#battle of the bastards was epic ok??

[fintensifies]

Oh the moral dilemma of watching something people have been asking you to see or rewatching the same single episode from a show and specifically rewinding for that one scene fifteen times

[rydiathesummoner]

Rating FFXVI characters based on how badass they were when they died*

*the official status from Square Enix for three of the characters is "it's up to the player's interpretation" but for the purpose of this post obviously I'm rating as if they died.

Spoilers start here!

Elwin 4/10

It's always a bit badass to die saving your kid. So he gets some points there. And he didn't go out crying about how he was betrayed. That said, he was REALLY caught off guard by Head Chopper, and as the ruler of a nation and the spouse of a conniving bitch I expected more from him.

The Bastards 7/10

Squashed by Boulder Dude gets lots of points for the memorable epic scream. Axe Dude here gets points for getting murdered without messing up his hair. Now THAT's talent. Tiamat gets no points. He was easily beaten by his subordinate, plus he was given a chance to escape his position and he chose to remain loyal to Sanbreque. Like bro. That was your chance. So many people died in that battle. You could have just vanished. Did anybody go looking for Clive after he vanished? No! You died Sanbreque's loyal little bitch.

Benedikta 9/10

Benedikta went out like a champ. An absolute badass. She didn't even flinch at the previously unknown Eikon of Fire, she just took one look and was like "ok yeah sure I''ll kick this one's ass too." Girl regrew limbs and stood on Ifrit's face. She showed the player how scary eikons are. I'd give her a 10/10, but she threw my dog.

Cid 10/10

Cid destroyed a mothercrystal, got stabbed by an interdimensional monster, STOOD BACK UP to stab Ultima in the neck, then spent his last moments giving Clive a heartwarming and encouraging speech. He went out on his own terms, despite being a dominant. Bravo Cid 🫡

Imreann 0/10

Just look at this asshole. He genuinely thought Jill wouldn't kill him. His last moments were spent like "Wait, why is the girl I horribly mistreated killing me? That's not fair!" I considered giving him a pity point because Jill's badassery is awesome in this scene, but nah.

Hugo 4/10

The fight was a 10/10, but his death was too quick after that to really show any badassery. He used up everything he had to fight Clive, which I'll give him points for. But just turning instantly to stone like that... I dunno, he just seems pretty 'armless.

Sylvestre 6/10

Again, giving points here for dying to protect your kid. Even if your kid is a possessed monster from a conniving bitch. I gave him an extra point for running even though he needs a cane. And another because I'm pretty sure he figured out he was a dumbass all along in his last minutes.

Olivier 2/10

I'll give points for this death making me laugh. It wasn't a badass death at all, but I still clapped in my head.

Annabella 4/10

I hate this cunt so much. I wanted to kill her myself, but she stole that too. I'll give her points for the mystery of whether she actually thought Joshua was a demon or if she was just manipulating to the very end. Plus a point for trying to cut Joshua with her knife. If she really did think he was a demon, at least she tried to defend herself.

Barnabas 9/10

The fight was great. The crazy-man laugh was great. The best part though, is that he got one over the most overpowered person on the planet just by grabbing his ankle. Clive didn't even want Odin's power, but Barnabas was like "nope, you're slurping my powers whether you want to or not." I took off a point for his last words reminding the player of the scene of him cuddling his mom naked, ugh not the last thing I want to remember about the dude.

Dion 3/10

I gave him points because the "I ask not for acceptance but for forgiveness" part was cool, but everything else about this death was stupid. He's still babbling about his worthless father. He doesn't even mention the one person genuinely in his corner. He's badass the rest of the game, so his Suicide by Demigod death is incredibly stupid. Look, I've spent way too much time in the past in a therapist's chair ticking The Bad Boxes so I really, really understand the mental state. But that doesn't change the fact that killing yourself over something you didn't have control over is stupid. It would have been far more badass if he managed to find a way to live with himself, because that's far harder than offing yourself.

Joshua 10/10

Joshua was frail and weak, but he really powered through until the end. His dedication was admirable. He gave it his all, including his Phoenix powers. His last speech to Clive was so sweet, and it really showed his faith in Clive to do what was right for the world.

Ultima 7/10

The fight was great. But the sheer pettiness here won me over. Clive won fair and square, and Ultima is STILL getting his digs in, right up to the last second. His last words are pure snark. Maybe that's not very badass, but I can at least respect it.

Clive 9/10

I respect his ability to swim/float to the beach after that last fight. That's badass. I only took a point off because he didn't drag himself very far onto the beach. His body may be in trouble when the tide comes in. It's nice that his last moments are thinking of the ones he loved. But most impressive of all is that despite JUST dragging himself out of the water, his hair looks like he just stepped out of the salon. Like, damn. Nobody will ever top that ability. No man can compete with that.

[mmogurl]

So, last night I finally got through Daemon's arc in Fire and Blood.. There are going to be major spoilers in this post, so only click -keep reading- if you have read it already.. or don't care if I spoil it by talking frankly about its contents! I will be discussing Rhaenyra as well as Aemond. **SPOILERS!! IF YOU KEEP READING! YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.

So, I am just completely wrecked by his ending and how Rhaenyra basically pushes him to it with her psychotic, stupid ways. I mean.. I strongly disliked Rhaenyra after the show, before even reading the book (especially after that fight where she says she can't trust him which is not in the book). But now after reading it, I utterly despise her! She's awful! Horrible.. and the worst kind of stupid! It's like, she just goes kind of nuts, but nobody notices that she has. But it's so obvious that she is not thinking clearly, that or she truly doesn't care about anyone or anything.. Like they are all just pawns to her, dogs to use. But then she doesn't even know how to move them properly on the board - hence my calling her stupid.. I feel like her response of ordering Nettles death was the last nail in the coffin for Daemon, and he was just like.. Fuck this shit.. I mean she literally says, she doesn't care if the lord there takes her head in her sleep.. and she slept with Daemon! Can you imagine that shit?? And this is after she said it's perfectly ok for him to sleep around with Mysaria while Rhaenyra is seemingly uninterested in him, so it's not like she was jealous. But, it seemed like he might have actually cared for Nettles and so he sends her away to save her from all the fucking madness surrounding Rhaenyra and by proxy himself... The line where he and Aemond are talking and the young prince says he's lived long enough.. where Daemon simply replies.. "On that much we can agree," is just so telling.

Imagine having been instrumental in putting Rhaenyra on the throne only to have it become so fucked in the end. And ultimately, I don't think he has the heart to do what he SHOULD do.. which is kill her.. he just decides to go off and die an honorable death in battle like a fucking Viking warrior going off to Valhalla.. But it's so bittersweet.. I hated it.. hated how it all felt like it was for nothing.. because Rhaenyra's a fucking idiot who can't listen to a god damned bit of advice from her much more experienced husband! Like, he suggests TWICE in the book to give Ulf and Hugh something to keep them happy and twice she refuses! So how does it come as a surprise when they turncoat?? But let's be realistic.. the whole Red Sowing was fucking foolhardy to begin with! Tell me, does it make sense to give the power of a god to bastards with no allegiance!? And then to not even buy their allegiance!? It's. just. stupid. Stupid stupid stupid. I'm going to be writing my fic with even more fervor now, because honestly, the entire war in the book.. What happens to Maelor, what happens at Tumbleton!? It's all a nightmare and should be avoided.. A terrible, terrible wrong that must be made right! Ugh! Rhaenyra was already an opponent in my fic - In the Shadow of Dragons. Without spoiling the story, I already have it out for her, but now it's on like fucking Donkey Kong, bitch! Ugh, and to lose Daemon and Aemond at the same time!?! X_X!!! It was at least an awesome battle and the art in the book was epic level, but they are both my favorites and now they are both dead. Now all that is left is to read about how cake eating, psycho Rhaenyra gets overthrown. I am currently at the part where King's Landing has gone into revolt.. and I'm thinking it won't be pretty for her when it happens. And there's another thought.. when you see everything awful that happens under Rhaenyra's rule, one cannot help but consider.. That even Aegon might have done a better job!

/End Rant

[sunshine-overload]

[BSTS] Mizuki Summer 2023 4* Card Story

chapter 1 -festival grounds, carpark-

mizuki: Yo, Saki. Are ya free right now?

saki: Did you need me for something, Mizuki-san?

mizuki: I heard the staff are lending out the water pistols we were using for our performance. Let’s go check em out, then we can have a test battle.

saki: Fufu, sounds like fun. Let’s go.

staff: We have everything from water pistols to bubble guns, feel free to play with whichever ones you want.

mizuki: Wow, they have a whole bunch huh.

saki: It’s hard to decide which one to pick isn’t it? Have you decided, Mizuki-san?

mizuki: Of course I have. I’m going with this huge ass bubble gun! Doesn’t it look epic when I hold one in each hand like this? So, which one you picking?

saki: Hm, I’ll go with… this one.

mizuki: We’re all armed up then. Let’s go give em a whirl!

