#and it will pass!!! and I achieved something!!

[aethon-recs]

This Week (x2) in Tomarrymort (25 October – 7 November 2024)

Hello again! We have two multi-chaptered fics finishing this week, highlighted below, as well as a bunch of delicious one-shots and chapter updates as always.

Completed Fic:

Sits the wind in that quarter by @mosiva (M, 61k, complete) “After something of a long absence, Lord Riddle, the Earl of Gaunt, had returned to London.” This is a really cool Regency and Omegaverse AU (how cool is that to see that combined??) that features a lot of courting, gossip and intrigue, social climbing, and Alpha Tom Riddle along with Beta Harry Potter.  Broken Tomarrymort Telephone: Collected Stories by @exquisite-tomarrymort-telephone (E, 109k, complete)  A Tomarrymort version of the Broken Telephone game — passing a whispered word or phrase around a circle, with it often evolving into something quite different as it goes from person to person. “In our version, the starting person received a secret prompt and wrote a fic based on it. They then created a prompt for the next person by summing up what they had written in a single sentence -- with the caveat that their prompt couldn't use the same words as the prompt they were given. This continued through twenty-six (26!) different authors and artists, each adding their own flair and creativity to the exercise. Which brings us to now! We're wrapping up the creation part, so it's time to start sharing it with the world. We hope you enjoy what we've created -- we certainly enjoyed making it.”

In addition, a recap of the author notes from last week. (Please feel free to add some extra context to your fic update in the reblog, such as a little bit about the chapter(s) updated, and I’ll throw it in the update for next week!)

every step i choose to take begins to set the world aflame by @boyneptunee (NR, 4k, WIP) “Tom Riddle wants to become immortal. He will do whatever it takes to achieve it. It gets him in the most interesting situations. (A Phoenix saves his life. The Phoenix is not a Phoenix.)” These Fragments We've Shored by @rowena-rain (M, 31k, WIP) “You call me here because you crave atonement, and only I can give you that. After all, I am the only other who knows what it means to tear one’s soul. Or, as one very astute commenter put it, "Enter Voldemort, the World's Worst Therapist!" (Sorry in advance - Voldemort basically wrote this chapter lol)” Touch of Death by @moontearpensfic (E, 6k, WIP) “An oviposition AU, where Eldritch Harry/Death gives Tom his eggs, which will protect Tom from, well, death. In chapter two, the eggs hatch.” Time Stumbler by @wintumnly (T, 96k, WIP) “One part of my slowburn Harry-raises-Tom series. It ends in Tomarry, but everything building up to that point is unhinged humor, not-good-at-feelings fluff, and angsty plot surrounding Harry and Tom's chaotic and ever growing affections for one another. Update 23 explores Unconditional Love, and there will be familial love, friendship love, flirtatious love, obsessive love and others in future parts.”

*

Tomarrymort One Shots and Completed Fic

Chapters 26 and 27 (Completed) of Sits the wind in that quarter by @mosiva

Chapters 1 through 27 (Completed) of Broken Tomarrymort Telephone: Collected Stories by @exquisite-tomarrymort-telephone

One Shot | Resonating Souls by @endlessburningdarkness

One Shot | Anabiosis by @lee-bella

One Shot | Bites and other Surprises by lemonchase

One Shot | Viticula by @crowcrowcrowthing @cindle-writes

One Shot | Speedrunning Danger by @i-dream-of-libraries

One Shot | Karma’s a bitch by @albondiguilla007

One Shot | It's Like This by @twopenguinsinabox

One Shot | Boulder On by @lumosatnight

One Shot | WTF, Potter?! by @dragonaireabsolvare

One Shot | a couple inches shorter by @2sidesofthesamesoul

One Shot | bloody money by @00queasy00

One Shot | Cerulean blue by @albondiguilla007

One Shot | It's Not Always What It Seems by dysproporsium 

One Shot | To be Entwined by @cyandenial

*

Tomarrymort Ongoing Fics

Chapter 6 of And the Living Will Envy the Dead by @k-s-morgan

Chapter 18 of A Simple Request by @shyinsunlight

Chapters 3 through 6 of in the silence by @satflesk22

Chapter 7 of Anytime, Anywhere, Always by @moontearpensfic

Chapters 15 and 16 of the stars, my destination by @milkandmoon-ao3

Chapter 11 of Ills of Murder by @shadow-of-the-eclipse

Chapter 2 of In My Lover's Room (i am free) by @hyalith

Chapters 1 through 5 of To the Hilt by @izharmilgram

Chapter 10 of Strings of Fate by dizzydreamer

Chapters 2 and 3 of If I were you by @onehitpleb

Chapter 25 of would that i'd loved (long ago) by @sprst1tion

Chapter 18 of with eyes like these (who sees anybody else) by @cealesti

Chapter 9 of 7 by @moontearpensfic

Chapters 3 and 4 of you speak of the devil (like he's not your friend) by @amuria

Chapter 24 of Time Stumbler by @wintumnly

Chapter 20 of Outrunning the Villain in You by @zenyteehee

Chapter 19 of Of Darkness and Luminescence by @mindchroniclesandbrainfluff

Chapters 6 and 7 of Memories of a Killer by @chemfreakwriting

Chapter 1 of ROOTED by @inhumanbby

Chapter 1 of baby, turn the bright lights on by @ictyn

Chapter 1 of Harry's No Good, Very Bad Day by @2sidesofthesamesoul

Chapter 15 of Double-Aspect Paradox by TimaeusKosmou

Chapter 15 of Saint Harry by @alenablack @chaos-bear

Chapter 7 of Fetters of the Damned by @sc0rpiflow3r

Chapters 131 and 132 of Liquida Tenebris (Remastered) by @dymis

Chapter 1 of Wish by @sri-verse

Chapter 10 of flour power by Kozzie

Chapter 5 of What quickens me is the violence in thee by @i-dream-of-libraries

Chapter 20 of Occultation by TimaeusKosmou

Chapters 21 and 22 of Learning to love by @l-archiduchesse

Chapters 1 and 2 of The Serpent and the Stag by @green-like-the-sky

Chapter 2 of Fake Boyfriend by J0305

Chapter 7 of i am anonymous, you are a concrete wall by Pensievable

Chapter 8  of we made universes out of bitten lips and broken hands by @boyneptunee

Chapter 8 of Lesmosyne by TimaeusKosmou

Chapter 2 of Your Wish, My Command by @moontearpensfic

Chapters 6 and 7 of Venom or Valor by @lightningant

*

[claudiafrankie]

Pick a Card: How They See You

DISCLAIMER: TAROT IS NOT AN EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE. YOU ARE IN CHARGE OF MAKING YOUR OWN DECISIONS.

Pile 1: The Dog

This person sees you as having mastered the earth element. I think you are pretty detached with the way you approach your goals and it like doesn't compute in this person's brain that this is how you get the things that you want and build the world around you that you have.

