getting married in the middle of battle fit them pretty well actually.

And even Legolas, Sukanra, and Iznake proposed to each other during a battle. Thankfully, they did opt for a normal wedding ceremony afterwards, making legolas the only one to get properly married in immediate family. Of course, the reception was then crashed by assailants.

They’re not unlucky in love, bc they genuinely are happy with their relationships. But none of them expect anything remotely normal in regards to their love lives.

[dumbfinntales]

I recently completed a game that caught me completely by surprise. My Friendly Neighborhood. On the surface you might look at it and go “ugh another yucky mascot horror indie slop?” and trust me, when I initially saw the game I thought the same thing. I’ve fundamentally grown to dislike mascot horror, or kid friendly horror. So few games actually get it right, and most are really dumb. I’m not gonna name any so I don’t upset people, but imagine if you take Bob the builder. Okay, now he’s Frank the breaker and oh he has sharp teeth and red eyes. That’s how these types of games seem like to me.

So I kind of dismissed MFN when I first saw it. But lo and behold, a few days after the games release I saw a tweet on twitter of someone calling it a “survival horror” game and I couldn’t believe my eyes. I looked into it and by god, it really is one, and inspired by classic Resident Evil titles too. A fucking RE clone with muppets? I gave the game a chance and it blew me away. MFN is a genuinely fun and competent survival horror game with great atmosphere, fun combat and intriguing puzzles to solve.

The best part to me is that the game isn’t trying too hard to be scary. Sure it’s called survival “horror”, but it feels kinda light hearted and does parody of popular horror tropes like a bathtub with a body in it that you have to drain for an item. The puppets themselves are really charming and I enjoyed their demented rambles. My favorite line went something like “My friend recently really upset me. So you know what I did? I SHOVED them into the ground and STOMPED their face!” and they say all this in a very muppety voice which is hilarious. The point is that they’re not giving the puppets sharp teeth and demented lines like “I’ll eat your flesh” in order to be “scary”. The devs knew it would be impossible to make the muppets scary, so they leaned more on a parody.

Being inspired by classic RE games the game has a lot of familiar DNA like obscure puzzles, doors that require specific keys, backtracking, inventory management and even limited saves. Although on survival difficulty there was more than plenty of resources and save points so I never felt like I was running out of saves, or ammo or even health. The level design was also great and the world looped on itself in interesting ways and backtracking wasn’t as tedious and there was always some surprises waiting for you.

The game also seems plenty replayable and you can unlock different cheats by finding collectibles around the world. It isn’t overly long, which to me is a plus especially in a game that’s meant to be replayable, so I’ll definitely play through the game again on harder difficulties and maybe chase after some achievements.

But do I have anything negative to say? Well mainly nitpicks. The game could have benefited from more basic enemy types than just the puppets that chase after you and the small hand puppets. There’s also level specific “hazard” puppets, if you can call them that, but I dunno. It would have felt a little more interesting with some variation in what enemies you normally encounter. There’s also only two proper bosses in the game and the first one is way too easy as it goes down with just two grenades. I genuinely thought it had a second phase or I’d encounter it again, but nope. The last boss was alright, although really easy to avoid. At least it took a fight.

So yeah. How’s that for an indie surprise? There’s a lesson to be learned, never judge a book by its cover. But can you blame me for doubting? There’s way too many kiddie horror games trying to have deep lore and be all spooky and failing horribly. But MFN is a genuine gem, if you enjoy classic survival horror games do give it a try!

[trapny]

So I'm gonna be writing a series of posts about how the trauma of different characters in adventure time can be seen in the way they interact with the story.

There are definitely spoilers ahead for adventure time, adventure time distant lands, and Fionna and Cake.

So if you want to, go watch those first. And if you don't want to, then do it anyway because they kick ass.

I'm gonna start with Finn and Fern, since they have the same trauma.

Finn's mental state is heavily affected by the fact that so many people rely on him. It's the child hero trope. Especially with how he puts bubblegum on a pedestal for most of the series. And when he fails or he can't do something, he's typically devastated about it.

This might stem from the fact that Joshua and Margaret weren't the best parents. Joshua, as seen first in the episode "Dad's Dungeon", sees Jake in a higher regard than Finn. Maybe not as in more valuable, but he spends a lot of time falling Finn a crybaby. It kinda makes sense that when Finn finally caught hold of a sense of importance and strength, he is decimated when that sense is cracked by failure.

But the way that Jake seems to have been consistently viewed as a stronger child than Finn also seems to have made Finn incredibly dependant on him. In earlier seasons when Jake disappeared or was seemingly killed, Finn would almost go into a catatonic state. Like when he was kidnapped by a demon and Finn seemed to go into shock of some kind.

This also intertwines with Finn's negative hero complex. When Jake is injured, Finn sees it as his own fault that he wasn't able to stop whatever caused Jake harm.

In the tenth season though, we're shown another side of this. When Jake's alien dad takes him into space, he leaves the brb note.

Jake is gone for five entire weeks. And Finn doesn't worry at all about it.

Jake is capable. He can handle himself. Better than Finn.

At least, that's probably what Finn thought. When the thought that Jake might be in trouble is brought up by Jermaine, Finn immediately rushes to Magic Man's house and uses the mars teleporter because it's the fastest way he can think of to get into space.