-beach-

saki: Ok, so once you attach the bubble liquid here you should be able to use it.

-mizuki jumps around-

mizuki: Woah, awesome! This is so cool!

saki: Uwah, so many bubbles…! They’re so pretty.

mizuki: Hurry up and give it a try yourself.

saki: Ok.

nekome: Oh? Something interesting appears to be going down over here.

saki: Nekome-san, Taiga-san.

taiga: Yo.

mizuki: Why’re you two here?

nekome: We were just going for a little walk and noticed something fun over here. If you two are having a test battle then let us join too. We just picked up some bubble guns ourselves, see?

taiga: Wait, what do you mean by ‘us’? I ain’t joining in.

nekome: The more people there are the more fun it’ll be for Saki-chan, right? Let’s have a little gunfight.

taiga: You’re not even listening to me.

mizuki: Bleh, so ya gonna play or not?

nekome: Mm~ Guess there’s no helping it. …You should keep your guard up, Mizuki.

-nekome shoots mizuki with bubbles-

mizuki: Uwah!?

mizuki: You bastard…

saki: M-Mizuki-san, are you alright?

mizuki: …Oi, Saki. We’re gonna mess these guys up, ya hear?

-

chapter 2 -beach-

nekome: Ok so, we’ll make the win condition the team that gets covered in the least amount of bubbles then?

saki: Ok.

mizuki: We’re definitely gonna win this.

saki: Yes.

nekome: Let’s do our best too, Taiga.

taiga: Sigh… Just don’t go dragging us down, bro.

-cg

mizuki: Eat this!

nekome: Woah there, you’re a surprisingly good shot Mizuki. I leave the rest to you, Taiga.

taiga: Wh— It doesn’t matter how good my aim is, this is impossible on my own!

saki: (It looks like everyone’s having fun.)

mizuki: Saki, pay attention!

saki: R-right!

-time pass-

mizuki: Hell yeah! We won!

taiga: We lost~ I really thought we’d be able win too…

saki: I’m glad we won, huh Mizuki-san?

mizuki: Yeah, your aim was pretty great too y’know.

saki: Thank you.

saki: (I barely got hit with any bubbles though… I wonder if those two were going easy on me.)

mizuki: Ahh, I’m beat. Let’s head back, Saki.

saki: Sure. Oh wait, there’s some bubbles on top of your head.

mizuki: For real? Where?

saki: Um, right here—

mizuki: You’re wide open.

-puts bubbles on saki-

saki: Wah!?

mizuki: Heheh, now you’ve got a bubble hat too. We match.

—end

[dballzposting]

DBALLZPOSTING RAMBLE

Amount of evidence: LOW!!!!

Word count: Not the longest.

Eloquency: I haven't been sleeping very well lately ....

Subject: Trunks & Goten's different views of authority and power balances; Trunks is a follower while Goten is exempt.

Befote I say anything let me preface this post with: Goten and Trunks are, everything considered, very free spirits. They're not afraid of feelings and they love adventuring. When they're kids they love to have fun, and when they're older you can see in the both of them a sort of contentedness/satisfaction. They're living life well.

OK now I want to point out that despite what you'd assume when you first see them, Trunks is very much a follower, while Goten is exempt from any idea of a hierarchy.

You would assume that Trunks would be a leader given who his parents are and what his status is. He just HAS to be a natural-borne leader, right? It's in his blood? But he's just not.

When he's a kid he's very good at bossing Goten around. He's good at being player 1. But this isn't his "true" nature. He acts all arrogant when he's a kid becasue he's doing what kids do: emulating hardcore. What he is is a follower emulating the leadership behaviors of his parents.

We know this isn't his true self becasue he tangibly grows out of it. Even by EOZ, he's no longer a bitch - he's respectful, he's self-assured, he's relaxed in that confidence, he emotes freely. I think he still cares what people think about him, judging by his epic swag outfit and the way that he couldn't just live-and-let-live when it came to that flamboyant gay dude, but he's getting there.

By GT he is just a completely different man. He just wants to chill and hang out. He wants to make wisecracks. He doesnt care about work and he doesnt care enough to let himself be stressed by it. He just dips. He continues to emote freely, even coming apart at the beginning of the series when he was realizing how stressful this space journey was shaping out to be, but he pulled himself together and didn't need to freak out like that again. he adapted to the situation fine.

I don't have solid evidence I just need you to watch GT and see what I've seen and understand that he's literally just some guy ... he's some dude .... Scary shit is happening and he still has time to chill and hang out when the battle is over. I've seen it. Please believe me

In the outro there's a moment where they're showing different epic images throughout the history of dragon ball. And there's a picture from DBZ times, where Trunks is sitting on the handlebars of a motorcycle while Gohan is trying to drive it and Trunks has his arms crossed and he just looks like such a bitch. He's somebody arrogant bastard whelp

VERY NEXT IMAGE: A GT image of Trunks & Pan & Goku & Giru on the hunt for dragon balls out on an alien planet. And UGH. The CONTRAST is so much. Like maybe I should just get the images. I probably won't. But I should

The image changes to GT and you realize that THIS is who Trunks is. Not the kid. Poeple change so much from childhood. On one hand your true nature is available to you as a child but on the other hand you're emulating hardcore and changing rapidly. Trunks's truest nature was probably when he was a baby and he'd cry becasue Vegeta was so ugly

Trunks grows up and circles back and finds his true nature again. And that true nature is in those FUCKING HUGE SHORTS. That JACKET. Those DUMB GLOVES. Those THICK SOCKS and BARE KNEES. Like HWAT was he THINKING !?!??!

His TRUE NATURE is being LAME. That's who he is. He had phases where he wanted to be Cool but he's grown out of it. He's come to accept what style he really feels like himself in. He has changed a lot since childhood: He Doesnt care what people think about him, and he is Not concerned with status anymore.

He's President of Capsule Corp becasue he's gotta be. He doesnt give a shit. You'd think he'd give a shit and you'd assume that he'd give a shit but if you watch GT there is something so calm and cool about him. He's so authentic that he can even be shallow and lack self-awareness in little ways (like he doesnt think he's lame for instance). This is really as deep as he goes fellas. And he's not trying to deny that. He's not trying to look Cool or Smart or Strong. He just wears his huge shorts and reads his Cosmo magazine and readily displays when he's feeling tired or bored, but not in an immature way that demands amelioration. He's a fine adult and he keeps himself together, especially when he has to be babysitter.

He does what he must and he rests when he can.

So. All of that put together: you would think that that makes him not necessarily a leader but definitely not a follower, right? A follower WOULD care what people think about them, right?

NOT what I'm getting at though. He's not insecure, but he's still a follower. And he's not a leader, becasue he doesnt care enough to be, but mostly, becasue it's not in his nature.

Vegeta is a leader by nature. He's not interested in controlling others' freedom, but he is interested in setting them straight. Bulma is a leader by nature. She'll let weirdos be weirdos but as long as there is something she cares about, she NEEDS things to go the way she wants them to. She needs you to do what she tells you to do.

Both ultimately have good judgement in the end.

And then there's Trunks...

WAYS THAT TRUNKS IS A FOLLOWER:

I don't think it's all nurture, but I'll still point out that: being raised by leaders could have very well trained him to be a follower. As a kid, he emulated the leadership role with Goten, but still snaps to such sudden attention when his parents tell him what to do (seen in Z and Super). A truly arrogant kid would blow his parents off.

HIS RESPECT FOR RULES. So many times as a kid we see him say something about The Rules. One example is when in the second Broly movie (English sub), he was terrifically put off by how Broly wasn't "following the rules" and was fighting to kill. For another example, he TOLD OFF Majin Buu when he came at him with that sucker punch. Those are NOT the rules of the battlefield!!!!! There were more times but I can't remember. Another thing I'll put here is how self-aware he was as a kid about being a kid: i swear it came up like three different times when he was chasticing someone for saying/doing something to him because he was "just a kid" and it was pathetic or rude of them to be behaving that way in front of him. It's like, it's hard to teach a kid about Honor, so Vegeta just taught him about Rules instead and hoped that one day it would turn into honor. But in the meantime and arguably the long term, it became the backdrop of his understanding of the world: the world is made out of rules. Rules of the battlefield. Rules of social interactions. Rules of computers and engineering. In this way, he's a follower: if it's against the rules, don't do it! (Some rules he does not respect, however. Like beating up that one tournament contestant and stealing his clothes. It's becasue Trunks was overall emulating the irreverency of his father. This, in a way, is still following what's proper.)

