#and i am still down absolutely cataclysmic

[catboygirljoker]

(fully aware of how unhinged i sound) hey is it just me or was he breasting kinda boobily here

[video ID: a short, silent clip of xigbar walking out of a dark corridor towards xemnas and ansem. end ID]

[runawaycatwalker]

Part 28. Prevaricators' Procession

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Description below the cut

Astrowalker flies above a copse of trees.

Astrowalker (internally): I wish I could have said 'yes.'  But with how little I can trust any of my friends right now?  And with Mayura searching for any sign of Adrien?  I can't risk going home.

Astrowalker’s eyes widen and his mouth pulls into a long, thin grimace as Cosmobug flies up behind him and throws her yo-yo at him.

Cosmobug: YOU!

Astrowalker (internally): Oh no.

Astrowalker, wrapped tightly in yo-yo string (even his wings have been folded in on themselves and bound), hangs upside-down as Cosmobug points angrily at his face.

Astrowalker: Hello, Cosmobug.  I was trying to stay out of your way as requested, but I thought I should be on-hand in case you needed—

Cosmobug: Where. Is. Adrien?

Astrowalker: I'm not sure why you think I can answer that question...

Cosmobug: He disappears and then you appear just moments later?  I don't think that's a coincidence.

Astrowalker, still upside-down, tries to avert his gaze by looking down (which is up).

Cosmobug: Where did you hide him?

Astrowalker: I only followed you here, I am quite unfamiliar with the terrain of this place.  Unless you think I stuffed him inside my baton, I fail to see where I could have put him that was beyond your reach.

Cosmobug: You could have used Cataclysm to make a bottomless pit and dropped him in!

Astrowalker: Or Adrien might have wandered off on his own.

Cosmobug: When he was so close to going home?  Never!

Astrowalker: It wouldn't be the first time he avoided the mansion...

Cosmobug turns away and rubs her forehead in frustration.

Cosmobug: GAAAHHHH!  Talking to you is just a waste of time!  Adrien might be getting into an even worse situation with every moment that passes!  I need to switch tactics...

Cut to Cosmobug flying back to where she left Kagami, towing Astrowalker behind her as he flings around like a ragdoll.

Cosmobug: Kagami!  I need a favor: guard Catwalker while I search for Adrien.

Kagami: Are you sure Adrien is nearby?  I cannot justify staying here indefinitely to my mother.

Cosmobug: Then we'll make him carry you home while you guard him!  Better to keep him far away anyway so he can't interfere again!

Astrowalker lets out a ‘meep!’ as Cosmobug points Rolland’s knife in his face.

Cosmobug: And if Catwalker tries anything, strike swiftly.

Cut to Astrowalker flying while carrying Kagami in his arms.

Astrowalker: Let me know if you're uncomfortable.  I'll fly low and slow since it can get cold without a powered-up suit.

Kagami: What did you do to make Ladybug mad at you?

Astrowalker: Who said she was mad at me?

Close up of Kagami holding up the knife with confidence beaming.

Kagami: She authorized me to stab you repeatedly.

Astrowalker: Fair point.

Astrowalker looks away evasively.

Astrowalker: But it’s hero business.  I’m not at liberty to explain it to you.

Kagami gestures to herself nonchalantly.  Astrowalker absolutely bristles as he loses his composure.

Kagami: I’m Ryuko.  You can explain everything to me freely.

Astrowalker: You’re not supposed to reveal your secret identity!

Kagami folds her arms and looks away, annoyed that she has to justify herself.

Kagami: Shadowmoth already knows who I am.  You knowing isn’t any more dangerous.

Astrowalker: I highly doubt Ladybug would agree with that assessment.

Kagami: Ladybug herself said I was talented enough to stay a hero despite the identity issue.

Full-body shot of them flying from the side, Astrowalker looks ahead as he explains.

Astrowalker: No, I mean that if Ladybug doesn’t trust me, you shouldn’t either.

Kagami: Did you have something to do with Adrien going missing again?

Astrowalker: Ladybug seems to think so.

Kagami: Why?

Astrowalker: Proximity, mostly.  And she knows I've lied to her before, so I'm the most likely to be guilty.

Kagami: And if you're not guilty?  Not defending yourself means that Ladybug punishes you instead of the person responsible.

Astrowalker: What's done is done.  Ladybug has already made up her mind about me.  In any case, Adrien's business is his alone and we should leave it be.

Kagami points the knife at Astrowalker’s face as he tries to look innocently upwards.

Kagami: You know more than you're letting on, don't you?

Astrowalker: Wh-What gave you that idea?

Close-up of Kagami’s face as she argues.

Kagami: When I don’t want my mother to know that something matters to me, I try to convince her it means nothing.  If she believes I don't care, she won't try to interfere.  You are trying to keep people away from Adrien through your 'indifference'.

Astrowalker: Or I might just be indifferent?

Kagami closes her eyes and waves her hand dismissively.

Kagami: I suppose I won't be able to convince you to reveal your true intentions.  If you're lying to Ladybug, you're probably lying to me too.

Astrowalker looks away with regret.

Astrowalker: There may not be much I can really say, but... For whatever it's worth, I didn't kidnap Adrien.

Kagami: Of course not.  He kidnapped himself.

Astrowalker looks at Kagami in shocked confusion.  Kagami looks aside, unconcerned, as she explains.

Astrowalker: Huh?  I thought you were akumatized to hunt down whoever kidnapped him?

Kagami: The ransom message Gabriel Agreste received must have been a fake.  If Adrien had been kidnapped for ransom, he wouldn't have been left alone on a mountain.  He's clearly up to something big that he doesn't want anyone to know.

Astrowalker: But what secrets could a teen model even have to justify vanishing entirely?

Cut to the image of Kagami and Adrien in “Lies,” when Adrien cheerfully gives her a thumbs-up while she holds the lucky charm Marinette gave him behind her back.

Kagami (voiceover): I'm not sure, but Adrien is far more secretive than most people realize.  His affable demeanor hides his deceit well.  You wouldn't even know he was lying to your face unless you held contradictory proof.

Cut back to Astrowalker looking away while Kagami looks at the knife in thought.

Astrowalker: Do you hate him?  For all the lies?

Kagami: No.  I'm a liar too.  His lies just proved we weren't right for each other.  He's... too much of a people pleaser.

Astrowalker: What's so wrong with wanting to please people?

Kagami: It demonstrates a lack of mutual respect.  If he did something I might judge him for, I would rather he told me the truth so we could deal with it head-on.  Instead, he just made up easy to-swallow excuses so he could pretend his ditching me didn't have consequences.  I was willing to show him things I've never shared with anyone.  But he refused to reciprocate with his own vulnerability.

Astrowalker looks over his shoulder.

Astrowalker: What if he couldn't tell you the truth due circumstances beyond his control?  Maybe he wanted to open up, but he couldn't tell anyone what was really happening?

Kagami opens her arms to the side and Astrowalker finally meets her gaze.

Kagami: Then he should have explained what he could about the situation and asked me for privacy.

Astrowalker: Would that really have been enough to salvage your relationship?  Knowing that someone is keeping things from you can be a heavy burden all on its own.

Kagami: Maybe not.  But it would have been possible.  I might have still been disappointed to be excluded, but at least I wouldn't have been disappointed in him.

Kagami waves her hand towards Astrowalker, who looks down towards her in regretful contemplation.

Kagami: But why are you so interested in why Adrien lied to me?  Did you end up discovering the secrets Adrien kept from me?

Astrowalker: No, of course not.  But... I suppose your perspective sheds light on the trouble I've been for Ladybug.  We heroes are supposed to keep everything secret.  But there's still a limit to what I should withhold from my partner.  Even if I can't give Ladybug all the answers, I need to be more honest with her if I'm to regain her trust.

Astrowalker flies with Kagami towards the horizon.

Kagami: Assuming she doesn’t simply take back your miraculous once she gets back to Paris.

Astrowalker: Right.  There’s that.

Below is the same image as above, only without text:

[theerurishipper]

Gotta appreciate how the Paris special is being consistent with Ladybug not giving any emotional support back to Cat Noir in their partnership.

He is instantly supporting her the moment she starts freaking out again while he was now forced to Cataclysm the SECOND person in one day and that being his own evil alternate self. Both Monarch and Claw Noir forced Cat Noir to cataclysm them because their both suicidal wrecks.

One would think at one point Marinette would even just ATTEMPT at trying to give Cat some kind of emotional support in what he's constantly going through. But no I guess?

Ladybug never ever gives any support back in return besides the barest minimum she absolutely HAS to while constantly being showered in his support.

Man, she's just a bad partner at this point. And leader. And guardian. And friend too. Why is she being characterized like that, how am I supposed to NOT call this out for the awfully one-sided dynamic this is? Of course Adrien by the s5 finale ended up fearing his one powers and emotions so badly that he gave himself up because of the nightmares and his circumstances. He can't ask Ladybug for help in anything and Marinette is out here not reacting accordingly as a partner should to the most obvious fucking problems Cat Noir could have in front of her eyes!

Why does she apparently need an invitation and 30 pages essay of explicitly explained proof that Cat after having been forced to cataclysm Monarch and Claw Noir MIGHT for once actually need the emotional support from his friend, partner, leader and guardian!

Who could have fucking guessed! Oh wait everyone with a braincell could and SHOULD be able to figure that, then why is Marinette Galaxy brain Dupain-Cheng STILL doing nothing in this dynamic besides receiving??

At this point, I've honestly just given up on expecting that the writers will ever allow Marinette to return the support Chat Noir gives her. He literally just got back from being forced to Cataclysm someone and had it happen again, and we didn't even a get a little enquiry from her asking if he was alright. She saw that he was horrified, she herself was horrified, but not even a second was spared to ask him if he was okay after that. And yet, he gives her a pep talk when she breaks down again (this is the second time tonight) and supports her through it again. And true enough, he couldn't overcome this issue, and guess who spent the finale locked in a white room because he got no support from anyone for anything?

Shadybug and Claw Noir post-redemption are probably gonna have a healthier relationship than main universe Ladynoir atp. I almost wish we could just watch their relationship develop instead.