They see you as someone who revels in the simple pleasures in life - sitting in the grass on a sunny day, stretching your body in the morning, a delicious seasonal coffee creamer. You are rich in the ways that count pile 1. You take good care of yourself and because of this you kind of exude a nurturing quality to those around you. Whether you intend to or not, you help other people get to where they want to go. You build people up and show them that they are capable of achieving their goals. I think you have a good eye for material goods and know what to splurge on and what to buy generic brand. Maybe you invest in nice cookware and knives because you know you'll use those for years to come, or in a high-quality bed spread or mattress. You take care of your body and appearance, you understand this to be an art form. But you also know that it's not everything. And this down-to-earth quality of taking good care of yourself but also not taking it too seriously or to extremes is really sexy to a lot of people. I think this person thinks that other people see you as husband/wife material. If you're single they're scratching their head like "how the hell are they not wifed up yet"

I think they see you as someone who doesn't stay in people's lives for very long, and they are worried that this is going to be the case for your relationship with them as well. They think you are in tune with the rhythms of nature and aren't afraid to let go and move on. You enjoy the good times when they come knowing they won't last forever, and you don't let the hard times beat you down when they come because you know they will pass.

I think they see you as someone who has learned all this the hard way. As someone who has been through many highs and lows, someone flexible in the circumstances you can thrive and survive in. You know when a tree lifts up the concrete of a sidewalk? That's you. Pavement be damned, you are going to keep growing and growing. You understand setbacks are part of progress. You don't let the hiccups hangups and obstacles sway you from steady movement forward.

I think they think that you are very loyal to those you care about, perhaps to your own detriment at times. I think this person sees you as someone who feels easily caged and needs a lot of space to try new things and be your own person. They see these two sides of you being at odds with each other at times, whether that is true or not.

This person sees you as being perhaps at times unwilling to open up emotionally. I think they respect you for your stoic disposition, but they think that sometimes you take this position/approach when it isn't necessary and that you actually hold yourself back a little bit in this way. Like you are a little blocked in your self-expression. Again, this is how they see you. It doesn't mean that this is actually who you are.

Pile 2: The Moon

This person thinks that you are in an incredible amount of pain underneath a calm surface. The card you picked, I just really tried to sense what it would be like to be there. Sitting next to a lake on a cloudy night. You have that smell of the freshwater and grass, and the sound of maybe a frog or two. Some light wind ruffling the surface of the lake... sitting in that setting depicted on the card it has the vibe of "something happened here and there's this weight hanging over the whole place." Like the trees are clinging to the ground so tightly because they are afraid of a strong wind knocking them down, and maybe there's a dock with a small boat that has rusted over from getting no use anymore and with no one around to take care of it or store it properly.

That's how they see you, as someone who has been through something, or maybe a series of things, that have deeply impacted you. And it's like you're still processing and aren't quite sure what the you that comes out the other side of all this processing is going to look like yet. This goes beyond sadness, this person sees you as grieving. Who or what I don't know, but they see you as dealing with some kind of loss. I think it could have to do with your family. Maybe you have been dealing with family troubles or grieving the loss of a family member or a family friend. Or, if it's not a literal death that you are processing, it could be that you are beginning to understand your family in a different way, a deeper way. Maybe your perspective on your family is expanding, you are understanding the pain and wounding that they have been through, and you're angry. You could be reconciling feelings of bitterness or anger towards your family with feelings of sympathy for the difficulties they have faced in their own lives.

I think this person sees that you are holding on to this pain and struggling to let it go. Maybe they sense a despondency in you, a subtle hopelessness. Not detachment so much as fear of encountering the same lessons with different people, of being hurt in the same ways again. They can feel a deep anger in you, seeing you as someone who is looking for their place in the world, wanting more than anything to feel like you belong.

This is really sad pile 2. You are so strong and this person wants to help you but they know that you have to want to get better, and they think that you don't even see the sadness, anger, and longing in yourself. They won't offer unsolicited advice, so for the time being I think they are taking the role of being a supportive friend and willing to give advice should you go to them for it.

There is some judgment coming from them. Like "why can't they just get over it" or "they are so stuck and don't even realize." It's weird, they want to help you, but they do kind of want you to lean on them as some sort of savior/hero/rescuer figure. I think they believe that you really want someone like this to come along and sort of take care of you. I'll say it again, this is how this person sees you not necessarily who you actually are, so don't get too fixated on their perspective - especially if it is not accurate. You know yourself best.

I think this person is equally invested in making you feel better as they are making themselves feel better. Maybe they think that your well-being is what they're concerned about, or this is what they're telling themselves, but really they are dealing with their own insecurities and need to feel like the hero to be worthy of love. Maybe this person is an overachiever, or highly successful for their age. They could come from a family where this was expected of them - to win.

So yeah they see you as a little bit of a damsel in distress pile 2. I don't think you need anyone to save you or are trying to signal this to people, but I do think that this person thinking that you deep down want someone to come along and sweep you off your feet has some truth to it. And I feel like I should tell you that wanting to be saved and taken care of is totally normal and human. We live in a world where it's difficult just to be a person. Dealing with deeply rooted pain while navigating the mayhem of daily living is incredibly difficult. You are doing a good job, pile 2. Maybe no one has said that to you in awhile. Keep up the good work. And, while there's nothing wrong with wishing for a knight in shining armor, remember who it is that has been saving your ass this whole time in their absence. ;)

Pile 3: The Broom and Whip

Hey pile 3! Lets get into it

This feels like someone that you had or have a romantic connection with but there was a falling out. They see you as someone who is defensive and in a lot of pain. They know that you are not the type of person to lash out and take your hurt out on other people, but they almost wish that the two of you could have it out - I just don't think that you are expressing your anger to this person. I think they could be concerned that this is eroding you mentally and emotionally, that you aren't expressing to them how you really feel.

I think you guys aren't talking right now and they are feeling this separation big time. They really want to work this out and come back together. You literally got the Lovers and the Two of Cups side by side - whoever you are asking about sees you as a soulmate, as their endgame. They are worried that this won't work out and they are trying to plan how to fix things with you, possibly asking about you to their friends or asking their own friends for advice on the situation.

This person sees how naturally cooperative you are with the people around you, how you are so willing to work with others and put your own interests aside if it benefits the majority - it's like this is just how you operate, you don't even have to think about it. They could see you as working on some kind of skill and gaining notoriety for it, gathering some attention for your diligence, attention to detail, and team-oriented attitude.

Yeah dude this person just thinks that you're it for them. The Lovers and the Two of Cups??? Come on. I think that even though this person is upset they see whatever upset is currently going on is temporary. It's like they aren't even entertaining the option or possibility that things are over over between the two of you. It will not compute in their brain.

I think this person thinks that you're pushing them away. They think that you are retreating into yourself where it's safe and keeping them at arms-reach. I think the way you are interacting with them now compared to the way you used to interact with them is very different - I think right now you are giving them friendly, polite energy but it's just a way to maneuver around them so you can keep them away. You are relying heavily on your manners to protect yourself in this situation and they can tell. They hate that you used to have so much vivaciousness when you used to talk to them and now they don't get that side of you anymore.

