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insight-chronicles · 24 days ago

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Chapter 2 - Latte Anyone?

Word Count: 3.1k

Content Warning: Swearing

Summary: Free Chai Latte with your best friend is ruined when Jinwoo shows up with fangirls in tow

Authors Note: Edited on my phone rather than my PC so i could get it up for you guys sooner so sorry if there's any mistakes with spelling/punctuation! Let me know if you find anything and I'll edit!

AO3

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You didn't want to move; you didn't want to think. You just wanted to enjoy your day off without any problems popping up. Everything had been fine, and all was going according to plan. Then, that new mission appeared, and nothing has been quite right since. You supposed it was a demon of your own making; you were so busy worrying about this new player and protecting the system that you didn’t stop to think. Or maybe you weren't thinking enough? See, this was the problem. You just didn't know what to think!

Every other mission, you had gotten side missions or level-ups when you were moving in the right direction, but with this one, you got nothing. The System had just left you in the dark.

You had even tried talking to the System. Or, well, talking into an empty room and hoping to get a response. But nothing. You'd tried it once before when the System had first contacted you, it hadn't worked then either. It was like you had completed a tutorial in a game, and then been dumped in a new area with no direction as to what to do next. You just felt so lost.

But today was Tuesday, and that meant you couldn't stay in bed and mope all day, unfortunately. Every week, you had Tuesdays and Fridays off work. You didn't mind working th weekend as it was usually quieter and allowed you to get more work done that wasn't evaluating hunters. What it being Tuesday meant was, it was your obligatory trip out to your best friends cafe.

In an attempt to stop you from being a total shut-in, Aera lured you down to the cafe with free Chai Lattes, your favourite drink, and hers was the best you had ever tried. Everytime, you attempted to pry the recipe out of her, she would refuse, saying it was the only way to get you out of the house, so why would she tell you. She was right, but that’s not the point. You deserved to know what made her version so damn heavenly.

With the thought of what was waiting for you, you dragged yourself out of bed and had a shower. A shower in the morning on your days off always seemed to refresh you more than any other time, even though the whole process took exactly the same amount of time whenever you did it. Psychology for you.

You dressed casually, in jeans and a dark oversized hoodie, you always relished your comfort clothes when you could wear them even though you liked to look smart and put together at work. A small spattering of makeup, which consisted of some mascara and a touch of tinted lipgloss. You loved a dark lip, but that was more for evenings and events, not popping down to the local coffee shop, so a tinted lip balm or gloss was your goto. Styling your hair is never as fun as people make out, you put in the effort when you had somewhere special to be, but in the day to day, dry and brushed was the standard. Happy the outfit worked together you left the bedroom heading towards the kitchen deciding to have breakfast first before you went out, that way you missed the worst of the morning rush and would be gone before the lunch rush began.

When you first started this routine, it had taken you a few traumatising visits before you got your timings right so the cafe wasn't too packed but still satified your friend that you were being social. You had also tried going on Fridays but the cafe was packed all day from open to close on a Friday and Saturday so that also ended in a failed attempt and quiet nearly a nervous breakdown on your part thanks to all the emotions that bombarded you at once as you walked through the door. It was always harder to deal with emotions in enclosed spaces than when you were out in the open.

Aera, of course, doesnt know why you can't stand crowds of people all she knows is that for some reason around a year and half ago it started to become harder and harder for you to be in crowds. She's been so supportive and is trying to help you in the only way she knows how and that just makes you love her more, even if she is a nosey gossip.

With breakfast made you take it to the sofa so you can catch up on your favourte programme before someone you follow on socal media spoils it for you. As you flick to the right streaming service you eyes catch on the book case, or more importantly on the medical books that line the bottom shelves, the memories flow back thick and fast.

As an E-Rank Healer you magic was pretty useless, but that didn't mean you had to be useless. Unlike most healers, who relied on their power, you went out of your way to learn everything you could about healing and medicine. You did every course short of becoming an actual doctor. All so you could help him. All so you could keep him alive. He meant everything to you but in the end it wasn't enough. You weren't enough.

A single tear escaped, sliding down your cheek. You wiped it away angrily. Annoyed your emotions had gotten the better of you again. This was why so many people had advised against you becoming a hunter, you were too soft. Overly emotional. Not cut out for the violence of a gate. They thought they were all proved right when you quit hunting and joined the archive team for Assocation but they don't know the real reason you stopped going into gates. Something you felt was much worse then all the bloodshed you had seen inside them. Becuase unlike what people assumed, you lived by a hunters moto “What happens in a Gate stays in a Gate”. You could compartmentalise better then anyone you knew, the fights and the bloodshed was almost easy to forget, after all you never got that attached to people. Aera and Him were the only people you have ever felt something for deeply aside from your parents and He had left, even after promising to never leave you. He broke his promise.

Dropping your head onto the back of the sofa, you let out an annoyed cry. Why does the memory of him always have a way of popping up when you need it the least? You know you should probably have thrown the books out, or at least donated them, but you just couldn't bring yourself to. There was something that made you want to hold on to them. Maybe the memories of the past, when things were better.

An hour later, you’re still staring at the ceiling, your breakfast lay untouched beside you.

The cafe is a short walk from your apartment, a walk you could do blinfolded thanks to Aera living above, and you hating people in your apartment so always meeting at hers. Another one of yur quirks that Aera just accepts.

With a deep breath to prepare yourself to the onslaught of emotions you were about to face, you walk through the door. A bell jingles to alert the staff of your presence.

Hae-Won Cafe was a small, simple affair whos decor lent to both the name of the cafe and the owners name. Styled with vines of cherry blossom and lanterns, Area had some how brought the outside in, making it feel like you were sat out in a garden in the spring time despite knowing you were in the middle of the city. It created a very romantic location that was a go-too place for dates and even proposals. Aera had a wall in her office covered in pictures of all the proposals that had been accepted at the cafe.

“Ahhh there you are!” Aera called across the room, making a few of the patrons already seated glance up before realising nothing special had happened and they could return to their drinks without missing something..

“Here I am.” Your face gave the impression that you had just eaten a sour piece fo fruit as the emotions of the room settled into you psyche, there was definitely at least one date happening in the cafe right now. and you hopped by the feelings you were getting that it was not a first.

“Seo-yeon, can you make us a Chai Latte, and I'll take a Green Tea.” The barista nodded that she understood before turning to fulfill the order “Thanks, darling, we'll just be over in the booth in the corner.” Aera called over her shoulder as she pulled you over to your usual booth. Situated in a quieter corner of the cafe where you were able to see everything going on in the cafe as well as the street beyond the store front. “Soo, how have you been?”

“I've been good.” There was something about Aera that just made you smile whenever she was around. “How about you?”

“Ah, ah, ah, you're not getting away with it that easily. Details, darling!” You rolled your eyes, you should have known. Aera was anything but easy to please, a perfectionist and gossip by nature, she was always looking for the next story and is only satisfied with all the details.

“Honestly I've been good, nothing to tell.” You try again, never one for sharing your feelings. She just continues to look at you expectantly. Damn. Sigh, “I've been busy, the Chairman's got a new assignment for me but…” you shrug.

“But…” Aera tries to coax more out of you. “What, girl, give me something! By the looks of your face, it's not more of that stuffy archive stuff you love, so it must be juicy.” She looks like a cat that caught the canary.

“Uhh, yeah not more archive stuff. Chairman Go wants me to find out more about Sung Jinwoo.”

“That sounds like boring archive stuff?”

“He wants me to do it by getting close to him.” You grimace. Aeras mouth dropped open, forming an O shape, she stayed like that for a few moments before getting herself together to continue her questioning.

“Wait, hang on a second, Chairman Go, wants you to get “close” to Sung Jinwoo,” you nod, “As in the most notorius S-Rank Hunter to probably have ever existed?”

“Exaggerate much” you laugh, shaking your head at your friend.

“No but seriously? You have to get close to Sung Jinwoo! How are you going to do that?” Just then, Seo-yeon placed your drinks on the table, “Thank you darling” Aera then lent forward, elbows on the table eager to hear the plan you didn't have.

“Umm. I dont really have a plan aside avoid Hunter Sung and trying to get others to reveal what happened on Jeju Island during the media blackouts in the hope I can figure out the extent of his power myself.” It was said in a rush as if you hopped that it would sound like a logical plan if you said ti fast enough. But you reaslised as you said it outloud how hopeful, yet hopeless, your plan was.

“Im sorry, WHAT? That's your plan? To go against the wishes of the Chairman and just hope you can figure it out by yourself? That is a stupid plan.” She said it so matter of factly you just shurgged, What else could you do? “You need to come up with a better plan, preferable one that actually gets Sung Jinwoo to trust you and reveal his secrets.” Just as you were about to respond with some snarky comment about your ability to be social, the barista called across the room at her boss. Aera looked over and saw that was a large queue at the counter.

“Shit, I better go help. We'll have to continue this later.” She stood up, grabbing her green tea to take with her. A thought suddenly occurred to you,

“Aera!” drawing her attention back to you, “I have a lunch date on Friday and I have a feeling none of the clothes I have will be suitable.” You grimace, at the thought of Aera reaction to the date, shopping for the date, or the date itself you weren't sure.

“WHAT!” That was more of a scream then anything else, “YOU HAVE A DATE!” Her eyes ping-ponged between you and the counter debating her options. “This conversation is not over.” She gave you a menacing look and then turned to make her way over the counter to deal with the sudden mass of people. Where had they all come from?

As much as you loved Aera she could be draining at times, the constant questions and happiness sapped your energy, you really didn't have to deal with so mnay more people emotions. You decided to pull your book out of your bag and read for a bit in the hopes it was distracting enough that you could finish your drink without getting overwhelmed by the number of people now in the cafe. With any luck by the time you were ready to leave, Aera would still be busy at the counter and you could leave without her noticing, having the conversation over text would be so much easier then her screaming at you the whole time.

You tried to concentrate on the latest chapter of your book, but the group of girls by the counter were being very loud and giggily. The tangle of emotions coming off them suggested there was something very exciting happening, feelings of nervousness, excitement, and even lust eminated from the group. God, it was bad enough when there was one date happening in the same room as you let alone a group of people all trying to get the attention of someone. It was too much. You looked over to the gaggle of girls just as they parted and the reason for all their emotions was revealed.

Sung Jinwoo.

Fuck, this could not be happening. The two of you locked eyes across the room, you gave him your best death glare whereas he seemed had a look of confusion and curiosity. Probably because a complete stranger was glaring at him. But for some reason he still took it as an invitation to come to your table.

Watching the faces of the girls fawning around him fall as he made his way to you was almost comical. Pathetic. Before you knew it, Jinwoo stood in front of you, behind him, you could see Aera giving you a thumbs up and an encouraging smile.

“Hey, is this seat taken?” He indicates to the side of the booth that Aera had just vacated. You looked longingly at your Chai Latte and signed, taking one last big gulp before getting up.

“No, you're all good, I was just leaving.” gathering your bag you made to leave.

“You don’t have to go. You just looked like you needed some company.” His eyes were so dejected you almost felt bad, but there was that nagging feeling that you couldn't trust him. Not being able to feel his feelings was so strange. You had spent so long now knowing what people were feeling, not having to trust what they said at face value, that you had forgotten how to read people like you used to. How can you trust someone when you don't know what they feel? You know everyone else has to, but you haven't for so long. Instead, you default to snark and sarcasm.

“Do you often go around telling people they look lonely?” You raise an eyebrow in question.

“Uhh,” he reached up with the hand not holding a drink, and scratched the back of his head, “No I can't say I do. Do you make a habit of running away from people when they approach you?”

“I certainly do when they are people I don't know and they come with a bunch of fangirls.“ You guesture to the women still stood by the counter, half of which were buying drinks with the other half watching your interaction closely.

“Hey, it's not like I invited them. They just seem to appear wherever I go these days.” he seemed embarrassed by them

“You are literally an S-Rank Hunter with superhuman speed, just lose them.” You said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. To you, it was.

“It's not that easy.” Apparently you were wrong, “One of them sees me and they post it on social media and suddenly there's a whole group of them. Had to stop them from following me in to a Gate the other day they were so oblivious to their surroundings.” There was a weird combination of a laugh and a head shake in disbelief of the people that fawn over him.

“Too many fan girls and not enough time.” You put on a fake pouty face

“I'd like to set the record straight right now,” He was suddenly serious, his eyes burning into you. “I don't want these fangirls. I never asked for this, and the sooner it calms down, the better. I much preferred being in complete obscurity, but it is what it is, and I have to deal with it.”

“Sure, whatever, I've never met a guy that wouldn't love that attention, so forgive me for not taking what you say at face value.” With renewed energy to turn to leave, only to have your progress stopped by a hand on your arm. Gasps from the fangirls filter across the room, you look down at the hand on your arm before moving your gaze to the face of the man holding you, it took all your will to stop your eyes from glowing green like you know they did when your power was close to the surface.

“I know it's difficult to understand but I would appreciate it if you gave me the benefit of the doubt. At least until you know me.” His eyes were soft, despite not being privy to his feelings you felt like he was being sincere in his confession. He lowered his voice so only you could hear it, it was strangely intimate, “You’ve been on my mind since that night 6 months ago. There was something about you then and there's something about you now, that draws me to you. I want to know you, what you think, what you feel. I want to know what makes you tick. But you have to let me in. I don't know why you don't trust but I promise you, I am someone you can trust.” You snort, unable to stop yourself. His brows furrow in confusion. You rip you arm out of his grip and sneer at him as you walk away.

“I know you plenty.”

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@weaponxgames

@tanspostsblog

@bubera974

@nightmarewasteland

#Solo leveling #sololeveling #solo leveling jinwoo #solo leveling fanfic #jinwoo sung #jinwoo #jinwoo x reader #sung jin woo #slow burn #Shadows of desire #insight chronicles #fanfiction #fanfic #wip #work in progress #sung jinwoo #Chapter 2

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starman-john-tracy · 2 months ago

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What's it like to have your dad back after such a long time? 🫂

“I… actually, honestly, I don’t think I can describe it.” John’s voice comes out far quieter than he’d intended. He shakes his head, soft and slow, and his shoulders tense like the question has set him on an edge he’s wary of toppling over.

“I… sometimes I don’t think I can even believe it. After all this time, Dad’s actually home and it’s real and-” John's shoulders roll themselves through a shrug, his Adam's apple bobbing visibly as he swallows. “All I have to do is walk downstairs and he’s there, sitting at his desk like nothing happened and-" and John doesn't think he knows how to vocalise what that means to him. The ginger head shakes again.

“So many times, while Dad was gone," His voice is surprisingly thick, "I’d call, expecting him to be there like normal. I'd forget, almost. But the comm would just ring and ring and- and now he’s actually back on the other end.” The astronaut laughs, but it sounds suspiciously wet. “He’s actually home.”

It’s so… unbelievable. Surreal. Beyond their wildest dreams.

The happiness it's brought is indescribable to John (who has trouble expressing such a thing at the best of times). He's just ridiculously deliriously, unmistakably happy - in a way he's never felt his whole life. It's like riding a drug high. Like a sky he'd forgotten was black has finally cleared. His heart just feels so full and the relief is all encompassing. John has, in fact, smiled so much recently that his cheeks have started to hurt. Gordon jabbed him in the face with a finger and asked him what was wrong with it. Twice.

Because, while John had never stopped looking - while Thunderbird Five never turned off the facial recognition protocols scanning the globe - that didn't mean he'd not stopped hoping. He thinks Scott had stopped too. Then Virgil and Gordon. Only Alan, really, who was eight at the time their Father had disappeared, and therefore too young to fully remember a time when he had always been there for them, had completely refused to accept the possibility he wasn’t coming back.