Thank you for your ask!

[girlwtdragontattoo]

Halsin x TAV Fanfiction "Until we meet again, my heart"

DISCLAIMER: SPOILERS FOR BALDUR'S GATE 3 ENDING. My TAV is a tiefling, so I wrote it with that in mind. You can substitute whatever race your TAV is, if you'd like :)

If you want me to continue, please let me know! I wrote this, because I am truly a sucker for everything Halsin and I wish for soooo much more in the Romance Ending, although I am really happy with the Canon ending of it. I hope you enjoy!

_________________________________________________________

Halsin cupped TAV’s face with his hands and initiated a long, deep kiss. They leaned into him, wrapping their arms around his broad back as much as they could and enjoying the overwhelming surge of belonging, relief, love and peace. The Absolute was finally defeated and Baldur’s Gate could finally return to its former self. The wind blew gently around them, as the city lay before them, engulfed in golden light.

Slowly, the druid released his lips from theirs and stared into the starry eyes of his lover. TAV smiled and noticed that his took a bit longer to form than usual.

“Is something wrong?” they asked carefully.

“No, my heart. Nothing is wrong.” His hands dropped from their face, but he still stood ever so close to them. “But I feel a greater purpose coming out of the shadows. One that I cannot ignore, as much as I’d like to.” His eyes were confusing. On the one hand, the tiefling felt the radiating love they always emitted. On the other, there was a spark suddenly appearing and they agreed, it was hard to overlook.

“What do you mean?”

Halsin sighed briefly, and gently rubbed TAV’s cheek. “We have defeated the Absolute. And I am overjoyed at our victory. But there are so many displaced citizens, refugees, orphans... animals that need my help. Nature needs to heal and it is my calling to help it do so.” There was a slight pause, as he blinked slowly. “I cannot stay with you here, if I am to fulfill my duty.”

A sting. TAV felt their stomach collapse within itself, heat engulfing their spine and neck. They felt as though their body would erupt. But all they showed on their face was a slight consternation that swiftly turned to understanding. They smiled, as much as they could, mirroring the forced one the druid was displaying: “I see. It pains me so much to see you go, but…”, they took hold of his hand on their cheek, kissed it gently and held in their own, “I understand.”

Halsin sighed once more, this time deeply and TAV couldn’t tell if it was out of relief or sadness. He pulled them into an intense hug, one where his arms shook slightly from the pressure. TAV reciprocated and held onto their bear as if their life depended on it. There was no telling when they would cross paths again, so this moment needed to last. TAV felt the druid’s breath in their ear: “My heart, I adore you. This isn’t goodbye. We will see each other again, I promise. But this is something I have to do.” TAV sunk into the embrace even more: “I will miss you dreadfully, until then.”

The embrace lasted eons to TAV, but even that wasn’t enough time. Halsin released his grip, looked into their eyes again and gave them another, long, passionate and gripping caress. Finally, after smiling gently down at TAV for a while, he stepped away, turned to leave and said with his head still turned towards his lover: “Until we meet again, my heart.”

The druid walked away.

TAV stood at the same spot and watched Halsin walk with purpose, once again. They couldn’t help it. The sting, the heat, the overflowing cataclysm of sorrow overwhelmed them and as much as they tried, they couldn’t stop the tears from streaming. Turning to the lake, having the setting sun warm their face, TAV crumpled down on the landing stage and sat there ever so still, letting the tears run down silently.

Not much time passed and TAV’s three closest friends started to gather around them on the landing. Karlach sat down behind TAV and pulled them into a bear hug, her legs dangling with theirs. Shadowheart joined on TAV’s left side, sitting down gracefully and looking into TAV’s tear-stained face. Lae’Zel finally completed the foursome, plopping down on TAV’s right, staring intently into the setting sun.

Karlach tightened her hug and said: “Don’t be sad, soldier. We’re here for you.”

Shadowheart continued to look at TAV, analyzing the state they were in carefully, and choosing her next words with extreme care: “Love can be a wonderous thing. But terrible at the same time.”

TAV nodded, closing their eyes and letting another tear run down. Shadowheart rested her head on TAV’s shoulder, unsure on how else to comfort.

Lae’Zel didn’t say anything, but placed her hand on TAV’s, continuously looking at the horizon.

Finally, Karlach spoke once more: “You really love him, don’t you?”

Those words intensified the heat even more around TAV’s throat. Barely able to control the water leaking out of every orifice, TAV finally nodded intensely and let out a painstaking "Yes". All three companions edged closer to them, offering only their company as solace.

They sat together on the docks for what felt like ages. Being together, having survived the most intense and horrifying battle any of them ever have and probably will in their lives, was a gift they all appreciated greatly. TAV had convinced Lae’Zel to stay with them, which meant they would need to outwit the githyanki, who will surely come after her at every turn. TAV even convinced Karlach to go back to Avernus, promising fiercely to visit as often as possible, letting Karlach come back into Baldur’s Gate occasionally, and most importantly, letting her live. Shadowheart would accompany TAV and Lae’Zel, seeing the little camp of theirs as a new family and one she truly belonged to. Their company would ease some of the pain TAV felt, but it would never fill the hole that Halsin left. They travelled through Faerun together, making camp or allowing themselves a nice stay in a city once in a while, frequently returning to Baldur’s Gate, to see Astarion, Gale, Jaheira or Wyll, but mostly so that TAV could see if Halsin wrote.

It took some time. Too long. To the point where TAV convinced themselves that the druid had forgotten about them. The companions were walking the streets of Baldur’s Gate, Lae’Zel disguised as a halfling by Shadowheart, when a duck fluttered in front of TAV’s face. Surprised, TAV stared at the flapping poultry in front of them and finally noticed a small, rolled up piece of paper stuck to the bird’s leg. Hastily, TAV untangled the note from the animal’s leg. As its duty had been fulfilled, it plopped down on the ground and greedily pecked at the cobble stone for nuggets of food. They unraveled the note and read quickly:

TAV, my heart,

I hope Collin finds you swiftly in Baldur’s Gate.

TAV looked down at the duck vehemently pecking around their shoes. This is “Collin”, supposedly. They continued to read, with a beeming smile on their face.

There have been so many amazing things, that have happened along my journey. I have found a lovely group of helpers, some former refugees, who have assisted me in building homes, repairing the land and adopting children. Most importantly, through my travels, I got to see Thaniel and Oliver again. The former shadow-cursed lands are truly a sight to see. And I want to show you what you have changed here.

If this note finds you, meet me at the Last Light Inn on the day of the full moon.

I have much to tell you and we have much to catch up on.

I miss your eyes, lover.

Until we meet, my heart.

Yours,

Halsin

[melishade]

Attack on Prime New Age Anthology: Game Plan

Main Story

Catching Up Part 2

Released from Quarantine

Reunions

The humans start discussing a game plan on how to tackle a world without titans.

"I do apologize for everything that has been happening in the past month," Bryce explained as he sat down at his desk. He gestured to the two chairs in front of him, and Kenshin and Willy sat down in each of them, "But we do thank you for being cooperative."

"What is this about?" Willy asked.

"Your world is in chaos," Bryce stated bluntly, "You faced a cataclysmic event of untold proportions, one that hasn't been thought about here on Earth. Your ecosystem has been ravaged, we are still counting the death toll, and there is a possibility that damage has been done to the ozone layer. If we sent the people we have here back home, there is a chance they would not survive due to the drop in oxygen levels."

Bryce picked up one of the papers on his desk. "However, the biggest concern we have been hearing from many of the denizens is whether or not the power of the titans have been destroyed. The Autobots have conducted enough tests to absolutely confirm that, but it's uncertain if the people on your world would trust titans from beyond the stars."

"...you want us to be your mediators," Kenshin concluded.

"More ambassadors," Bryce corrected.

"General, our world is in chaos like you said, and many countries have either been destroyed or destabilized. Not to mention, I lost some of my political influence prior to the Rumbling," Willy explained.

"Your sister was on the front lines, and she sacrificed herself to save thousands of people," Bryce retorted, "I think that has helped redeemed your name."

Willy's eyes lowered to his hands, doing his best not to cry.

"I doubt I'd be much help," Kenshin proclaimed, "Willy's not a ruler of a country. I am, and I'm certain that many of Hizuru's top officials have been killed during the Rumbling, along with a good portion of the land. I have no idea how many of my people are alive."

Bryce pulled out his phone and showed them a picture of their world's map. "The Autobots also calculated how far the Colossal Titans have gotten before Optimus destroyed it. Marley has been wiped off the map for the most part, along with a good portion of the Middle Eastern Region. Hizuru has been ravaged, but the entire country hasn't been destroyed. There have been a few continents left unscathed or barely touched. The region we would call North America had only just been hit by the Rumbling when the event stopped. This continent that we would call Australia, along with a few other islands haven't been touched mainly due to the distance from ground zero."

Bryce put the phone down. "If you have allies, political influence anywhere, then it would help to use that in order to mitigate the chaos and prevent infighting over basic necessities. We can help you provide food and water to the people that have been disparaged, along with medical assistance."

"What do you want from us in return?" Kenshin demanded, "No one asks of something without something in return."

"I doubt that we would be able to provide you anything," Willy retorted, "Your world is much more advanced than our own, and we need all the help we can get. What would you need from us?"

"Earth has been trying to find life on other planets that would be hospitable to humans from Earth," Bryce explained, "Even though we've come into contact with Cybertron, the planet's not hospitable to humans, and titans like them are considered fictional to the wider populous. You've already had the concept of titans for thousands of years and your world has been similar to that of ours. We could start interplanetary relationships. And your world is prime ground to run some tests of our own."

"Such as?" Kenshin narrowed his eyes.

"Repairing the ozone layer, food growth and restoration, so far many scientists have been wanting to test environmental impacts and repairs," Bryce answered, "Our world is slowly going through a climate crisis, and to test out how to repair that crisis on a world that has had their climate completely altered would be revolutionary in terms of progress. You will be receiving a tremendous benefit by having your world repaired at a quicker pace, but we will also be benefitting from this as well by preventing our own demise."