I do think that there is part of this person that enjoys the suspense and tortured waiting of what's going on. I think that they want to comfort and soothe you, to coax you into their arms and hold you while you hang onto them. I think this is part of a sexual fantasy of theirs as well, where they are the one to console you and then fuck the sadness out of you. They could be into BDSM type stuff, or if it's not that heavy/intense, they just want to test your limits a little bit. They like the idea of being the one to inflict some pain on you and then show you that they can make it better, that they can make you feel even better than you did before the pain even occurred.

It's hard to explain but it's not really an exotic fantasy or unusual I don't think, I'm just having a hard time putting it into words. They want to like........ stretch you? LMAO Like yeah just see... what you can take. And when they're done having their way with you, being the one who you collapse into. They want to be the person with the power to harm and to heal you. Not sure if that's your vibe but that is what I'm getting from this person. Very intense and steamy, if this is your situation then please write smut about it or something so the rest of us can live vicariously through you lol.

Take care pile 3 :)

[simpingforbots]

*hi-hi, can I request Alpha Trion and his ward (reader) who studied with him when he was a sparkling, now (reader) has grown up, and they saw each other again, (reader) had to change his character and color (I hope I put it correctly) in order not to be killed, (the reader) is incredibly glad to see his teacher again and cried and hugged to death

I am more then happy to do request from any one and the idea sounded so cute. i hope you will enjoy it dear friend.

Little sparkling - big cat

Another day in Iacon city filled with all buissy life – every one had somewhere to be, something to do. Even Primes. Being leaders of entire nation was not easy – they had to deal with laws, taxes, had to attend courts and just make sure every thing ran smooth.

Alpha Trion let out a grumble of exhaustion, tossing another tablet on to the table, next to the other neatly stacked pile of it. Laws. Why they had to be so difficult to deal with. Not a day passes by where there is a new document brought to him by Sentinel about some new law, some one misbehaving or reports about quintessons. He is tiered of this, but he has to keep on going. A sudden noise of small peds alerted him, moving a hand away from his aching head and turned to the side, to see a little sparkling happily run in to archives. Without a second of though, he smiled.

“Ah, I see it is another day for our  little adventure? – he chuckled softly, getting up from his chair.

This little sparkling was one if a few thing he was looking forward seeing. Every day this little sparkling would make it’s way here, away from their proto-hatcher, all way up here just to have a field day in archives. Trion still remembers the first day he saw them, seating by the shelf, wiggling their little peds as they scrolled though pad for sparkling’s, grinning widely. They did not even noticed him until it was to late, looking up with big orange optics filled with shock. After that he made sure that this little one was safe and would be happy every time this sparkling visited them, with permission of their proto-hatcher of course.

He chuckled softly as the little one giggled and hugged his ped, looking up at him with happiness, excited for another history lesson. Not wanting to disappoint them Alpha Trion lifted them up, comfortable settling them in his arms.

“Ready? What shell we learn about today?” he asked with smile, walking though countless shelf with sparkling looking around with wide eyes like of they were in a candy store “how about we learn something” Trion hummed as he scanned though pads “ah, there we go”

He pulled one pad out and turned it on, the bright light attracting sparkling’s opticks towards it, focusing on letters. He gently moved it closer to them, letting their little digits wrap around what must be huge pad for them and slowly read out what the pad said.

“M. Ma. Marti. Martial art. Martial arts!” proud of them self the sparkling looked up with smile, hugging the pad “what’s martial arts?”

“it’s art of fighting” little one let out a gasp of amusement, smiling even wider, earning a chuckle from Trion “I knew you would like something like this. You look like a fighting spirit.”

“Fighting spirit?” small one coked their head, confused “what is that?”

“it means you are strong” Trion explained, returning to the table, settling little one on table. “ so, do you want me to read or?

“I want to! I can do it “ the little one proudly proclaimed, making Trion’s spark flicker with warmth. It only been few cycle since they started reading by them self and they were very proud of this achievement. Though, even if Trion was embarrassed to admit it, he would miss reading for them. He leaned on table, supporting his head with his arm as he pationly listened to little one started reading the pad. Stumbling over some word, with which he helped. It was a very peaceful moment and he craved it very much. This little ball of joy brought peace to his turbulent life and he started thinking of something. What of he can train them? They look interested by the book about martial arts, so why not to teach them. Surely he will have to be a bit harsher, yet still, it be nice to have them by his side. After all he sort of though of them as his sparkling as well. And not that their proto-hatcher would mind it. They seemed quite happy to know that their little one was under his care. He watched them read with peace, time to time saying hi to his fellow primes, who would swoop in to place some more work pads on his table and coo over the little one. After some time the little one came upon images of different and did their best to copy the moves, making Trion certain of what he wanted to do. After that day he started taking little sparkling to training grounds, showing different moves, which they instantly copied. He was right, this little one has a good potential in them.

He watched them grow with every sickle and soon they were grown bot, getting more and more taller and wiser, almost growing taller then him, almost reaching Megatronus tall stature, which was a surprise for him. And they also grew closer to him. They were always by his side, keeping an eye from anything out of place, ready to though them self in front of any dagger, which Trion appreciated, but whished they would not.

“Say, little one” he spoke softly, looking up from another pad, staring at tall bot by his side, who stood motionless, keeping any eye on door frame “How is your proto-hatcher. Haven’t herd from them for a while.

“they are alright. Buissy a bit” ward replied, keeping straight face.

“hm.... my Primus this is boring” Trion stood up, immideatly getting his wards attention “how about a little break”

“sure” a soft familiar smile appeared on the stern face, knowing well what one of 13 Primes meant.

They followed Trion in to archive, where he picked up a pad about some legend, seating down on the floor, crossing his legs. They joined him as well, seating close by them and happily listened to them read, something that Trion insisted on. They set there for a while, getting a bit of rest from every thing.

----

Years, no, centuries pass by and little ward was tiered. They had to go in to hiding as false Prime rose to power, changing their colour and even body, all to avoid being hunted down by Arachnid. They knew something that Sentinel did not wanted to be a publick knowledge, and being Alpha Trions ward did not made it easier. They had to flee the Iacon, hiding above and scavenging for any energon they could find, time to time even raiding the trains for some just to make it thought. It was hard. The constant threat of Quintessons, constant bickering with once High guards made it hard for them. But after some years they grew close to this environment, knowing well what to and not to do in order to make another day. So it was shocking to see 4 cybertonians  out so openly. They rushed forward, helping them evade the scan’s of quintessons by hiding under old building, notisisng how small they were. It’s not normal for grown mechs to be this size? Until they saw their empty slots for t-cogs. It made them seethe with rage. Did Sentinel really was willing to step so low as to steal other’s T-cog just o make end with deal he made with Quintessons? They want to rip him apart. So they decided to join the stranded miners on their little adventure, hopping to at least see the grave of their Master one last time. They ventured though and found a cave, where was the last resting ground of Primes. It was a sombre sight. They all were left there, to rust away and be claimed by green, like some kind of criminals. Hell even criminals don’t deserve this. They simmered with anger until Orion called out and their turned to see what was the commotion.

Trion. Their spark still glowed with soft blue light and a sliver of hope rushed through their brain, as they rushed forward. Orion fed the rusted Trion an energon, and like a miracle, Alpha Trion rejuvenated. He stumbled a bit, saying something, ready to fight, only to be caught by someone before he could fall. It took some time to get used to his eyes again after what seemed like centuries of being offline, looking around. Bots. He can see bots, small for some reason. Where they still young? No, something was wrong. What happened to their chest, why they were empty. What is going on?