Okay, kids lack nuance and they follow rules like law. That doesn't mean he's a follower. BUT CONSIDER: His reverence for AUTHORITY and HIERARCHY. This was an essential element of his childhood, his parents being who they were, and he learned to DEFER TO AUTHORITY. In Super he seems much nicer than in Z, and the way he listens to adults seems more overt (honestly he's coming more into himself with that lame yellow sweatshirt but we haven't the time to discuss that). My best exmaples are THE WAY HE THINKS OF SHENRON: In one of the Z movies that i dont fucking rmeebr which one, there was a scene where Goten calls Shenron a CHEAPSKATE. Trunks FLIPS and COVERS Goten's mouth. Actuially I think I can find the gif

^ see.

He's like YOU DONT FUCKING TALK TO HIM THAT WAY...!

AND THEN IN GT, when they try to summon Shenron with the busted ass dragon balls, Bulma says of the new Shenron: He's much more crass, isn't he? AND TRUNKS TURNS TO HIS MOTHER and is like, "MOM!!!" I watched the english sub but literally what happened was that she said some barely-rude comment about this new Shenron's lack of manners, and Trunks actually said really dramatically "MOM-!!!" and then basically that She Can't Talk about Shenron That Way...!!!!!

We all know that Bulma has no respect for authority over herself, specifically when she feels that they haven't earned it. And This Evil-Looking Blue Draghon Shows Up an Literally Lights a Stoagie in front of them and Bulma says soemthing so TAME for what her lexicon is capable of, and Trunks was like MOM! ! !!!!!!!

In that moment, his respect for the concept of an in-borne hierarchy or authority surpassed any obligation he may feel to defer to his mother. As is the case with some real-life men, he may even has grown up to believe that actually, his mother is a little batshit cuckoo and maybe needs to be corralled some. (This is an unfortunate perspective).

Anyway. Another way that Trunks is a follower is the way that he never tries that hard to counter anyone. He doesn't fall back into line either but he just ... GHoes to work ...... Does what his parents want him to do .... He's not authoritative enough to be able to keep Pan wrangled in.

I want to make clear that I am NOT saying that Trunks is a follower by nature of a crushed will. I'm not saying that he's all small and pusillanimous. He's absolutely not. The first paragraph in this post holds up. I don't think he feels all small inside

I just think that his lifestyle has fostered an avenue for authenticity, because self-awareness is essential for his warrior craft, and the authentic person that we are seeing is someone who wears those Huge Shorts and does what his parents want him to do. And if he REALLY hated it then he would argue back. But he doesnt care enough too. He's cool. He's a chill dude. He's a follower. Just hanging out

Forgot to say that also: He has manners. We see that at every age past 8. He's not trying to disrespect his elders. He's respectful to Gohan and his wife. He follows the rules of respect and hierarchies.

The reason that we see Trunks a lot of the time as this chill dude is because he himself is at the top of some hierarchy. He's rich and president. He's the son of a prince. Were he on a shittier tier then I think that we'd see him be much quicker to obsequiousness.

It's interesting becasue I think that in theory, a totally healthy and authentic human would want to do away with hierarchies altogether. But Trunks is still of a culture. This is his most authentic self - within his culture. Sure, there are no hierarchies when he's hanging out with friends and doing what he wants, but the rest of the time there is. At work. At home. In space it was a bit complicated - he was the captain, and he was technically the oldest, but he would never try to tell Goku-San what to do, and Trunks just lacked the innate leadership abilities to keep Pan under control! Partly becasue Pan comes with a lot of fire for freedom because of the way that she is being treated at home.

Trunks has totally come into himself and he wears .............. "interesting" outfits. And I think that his parents have had to come to accept that he's lame. Bulma makes him be president but it's becasue he can't be head engineer so she makes him be the head bureaucrat. Vegeta hasnt given up on him becasue it's just not his nature too, but he has accepted that Trunks is lame. Every now and then he'll throw out "I'll be in the gravity chamber if you want to shake the rust off" but Trunks never takes the bait. He's always busy with something else. He's slacking. He's a slacker. Vegeta knows this. Trunks doesnt think he's lame but he is. This is just a fact.

Though he was able to shake off Baby's initial attempt at control. He was able to expel him from his body whereas the sloppy-messy Goten just had all of his memories wide-open for Baby to read. Trunks does have a due CONFIDENCE, and you CAN find his father's influence in him. He's also lame. Just a fact

ANYWAY: FOR COMPARISON:

Son Goten is much more like Goku in that: there are no hierarchies. We're all equal. The difference is that Goten does respect authority. The reason that Goku doesn't is partly his pure-hearted nature and partly because the first person who demanded respect out of him was Bulma and her insistence for honorifics. Of course Goku would say no to that. But Goten was encouraged (or beaten) by his loving mother to be respectful, and he's a sweet kid, so he took to it naturally. Everybody gets an honorifc. Everybody gets a bow. Be kind to everyone and everything. All is right in the world

He did very much tell Shenron that he was a cheapskate in that one movie. He YELLED it. This is Son Goten: authentic and fully expressive of himself. There are no leaders and followers, just people with opinions that need expressing.

In GT he was so rude to Mr Satan. Mr Satan needed some fucking help and Goten was like, "Um, I am NOT your student, and I am ON a date. >:( -.-" That was honestly so fucking rude of him. It's becasue, despite being the youngest in his house, he doesnt have the perpetual reflex to defer built in. He was raised in a way that must've been more free and forgiving. He knows in his head that Mr Satan is old and in need and that's why it was so fucking rude of him to not drop everything and play along. But Goten wasn't being a dick on purpose for the sole express purpose of being a dick, he was just prioritizing his own life over Mr Satan's right now; he was honoring himself. Can't beat someone down for looking out for number 1. He was rude to Mr Satan AND good for himself and Palace-chan. Two things can be true

I know I don't have any hard proof and this post has been very much a "remember this? no? I don't either. Take my word for it" type of a ramble, but I would postulate that when Goten is respectful, it's because he wants to be nice and proper, as a kid or as an adult, but he understands naturally that leaders are not gods; and when Trunks is respectful, it's as if the world is dependent on this order, and he feels real fear when authority is disrespected, and he probably doesnt even know why, but it's probably becasue as a kid he learned fear from his dad, and as an adult he can use reason to surmise who's deserving of respect, but on some level he is always anticipating that pattern of authority to exist as a ubiquitous order.

I think the biggest place where you can find their different responses to authority is how they interact with Gohan. I have very little canon evidence I just want to tell a story. Trunks is obviously very polite. He's known Gohan since he was little and Gohan has always been good to him. He's always been patient, helpful, and informative. This fosters safety and spontaneity, but at home Trunks gets yelled at for talking out of turn so ultimately that's what perseveres. He walks into Gohan's house and he's sooo civil. And I know that if he has questions to ask he chooses his words very carefully. He would never say anything uncouth to Son Gohan. He minds his manners so much. Honestly he behaves as if he believes that he should be shot

and then there's GOTEN and even if he didnt have the privilege of kin status with Gohan he would STILL act the way he does. He #RESPECTS Gohan, so much, and at the end of the day, Gohan does have authority in the sense that if Goten was pissing him off he could tell him firmly to Leave His House. And Goten would listen. He woudlnt defy him. He'd be mad but staying is more than asking for a fight, it's breaking a heart. He'll leave if he's told to . But other than that he can say whatever he wants to Gohan always and for forever EVEN IF IT'S SHIT THAT GOHAN DOESNT WANT TO HEAR Goten lacks the finesse to read through Gohan's composed exterior and see that he doesnt want to hear agbout it. And he'll ask him the worst questions too. Just absolutely ruin his week with it. "Gohan-Niichan is it true that men have g-spots up their BUTTS?" just the worst shit . There are no stupid questions but there are indeed bad ones

And Gohan takes it upon himself to deal with this. He wants to be a trustworthy source of information and comfort in Goten's life. So he deals wioth this

And Trunks is so courteous and careful and kind and he keeps a respectful distance meanwhile if Goten were really excited to see Gohan then he would chew through the wall and rocket toward him and lick him on the cheek like a dog . And Gohan would just very politely pull out a handkerchief and wipe his cheek off and then put the handkerchief back and not say antyhing about it. Very professional guy

[cyberdragoninfinity]

1. I adore that au and the concept -and- the implication that leo pulls a fullass AI back at 13 2. Unfortunately. I think primo would try to get a bike. Or a sword. Or something he used to have, just at the start. Just out if spite and the only thing left to cling to that even had a remote original personality toed to it (that said hollowed personality is now all he has left to rely on).

If Im making sense, sorry if I'm not!