"We could use this help." Willy turned to Kenshin.

"I know for a fact that you have much more to gain that you're not telling us," Kenshin accused.

"You're right," Bryce confessed, "And this information is something I'm not allowed to disclose to you, especially since this a developing situation. But I assure you that this will be beneficial to you if you cooperate with us willingly."

Kenshin grimaced at that before glancing over at Willy.

"We have nothing to lose from this, and we can't repair the world on our own," Willy reminded, "And I think many of the people from our world would like some sense of normality."

Kenshin sighed in defeat at that. There were many already dead, injured, or displaced, and that number was going to continue climbing. He just knew it. "Fine. We'll do your alliance."

===

"Alright, I got the huge bags of chips I saved in storage!" Miko declared as she walked up the steps to the common area of Unit E with four giant bags of different flavored chips along with a bag of Styrofoam bowls. The 104th and Onyankopon were either sitting down on the couch or the floor, with the exception of Jean who was in his wheelchair. They were watching Jack write a list on a white board with a red marker.

"Potatoes." Sasha's mouth watered at the familiar picture of potatoes on the bag.

"Don't be greedy," Miko warned her as she sat on the floor opened the bags, "We have Lays, Doritos, Cheetos, and Tortilla Chips."

"I thought you had spicy chips," Rafael remarked as he continued typing away on his laptop.

"They're not going to be able to handle Hot Cheetos." Miko ripped open the bag containing the Styrofoam bowls, "Alright, dig in."

Sasha jumped at the potato bag, but Miko quickly grabbed her and pinned her to the ground.

"Wow." Jean was impressed as Sasha squirmed in Miko's grip.

"Mikooooo!" Sasha whined.

"Be patient!" Miko scolded her.

"Thanks Miko," Armin said as he got himself a bowl of Doritos, "It's usually pretty hard to stop Sasha when it comes to food."

"Yeah, I can imagine," Miko commented.

"Okay." Jack turned to the audience as he pointed at the list on the whiteboard. "So these are the things that we have to take care of. One." Jack pointed at the top of the list. "Providing aid and relief to the people affected by the Rumbling. This going to be a consistent, top, priority since the death toll is still climbing. Two."

Jack pointed to the next item. "We need to check up on Paradis. Historia, you mentioned you're the queen and the military has effectively been dismantled."

"I don't know who would be trying to take control right now," Historia explained from her seat on the couch, "It could fall under a dictatorship fearful of receiving retaliation for the Rumbling."

"So we need to find out what's going on there and prevent a dictatorship," Jack declared, "Three: hold a funeral procession for Connie."

"Why can't we just do that right away?" Sasha demanded as Miko got off of her.

"Paradis needs to be stable first before we can do the funeral," Jack answered, "Someone could interrupt funeral proceedings, try to kill you, desecrate Connie's grave. Paradis needs to be stable first. Four, we find Mikasa."

"But Mikasa's been missing for over a month!" Armin exclaimed.

"Yeah, that's the problem," Jack sighed in defeat, "She's been missing for over a month, we have no leads on her location and finding her without the technology we have on your world is going to take longer. Do you have any idea where she might have gone?"

Armin thought it over. "She might have gone back home?"

"To reverse Madagascar?!" Rafael exclaimed, "I thought you guys were a hermit country everyone hated! Who the hell would be willing to take her there if there are any available mods of transportation?!"

"I don't know!" Armin exclaimed, "Maybe she went to civilization?!"

"Hey, wouldn't it be funny if she actually swam back to the island?" Miko quipped.

"Knowing her strength, she probably did," Jean proclaimed seriously.

"There's no way!" Miko snapped her head at Jean.

"Maybe we can ask the locals and see if they spotted her?" Onyankopon suggested.

"Maybe, but it still might not be as effective," Jack admitted, "We do have pictures of her, thankfully, but still, it's finding a needle in the haystack. Also, do we really know if she made it to Paradis in the past month?"

"I know that she would have gone back home," Armin declared with confidence, "It's the only place she has a real attachment to. No where else."

"Well..." Jack trailed off, "We'll check the sight of the final battle first, go to the closest refugee camp to ask there, and if we can't find her there, then we can scope out Paradis once we can stabilize the government. That's the bed plan I can come up with given the lack of information we have on her."

"...okay," Armin relented.

"Additional items include Jean staying behind on Earth to learn how to walk again," Jack continued.

"Make sure to bring me back home when you have Connie's funeral," Jean declared.

"Will do." Jack nodded, "We'll also need to have a video prepped to send over to Optimus once he wakes up."

"What?! Optimus is feeling better?!" Onyankopon exclaimed.

"Yeah, we received some texts from Ratchet saying that Optimus' recovery has been stable. He doesn't need life support anymore and hopefully he'll wake up sooner rather than later."

"That's great!" Sasha exclaimed with delight, "We need to tell the others!"

"Pretty sure shark lady's already in the loop if she's with Ratchet," Miko commented.

"Can you stop calling my wife that?" Historia demanded.

"She used to turn into a shark! What can I say?!" Miko exclaimed.

"Once we finalize all of this then we'll let Erwin and Hanji know," Jack declared, "Levi's still unconscious according to Jean."

"Yeah, his injuries were pretty bad," Jean declared.

"And I'm certain Bryce is talking to Kenshin and Willy," Jack surmised.

"Ugh, the golden spoon." Miko rolled her eyes.

"Why would they need to talk to Bryce?" Onyankopon asked.

"Politics," Jack replied, "Want to create alliances."

"And steal resources," Rafael mumbled to himself.

====

Hanji removed their glasses and rubbed their eye before eating the granola bar that was placed on their table. "They're going to execute Megatron."

Erwin didn't reply to that. He was merely flexing the fingers on his cybernetic arm when he heard them speak. "...you want to save him."

"That's the plan," Hanji grumbled, "Or a plan. I know I'm completely outclassed here, and I bought myself extra time in quarantine because of my stunt from earlier. The humans here are advanced, Cybertron is way above anything Earth is, and so many people want Megatron dead, both human and Cybertronian, and who knows how long Optimus will be out of commission before they decide to reach a verdict."

"Something tells me that he doesn't want you interfering in his situation, if he cares about you," Erwin assumed.

"Is it fucked up that I give a shit about him now?" Hanji asked him, "I mean, originally I just wanted to study him, but damn it, he was actually putting in the effort to be a better person to the point I was willing to put my trust in him. But I've heard his war crimes. I doubt Cybertron is going to see it that way, considering how much harm he's done to other people."

"I doubt you're going to get far," Erwin proclaimed.

"Well according to Jack, they looked into his head and saw his memories and now don't know what to feel. Not to mention Buckethead saved some people that he had screwed over in the past, specifically the Bot that killed him before his body got hijacked by Unicron," Hanji explained, "Our interactions with Megatron are making them second guess."

Hanji looked back at Erwin. "C'mon there has to be something between you and Megatron that would get them to second guess themselves."

Erwin sighed in defeat. "Hanji, he came to me as an insurance plan, and it felt like manipulation when we were talking. He ended up forcing Nile to stay after he found out about us, and Kenny-!"

"Hey, Kenny was on you. You broke him out of prison," Hanji cut him off, "But Floch and Louise got involved. With the way that they were acting in regard to Eren, how did Megatron convince them to stay and not blab about his team?"

"He didn't," Erwin declared, "He gave us a choice."

Hanji stared in surprise. "What?"

"Megatron said that he was going to stop both Zeke and Eren regardless of whether or not he stood alone," Erwin explained, "He gave all five of us a week to come to that decision: to join him or leave the cause. No repercussions. No threats of death. He knew that Floch and Louise were a risk,...but he still let them go."

"Erwin this is fucking big!" Hanji slammed their hands against the glass, "Megatron: the big bad who forced everyone to do his bidding or die, is giving organics a choice to follow him?! Megatron, putting his life on the line for organics! Megatron choosing to save those he had wronged! Megatron choosing to save the one who killed him! Erwin, this is a case; however small, it is still a case! We have to try and find a way to fight for him!"

"Hanji, do you really think that you can somehow get their attention while Optimus is in the hospital?" Erwin asked, "And if you do make your case, you are defending a war criminal. It is like defending Eren's actions to the rest of the world he just slaughtered."

Hanji grimaced as they pushed off of the glass.

"Hanji, I need to know." Erwin pressed his cybernetic hand against the glass, "Are you prepared to do this? If you defend Megatron, you will be aiding and abetting a war criminal who is clearly guilty. They can and will target you. They might kill you for defending someone that has ruined so many lives."

Hanji shut their eye in response.

"Is Megatron really worth your life?" Erwin demanded.

Hanji looked back at Erwin, and could see the concern in his eyes and felt bad. Even though the power of the titans were gone, they were still putting themselves in danger once again. Was Megatron really worth any of this at all?

Hanji took a deep breath. "If it wasn't for a good portion of Megatron's decisions, I'd probably be dead right now. Part of me is still uncertain if Megatron's truly changed for the better. But at the very least, I owe him a debt for keeping me and my comrades alive for so long....You gonna stop me, join me, or remain neutral?"

"...If you said they looked into his memories...I don't know how that would be possible," Erwin commented, "Then I'm certain that they did see me. Like it or not, I have to provide a case for him."

Hanji smirked. "Alright, looks like we're going to try and fail to defend a genocidal maniac! The hypocrites we are!"

"Levi's not going to like this," Erwin declared.

"Oh, Levi's gonna fucking hate us for this," Hanji snickered.

(Alright, I know a lot of the focus is on the humans, but we will go back to the Cybertronians! I promise!)

[ninadove]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love ❤️

Thank you Sunny! 🖤☀️ You know how much I love talking about my own fics. Hehe.

I love each and every one of them, notably a Layton one I can’t show yet, but for now (in the order I find them back):

I know there’s been pain this year (But it’s time to let it go) [🦚]

“What? Nooo! Adrien doesn’t hate Christmas.”

“Are you absolutely certain? What was he like last year?”

“Well, he —”

Marinette furrowed her brow, scanning her own memories. Of course she was absolutely certain. At least, she thought she was.