“Alpha Trion?”

Was that? He quickly looked around trying to spot a source of this familiar voice, looking around wide eyed. But there was no little one, instead there was a different bot – tall, dark plating, red eyes, they were nothing like the little sparkling he watch grow with bright paint and golden yellow eyes. He had to push him self up, but the bot refused to let him do it by him self, helping him up.

“are you alright? Oh primus what happened?”

After some second it clicked. He though his hand up, wrapping his hand aorund the brought shoulder of strange mech, staring at them with wide eyes. It could not be this. It is not right. The sparkling he grew was soft, had soft features, not sharp fingers, fangs and sharp edges. But the voice. The soft and worried eyes. It could not be.

“Little one”

Without even a second the tall mech wrapped them self around Trion, pulling him closer to them, letting out quite sobs and apologies, blaming them self for not able to keep them safe. Trion could not bring him self to blame them to begin with. It was never their fault, they did their best. He hugged them back, letting a heavy sigh. He will make sure Sentinel pays for all the pain he caused to his little sparkling. Even if they are no longer small.

[solarwynd]

JK and Jimin made some crazy records last year and people have thrown around a lot of accusations around. But there's one thing I remember someone saying after Jimin got the BB hot 100 #1 - if it was easy to do it then everyone would do it. And the BP girls took it to heart. They saw JK's formula - a bunch of payola, English songs, western collabs - and they've been following it to a T. Rose's been breaking a crazy amount of records and apt isn't a bad song but it just goes to show you that seven wasn't anything special really. You need a base popularity of course - it's not like Mingyu could suddenly do this tomorrow but Rose shows without a doubt that what JK achieved wasn't because he was the next Harry styles. Just like one successful song doesn't mean Rose is the next Chapel Roan

But it also throws into relief how hard what Jimin's achieved is. Like crazy was insane by itself - a Korean self composed song that his label acted didn't exist did really well for what it is. And with who, he might have an English song but it's with the most minimal payola and no collabs. The most comparable songs to it would be standing next to you, friends, mantra and rockstar. Who is the most successful of these by far with probably the least percentage of Thai streams. Sorry but I am starting to sincerely doubt any of the other members would've been able to pull off what Jimin's doing.

Anyhow I'm not really one to care about chart numbers or award nominations so much. I just see armys using it to justify their assertions on why JK deserves a Grammy nomination or something but Rose and Lisa both defeat the point. Lisa made no noise and yet keeps getting nominated for award shows and doing "live" performances. Armys can act blind but she's there for the same reason JK was last year - 💵

So I see in the future more and more kpop artists following the JK method with different levels of success. As for Jimin, it's hard to say with him - I'd like him to go more mainstream but if he decides to stay low-key, he might end up being one of those stars with a big cult following. They sometimes explode to the mainstream kind of like BTS themselves, they sometimes don't. As long as he makes good music, I think I'll be fine. Because while I want success for him, if that means he thinks he has to make some crap songs like seven or rockstar then I'll pass.

.🎯

[cyb-by-lang]

Cascade

Someone a while ago asked me about what Kei's school life in Shell Game would've been like if she was a kid in 1-A as opposed to 1-C, so here's some noodlin'.

(Kei replaces Mineta's slot because I don't feel like dealing with him.)

The facet of being a UA student that bothered Kei the most (immediately) was the scrutiny. The celebrity. The total inability to fold herself and her flat expression and sleep deprivation back into the comforting anonymity of a world without widespread cell phone usage. Every other rando in Japan—arguably the world—knew the school’s reputation and its uniform. The more invested enthusiasts knew the names and faces of all the hero kids in each year and ranked them based on their apparent promise. Kei’s entire being retreated from the spotlight as though possessed by a cockroach. 

The runner-up of annoyances was being trapped in high school again. She’d done her time one life ago and resented that the experience just pigeonholed her into bilingual missions now. But explaining that to Sensei wasn’t on the table, so away she went. 

In the end, though, there was a small silver lining, as thin as cobweb. Unlike general education students, the two heroics-focused classes had occasional permission to use their Quirks to achieve their goals. Such as winning a sports contest between students, but still. It was something. 

“Gekkō. Your turn.” 

Kei jolted back to life like the engine of a forty-year-old car, covering her mouth with one hand as she yawned. Sure, Bakugō’s big boom ball throw had startled her awake, but she’d slept like total garbage last night. The stress from anticipating a new development in any mission made staying asleep an impossibility. 

So she’d kind of sleepwalked through the first few rounds of fitness tests. A lot of the other students’ Quirks didn’t help with their performances—exemplified by the invisible girl and the boy with electric powers—and so Kei didn’t meaningfully stand out. It helped that the students with physical Quirks usually really excelled at very specific tasks, but were dead average elsewhere. Kei barely needed to work to keep in the middle of the pack, only using her water manipulation for effect. 

And now everyone was looking at her. 

Dammit, Kei thought. She rolled to her feet with a little huff and made her way off the sideline with the air of a two-toed sloth dragged out for a quirky sports movie. 

“Do you need a reminder of what the rules are?” Aizawa asked, his voice as dead as Kei sort of wished she could be in this exact moment. 

“No, Aizawa-sensei,” Kei replied as she passed him. An instant later, she caught the tracker-equipped softball without looking, thought it had been thrown at her head. Not like it would have done any damage even if it made contact.

“Then quit wasting our time.” 

Kei didn’t even remember her placement during the UA entrance exam, but this still felt targeted. The numbers didn’t matter. She’d already known she was in, so the only consideration left was keeping the extent of her powers under wraps.  

It wasn’t like Kei didn’t get why Aizawa “Eraserhead” Shōta hated her presence in the class. Her enrollment in UA was basically anathema to the entire purpose of the program. Sensei and the principal couldn’t just cut the guy entirely out of the loop without causing Kei logistical problems when it came to doing her job. At the very least, an uninformed teacher might ask questions when Kei inevitably ran out of the classroom to deal with some crisis. Just because Aizawa looked like he wouldn’t care if his students fell down an open manhole cover, but that was the trouble with judging by appearances alone. 

I could take over the moment it leaves your hands.

Be my guest. 

Kei tossed the ball in the air, clapped her hands together, and summoned a blob of water that expanded in sync with her hands as she pulled them apart. When the falling softball landed amid the watermelon-sized sphere, it warped briefly into an image of Isobu’s curled-up shell before stabilizing. That was a telltale sign even to people without worthwhile chakra detection abilities—as long as they knew. 

So, basically Aizawa. Kei didn’t need to look in his direction to feel his glare.

There we are. Isobu’s power reached forward to engulf the brand new source of ammunition. 

Then the blob, the captive softball, and some simulacrum of Kei’s dreams shot off into the void. Only the thinnest possible thread of water connected Isobu’s new toy to Kei’s index fingers. Kei and the a couple of her classmates watched its erratic balloon-like course until, inevitably, the thread snapped. 