The systems and algorithms Five has designated to look for their Father are, actually, still running, even now. John can't quite bring himself to shut them down just yet. From the moment it was suggested that the Zero-X had launched Jeff Tracy into the Oort Cloud, that they could follow him there, everything has just seemed... too good to be true. Like this might all be an incredibly realistic dream he could wake up from. Like it would be giving up to turn them off, even though Jeff Tracy is right here; perfectly alive and safe with one hand on Scott's shoulder and the other arm curled around Alan, loudly talking their ears off about space rescue parameters.

John thinks that, maybe, the systems have just been running for so long, for so many years, that, like background noise, he's become intrinsically used to the blank, empty results - and that turning them off would feel like losing a vital part of his Thunderbird. Of maybe himself.

Only the results aren't blank anymore.

If John's honest, though, having him home has also been... a bit of a struggle to adjust to. Scott seemed to expected their Father to need to fully retire after his stint in space, for him to let them continue as they have been, but, if anything, now he's recovering Jeff seems more keen to get back into the running of International Rescue than ever. Had Scott properly thought about it, he would have known what they all did - Colonel Tracy would never let go of IR's reins. Not without a fight.

And it's making their current Field Commander butt his stubborn head hard against their old one's.

John thinks their Father needs to learn that, well... a lot has changed. His little boys have really grown up, and stepped into the shoes it took all five of them to fill.

The current problem is that Jeff thinks Alan's still too young to run ops by himself - but John has over a hundred successful mission logs from the times they had no choice but to send Alan up alone, to prove him wrong. He doesn't feel the man can really argue with both the evidence that his youngest son is a prodigy, or the fact it was Alan's determination, at the core of it, that saved him from deep space.

The kid's a better pilot than any of them, after all - and trained not by their Father like the rest of them, but by his big brothers and his own natural skill and sheer determination. They just need to get Jeff to see that he's the reason they’d gotten to him just in time.

Weak and malnutritioned - bleached thin and shaky by life in zero gravity, in space, with only old oxygen scrubbers and the bare minimum of ration bars that had been aboard the space plane, their Father is hardly the strong, idealised man they’d lost. He’s come back with something softer, quieter. Something a little more like John in ways the younger astronaut had always assumed he’d got from his Mother. Jeff talks to himself a lot, sleeps a lot, eats a lot. He’s a very much changed man by the experience.

But he’s still their Father.

And they’d have given anything to get him back home safely.

And, with their lives and Thunderbirds on the line, they almost had.

#did you want an essay becaUSE HERE YOU GO <3 #Thunderbirds RP #JohnTracy asks

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theforestghost · 9 months ago

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MegOP Week 2024 - Day 1

Day 1: Memory/Gift Fandom: Transformers Animated Prompt: Optimus is the reincarnation of the 13th but does not know it. Rating: G

Optimus stood in the observatory, optics watching the unfamiliar stars that twinkled all around him. Even though the system was unfamiliar, there was a sense of comfort being surrounded by space like this, by stars and meteors, no planets, no ships, just him and the universe. Like a cradle it wrapped its field around him in a familiar embrace he never remembered having. Despite his lack of memory, Optimus still returned to the stars any time he needed that embrace, seeking it out like a sparkling seeks their creators’ spark. Closing this optics, Optimus let himself be lulled into the unknown comfort that had now become nostalgic.

He was so engrossed in this feeling however, that he failed to notice the heavy steps coming up behind him, until an equally warm field did in fact wrap around him. Optimus opened his optics and looked up at Megatron who stood close enough to touch with the slightest movement. Far closer than anything Optimus thought he’d ever let the mech get.

But much had changed since they had first met. Now they could sit in Megatron’s habsuite, discuss poetry and stories over oil and if Optimus ever made a snide remark, well Megatron merely chuckled and watched him like he had said the most endearing thing in the universe. It did something to Optimus’ struts whenever Megatron looked at him like that and he’d outright denied it for so long that even Ratchet got tired of him. The medic had even teamed up with Strika of all bots to lock them in a room together until they sorted out their feelings and now here they were, basking in each other's fields under the stars.

Though Optimus was far from complaining. Especially when those large servos were trailing down his arms, sparking warmth across his frame as they did. Optimus let out a deep ex-vent and finally leaned back against Megatron’s chassis.

“What is going on in that processor of yours, little one.” Megatron asked, his voice deep and low, reverberating through Optimus’s back struts without mercy.

Optimus stayed silent for a klik, absorbing the comfort of his existence before turning his focus back to the stars. “For a while now, I’ve been having recharge fluxes that… confuse me.” Optimus spoke hesitantly. He didn’t exactly know how to explain these flashes of information he had been seeing. Of course he’d spoken to Ratchet about them, but the medic assumed it was just all of the stress getting to him, which made sense. “At first they were just recharge fluxes, but lately I get them when I’m not in recharge.”

“What do you see?” Megatron asks when Optimus goes quiet again.

Optimus bit his derma, optics focusing on a cluster of stars in the distance. “Mostly of Cybertronians, the same group of them over and over. I think there are twelve of them… sometimes the flux is of just one or two, other times it’s a group.” Optimus leaned back to completely rest against Megatron, letting the warlord hold him. “Sometimes we are talking, but I can barely make out what they are saying, usually just a glyph or two. Other times… we are fighting against an enemy but I can never make out who or what.”

“You don’t recognize any of them?” Megatron asked, carefully stroking Optimus’ arms with his digits. Optimus shook his helm.

“But I feel like I know them.” Optimus said, tilting his helm back to look at Megatron. “They feel just as familiar to me as you or any of my team do. Like I should know these conversations, these fights! That I should know their designations and what they mean to me but anytime I try to go deeper, it all cuts off! Like the wires just abruptly disconnect when I try to delve any deeper.”

Optimus had a frustrated pout on his derma, one that Megatron found quite adorable but he refrained from letting the mech know that. Optimus was clearly distressed over these visions he’s been having. “Have you always had these for recharge fluxes?” Megatron asked. Once again, Optimus shook his helm.

“No. They didn’t start till we got to Earth.” Optimus noted. “After… coming in contact with the AllSpark!”

“The AllSpark has the ability to heal more than just our frames, it is possible it partially recovered lost memories of yours.” Megatron said.

“Lost memories from when?” Optimus retorted. “I don’t have any gaps that I can recall!”

“The Council has means of overwriting a bot’s memories with ease. Shadow Play is a technique they are not beyond using if they deem necessary. You could have your entire processor rewritten and be none the wiser.” Megatron looked Optimus in the optic as he spoke, his derma tight in a line.

Optimus instinctively wanted to repute Megatron’s claims, defend the Council and deny his memories were ever changed. But he knew deeper down that Megatron could very easily be right. That the Council could very easily rewrite him and he’d never know. These were just some of the reasons why he’d chosen to side with Megatron in the end, because his Council had discarded them the moment they could.

“Great, so now I’m dealing with the possibility of having Shadow Play done to me along with everything else!” Optimus grumbled, crossing his arms over his chassis as he leaned more weight against Megatron. The large mech clearly didn’t mind as he moved his arms to embrace Optimus more.

“That is a possibility, I can have Soundwave look into it more though.” Megatron offered. “He is far more adverse in matters of the processor than I am.”

Optimus looked up at Megatron and pondered the idea. Soundwave was a telepath and had the ability to dive far deeper into one’s processor than a medic could. It felt invasive but Optimus wanted answers and Soundwave could give them to him.

“Okay.” He said.

Megatron smiled and gave Optimus a gentle squeeze. “I will inform him tomorrow then.”

“Thank you.” Optimus said with an ex-vent.

“I can think of a way you can properly thank you.” Megatron purred, leaning down.

Optimus turned to him and boldly pressed a kiss to Megatron’s derma but withdrew rather quickly. “That good enough?” He asked, his voice a light tease.

“No.” Megatron growled. He grabbed Optimus, lifting the smaller mech up and kissed him harder, using one servo to hold his helm. “I think this is a good start though.”

#optimus prime #megatron #optimus x megatron #fanfic #transformers animated #megop week 2024 #day 1 memory #Megop #tfa megop

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sunshine-overload · 1 month ago

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[BSTS] Recent Zakuro Related Chapters

This is just a collection of recent chapters relating to Zakuro and Hinata’s situations as well as what the black cards and the ‘institution’ are doing.

basically just a bunch of wack ass lore, enjoy !

S6CH5 - Common Chapter 6 Extra

-shipping container yard, night-

iwami: This place will be scrapped soon too, though I hope I can make it in time.

master: You're still using this place?

iwami: Uwah– Don't conceal your presence around me, I’m just a regular old person y’know.

master: You don't intend to answer?

iwami: The situation seems to have changed quite a bit on your end. Have you stopped pretending to be a moderate faction? Wasn't the 'organisations’ goal to neutralise them?

master: Yes, that has not changed. But the situation has started to move very quickly, so I intervened.

iwami: Haven't you got your cause and effect mixed up there? It's cause you intervened that things started moving.

master: If that's what it looks like to you, then that's fine. Whichever path you take, nothing can be stopped anymore.

iwami: You and Kei really are like teacher like student. You don't care what other people think and you don't explain anything either. You only devote yourselves to your goal.

master: Kei is already walking down a different path to me. He is not opposed to going against the organisation.

iwami: His goal hasn't changed from when he was safeguarded by the organisation until now. It's always been the same.

Sigh, alas there's always a flipside to a nice conversation. I was told by youngsters all the time. “The research laboratories vary greatly, you should do proper research into them first.” “You should question cutting edge laboratories even more than the scouts.”

master: That's because a regular person can't sniff out whether or not it's a laboratory under the institution's influence. Back then and now still, you're a regular person. The Miki couple are the same.

iwami: True but still. We were just lucky to have been saved by your organisation.

master: You should be grateful that coincidence occured. At the time you had no idea that your research was being used for illegal experiments.

iwami: Whether my research was used with or without my consent makes no difference. Either way, I wasn't able to destroy and discard everything.

A dosage of medication that's too strong will become poison. There was always a chance the research would be started up again, and that's exactly what happened.

master: Was the reason you also continued your research after escaping the institution really because you wanted to put an end to it all?

iwami: I wanted to fix things before the institution found me. Except I wasn't able to hide myself completely, even with your organisation's help. And ultimately, they found me.

I never should've become an IT engineer, I should've just become a farmer in the countryside or something…

master: But there's no way you would've done that. Throwing everything away is difficult.

iwami: I should've at least been a lower rank engineer. Then I could've just ignored it if any of the systems went up in flames.

master: It's too late for that now, but back then what would've been your best option yes. Including when the institution invited you to the project.

iwami: Is the institution the source of that too?

master: It's possible. You should know already that the institution will stop at nothing to achieve their goals, what they want is complete control over BLACKCARD.

iwami: Even though we implemented the two bracket system to confuse them, we're out of time. They seemed to be pretty fooled by the camouflaged dark net though.

master: You didn't truly believe that you could hide the primary control system there forever, did you?

iwami: That's why the institution sent an agent of theirs to Starless.

master: If you have somebody with inside knowledge, it's easy to obtain information and respond if the worst were to occur.

iwami: I managed to buy enough time though.

master: For how long will they be saved this time?

iwami: I’m not sure, I want to say for as long as possible but… My issue wasn't realised. Also, the institution warped my research, it'll be tough to deal with the damage that's been done.

master: Is it already too late for Hinata then? is he aware of this?

iwami: …One of the two is aware.

master: It's the beginning of the end, huh?

iwami: I’m not the one who'll start the end. I told you, I’m already out of time.

master: Then, who will?

iwami: It's the prince's role to wake the sleeping princess, isn't it? Though all of them are just thugs, not princes.

–end

S6CH5 - SideB Chapter 5

Iwami hands Saki a note to hand over to Zakuro because Iwami ‘has no way of contacting him’. Upon reading the note, Zakuro appears bothered.

S6CH5 - SideB Chapter 6

-street, night-

zakuro: Good work today. Your stage was great once again.

hinata: Woah you really showed up.

zakuro: Oh my, that face. You look as though you weren't expecting me to meet with you.

hinata: My brother trusted you would come but I wasn't so sure.

zakuro: Now then, here is the item that you requested. The disc that was mentioned in Iwami-san’s note.

zakuro: However before I hand it over to you, let's discuss. This is an important matter after all.

hinata: Are you trying to ask how Iwa-san knew that you had that disc?

zakuro: No, what I want to ask is why you need this disc. The one who created this disc and left it behind at the old Starless building was likely Iwami-san.

Another thing I don't understand is why Iwami-san himself wants it. Can he not just create another?

hinata: Iwa-san said he can't make them anymore. He said it's a problem of environment and lack of materials.

zakuro: Environment and lack of materials. I see, there must be some reason for that. Indeed, indeed. Circumstances have changed and quite some time has passed, it's true.

hinata: Iwa-san is only familiar with the first research stage. That's something that only happened at the first research lab.

zakuro: Hm, if you're going to talk about that I’d be careful. Is this why you chose a crowded place to speak with me?

hinata: Yeah. Not a single person passing by is interested in us, right? It's as if you and I can't afford to be paying attention to anything else…

My brother told me that we don't have much time left. You don't have any time left either, do you? We're the same.

zakuro: The same? You and I? Iwami-san said something similar to me. That we do not have much time left.

hinata: Iwa-san is different from us though. You should know that. I mean, we're of the same class, aren't we? You’re an early development line from the second stage of research.

zakuro: ……

hinata: Everyone at the lab said that it was a successful line that had been started up twice.

-hinata snatches the disc from zakuro-

hinata: I’ll be taking this disc. Iwa-san and my brother both told me that if I have this I might last longer.

zakuro: When you said that we're of the same class, does that mean that you also escaped from the research laboratory?

hinata: Yeah. The final development line of stage two, that was us twins. We were both failures, apparently the research hit a dead end. So, that's why we ran away before we died. You did the same, right?

zakuro: …Very well, I will let you have that disc. I’ll see you again at Starless tomorrow. Good night, Hinata.

hinata: See ya, Zakuro.

-hinata leaves-

zakuro: At the very least, I hope that tomorrow comes… As there is not much else I can do besides wish for that.

–end

(note: It was confirmed in a different recent chapter that Hinata and his brother do indeed share the same body.)

S6 C Medley - Chapter 6

-backstage rooms-

kasumi: ……. (sad)

saki: Kasumi-san, everyone else has already headed back to Starless.

kasumi: Ah, yeah.

saki: Are you ok? You look pale.

kasumi: No, it's just… I handed the documents over to the police.

saki: What happened?

kasumi: There was definitive proof regarding the incident that killed my parents but… There was still no indication of where my sister is. Those documents definitely should have contained her whereabouts. All I know is that she was brought to Tokyo, but I need more information than that.

saki: No way…

kasumi: ……. (sad)

-aogiri appears-

aogiri: That's because she signed a contract in order to escape.

saki: Aogiri-san…

aogiri: I’m sorry for interrupting your conversation, however I thought it would be best to inform you of this. I prepared a copy of her contract for you, here.

kasumi: This contract holder's name… This date… Why on earth do you have access to my sister’s contract? This is dated the day after she went missing.

saki: What!? What does that mean?

aogiri: That is a basic contract for a certain clinical trial. Your sister signed it and participated in the trial. That contract doesn't contain all of the details, however that clinical trial also involves plastic surgery. I don't know what happened after she signed it, but once the trial was completed, she likely started going by a different name.

kasumi: But why would she… No, it was in order to escape, right? It's like how I’ve been living without drawing any attention to myself.

aogiri: That is all the information that I can give you.

(note: Aogiri has been confirmed to be the spy that was sent by the institution.)

S6CH6 - SideB Chapter 2-2

-starless outside balcony-

aogiri: …….

aogiri: ‘Dizziness, emptiness, am I me?’ … I don't get it.

zakuro: Those were my final words. You should know them well.

aogiri: You're No.2? Have you finally decided to stop avoiding me then?

zakuro: Me avoiding you? Or was it you avoiding me?

aogiri: True, I suppose I was the one avoiding you. You know the reason why, don't you? No, you wouldn't. Because you're not No.2.

zakuro: Hm hm, it appears you figured something out. Though now that you mentioned it, No.2 was different, nothing but an illogical jester.