Okay — she could not ignore that Adrien had run away from home that night, wandering the snow-covered streets to escape the freezing cold of his own home. Nor could she brush away the disintegrated Morris column, cataclysmed for the crime of bearing his own face.

Oh, and the shaky videos circulating on YouTube. That musical number was… Concerning, to say the least. Still, it was no smoking gun.

Right?

“Oh my god,” she squeaked, plopping down against the counter. “Adrien hates Christmas.”

I had been trying to write this fic since I was 14, with the wrong characters and the wrong tools. I have many feelings about what makes a family and what it means to heal and what magic truly is and I am so so so happy to have finally stitched it together!!! Plus it has the cousins and Feligami and Amelie and Duusu and Plagg. This fic is the Christmas ornament I will always find a special spot for on my tree! 🎄❤️

Daedalus [🎩]

“It was you, wasn’t it?”

The words are soft, but certain; for all the accusations that have been brought against him, this one stings in a unique manner.

Luke settles on the limestone bench, facing away. His gaze lands on the tip of his shoes, or perhaps sways with the blooming lilac.

“The little boy in the statue,” he finishes, even though there is no need. “I don’t know how I didn’t put it together back then.”

This one is just me going back to my roots, and at my roots are Clive and Hershel. One of these days when my emulator works I shall stream the rest of the game so you guys can understand

Satellite [🦚]

It hits him like a truck, or rather it doesn’t: the truck metaphor would imply a projectile, a concentrated blow set in motion by a well-known mechanic. It would imply that Adrien asked for it, that he crossed the street while the light was still red, or that maybe he sat in the middle of the highway and waited.

But no. He is at the mansion when it happens, in the atrium — not even in the study nor the basement nor the attic, not in any of those places he is not supposed to lurk in. Earth itself reshapes under his feet, cracking open to swallow him whole.

SUN FELIX YOU WILL ALWAYS BE FAMOUS TO ME. ☀️

Ou bien dans les étoiles [🪶]

Cyrano’s light would be a gift and a punishment: a finger pointed straight at the vileness of the world, the caress of April upon a dandelion. As for the darkest parts of his soul, the threads of self-hatred he had danced on all his life, Le Bret would guard them with the devotion of a hellhound.

OR: Le Bret never finds the words to talk about Cyrano, but someone else does.

I may translate this one at some point… Cyrano de Bergerac is a love letter to the French language, after all. 🖤🪶

Mayday mayday (This ship is slowly sinking) [🦚]

After years of spatial exploration, Adrien lets his ship drift into nothingness.

A century later, Argos is born.

I just. Have. Thoughts. And feelings. About this one.

[wanderlustmagician]

Welcome weary intergalactic tumblr travelers to my humble blog amongst space.

I am Wander (or Magi). A simple alien who enjoys writing, learning, and is in general a very excitable dog in a trench coat.

Fun Facts about me can be found at the tag -

#wander facts

I apologize if you came here for my writing and found a lot of shit posts and yelling about food crimes. I use the following tags for;

Shit posts/posts about life: #wandering thoughts

Food related: #food talk

I have several feral cats (mutuals) that I interact with a lot that have their own tags. I did absolutely steal the alliteration thing from Cheeto. No regrets. :D

hotcheetowastaken - #cheeky cheeto

somer-writes - #sassy somer

evablueblanket - #effervescent eva

estelian-01 - #effortless este

marcusdoodlesalot - #marvelous marcus

needfantasticstories - #super skip

There a probably a couple I’m missing but I’ll update this as we go.

I am always open to receiving asks.

Please do not be afraid to send me something. I will be very enthusiastic about answering any questions*. 💛

*unless the ask is rude, cruel, or mean in nature. This is a safe space for fun and silliness. Anything of the prior listed nature (rude, cruel, or mean) will be unanswered and deleted.

As I said before, I do write! I have an AO3 account under the same name -> wanderlustmagician

My current word count there is: 31,020

My goal word count for the end of Feb 2024: 45,000 (69% achieved)

Writing tags:

#wandering pen / #theres an au for that

I currently mostly write and post for Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda). Though I have written for HxH (some works still up under an old user), Tokyo Ghoul, D. Greyman, DC Comics/Batman/Young Justice, Voltron: Legendary Defender, and Akatsuki no Yona/Yona of the Dawn. Some are posted under a different user, some have been taken down due to personal reasons, and some will never see the light of day.

All tags will be listed in the tags on the post

Now that you’ve had a wandering glance me and who I am… Click the Read more to see my current posted works, ongoing writing projects, and future projects.

My Current Series:

Everything but Blood -> Linked Universe Modern AU

Posted Works Count: 2 // Status: Ongoing

Visions of a Calling (Complete)

Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop, Want to Stop (Complete)

[Stealing Clothes WIP]

[Adopting Imp WIP]

Tags: #lu modern au // #everything but blood

Cataclysmic -> Linked Universe Witch AU

Posted Works Count: 2 // Status: Ongoing

The Truth Begins (Ch 1/?)

Heretic (Complete)

Price of Ignorance (Complete)

Tags: #lu witch au // #cataclysmic

Skyloft Valley -> Linked Universe Stardew Valley AU

Posted Works Count: 1 // Status: Ongoing

Welcome to Korok Town (Complete)

Into the Valley (Year One) (Ch 2/3)

Tags: #lu stardew valley au // #skyloft valley

The Sages Journal -> Linked Universe Atlantis AU

Posted Works Count: 2 // Status: Complete

Lanaryu’s Blessing (Complete)

Path to Thriving (Complete)

Tags: #path to thriving // #lu atlantis au

My Other Posted Works:

Ongoing Works:

Lost & Found (Ch 5/?)

Also known as the big brother Time AU of my Modern AU setting.

Tags: #lost & found // #lu modern au

Potential Upcoming Projects:

A Links Meet series that I’m called Forged. It’s still in the planning stages and I’ve not decided the end of it yet.

All of these will be updated as I make and post content. I have over 300 notes of writing. So there is always something in the works! Drop me an ask or at @ if you’re ever curious.

Thanks for wandering through and sticking around for that bad joke!

Hope to see you wandering into my asks or comments soon! Gotta blast!

[hyolks]

ALso i just said id died for ur wastelands au but I ALSO HAVE QUESTIONS! mainly abt Al. actually all abt al lol

so u explained that it was a blood problem n they had to cut off most of the infected parts (WHICH SOUNDS SO PAINFUL I FEEL TERRIBLE FOR HIM I WISH I COULD GIVE HIM A KITH) so how does his internal organ system work? does he still have his organs? if so, how do the digestive and excretory systems work? (HOW DOES MY BOY USE THE BATHROOM??) does he feel phantom pain? can he bathe or function as a normal being? what can or cannot he do?

honestly just go into more detail if you can bcuz this is brilliant so keep up the good work and i love yu al is so so handsome even w machinery being 85% of him i luv yu (not all questions must be answered. no pressure at all. u don't even have to reply if u don't want to. jus answer what u can!! : 3)

O7 i will try my best !! to be coherent !!!!!!! im word dumping. i love thinkin about this al.

LOTS OF BODY/ORGAN TALK !!!!!!

EHHHH so. one of my ideas was that al lost 100% of his arm and legs but a good portion of his torso was still...... there? i guess? and that the automail torso functions more as a shell to both to help operate the limbs and protect everything that was left. I thought of it like this so that he he could retain all of his organs. but also this leads to the imagery that Al is literally a nugget once you remove the automail parts (EXPLODES MYSELF) so i have ignored it bc i didn't like that !!

The main reason i thought of it like that was because it's never mentioned in the manga/anime whether or not theres automail organs and I'd imagine there isn't such a thing, so i wasn't sure whether or not to make the jump myself and give al automail lungs/intestines/stomach/etc. because that makes automail HELLUVA lot more crazy. the absolute magnitude of shit that winry and pinako would have to be able to do to keep al ALIVE would be fucking insane??

Idk if i mentioned it somewhere but i also thought of al particularly losing more and more of his body over time. Like. maybe the legs/arm were gone from the word go, but it would slowly keep leaching further and further up his torso or even down his neck to his chest since they either couldn't cut it all out. hence them being able to keep progressively working on Al's torso and creating/replacing the organs as he both grows older and decays. i primarily went with this because if Al lost all of that body mass right from the initial accident, he literally would not be able to survive. they would not be able to make automail organs fast enough.

it's something i need to do more research on bc currently I'm just word dumping onto this ask and am not looking at anything but! what IS the limit of organs someone can have as mechanical replacements? like there's artificial lungs and hearts in modern medical practice, but would having both put too much stress on the brain?? what is the neurological impact of that??? the amount of shit that al would need replaced would be insane. how the fuck would the brain comprehend that.

i didn't even think about it until just now tbh but i wanna know any opinions on if Al should have a bionic eye...? this would of course mean more facial automail which i'm nooot against? idk........

he very much feels phantom pain!!!!! he is in pain 95% of the time!! i think i mentioned the idea of al having to take sooome kind of pain-reliever to even be able to deal with day-to-day life, but with that train of thought i was worried i would toe into addiction issues coming up (bc. i mean. either he's in cataclysmic pain or he's not. i wouldn't blame him for not wanting to feel like a giant fucking bleeding wound) and i wasn't sure if that is a subject i want to tackle/am confident i could tackle and do justice with.

anyways. yea! i never thought about whether or not he had to use the bathroom honestly lol. i knew that i wanted him to still not be able to eat. which BLOWS he gets to be human (????? are u still human if you're 85% metal??????) but my guy can't have fucking pie??? such bullshit. i'll haveta think about how he gets energy though bc of the lack of food intake. (lol what if hes solar powered . KIDDING)

he bathes! he frequently has to oil the automail. he hilariously still has to brush his teeth. he still sweats on the skin he has left (WATER CONSUMPTION..... adds this to my to do list). being in the heat fucking sucks because that shit's just metal on skin babey ! so he's in more pain. thumbs up. can this guy get a fucking break

[olympeline]

FrUK hanahaki AU, part 2! (Part 1)

So, Arthur tried a mysterious spell to get rid of his love crush infatuation unfortunate mental affliction for Francis and it’s left him with a good dose of the blooming cough. How does the land of Shakespeare, Milton, and Keats react to this?