WELL OK TO BE FAIR all leo really did was pull some of Aporia's inner workings out of his bashed to shit body while Z-one and Yusei were having their Epic Sky Battle, and then he held onto them for like six months being a little too nervous to figure out how to bring it up to everyone else :,) The actual AI extraction/"Aporia" rebuilding effort is a bit of a team endeavour between the twins and Yusei (i really like the idea of Luna picking up a postcanon knack for computery things...the twins hung out with Bruno as the pit crew so many times I like to believe maybe he rubbed some of his techiness off on them~)

But anyway NEVER FEAR you Know this poor bastard is not going to tolerate not having his sword or his bike or his Anything for long...that's all he has!! If he doesn't have his Terrible Omen or his deck or his sword or his mission who is he!!!! These emotions are distressing and he does NOT like them. I think eventually he ends up going to the mall with leo (possibly not entirely having a say in the matter) and getting a new sword from one of these vaguely sketchy stores that sell miscellaneous bladed weapons and incense holders shaped like dragons. you know the ones. it isn't Nearly as fine a blade as his old sword but at least now when he keeps grabbing at his side he can actually have something these to hold onto...

A new Runner's a more difficult grab but ouuughh he Wants One Real Baddddd. Yusei and Primo have a lot of Cool Something ! going on in this AU i do think Yusei actively wanting to help him either build or acquire a new bike is just, so fun. Primo Does Not Like This he doesnt need your PITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (why does someone caring enough to help him with this make his chest hurt) ( :( )

[amarguerite]

I've only ever read fiction before but I've been wanting to try some non fiction too, so both I guess.

Hmm ok so for fiction:

Stuff written during the Regency:

Evelina by Fanny Burney. Epistolary novel and coming-of-age novel about a young country miss who goes to London and has to learn social rules. I don't think Burney's stuff aged as well as Austen's, but this one if my favorite of hers.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. The OG. The beginning of science fiction, arguably, depending on how you feel about Margaret Cavendish's The Blazing World, or that thing Cyrano de Bergerac wrote where he says he flew to the moon using some geese.

Manfred by Lord Byron. I have a real soft spot for this uber dramatic, Gothic closet drama in verse. It is really nuts, but a real fun read.

Endymion by John Keats. Another epic poem, one which gives us "a thing of beauty is a joy forever." Contains what I think are some of Keats's most beautiful images outside La Belle Dame Sans Merci and Ode to a Nightingale.

Honorary mention to Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe here, which I loved as a kid, but I suspect did not age well. It's one of those novels that was really progressive, for 1819, in its treatment of Jewish characters, but I'm willing to bet that if you looked at it now, it would be Bad.

Stuff written about the Regency, much later:

Life-Mask, by Emma Donoghue. Warning, this book is extremely long and slow-paced, but so, so good. So chockful of details and complicated relationships between historical figures, and insights into the world of the Regency stage. Focuses half on the actress Elizabeth Farren and her rise in the world and eventual marriage to an Earl, and half on the lesbian sculptor Anne Damer.

Cotillion by Georgette Heyer. It's a silly, fluffy romp about a spunky ingenue getting a fashionable himbo to help her have a Season in London. Great escapism.

Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian. The first of a twenty book epic adventure series, and the one you really need to read if you want to understand where everyone is on the ship at any given point in time.

Horatio Hornblower by C. S. Forster. Another epic naval adventure series. Not quite as fun as Master and Commander as the main character's very gloomy and depressed all the time, but my introduction to the Age of Sail, so it still holds a place in my heart.

In terms of Regency romances, I'm fond of Tessa Dare, Sarah MacLean, and Carla Kelly, but their historical accuracy is... suspect at times.

Honorable mention to the Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwall, which I devoured, and love for their battle sequences... but every single female character gets a really raw deal in every single book. The BBC series is real fun, and features a young Sean Bean wearing very tight pants and shouting, "Bastard!" across the Iberian Peninsula.

Non-fiction:

Dress in the Age of Jane Austen by Hilary Davidson is my favorite book about the Regency ever, ever, ever. It's very serious fashion history that manages to touch on every aspect of Regency life. SO HELPFUL for fic stuff.

Black London by Gretchen Gerzina. Available free as an ebook!

I'm really fond of Elizabeth Longford's two volume biography of Wellington, Kate Williams’s biography of Emma, Lady Hamilton, and William Hague's biographies of William Pitt the Younger (Prime Minister for the early part of the Regency) and William Wilberforce (British politician credited with ending slavery). I have a love-hate relationship to Amanda Foreman's biography of Georgianna, Duchess of Devonshire because it's a gripping read, but it felt at times like the author was really in love with her subject and let that bias her interpretation of sources.

[throwmethatcello]

My favorite moments from each member of Vox Machina.

Grog

- The whole trash talk pre-battle against Kevdak. Travis WOW.

- "Grand Poobah de Doink of all Thisanthat" and everything that came with that title.

- When he asked Pike to teach him how to read and I ugly cried + "I spend the following years learning how to read" in the epilogue and I also ugly cried.

- “The Grog and Craven Edge show”

- When he was sad because he didn't have a role in Vex and Percy's wedding and then they asked him to be the flower girl and he was.just.so.happy.and.proud.of.himself. “Can I have this job??” Groooog why are you so wholesome :'(

Vex

- "I thought he'd never leave" - No explanation needed

- "I open the door COMPLETELY NAKED" - Behold the supreme queen of powerplays, we are not worthy and we'll never be.

- When she went find Kaylie after Scanlan died and convinced her to go see him + Later when Allura told her the resurrection ritual succeeded and she was so happy but she was all alone in that tavern so she just started buying everyone drinks (and spending money????? !!!!!!) and flirting with people out of habit but then she kinda remembered she was with Percy and backed off and went to sleep, lmao what a journey.

- Her wedding vows. Laura Bailey will you please let me live.

Vax

- The time the Briarwoods caught him spying on them and he serious and genuinely attempted to fuck his way out of there and in all fairness who can blame him. Truly the bisexual representation I deserve, god bless this dumb horny boy.

- GUYS. WHERE. IS. LARKIN!!!

- “let's go, you bastard!” and kissed Percy. Thank you Liam O’Brien for my life.

- He really went straight to Percy’s bathroom and got into the tub with him just to share an awkward silence and tell him that he’s like a brother to him and then showed him his ass as he left. Vax’ildan what the actual fuck, brothers don’t do that kind of shit and you know it, why are you like this!!!

Percy

- *Masterfully parlays with an ancient green dragon and keeps his cool until the very moment she leaves the room. Proceeds to have a panic attack* Also pretty sure he kinda wanted to fuck the dragon. Anyways this scene is sexy af and I stan a badass bitch with severe trauma and valid kinks.

- When he literally inflicted damage to himself with a kettle full of fantasy menthos to win a cannonball contest.

- Wasted! Percy (ft. Keyleth and the weird marquesian drink)

- "SYLAS!!!!"

- This motherfucker, this absolute agent of madness went and signed yet another soul-binding contract with a demon under the galaxy brain reasoning that "I already sold my soul once, so if I sell it again worst case scenario I get to watch 2 demons fighting over my soul and that would be very entertaining" I'm-

Tary

- “It’s going to be FUN, FUN, FUN!”

- Flashcards class with Pike. Just. Amazing. Outstanding. Sam Riegel what you have is called TALENT. 

- “...and it was the METRIC SYSTEM!”

- The time Taryon Darrington spent his first night in company of a lady and immediately decided it was going to be the last one. 

- His “fuck you dad” speech was absolutely beautiful and his explanation on how Vox Machina showed him what it meant to be a family. Sam you can’t just fucking do this kind of shit to unsuspecting watchers, I’m soft. 

Keyleth

- "We are basically gods!" *proceeds to jump off a cliff and die" WE LOVE A DUMBASS QUEEN.

- When she went off on Raishan, just omg Keyleth, the raw power of it all!!!

- "Hey percy you know what would be fun, if I turned into a fucking elephant and you got on top of me so we can go deliver this mask/helmet to Grog in a cool classy fashion. *turns into an elephant* Oh shoot I forgot doors exist, it sure would have been a good idea to polimorph after leaving the room, well whatever, here goes nothing *starts to fucking smash the door with her elephant body* Oh, here comes Grog and Scanlan, hey guys! Wait, why are you attacking me it's me, your good friend Keyleth! Ouch! Ok you know what now I'm pissed, let's fucking go!! If I shall go down in this form so be it. *Rages against Grog and Scanlan and gets fucking decked*

- Keyleth’s epilogue was just beautiful and the perfect way to close the campaign. Much feels. Much cry.

Pike

- *Takes a sip of the weird Markesian drink* "Haha I don't feel anything" *Takes another sip of the weird Markesian drink. Passes out automatically*

- Pike: Maybe we should sleep together and see how it goes

Scanlan: O- OKAY????