Then allow me to ask you instead. Do you know what is necessary in order for ‘Zakuro’ to become me?

aogiri: Hmm, that's almost like a philosophical question. What is needed for someone to be themselves?

zakuro: In any case, No.2 is already No.3, and that is who is standing before you now.

The No.2 that you are oh so obsessed with is already swaying between the waves of the past. The second ‘Zakuro’... Hm.

Shall we proceed with our exchange of information then? I’d like to know about No.2 please.

aogiri: So you want the information that I have on No.2? What will you give me in exchange? I’m not going to agree to say anything if it is of no benefit to me.

zakuro: I may decide to remember the memories of No.2 that you are after. You’re wavering and may just need them, am I right, Aogiri?

aogiri: Me? Wavering? Do I really appear to be lost? I see, how intriguing. You cannot guarantee that you even have the memories either.

Let's make the value of the information equal then. Just the chance of knowing No.2’s past is too weak of a bargain.

Why did No.1 run from the institution? Does No.3 even remember where he came from? If you can answer this set of questions, then I will tell you the information that I have on No.2.

zakuro: My, what a firm way of negotiating. Now I’m even more concerned about just how different No.2 is.

I would like to agree to your terms, however, just how well acquainted are you with ‘Zakuro’?

aogiri: Shh.

-lico steps out onto the balcony-

lico: —Uwah, Aogiri!?

zakuro: Oh my, Lico. Are you here to smoke? That was quite an overblown reaction.

lico: I didn't think anybody was out here. You don't mind if I smoke, right?

aogiri: Go ahead. Apologies for spooking you.

lico: We ran into each other here the other day as well remember? That's why I was so surprised, my bad. If you two were in the middle of something I can go elsewhere.

zakuro: Thank you for your concern but we just finished up our conversation.

aogiri: Yes, indeed. Then, I will speak with you again soon, Zakuro.

-zaku and aog leave-

lico: …Maybe I should stop coming out here to smoke.

–end

S6CH6 - SideA Chapter 5

-shrine entrance, night-

zakuro: …Do you have business with me?

master: Yes, it has turned out as such. What are you doing here?

zakuro: Let's say I’m here to pray, to this subordinate shrine of performing arts.

master: Requesting help from the Gods are you? Interesting.

zakuro: Hm, you look skeptical. What are you unsatisfied with?

master: Let me ask you a question then. Who on earth are you?

zakuro: Who am I? I thought you were already aware?

master: The one that I know, to be specific, is only the first one of you.

zakuro: Hm hm, so you want specifics? Then allow me to express my gratitude to you as the third. I’m thankful for when you raided the institution’s research laboratory back then. It's thanks to your organisation’s interference that I was able to escape.

master: ……..

zakuro: You should have already heard from Kei, no? That I am No.3.

master: You're self aware of the fact that you're No.3?

zakuro: What are you trying to say? How about we recap for fun, shall we?

The me who first came to Starless, the one that you know, is No.1.

And then, after Showdown, he switched out with No.2.

The switch to No.3 was set up like an accident. No.2 tumbled down the stairs and then I took his place.

master: ……..

zakuro: My, you still don't look satisfied with that explanation. You’re aware of it too, aren't you? That ‘Zakuro No.1’ wasn't the original either.

master: That's not the part I’m concerned about.

zakuro: Oh? Then do tell, what is it?

master: …Where did No.2 and No.3 come from?

zakuro: Ngh….

master: No.1 escaped from the research laboratory. ‘Zakuro’, those with the same face and no memories– Where did they come from, and why did you trade places?

You don't have the memories to answer that question either, do you? When and where did you inherit your memories from?

-master leaves-

zakuro: …Where did we come from? Who are we— And where are we going?

–end

#bsts translation #bsts main story #bsts zakuro

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acti-veg · 1 month ago

Note

Hello again, I’m the same anon who just sent an ask about their brother’s questions. Another more specific thing he’s asked me: Does it harm a cow if a human regularly milks it without taking away the calf?

Our mom used to have a cow in her childhood and she keeps telling us that milking didn’t cause the cow any harm or distress at all. She says the calf still had enough milk to nurse. I’m honestly not sure, but I can’t find any information about this. Which is weird, because I’d expect a lot more people to wonder about this, vegan or not.

Thanks again! :)

You can conceivably have a cow on a farmstead with her calf, and have some milk while the calf is still allowed to feed. This is not viable for a commercial operation though, because you don’t get enough milk to be very profitable when you account for the cost of feed, shelter, heat, water and veterinary care. It is also a problem if the calf is male, because you have to pay all those costs with no profit indefinitely, unless you’re willing to sell them for beef production, in which case the entire sham of this being humane is obviously made completely redundant. Even if you get females, you end up expanding your production indefinitely unless you’re willing to slaughter.

There is also the fact that, like any mammal, a cow’s milk will taper off over time once the calf has been born and no longer requires breastmilk. You usually only get about 10 months of steady milk production. They then need to be impregnated again if you want to continue to milk them, and they can only endure this intensive process 3-4 times. Pregnancy is not risk free, and childbirth obviously takes a physical toll - all of which is manipulated and endured for our benefit. You then have a cow who is not producing any milk but still costs a lot to maintain. Thats why they’re usually killed at about 6.5 years old.

It should go without saying that you need quite a bit of land and resources to be able to own and feed your own cow for milk production, even setting aside the fact that you need a bull or their at least their sperm as well, and you need to be able to afford the calves. This is just completely inaccessible for anyone living in a city, which most people do. Even in rural communities there just isn’t enough land for this to be a solution to commercial agriculture, we already use 2/3 of all arable land for animal agriculture under our current system. This would also be much more inefficient and wildly unsustainable, given the methane emissions of cows.

I think it is likely that your mother is remembering her childhood from under the veil of nostalgia. Does she remember what happened to the calves after they grew up? What happened to the males? What happened to the cows themselves once they could no longer produce milk? It’s a nice idea for someone who wants milk without feeling cruel, but it isn’t practical for anyone who isn’t rich and willing to operate at a loss. Even if it were, that isn’t where she is getting her milk now, so it’s not very relevant to any conversations about her current consumption. Besides, as you said, it still wrong to exploit someone else’s body and reproductive system because you want to drink their breastmilk.

#ask #vegan #dairy #humane myth

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mingtinysworld · 1 year ago

Note

Hi there!

I saw your requests are open and I thought, maybe just give it a try 🙈 I've read "addicted" by you, and even though I don't really enjoy reading smut, I do love your writing style.

Sooo, would you be up to write something fluff/angst with Mingi or Wooyoung, and him fighting over something stupid with his girlfriend (reader) and she leaving the dorm/kq building/wherever they fought? Maybe she even turns off the phone or smith to be alone for a bit, but in the end they talk about it and everything is all fluff again? 🥺🙈

If you're not up for writing something like this, don't hesitate to let me know though, no need to force yourself to write it, okay? ☺️

Lovely greetings, Kat ☺️

Hi Kat!!

Thank you for this request, I love it a lot hehe. I can totally imagine Mingi in this situation and I’m a sucker for angst to fluff ugh. I hope you like this! It’s honestly hard for me to just do fluff, but I hope I did it justice and it’s not cringy haha. Thank you for the love and hope you have an awesome day mwah - J

Time for me

Pairing: song mingi x gn!reader

Genre: fluff, angst

Summary: you and your boyfriend Mingi come to a misunderstanding and end up hurting each other. He tries to make up with you, trying to prove his never ending love.

You sway to the rhythm of the music, heart pounding from the loud boom of the bass. You’re fairly sober, only having taken two shots of vodka so far, still feeling so bright. So many bodies surround you that you have a hard time finding your friends.

Only one hour ago, you decided that you needed a night out. You called your closest friends, Seonghwa and Yunho, and made plans immediately. You knew the two even before your boyfriend Mingi. He gets along with them quite well, but you’d classify them as more of your best friends.

After a couple more hours, the two boys round you up and you decide to call it a night. They very kindly drop you off at your shared apartment with Mingi, and say their good nights. You turn back to the door and use your key to open up, slightly stumbling from the alcohol in your system.

As you enter, you catch sight of Mingi sitting on the loveseat by the window. His leg is propped up on his knee and his arms are crossed. You would be lying if you said he didn’t look intimidating. You set down your purse and phone on the counter and proceed to take your heels off.

“Hi baby, what’s up?” You say casually.

He scoffs as the side of his mouth goes up bitterly. “Not much, my girlfriend just decided to go out without letting me know, and I’ve been sitting here waiting, for a text perhaps. But what do I get? A fucking update from Seonghwa on his story.”

Your face goes pale from his harsh tone. You honestly were so out of it you didn’t even think of texting Mingi. Figuring you were safe enough with your two friends, you completely forgot about it. Guilt fills you and you look at him apologetically.

“I’m so sorry Min, I totally forgot to text you. I really just needed a night out and I was safe, I promise. You know how great Seonghwa and Yunho are.”

He stands up and is now towering over you, stormy eyes looking at you intently. “You always do this y/n, always leaving me for those two. I’m your boyfriend, so why are you spending more time with them?”

His words surprise you. “Is that what this is about? You’re jealous that I’m hanging out with my friends? Mingi, you know damn well that I’m allowed to do that, I don’t understand why you’re being so difficult.” At your words his eyebrows furrow and you have to resist the urge to smooth it down.

“I’m not fucking jealous,” he hisses out. “I would just love it if my girlfriend kept me informed and didn’t act like a total slut all the time.” Immediately he regrets his words. He registers the immense hurt in your eyes and tries to reach out for you. You take in a shuddering breath and step back. Your eyes fill with tears and you speak with a trembling lip.

“I can’t do this, I’m sorry.” You choke out.

You storm out before Mingi can get a word out. Almost instantly your phone comes to life, flashing Mingi’s picture on the screen. You can’t believe he has the nerve to call you right now.

Torn between sad and angry, you’re left with only one option; to go to your best friends.

You show up with puffy cheeks and eyes, harshly wiping away any tears that escape. Yunho opens the door and is immediately filled with concern. He pulls you into his embrace and holds you for what feels like an eternity.

Once you calm down, you’re able to tell him all that happened. Both him and Seonghwa are filled with anger at the way Mingi acted towards you. After some reflection, you realize your wrong doing as well. You should’ve texted him, letting him know you would be out. You also should’ve put in more effort to spend time with him. But that does not excuse him and his harmful words.

You look down at your black screen, having turned it off long ago. You couldn’t handle his insistent calls and frantic texts. You spend the night at their shared apartment, not having the energy to go back to Mingi at the moment.

In the morning, you wake up with a tired ache in your body. You head to the kitchen, wanting to get some food in you. You see the boys sitting at the counter, looking at a piece of paper.

“What’s that?” You ask.

They look up with a somber expression. “It’s a note from Mingi, he must’ve left it early morning.” You take it from Yunho’s hands and read it over.

Y/n, I’m so so sorry. I had absolutely no right to call you that. And I’m so sorry that I acted so childishly. I know you love me, and would never do anything to show otherwise. Please come home so we can talk about this. I promise this will never happen again. I love you, a lot. Come home baby - Mingi

Your eyes tear up at the note, and you decide to go back home. You give the boys a grateful hug, and head out. As you near your door, your heart keeps pounding loudly. You swallow nervously and knock, feeling awkward in using your key. The door opens, revealing a disheveled Mingi.

His face drops into relief and he engulfs you with his arms. “Oh baby, I’m so sorry. You didn’t deserve that.” He whispers into your hair. You ball up the end of his shirt into your fists, holding on so tight.

“I’m sorry too Min. I didn’t realize I was spending such little time with you. I want to fix that, and recommit. You deserve better.” You say with a sniffle.

He smiles at you fondly, and runs a loving hand through your hair. “You deserve everything my love.” He then kisses you with a gentle hand on your waist. He leaves featherlight touches across your bare arms, leaving goosebumps behind. You decide to stay in his warm embrace, reveling in the fact that Mingi is yours and you are his.

#ateez #mingtinysworld #ateez fic #ateez scenarios #request #mingi #ateez mingi #song mingi #ateez fluff

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gascon-en-exil · 3 months ago

Text

Sixty-Four Ways in which Octopath Traveler II Improves Upon the First Game

In honor of Octopath Traveler II's second anniversary, I've put together a list of the many ways in which this game excels above and beyond the solid foundation laid down by its predecessor. Why sixty-four? Because it's eight squared...or eight to the second power, if you will. This series practically begs for lame numerical jokes.

Obligatory disclaimer: I am not claiming that the original Octopath Traveler is a bad game.

I played and enjoyed OT quite a bit when it came out, and I completed another full playthrough during the last few months as I was starting to put this post together. Around half this list came about from stuff I'd only remembered in replaying OT for the first time in years. I do still think it's a good game, and I had a fun time going through it again - but I also think that OT2 surpasses it by just about every objective metric.

And that's a good thing! It's great to see game developers taking feedback on a first project and using it to make improvements to the follow-up. If there's ever an Octopath Traveler III I would only hope that they continue to do so and make the newest iteration even better in which case I'll then have to make a list of 512 reasons why it's better, God help me. I have however gotten angry anons in the past whenever I've praised OT2 too much over the first game, so this is my attempt at heading that off at the start. A bunch of these points are straightforward improvements in game design; it's only near the end where I start dipping into more subjective territory even though I do have my points to make there as well.

#64. Battle speed toggle

This is what you're going to notice first, no questions asked, and also why you should absolutely never play OT right after OT2. Double battle speed is something you won't realize you miss until it's not an option. As an added bonus, the x2 modifier isn't a basic fast-forward toggle but still allows the animations and audio to be fully enjoyable at double speed.

#63. No purple chests

This is one even the biggest OT defenders will concede. Forcing you to bring a specific character into almost every dungeon lest you miss out on some prime loot (or alternatively requiring you to awkwardly backtrack with Therion later) is just bad game design.

#62. More interesting Talents

Related to this, Therion's Talent slot being taken up by the purple chest feature is just one of several boring mechanics occupying that space, alongside Ophilia and Primrose's NPC summons, Olberic's group defend command, and Tressa finding money when entering a new screen. They're all functional, but it makes traveler Talents feel rather underwhelming on the whole. OT2 dispenses with this. Summoning is still present but not a Talent, and the others mentioned have all been replaced with more engaging stuff like AoE buffs/debuffs (Throné and Temenos), new mechanics for escort NPCs (Partitio and Agnea), and the ability to learn combat skills from NPCs (Hikari).

#61. Capture and Concoct are redesigned

Technically applies to the scholars' Analyze as well, but that only got a small buff in the second game. These two Talents on the other hand are vastly improved. Concoct in OT2 can now be boosted and also interacts with Castti's Latent Power for easier resource management, and is overall stronger and more versatile even if it lost three of its element-breaking options.

But Ochette is the real winner when it comes to Talents. H'annit's Beast Lore is a clunky Pokémon-esque system that's rarely worth using when there's a less awkward Path Action that does the same thing as hers (Olberic's) and when the limited summons on beasts discourages you from using them much outside of certain boss summons vs. Galdera or similar (and even then there are easier setups). In OT2 though beasts can be summoned any number of times, and Ochette has a chance to auto-capture them so she can build up a stable of summons even without going through the hassle of whittling down their HP and throwing a Pokéball spending turns trying to capture them. That beasts you don't need any more can be turned into consumable items adds yet another useful layer to the mechanic, and Ochette's companion animal and access to story-based summons grow along with her unlike H'annit's leopard.

#60. A recent inventory tab

Another small but appreciated quality of life feature. In OT items and equipment you obtain are immediately sorted into a set order within your inventory, which can make them tough to find if you just got a new weapon or armor piece and want to try it out on someone. OT2 has a tab organizing your inventory in the order it was acquired, so that's less of a hassle.