Arthur:………………..FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!!!!!!! *Coughing fit*

Seems about right 👍

Anyway, the writing’s on the wall now. Arthur is a brave nation who likes to solve his problems alone and hates to show weakness, but even he has his limits. Swallowing his pride (and a few petals) he goes to talk to Norway and Romania. Arthur doesn’t admit outright why he’s there (he’s not that desperate yet!) and instead shows them Atlantis’s spell. He hopes his friends might have a way to reverse it, but no luck. The magic looks too old and unstable. Norway says an antidote could take years of study or even decades. Arthur feels his heart sink. He knows he doesn’t have years. As he is now, one year might be pushing it.

Arthur swallows more pride (and petals) and goes to talk to his last hope: Yao. China isn’t a wizard himself, but he is one of the most magically attuned nations (can still see his dragons and the like). He’s also the only remaining nation who met Atlantis. Yao was a fresh faced youth during Plato’s “Single day and night of misfortune” when Atlantis sunk into the sea and was lost forever. They have tea and Arthur relies on a millennia of diplomacy to bring up the subject delicately: nothing gets Yao to shut up like a box faster than mentioning Atlantis. Arthur can’t afford to be kicked out. He needs detail that only Yao can give.

It’s not easy. The moment Yao sees the book and realises what Arthur wants, the atmosphere in the room turns arctic. Yao tells Arthur to drop it. Arthur won’t. Yao angrily tells Arthur to leave. Arthur won’t. Yao is about to try and throw Arthut out, when pain burns Arthur’s throat and chest and he doubles up, coughing. He can’t catch every petal and one flutters down to Yao’s feet. Yao picks it up, hand shaking.

“Oh, England,” he whispers. “Oh, you fool…”

It’s a long time before the fit subsides and Arthur can speak. China helps him to a chair and brings more tea. There’s no point pretending now: Yao knows. Arthur looks at the sheer, crushing pity on his face and is furious, mortified, and terrified all at once. Just from that look, he has his answer he came for: Atlantis cursed himself with hanahaki while trying to get rid of unwanted romantic feelings for someone. The curse won out, and Atlantis was doomed. Arthur asks who it was that Atlantis loved. Yao says it was Ancient Rome, or Grandpa Rome as the young nations knew him. Atlantis fell for the great empire in his early days when he was just a small city state. But the feelings weren’t returned and Atlantis, who was a master sorcerer, took drastic measures. Then all the other ancients could do was watch in horror as the disease consumed his entire being - land, people, culture - body and soul, until the cataclysm.

Now the same will happen to Arthur, to Britain, unless they do something. Arthur says there must be a cure, they just have to find it! He’s been through worse than this. He’s not beaten yet. A reversal of the spell would take too long but, there must be another cure out there. There must be! (Cope, Arthur, cope)

Then Yao sends him into another choking fit by demanding to know why he doesn’t just confess to Francis already

Once he calms down, Arthur asks WTF mate and Yao gives him the biggest “I am four thousand years old are you shitting me” look in existence. Did Arthur think he was being subtle about his feelings for Francis or something? Nope! Nope! So much nope! So just confess already, Arthur! Confess and get cured before it’s too late

Arthur is thunderstruck - he thought he hid his affliction masterfully! - but he recovers and retorts that Yao is wrong, it’s not Francis. It’s totally someone else! Totally absolutely! Someone else. Yao doesn’t know him (he lives in Canada). Yao gives him the look again. Arthur ignores it and says thank you very much for the tea but now he must leave immediately, goodbye forever. Yao calls after him that he can deny as much as he likes, but confessing is his only hope at this point. So don’t be a coward, Arthur! Your people need you. Confess!

Arthur pretends not to hear

Confessing would do no good anyway. Not when Francis doesn’t love him back

No confession! He’ll find a cure instead

When he gets home, the next fit brings up the first full flower

(I’m cutting it here for now, but I hope you’re enjoying my rambles! Stay tuned for part 3 at some point.

Should also mention that just for this AU, Arthur represents the British Isles rather than just England. So this is an alternate history where the Republic of Ireland never split from the United Kingdom. Also, UK bros Wales, Scotty, and N. Ireland don’t exist, like in early Hetalia. I call Arthur “England” a few times just because I’m used to it, but, in reality, he’s either “Britain” or “British Isles.” Otherwise what I have planned wouldn’t work (´ε｀ )♡)

[gale-gentlepenguin]

Gale Reviews: ML Season 5 episode 10 Transmission (Kwami’s Choice Part 1)

(Spoilers below)

-Okay so Marinette is hella depressed. I think this is the morning after Elation

-Wow she sounds so done

-Honestly summed up Adrien never started, Luka couldnt have started, and Chat noir shouldnt have started.

-Girl quoted her theme song and dissed herself. Damn

-And before I see posts saying she shouldnt be so focused on her love life... She is 13 f*** off

-Alya’s message was ignored by Marinette because she really in the dumps. And tikki saw the second call from Adrien and was like “Yea... she wouldnt want that call right now”

-EVEN THE VOICE MAIL IS DEPRESSED!

-Well Bustier is really showing the baby bump now

-Nino helping alya wing woman. Now thats cute

-Adrien blames himself specifically chat noir for Marinette feeling bad. And Plagg is like “Yea pretty much”

-Adrien realizing the consequences of his actions

-She took down all the photos of adrien. Not to be that guy, but if the is was about all her failed love life, luka’s photos would be removed to. Just saying

-Adrien really going up there to try and cheer her up. Boy knows what she is going through (and is mainly at fault for it)

-Look this angst is absolutely delicious and I am eating it up...

-How can they not hear the kwami. Plagg literally yelled

-Marinette was about to tell him... but then the trashcan

-I mean... we know he has seen the photos but seeing them in the trash... baby boy no

-Adrien just confessed! Damn! That is an angry yet touching confession. Boy is pissed the girl he loves is hating on herself. Dude... I can relate. (Ah memories of teen angst)

-She turned him down. Ouch.

______________________________________________________________

-oh look its zoe. After all the angst she is ... certainly a person to see

-Did they seriously throw a party without them even there?! WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?!

-Im sorry but no. I do not need to see this right now.

-Wow... Alya your brain cells are like negative right now. You should PROBABLY check before you think a party is a good idea.

-Zoe being the only one with a brain cell right now. The rest of the class I get... they sort of have horde mentality when the plot is involved.

-And Nora be calling. I wonder why

__________________________________________________________________

-And now just rubbing salt in the wounds

-Boy be depressed.

-And now its monarch. Because only when he can exploit his son does he actually care

-Wait... oh he didnt. Well it isnt the first time he didnt do it. He only tries to akumatize adrien when he knows he is chat noir. So I guess not as big of a prick as you could have been Gabe

-Plagg is like “My boy is destroying himself over this. Fu was wrong to do this”

-Plagg suggesting they find new holders for themselves to save them.

_____________________________________________________________________

-Zoe continuing to show that she is the only one with a braincell.

-286 days since adrien came to school?

-Wait a f***ing minute. IT HASNT BEEN A YEAR? ITS ONLY BEEN 9 MONTHS. WHAT THE S*** ASTRUC

-Adrien is depressed and his mom is checking up on him. (I mean Nathalie)

-And now they realize that their party was a dumb idea

-Nathalie sees Gabriel and is already in Mama Bear mode

-Gabriel... what are you planning?

-Did he just come in here to give him an alliance ring?

-Lila heart ache rating? Gabriel... what the s***

-YOU PIECE HUMAN FECAL MATTER! THIS WAS ALL TO GIVE HIM AN ALLIANCE RING AND MAKE HIM A DEADLIER AKUMA. YOU INSUFFERABLE SAKE OF SHIT! I AM GLAD YOU ARE DYING AND I HOPE EVERY MOMENT OF YOUR LIFE EXISTS AS PURE AGONY FROM THE CATACLYSM.

-The Kwami! The kwami took back the miraculous. I mean i knew they would cause spoilers but... damn. This hurt more than expected

-That mother f***er. YOU WOULD AKUMATIZE YOUR OWN SON!?

-Adrien realizes he has a chance now. Boy is going to try! And it ruined his father’s plans

-But now Marinette and Adrien arent feeling the crushing burden of their hero lives.

-Like I feel like they would still be depressed for a bit longer... But that is just me

-Guy is wearing 5 rings at once? Like why that many?

-He realized he forgot to give her the homework. And sees she is in better spirits. A good sign

-She cant say it. She is trying to say she loves him. But she struggling. I think it might be a mental block or something at this point

-The parents went to go check and they both realized what was happening and Immediately went back down. Now if it were me. That door stays open. I dont care if the boy is literal sunshine. No closed doors when boys are over. But enough about parenting. Back to the adorablw

-Okay the hand thing was cute. Also... was the music for this show ALWAYS this on point?

-THEY CANON! THEY KNOW! BREAK OUT THE CHAMPAGNE!!!!

-Party turned back into a strategy meeting

-Wait.... Is his name Boubi. What did Nora do?

-OMG THATS HILARIOUS!

-Tikki and Plagg shopping for holders

-DAMN IT! NOW WE WILL NEVER GET CAT NINO! I HATE THIS

-Okay while I am not crazy about Nino getting shafted. I do find it funny that Plagg sees a blond yell at people and is like “Yep, thats my next holder”

-HE JUST THREW THE RING AT HER!

-look at him!

-At least Tikki talked to alya first.

-Though in hindsight, Tikki is being  dumb. Marinette Knows that Alya was Scarabella. So she would know Alya was Ladybug. Would that be smart?

-Okay Alya, i will forgive your stupidity earlier in the episode

-Wait... is he giant now?!

-So he has rocket fists

-Okay so... yea I am still not sold on Cat!Zou’s look. I hate the lips stick. And How come SHE can have yellow eyes but Ladynoir couldnt have blue?