Pike: No just kidding lol sorry

- “Guiding bolt up his butt” 

- "Sometimes I talk to Scanlan through the earring even though I know he can't hear me" like, Ashley stop. And then she gets drunk and starts actually talking to him like, ASHLEY STOP.

Scanlan

- "You'll leave when Burt Reynolds tells you to leave!"

- "Do you spice?" or "Scanlan spends a whole episode in a quest for drugs. Ends up getting a bag of baking soda for like 400G. Lives with the shame for the rest of his life" Perfect. Spectacular. You just can't write shit this good.

- When he apologizes to Pike for being a fuckboy.

- Every single counterspell this motherfucker has ever casted.

- Basically the whole battle against Vecna was endless epic content from Scanlan.

- You know what, every single Scanlan moment is iconic and we all know it. Let's not pretend we can just pick a few.

[blackswaneuroparedux]

The Great Drive: James Hunt and Niki Lauda at Fuji, 1976

I feel really sorry for Niki. I feel sorry for everybody that the race had to be run in such ridiculous circumstances because the conditions were dangerous and I fully appreciate Niki’s decision. After an accident like he had, what else could he do? Quite honestly, I wanted to win the championship and I felt I deserved it. But I also felt Niki deserved to win the championship – and I just wish we could have shared it.

- James Hunt on winning the Japanese Grand Prix 1976 to become F1 World Champion

James Hunt’s epic title battle with Niki Lauda, during what many see as the definitive F1 season, was topped off by a thrilling race in the land of the rising sun. It became an instant classic, one of F1’s Great Drives.

With everything to lose, in treacherous conditions, and with late drama, James Hunt's drive in the 1976 Japanese Grand Prix was one of the greatest of all time.

James Hunt delivered his greatest drive in spite of himself. It wasn’t just the peak moment of his career, but also a defining drive for F1.

The British gentleman racer conquering the world’s best in far away lands – Hunt embodied it.

Despite this, the Brit’s landmark drive came in the midst of late night escapades, mechanical disasters, psychological warfare and F1 politics.

As the ‘76 season approached its climax in North America and Asia, it seemed all might be lost for the McLaren team and its lead driver. Hunt had been duelling with Ferrari’s Niki Lauda throughout the year, but losing his British Grand Prix win to disqualification (announced by the FIA at Round 14 in Canada) seemed to have derailed his season for good.

McLaren team manager at the time Alastair Caldwell describes the state of affairs as they approached the North American leg of the season: “We abandoned the idea of winning the world championship. I let him misbehave in Canada and in Watkins Glen. On both occasions we were pissed on race eve, both of us in a bar after midnight getting rotten – me on alcohol and him on women, because he was always very successful with women.

“James met a girl – the leader of the band at the motel in Montreal – and so he came to the race dishevelled, in the same clothes as he’d been wearing the previous night – and he won the race!

“Even then we still thought we were out of it. Then we won Watkins Glen too! So suddenly we became serious again.”

Lauda had scored 4 points to Hunt’s 18 in this period. With the championship fight back on, the rejuvenated team and driver looked at the season finale in a new light. The championship fight was back on, and as a result, McLaren prepared for the Japanese GP with renewed vigour.

James Hunt had been in Japan a fortnight, ostensibly to test at a circuit  new to him. Delays at customs, car problems and bad weather had severely  restricted his running, but at least now he was totally orientated and, in his inimitable fashion, ‘relaxed’. That meant when he wasn’t  strutting his stuff on the hotel’s squash court, he was billing and  cooing with its latest migratory flock of pretty air stewardesses to bed. It beat  jogging.

Lauda arrived later, low-key and at a low ebb. The spirit that held  the demons at bay during his remarkable Monza comeback had evaporated in  Canada and America. Now running on empty, he was full of doubts. While  Ferrari team manager Daniele Audetto attempted to whip up retro oppo to  McLaren’s ‘illegal’ testing, his star driver looked the other way and  wished it over: Lauda was sick of Enzo and his minions, of a season in  its 10th month and of press intrusion.

McLaren’s earlier preparations were in sharp contrast to the rest of the field who arrived just for the race weekend itself. According to Caldwell, “The others all turned up on the Thursday, including Niki, you can see them all get off the plane knackered and then trying to find where this new racetrack was.”

It wasn’t just through testing and acclimatisation that Hunt and McLaren stole a march. Caldwell thought he might use interactions with the press to his advantage: “Just for a laugh we spread a rumour. A journalist said to me ‘what’s the track like?’ I said ‘It’s is good but it’s got a lot of loose gravel on it.’”

Enjoying the effect the track surface story had on the rest of the field’s preparations, Caldwell thought he’d develop the rumour into a full-blown design feature.

“Because we were bored and had nothing else to do, the mechanics made mesh covers for all the air intakes on the car, to “protect” the brake ducts and air intake.

“Then Niki (Lauda) came down to our garage, which he always did – he spent more time in our garage then Ferrari’s. He would joke with us and do mechanic’s repartee.

“Psychologically we had them on the back foot right from the start.”

“Niki had come to see what we’d done with the cars as he was also a spy. So I told the mechanics, ‘just by mistake’, to take the covers off the cars so you could see the mesh covers on all the intakes. They did this and then they put it back on in a hurry while I ‘looked displeased’.

“And so then Niki broke off the conversation, trotted back to Ferrari and said ‘f**king hell, McLaren have put vents near these grilles over everything in the car, we got to do the same.’

“The whole Ferrari organisation went out to find these grilles, find where they came from and make them for their three cars. Then we put our three cars in the pit road and took all the grilles off the T-Car. Niki came down and said ‘You f**king bastards!’ They came down the pitroad and Ferrari had this shit all over their car – these grilles all over the radiators.

“He had to tear back and tell them to take them all off. Psychologically we had them on the back foot right from the start, there’s all this psychological warfare.”

Niki was plastered across front pages because of his near-death  experience on the track; James was on them because of the life he led  off it. Their battle and clashing personalities, though they were good  friends, had made the world championship a global news shit-fight. Hunt,  outgoing but often lonely in a crowd, pretended to be okay with it.  Lauda didn’t.

Friday’s practice sessions provided blessed relief, therefore, even  though both men suffered understeer on the stickier Goodyears made  available to its faster teams because of the rare presence of  Bridgestone and Dunlop on one-off Japanese entries. The title rivals  finished the day one-hundredth apart on a provisional third row.

Each improved on Saturday – Hunt to second, Lauda to third – and  James, a notoriously slow starter who, by his own estimation, needed to  win the race in order to become world champion, was in a much-improved  mood. Niki’s never budged.

Then it rained. And rained. And rained some more.

The storm that swept in from China a day later than forecast was the  last thing Lauda needed: another element beyond his control. Mist  shrouded the snow cone of Mount Fuji, which supposedly bestowed good  fortune – when visible – and Niki felt hemmed in by circumstance.

The mind-games might well have been in vain, for the monsoon weather which rolled in on Sunday looked like putting the race in jeopardy. If the Grand Prix was cancelled, Lauda would be handed the World Championship.

Not that Hunt was enamoured with the situation. He spoke privately  with Lauda and agreed an attempt to have the race postponed – albeit not  before he stressed that he would take the start if necessary and race  as hard as Niki forced him to.

The Grand Prix Drivers Association had been formed to have some influence on such matters, to stop the interests of teams, the governing body and sponsors taking precedence over drivers’ well being. Hunt and Lauda were both members and convened prior to the race start in an effort to have it stopped.

“They were adamant the race wasn’t going to be held. Bernie (Ecclestone, Brabham team boss) and I were in the race control tower trying to convince them to hold the race.” says Caldwell “And James kept on saying ‘No no, we’re not going to race’. I tried to explain to him that no race meant no World Championship. He replied “No, no, no, it’s totally unsuitable, we can’t race”.

Alistair Caldwell, McLaren Team boss, resorted to more imaginative tactics to swing the mood towards starting the race.

“I was going down (to the pits) getting my car mechanics to start the engines every half an hour, which would make all the other teams start doing it – they didn’t know why. The engines were making this noise ‘woop, woop, woop’”.

The engineer then turned his attention to activating the spectators.

“I was trying to get some enthusiasm from the passive Japanese crowd, they’d been there for hours doing nothing. They weren’t even talking, just sitting in the rain – miserable.

“I said to our tyre man Lance Gibbs ‘Do you think you could get the crowd going?’ So he got up on the pitwall with his ACME Thunderer whistle, which had been given to the boys to use as a horn, for when they pushed the race cars around the paddock.

“He went ‘beep beep’ and hundreds of spectators did the same – got them doing a concert. We then did the business of slow clapping, when it gets to the end, people can’t keep up, they lose co-ordination and you get a huge noise.