#59. Opening chapters are more organically handled

OT begins opening chapters for your non-starting traveler in medias res, allowing the rest of the party to come along for the combat segments and scaling up the challenge as you recruit more travelers. This would be nice for earlygame leveling...except for the nagging issue of your starting traveler being forced (something OT2 unfortunately does not fix) so it's impossible to keep everyone at equal levels even if you try.

OT2 improves this in several ways. One is that opening chapters for the other travelers are now optional if you don't want to bother with the easy early stuff. Another is that these chapters are now "instanced" in a sense, only available to their respective traveler. This allows their difficulty to remain evenly tuned for the specific experience of starting out with each character, and is also about as close as OT2 gets to acknowledging the disconnect both games have in their individual stories, i.e. that they're never written like these characters have an entire JRPG party behind them all the time. In their Chapter 1s (and Osvald's Chapter 2) at least, they don't.

#58. As well as being more fair if you start with one of the squishier travelers

Certain travelers are rough to begin with in OT because they're either glass cannons (Cyrus), lacking in offensive options (Ophilia), or both (Primrose). OT2 solves this by giving the travelers with these same starting jobs temporary party members who help them in their dungeons and boss fights and also do a good job of teaching the player how best to use these more group-oriented jobs.

#57. A smoother difficulty curve in earlygame

Even though the travelers can't tag along with the others' introductions anymore, OT2 makes up for this by reducing the challenge level of the early midgame. Chapter 2s in OT all have level recommendations in the 20s, whereas in OT2 they're all in the teens. This makes getting out of the earlygame and moving on to bigger things less daunting from the start, on top of several of the improvements coming up.

#56. Time of day acts as another difficulty toggle

The day/night system of OT2 impacts a wide variety of game elements, but one of its subtler effects is that the random encounter rate is higher at night. This allows you to more easily tailor your leveling experience to your party's current strength. Further, nighttime enemy groups generally being tougher can be counterbalanced by fielding Throné and/or Temenos with their night-based combat Talents.

#55. Redesigned job skill lists

Most of the base jobs have improved skill lists in OT2. Dancer has more offensive options like Ruinous Kick and Dagger Dance, scholar is more flexible both in terms of damage (Elemental Barrage) and support, hunter drops two low-accuracy, multi-hit bow skills in exchange for a more precise one and an actual axe skill, cleric can restore its own SP with Mystical Staff, etc. Warrior loses the easy opening cleave of Level Slash, but gets the arguably more versatile Aggressive Slash and the useful Vengeful Blade instead. The only ones that feel a bit weaker are thief for losing Share SP and merchant for losing out on its magical AoE option...but Sidestep, Donate BP, and Hired Help are all accounted for and just as strong as ever if not more.

#54. More flexibility with breaking and boosting

OT2 introduces a number of readily-accessible ways (ex. Ruinous Kick, Weak to Poison, Ochette and Temenos's Latent Powers) to break enemies regardless of their weaknesses, which cuts down on the annoyance of having to build teams around covering every possible scenario. There's also more uses for BP, such as the aforementioned Concoct as well as various other Latent Powers. Partitio's Latent combines with Donate BP and a support skill he can grab early on (see below) to make him into a reliable BP battery. As these are the two signature features of Octopath's battle system, these upgrades are much-appreciated.

#53. Earlier access to EXP/JP-boosting support skills and accessories

OT locks the support skills boosting EXP and JP behind secret jobs and the equivalent accessories behind post-story side quests. OT2 on the other hand provides the former from base jobs and the latter from chests in the late midgame, with the JP Augmentor in particular being accessible very early if you know where it is and don't mind cheesing your way through a certain area. There's additionally another base job support skill that increases gains in both at night, which makes early leveling even quicker.

#52. Overall stronger early support skill options

On top of these, Boost-Start (+1 BP at the beginning of combat) has also been bumped down to a base job. It's joined by powerful new additions like Full Power (full Latent Power at the beginning of combat), Vigorous Victor (30% HP and SP regen after each battle, which largely makes up for SP Saver now coming from a lategame secret job), More Rare Monsters (easier Cait and Octopuff hunting), and of course A Step Ahead from the early secret job Inventor which can break most encounters.

#51. The job license system

In OT no two travelers can have the same secondary job, but in the second game you can acquire up to three licenses for each of the base jobs for a maximum of four travelers using each at once if you choose. These licenses also provide some nice bits of optional gathering content, and apart from scholar and to a lesser extent apothecary - which require stealing rare drops off uncommon enemies - none of them are particularly frustrating to obtain.

#50. Caits (and Octopuffs) are more of an event but also easier to find

As mentioned, the hunter support skill More Rare Monsters exists to make these high-value enemies more likely to spawn, and there are additionally accessories that do the same thing (and stack with the skill, I think?). They also get their own distinctively quirky battle theme music so you're guaranteed not to miss them.

#49. More Path Actions offer more overall flexibility

OT2 doubles the number of Path Actions that serve the same purpose (obtaining info, escorting NPCs, etc.), which greatly increases the range of possible party combinations to cover whatever you might need as well as gives you more options for accomplishing specific goals, ex. getting items based on your level, or knocking out NPCs without having to fight them. The in-game time system does occasionally limit these options since not all NPCs are available both day and night, but all the same it's a welcome improvement.

#48. Variety in chapter and story structure

A common criticism of OT is that, with only one significant exception (Olberic's Chapter 2), every one of its thirty-two story chapters follows exactly the same format: town exploration, usually requiring the traveler's Path Action -> dungeon -> boss. In OT2 some chapters lack dungeons, bosses, or both. While less content might seem like a drawback, it really helps the structure feel less repetitive, and because there's forty total chapters, with the non-boss chapters being split evenly among the cast, the overall experience doesn't feel less substantial. It allows also for -

#47. Fewer random dungeons/bosses

A common problem of OT leashing its stories too strictly to the dungeon + boss structure is that several times one or both of those elements will feel tacked on purely out of obligation and not in service to the narrative. Take Ophilia's and H'annit's Chapter 2s, or Alfyn's Chapter 4...or both Chapters 3 and 4 for Tressa. Because OT2 is comfortable allowing certain chapters to pass without these, this is much less of an issue. Some of the game's most dramatic story beats come out of chapters that lack bosses, ex. Osvald's Chapter 2 or Castti's Chapter 3, while others like Agnea's Chapter 3 and Ochette's Chapter 2 (Cataracta) provide room for character moments by dialing back on the combat.

#46. More overall nonlinearity

That parenthetical up there is significant, because around half of OT2's stories have chapters that can be completed in any order. While this isn't executed perfectly - recommended levels will still railroad you in most cases - the greater variety of options at any one time gives you more choices when deciding which traveler's story to continue next in contrast to the strict linearity of each of the stories in OT. Further helping this is the fact that -

#45. Solistia is more geographically complex

Orsterra is so obviously laid out as a video game world that it could be called a deliberate stylistic choice: eight biomes in a ring around an inaccessible center, with all of its areas divided across three concentric circles starting from the inside and working outward. It's incredibly artificial, and opinions will vary as to whether that's charming or silly.

While Solistia still has the common video game issue of wildly contrasting biomes right next to each other (its western continent is especially bad about this), in all other respects it's a much less predictably-designed setting. There are no rings or obvious circular paths around the world, the regions are broken up across two continents and a large island, and chapters now jump around locations in a less blatantly linear way making the threefold division between early, middle, and lategame towns slightly less on the nose.

#44. The creepy RNG-dependent endgame previews

There's a lot of negative points to be made about how little effort OT makes in setting up its final boss that I'll bring up later, but one early quirk of OT2 is that you'll randomly enter a different screen only for it to be eerily dark and filled with strange shadowy monsters you won't fight anywhere else...and then once you beat them, the screen goes back to its normal state as if nothing happened. It's very unsettling the first time it happens, and even when you know it can happen it's rare enough to still catch you off guard.

#43. The ship opens up the world

And getting back to geography, once you buy a ship around the game's midpoint OT2's exploration opens up quite a bit compared to the first game. The Sundering Sea is a semi-open traveling space with treasure, distinctive enemy encounters, and optional dungeons and bosses all its own. It's an appreciated aesthetic addition as well, since it offers you a perspective on the world of Solistia that you wouldn't get to see otherwise. This is another worthwhile departure from OT's rigid wheel-and-spoke map layout.

#42. Fewer optional dungeons offset by more mandatory ones

Looking at raw data, OT has a larger array of optional dungeons: 28 vs. 19. Those numbers may vary slightly depending on how you define a dungeon in this series, but the point is that the first game has more of them. It doesn't really feel that way however, because with more chapters as well as the Crossed Path system OT2's overall dungeon count turns out to be roughly the same in the end. This also allows OT2's optional dungeons to stand out more as a group, with all but one of them by my recollection either having a boss, an associated side quest, and/or a unique piece of loot needed for one of the secret jobs. A handful of OT's optional dungeons seemingly exist only for level grinding as well as whatever's available in their treasure chests. But while we're talking about dungeons...

#41. (Slightly) more dungeon type variety

Try to name an OT dungeon, mandatory or otherwise, that isn't a cave, forest, sewer, ruins, or lavishly-decorated interior space. At times they'll vary based on which biome they're in, ex. the ones in the Frostlands will be snowy, but that's about it. OT2 brings back all of the above for its dungeon settings, but there are also some more inventive ones like a ghost ship, factories, a clock tower, a ruined castle, or canyon ravines. When there's over fifty such spaces in each game to explore, even that bit of extra variety is appreciated.

#40. Improved visibility in low light areas

Here's one I noticed only on my recent replay: OT is dark in a lot of places, particularly in many of the aforementioned cave and forest dungeons. While that's nice for atmosphere, the lighting can sometimes be so poor that it's hard to tell where you're going which is more frustrating than anything. In spite of its day/night system and its main plot about an endless night, OT2 is ironically the brighter game all around, with visibility noticeably better in even the darkest dungeons. The only times I can recall it being an issue are in the Cavern of the Moon and Sun where it's worked into exploration (you have to keep flipping between day and night to illuminate the path ahead) and in the dungeons you'll have to go into during the Final Story when everything is covered in dense purple mist. In that instance though the darkness matches the story, and additionally those dungeons are ones you've already entered before under normal conditions, so you're not fumbling around in the dark of a completely unknown space.

#39. More interesting rewards from chests

Another point I noticed only recently. An oddly large number of chests in OT contain either money or common consumables, which while undeniably useful also aren't the most exciting things to get when you open up a chest (especially if it's a purple chest!). OT2 largely fixes this by offering rare rewards from chests more often, whether that be equipment or less easily obtainable items.

#38. Major money sinks to make leaves more valuable

Money is more valuable in the Octopath games than in many other JRPGs due to everything merchants can do with leaves, but it's still fairly easy to amass a ton of wealth in both titles just from exploring and battling and getting most of your equipment from chests, stealing, etc. rather than buying it. It'll take longer to get to where you can thoughtlessly fire off a Hired Help every battle in OT2 however, because between the mandatory ship (100K leaves) and the two extra merchant job licenses (100K and 300K) there's enough big ticket items in the midgame to keep you watching your wallet.

Having three Path Actions that use money rather than just one also plays into that a bit as well, but to a lesser extent. On the subject of Path Actions, you likely won't need to shell out large sums of leaves as often in OT2 to restore your reputation in towns on account of there being more ways to get items, info, etc. without lowering it...but honestly the reputation system in OT2 feels like a vestigial, arbitrary relic of the first game. See, for example, why Agnea innocently attracting NPCs with her dancing can lower reputation, but Osvald mugging them or Temenos coercing them into confessions can't.

#37. Shops and inns can be entered

A minor point, but OT2 has so many more interior spaces in its towns. This not only helps with storytelling - recall the scenes in OT that take place in "inns" that are just a bare room with maybe one table - but it also allows for more architectural diversity like on Toto'haha as well as for the possibility that vendors appear out in the open like in Ryu.

#36. Party banters are easier to see

Another common complaint in OT is that it can be easy to miss party banters in chapters, and that there's no way to go back and rewatch them or see them at all if you didn't unlock them while going through. OT2 fixes these issues with the ability to watch them in the journal, even if you didn't see them at the time, and also removes some of the clunkiness of triggering them by spreading them across more chapters rather than needing each traveler to speak to all of the other seven in every chapter after their first.

#35. More thoughtfully utilized voice acting

Sadly, party and tavern banters are still unvoiced in OT2, which sucks because they're still the most frequent source of interaction between the travelers.

In all other respects though, the second game is much better in the ways that it makes use of its voice acting. In OT most NPCs out in the world choose from a selection of short voice lines to be tagged to their dialogue, while story cutscenes have a mixture of full voice acting and voice tags. The latter effect can be rather disorienting, especially when there's a mid-scene switch between the two styles for no apparent reason. OT2 scraps the voice tags for NPCs, but now every cutscene is fully voiced. The tradeoff is more than welcome and makes for a smoother, more cinematic narrative experience.

#34. The travelers are chattier in combat

In addition, the travelers have significantly more customized combat voice lines in the second game. This is especially noticeable in that they now react to the actions of their party members, such as when they break foes or get low on health. It's an extra level of banter that makes them feel more like they're fighting as a group, and allows for little character moments in the way they address each other. For example, Osvald is the only one of the travelers who doesn't refer to his allies by name, but he does have unique break lines for each of the others.

#33. As are bosses

Only a few OT bosses, like Darius and Simeon, have in-combat dialogue. This is far from the case in OT2, where a bunch of the story bosses - including all of the travelers' final bosses - have dialogue sequences with their respective characters. This can make the flow of combat a bit messy if you deal too much damage too quickly and end up getting rushed through different phases, but that mechanical hiccup aside this is a great way to layer on the dramatic stakes and work in some more character development for the travelers as they're facing down their greatest enemies.

#32. More diverse animations and weapon sprites

A simple improvement, but a nice one even so. Equipping different weapons of the same type is now more noticeable, and the travelers' combat sprites are overall more dynamic and expressive. Everyone loves the shamelessly horny Stimulate animation, just for starters.

#31. Bosses have more varied mechanics

Something I noticed on my replay of OT is that its bosses can be surprisingly simplistic. All the core ways the games have for ramping up difficulty are there - changing weaknesses, adding shields or actions per turn, inflicting status effects and massive amounts of damage - but with the obvious exception of Galdera that's more or less it.

OT2 compounds these mechanics with a wealth of new ones that turn many of the bosses into uniquely memorable experiences: concealing turn order, locking certain menu options, charming party members or copying their skills, countering boosted attacks, etc. There's even a pure puzzle boss in the forced solo encounter Karma, to say nothing of how the Vide fight actually allows you to use all eight travelers at once. This complexity is particularly noticeable with the optional bosses that appear in both titles, like the Monarch and the Dreadwolf, because if you compare their tactics across games they're much trickier the second time around.

#30. Secret jobs are more accessible before endgame

Each game has four secret jobs. In OT all of them are gated behind powerful optional bosses that you very likely won't be strong enough for until after you've completed most of the story. While these are indeed memorable fights, that leaves the problem of there being very little content left on which to actually use these incredibly powerful jobs. There's exactly three bosses with HP totals that surpass the gods that give you the secret jobs, and not much reason to try them out otherwise save for making the endgame grind faster.

OT2 locks one secret job (arcanist) behind a challenging lategame encounter and another (conjurer) behind a boss gauntlet that's only available after you clear arguably the hardest of the travelers' final chapters. But inventor can be unlocked as soon as you clear your starting traveler's opening, and it and armsmaster get their skills from turning in items acquired from the world and from dungeons meaning you'll get significantly more use out of them before endgame.