-Man, Imagine getting to be new heroes and your first bad guy has 5 miraculous powers plus his own giant size and rocket fists

-Wait... Did he resist CATACLYSM?! OHHHHH... He got the bull miraculous too

-Now he can multipy!

-Im confused... whats the plan?

-Ah yes, the firemen are the real heroes

-OH I GET IT. MAKE HIM BLIND SO HE BRINGS THE SHIELD DOWN. Clever

-Well played

-Wait... why does this guy look like a mix of Blingbling boy and Mr.T?

-Adrien and Marinette had a cute moment

-Oh no... Zoe and Alya had their Alliances on them. Well s***

______________________________________________________________________

so for part one.

I will say I enjoyed every scene involving Marinette and Adrien in it. It was precious and now they canon!.

Outside of that it was... well mid.

Gabriel proved he deserves death

Alya’s mental capacity was questioned.

Zoe’s personality seems to be Only braincell in existence

And the cliff hanger was kind of expected but not in a bad way.

That being said

6.5/10

More pros then cons but it is probably the episode I had the least enjoyment of outside of the Adrinette

[frodo-with-glasses]

Joy

But Sam lay back, and stared with open mouth, and for a moment, between bewilderment and great joy, he could not answer. At last he gasped: ‘Gandalf! I thought you were dead! But then I thought I was dead myself. Is everything sad going to come untrue? What’s happened to the world?’

‘A great Shadow has departed,’ said Gandalf, and then he laughed, and the sound was like music, or like water in a parched land; and as he listened the thought came to Sam that he had not heard laughter, the pure sound of merriment, for days upon days without count. It fell upon his ears like the echo of all the joys he had ever known. But he himself burst into tears. Then, as a sweet rain will pass down a wind of spring and the sun will shine out the clearer, his tears ceased, and his laughter welled up, and laughing he sprang from his bed.

‘How do I feel?’ he cried. ‘Well, I don’t know how to say it. I feel, I feel’ – he waved his arms in the air – ‘I feel like spring after winter, and sun on the leaves; and like trumpets and harps and all the songs I have ever heard!’

I can’t begin to express the way this moment has stuck with me throughout the years. There are things in this book that I had forgotten since the last time I read it—there are things I was surprised to realize I remembered—and then there are moments like this, moments that left an indelible mark, moments that changed the way I think about stories and the world and myself.

I’m still not quite sure how to describe it. Like Sam, I find myself at a loss for words. On a good day, in the best frame of mind, I might have been able to squeak out some passable explanation, but it’s 4 AM as I write this and I just stayed up super late working on a project I’m gonna roll out for you guys later today. So in the meantime, this is what you get:

The story ends in joy. All good stories do. It ends with the shadow departed, the sad things undone, the laughter returning. It is not without tears. It is not without casualty and loss. But it is joy nonetheless, joy overflowing, joy bursting from a wellspring on the inside that runs deeper than the sadness itself ever could.

It is not “happiness”. Happiness is fickle. Happiness is dependent on circumstances. Happiness is the ripples that appear on the surface when a stone is dropped into the water; here for a moment, and then quickly gone again.

Joy is the tide. Joy is the thing churning on the bottom of the ocean, the birthplace of the currents, the buried mother of cataclysmic ocean waves. Joy is the stone—cracked, but enduring—that will still persist long after the weed of despair has wilted and died.

Joy is the thing that danced in Gandalf’s eyes even as he stared into the night of Minas Tirith, and knew that the armies of Mordor were coming in the morning. Joy is the thing that bubbled out of the throat of a hobbit in the sound of laughter, and all the rocks on the barren road of Cirith Ungol leaned in to listen. Joy is a light in dark places. Joy is a star in the night sky—which only looks tiny and feeble because you’re far away from it. Were you close to it, you wouldn’t even be able to see the dark at all, or feel the chill of night, because every star is a roaring, blazing, convulsive ball of cosmic flame.

Joy is enduring. Joy is defiant. Joy is the thing that absolutely EXPLODES out of Sam in this moment in The Field of Cormallen. The window curtains are ripped back, the doors flung open, the dam burst with a brilliant rainbow in the spray, and “FINALLY!” it cries as it surges forth, exploding to its full strength, and feels life in its limbs and air in its lungs and a roar in its voice once more, “FINALLY! I AM FREE AGAIN! NOTHING IS HOLDING ME BACK!”

No wonder Sam cries. No wonder he laughs. No wonder he leaps from his bed and waves his arms and bursts into poetry and song. How could he not, when he was touched by something as old and young and strong and wonderful as joy?

‘Is everything sad going to come untrue? What’s happened to the world?’

WORD ASK GAME!

[thenamesblurrito]

eleven whole ask dumps

that’s a LOT! topics this time are: survivalists, cavemen, survival tv shows, Bloodron, plantformers, food storage, eating underwater, beast mode mouths, Rodimus and Abominus and flammability, and Rock Lords

as a matter of fact yes! it’s sort of difficult, because it’s a labor intensive process to mine, purify, distill, and store enough energon and other foodstuffs all by yourself unless your alt mode is like an energon refinery or something. so it isn’t a quick and easy solution for just anybody who has issues with the current regime. as it stands, it’s genuinely easier and safer for many junkers to hang around in the city than it is to rough it in the wilds, otherwise they’d be gone in a heartbeat.

but!

there’s certainly been folks who prefer roughing it to living in civilization. this has been true throughout history and isn’t specifically driven by the corruption of the Stratocracy. a popular counterculture in Kup’s youth was spelunkers/squatters who would specifically seek out old buried ruins and underground places to live in, like cavemen if you will, just because they could. there are antisocial folks and hermits and extreme introverts who would rather homestead than deal with anyone in their vicinity. there’s one crazy kook of a dedicated scientist in particular that i am still waffling about actually showing in SNAP’s storyline, but old gramma Glyph is definitely still kicking somewhere in the Forbidden Zone and has been since before size classes became a thing! she would absolutely fill the role this ask describes (not the same Glyph as the JAAT student, mind you, it’s just another common name)

there are still people who live in caves. no, not the folks i mentioned in the above answer, i mean like there are entire underground cities and everything. there’s a lot of stuff down there anyway! living underground is not unusual on Cybertron and a good percentage of infrastructure and industry isn’t even visible from the surface in some places

that said, there is archaeological evidence that the original Cybertronian civilizations actually developed below ground and migrated upward/outward! First City, a set of ruins swallowed by the Rust Sea, is the aptly named earliest appearance of a proper settlement aboveground, but it shows evidence of being a base camp before a proper city, and contains artifacts and materials thought to have been taken from belowground before being put in the city. the entire concept of Simfur was of a holy temple city that was already supposed to be underground before some great cataclysm sundered it so far beneath the surface that not even its original inhabitants could find it. so “cavepeople” were, in a way, the default from which mecha have branched out from to live on the surface

and re: eating mechanimals, that’s definitely a (relatively) recent cultural value, and it isn’t even universal. there’s been people eating mechanimals throughout history, and likewise there have been people squeamish and disapproving about it for just as long. the current social climate is disapproving, but that’s variable depending on when and where you look into history

fsdfhgljfsdghfk yknow what sure. on Carcer and Eukaris specifically because these are the cultures i think would be into that. the more widespread popular version of this is probably space travel survival instead of on-planet wilderness. like can you pilot a ship for a vorn with limited supplies out into the black and make it to your destination with minimal contact kind of challenge. not unlike those solo sailing challenges i suppose

okay so this was a joke ask from Jensen that has now fleshed out a piece of SNAP history thanks

Bloodron was a tyrant of Caminus during the Prime Wars who took over after the murder of the previous de facto Camien leaders, Solus Prime’s children Magnum and Pyra (the original Magnus and Mistress of Flame, respectively). he was successful where other conquerors had not been in part because of his ruthless execution of the original usurpers who murdered the twins, instead of trying to pander and please. while his methods were cruel, he was debatably the safest option for leadership at the time and was instrumental in putting down further unrest on the colony as even Cybertron was swallowed by chaos. he and his enemy/conjunx/??? Convoy (a name at this point, not yet a fancy title) worked together to thwart scheming insurrectionists vying for power amongst their familial and political blocs, which resulted in a mostly unified culture for Caminus many centuries later and gave them a legacy of being a very strong, put-together colony. the academic community remembers him and his period of history with mixed feelings. while what he did for Caminus was pretty good, all things considered, he was not exactly a good person himself

excellent questions!! i think the only plantformer i’ve got in my cast list atm is Botanica so i won’t have a lot of examples here. unlike beastformers looking like mechanimals, not a lot of plantformers actually take after a specific species of cyberflora. most seem to generate their own unique specimen, although in root mode many of them are quintoid frametypes

since cyberflora grow out of/need to be rooted to some kind of hotspots, plantformers often have very strong sparks, or at least a very high degree of energy cycling, and act as their own personalized hotspot. this gives them quicker and better than average healing, but it does mean they have a higher metabolism. some of them have alt modes that can process energon and/or package it. these are considered “fruit bearing” cyberflora alt modes, and are often given fuel processing functions much like vending machine, distillery, or refinery alt mode. this is really the only kind of food you’ll get from a plantformer, even though actual cyberflora are used for food in many many more ways than just energon fruit. most plantformer alt mode products won’t be eaten and are instead used in their function’s industry, or perhaps as a rare and expensive knick-knack in the same vein as some kind of handmade collector’s item

their mobility isn’t usually very high, in keeping with how most cyberflora function. filling a niche in the ecosystem may look like sifting metal, crystallizing minerals, conducting and rerouting electricity, or another small but significant part of planetary upkeep. as such, the majority of plantformers have alt modes designed to slot into a given environment where they can participate in the ecosystem, often moving only at the whims of their environment. a heavily cabled transmission tower tree meant to fit in amongst buzzing mangroves will have flexible bases and strong grounding roots as it connects to other trees with its cables. a lone lightning rod pine out on the prairie will have similar grounding roots that go even deeper and broader, meant to conduct lightning all the way to a planetary leyline, and windmill sequoias have perhaps the sturdiest, broadest trunks to brace their height against the movement of their milling boughs. on the opposite end of the spectrum, tangled cable tumbleweeds can unplug at any moment and be set adrift to seek out any new crevice or cranny to worm its wires into. it really depends on the plantformer’s individual alt mode. Botanica has root cabling to keep her steady when in alt mode, but her leaves and boughs are still mobile