“I went back to the tower and the geriatric Japanese officials and said, ‘Look, you’ve got a riot on your hands’ Bernie was there and he said ‘Yeah, you’ve gotta hold the race. Otherwise you’ll have trouble’. So they said ‘Ok we’ll have the race.’”

With the decision made, the cars finally lined up to start at 4pm. The deliberations had been going on so long that the light was now beginning to fade, reducing the limited visibility even further.

Hunt, nervously retching and hacking more than ever, was so  distracted that he took a leak in full view of the spectators. Cue  polite applause. Ominously, he then walked a plank laid across a puddle  and stepped aboard his McLaren M23. He tipped his helmet back against  its roll-hoop and closed his eyes in contemplation. Lauda, crushed by  all that had gone before, hunched forward in his 312 T2’s cockpit. Both  knew that fate was about to be sorely tempted.

Hunt made a blinding start and held a huge lead by the end of the  opening lap. As the rest pecked hesitantly in his rooster-tails, he was  out of sight, both physically and metaphorically.

Meanwhile, Lauda, unable to blink because of his burn injuries, was  drowning in the pack and questioning his sanity. He formulated an answer by lap two. The Ferrari – “a paper boat in a storm” – rolled into the  pitlane and drew up at its garage. Measured. The team descended while  designer Mauro Forghieri craned into its cockpit to ascertain the  problem.

After just 1 lap, Lauda had seen enough. Deeming the conditions too dangerous, and having already nearly lost his life at Nürburgring that year, the Austrian decided it simply wasn’t worth carrying on. He pulled his Ferrari into the pits and walked away from the 1976 World Championship. Lauda, the reigning world champion, had the skill but not the will to continue. It was “murder” out there – and life was for living.

Hunt, as drivers without a world title feel compelled to, pressed on  and kept his date with destiny. Hunt being Hunt, of course, he almost  missed it. Not until his post-race red mist lifted could he be persuaded  that he hadn’t.

With Lauda out the race, Hunt’s task was now a little more straightforward. He simply had to finish third, and the title was his.

The McLaren driver pressed on and by lap 10 his lead had doubled to over 8sec. Meanwhile, interesting movements were afoot further back in the pack.

Local hero Kazuyoshi Hoshino, driving a privately-entered Tyrrell 007, had made his up to third, from 21st on the grid!

More worrying for Hunt was that March’s Vittorio Brambilla had overtaken Andretti and was beginning to hunt him down. By lap 20, Brambilla had closed right up behind the Hunt.

On the next lap, the March driver decided to go for it. Brambilla, known for an erratic driving style, conformed to type on this occasion by inadvertently out-braking himself as he dived down the inside of the McLaren.

Hunt had been wary of Brambilla and was monitoring the situation constantly. In a moment of brilliant anticipation, he allowed the March to spin in front of him, performing the cutback and before carrying on as if almost nothing had happened.

Brambilla dropped to fourth, the danger to Hunt being over for now. Andretti at this point was gradually dropping back through the pack. It was Hunt’s team-mate Jochen Mass who was behind him now, with a McLaren 1-2 now looking very much on the cards.

Seeking to control the race from here on in, the team’s new concern was the drying line which was now appearing on the track. Caldwell put out a pit board sign telling his drivers to cool their wet weather tyres – this was done by searching for wet sections of the track, the water preventing the rubber from overheating.

To his team manager’s frustration, Hunt didn’t appear to be heeding the warnings: “As soon as Mass saw the sign, he pulled over in the water right in front of us. Then on the next lap he came down the right hand side of the track, splashing through the puddles, which cools the tires down, (while) James didn’t react.

“The next lap we gave it to Hunt again, the next lap again, he still didn’t do it. So we took away the pitboard, just gave him the ‘cool tyres’ sign and he still didn’t react. So then everyone in the team started pointing at it (the sign). Everybody in the team pointed, Teddy (Mayer, McLaren Managing Director) and everyone else and he still did nothing.”

Hunt carried on down the dry line, running his tyres way above their recommended temperature, seemingly oblivious to the warnings.

If Hunt wasn’t going to heed the warnings, then Andretti was: “Because we were emphasising this so much, Andretti saw it and started to cool his tyres. So he started running through the puddles. He didn’t have to stop (as a result).

“But James just resolutely drove down the middle of the dry track, and we could never bring him in, because he was never that far ahead. It was never possible to tactically stop him because there’s a big long pitroad at Fuji.”

Jochen Mass, benefitting from his team’s tyre advice, now began to reel in his team-mate. If he got past, he would have no trouble driving off into the distance to take the win.

However, the German’s diligence came to naught, as he spun off and out of contention on lap 36. This would have a huge bearing on the race later.

For now, Hunt was again in the clear. Another challenger, Shadow’s Tom Pryce, moved into second, but he too retired as his Cosworth engine expired on lap 46.

As the grand prix wore on, Hunt remained in a seemingly trance-like state as he stuck to his line, the situation became critical.

Whilst yet another to danger to Hunt had abated, the McLaren driver was now deciding whether to play the percentages. He could either pit to replace his worn tyres – and lose track position – or try and stick it out at the risk of losing so much grip he would be overtaken anyway.

Hunt took the second option. He could afford to drop to third, and this is indeed what happened. On lap 61, he was overtaken not only by Tyrrell’s Patrick Depailler, but also the resurgent Lotus of Andretti.

If Hunt managed to hold position, he would be world champion. For the next 7 laps, the plan appeared to be working. Then, on lap 68, disaster struck.

The McLaren driver suffered not one, but two deflated tyres – both on the left-hand side of the car. They were, as Caldwell puts it, “worn down to the air”. Hunt managed to drag his car round for half a lap before scraping into the pits.

F1 jacks at the time were not designed to lift a car with puncture at the front and rear of the car. While the jack was used to lift the rear of the car, TV shots show Caldwell and other team members lifting the other end of the car themselves to replace the front-left tyre.

It was a long pitstop, and once out, Hunt found himself back in fifth place. There were four laps left and Hunt was two places down on where he needed to be.

Two more laps passed and the Englishman was no further up the order. It looked as if he may have lost his championship chance.

Then, with two laps left of the race to go, Hunt started the fight back. At the exit of T1 he managed to get past the Surtees of Alan Jones. One more place and the championship was his.

Next up was the Ferrari of Clay Regazzoni. It turned out there were some Scuderia politics at play which would work to Hunt’s advantage.

Caldwell filled in the back story: “Ferrari’s reaction to Niki’s crash was to sack Regazzoni (for 1977). He had already been sacked (by Fuji).

“So he was pissed off at Ferrari. When James came charging along, he just stepped out of the way and let him by.”

After benefitting from Regazzoni’s apparent generosity, Hunt was suddenly back in the golden position, the third place he needed to clinch the championship.

The McLaren man just had to keep it on the road for two more laps and he’d take the title. The tension mounted, both in the team pit and back in the UK, where his family were watching the live television feed at 3am.

Despite two nerve-wracking final laps, the Englishman duly brought his McLaren home in third place. He was the new F1 World Champion.

Photographs show Hunt angrily remonstrating with his team as he climbed from the car. He hadn’t realised he’d got the job done.

Caldwell himself had mixed emotions about the whole affair, “He didn’t look at the board and when he came into the pits he started shouting at us, because he didn’t know what happened. He was incredibly annoying on the day. He did drive magnificently, he kept it on the road – that’s one point of view. From my point of view it was the most frustrating day – I could’ve hit him with a baseball bat! He could have won the race, just strolled the world championship. All he had to do was read this pitboard and drive in the water, which is what Andretti did, so he didn’t wear the tyres out and could paddle across the line with the same ones.”

In spite of Hunt seemingly making a championship-losing decision, he had still managed to pull it off.

However, such was Caldwell’s consternation, the two didn’t discuss afterwards.

I was so angry about it. We flew back to England and I wasn’t talking to him on the plane. He was pissed as a newt anyway – we were all pissed as a newt and totally exhausted. He just went to sleep.”

The two never discussed the reasons behind the events, but it didn’t change the result. Three years after making his F1 debut, Hunt was the world champion.

Ten weeks later Hunt arrived in Argentina to begin his title defence  feeling underwhelmed and under-prepared. A few celebratory cigs and tins with his friend Britain’s newly crowned 500cc motorcycle world champion, Barry Sheene, at Fuji and a riotous return flight had been followed by a  disorientating whirl of meetings, interviews and engagements. The  race-by-race title chase had been thrilling: a sequence of one-day  stands. Making it official had cooled the relationship. The love affair  was over.

Though both men would retire summarily during the 1979 season, Hunt  did so because he felt frightened and disillusioned, whereas Lauda did  so because he felt nothing, which frightened him.