As well as that, Finn meets his bio dad so many times, and every time he seems to just be hoping that his dad will somehow be a good person this time. You can see this hope dwindle over time as Finn starts to resent his father. He called him "dad" a couple of times, but eventually he just starts calling him Martin.

(Martin also has some issues, but that's for a different post.)

Fern also gives us an entirely different view on how Finn's trauma affects him.

Fern has a slightly different personality from Finn, due to the effect of the grass spirit parasite thing. Not only that, but Fern also has a heavy inferiority complex because rather than seeing himself as being the same as Finn, he sees himself as being lesser.

Fern seems to try to ignore this completely. He also tends more towards violence because of the nature spirit, while Finn usually tries to find a peaceful, or at least a low mortality solution to situations.

Before the events of Elements, Fern already had an inferiority complex, although he was trying his best to keep it under control. He already went through several phases of depression, like when he just laid on top of the treehouse for several days, trying to cope with his perceived reality that he wasn't needed because he was somehow lesser than Finn.

When LSP turns the world back to normal at the end of elements, Fern is incredibly upset about how hard he failed, despite the fact that he literally could not have fixed the situation on his own.

(the events of elements also helped Finn get over his inferiority/hero complex somewhat, because it forced him to learn that saving absolutely everyone you care about immediately isn't possible. When he loses Jake to the slime, Finn goes catatonic and almost lets himself be absorbed. LSP basically had to drag him away, because Finn wanted to go back and somehow save Jake, despite there being no feasible way to do that. This is probably why it took him so long to do anything when Jake disappeared for over a month.)

It's no wonder that one of the first things Fern tried to do after Elements was trap Finn forever and steal his identity so he could feel needed and important. There was probably nothing Finn could've done to survive the fight with Fern other than "killing" him, but it still messed Finn up.

Finn perceived the event as him failing to save Fern, despite the fact that Fern was literally trying to kill him. Finn got over this, of course, but probably not entirely.

Fern so readily joined Gumbald because with Gumbald, he could be important. He could be better than Finn.

When Finn helped Fern conquer the grass spirit, it probably alleviated some baggage, but Finn was still carrying around a lot of guilt and trauma. Not to mention that when Finn realized he messed up by not trying to find Jake for five weeks, it definitely didn't help his dependence on Jake.

In the events of Fionna and cake, we see Finn after Jake died. Finn is still very obsessed with helping people, jumping at the opportunity to take Simon on a dangerous adventure. He also has Jake tattooed across his chest. Which is kinda sweet, but also kind of a symbol of how dependent he was.

The third episode of distant lands starts with a sort of dream from Finn, where he and Jake went on a "classic adventure". During the adventure, Finn is constantly trying to both help and kill everyone. Finn will switch from trying to slaughter enemies, to immediately trying to help them when they ask for it. It was kinda shown in Fionna and cake, but the dream definitely shows that Finn is a lot more willing and ready to kill than he was before.

Finn is excited to finally be dead so he can see Jake again. But when he hears that Jake is somewhere completely different, Finn is literally ready to tear the afterlife apart to find him.

When new death gains access to the fiftieth dead world, Finn immediately blames himself for "helping" new death destroy the afterlife, despite the fact that Finn the entire time was trying to work against new death.

Jake definitely has some issues, but not in the same way as Finn. They both care about each other a lot. But when they're both fighting each other to try to be the one to stop death and become him, Jake is doing it because he cares about Finn. Finn is doing it not only because he cares about Jake, but also because he feels he needs to always be the hero. He feels like he has to be the one to always make the sacrifice.

By the end of the episode, when Finn goes to be reborn, he's finally gotten over his dependence on jake. This is shown by him being willing to step through the portal alone.

When Jake decides to run in after him, it's a twist that manages to not undercut any of Finn's development. It's definitely a twist, but it slots right into place on another of the major elements of adventure time, which is Finn and Jake's bond.

When Jake goes with Finn to be reborn, despite Jake having already reached nirvana, it's not because Finn needs Jake, or because Jake needs Finn. It's because they're brothers. They're best friends. Finn goes because he's finally okay with being without Jake, and Jake goes because even though he doesn't need to be with Finn, he wants to.

So that's why that episode gave me legitimate chills.

[deusvervewrites]

Given what we know about the Entrance Exam and that it includes both a Written and a Practical(depending on course), and what ideas we can get from the Finals, we may get an idea on how some pass the Entrance Exam and how others failed.

Given that UA is an elite school that has multiple courses, I would say that the average student applying should be, at a minimum, be able to do the General Studies Course Entrance Exam(Most likely Written only), even if the other courses' General classes(in the school year, not the Entrance Exam) are easier to adjust for the actual purpose of those courses(Heroics, Support, Management). In return, the students must proves their knowledge in the basics in the Entrance Exam to even be accepted on the next stages and this applies for all courses. If a non-Gen Ed student proves that they are incompetent in the written exam, in UA's terms, it may not be worth it at all to accept them as such a student requires a lot more work in the fundamentals to even be barely passing the General courses. As a result, those students would struggle in the Heroics/Management/Support courses when they're not doing practical stuff, like knowing the laws of Heroics and what is legal or not for the 3 aforementioned courses.

On the practicals, I can see that even the best Heroics student failing because they lacked the basic idea for the theoreticals and it makes them look like a low-level mook(UA is trying to reach a standard) and I would guess that the lowest score of the accepted Heroic students would either be in the 20s to 30s. Both the Heroics student and the Support student would need to know some basic laws and fundamentals to legally do the stuff they want to do. A Management student would fail because of citations and needing to know a lot of basics to communicate to their audience.