this actually has less to do with stuff like mold or sour milk and more to do with expiring chemicals, decaying materials, and loss of charge. the point of energon is how it inherently carries a charge instead of just being burnt for power, but if you leave energon or batteries or what have you for too long, it’ll lose that charge. maybe it can be recharged, but you’ve lost an important part of your fuel just from waiting too long. undercharged energon is better than nothing, but it won’t fix your lethargy. expired chemicals can either be inert and useless or highly flammable/explosive/dangerous in some way depending on what it is and what kind of reaction it had over time. you don’t really wanna raid the pantry and pick up something that explodes in your hand because it expired a month ago. and decay isn’t always bad, with stuff like steel woolies turning into rust bunnies, but if you’re need an iron meal and instead find just a hunk of corroded rusty junk, that’s not gonna meet your nutritional needs. proper food storage is about minimizing corrosion and decay, preserving or restoring charge, and preventing adverse chemical reactions when possible, as well as keeping out pests like scraplets

that said, i think edible-grade energon can retain its charge for... at least a good while? it’ll longer than a month and still be a full meal, i’d say, if it’s just straight liquid energon on a regular charge. that’s why it’s kept in glass despite its delicacy, since glass isn’t a good conductor. so community pantries, dead drops, hideyholes and such are all fairly effective as long as everyone remembers to keep the spaces pretty clean and make sure nothing gets left too long, which is never a problem

ummmm.... hm. this is an off the wall question. i guess i think it would be weird and difficult. like, could you eat underwater?? could you take a bite of like i dunno what’s something that doesn’t instantly fall apart in water..... a candy cane? could you safely eat a candy cane underwater? probably yes if you were very careful to keep your throat closed and also try to force out all the water in your mouth before chewing and swallowing, but it would be hard. mecha aren’t in danger of choking/drowning like humans, and it’s safe to assume that if they’re already underwater then they probably have the seals for it, but still consuming a lot of water isn’t great for a mechanical species, and it’s not easy to make sure you’re not swallowing that along with your food

oh sure, like they’re perfectly functional mouths and all, the issue is just the connection to the fuel systems. no throat, as it were. whereas the folks who can eat in beast modes essentially have two esophagi that rearrange depending on what mode they’re in. for folks like Strafe who have intact beast heads in root mode, it’s possible they can use their jaw? like she in particular uses them as a second set of unwieldy hands, but a pocket is a good idea too, or a can opener, etc etc. chewing food just to spit it back out is probably something only a very determined person with a specific food craving is going to do, because most folks who aren’t able to chew would just get silted shakes to sip with a straw

oh all the time. Rodimus’s whole THING is setting himself on fire and just throwing himself into the fray. like that one Denethor scene in LOTR but madly cackling. he only bothers showing some finesse when around Drift who he wants to impress clearly requires more careful application of skill to beat. Abominus can’t set himself on fire like Rodimus can, but he can shoot flames from his beast head and will fan them higher with his wings, which means he can essentially generate a firestorm to stand in if necessary that will drive everyone else away. Elita 5 has some immunity to flame too as a pyrokinetic hero, but is in fact still vulnerable to heat unlike the other two. she won’t get scorched, but she does need to watch her temperature

in general mecha aren’t like extremely flammable, they have much much higher heat contact tolerance than humans, but ironically have lower atmospheric heat tolerance, because the majority of them use air cycling for cooling systems and so hot weather makes them overheat easily. buncha pansy computers. but they’ll think nothing of holding an open flame, picking up embers right from a fire, ducking through a burning doorway, setting off firecrackers in their hands, etc. their caution is more about smoke and soot clogging vents, or discolored paint, or getting dents from small explosions than actually burning. they start endangering themselves when the heat gets high enough to overtake their cooling systems or melt their kibble, or has enough force to punch like in an explosion, but even then they can struggle through until actual vital internal components are compromised, at which point they’re in danger of catching fire themselves. energon isn’t super flammable when in a controlled environment like their insides, and a liquid trail can catch fire, but it’ll take a mortal wound to really get someone burning up inside

hhhmmmmmmmmm i... don’t think i’m going to use them in SNAP, or at least this storyline. i’d probably make them extraterrestrial creatures sort of like what they were in TFA. they’d fit in with stories of demons and invaders for sure

[lydiathane]

Revenant

A sharp whistle cuts the tension before I can take the first steps toward making a fool of myself. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say I'm lookin' at a ghost," a sailor's shit-eating cant calls out.

"You ever seen a ghost with an ass like mine?"

"Turn around, let me think about it."

A tree trunk of a man leans on a shovel and shields his eyes from the light. I see the blotchy ink of sun-scorched tattoos snaking up his bronze arm, naval mythology merged with flesh just the way I remember. I can feel the dread-thump of a resistant heart being violently kickstarted by an absolute dream, jolting me awake. It's a perfect, cerulean day in La Noscea, and the chaplain himself is shoveling shit on several acres of the island's best volcanic soil. Spectacular.

"How's it going, Leon?"

"I've had it worse. Still kicking, so I can't complain."

"You look healthy."

"I am healthy. But what about you? Last I saw you…"

"I was blasted on drugs and dancing on the edge of disaster. Bet you thought I danced right off the dock and into the ocean." It's a joke, but it's not.

"That's...one way of putting it, yeah." Leon scratches at the short hair on his chin and cheek with a free hand and looks me over as he mulls what exactly to say to a screaming heap of unfinished business made manifest on his humble yard. I can see it in his eyes that he's wary, the walls being bricked as high as he can make them before the bad humors get in and asphyxiate everything they touch.

"I know this is out of the blue," I admit, in the most obvious possible fashion. Fuck, I am so stupid. "I guess I could've sent a letter or...messenger bird. Smoke signals..." I'm trying to joke again, but unlike Arius, this one gives me a pitying smile. Grow up, Lydia. You fucking idiot.

"What are you here for, Lydia?" The smile fades fast as I watch him try to piece together my intent with a swell of suspicion, and I can't blame him for the outcome. "Listen, I know things happened on the Basilisk, but I...don't live like that anymore, and I have no desire to go back. The drugs, the debauching...I'm not proud of what I did there, but I'm set on a better path these days. I'm making up for lost time."

"No, no. Hey." I'm moving before I can stop myself, boots sinking into the supple field, treading on his work in a way I am all too keenly aware of. "Listen, I'm not here to drag you back, I swear to you. Actually, I'm drying out too, in just about every conceivable sense. I don't want that, either."

"I looked for you, you know. Looked for a body more than anything, expected to find you face down in the current. Didn't find out until later that you'd walked off with a stranger. I didn't understand it."

"Yeah, well…" I begin, ready to deflect with more sour humor and then immediately turn away from the vulnerability this perilous conversation requires. Instead: "I'm…sorry. I'm sorry you had to do that. That was fucked up, the way I walked out of all that. I don't have an excuse, and I'm not going to make one. I owed you more than that."

I see his brows raise, but he doesn't voice his surprise. He doesn't need to. "I appreciate that."

"You're...such a good fucking man, Leon. You're one of the best. You didn't deserve it. It's that simple. I kept thinking about you after I left, and it's not to excuse how I walked out, but even before then I knew I was an anchor and I was dragging you to your death. I was poison. The Basilisk was...it was..."

"A cataclysmic fuckfest," he completes on cue. "Yeah, it was a disgusting, sweaty, nihilistic shitshow and everyone there knew it, but you didn't do anything to me that I wasn't already on the way to doing to myself. It was a dark time, Lydia. We lost our minds when faced with the end. In a way, I'm grateful it happened, because it showed me who I really was."

"You never seemed lost to me."

Leon unfurls an endearing smile, his eyes crinkling up with easygoing mirth. "We're born lost, Lydia. We're all just stumbling around in the dark trying to do our best with a little bit of light and direction until we die and get the big picture." He's been building up to this line, I can see it in his expression that he's pleased. "Thankfully there's a divine Navigator."

I smile back reflexively and feel my heart punch madly against my ribs, beating my dumb ass internally with every blow. Part of me wants to cover the spot with my hands as though he can see it, but I settle for crossing my arms casually instead. We stand there staring at each other stupidly for far too long as seagulls scream in the distance.

"Hey, so can I just…" I begin. "I don't expect anything out of you. Let me be clear about that. I don't want money or favors or anything, okay?" I've got his full attention and it's making me nervous, but I'm committed now and there's no turning back. "But...maybe you wouldn't mind giving me a little bit of your time? Let me buy you a drink or dinner or both." I can feel the color creep up my neck, which is abso-fucking-lutely undignified. This isn't like me, but I can barely hear my own higher thought over the steady wardrum going off in my chest. "You can absolutely tell me to go fuck myself if that's where your heart's at, but if there's even a remote chance--"

"Sure."

"Sure. Sure? What's that mean, sure?"

"You're as thick as you always were," he scoffs, turning to walk his shovel back toward a freshly-painted barn, leaving me to scramble after. "You can't just tell me you want to talk or that you're feeling some kind of way, so we've got to do this song and dance where I pretend I don't know you and you get to pretend you're getting away with something. It was the same deal when I first met you on the boat to Terncliff, you were scared shitless, but had to come at it all sideways." He leans the shovel against the wall and ignores me to work the knot on his bandana to wipe the sweat from his forehead. "I know you want to say some things, you think I might want to say some things, and you want to put a cap on this open chapter one way or another. So let's do it. Take me on a date, Lydia Thane."

Leon takes his time to pull the bulky gloves from his hands and throw them on a workbench, finally glancing over his shoulder to see me looking dumbstruck. His laughter is loud enough to echo all the way down to the shoreline.

[axxolotlqueen]

THE MIRACULOUS MOVIE WAS SHIT. THEY SPENT ALLL THE BUDGET ON ANIMATION AND FORGOT TO GIVE IT A PLOT. OH MY GOD IT WAS TRASH.