Niki, though, had a system – plus a plan to run his own airline – and  ultimately would return to the F1 cockpit and be successful. James,  whose theories were sometimes somewhat scrambled, would not. He bred  budgies instead. You do what you have to do.

Lauda’s decision to stop at Fuji ensured that he would be able to  continue. Hunt’s decision to continue ensured that he would have to stop  sooner rather than later. One racing mind wiped clean, the other  cluttered – and racing.

In spite of his career’s decline, Hunt’s endeavours had captured the imagination of the wider world in a way no racing driver had done before.Hunt knew that life was for living, too. Tragically, however, he had just discovered how best to when fate too soon snatched it from him.

[rawbin69]

*Slowly walks up to you, cradling this*

*Gently sets it down in fromt of you*

*SPRIN TS THE FUCK AEWAY IN PANIC*

Okay anyways hi I’m back after like, months lol, sorry about that (but I’m not actually back because I’m busy trying not to die because of school-work and trying to work on some MAP parts. I literally said five days ago on my yt channel “Hi I’m back now!! :-D” and school just said “no <3″ which, um, rude. So yeah I might come on and occasionally come post something but I’m really not gonna be coming on here to be active

OKAY OKAY but I need to explain these sketches because they will be suuuper confusing without context, I am very aware, yes, so there’s an explanation (+ some extra art and a non-shaded version of the stuff above) under the cut :-)

BASICALLY, @lulzyrobot​ made this AU of Pokémon Sword and Shield and now I have brain rot because of it. Also this AU will indeed be confusing to those who have no knowledge about sword and shield so here’s a skippable paragraph about the game:

(OBVIOUSLY SPOILERS BELOW)

Basically, SwSh is just a Pokémon game (no surprise there) and its gimmick or whatever is Dynamax, which turns Pokémon like. Really fucking large. (Some of them can also Gigantamax which changes their appearance as well as size, but we don’t care about that here bc it really isn’t relevant). In all gyms (except one, Spikemouth) there are power spots, which are needed for a Pokémon to Dynamax. If they’re not close to a power spot, they can’t do it. There are also power spots in the Wild Area (which is, you guessed it, an area in the game). At one point in the game, the villain -- Chairman Rose -- starts up something called “the Darkest Day”, which happened before in the Galarian region (which is where everything takes place), in hopes of getting infinite energy for them or something like that (really makes no sense but like ok pop off ig). To do this, he basically uses these things called Wishing Stars -- which are what allows Pokémon to Dynamax -- to summon a Pokémon called Eternatus. In-game, you basically just summon two other legendaries (Zacian and Zamazenta -- they’re on the cover of the games) and fight Eternatus and then catch the fucker. That’s all context you need for this AU so let’s move on to that now:

The AU is basically that Eternatus sends out a powerful blast which fuses trainers with Pokémon, to varying degrees. The closer to a power spot you are, the more likely you are to get it bad. If you’re far enough from one you won’t be affected at all. A person can merge with multiple Pokémon, but the more of them, the harder it is to not go wild. If you merge with a wild Pokémon, you’ll become a Wild Trainer (and those basically act like, well, wild Pokémon).

If you want more info (which you do want, trust me on this), here’s a post made by the creator themself!! https://lulzyrobot.tumblr.com/post/610890677032747008/pokemon-dynamorph-au-masterpost

OKAY ANYWAY, back onto this specific sketch (wow I really went on a rampage there lol)

I decided to Dynamorph my trainersona(??????) (btw, both the Dynamorph version AND the “human” version are WIPs, I’m not completely happy with either of them) and this was the resuulltttt

- Their name is Robin (because I’m a bastard that does self-insert ships with no shame)

- They merged with their Arcanine (and I’m considering also adding a wild Lycanroc, both so I can give them Epic Claws™ and so that their whole extremely volatile nature makes any sense)

- They have some REAL trouble keeping themself in check. Like. They’re constantly on the edge between becoming a Wild Trainer and being “normal”

- Because I am, like I said, a bastard who does self-ships without any shame they are together with Piers. yes I am a simp for him. 

- Robin has their select group of friends (made up of all gym leaders minus Opal because they have no idea what the fuck is up with her, as well as Marnie, Hop and Leon. No they don’t give a shit about Bede) which they are super protective of. They have to be reminded that they can all handle themselves, because they might otherwise become a bit possessive.

- While they are a raging storm you do NOT want to get involved with in any way to anybody outside their friend group, they are really nice to be around when they really care about you. They may be pretty stubborn, but they always do what they think is best for their loved ones. On multiple occasions, they’ve gone out to collect any sorts of gifts they can find that they think their friends will enjoy. They are super gentle and kind with Hop and Marnie (which, by the way, they’d literally die for either of them) and they’re overall a good friend/partner. Their main flaw here is their temperament and somewhat possessive nature.

- If anybody did something to even moderately hurt any of their friends... hoo boy, you do NOT want to do that. They’ve nearly killed people for leaving so much as a scratch on their loved ones, and have to be physically dragged away so they won’t really kill somebody. 

- However. Despite really, truly believing they'd never, under ANY circumstances, hurt ANY of their friends... they’re wrong about that. The only ones they could truly never purposely cause harm to would be Piers, Marnie and Hop. Yes, it would take A LOT for them to hurt any of the others (like, they’d only hurt the others if they tried to, idk, kill them or something. Or if they tried or actually did kill somebody else in their close circle) but it could hypothetically happen.

- If they ever were to see Rose, he’d probably be torn to shreds on sight. Literally nothing would be able to stop them. 

- While it’s near impossible for anybody they don’t care about to calm them down, it’s pretty easy for especially Hop, Marnie, Piers, Raihan, Leon and Milo (and the others, but less so for them lol). 

- They were right by a power spot, like they were about to step into a den, when the blast happened so they were. Really fucking affected by it. They stayed in the Wild Area for a while after that, searching for their Arcanine who had “mysteriously vanished”, before they transformed. They were basically a Wild Trainer for at least a month before Piers found them and managed to get them to remember who they actually were over the course of two days. It was,, really concerning when they’d at first been texting him pretty much non-stop to update him on what was going on with them just to then go radio silent for a few days, especially since people had begun transforming at that point. Haha angst go brrr

- You must ignore how their clothes still kind of fit despite them growing to be both more ~muscular~ and tall and how it’s not dirty for the sake of my convenience ok

Ok I think that’s all? woah that was a long post lmao

Anyways, here’s the promised extra art (first one is the same sketch without any shading and that stuff (buT I MISSED ONE, I DIDN’T REMOVE THE SHADING FROM ONE I AM SORRY LOL), second is Robin as just a regular trainer)

Oh also some context for some of the sketches:

Bottom one where they’re screaming “yOU mOthErFuCKeR” is what their reaction would be to one of their loved ones being killed

The one with Milo is Robin just. Being near him. After probably having some sort of panic or anxiety attack because they’re worried about everyone. Because Milo is a really calming person to be around.

Top one in the middle is Robin just patting the red eye-lens-things Raihan got from his Flygon because they find it to be Very Entertaining to just pat them for no reason at all.

The ones where they’re hugging Marnie would take place right after they come back to Spikemouth after their month(s) as a Wild Trainer. They still weren’t used to being around people (and much less BEHAVING like a PERSON) so they were pretty awkward about Marnie hugging them.

The one where they’re surrounded by darkness to the right and kneeling forward is them in the middle of their “transformation” after the blast happened.

Fiery ones at the top right are just Robin being pissed as fuck lol

(Still haven’t decided if this will be the “official” team of Pokemon I have, but it’s cool for now. Also yes, I added an extra Pokemon to my “team” who isn't actually a battle-Pokémon or whatever. I NEED APPLETUNS EMOTIONAL SUPPORT OKAY)

[greekbros]

"greek-Bros: Battle of the Bands"

*Apollo, Hermes and Dionysus have decided to enter into a devine battle of the bands. Their most toughest competition is the Nordic gods....and they've realized they need a another member*

Apollo: *grumbles to himself about the rules of the competition*

Dionysus: come on man, it's ok, I know that being barred from doing multiple things for being TOO good at something is upsetting, but think about it, you playing the lyre and not being the lead singer isn't too bad.... I mean, I've been kicked out of plenty of brewing competitions.

Hermes: Didn't you get kicked out of your own wine contest?

Dionysus: *turns to hermes with an unamused face, than turns to apollo* ....... besides! I bet we can find a singer.

Apollo: I know, but I just don't want you guys to lose just because I'm not going to guarantee you guys winning.

Hermes: I understand dude, but you know we need a lead singer. I mean......I'm not up for it.... mostly because I'm already playing tambourine. And you, Dionysus, are playing bongos.