There might be an exception, but I think this requires extreme circumstances that only exist in fan fiction since it likely requires Nezu, some approval with the teachers, the new student having some sort of significant backing(though I would believe such a student would be able to pass the exam normally), and some sort of situation that enables them to be at UA. The only one that I can think Fear No Evil by katydid and that's because Izuku kinda proved himself, got a lot of approvals, had AM helping out, and could pass the exam had he been there.

Although if one really wants to, one could say the Hero Society is so corruptive, that it permeates the culture to the point that they lower the written score thresholds for the Heroics students to become Heroes(regardless of school). After all, only UA(or insert any Heroics school) know what score the student got on both exams(outside of top 10 Heroics) they could "fix" the score if the student reaches a certain grade if they do extremely well on the Practical.

It's very true that the corruption of Hero Society means that it would be easy enough for students who show promise in the practical exam to be allowed to pass even after a poor showing in the written exams, we can infer some things about the UA curriculum from the few times we see it appear

In chapter 167, Ectoplasm is having the class work on Definite Integrals, a part of calculus. This chapter takes place early in the Overhaul arc, meaning this is the start of their second term. As such it can be assumed that the classes at UA are highly advanced--by American standards, this is a subject that might be taught in their third year, not their first.

As such, it seems fair to say that the exam results aren't doctored because the students would be unable to keep up with the actual pace of the classwork.

[bongwooder]

idk I guess I could make an official post about it since I've been basically regressing to 12 year old me anyways and she LOVED to overshare on this godforsaken website

click more for ramblings if ur curious! definitely interested in hearing others perspectives since I am very socially isolated rn compared to most people I guess

ever since my ADHD diagnosis and possible autism diagnosis I've just been thinking a LOT about my life including my gender and sexuality. like, ever since my parent's divorce in 2022 I've been unravelling a lot of trauma I didn't even know I had, including how my roommate has helped me realize truly how emotionally neglected I was a child. it is NOT normal for a child to be online essentially 24/7 from ages 8-18. I think I really did some serious damage because my parents were too fucked to bother to check on me and make sure I like... went outside. had friends. showered. basic hygiene etc etc etc and of course I didn't know any better because uuuhhh children need to be TAUGHT things not just yelled at to do it or made fun of for their unknown disability. and I've been going through points of time where I'm MAD. like, PISSED. that my parents let me do that to myself. a little insecure neurodivergent girl searching, yearning, begging for ANYTHING to explain her inability to cope with reality and sensory overload, to socialize and make friends at school, to feel like her life had meaning and that what was not known at the time to be symptoms of her disability weren't just personal failures

so, of course, I feel like the moment I realized I may have a group that would actually accept me as I was, I latched onto it. and that was my beginning identifying as transgender. I've said this before to irl friends, but my thoughts at the time were "well I'm a completely well adjusted intelligent person [child], but I can't seem to get along with my female peers, so I must be a male actually!" but then like... idk why I always failed to realize the boys didn't like me either?? so it's not "girls don't like me because I'm too masculine and boys don't like me because I'm too feminine" it was actually just "no one likes me because I'm autistic"

and it's strange because I feel like the physical dysphoria felt VERY real, hating my chest and my genitals, but also like... I went through puberty kinda early and also bc I was fat I "had" to wear a bra VERY early. so I think I was resenting the sexualization of my body and coping with the fact that boys paid me 0 mind in any sort of dating context when that became relevant. So I think my dysphoria was actually more like dysmorphia?

and I think I only ever "hated pink and girly things" because I so desperately wanted attention from ANYONE, for SOMEONE to ask me what's wrong or why I thought that way, for someone to tell me it's okay to be a girl even though I'm fat and autistic. and it just never happened. and I grieve for that little girl who never felt like she could express herself in fear of what people would think bc she truly had no positive adult figures in her life. and I can't help but feel deep anger for the teachers around me who didn't realize just how deep the damage was, or if they did and told my parents and THEY chose to do nothing, I feel deep anger with them.

I thought maybe if I could just be a boy I didn't have to worry that much about being attractive to boys or being skinny or being pretty. then I could just be myself! and I think that did serve a purpose for its time.

I don't regret identifying as trans or any social transitioning I have already done. I love being Ollie, although I do wonder if another name may suit me better in these times. I know I'll always have an unconventional self expression but I just wonder what it would be like to be an independent adult woman because I've never been that, and I've never had adult women friends that have reached a level of platonic intimacy with me where I can discuss this and explore it with someone who has always lived as a woman! i yearn to decorate my body and dress myself in ways that reveal the the body I am proud to have carry me day by day no matter how large. I yearn to sink into softness and receive love, I don't want to fight for reciprocation. I don't want to be codependent but I just want to feel taken care of for once in my life instead of feeling like I'm crawling and clawing my way through life not knowing where the hell I'm going. I don't even know what womanhood/femininity MEANS but I want to try it! I think I'd enjoy it! do I have permission to try it? am I allowed to enjoy it? I hate that I need to be "brave" and "resilient" just to exist in my fucking body and brain. I resent the poisoned masses for resenting me but I know I know kindness and i know I am beautiful and I know I can provide happiness for others, I'm just also ready to be provided for too from a woman just as strong and beautiful and intelligent and kind and funny