#29. Quality over quantity with side stories

This is another matter of raw numbers. OT has one hundred side stories; OT2 has only two-thirds that many. This does though allow for the second game's set to stand out a bit more overall, especially the ones that get creative with solutions. Additionally, when you factor in how many of OT's side stories are leadups to the final boss, or are three-part NPC mini-stories stretched out across each town in a single region, it rarely feels as though OT2 is really missing out. It's more than got that covered with -

#28. Scents of Commerce

Partitio comes with a unique mechanic that essentially amounts to three side stories just for him - only each of them gets the full cutscene treatment and adds something significant to the experience of the game: an in-universe sound test, a lore dump library, or the mandatory ship purchase that I've already praised for how it opens up the map.

#27. The Crossed Path system

Meanwhile, arguably replacing the multi-part NPC side stories are the Crossed Paths, four two-part stories that see the travelers broken up into pairs as they pursue unique narrative threads and add a few more dungeons and boss encounters to the total to boot. This is an extremely welcome addition that actually allows the travelers to interact with one another directly, and it's little wonder that it was such a big part of the game's prerelease marketing and so looked forward to among fans. The general consensus is that OT2 could have taken the idea further, but even so it's a massive step up from OT's travelers feeling completely isolated from one another for 98% of the game.

And hey, I turned the Crossed Path system into an entire partial AU for my fics, so it's safe to say it did something right!

#26. Traveler themes show up in their final bosses

Moving more toward lategame stuff now. Everyone loves how Octopath makes high-energy variations of its traveler themes to lead into their boss fights. OT2 though takes this a step further by having those "In Pursuit of..." themes come in as a bridge during their final story bosses, which makes each of those encounters feel a bit more personal. Agnea meanwhile goes even further with this idea. For her showdown against Dolcinaea she gets a unique vocal rendition of her theme music playing in the background, which is just one of many ways her final chapter builds on and surpasses Primrose's in fourth-wall-leaning theatricality.

#25. The credits don't roll after finishing one traveler's story

One of the first game's more baffling minor decisions is where it places its credits. In OT2 they're moved to the middle of the Epilogue, a much more fitting location that emphasizes that you're looking back on all of the travelers' journeys, not just your starting choice (or whoever else's story you finished first).

#24. EX skills

I didn't make a separate entry for Latent Powers because they're just a flat mechanical addition, but EX skills are different in that they either 1) provide a generally more interesting reward for tracking down the god shrines out in the overworld or 2) come in during or after the travelers' final bosses as an often powerful story-based upgrade, ex. Osvald unlocking the One True Magic, or Agnea putting together the Song of Hope. Some are just notably strong on their own merits, like a buffed Share SP, Prayer for Plenty repurposing a support skill from the first game, Windy Refrain for turn order manipulation, or Heavenly Shine as an endgame nuke with a massive damage ceiling. And even the ones that don't see a lot of use, like Negotiate Schedule or Disguise, usually have some interesting flavor to them.

#23. Lategame bosses have more even difficulty distribution

Optional bosses in OT at or above the levels of the travelers' final bosses are, with only a handful of exceptions, not all that impressive. This leads into the issue I mentioned with the game's secret jobs, where once you're strong enough to unlock them there's only three more bosses that will actually put up enough fight to warrant using them. OT2 has quite a bit more going on with late optional bosses built for endgame teams (Heavenwing, the Behemoth, the Scourge of the Sea, etc.) as well as the boss challenges that come out of the Final Story. And that's not even mentioning Galdera 2.0...

#22. And the endgame grind is less tedious

The snowballing effect of more readily-accessible EXP and JP-boosting skills and accessories is that grinding out jobs and levels takes significantly less time once the travelers' stories are done. In OT the lack of a true narrative finish means that around that point you'll hit a wall and have to do a bunch of grinding to get ready for Galdera (assuming you're not using some kind of cheese low-level strategy). But in OT2 there's just generally more to do and less needed to work on if you've been leveling consistently earlier on. Also, two of this game's secret jobs don't even require JP, so that drops the total needed for a traveler to max everything out by a hefty 30K.

#21. Next chapter NPC side stories get the full cutscene treatment

Both games have a selection of side stories involving story NPCs that unlock once the traveler stories are done, and which tend to be a bit more substantial than most others like them. This is even more true in OT2, where these side stories get fully-voiced cutscenes. A shame they're among the only ones of that sort to not get recorded in the journal...but still a plus.

#20. An actual Final Story

And yeah, I absolutely have to mention this too. OT's final encounter is locked unintuitively behind a number of sidequests, and it consists of a fairly easy gauntlet of reused bosses followed by an extremely difficult two-part fight with no way to save at any point in between. You get a short cutscene, and then a prompt like you've finished just another sidequest, and...that's it. Underwhelming doesn't begin to describe it.

In the second game though the Final Story has numerous cutscenes, a temporary new world state, multiple all-new boss encounters that you can save in between, a proper ramp-up to the final boss, and then of course the final boss itself which is powerful but not overwhelmingly so like Galdera is in OT. It's dramatic, cinematic, and gives all the travelers a chance to shine both in and out of combat, with callbacks to the Crossed Path system and the ability to use all eight at once against Vide.

#19. And an actual Epilogue

And once you're done with Vide, you're free to start the proper Epilogue sequence. The travelers bid farewell to each other, the appropriately-timed credits roll, and then everyone's back in New Delsta for a big party ending where all the surviving NPCs show up and give you a big sendoff. Needless to say, it's an ending that actually feels deserving of the label.

#18. Both of which give a bit of weight to your initial choice of traveler

It's nothing huge, but OT2's ending wraps back around to caring a bit about who kicked off your journey. Your starting traveler gets a handful of unique lines before and after the final boss, and they're also the last left behind in the Epilogue so they get to deliver a quick monologue once everyone else has gone on their way (in reverse order from how you recruited them, no less). This is most noticeable with Agnea, in that her sister becomes temporarily playable in the New Delsta sequence since Agnea herself takes the stage for the ending.

#17. Party members can be switched at any time after a point

Another small but very noticeable perk is that once the Final Story begins you can now switch travelers in and out of the party at any time outside of combat. No more needing to return to a tavern whenever you need a different Path Action or have to switch equipment between active and inactive travelers!

#16. Postgame challenges are harder but less frustrating

That's a big help for the bosses in the Final Story as well as those that surpass them in difficulty, because it's so much easier to prepare for them (on top of the aforementioned benefits of less EXP/JP grinding, etc.). Galdera is back and harder than ever, but you can save directly before the fight and there's no need to do a boss gauntlet first making the experience much less annoying.

#15. The Extra Battles update amps up the difficulty even further

And if that wasn't enough, OT2 got an unexpected free update in 2024 adding four new ultra-difficult boss encounters from the main menu. These handily put to rest the accusation that the second game is easier than the first because of how much stronger and more flexible your characters can be early on. True Vide the Wicked especially blows both Galderas out of the water in terms of challenge.

#14. While also working as an homage to the first game

Two of the Extra Battles are against the eight travelers of OT. Getting to see them all as incredibly powerful enemies working together to take you down can be quite entertaining, and their abilities combine direct nods to the first game with new material (like Crossed Path-esque paired skills) built off what OT2 adds to its mechanics.

#13. Solistia has more adventurous worldbuilding

Now onto some more subjective stuff. Orsterra is a stock JRPG fantasy setting, lovingly recreating the tropes and clichés of that type of media to get the whole HD-2D aesthetic off the ground back in 2018. It recalls the classics of the genre, as well as series that continue to make that its stock in trade, ex. Fire Emblem...but it's certainly stuff we've seen before.

That's why I was so pleased to see the second game move the timeline forward, pulling from 19th and early 20th century referents and giving Solistia more of an Industrial Revolution feel. There's urbanized cities, early modern tech just ignore the lack of firearms, and light prodding at themes like colonialism and income inequality. It's mildly less Eurocentric, from the Wutai-flavored Hinoeuma to areas that call to mind the 19th century US. There's also a society of infantilized animal people who are subjected to racism and colonial incursions, which...we're probably all better off not reading too far into.

#12. And also more substantial (if sometimes tongue-in-cheek) lore dumps

The Mercantile Manuscript, a reward from one of Partitio's Scents of Commerce, is a treasure trove of lore for Solistia. Some of it can be rather silly, like why there are still only the six weapon types from OT, but it's all in good fun - and unlike the first game, you don't have to go through a tedious boss gauntlet to get these lore dumps either.

#11. New Delsta is a huge step up for Octopath towns/cities

I've gotten a ton of mileage out of it in my fics, in part due to some substantial real-world additions of my own, but New Delsta really is a cut above anything else we've seen from cities in this series in size, scope, and narrative significance even in spite of it not actually featuring in that many chapters. Nowhere else better captures both the glitzy surface and seedy underbelly of large early modern cities; honestly, the likes of Atlasdam and Grandport from the first game can't even begin to compete. (This, incidentally, is a big reason why I find it so odd that both Octopath canon and fandom mash the two games together so readily, when it's immediately obvious just from looking at these cities that Solistia is centuries ahead of Orsterra technologically and socially speaking. I suppose it doesn't bother everyone.)

#10. The day/night system makes NPCs feel less static

Somewhat related, but another bonus of the ability to toggle between day and night is that NPCs are sometimes in different places depending on the time of day. This helps further the sense that they're not just stationary sprites delivering their canned dialogue and waiting for you to use your Path Actions on them. It's nothing on the level of, say, Majora's Mask or anything, but it's still appreciated.

#9. It also avoids the awkwardness of lategame sunset areas

And while we're back on time of day, most lategame areas in OT are blanketed in a perpetual sunset. One could say that this adds to the dramatic feel of those final areas...but it's also every bit as artificial as Orsterra's map, especially since it doesn't impact all regions (ex. the Woodlands). Almost every location in OT2 has both day and night lighting variants, with sunrise and sunset transitions between them, so that artificiality is a thing of the past. Funnier still is that the game nonetheless produces a similar effect by covering Solistia in perpetual night during the Final Story, so it gets to have its cake and eat it too.

#8. The traveler stories showcase more diversity in genre and tone

Like the setting as a whole, OT2 simply has more going on in terms of its narrative referents. This one game containing a rightful-king-reclaiming-his-throne story, a temporally-messy nod to the actual Industrial Revolution, a somber tale of a wrongfully-accused prisoner straight out of 19th century French literature that takes a hard right at the Power of Love right at the end, and a very dark family drama that ends on a note too overwhelmingly bittersweet for the game's overarching destroy-an-evil-god schitck to even handle. It's certainly not all perfect, but damned if OT2 doesn't go places.

#7. And (some of) the travelers themselves are less tied to stock archetypical traits

Along with that comes the game stepping away from some of the familiar clichés of fantasy JRPG characters. The premiere magic character is a buff bear daddy. The warrior is a lithe twink prince. The cleric is skeptical of everything and only pious in a very unorthodox sense. The dancer literally is just a stage performer and not a sex worker under some thin euphemisms. It really helps this cast stand out from that of the first game's, and with all the extra character moments these guys come off rather stronger overall.

#6. Select chapters go the extra mile in terms of structure and/or atmosphere

You can probably already pick out the chapters I'm referencing. Partitio's Chapter 1 is a self-contained bildungsroman that uses multiple time skips to convey the growth and decline of a town along with basically all of Partitio's character development in a very short span of time. Osvald's opening is a structurally and mechanically claustrophobic prison break sequence that hits the ground running with showing off how OT2 likes to vary its storytelling techniques. Castti's Chapter 3 is bleak and melancholy, letting flashbacks do the heavy lifting in a sequence with no significant combat but a ton of gruesome death. And Throné's Chapter 4 is the darkest thing Octopath has ever done, with an eerie ramp-up of a gondola ride leading to a nightmarish town area that's all the worse because of how much is left up to implication. The boss himself is even worse, and even if the story fumbles Throné's distinct lack of a happy ending you can tell that it at least tried.

There are others in here of course, like Hikari's climactic battle or the fourth-wall-leaning in Agnea's finale, but you get the idea. There's a ton of memorable story moments in this game.

#5. Actual narrative tie-ins to the Final Story

While the Final Story does hurt some travelers' individual stories, like Throné's or to a lesser extent Partitio's, the buildup is much more palpable and appreciable than it was for OT's series of seemingly innocuous side quests and 11th hour text dumps building to Galdera. The amount of thought that went into piecing together the actions of the Moonshade Order across all the stories and Crossed Paths is quite impressive, enough to where I can mostly forgive certain clumsily-handled threads.

#4. A better realization of the overarching theme of both games

The loose thematic concern of this series as a whole is, fittingly, the idea of traveling, of finding oneself and connecting with others through journeys both physical and otherwise. OT nods to this in a more literal sense as well at the end via a side quest in which the king of Marsalim vows to put on a play about the travelers' stories. It's the game's way of commenting on itself as narrative.

This is incredibly easy to forget about, as it passes with little fanfare through a minor NPC. Not so in OT2, where the last part of the Epilogue sees Agnea get up on stage and monologue this theme outright before putting on a show (not seen by the player) implied to be about her experiences traveling with the rest of the cast. Needless to say, that's much more thematically resonant and leaves you with a much stronger impression compared to OT's total lack of an ending.

#3. It's a good bit gayer

Me being me, of course I'm going to point this out.

It doesn't matter which level we're talking about; whether it's between the travelers, NPCs, or some combination thereof, OT2 lays on the gay subtext much more heavily...even if it's still quite mild, to be fair. OT has Leon and Baltazar; OT2 has Papp and Roque. OT has Lianna and Eliza; OT2 has Pala and Mikka. OT has Olberic and Erhardt; OT2 has Temenos and Crick. Castti and Malaya, Dolcinaea and Veronica, the Timberain princess and her female gardener, Partitio in general, crossdressing NPCs in the Brightlands...and then on top of that there's a distinct lack of no homo'ing arrangements in a lot of these cases, unlike disappointments like Alfyn and Zeph. Osvald and Clarissa are totally platonic, Throné and Temenos get a Crossed Path but no real shipping fodder, Partitio is kind of clueless and innocent about women, etc. Hell, just the fact that not all of the Crossed Paths are M/F helps a great deal with OT2 not feeling like it's trying to neatly and heterosexually pair off all the travelers.

#2. And just all-around shippier if you're into that

But even so, no matter what kind of ships you like the extra character interactions really add to the shipping content. That's true from the straightforward, ex. Hikari/Agnea, to the just-barely-shy-of-text, ex. Papp/Roque, to the obvious juggernaut and spawner of many a fix-it fic that is Temenos/Crick. Actually, that last one has more fanfics for it on AO3 than the most popular OT pairing...even with the first game having had an extra five years' worth of fanwork for it!

#1. Them

Look, if you know anything about my OT2 work, you saw this coming.

I have a lot of feelings about Osvald and Partitio, both as individuals and even more as a pairing that isn't exactly canon but nevertheless works incredibly well if you read it as such, from their Crossed Path to that one extremely gay party banter to how perfectly it works out for cute post-story family fluff to the ending CG sticking the two front and center and also touching. It's kind of silly that they're not even Partitio's most popular gay ship, because the game itself tees these two up beautifully. Osvald is just too much bear daddy for some people to handle, clearly.

I've had many OTPs over my years in fandom, but Osvitio is the first one that's actually gotten me to write fanfic. Go them.

#Octopath Traveler #Octopath Traveler II

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katerinaaqu · 2 months ago

Note

Man going into that post about Odysseus fidelity was wild. Do people not know how to read now? Do they need long winded explanations for every sentences on paper because they couldn't interpret other way without being hand-held into reading a classic? How can the events with Circe and Calypso so misread until today? These people that claims to know so many things about the Odyssey and Iliad, do they actually actually read it or not really? Or did the translation went so wrong it lead them to misinterpreted it the other way? Like I read the tags and people be like 'I read the Odyssey' and still be wrong about what happened is mind-blowing.