Eventually, there was a beep from Aizawa’s phone. “Five hundred and fifteen meters.” 

Kei rubbed at her eyes, already done with the entire affair. At least this data might be useful for Kei and Isobu’s future adventures in mass hydrokinesis. Perhaps Isobu’s range would be even larger if they added more of his chakra. Running those experiments would have to wait for another day, though. 

“Next,” said Aizawa. Going by the way a couple of students jumped, the next contestant was already on deck and suffering from stage fright. 

Kei wandered out of the chalk with barely any uptick in energy levels. She even yawned again. If the teacher wanted her out of the way faster, he could damn well throw her out.

But because this mission clearly wanted to establish the kind of pattern embodied by a combat deployment—boredom followed by intense spikes of activity, and then more boredom—Kei didn’t get a chance to nap. She found herself blinking away the drowsiness to the sound of Aizawa verbally ripping a kid to shreds. 

And it wasn’t Kei’s fault. Or even related to her. 

Novel.

While Kei had sat down and read brief profiles on all of her classmates on the Saturday before the term started, their names occasionally slipped her mind despite how painfully on-the-nose they could be. She’d get that data into her head later; for now, all Kei needed was a list of powers. 

Part of the reason Midoriya (today’s sacrifice) stuck out to her was how his name didn’t contain even a hint of his Quirk—just like hers didn’t. Because she didn’t have one. Going off the logic displayed by his classmates’ parents and their naming choices, Midoriya’s personal name should have had something to do with turning his own skeleton into dust. 

With his capture weapon and hair floating like the entire scene was underwater, Aizawa laid out everything wrong with the nervous kid’s approach to the ball toss. Given that the test in question was literally throwing a softball and this kid tended to hover around the middle of the pack, maybe he’d been planning to use his hyper-destructive Quirk to finally get an edge. Like any kid sitting through someone else getting shouted at by a teacher, Kei pretended not to hear the specifics.

It was still sort of difficult not to, even with her classmates trying to build a small reservoir of side chatter to insulate themselves.

There was a lot in Aizawa’s lecture about “basic competence” and paraphrased warnings about not breaking all the bones in his body. Because, well, someone who did that would probably need to be carried off a battlefield on a stretcher if not in a body bag.

“With your power,” Aizawa was saying, his voice as flat and cold as an executioner’s blade, “you can’t become a hero.” 

Midoriya’s expression said he knew damn well what was at stake now. If he couldn’t figure out how to throw a ball without laying himself out flat, he was screwed. 

The real question was if breaking bones was the prerequisite to accessing that monstrous strength, or just a shitty side effect of having no control? If it was the former, the first time the kid fell off a jungle gym or crashed his bike should have made the news along with a crater. 

While the other students consulted among themselves whether they’d ever heard of Eraserhead before—which disengaged Kei even further from the conversation in favor of naptime—Aizawa withdrew from the chalk circle to let Midoriya figure his shit out. He’d either fly or fucking die. 

Aizawa probably didn’t care which. At least, not out loud. Better that this catastrophic failure happened in school and not in the field with lives on the line.

Kei shaded her eyes and awaited some conclusive result.

Midoriya didn’t disappoint; one colossal BANG later, the softball was rocketing off into the distance with a smoke trail marking its trajectory. But unlike the utter travesty that characterized his entrance exam footage, the kid that turned to face the group did so with all limbs intact. He’d destroyed only one finger in the process of setting off his Quirk this time.

Kei frowned while the other students cheered. Aizawa, too, looked excited to find improvement so close on the heels of his first sharp criticism. 

Sure, Blasty McSplode had a problem with Midoriya’s (qualified and still bone-breaky) success and then needed to be wrestled into submission for being a loud jackass literally a foot in front of the teacher, but that wasn’t Kei’s problem. Or, at least, his attitude wasn’t an interesting problem for Kei to puzzle over. 

Midoriya’s, though… There’s something wrong here.

Hm?

I don’t think his Quirk requires him to destroy himself to use it. If it did, he should’ve figured out how to minimize the damage way before he got here. Kei pressed her curled fingers against her lower lip as she thought. Damn, I usually just shrug off questions like this… 

But this secret may affect your risk assessment process when dealing with all of these humans. 

Maybe. But hell if it’s not a personal question. “Hey, what’s the deal with your Quirk totally pulverizing your vulnerable teenage skeleton every time I’ve seen it used?” That’ll go over well. 

“Gekkō,” said Aizawa, interrupting Kei’s thoughts with more school nonsense. He’d apparently picked her out as a zoned-out straggler. “Finish your tests. Side-hops and grip test, go.”

Kei sighed internally and trotted off to a different part of the field.

[tighnarisfavourite]

⟡ says he’s gonna teach me just what fast is, say it’s gonna be alright ── ⟢ ・⸝⸝

cyno x fem!reader

it's been days since the investigation started, and you were losing hope. will you get your deserved freedom, or will it be taken away?

a/n : please read part 1 before reading this! also i wrote this at like 1am last night so I apologise if the writing is bad!! >_<

word count : 1595

⟡ One day had passed since Cyno returned to the Akademiya to search for evidence that could lead to the student being the one who really committed those crimes and not you.

As for yourself, you went back to Aaru Village since you couldn’t possibly show up at the Akademiya after everything that has happened. Your parents happily greeted you and let you stay for the time being.

Of course, they had asked why you suddenly came back to Aaru Village but you just explained that you wished to see them again after so long, which wasn’t necessarily a lie and it held some truth but not the full truth.

You had busied yourself with helping around the house, doing chores such as helping with cleaning and cooking, and even going out of your way to assist Candace if she needed anything. You just needed to keep your mind distracted and not let it wander to... well, you know what.

But one day soon turned into three days...

Three days since that fateful day.

When you were left alone with your thoughts, you always came to the conclusion that maybe the search is just taking a while... after all, evidence isn’t something that can just be found easily, especially when you’re investigating a student from the Akademiya.

During the evening, just as the sun dipped low over the dunes, you found yourself at the village outskirts, taking a short walk with Candace. “You know,” Candace started to speak, her hands behind her back. “I always thought you’d find your way back here someday. You left to chase your dreams and become something great, but there’s a peace in Aaru Village that can’t be found anywhere else, so you return to it.”

You managed a faint smile. “I never thought I’d come back like this, unannounced too. Well, what can I say? I wanted to make my family and the fellow desert folk proud before I made my return.”

Candace let out a hum, nodding. “And you have made your family and the desert folk proud. You’ll be a clear inspiration to the children of the village too, and they’ll feel as if their dreams of becoming a scholar in the Akademiya isn’t silly at all, but very manageable and achievable if they study well.”

Being seen as an inspiration right now with everything that’s going on, isn’t exactly how you wish to be seen... after all, you don’t even know if you can return to the Akademiya after this. If you can continue being a scholar...

That was always there in the back of your mind— the sights of the cold, judgmental faces of the council that replayed nonstop, you wondering if Cyno would find any proof... it kept gnawing at you, a constant ache you couldn’t shake, no matter what you did. It was always there, haunting you.

The third day soon turned into the fifth day.

Five days since the investigation started.