I think I skated my point a little bit but even after saying all this, I don't know if I'll ever feel "cis." i think my life played out how it needed to for me to get here and now. my biggest fear is "coming out as cis" and having everyone who ever doubted my transness or invalidated me (including my own family) tell me "I told you it was a phase" because YEAH, MAYBE IT WAS. but at least I've been actively trying to listen to my body and brain to build the life I think will make me happiest in the context of my consciousness. and I just want to surround myself with people who trust me and know I'm smart and know this is something I think about deeply before projecting

all this to say I have a lot of work to do, and I'm excited to do it, cis or trans

[hospitalterrorizer]

diary242

5/16-17/24

thursday - friday

closing 2morrow.

i watched this:

really incredible i think. feels like a bizarre, ecstatic investigation of the medical-scientific apparatuses that have produced our current world. it's perhaps less critical than that, and it differs from say tetsuo and pinnochio 964 in that it, rather than using technology and mutation as a poetics/clusters of metaphors for a life against the normal, it seems to put technology on both sides, as producing experiments and tests which will go on to enforce the norm. from this perspective it seems more critical, although its motives are blurry, in truth, i think what is really exciting in it is that it keeps the potential for being an outsider, and for experiencing excitement, in the realm of not being mutated physically but being posed against the forces which seek to experiment and expand knowledge. the boys produce interpretations, this is different from the task of science, they claim they are already dead, they are self-possessed corpses who travel the logics that inscribe/write (write is important here, they are descending from texts that inform them, and from there they too might find a path in which to go astray), and eventually counter those logics with interpretive acts.

it is also extremely angura, a really interesting thing was happening with the early jp cyberpunk film stuff. i like how informed this one is by theater, since it is a play put to film i guess that's not surprising but it is shot incredibly well for that kinda thing.

something so fascinating about how the protagonists express their violence, the fighting with one another at the start.

i was thinking earlier, i wonder if a lot of the very interesting cyberpunk anime i've seen owes more to this kind of outre and avant garde stuff than anyone really thinks to talk about. i mean, i think so, seeing tetsuo is enough in some ways, however i think there's more to it than that. in some ways the psychotic set design in this film here recalls like, lain's cyberspace. there is something liberating to me about knowing that these levels of abstraction really can be reached anywhere as long as one tries. poor lighting, willful digitalism and odd use of greenscreens, the non-space created here, suggesting nothing but offering a space for the actors to really move, climb, struggle, yes, it is the struggling, the grappling with themselves is constant. that is something lost in lain, easily. something that shows like texhnolyze try and approach. but ultimately, right now, this kind of thing produced on film has a more pointed set of politics. malice@doll, maybe, retains some of that though i am not sure. chiaki j konaka is too spiritual at times. this is lovely and beautiful, as are the other things i've been seeing recently (soon i need to get to rubber's lover (always on the mind... gerorisuto)), for the fact of the body, engagement with it, knowing one can't turn back from it and that the body is a warzone of utilities pointed against the act of living, a set of measures against the body to make one always know oneself, and so on. it's not that most anime fails there, it's just some of the stuff lots of people talk about. it's odd.

shoujo, in my experience, with the elongated bodies and so on, seems to express the body better in ways. the eyes as a whole atmosphere one is lost it. that is physical, to the point of horror, but a lovely horror, lost in another's eyes, lost in my own eyes, what they see, the reflection without occupant, the mirror capturing the act of mirroring (here lispector's writing on mirrors in agua viva is coming to me oddly).

anyway, this musing is fun but i want to save this kind of energy for actual writing which i am perpetually too exhausted for right now but i have a good opportunity, i need to send some stuff to my friend for that.

today, i also worked on like...3 songs. 10 done now. i really do think "done". one of the songs was really rough though!!! ableton kept crashing, i think that one's fine. i really don't know if that one can really even be worked on atm. we'll see though, it's been worked on enough probably.

listening to peggy march's i will follow him right now. i think i need to watch scorpio rising again soon. i love that movie. i love anger, kenneth, anger.

gosh, what a song and film.

i think soon i'll watch this:

glad this channel has a film from korea, this one seems pretty interesting, i like giant factories.

thinking of movies with giant buildings absorbing, or feeling like they absorb whole places people lived, i am reminded of hakuchi the innocent, which is based on an ango sakaguchi story, as far as i know a lot of his work is still untranslated, which is sad, because that movie makes him seem extremely interesting. i need to rewatch it. it comes back to my mind a lot, i think it's maybe one of my favorite looking movies ever and deals w/ japan's horrific position in ww2 and its attempts to sanitize itself kind of, at least in an off-side kind of way.

but it really is insanely beautiful looking, for something from 1999, it feels like one of the most intense grapplings w/ showa era aesthetics and efforts to update them and contend with what they can mean, in that way it really reminds me of a lot of ero-guro art and ofc angura, but in particular suehiro maruo comes to mind, especially the ww2 and japanese nationalism angles, i wonder if the story the movie adapts was something he ever read (probably, i think sakaguchi is on similar footing to kenzaburo oe, who is talked about besides dazai at times)

maybe one of the most insane uses cg ever, just so totally amazing. the movie really does come to mind a lot, so i guess that means it means a lot to me but the first time i saw it, honestly, i had no idea how to feel. but it keeps coming to mind, all these years later, so it i guess really has a ton going on.