Also can people be normal at least with ancient time slavery? Especially mythology slavery? How many times do they need to be reminded that this is the time before any modern morality? And to reduce people of that time to be all evil when they have slave because in our time we understand slavery as wrong is also a blatant simplification of that time moral as well? It's not all slave = sex, and this kind of thinking are also steeped in ignorance. Back then, good moral is not that you didn't have any slave, back then, it's that you have slave and treat them well in according to your culture standards, that's the moral of that time. Because slavery is also about power, politic, economy and many more things that ancient culture were based on, not because it represents them as savages. You can't just based slavery on the age of American slavery, it's been going on for so long in any human civilization it's particularly a culture and when it's a culture, it will have its own system and ideals, so yeah, they have norms and customs on the manner you treat your slave too, like seriously.

Well if I were completely honest with myself I can see where some of these interpretations come from as I mention to my replies several of the passages are up for interpretation and quite frankly the interpretation that Odysseus was having some good time with some slave girls in his tent cannot be 100% denied either but as I said the example of Laërtes makes me wonder indeed which is why I am more towards the interpretation that he didn't use them as such but okay I see where it comes from

As for Odysseus and the goddesses for sure again I see where some interpretations come from but as I mention to my posts I have the specific interpretations of the texts for these x y or z reasons. But yes I always get surprised how often these parts are overlooked (aka how Odysseus was advised by Hermes himself not to refuse Circe or how he was stated to be unwilling with Calypso etc) and I blame a lot modern retellings for both edges of the spectrum that either wanna baby Odysseus in order to see him as a hero or they completely demonize him that "he is a cheater who had every chance to say no and chose not to" and neither of these are true.

As for the subject of slavery yes I understand it makes people uncomfortable and honestly it is inheritently wrong to own a human being as if they are a pet or an object but I also see that people cannot discuss the subject of slavery without adding side by side the aspect of cruelty. Sure we can say it is inheritently cruel to own someone but that doesn't mean that all of those who were having such position were mistreated

Being a slave and being mistreated are two different things. In fact even heroes and gods poised as slaves in mythology which is another interesting symbolism (to name a few Heracles served as slave to Omphale and quite frankly it was more an erotic game than anything, Apollo also did that slave deal etc). Eurmaeus and Euryclea also were slaves but they were treated very well by Laertes and Odysseus respectably etc. So even though I understand the importance of showing slavery as something terrible as it truly is, it is not like every single slave was whipped for the funs of it. So it is important to he precise on that. And absolutely is not that every war prize woman was necessarily used for sex. Quite frankly we even have the sad example of Hecuba (in Trojan Women as well) who was to be given to Odysseus but it is stated that Odysseus most likely would aim to make her his wife's servant. Is it good for poor Hecuba? Absolutely not. But that doesn't mean that Hecuba would be constantly used as a sex tool either.

And that is also true. Many people speak of slavery and they always think of American slavery time (and even that is a huge subject to analyze historically and all) but for real in antiquity as you brilliantly said it was not okay to abuse your slaves (even later in 5th century BC we have the slaughter of eilotes in Sparta and Atheneans resented the cruel slaughter of those slaves among others)

So yes of course we see slavery as something inheritently bad but that doesn't mean that someone owning slaves means he was skinning them alive every time he was feeling bored so yeah we need to see that too.

#katerinaaqu answers #the odyssey #the iliad #homeric poems #homeric epics #in regards of interpreting the sources

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dailycharacteroption · 4 months ago

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Plague Eater (Spiritualist Archetype)

(art by Lyno3ghe on DeviantArt)

Few things are more tragic and traumatic than mass death. It’s the sort of thing that we evoke in our horror fiction as the cause of many surges of undead rising. Whole villages populated by the walking dead living out a mockery of their former lives until the living dare intrude upon them, or amalgamated spirits fused together into a howling knot of trauma.

However, not every tragedy like this need to beget more tragedies, and such is the case with today’s subject: the Plague Eater.

The land of Iobaria is nearly not a nation at all by most definitions, not anymore, that is. The nation is mostly abandoned after centuries of plagues and periods of regrowth, leaving ruins dotting the landscape where they haven’t been reclaimed by the forest.

With those disease come hordes of unquiet spirits that have banded together, but instead of becoming some manner of undead horror, these groups decided to instead bind with a survivor or perhaps a sympathetic soul, swearing to protect them not only from physical harm, but also the same sort of diseases they perished by.

In this way a plague eater is a spiritualist that has not one phantom, but many, though they still can only access one at a time, switching out for a different one each day if they so wish.

Followed by such a horde, these mystics may struggle with them, but there is no denying their versatility.

These spiritualists literally contain multitudes, and when they rest they can bring up one of these spirits to serves as their phantom, letting them bring new sets of emotions to the front. However, this does weaken their overall bond, making their phantoms slightly weaker than others. Additionally, the phantoms are more focused on protecting the spiritualist from disease than they are offering their insight. As such, no matter what spirit is currently in front, they always grant protection against disease while within the spiritualist, while also granting a bonus to a single skill that changes every time the plague eater changes the phantom.

At first, their protection against disease is only when within the head of their master, but later on, their manifested ectoplasmic form helps ward them while they are nearby.

Naturally, these mages also learn to fight against disease themselves, starting with a simple spell that suppresses the worst of symptoms and helps bolster recovery and the immune system.

However, they can also turn this power against foes to mark them with the painful outward signs of the plague that slew their spirits, though not actually infect them with the disease.

As they grow more powerful, they can magically cure diseases with a touch as well.

They also continue to gain the benefits of their phantom’s guidance and protection even once they manifest as well.

Eventually, they become completely immune to disease, allowing their manifested phantom to begin spreading this protection to others nearby.

Finally, powerful plague eaters can not only cure diseases, but pull the infection out of someone magically and inflict it on an enemy with a touch, should they be so cruel.

The protection this archetype grants against disease may be quite useful in some campaigns, but not so much in others. However, the ability to trade out your phantom’s focus from day to day with only one loss in the companion’s level can make for a very versatile spiritualist if you can predict the sort of foes you’ll be going up against each day. I recommend taking a few divination spells for exactly that reason, though the rest of your build is probably going to be more generalized in order to accommodate the differences in play style each emotional foci brings with it.

This archetype is interesting, because if I’m not mistaken, it is the only one that lets a spiritualist change their phantom’s emotional foci without story reasons of them being released and them getting a new one. With that in mind, I think there’s plenty of room to create homebrew variants of this archetype that replace the disease-related abilities with others, perhaps tied to some other cause of mass death, for example.

When the superstitious shogunate discovered the location of Biiyon Village, he sent his armies to slaughter the kitsune living there. The defenders fought valiantly, but could not stand before them, and only those that fled into the forest survived. Now, one of those survivors has grown into a beautiful young woman, and she plans to tear down the shogun, with the entire deceased population of her home at her side.

The party was investigating a ruin when they discover an auger velstrac fleeing as if the horrible ball of meat and iron’s life depended on it. Giving chase is a fierce-looking woman and a shadow of blurred shapes and faces. Whatever the explanation, not just anyone can make a velstrac flee.

The Dead City of Alklazzen was devastated by illness, overtaken so thoroughly that there wasn’t even time to make mass graves for the majority of the populace. Most rose again as walking dead or spirits, and many have devolved into monstrosity. However, there is a community of spirits that have bonded together, waiting for something to latch onto to regain purpose.

#pathfinder #archetype #spiritualist #plague eater #kitsune #augur kyton #velstrac #Heroes of Golarion

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lifblogs · 8 months ago

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Afliplan Diatane

Week 13 Prompt: "Stop touching me!" // "I'm not touching you!" Alt. Prompt: Crashing Hard Rating: Teen and Up Audiences Word Count: 3004 Summary: Eight weeks ago Hunter was shot, and he received life-saving surgery, and has been recovering... now with the help of a med he's no longer supposed to be taking. Hunter's body doesn't handle running out of it very well. WARNINGS: Graphic Depictions of Violence, Drug Dependency, Suicidal Thoughts READ ON AO3

“Stop. Touching. Me,” Hunter hissed out through clenched teeth. He was in the cockpit, hanging his head over the console, waiting for the nausea he had grown quite used to dissipate.

Tech huffed from beside him, and moved away. “Technically I am not touching you. I was about to.”

“I felt the air displace from your hand.”

“I understand you have enhanced senses, but that sounds quite ridiculous.”

Hunter couldn’t tell him it was extra sensitivity from the meds. While they dulled the signals he was getting from his nerves, they seemed to enhance everything else, especially around when his body expected a dose. He didn’t want the others to know he was still on them though. But he needed these meds. He wasn’t an addict of some sort. He needed them!

Even now with the medicine re-entering his system the pain in his abdomen was an ache that stole all his thoughts. He had in fact been groaning, a hand to his stomach, until he’d at least sat down to get some rest.

The hand at his stomach clenched, a throb going around to his hips.

Tech leaned in, and Hunter wanted to snap that he was too close.

“Are you healing well from your surgery?” he asked.

“Yes,” Hunter lied.

To him it was a lie. The Kaminoan doctors said he was fine, that he could go back in the field, but he didn’t think fine meant that it would be hard for him to walk, to sit up, to do anything. It was always there—the pain, right on the edge of his awareness, if not fully taking it over.

He was hiding the medicine from his squad. He couldn’t let them know. They’d take them away, or report that he wasn’t up for active duty. He’d be separated from them, and worse… he’d be completely useless.

Hunter wasn’t sure he liked the dark medical exam room compared to the blinding white of the majority of Kaminoan facilities. He certainly didn’t feel comfortable being out of his armor, and wearing the drab, red clothes he’d been forced to wear during his brutal recovery.

The Kaminoan standing before him was looking over some test results at the moment, and had already lifted up Hunter’s shirt to observe the long row of puckered red scars on his abdomen that followed along on either side of a deep, long line. And in the center of that was a jagged, angry circle, a deep red that looked like his healing had scarcely begun.

“CT-9901, I am pleased to see this progression of your healing, and it is my expert medical opinion that you no longer require afliplan diatane.”

Hunter’s jaw clenched at that.

They’d already tried lowering his dose of the med, but whenever they did he was left with so much pain he could barely think, let alone walk, and function. He was managing to steal some just fine, but without it… Could he get away with stealing even more of the medicine? Now he wouldn’t have his regular dose to add to it.

“You’re sure of this?” Hunter asked.

“Physical therapy should be sufficient for pain management at this time.”

Sure, physical therapy was going great, and it was helping, but only so much. And worse, lowering a dose meant sickness. Without afliplan diatane he was usually nauseous, shaky, dizzy, and couldn’t stop sweating even as he was as cold as he was hot. It left him so miserable, and only the med could fix it. His body wasn’t ready.

I can’t… I can’t do this.

Hunter nodded his head, forcing himself to say, “I do like the physical therapy.”

“It seems it. Your scars are much more mobile than what we would expect from someone at this stage. You are clearly putting the work in.”

And he was. But he could only do it with the afliplan diatane.

The Kaminoan tapped away on the tablet, announcing, “There. I just canceled your prescription of this medicine, and you are cleared for field work.”

Hunter barely heard all the words, heartbeat speeding up from fear.

I have to get that med somehow. I’ll manage.

Hunter forced himself to take deep breaths, telling himself the med would kick in, that he’d be okay.

“What’s up with him?” Crosshair asked of Tech, as he entered the cockpit.

“I believe Hunter is still suffering from his wound and surgery.”

Crosshair huffed. “A droid did shoot right through him.”

Now the pain was burning instead of sore, a flash of pressurized brightness, and then he had collapsed, Wrecker having to drag him to cover. Smoke poured from the wound, the acrid stench of ash and burning flesh had had Hunter throwing up, blood mixed in, as his gastrointestinal tract had now been compromised. There wasn’t blood to hold in, the wound cauterized by the blast, but dust, and dirt, and smoke had gotten inside. Wrecker had brutally packed the wound as Hunter had screamed and lost all sense of reality.

By the time he’d made it back to Kamino, riddled with fever, delirious from the agony, near-dead, it was a relief to be taken to surgery, to fall into a cloudy nothingness of sleep and medicine.

Crosshair put a hand on his shoulder, and Hunter pulled out of his grip.

He leaned back, trying to breathe.

“I’ll be fine,” he said.

“What aggravated it?” Tech asked.

The medicine. He couldn’t tell them it was because he had gone a bit longer without a dose, just an extra hour.

Panting, he wiped sweat from his brow.

“I don’t know,” he got out.

Clarity came back, like he had been looking through rippled transparisteel and now it had been smoothed.

Hunter took his first deep breath in quite a few minutes, and it was like stepping onto a planet with beautiful, fresh air, and bracing wind, and sweet relief.

In that moment, Hunter forgot that he was almost out of his med.

Hunter collapsed mid-battle. Everything was too loud, too bright, too confusing. Where was he? Who was shooting at him? What was he even doing here?

“Hunter!” Crosshair called through comms. “Get back on your feet. The tank is heading your way.”

Tank?

Oh, right!

He tried to rise, but stumbled, falling down to one knee, shaking, sweating.

He couldn’t stop sweating, couldn’t get a good breath in.

He was so hot he wanted to rip his armor off. He was so cold he wanted to lie cocooned in a heated bed.

Nausea had his vision tunneling, and vertigo suddenly took over his brain.

Hunter tilted sideways, tried to catch himself, slipped, and landed badly, right in the middle of the battlefield, probably tearing some muscles in his left arm. But that pain was nothing compared to the ruining agony in his abdomen.

His comms were so loud, his squad asking what was wrong. The dust was too confusing, the fires, the blasts, the explosions, it was all so much. And he didn’t really care about it, didn’t care about any of it.

He was too busy feeling like his stomach was getting ripped open.

Hunter had taken his last dose yesterday, and had been shaky for a day now, not sure how to get more, how to tell his squad about his problem.

And now he was crashing, hard, and he didn’t even care that he was a prime target now. Take him out! Maybe it’d make the pain stop. Please, just take him out.

Do something. Somebody do something.

Oh kriff, the awful pain. He curled in on himself, arms around his stomach, pressing, like he was having to hold his guts in like after his surgery.

“Tech, get Hunter. You’re the closest,” Crosshair called. “Echo, cover him. Wrecker, head for the tank. I’ll take out the main turret from up here. You do the rest.”

Time slowed, even as it sped up. Yet every second of this ripping, burning, sore agony was too much.

Someone was shaking him, and he almost threw up. He let out a groan through gritted teeth, panting hard, barely able to stay alive as this pain utterly destroyed him. All that existed were those moments between throbs, where the pain was incrementally less—barely, but almost enough to breathe—and then it’d throb, and his muscles locked up, and he screamed around a mouth closed tight from agony. His eyes were squeezed shut so tightly that they were starting to hurt. Hunter was clawing at himself, fingers digging into his hips, bruising. It was all he could do just to hang on, to somehow cling to life.

He was shaken again, and he groaned.

“Hunter, it’s me,” Tech said. “I’m going to get you out of here. Can you stand?”

Hunter couldn’t answer, which was all Tech needed to grab him, and start dragging him to safety. Tech wasn’t as naturally buff like the regs, or Hunter, but he diligently worked on each muscle group till they were hard, and powerful, and could do what needed to be done out in the field. Droids were closing in as Tech grunted, quickly dragging Hunter. Hunter clung tightly to his arms, armor creaking, which made him grunt again.

Tech deposited Hunter behind a ruined wall, and knelt over him, holding back the droids with his pistols.

Smoke cleared for a moment to show a clear blue sky, and Hunter wanted to sink into it, almost felt like he was, like he was floating, and falling, and he could feel the rotation of the planet, its course around its sun, and the solidity of the ground was no more, turning to liquid, and he was sinking, sinking…

“You ran out of afliplan diatane, didn’t you?” Tech asked, voice unusually hard.

“How—”

“I’m not stupid, Hunter. I have been tracking your symptoms and behavior for weeks.”

“I’m not an addict!” Hunter bit out around a scream that ravaged his throat.

“I never said you were. However, your body seems to be.”