You couldn’t deny the hopelessness you started to feel, perhaps this was it, no evidence leading to the student being the one who did it and you’re forced to stand on trial and get locked away for a long, long time while he stays free.

The fifth night was colder than usual, the desert winds sharper, biting at your skin as you lay awake, staring up at the vast sky with the stars lighting it up. You couldn’t help but head to the top of the hill where you and Cyno usually laid and stargazed as kids.

As you settled under the twinkling night sky, your thoughts began to spiral deeper.. wondering if this would be the last freedom you would ever experience, the last time you’d get to look up at the stars as a free person?

Shoving those thoughts aside— you tried to find comfort in the memory of this place, this familiar hill where so many of your happiest moments had been spent with Cyno. It was here that you used to imagine a world filled with possibilities, a future full of promise.

But now, that future seemed farther away than ever. Completely stripped away from you and the hard work you had put in for it was useless. Utterly useless.

Had it not been for you being so naive and trusting of others, you’d still be at the Akademiya, going on with your research but it seems like you just so happened to be unfortunate that day and everything came crashing down.

Studying in advance for everything, making so many backup projects and theories for all the work you had to do as an average student... just what was all that for? The all-nighters you had to go through, the amount of times you’d be too tired to focus on what the professors were teaching, but fighting through that tiredness— achieving the best grades that you possibly can.

All of that... for what?

You break out of your thoughts once you hear distant footsteps coming from behind you— standing up and turning around... you recognized that individual very well, his silhouette outlined by the moonlight.

“Cyno,” You whispered, barely able to believe he was really approaching. “You’re here?”

“I’m here. The search took longer than I expected, but I found it,” Cyno started. “The evidence. The student made an error while forging your signature— he left a trail. It was subtle, almost too well-hidden, but there was enough to prove he was the one behind everything.”

Hearing those words... your face lit up fully, those thoughts that were driving you mad just a few seconds ago— completely disappearing. Feeling the wave of happiness and relief wash over you, you couldn’t help but run up to Cyno and wrap your arms around him, pulling him in for a hug.

He was a bit surprised at the sudden affection at first, but quickly came to accept it, his arms wrapping around your waist— keeping you close to him. The nightmare you were living in for so long... it was finally over.

“I knew you’d be able to do it,” You whispered against his shoulder, letting out a short laughter of relief afterward. “I was starting to lose hope, but... I should’ve known better. I should’ve known you’d find a way. You’re not the General Mahamatra for no reason.”

Cyno pulled back slightly to meet your gaze. “I wasn’t going to let you suffer for someone else’s deceit. After all, it’s my duty to bring justice to everyone.”

His words were a reminder of just how deeply he cared for somebody close to him, even if he rarely allowed it to show. “I don’t know how to thank you,” You pause, a grin that carried only joy appearing on your face. “For not giving up on me, even when it seemed impossible.”

“You don’t have to thank me, [name]. You know I would never give up on you, not in a million years.” A warmth spread throughout you, making your heart race, and your stomach felt those butterflies— the same ones you had felt whenever you were around him as a youngin.

For a moment, neither of you spoke. Silence making itself very known, but it would occasionally be broken by the sounds of the soft rustle of the desert wind. Looking into his red eyes that so carefully looked back into yours... you knew it was the right time to do what you’ve been wanting to for so, so long.

Your hands slither up to his neck, letting them rest there as you lean into his face, closing your eyes before you place your lips onto his— a fiery feeling coursing through the both of you.

The worries, the pain, the harshness of the past days all melted into the background, leaving only the warmth of his lips against yours and the steady beat of your hearts.

The kiss deepened, and a spark ignited between you. Here, in this quiet yet passionate embrace, you felt as if you’d come home at last, to a place you hadn’t known you’d been searching for. A true home.

Cyno was your home, and he was the one that you would cherish for eternity.

You finally pull back, breathing in the desert air as you open your eyes. “Didn’t expect that, did you?” You chuckle, a small smile playing on your lips as your eyes meet his once more. “I can’t say I did, but it’s not unwelcome.” His hand reached up to brush a stray strand of hair from your face, fingers lingering against your cheek as if he wanted to memorize this moment.

“Wanted to do that since we were in our teenage years... been waiting for this for so long.” You admit, feeling a hint of embarrassment but too happy to care. A faint smile curled his lips, and he leans closer, his forehead resting gently against yours. “You don’t have to wait anymore.” Cyno murmurs.

“Honestly... forget about the butterflies. When I’m with you, I feel the whole zoo.” And of course... the romantic moment was ruined just like that, he really couldn’t hold back a joke, could he?

“You should’ve stayed quiet...” You mumbled, a sigh escaping your lips.

For the first time, you felt certain that this was only the beginning— the beginning of an actual happy future with the one you love most. No matter what may come, Cyno will always be there by your side,

loving you to the moon and back.

[infinite--92]

A growing Bond

In the weeks that followed their first examination together, Sophie found herself spending more and more time with Dr. Hale. The initial formality between them gradually faded, replaced by a mutual understanding and a bond born out of their shared predicament. They met almost every other day at Dr. Hale’s house, both for further examinations and to work on deciphering the remnants of the formula that had changed their bodies so drastically.

At first, their conversations revolved around the science of it all—discussing hormone levels, possible antidotes, and the mysterious compounds that had been part of the injection. But as they spent more time together, their conversations began to drift into more personal territory.

Sophie started to call her by her first name—Miranda. It felt right, more fitting for the friendship that was blossoming between them. Despite the bizarre circumstances that had brought them together, Sophie found comfort in Miranda’s company. It was as if their shared experience had created a unique connection, something deeper than mere camaraderie.

Miranda's Story

One evening, after a particularly long day of testing, the two women were sitting on Miranda’s couch, sharing a pot of herbal tea. The sun was setting, casting a warm golden light through the window, illuminating the room in a soft glow. Sophie noticed that Miranda looked more relaxed than she had ever seen her. She was usually so composed and focused, but now there was a softness in her eyes that hinted at a deeper vulnerability.

Sophie took a sip of her tea and looked at Miranda. “You know, we’ve spent so much time together lately, but I realise I don’t know much about you,” she said with a small smile. “I mean, outside of all this... chaos.”

Miranda let out a soft, almost embarrassed laugh. “There’s not much to tell, really,” she said, looking down at her teacup. “I’ve spent most of my life in labs, focusing on my research. I guess you could say I’ve always been married to my work.”

Sophie tilted her head, genuinely curious. “No relationships? No friends outside of work?”

Miranda shook her head, a wistful smile playing on her lips. “No. I never made time for it. I was always so focused on my career, on achieving something meaningful in the field of pharmaceuticals. I thought that would be enough.” She paused, glancing at her own swollen belly. “Ironic, isn’t it? I spent years developing fertility treatments, helping women conceive, and now I’m in this... bizarre state myself.”

Sophie felt a pang of sympathy. She could see the loneliness in Miranda’s eyes, a deep-seated isolation that had likely been there long before the experiment. “I understand,” she said quietly. “I was always so focused on getting good grades, getting into a top university. I never really stopped to think about what I wanted beyond that. I’ve never been in a serious relationship either.”