i should see what else makoto tezuka has done, always crazy to me that he did something as crazy as that movie.

i watched this before bed:

funny, i think. cute in a way too, it really does feel like a hokey 70s anime which i like a lot.

anyway, i need to sleep now, i go to work late tomorrow so i think i may sleep in a bit tomorrow but whooo knowssss.

looking forward to getting more mixing done too, 1/3rd of the way through already basically, that is really good i think. still need to figure out cover art and stuff... or like, get started. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. one thing at a time i guess.

so,

byebye!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[kaoarika]

Leisured thoughts about Undelu as I make my way into its more recent chapters (basically comments from ch 51- onwards, at least until Fuuko gets captured by Under)

Spoilers, ig

I really feel for all these characters because the fact that they became negators JUST because it looks like God wanted to have their fun in making them all miserable through tragedy is dfskdfsjfjsfs (I mean, Fuuko lost her parents, for starters, but at some point when reading vol 6 it kicked me that Rip's negator abilities awaken when he was trying to cure Latla's sister... and the fact he was a DOCTOR is like... FUCK? Un Anno is also tragic in the whole horizon of how he... became a ghost and now that he lost his pen artifact as a way to communicate with the world is also *want to eat my fist*)

With this train of thoughts, I wonder how Victor got his immortal abilities. It is implied that he has lived many loops, and millions and millions of years (according to him)... Andy, being his alter ego, probably became a thing of the (up until that moment) recent loop, with his earliest memory starting in 1865? That's somewhat unclear to me. The book made from his memories is gigantic (as shown during the whole Autumn fight), but I think that might be because, at the end of the day, it's also Victor's.

I like Shen, and like how this Summer arc fleshed out his character. Also, Feng is a son of a bitch. Also, also, Mui getting that upgrade at the cost of Shen's death is tragic to say the least (all of these characters are tragic OTL... but it's a good thing that Shen's Untruth abilities passed to Mui, from all people in the Earth...) buuuuut, on the other hand, I love the ShenMui pairing? I like how she basically confesses to him her love despite... everything that happened in that fight with Feng, buuut also... the fact that ShenMui seems to come now in a package of two is NICE, I guess? lol.

Shen can be a little shit (as a treat), but that's also what I kinda love of his character, lol. He has that Son Goku (DB) or Kamui (Gintama) kind of energy. I wouldn't doubt Tozuka had a little bit of Goku on mind when making Shen, however (although you could say that his artifacts are more legendary-status from Journey to the West... let's be real here, lol. DB has such an impact in everyone that it's also kind of obvious that Kamui was somewhat based on Goku's will to fight people from all over the universe - Shen is more "grounded on Earth" given the circumstances of Undelu... but that's also an in-universe thing to blame on Feng :/).

In fact, I love how... love is shown here as a very important concept? It doesn't look like it, but it's a huge motivation in these characters' lives. Like, Victor's and Juiz' feelings are mutual and I felt my heart going all "doki doki" when he proclaimed that the only reason he is/was against the (that loop's?) whole ordeal of fighting God on Union's own terms was because he was growing tired of seeing the woman he loved to fail on this every single time (and Juiz wants to make and see him smile for her). It was love that kept motivating Shen to keep living 'normal' and not being obssessed with his revenge and being the "most powerful being in Earth". It's also a huge factor for Fuuko to release her Unluck abilities, as well.

It's also why I think God wants to make every negator miserable. It's basic isolation what they give them once their abilities switch on and make their lives so freaking miserable to the extremes of losing hope in the future.

(Trying to get used to the English terms and phrases used for some stuff here because the physical edition I'm getting in Spanish uses others, and it was the first and main one I am following; I woooould try and read it in Spanish as Manga Plus also offers it in Spanish... but they aren't doing the whole "read all of the simulpub series' chapters once, for free" campaign and LUCKILY, I don't have to be all "wait a whole year to be up to date with the current chapters because we only got to Vol 6 this past month -or get them through other TOTALLY legal outlets" ;;... another whole different story for those series that I cannot get to read due to reasons of licensing time to bother Panini MX to license Witch Watch, ig... )

I like how they all manage to destroy Summer UMA? The strategy was quite neat to see?

To think that Un Anno's future prophecies were going to be a thing just because Fuuko DIED according to those. And somewhat, got reminded of these when Shen and Mui were against Feng and all that talk about how "tragedy and hatred only gets you stronger if your loved ones died" is all making my gears grind for SOME reason, because it was a thing that Feng ALSO told Andy in that fight. Like, I also completely get that his and Fuuko's relationship wasn't too TOO deep yet, she was given an opportunity to "get him" through 10 or so years of his past memories (makes sense in context), but I wonder what would that could that foreseen possible death have made in him if this "memory time travel" thing wasn't... a thing.

There's lots of obvious subtle (and others not so subtle) details in the series that make you think once the reveal makes it too obvious (ie. oh, Rip's abilities as Unrepair are that he can make a cut or worse and they can never be repaired? OH, so that's why his right eye is covered? He was a Doctor?! SO that's... how Latla's sister died...? Shen feeling a little "lonely" that he cannot speak Chinese -I'm sorry if I don't know if it's Mandarin or Cantonese or any other dialect- to Mui once the languages were unified into English, because he has feelings for her and it was "their private/personal thing"?)