Hunter’s head was pounding, right from inside, like something was trying to break free from his skull.

He tried to lift his head up, to watch the battle, but it fell back down to the ground all too quickly, wrenching his neck somewhat.

Hunter tried curling up again, but Tech didn’t move from his position guarding him.

The world blurred, vision like rippling and cracked transparisteel, the very essence of reality unable to make it through.

Days seemed to pass, the sun wheeling overhead. Maybe it was hours. Minutes? Time was fleeting to him, especially when compared to his pain. There was no perfect measurement of it for Hunter, not when all of it was suffering, and agony.

Eventually, he was vaguely aware that he was on the Marauder. Someone had taken off his armor from the waist up, and there was an IV dripping fluids into him.

“Is this gonna help?” Wrecker asked of someone.

Echo answered, “It’s the best we can do to keep him alive till we get to Kamino.”

“You stupid kriffing idiot,” Crosshair cursed.

Oh, was he addressing Hunter?

Hunter tried to think of a response, to bite back, but all he could do was groan.

“Do we give him pain medicine?” Echo asked.

“Bad idea,” Wrecker said. “Isn’t medicine the problem here? Maybe we shouldn’t be adding a different one to his system.”

Hunter grunted as he felt the ship jump into hyperspace.

Oh no, he was going to—

He turned his head, someone helping him onto his side somewhat, and he puked into the bucket that had apparently already been used at an earlier point.

A large hand rubbed his back.

Hunter couldn’t breathe, and his abdomen hurt beyond belief, and yet he couldn’t stop—

He was choking, burning, eyes watering so fiercely he couldn’t see. That large hand smacked his back, and he could breathe again, only to—

“Remind me never to get med withdrawal,” Crosshair said.

Hunter wanted to yell at him for clearly being so judgemental, and to tell him, tell everyone that he wasn’t an addict. He wasn’t. He wasn’t. They had to know, they had to—

Oh, finally, he was done… for now. He coughed and gasped, trying to catch his breath.

Those large hands—Wrecker’s hands—helped him get comfortable again. A cold cloth was placed on his brow, another to the back of his neck, Wrecker gently lifting his head to do so.

“How much farther to Kamino?” Echo asked Tech.

Hunter didn’t hear the answer, but Echo’s groan meant it wasn’t good.

Exhausted, Hunter drifted off.

White. Everything was white. So bright his eyes burned, so bright his head throbbed, and he tried to keep his eyes closed, but wakening and awareness told him to try and open them.

He wasn’t sure what had woken him, but then there was a sore, aching jab into his left arm. A grunt left him.

“Hey, Hunter, you with us?” Echo asked.

“Based on the machines monitoring him, he is clearly awake,” Tech scoffed.

“Is he gonna be okay?” Wrecker asked.

A Kamionan voice answered, “CT-9901 is stable.”

Hunter didn’t feel stable. His abdomen ached so fiercely he could have sworn a hole was getting punched in him.

“Am I supposed to be in pain?” Hunter asked through gritted teeth.

“Yes,” the Kaminoan responded.

Hunter sighed. “Oh. Great.”

He managed to open his eyes. He was in one of the emergency medical wings, and Crosshair was sitting on the bed beside his, checking his rifle, pretending to ignore him. The others were crowded around.

“CT-9901,” the Kaminoan said, drawing Hunter’s attention away from his squad, “when you are able, Jedi Master Shaak Ti would like to have a word with you.”

“Understood.”

Hunter’s heart raced.

A day later, Hunter stood before Jedi Master Shaak Ti at the balcony overlooking one of the training grounds.

“So,” Shaak Ti began, “Hunter, is it?”

“Yes, sir.”

He straightened even more, stomach aching, and clasped his fingers together behind his back till they ached.

“I hear you have been struggling with recovery from a battlefield injury you sustained eight weeks ago.”

“Um… yes, sir,” Hunter responded, hesitant, not sure where this was going, but having some idea.

“I’m sorry to hear that. How do you feel now?”

What am I supposed to say?

“Nothing I can’t handle,” he eventually responded.

“Hmm, with this med, correct? Without it…”

She left that hanging, and Hunter bowed his head, looking at his feet.

“Sir, I—”

“It is okay to have these struggles,” Shaak Ti said. “You are not the first soldier to become dependant on a medicine, or a form of treatment. It is nothing to be ashamed of.”

She’s talking to me like—

“I’m not an addict,” he insisted.

“No, perhaps not. But your body wishes to say otherwise.”

Hunter swallowed roughly, cheeks heating with shame. His stomach whirled. He forgot to breathe.

“Typically this type of behavior would lead to you being court martialed.”

Hunter raised his head, stunned, worried. “Sir—”

“But in this case, as the commander of an elite squad, such an action would leave your men without a clear path to follow. They need you, Hunter.”

“I know, sir.”

“And that means you cannot be dependant on this med any longer.”

Hunter shifted, wanting out of his armor. He was too hot, sweat sliding down the sides of his face, dotting his upper lip, and seeping into his fatigues.

He tried to be a good soldier, tried to keep in what he wanted to say, but it came out in a broken, guttural tone anyway: “The pain.” Oh gosh, he was shaking, feeling like the world was crumbling apart. His abdomen hurt. Did no one understand how painful his experiences had been?

Shaak Ti put a steadying hand on his shoulder. “I know, Hunter. The pain will fade in time. It is flaring because your body is trying to get more of the medicine. You will reach a point where your body understands it does not need it, and you will be all right.”

“Do you… promise?” he asked, broken voice quiet, feeling like he wasn’t supposed to ask a Jedi such questions.

“Yes, Hunter. You will be all right. But I have ordered your squad to watch you for the time being.”

He opened his mouth to object, and she went on, “Not that they weren’t doing so already, especially Tech, and Crosshair. Prove that you are not taking the med, and the watch will be lifted. This will all be behind you.”

“You’re talking to me like—like…”

Shaak Ti smiled, and her voice was soft, understanding, as she said, “Addicts are not bad people, Hunter. You are not a bad person. This will pass. As the leader of Clone Force Ninety-Nine, you were made to endure, and will heal from this much faster than other humans. I believe in you, Hunter.”

Hunter bowed his head again, not ashamed, but glowing and feeling hopeful with the praise, and not sure how to show it.

“Thank you, Master.”

She squeezed his shoulder.

“You are dismissed. Your squad has another mission, I believe. Hypori, as I’ve heard, is quite an interesting planet. But do keep an eye on Echo. The Techno Union has a droid factory there. I believe the situation could be… uncomfortable for him.”

“Heh, sounds like we’re all supposed to be watching each other.”

“Well, you see yourself as a family, do you not?”

Hunter smiled, his first real smile in weeks, months. “Yes, sir. We do.”

“Good. They’ll help you manage this struggle, and I know you’ll help them. You’re a good leader, Hunter. Keep going. Some pain is not forever.”

He gave her a quick bow, and left.

Afliplan diatane was still gnawing on his mind, the pain begging, and begging, scraping him raw with it, but if he leaned on his squad—his family…

I can do this.

And for the first time in months he believed it.

#summerofbadbatch2024 #week13 #stop touching me i'm not touching you #crashing hard #star wars #the bad batch #tbb #tbb hunter #hunter #fanfiction #writing #my writing

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llaberration · 4 months ago

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I.S.M.I - Chapter Two

There was a slight pause before Hal began to speak. “I suppose I should start at the start.”

“You don't have to.”

“It's probably best if I do. You know the story of how this all started, the seahorrors and the dragons and all that?”

“Aye. I watched it all from a somewhat different perspective but... yes.”

“I like to use my brother as a cautionary tale about losing people in this job, for the newbies, you know? But... it's all a lie. He's not dead.”

“Huh?”

“He didn't die. But he is gone.”

“Okay,”

“He was infected, by the seahorrors. The only known human to be affected... something about his immune system being unusual and being exposed to one of them at the larval stage, which, given they only spawned in deep sea conditions, was very rare. He came in contact with one by accident, and well, it fused with him, into a symbiotic... thing... he lived but... it was a lot for him. He'd always tried to be normal, the little achiever, best grades, best honours, being everyone's quiet friend. All the testing and questions and isolations that followed were... difficult for him. He still worked through it to try and help those of us working to prevent complete global disaster. The creature, we named it Gut, wasn't dangerous or aggressive like the other seahorrors. It was a parasite of sorts, but it didn't harm him. If anything it was an amiable beast with roughly the intelligence of a dog. Iewan, my brother, had a theory that the seahorror is affected by the first thing it merges with, giving Gut increased intelligence and empathy than the other seahorrors because it had merged into a human. But it was quite clear Iewan couldn't be seen by society ever again. He was visibly different. Surgery couldn't help him, and we discovered later, when the dragons came, that neither could magic. The big blue dragon in charge of everything, Ridgar, came to Iewan before they left, and told him, in no uncertain terms, that they had to either destroy every specimen of seahorrors remaining, or take it back through the rift to their world. He offered Iewan that choice. Either he could go with them to their world, never to come back, or he could be granted a painless death.

Iewan was exhausted from everything, but he wasn't ready to phone it in yet. He agreed to go with them, to their world of magic and dragons.” Hal let out a long exhale. “Of course some people knew about what had happened, there had been other researchers there, scientists, military, and those high up in the institute upon its formation were later informed of the unique circumstances, but it was decided Iewan should be counted among the dead.” He paused, seeming to consider his thoughts. But he had started to talk now, and he had a feeling he wouldn't be allowed to leave until his new therapist was satisfied he had identified the problem. Might as well carry on. “I wanted to go with him. To this other world. So he wouldn't be alone, and though Ridgar was fine with that, Iewan refused. Told me I'd be needed here now more than ever to help the world recover from what had happened. That the ocean needed me to help it heal. Then... he was gone. I didn't even really get a chance to argue with him about it,” the man's jaw quivered a little, but from tension rather than emotion. “Ever since all of it, the entire 0001 incident... I can't even look at the ocean any more. Let alone help it recover. I'll certainly never be the marine biologist he thought I could be, never help the world in the way he had hoped... and I'll definitely never dive again.”

Doc sat there, quietly observing, not interrupting or pressing him on any of the things he had said, only speaking when he took this pause. “I see. And you're... angry with yourself? Or him?”

“Both I guess.”

“And your feelings about the ocean?”

“It's not fear. I'm no more scared of it than I ever was. But it just isn't the same without him there being enchanted by it. Reacting to every minnow and pebble like it's a new species.”

“But there's something else isn't there? Because despite that, despite all that, which was more than enough reason for you to start losing sleep... this...” he gestured at the man, “Didn't start until last year. Did it?”

Hal sighed, laying his head back on the beanbag, unable to resist an uncharacteristic grin as Spock clambered up and butted that soft little head against his chin. “No. It was hard. But... I got by. Like I always had. How am I to know Iewan can't see me from his magical 'other side'... so I kept it together. Worked hard. Buried myself in the institute's formation. It kept my mind off things.”

“Sometimes that's the right thing to do, it doesn't work for everyone, but some find coping easier when they're busy.”

“It worked for me,” Hal nodded, staring up at the ceiling, wondering why it was painted a disarming shade of dim grey. Seemed like an odd choice for a ceiling... but he realised as he wondered that his eyes didn't hurt looking at it like they hurt in the bright whiteness of the rest of the building, and he realised he'd answered his own question. “Then, two years ago, we had the bad one. ISMI-UK-I-326. Now known as ISMI-UK-L-0110.”

“Old snake eyes?”

“Old snake eyes.” A moment of tense silence passed between them before Hal continued. “Obviously you know about him but in case you're not aware of the finer details, Old Snake Eyes or 0110 is a currently unclassed lifeform we found in the highlands of Scotland while chasing up reports of cattle mutilations. We didn't have a clue what we were walking into. We had dealt with dangerous creatures before, plenty of them, especially while helping set the US branch set up. Their terrestrial predators, and by association, their cryptids, are far more dangerous than ours so we had seen a thing or two by then. But Old Snake eyes...” he blew through his teeth. “We still have no idea what it is. For sheer nastiness it falls into boogeyman class entity, but isn't considered one because it lacks their instincts and ignotuscientific abilities. But it's fast, damn near invisible in anything other than blazing sunshine, fangs and claws on every corner... and the temperament of an alligator having a prostate exam.”

“I have had several people come in about 0110,” admitted Doc. “And those were mostly people who saw him in containment. Out in the field... I can't imagine.”

“We lost so many good people,” Hal shook his head, “From day one, the bodycount was climbing. But it was killing cattle in increasing numbers, and had already moved onto people when the farmers started securing their cattle at night. We had to deal with it.”

“And you did.”

“At cost though. I lost friends, colleagues, probably a fifth of all staff we had at the time walked to their deaths with that thing.”

“You didn't walk away without a few souvenirs as well,” the Doc gestured to the scar on Hal's face, his missing chunk of ear, and the stub of a thumb and forefinger on his left hand.

“Scratches,” dismissed Hal. “Compared to what happened to others.”

“You did get it though. Safely contained so it can't take any more lives.”

“We did,” Hal nodded. “I know. Everyone handled it like soldiers. We're not soldiers but even when we knew we were going in there to die, we all did it anyway.”

There was a pause, then Doc leaned towards him slightly and spoke again. “But that's... still not it. Is it? That timeline still doesn't explain why this started last year, another year after snake eyes.”

Hal's eyes slid to the side. He'd come this far, might as well come out and say it. “No. That did make me start losing sleep but... it was definitely a factor.”

“So... what was the final trigger, as if all that weren't enough?”

“I punched god.”

“Excuse me?”

Hal sighed. “Not the christian monotheistic god. A god class entity. An older one. ISMI-IT-U-0023. We were out there getting the Italian Institute set up properly. It was going really well, and I'd been out there for three months when we came to a small town north of Venice to find out why a bunch of folks had been suddenly dying after a night on the town. They would go out for a night of drinking, never come home, show up dead in an alleyway. No signs of injury, no signs of poison, no signs of disease. They just died to death.

After some investigating with witnesses, we traced it back to this little tavern, and I stopped in there one night pretending to be a tourist to see what happened. At the end of the night, when nobody else was about, the landlord invited me to gamble with him. That was when I realised this was what we'd been looking for. He was gambling alright, for people's lives. Over a game of cards, I confronted him with it as I waited for backup to arrive, and he fessed up to everything as though he didn't care that I knew. He said he was a forgotten god. That had retired here, picked off a few villagers every decade or so to extend his life by whatever years they had left. Didn't think he was hurting anyone. Typical god, thought of people basically the way we think of cattle. Well I was still a little raw from the snake eyes incident and one of the things he said just set me off,” he paused suddenly and raised his head to look at the Doc, who was sitting, paying quiet attention, looking drawn into the story. “This is confidential right? Like... confidential confidential?”

“I am bound by the oath under which I serve,” confirmed the man, a little cryptically, but Hal sensed this was a yes.

“So I punched him. Right in his smug face. Accidentally punched him right out of the host body he'd taken over to 'retire' into. Not what I meant to do. Didn't even know that was possible. But... that's what happened. Poor tavern owner needed so much amnesia medication and counselling... he's doing alright now. Writes me once a year, sends a bottle of something nice to celebrate the day I 'liberated' him from his demon.”

“You make it sound like it didn't really end with things as simply as all that.”

“Of course not. The god was more than a little pissed about this. And though apparently forgotten gods lose a LOT of power when people stop worshipping them, he still had plenty to come after me with. Turns out that the rules when dealing with gods are incredibly complex and circumstantial. For example, if a particular god can't be killed by the hand of man, that's not to say he can't be killed by a woman, a horse, or literally anything else. If a god has power over, for example, travellers... it means that his power only exists in those circumstances. If a god of... I don't know... pens, existed, they would only hold power over pens or people using them. That's just a couple of simple examples of these rules, for context. Anyway. Because of these really really specific rules, because I had agreed to gamble with the god to buy time until backup arrived, we were both still bound to our game. Because the game has been interrupted, by my assaulting him, we remain bound to it. Even now. But he doesn't have the strength to take another host body. This puts us in a ridiculously specific catch-22. I can't die until I finish my game with him. He can't finish our game without a host body. So... he 'haunts' me, in a manner of speaking. Follows me around like a shadow. When I sleep, he whispers to me. Brings me my own worst memories, wakes me up by throwing old snake eyes at me in every dream, over and over. He's the reason I seem to survive all of the encounters I get into. The reason I have no care for my own wellbeing. I literally can't die any more. I'm not allowed. It would violate the rules of the game.”