Miranda looked at Sophie, surprised. “You’re young, beautiful, and so full of life. I find that hard to believe.”

Sophie gave a small, self-conscious laugh. “Thanks, but it’s true. I guess I’ve always been a little afraid to let someone in, to be vulnerable.”

Miranda nodded slowly, her gaze turning distant as if she was lost in her own thoughts. “I suppose I was too. It’s easier to hide behind our work, isn’t it? To focus on tasks and projects instead of dealing with our own emotions.”

There was a moment of silence, a shared understanding passing between them. For Sophie, it felt strangely comforting to know that Miranda, this accomplished scientist who seemed so put together, had her own insecurities and fears. It made her more human, more relatable.

A Friendship Forms

As the days turned into weeks, their bond only grew stronger. They laughed together, shared meals, and talked late into the night about everything from their favourite books to their childhood memories. Miranda told Sophie about her upbringing—how she was the only child of two scientists, how she had been pushed into the world of academia from a young age. Her parents had been cold and distant, focused more on their research than on their daughter. It was no wonder, Sophie thought, that Miranda had ended up dedicating her own life to her work, seeking validation and purpose in the only way she knew.

“I used to think that if I made some groundbreaking discovery, it would make everything worth it,” Miranda admitted one evening, her voice barely above a whisper. “But now I realise that I’ve missed out on so much. I’ve never had a family, never experienced real love. And now, with this...” She glanced down at her belly, her expression a mix of sadness and resignation. “I might never get the chance.”

Sophie reached over and took Miranda’s hand, squeezing it gently. “We’ll get through this,” she said softly. “We’re in this together, and we’ll find a way to make things right. And even if we don’t... we have each other now.”

Miranda looked at her, her eyes filled with a gratitude that Sophie had never seen before. “Thank you, Sophie. I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

For Miranda, this was a revelation. She had never had a close friend before, never let anyone in. But with Sophie, it felt different. There was no pretense, no need to impress or prove herself. They were both vulnerable, both scared, and that vulnerability had created a bond that neither of them had expected.

A Strange Kind of Peace

As the weeks went by, Sophie and Miranda developed a routine. They would meet every few days, share updates on any progress or setbacks with their research, and then spend hours talking and laughing, finding solace in each other’s company. They went for walks together, enjoying the fresh air and each other’s presence, their swollen bellies a visible sign of the strange bond they shared.

The changes in their bodies had become a part of their new normal. They had both accepted, at least for now, that this was their reality. Sophie found that she no longer felt as isolated or frightened. With Miranda by her side, she felt stronger, more hopeful. She had gained a friend, someone who understood exactly what she was going through, and that made all the difference.

One evening, as they sat on Miranda’s porch, watching the sun dip below the horizon, Sophie turned to her friend and smiled. “You know, I never expected to find a friend in all of this,” she said softly. “But I’m glad I did.”

Miranda looked at her, her eyes softening with genuine warmth. “Me too, Sophie. Me too.”

In that moment, they both realised that despite the uncertainty of their future, they had found something precious in each other—a friendship that had become their lifeline in the midst of the chaos.

[quoth-the-goblin-nevermore]

I’ve been sitting on a concept for a ExR fic for a while and I wanted to gage interest in it.

Concept: Enjolras and Grantaire find themselves in a form of purgatory after the barricade and must go through eachothers bucket-lists in order to pass onto the true afterlife. While doing so they encounter parts of the other they never got to experience while they were alive.

Snippit:

“So, what now?”

In order to PROCEED your human experience must be COMPLETED.

Grantaire blinked in confusion. He had done a lot of things in his life. Drunk nearly every liquor known to man, was familiar with most every brothel in Paris- to the degree that there would be no surprise should they veil their ‘product’ and mourn in the street following his untimely demise.

“Completed! How so?”

You may move on to THE AFTERLIFE after completing tasks on your LIST.

Grantaire squinted, running his hands through his dark curls.

“Like a… Bucket list?”

AFFIRMATIVE. You will receive your instructions shortly while THE SYSTEM processes. This is a COLLABORATIVE EVENT-

“The fuck does that mean?”

The light overhead dimmed again, this time with apparent annoyance.

Foul language will not speed up this tutorial. Your UNFINISHED GOALS overlap with ANOTHER INDIVIDUAL. Therefore you will COLLABORATE to ACHIEVE ASCENSION.

—

I’m not sure if this has been done, but alas. Anyway, would this be something you’d be interested in?

[officialjohnjones]

A world like most, I imagine. Humanity had recently achieved space travel, and were beginning to explore the stars. Then... Out of nowhere, the storm descended.

Imagine the one that circles this island, but alive and angry. It was toxic, yes, but anyone who were caught and died in it became husks, zombies basically.

Naturally, civilization all but collapsed. What survivors were left gathered in bunkers all over the world, to try and find a way to push back the storm.

I had been a soldier, before: luckily, I was able to get my family out and to a Home Base before the worst happened. I joined the defense, and started fighting to get to the center of the storms, and end them. It was a tough task, but my team was committed to it.

Then... the IO came. Or maybe they had been monitoring us for ages. They gave some of us a choice: join them, and travel the multiverse, finding heroes and legends to test their mettle, and help them discover the secrets at the center of the multiverse. In return, they would protect our base, and keep us safe, with technology superior to anything we had ever seen.

My... my wife had had our third kid, before the world collapsed. I wanted to keep them safe, and I could see every single day that it could be our last. So... I accepted their offer. I said goodbye, and I left.

Time is wonky here, you know that. And one of the perks of working for the IO was Immortality-- we became tough, basically immune to all diseases, and we persisted in our lives. I became their top agent, even managed to lead and survive the most successful loop expeditions of all time.

One day, I asked Slone if I could go back, visit my family. She said I could, but for only one day. If I ever quit, after all, they'd drop their end of the bargain. So I went back. The world had become better, safer. The storm pushed to little pockets. But...

Thousands of years had passed.

*He sighed, feeling the sheer weight of it all settle back around his shoulders.*

My wife, my kids, their kids... All long since dead and buried. Their grandchildren's grandchildren had grown old, and those of my family I found, didn't recognize me. And with all my experience, I saw how the IO was keeping the storm at bay. So... I went back. So that through me, they could keep protecting descendants who didn't even know who I was.

*He laughed, a touch of bitterness in his voice.*

And then I found out what the IO really was. And I felt so... so stupid. My world could've pushed back the storm ourselves, with time. All they were to the IO was something to hold over our heads, to keep us working for them. And I ignored it all, for centuries.

I still feel like... like I abandoned them. That I exchanged all that time I could've spent with them, for the ability to help an evil organization keep on existing.

*He blinked a few times.*

Huh, didn't think I'd say all of that. Heh, honesty really is good for the soul, isn't it?

*Jones knocks on Evie's door, in a smart polo shirt and dark jeans. He kept the pouched belt and the shield, though. Loopers accessorize, right?*

Are you ready for our mission? I just heard fireworks go off, and if that's not Peely throwing a massively oversized party I don't know what it would be.

*Evie answered, wearing a tiny, short black dress that hugged her figure, a red belt, and blue hoop earrings. Her makeup was bold, smokey eyes and blood-red lipstick. Her black heels had red and blue beads embroidered around the soles.