It's tragic reading and/or realizing that the four seasons get destroyed ONCE they defeat and get the cores of the Seasonal UMA. I don't know what is worse - my memories of such a season being erased to the point in making me think they do not exist... or getting a reminder that since seasons do not exist, it's possible that the end of this Earth is coming closer and closer :///. FFS, that God is such a JERK.

I just want the characters to have a nice break. I know this was sorta possible around the first few 20 or 25 chapters of the series, but time is moving soooo fast before Ragnarok (being an important event in that universe, because "end of the world" and all that shit), and I understand they cannot catch a break with the Seasonal UMA going rampant and Under being a threat. SIGH.

Fuuko is becoming one of (if not, THE) my favorite female heroes in Weekly Shonen Jump, as of 2023. It's amazing seeing her evolution and motivation to see herself equal to Andy and wow, honestly.

[starstuffduster]

ooohhh I'm glad you got to distract yourself then! if it was voluntary then that's okay.

believe me, that you're struggling really doesn't show hahaha. though I'm curious about why you're feeling that way!

so Tobirama is going to apply it to himself backwards with no practice because it’s got to be done and whether he can is irrelevant.

honestly I LOVE THAT and find it maybe even cooler than if he WERE just assuming he can do it. somehow this hits very hard and very right. (even when he fails hahaha.)

ooohhh Tobirama with ADHD is certainly something I've never seen before! sounds interesting, I hope to see what else you do with it.

the tunnel vision DOES sound very like him hahahaha. and your explanations are so cool! of course he ends up hiding the moment he actually becomes aware of things so as to camouflage a potential weakness, that's just reasonable and sensible.

"Tobirama's insane sensing as a Senju bloodline limit with huge vulnerabilities" is another -- actualy, TWO other things I've never seen anywhere! what vulnerabilities would those be??? :o

I think Tobirama is very direct and focused on practicalities, which is part of why he often seems rude, but also sometimes comes off as polite/thoughtful.

good point, good characterization point. a lot more focused on the results of interaction than the often annoyingly intricate path to get there "correctly", except people put a lot of stock on the "correct" path of behavior and WILL react weirdly if you don't follow enough of it.

thank you for the songbirds link hahaha omg of COURSE the Uchiha are great at fine arts. ...although, now I kinda want Izuna and Hikaku to want to sing for Tobirama. >:3

which actually made me realize, scenes I wonder if you're thinking of writing in the future:

if they're stuck this long on the island, they probably gotta train some to keep in shape right? how are they dealing with that?

...do Izuna and Tobirama decide to spar nonlethally at some point "for the sake of training and keeping themselves sharp"?

how are they dealing with keeping the kids from sharing potential clan secrets? did they have one or two talks with them about how they're all going to look out for each other, and some knowledge sharing is necessary but some is too secret? or are they just looking the other way and pretending they aren't listening when normal kid's conversation inevitably reveals more than it should?

re: your and @domoz's headcanons about the cultural differences in how the Uchiha and Senju define jutsu and their philosophies and culture surrounding that: holy shit that's FASCINATING. I am absolutely in love with this headcanon.

I do hope they end up working out the difference and talking about it, although it WOULD reveal strategically relevant knowledge, seeing as the Senju philosophy means they're all automatically capable of altering jutsu they know well, which is something the Uchiha apparently didn't know about. poor Tobirama, he's giving away so many secrets by accident! ...makes me wonder what he's getting from the Uchiha in turn.

love the point made about seals tho. and it makes a lot of sense, I see I see.

which actually reminds me, I have a headcanon of my own about the Hiraishin, specifically about why not every single seal user is using it, since it's an insanely useful and dangerous seal-jutsu, and it's not like either Tobirama or Minato hide the homing seals they use.

my headcanon is that using the Hiraishin (solo) requires the user to hold the complex concepts and equations leading to the teleportation in their mind at the moment of activation, understanding them fully and perfectly. it's not enough to solve the equation by rote, you must comprehend the deeper meaning and Truth of the equation.

thus basically requiring a level of study, intelligence, and slight insanity, that most seal users can't just summon up at will in a split moment, much less midbattle.

anyway! re: the fish god thing, that sounds hilarious. and I can't believe Tobirama is now looking for an excuse to bring an even BIGGER fish, even tho he was so ~Unimpressed~ at their reaction. ...are you trying to show off for the pretty guys, Tobira? >__>

Usually Tobirama doesn’t put much effort into being hard to track, because he’s a living nightmare and most enemies will avoid him if they can. So if his presence is known, everyone is spared a fight.

v pragmatic of him! and also rather merciful. but understatedly so, and still super super pragmatic. v ic of him really.

thank you so much for basically explaining what's going on at the start from Tobirama's side to me, that makes the reread even better!

@starstuffduster You are SO right about needing distractions, unfortunately I am working overtime so it will be even later than usual before I can write

(Do send me lots of asks though! I'm off tomorrow so I can write plenty then)

In the meantime, have a couple of incomplete later scenes from Typhoon Island (which will probably get rewritten but they're fun for now)

Hikaku finds Tobirama sitting under the ledge, where the rain is blocked but some light still filters in.  His eyes are closed, and his face is perfectly blank as he traces ink blindly over his face and throat.  A seal, clearly, though what it’s meant to do, Hikaku can’t imagine.