Now I'm being harsh here and I know it, but below are some of the very real reasons why this movie absolutely let me down. (Also is this unfair and am I hating on it? Yes. But I cried bc I couldn't watch it this morning because my dog ate my glasses. We literally paid 400 bucks so I could see this movie today. I wasn't even that upset about the glasses I just wanted to see the movie)

Marinette's VA is LITERALLY A SINGER and they chose to have someone who sounds NOTHING LIKE HER sing instead. It sounded like Olivia Rodrigo and I'm not shitting on her but the voices DO NOT MATCH! the singer for chat was immaculate tho. Much better than the Christmas special.

The storyline was so weird. It felt way too fast paced, also, LADYBUG NEVER USED HER LUCKY CHARM ONCE! they only transformed once on screen, and the cataclysm was only used once. AND THE CATACLYSM WAS WET! IT WAS WET AND BUBBLY! WHAT THE HELL!?

Also they tried to make Gabriel seem like a good father. Adrien forgave him in the end. And he doesn't seem like a sentibeing in this movie. Is it true there's gonna be 2 more movies? How? Everything was wrapped up, and the butterfly is WITH FU so it's not like it'll get lost again.

It was such a cheesy movie, which, while expected, still makes the show look like gold. There was barely any angst, and the angst was SO OVERDONE OH MY GODDD..

One thing I did like though is how they portrayed Chloé. They made her meaner, and even more of a bitch, even presumably coming to actually beat up Marinette (or make Sabrina do it most likely). I loved that because it matches more with pre-show Chloé that we learned of in s5e14.

The animation was beautiful, but again, I think they spent all the money on that and forgot to save any for the writing.

Also, HAWKMOTH CAN'T AKUMATIZE HIMSELF UNLESS HE DETRANSFORMS!

ALSO ALSO

Apparently they got rid of the status quoyo, so the damage legit just stays there? Except the ending, where ladybug earns back restoration powers through love and believing in herself. Not to mention chanting ladybug was ripped out of the s4 finale. So all the REALLY BAD DAMAGE was taken care of, but like, THE NOTRE DAME WAS FUCKING DESTROYED AND IT HAD TO BE FIXED BY HAND!

ALSO also also, no such thing as breaking the akumatized object, hawkmoth just deakumatized them when they failed. Also, why the hell is everyone reading the paper?? Bro it's digital now??

I think I would've liked the songs if they'd had Christina, or at LEAST someone that had ANY SEMBLANCE TO HER VOICE AT ALL.

Overall, 11/10 animation, 0/10 story, 6/10 music

[msvorderofoperations]

Time for another dream journal! This is a fairly short one, but still interesting enough to warrant writing down.

I dreamed that I was participating in a community event for a local comedy troupe that does a lot of fundraising. This is a real thing I have done with this community many times. The notable thing thing was that they were also, for whatever reason, doing a World of Warcraft raid in a private instance/server. Except, that it was real? Or at least real enough that we had physically act out our players actions in real time, in something that appeared very much more like real life rather than the exaggerated art style of the game.

I have played a fair bit of WoW in my time (mostly from vanilla to early Wrath of the Lich King, and a single month of Cataclysm after I got gifted it because someone thought I still played) and I mostly played straight DPS classes. My main was always my mage, but I also dabbled a little with a rogue and death knight when I felt like a change. Since there was nearly 14 years of content that came out after (jesus) I stopped playing, I figured that I might as well do something different anyways. So when roles were being decided, I chimed in to say I wanted to be a healer.

This tangent has nothing to do with this dream, but is relevant context. For the longest time, I had always assumed I would be terrible at playing support classes (both in and out of WoW) because I had found so much success in playing pure damage builds. But one time many years ago, while playing Team Fortress 2, our team was completely bereft of any support players. And so I bit the bullet and switched to playing Medic. And shockingly, I was amazing at it! Seeing how poorly things go if Medic's don't prioritize their targets, and knowing when to push and when to fall back from all of my hours spent playing other classes meant that I was damn near godlike. The next round, I decided to try my hand at playing Engineer. I ended up with 32:1 kill:death ratio, so yeah I did all right. All this to say, given that there was not really any stakes with this event, playing a support class even though I had no experience made sense.

Sorting out roles in an MMO raid is always a hassle, so me volunteering for what is often the most important but least desired role took a lot of pressure off everyone else. I opted to stick with playing a Priest, since the way they heal is still centred around simple spell rotation (much like a mage), not things like totems, shifting forms or other gimmicks. The weird thing was though that we couldn't sort out skill trees or builds before we headed in. In the dream I thought it was a touch unorthodox, but given how impromptu this whole thing was, I didn't think it was too big a deal.

As I said, I have not played this game for a very long time, so when I see that the raid boss is wild west themed, I am unfamiliar but not exactly surprised. You kinda have to get weird with it when making 20 years of content for a game. The whole thing is that the boss we are fighting runs a demonic rail system, and is nominally responsible for maintaining supply chains for a greater scope villain. I am not terribly invested, given that I am jumping into this story mid-way through, and I absolutely will not be seeing it through to the end. But still, it's reasonably compelling and the boss we're fighting is still fairly charismatic.

After the brief introduction we're given, though the fight starts. I'm taken completely off-guard by this, as I'm still trying to figure out my character's build. This is true for everyone as well. This is basically akin to having to lace up a parachute after you've already been thrown from a plane. I'm having to read tooltips on the skill tree, and try and work out the most efficient spell rotation as I'm fighting for my life. For all that, we manage to make it to the thresholds for phase transitions when he pulls in his cronies. We eventually make it to where there is a pause in the fight, and we are offered an alternative: stop this fight and just take a victory by destroying the infrastructure, or go after the boss and try and stop him for good. For whatever reason, no one else responds. I take the brief lull in activity to fully finalize my build, and then I rip out the button that would have demolished the facility, and smash it into the boss' face.

And before I can see the fight through to the end, I wake up.

[the-hydrangea-witch]

Time in the Other World

so we all know time is Not Real TM and that the whole sleeping for 8 hours thing is totally made up because circadian rhythms are all kinds of fucky ((idk fully what im talking about u get me)) and its even MORESO FUCKY in the Other World

Bit of Lore That is SO EXTREMELY IMPORTANT to every single other piece of info about the Other World: A couple centuries ago a Cataclysmic Event TM took place in the Other World resulting in the world basically ceasing its rotation entirely, meaning a day in the Other World is equal to a year, where each season is basically a time of day. The superstitious attribute this to the previous celestial trio Ewa, Ursa, and Altair the moon, sun, and star witches of the time, and say that the trio was CursedTM or something so they could never work together again "lest the Yonderworld fall down on us" so now during the summer only the sun is visible (day), during autumn only the sun and moon are visible (sunset), during winter only the moon and stars are visible (night), and during spring only the sun and stars are visible (sunrise).

Because of the lack of your typical 24-hour day, people's circadian rhythms are ALL fucked up to the point where there is never a time where most or all people are asleep, so like you'll never get to experience the whole "I'm the only person awake in my house at 4:00 AM" Lo-Fi playlist aesthetic. This also means really populated areas are generally less crowded on average, as half the population is asleep. This also means that, let's say you live in a pretty small town where you know literally everyone and have a really consistent sleep schedule, if one day you decide to stay awake during the time you and everyone else you know is usually asleep, you will find yourself in a COMPLETELY different environment full of total strangers despite technically being neighbors with them your entire life.

The Clock & Calendar: First of all, clocks are absolutely everywhere. They're one of, if not the most, important tools to the Other World. Every single building has a clock on it. Another important detail is that they aren't formatted like 12-hour clocks; they're 10. This doesn't mean days are 20 hours long, it means what this society uses as "days" are 10 hours long each, resulting in there being about 860 "days" in a year + 16 days for seasonal shifts ((i really wanted there to be 1000 but alas, i cant bring myself to make years different lengths between earth and the Other World since theyre supposed to be like. occupying the same space just in two different dimensions if that makes sense)). There is also more than one word for "day" with the way people speak, but due to how the Alltongue Spell works, it doesn't really translate for people from Earth, so the second word translates as "night" even though it is really just a way to differentiate between days where around half the population is awake or asleep. There are also a lot of outliers, where people's schedules don't line up with the days. A lot of older folks get Weird about this, but to pretty much everyone else it's seen as normal, and days are seen as a way of organization rather than strict schedules.

Seasons: Every season is 215 days (i think i did the math right) with 4 days marking the shift between seasons, meaning it's technically 219 days but the 4 extra days are not counted as part of the year. I still have to come up with some more concrete holidays, will get to that Eventually.

Because of how long the sun is out or gone for, a LOT of things in the Other World have adapted and changed ((both naturally and with human intervention)) drastically or simply died out, which includes a lot of people who died during and immediately after. The most immediately visible differences if you are a human entering the Other World for the first time are the plants, especially if you arrive during late Autumn or Winter. While trees on Earth drop their leaves once during autumn and grow them back for spring, Other World trees drop them twice. The "daytime" or spring/summer leaves are very thin and dark, and almost all plants radiate a lot of heat as well to compensate for the super intense sun exposure. Instead of just dropping their leaves all throughout autumn and remaining without them through winter, there is a sort of "fifth season" that overlaps between the end of summer and the beginning of autumn where the leaves drop and then for the rest of autumn and winter, new leaves grow back. The new leaves are a bit thicker but a lot less wide, taking a shape closer to pine needles, and are bioluminescent. The light each species of plant produces is actually not able to be used by other plants in the same species but is used by other plants and vice versa. Forests become extremely bright and colorful, and every plant helps each other survive in a very visible symbiotic relationship.

The tree cycles are one of the reasons why winter is often revered as a life-giving season, like how spring and summer are treated on Earth (at least where im from), while summer is seen as the season of death and rebirth like autumn and winter here.

Unfortunately, because the Other World is tilted on its axis like Earth is, it means the southern hemisphere is just in constant winter, so very few people live there (especially since yknow. a lot of people probably died during the first years post-apocalypse).