Her eyes trailed over Jones' ensemble, and she bit her lip as her heart skipped.*

Well, looks like the Captain hasn't forgotten how to make a girl look good on his arm. Guess you haven't lost your touch, eh, "Agent"?

Good thing DJ's birthday provided the perfect cover. Peely must be having a blast. Let's get this done.

[kerryweaverlesbian]

Everybody give me a round of applause I submitted a piece of uni work that I had a horrible time researching and it's only pretty good and not the best I could have done it 👍 perfectionism WHO? self sabotage WHO? Bitch I'm killing it!

[nogooddeetz]

so i just rewatched honey queen and in it, roman explains how linda is “the sweetest woman in hatchetfield” (the title that comes with winning the title of honey queen) because what she was willing to do in order to win (kill zoey, among other less than nice things) makes her taste the sweetest to nibbly.

now, in nerdy prudes must die, during the summoning, while blinky speaks to grace and tinky taunts pete, nibbly immediately looks to steph and says “stephanie, yum yum!” steph is nothing like linda of course, she’s not callous or selfish. but. she was, in the end, willing to kill pete to save the rest of the town. she would have done it with a heavy heart, but she would have done it nonetheless. so, is the reason nibbly expresses interest in steph above the others that she is capable of things the others aren’t? like linda, she’s willing to go to extreme lengths to achieve her goal (even though her goal is much more selfless than linda’s).

grace is certainly capable of doing crazy shit too but her deal is a whole separate issue of its own

[roakkaliha]

idk how to tell minecraft horror mod devs that "sitting silently in a bunker/roof/boat for 10 minutes" isnt like. fun n engaging gameplay.

[ghirahimbo]

i started replaying totk recently, i say replaying bc i did buy and play it when it was first released but dropped it after a couple days bc i was busy w stuff. and so i'm doing a lot of things now for the first time and obv i can't help comparing it to botw and it's genuinely got me so upset how link has been forgotten by so many people, all the people he helped in botw all the quests he did are just meaningless, all my registered horses were carried over but they couldn't keep the character interactions? all the champions are mentioned once with the exception of mipha there's no memories or divine beasts. the zora who had remembered link for 100 years had forgotten him since botw how is that possible. i had to make an ugly house near tarrey town to hang my weapons bc the hateno house was no longer mine 😭😭😭 somehow it made the game feel lonelier, even though botw was more empty there was much emotion in it.

it's not that i hated totk i liked exploring and finding new outfits, the dragons, rediscovering my favourite places etc but idk i was genuinely tearing up thinking about the champions being forgotten and all of link's previous sacrifices meaning nothing. sorry to send these random messages i don't follow anyone else who still blogs about zelda 😭😭

No, I know exactly what you mean! 😢 Honestly (lol can't remember if I've already said this before or not, so maybe I'm re-ranting here, but) my personal take is that totk shouldn't have been a sequel game, especially because Nintendo doesn't like to concern themselves with the continuity between games that a direct sequel like this just needs. With some tweaking/set up/rewriting, totk could have worked as a stand-alone story, and then they wouldn't have had to take away from what botw achieved in the name of making it more approachable to new players.

And yeah, I didn't hate it either! I liked the gameplay and the weapons system and the feeling of stakes whenever you entered a new town and saw how things had all gone to shit. Loved the wells. I just think it was too eager to pretend botw didn't exist while at the same time leaning on it so heavily that it would fall to pieces if you tried to extract the botw out of it :P

[dustteller]

Reading He Who Drowned the World and honestly Baoxiang has no right to be as bitchy as he is about Ouyang squandering Esen's love or whatever. Baoxiang is genuinely convinced that Esen loathes him. No you dumb bitch, your brother loves you and the reason he's giving you a hard time is because he wants you to be safe and happy and healthy. Yeah, he sucks at expressing it, and his efforts are misguided (bc the toxic masculinity gender rolesis fucking up Esen as much as it's fucking up everyone else), but Esen very much does love Baoxiang deeply. Every time Baoxiang remembers a time when Esen "enjoyed his fear" or whatever, I can only think of these parts of Esen's POV from the first book:

Esen's first instinct is to defend his brother. The only reason he doesn't is bc Baoxiang leaves before he can. And Baoxiang glares at him bc he assumes that Esen agrees with Altan and won't defend him, but no, Esen WANTED to defend him and it's Baoxiang that took away his oportunity to do so.

And a bit later, we have this interaction. Baoxiang assumes (again) that Esen would hate him if he was gay, and immediately goes on the defensive. Meanwhile, Esen literally does not care about this except for how it would affect his brother's reputation. He's just WORRIED. He doesn't care if Baoxiang is gay or whatever, but he's deeply aware that if he IS it would put him in more danger. Because, again, he cares about his brother, and he hates seeing what he assumes is Baoxiang making his own life harder.

And it's heartbreaking bc Baoxiang will probably never realize how much Esen adores him. He's so jealous of Ouyang for having his brother's heart without realizing that Esen sees him as his beloved baby brother and is desperately trying to protect him from a world that he KNOWS is cruel to him. Baoxiang will never know that his greatest supporter and the only person that loved him unconditionally was Esen. And maybe it would be WORSE if he realized how dear he was to Esen, because the realization that all thise things that caused him pain were borne out of a deep, unconditional LOVE and not the disdain he's convinced himself Esen felt for him might break him. Baoxiang has deluded himself into simplifying Esen's feelings for him into those of hate and disdain because its so much harder to accept that the person you love the most has destroyed you out of love. Baoxiang is doing the exact same thing Ouyang does in convincing himself that he's unlovable and relishing in the world's response as a form of self-harm. And Esen, who is genuinely trying (and floundering horribly) is a great tool for Baoxiang to use to tear himself apart.

And, on the other hand, Esen will never realize how much damage his attempts to help Baoxiang caused. He loves him so much, bc that's his baby brother! It's his job to protect him! But Esen has been raised as the golden poster child of a Mongol Warrior Man, a perfect pinacle of masculinity, and is thus doomed to only being able to express his love and acceptance for Baoxiang through a tough love, lets sand down all the edges to remove friction approach. For him, pushing Baoxiang into a box IS an act of love. It's the act of saying I love and accept you, and so I will help you succeed in all the things you're bad at so that everyone will love you too. Except by doing this, he doesn't realize how awful he's being and how he's asking someone that CANT ever fit the mold to break himself in the attempt. He's a perfect Mongol Warrior Man after all, and as such he has never been given the tools to express his affection in a healthy way. He will never truly understand how much he's an asshole, not because he is lacking in love (as Baoxiang assumes) or because he is incapable of sympathizing (as ouyang thinks), but because understanding is not something allowed of him and his role in society. At the end of the day, Esen is as much a slave to his role as all the other characters are, and now he's dead he will never be able to break free of the assumptions people have made of him. He went to his grave having destroyed the people he loved most, and now he will never have the chance to prove their assumptions wrong as be better.

[thyredwarden]

dorian and inquisitor getting old together is something that can be so personal.....

[tsuchinokoroyale]

It’s so good to see you.

Lies of P (2023)