Tobirama is too skilled not to have noticed him, even rapidly bouncing his heel against the floor the way he seems to do when deep in concentration.  How Tobirama managed to train his skills so that he is always aware of the people near him, but has missed sunrise, sunset, food placed beside him, and being rained on, all in the few weeks they’ve been here, Hikaku still hasn’t figured out.  But a surprised shinobi reacts violently, and Tobirama is no exception, as proven by the times a sudden movement has startled him.

So Hikaku knows Tobirama is ignoring him for several minutes.  As Tobirama is currently placing the most intricate seal Hikaku has ever seen on his own face, and doing it blindly, that’s more than reasonable.

Tobirama stops abruptly, his heel landing sharply on the stone.  Hikaku doesn’t glimpse the handseal that pulls rain into a bubble over Tobirama.  The bubble bursts and splashes over Tobirama’s face, blurring most of the seal and drawing the ink in distracting trails down his throat.

Hikaku sets that aside for later.  “Difficulties with the seal?” he asks.

“Obviously,” Tobirama says shortly.  He wipes some of the water off of his throat, smearing the sealwork there further.

Hikaku still doesn’t know whether Tobirama is aware of his own rudeness.  He has learned that ignoring it is usually enough to end it.  “Would a mirror help?”

Hikaku doesn’t have a mirror, and neither does Izuna.  But they could probably work out something adequately reflective, if the seal is important.

“Hmm.  Unlikely,” Tobirama decides.  He unfolds from the rock he was sitting on and starts back toward the main cavern, and he’s still somehow taller than Hikaku remembers.  “The seal is meant to be used in groups, applied to each other.  The difficulty is in applying it backwards.  Seeing it would likely be a distraction.”

Hikaku will never comprehend the Senju mind.  “What sort of seal is it?”

Tobirama hums.  It takes several seconds for him to answer, and they get close enough for Izuna’s voice to reach them, slightly distorted, singing a children’s training song.  Several of the children have joined in, with a much larger range in skill than Hikaku expected children so old to have.

Mostly in the direction of less skill.  Do other clans teach their children nothing except to fight?

“It is a snorkeling seal,” Tobirama says.  “By drawing on the user’s chakra, it draws air from the surface into their lungs, and allows them to remain under water indefinitely.”

An incredibly useful seal, then.  It would be a deeply concerning one as well, except that most of its uses are pointless in Fire Country.  Fire Country has many streams and creeks, but even the Nakano, which is the largest river in the country, is only rarely deep enough for a person to truly hide in its depths.  Mostly, a submerged shinobi would only look like a fool, trying to hide a few feet below the surface of clear water.

But in a place like Water Country, much less these Whirlpool islands… Hikaku is glad that the Uchiha so rarely venture outside of Fire Country.

Still, it gives him an idea.  “If it is not given chakra, does it do anything?”

“No.”

“So it’s safe?”

The question earns a quick flick of Tobirama’s eyes in his direction, before they return to the tunnel ahead.  “Children use it.”

“If you were to draw it on me, then,” Hikaku says, and even having concluded there would be no danger, his heart rate picks up, “Izuna could watch, and draw it on you.”

Tobirama pauses, a fractional delay in his steps as he glances in Hikaku’s direction again, this time longer, almost actually looking.  But he shakes his head.  “It is an Uzumaki seal.”

“I have not yet found a limit on the complexity of what the sharingan can copy,” Hikaku says.

“The Uzumaki are protective of their secrets.”

Ah.  A different issue than Hikaku assumed.  The Uzumaki are Senju allies, but it’s not a seal for war.  “Is it that valuable?  I can’t see it being used often in Fire Country.  I’ve never seen a river or lake large enough to hide in.”

“Fire Country doesn’t have lakes; we only have ponds,” Tobirama says, as if reciting the opinion.  “Every seal is valuable.  If not for its own effect, then for what it will teach about sealing.”

“I see.”

Izuna stops singing the moment they reach the cavern, and most of the children break off after him, uncoordinated.  Kagami continues alone, his voice clear until he finishes the verse.

“Izuna-san is teaching us Uchiha music!” [Uzukid] announces.  Izuna’s face goes strained.

“Is it very similar to Uzumaki music?” Tobirama asks, apparently interested, which sets all the kids off.  Uchiha music isn’t much like Uzumaki music at all; the [idk water bloodline] have some similar music but it’s not [waterkid]’s favorite; the Hyuuga have the same song, with only a few different words.  Tobirama listens with solemn interest.

As soon as every child has shared their comparisons, Tobirama focuses on [Uzutween].  “[Uzutween], are you familiar with the snorkeling seal?”

She nods, looking slightly confused by the question.

“Good,” Tobirama says.  “Come with me; I am going to use it to go fishing, and I am not able to apply it to myself.”

--

“Look!  Abalone!”

[Uzukid] is grinning when Hikaku glances over, holding up a palm-length, brown shell with six holes in a line and oddly triangular spots.  She, of course, is looking at Tobirama, who pauses in his demonstration of prying mussels off the rocks to seriously examine the shell she hands over.

“Very good,” Tobirama says, and hands the shell back to her.  “Your family works with abalone, don’t they?”

“Yeah!”

Tobirama nods again, and turns to include the other children in his explanation.  “We likely won’t find many abalone here, but they’re valuable and harmless, so collect any that you see.  [Uzukid], would you like to explain how to identify them?”