“That's... not in your file.”

“Won't be,” muttered Hal. “Nobody knows. It turns out it's getting worse too. The longer goes by, the more of the god I 'absorb' by this continued contract. I am slowly gaining his abilities. Very slowly. I repress them heavily but... it's all in there,” he tapped his head. “Don't worry I can't like... create life or undo death or anything like that, he was a minor god even before he was forgotten. A god of 'games and the hunt' apparently. But he knows I'm consuming him little by little. In fact, if he doesn't find a way to break through and finish our game in the next...” he checked his watch for the date. “Twenty three days, four hours and thirty two minutes. He's gone. Just a regular ghost. I get the entire package.”

Doc was quiet for a moment, “What... would that mean?”

“ According to him, given he was a minor god, and a forgotten one, it means I get to continue not dying... mostly. I also gain the ability to speak several dead languages that are pointedly useless, cheat and win at literally any game or hunt, gain the power to hypnotise people and animals at least on some level.... uh...” he considered, “I'm sure there's a few other things he's bragged about in-between threats but my memory isn't where it used to be.”

“Lack of sleep does that.”

“Yuhuh.”

“So... is this something you want?”

“No. Absolutely not. But my choices are binary. Finish the game, let him cheat and take my life, or keep muscling through until he's gone... but for now... he's just... always there... at the back of my mind...” he clawed a hand, mimicking a 'raking' action in the air with it. “Like nails on a chalkboard... like my brain is all wrapped up in sandpaper, and every time I move, it rubs a little more.”

“And you've suffered all this without telling anyone? Without saying a word to any soul.”

“How could I? If I tell someone I immediately become one of our ISMI subjects. Something to fear. Something to lock up. I saw what abnormality did to Iewan... how he was tested, how he was isolated... like he was dangerous. I won't end up like that.”

“And yet instead of running you're just carrying on...”

“I have an obligation. I promised to help people. To help the world understand what's really out there... to protect folks by educating them. I can't run from that?”

“So what's your gameplan here?”

“Hold out another twenty three days blah hours and blah minutes... then pretend it never happened.”

“And if someone finds out?”

“How would they?”

“If they see you get maimed beyond repair and you just... get better?”

“Oh that's already happened more than once... nobody has caught me yet.”

“What do you mean?”

“I've 'died' twice since this. The first time it was when we found the longwalker. He impaled me through the upper leg and I bled out right there in the woods. Died. Woke up, walked it off. It was like having a really bad hangover. The second time was... worse.”

Doc seemed to be genuinely concerned and a little overwhelmed by all these revelations, and was starting to get a grasp on exactly what Hal had been going through, why he was like this. “What happened the second time time?”

“I, quite literally, lost my head. I was out investigating something that had been dragging teenagers into a lake in Kansas, the local Institute were struggling with it, staffing shortage, so I was helping them, keeping an eye on a late night stakeout. Well I sure found the thing. ISMI-US-L-0372. Nicknamed Karen by the yanks. A miserable fuck of a creature if I ever met one. Some kind of giant salamander that can spit blade-like waves of sound that can cut through wood, bone, not quite metal but they can dink it real good. It got me. We didn't know it had a projectile weapon at the time, and I got split from the others in the woods. It blew my head right off my shoulders. Must've dragged the bigger prize back into the lake because next thing I know, I'm waking up in a real state.”

“What... happened to you?”

“I... grew an entirely new body. Woke up naked in the woods. Thought maybe I'd just had a bad night drinking but...” he undid his tightly buttoned shirt collar to reveal a hideous scar that zigzagged from the side of his neck, down to the shoulder on the other side. “My hand grew back still all fucked up like this, so I assume, other than the scarring, that I will always return to the state it was in when I punched the god. Got picked up on the side of the road by the local sheriff, naked as a newborn babe. I tell you what that took some explaining to the yanks. Had to tell them I didn't know what had happened, and fortunately, their institute lads were good with the local cops. Got me out, got me dressed, we went back to the lake. They forgot about the whole embarrassing thing when we used what I'd learned to catch the damn thing and stop any more deaths.” He sighed, “Along with replacing my favourite jacket, I had to buy a new watch. And I'm still mad about it.”

“You're telling me somewhere out there there's your body, your old body just... lying about?”

“I mean, pretty sure it got eaten but they filled in the lake to be sure there were no more of those things. There's a mall there now so I think I'm safe to assume I'm not getting my watch back.”

The huge man shook his head a few times, as if coming to terms with all of this. “How... are you still holding it together? You were on assignment last night... performing your job like a normal employee...”

Hal shrugged, “I don't like to make trouble.”

“Y-...” the doctor pinched the bridge of his nose. “It...”

“You seem to be lost for words Doc.”

“I... honestly kind of expected this to be about your brother, and probably snake eyes. Nightmares stemming from those incidents or maybe one or two more. I did not expect a half god half man with multiple guilt complexes, who had experienced his own death, not once, but multiple times.”

“Not something you trained for?”

“Trained fo-...” the man sighed, “I think you misunderstand what I am, what I do here.”

“Okay, so why don't you talk to me now? The reason I never came down here is because I know you're... one of them. But what kind? Why do you do what you do and why does everyone talk about your unusual methods so highly? And while we're on it what are your methods?”

The Doc smiled, finishing the last of his tea and pointing to Hal's “Alright. That all seems reasonable and you're more than cleared to know. Drink up your tea and I'll tell you what I can.”

Hal, now curious, tipped his head and sat up a little to listen, reaching for his tea.

“I am an unusual case, a member of a species known quite well to the institute, but unusual for my kind.”

“Okay...”

“I am what you call a Eurasian Werewolf, or ISMI-EU-L-0014-Type 1.”

“A blood werewolf?” asked Hal, frowning. “Where's your...”

“I keep my tail hidden at work, it unnerves people. But I am unusual even for one of my kind, I am an albino. At least, my wolf forms are. In my human form, I produce a melanin like substance that provides me limited protection from the sun.”

“Well that explains the eyes... Why are you so BIG though...”

The werewolf smiled. “That appears to be a common mutation in albinos. We have no idea why, it's theorised that it is to compensate for our other shortcomings.”

“Okay... so... how did you end up... here...?”

“Ah. Well. A long time ago, long before all of this came out into the open, I was given a task, and a gift with which to do it.”

“Explain?”

“How much do you know about werewolves?”

“Enough. I have read the files... I know about their abilities, their habits, most of the known members of the species, how it varies from some continents to others...”

“Then you know about our-”

“Eating each other thing?”

“Yes that.”

“Yup.”

“Well, my particular gift is that I can shield people from their own problems. I can't make the problems go away... but when I consume someone, I separate them from their 'demons' so to speak. If they're sick or injured, the pain and symptoms will go away. If they have insomnia, they can sleep at peace. If they're depressed I can give them just a little time without that weight. It's not gone, but they can hear clearly without it for a short time.”

“Huh. How on earth does that work?”

The Doc shrugged. “Magic?”

“Hmm.”

“There's some caveats though. It only works for up to eight hours in a block of twenty four, and it's not the right treatment for everyone. I just... help people in the only way I can. By giving them a context outside their pain, or just... a night's sleep. A lot of people come for that because of old snake eyes. He haunts many nightmares in this place.”

“I'm not surprised,” Hal sipped his tea, staring into it almost absent mindedly, letting the steam warm his face.

There was a long quiet between them, the two men quietly laying on the beanbags, both just looking at the ceiling. Hal was glad of that. He felt a bit foolish for having come out and said everything, and his chest felt tight at the thought of having told someone... it was confidential but was the doctor bound by his duty to the institute to tell them anyway? Would there be any warning if he did? Hal might have time to run, and he knew which countries still didn't have an institute so he stood every chance of escaping to Thailand or something before they could catch him...

“I can hear your anxiety from over here.”

“Wha?”

“Your heart,” the werewolf gestured to his ears, “I can hear it speeding. The tea is decaf so I know it's not that, so what is bothering you? Is that god whispering in your ear?”

“Maybe. Or maybe it's just me knowing that now I've told someone, I can't take it back. I was just considering whether I would have time to make it to Thailand before they came for me.”

Hal chuckled. “This is confidential confidential. Remember? I think you should tell them. Ideally before your date expires. But that's on you. I can't. I told you. I am bound by the oath under which I serve. One part of that oath, the thing that gives me my unusual skillset, is that I can't speak of anything passed to me unless given permission. This is one of those times. I heartily encourage you to come forward about it but... I can't do that for you.”

“Oh. Well. That's a relief.”

“Are you going to come forward about it?”

“Iunno,” Hal shrugged. “I can never seem to decide, and every time I try...” he drilled a finger at his ear, “He starts his whispering again so I have to go drown him out with work.”

“You think he's interfering with your decision making on purpose?”

“Probably. He's interfering with everything else.”

“How would you feel about a little while without his noise?”

“What do you...” Hal blinked, sitting up suddenly as he caught the meaning, a chill going down his spine. “WHOA... no, no absolutely not.”

“It's okay Hal,” the Doc held up his hands, “I'm not going to-”

“Knew it, knew this was a mistake,” Hal set down his cup, his temper, heated by long term sleep deprivation flaring. He gently removed the dogs from his chest and struggled to stand, wobbling on his feet. “One hour in here and you're trying to eat me...”

The werewolf made no attempt to rise, sitting calmly, his hands up disarmingly. “Hal,”

“No, hell with you. Hell with all of you monsters,” the whispering, excited by his anger, started scraping on his eardrums again, an abrasive surge against his mind that fed his sudden fury. He felt hot... he needed to go outside and get some air. He stumbled to the door, grabbed the handle and twisted, gasping in anticipation of the cooler air in the corridor. But as he pressed down the handle, it refused to move. He froze up, not turning. “Doc... is this door locked?”

“It is.”

“Can you... unlock it?” his voice was rough, ragged as he felt his chest getting tighter and tighter, anger, confusion and exhaustion building on him. He just needed to get outside, to clear his head.

“No,” the response came from directly behind him, and he felt a little 'whoosh' of air from an overly swift movement, explaining how the huge man got there so fast. He half-turned his head to observe the tall man.

“Why not?”

“I have been given some very clear instructions here. This can't go on Hal,” the werewolf's face, though it was still kind, was set now, hardened.

“What're you going to...” he gasped as the huge form moved too swiftly, lunging for him. Hal moved to grab the taser from his belt but of course he had already turned it in, and his hand never made it that far anyway before powerful arms seized him and turned him around, blocking his movement.

Hal struggled, expecting to find himself being injured or to see those huge jaws gaping in front of his face. But none of that happened. Instead, he felt a sudden... lightness. The whispering stopped like someone had flicked a switch, his head didn't hurt, his eyes didn't feel like little balls of sandpaper rolling around in their sockets. The chest tightening and claustrophobia were gone too, though he could still feel his overstressed heart thudding against his ribs. “Wh...” he blinked as he took stock of what had happened. The huge doctor was... hugging him. One of his arms was pinned to his side, the other awkwardly stuck against the werewolf's chest, and his head was resting lightly against the huge shape. “What is... this...?”

“A taster. An example of what I can do for you. I cannot hold this for long.”

Hal shivered. It was like someone had been playing loud music right by his head for a week and suddenly it had stopped. The world suddenly seemed so peaceful... so gentle. His exhaustion tugged at him, telling him how warm this felt, how much he should sleep while the peace lasted... but it didn't. After a blessed half minute of blissful quiet and warm, the first pricklings of the scratching began to return, and Hal felt his chest starting to tighten again, the god was clearly furious it had been cut off like that. He squirmed, shuddering as his enemy threw painful flashes of old snake eyes into his head, stinging pain cutting across his cheek in a sharp memory of his injury.

The Doc released him as the effect faded, and the man collapsed against the door, fumbling for the handle again, but this time to hold himself upright. “That's... what you do?”

“For limited times. Yes.”

“But I don't want... I can't...” Hal struggled, torn, his tired mind about ready to break now that the dam was pierced.

“Shhh,” Doc gently pulled him close again, not in a special hug this time, he couldn't repeat it so soon, but it still felt warm and gentle.

Hal didn't fight it this time. He let his head fall against the werewolf and closed his eyes, sharp, painful flashes of terrible things he'd seen being pushed into his mind over and over as the god demonstrated its fury.

“I can make it all stop... let you sleep,” the voice beside his ear was gentle, honeyed.

“No... no I can't...” But why not? Nobody was expecting him today... and the Doc felt so warm... he felt his will weakening, and involuntarily pushed himself into the hug, burying his face against the chest like a child. He felt so weak... so useless that he'd let himself break like this when he was so close to dealing with the problem.

“Everyone needs a little help sometime Hal, just relax. We can talk later.”

Hal shivered as he felt warmth ruffle his hair, and something slick and wet began to slide down over his ears. He squeezed his eyes shut, almost trying to pretend it wasn't happening, but he didn't fight it. Powerful hands gripped his chest and raised him upwards like he weighed nothing, pushing him deeper, into darkness. As it happened though... the quiet returned. The scratching was silenced and the pain of consistently not sleeping faded away into soft warmth. He shivered as he felt the warmth sliding down over his arms and chest, his body angling, steered and lifted by experienced hands. A loud, wet sound made his ears pop, and he was vaguely aware that it was a swallow as more and more of him was pushed into the heat. It was like being burritoed in the warmest, softest duvet he had ever felt. Powerful muscles massaged him downwards, kneading, pressing the heat into every strained and exhausted muscle in his body, making him feel like all the tension was being wrung out of him like a flannel.

A soothing, powerful heartbeat sounded beside his head, reminding him where he was, and he tried to be scared... tried to force himself to fight, but all he managed was the briefest moment of tensing muscles before he felt his shoes delicately pulled off, and his feet were pushed inside as well. Sealed in.

He let out a little groan, trying to fight... more like trying to want to fight, but to no avail. His willpower had drained out of him... and he was starting to enjoy the massage...

In a surprisingly gentle movement, the powerful gullet delivered him into the stomach, which gave a quiet gurgle and settled around him swiftly, powerful movement from either the muscles or some outside force turning him and shifting him so that he wasn't upside down. Everything was so soft... so warm... he felt like he'd never be cold again, and he reached out, grabbing for something to hold onto but finding only soft ripples of flesh. A wave of peristalsis ran through the space, running down his back, and there was something gently stroking at his tensed shoulders. He wanted to fight... to stay awake... but he just didn't have the fortitude for it, and his already exhausted mind imploded into the complete darkness of sleep.

Outside, the Doc leaned against the wall for a moment, focused on gently massaging the man's back and shoulders with gentle hands until he felt him relax, softening and melting like butter into a floppy, breathing lump. He gently undid the belt of his work trousers and pulled his shirt loose from it, allowing a little more breathing room for his slightly, but not significantly rounded middle as he headed back to his beanbag and settled. Kirk and Spock, who had been watching this with their little heads tilted, swiftly joined him, settling on either side of his rounded middle, and letting him rest a hand on each of them. “Well now,” he said softly, “That went much better than I expected.” He raised his tablet, and began to make some hurried notes.

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And so we start to get to know Hal a little better, and see some of the bumps in the road he's been through in the early days of the institute. Also the vore I promised. I fuckin love werewolves.

#safe vore #soft vore #extreme cuddling #nonfatal vore #sfw vore #male vore #novel

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