“Yeah!”

The rest of the kids cluster around and [Uzukid] holds up the shell, pointing out the shape, colors, and shiny interior.  The Uzumaki eat the snails, and make the shells into all kinds of jewelry and decoration.

Tobirama listens, but his eyes keep sliding away, scanning the pool and the area nearby.  Izuna glances over, sharingan flicking on to catch the image of the abalone’s shell, and then goes back to hunting through a pool closer to the water.  Hikaku listens while he keeps prying mussels off of stone and tossing them up the beach toward dry land.

The kids spread out again, now mostly ignoring the abundant mussels as they stick their faces in the water and peer under rocks in search of abalone.  [Uzukid] turns rocks over a little more strategically, and keeps chattering.  “An’ when you grind the shells up really good, you mix ‘em in with ink and make star seals!  That’s what my family does, for the whole village!”

“What are star seals, [Uzukid]?” Tobirama asks.

“You’ve seen them!  On the roofs!”

“I have, but not everyone here has,” Tobirama says.  “Kagami, do you know what star seals are?”

“Not yet!” Kagami chirps.

“They’re sparkly!  And bright!”  [Uzukid] gestures, hands flying out in a burst of implied light.  “We put ‘em on the edges of the roofs so the old shinobi don’t fall at night!”

[Uzukid]’s descriptions make it sound as if every day is a festival in Uzushio.  It’s a shame, Hikaku thinks, that he won’t get to see it.  But the Uzumaki have been the Senju’s allies almost as long as the Uchiha have been their enemies.  Hikaku will no more be allowed to see Uzushio than Tobirama’s bedroom.

“What if they’re too bright?” Kagami asks.

“They’re not!” [Uzukid] declares indignantly.  “They’re star seals, not… not sea-glare seals, or something!”

Kagami nods seriously.

“Seals that create a bright light as their primary effect are called flash seals,” Tobirama says.

“Yeah!  They’re not flash seals!”

“But flash seals are one of the primary types of seal which Uchiha encounter,” Tobirama says.  “So it’s reasonable for Kagami to think of them.”

“And fire seals,” Kagami adds.

“Explosive tags,” Tobirama corrects.

“Izuna-sama hates those,” Kagami shares.  “He says fire’s ours so it’s not fair Senju can fake it without learning real jutsu.”

Tobirama smirks, a flicker at the corner of his mouth that vanishes before he raises his voice enough to make it carry.  “Well, next time he says that, you may tell him that Senju use fire jutsu, too; he just hasn’t seen.  And he should know better than to make assumptions like that.”

Kagami grins and nods.  A few other children giggle.

Izuna looks thoroughly annoyed, but he turns away instead of saying anything.  He’ll have plenty to say later, Hikaku is sure, once Tobirama and the kids are out of hearing, but for now he tosses his hair back and peers deliberately into the water.

“Are there lots of kinds of seals, Senju-sensei?” Kagami asks.

“More than I can list at once,” Tobirama says.  “Seals are even more varied than jutsu, only less commonly used.  Now, how many mussels have you found?”

The Uchiha are collectors of jutsu.  Every jutsu that any Uchiha has seen since the beginning of the clan is recorded, both in written form and in memories passed down across the generations.  Many of those jutsu are useless—there are dozens of campfire-lighting jutsu, invented by different clans in different countries and different generations, and the Uchiha only need one.  But they are kept anyway, for any who want to study jutsu creation, or in case an Uchiha needs to disguise themselves as a member of another clan.

Among those jutsu are thousands that have no use at all in war.  Jutsu to make food more flavorful, to shape wood and metal and stone with greater precision than a handheld tool, to send messages, to embellish dance, to amplify music or sensation.  Most Uchiha learn a handful of them.  Jutsu for singing and sex are the most popular, and those that are useful with various crafts.  Hikaku has at least glanced through most sections of the library, looking for interesting options.  Each recorded jutsu also records the source, and every Senju jutsu Hikaku has ever seen is for war.  Hikaku used to be sure that meant the Senju simply didn’t know or use jutsu for anything other than battle, sabotage, and the like.

But once this season is over he’s going to have to go home and add an entire new section to the library for jutsu that heal.  Not merely by shaping a needle out of a broken blade or pulling gravel out of wounds, but actively.  It’s still technically for war, but it’s an entire category of jutsu that the Uchiha didn’t even know were possible, which the Senju seem to have been using for generations, the way Tobirama acted about it.

So maybe, being a Senju, Tobirama doesn’t know the full variety of uses jutsu can have.  Or maybe the Senju are very good at keeping secrets, and seals can do things Hikaku hasn’t even imagined.

It really is a shame that he’ll never see the Uzumaki compound.

Hikaku pries the last mussel worth eating off the rocks, tosses it into the pile with the rest, and straightens.  The children are enthusiastic, but very distracted by all the unfamiliar creatures in the pools, and Tobirama is similarly distracted by watching and teaching them all.

Hikaku and Izuna, then, will have to do most of the foraging.  Which isn’t worrying, really; Hikaku is no longer concerned about starving while they’re trapped on this island.  But he’d rather not eat every meal from the same single fish for a week again, nor would he like to see what bigger fish Tobirama could possibly find. 

[this is followed by Hikaku picking up a blue ringed octopus, and Tobirama being Totally Rational And Calm And Not Panicking in response. As he always is, of course]