Dionysus: *dramatically plays the bongos*

Hermes: we got strings, percussions, the brass...so...we need a voice. *Off in the distance, Hermes hears Ares scream at the top of his lungs* ......... anyway, I would like to sug-*again hears Ares scream again* ......I want to suggest asking Ar-*Ares just starts breath loudly* OH MY GODS WHAT NOW?!?

Apollo, Dionysus, and Hermes: *all three brothers go to find Ares lifting dumbbells*

Ares: *lifts up and screams*

Apollo: ....Ares can you PLEASE keep it down? Must you scream like that?

Ares: *tosses the dumbbell over* what? Oh, I was working on lung day.

Dionysus: Lung day?

Ares: Lung day......what are you guys doing?

Hermes: ......one second. *Huddles Apollo and Dionysus* I think we have our voice.

Apollo: *whispers* Absolutely not! I will not have Ares's literally primal cries of death and destruction ruining the harmony of our instrument playing.

Dionysus: *whispers* Look I know man, but to be fair the rules are simple, if you're playing an instrument, you can't sing. That's the rules.

Ares: *sneaks in to over hear the convo and whispers* what are you guys talking about?

Apollo, Dionysus and Hermes: *all scream and lose like 10 years off their life spans*

*later*

Apollo: *after explaining the situation to ares* Ok, do you understand what you need to do?

Ares: yes. Scream.

Apollo: NO. You have to sing. It's like screaming...but with intent.

Dionysus: *has a bowl of fruit with Hermes sitting by his side* oh boy, a singing lesson.

Hermes: Yep. This is going to absolutely ruin our ear holes.

*later after failing to teach Ares to sing*

Apollo: *in a corner nearly ready to cry and couldn't believe he was going to lose to Balder and his musically challenged nordic brethren*

Ares: *looking at Apollo like a child who has no idea what he did* ........stop crying you're ugly when you cry.

Hermes: holyshit. He's actually worse than his son.

Dionysus: *finished his fruit bowl and is sleeping from boredom*

*later, The Bois meet up with Nordic gods*

Balder: Ah there you are Apollo! How are you doing this fine and glorious mornin? I can't wait to hear your band's performance!

Apollo: *not happy* ......... swimmingly.

Balder: Ah wonderful! I see your brothers are here.

Ares: *walks around, sees Tyr, waves to Tyr* HEY MAN!

Tyr: *was talking to Thor, looks at Ares and tries to pretends he's not there, but waves back with his missing hand*

Balder: Hohohoho, good luck out there friend!

Apollo: ....let's get on with it.

*later the Nordic gods (Comprising of Baldar, Thor, Tyr and Loki), decides to sing a cover of a beetles song, the judges of Odin, Freya, Zeus and Hera were impressed at best*

Apollo: oh noooooooooooooo they're good! Why did I agree to this?

Ares: ....pft. I can totally do better. *Still has no idea what he's doing*

Dionysus: dude we're fucked.

Hermes: *was writing a song* ok because Apollo is being a sad sack...here's a song I rewrote our song.

Apollo: Hermes why?!

Hermes: if we can't win with genuinely good catchy music....than we will DEFINITELY win with this. *Shows what basically is a greek version of a tenacious D song*

Apollo: .......oh wow now you've insulted me.

Dionysus: holyshit this is perfect.

Ares: woah...... DIONYSUS switch places with me. I can't invoke the level of epic this song requires. Not even me.

Dionysus: oh thank God yes.

Apollo: .....we could have switched?

Hermes: yeah..... except you and Baldar....for obvious reasons....I mean..if he opens his mouth life itself becomes puppies and rainbows and you are literally the god of music, instruments and the concept of art itself.

Apollo: Fine...that's fair.

*Dionysus takes up the mantle of lead singer, Apollo now switched to a bouzouki (greek guitar), and Hermes in now on the drums instead of bongos and Ares has a tambourine and dionysus basically sing "With Karate I will Kick Your Ass" by Tenacious D. Basically is the spiritual blueprint for Jack Black.

*The Norse Gods can't stop laughing at the song because it's just that silly while the judges are horrified*

*later*

Balder: *gives Apollo a good pat on the back* Well done pal! I can't believe you and your awesome brothers won! Congratulations!

Apollo: *forever dieing inside for being associated with the song*....

Dionysus: my gods....that was the greatest song ever.

Ares: so Hermes how did you write that?

Dionysus: yeah man, what inspired you to write this absolute masterpiece?

Hermes: ....ugh....

*literally a week ago*

Hermes: *has been running around looking for a girl he was dating until he found her cheating on him with Hermóðr (the norse messenger of the gods) *sheds a tear* ....no reason......fukn bastard

[doobler]

Imprisoned

Harper pounded his head against the wall.

Whack.

Whack.

Whack.

"Shut up that racket, human!" A Brute barked down the hall.

Harper didn't stop. Pissing off his captors was the only reprieve he got in this hellhole.

Whack.

Whack.

Whack.

The Brute came rumbling down to Harper's cell. He made a show of shoving aside the meek Elite guard as he slammed a fist against the cell's frame.

"Silence, human filth," The Brute spat, his eyes narrowed in rage. "Or I shall rip out your entrails through your insufferable mouth."

"Sounds like a great Sunday night," Harper snarked back. "Gonna take me out for dinner, too? Make sure to fuck me good before you leave?"

The Brute was quick to anger. He moved to open the cell, so he could beat the Spartan senseless, but somehow remembered his place just in time. He unleashed his rage on the Elite guard instead, a nasty right hook colliding with a serpentine jaw. The Elite staggered and a spray of purple blood splattered against the floor.

"Clean that up, whelp," The Brute snarled. "Or we'll have you on corpse detail again."

"R-right away, sir." The Elite trembled.

Satisfied, the Brute marched off, the door sliding shut behind him with a pneumatic hiss.

The cell block was built to hold eight but only Harper was imprisoned here. No doubt, the Covenant running this ship knew the Spartan could conjure an uprising if he had cellmates. Instead, he was accompanied only by a single Elite guard, one who muttered pathetic little hopes under his breath every time a Brute beat him.

"Where the ever-loving fuck is this tin can even headed?" Harper groaned. "I feel like I've been here for years."

"It's been two weeks, three days, fifteen hours, and twenty-nine minutes since you arrived," The Elite rattled off. He scrubbed at the floor with a rag, bent down on hands and knees. "And this ship is headed to the Council where our Prophets will decided what to do with you."

"You fuckers've already beaten, prodded, poked, and molested me," Harper spat. "What more could you want?"

"The Council will probably want your armor dissected alongside you," The Elite seemed to talk without being consciously aware he was rambling. "The technology in your suit is advanced in a different way from our technology. Plus, if they can find what makes Spartans so formidable from investigating your body, it'll lead to leaps and bounds in our own advancements, ergo giving us an advantage in this war--"

"Shut the fuck up, oh my god," Harper took off his shoe and threw it at his cell door. The plasma rippled and buzzed but didn't budge. "Are you aware of how much you fucking ramble? Christ, I'd go insane!"

"Right. Yes."

Harper kneaded at his eyes. Two weeks? He'd been ambushed, beaten, and stolen two whole weeks ago, a prisoner on this godforsaken ship headed off into oblivion. He sighed. He missed The Charon. He missed his team. He missed other humans. Even if he was a bit prickly and antisocial, he still had friends, loved ones. He missed the mess hall, training, Earth. Being in such an alien environment for so long with no allies was wearing on his psyche.

"You and I are in a similar situation."

Harper looked up. The Elite was peering down at him, still on the floor cleaning.

"Come again?" 

"I am also a prisoner," The Elite continued. "They enjoy punishing me. I've been deemed a coward unfit for battle so I'm stuck doing the work no one else wants. I'm more akin to an Unggoy than an actual Sangheili."

"Oh, wonderful, I'm being detained by the class loser, that makes me feel so much better about myself."

"Are you a hero by human standards?"

Harper jolted a little at the oddly innocent question. Now that he got a better look at the Elite, the poor guy looked haggard. His armor was clearly unfit for his lanky build and most of the bulky protective plating was stripped down. He was pretty defenseless as he was, wielding what looked more akin to a decorative spear than a real weapon.

Ok, so maybe this one Covenant scum was genuinely pathetic, barely a threat. That didn't give Harper any sort of advantage.

"I've heard rumors that a schism is on the near horizon," The Elite went on. "That tensions are high between us Sangheili and the Jiralhanae, the Brutes."

"Yeah?" Harper snapped. In this dim little corner at the edge of space, Jonah's voice echoed in his head. Listen, absorb, react. "What kinda schism?"

"One that'll no doubt reset the hierarchy of power within the Covenant itself," The Elite sighed, leaning heavily against his spear. "Not that I'll be lowered beyond the dung heap status I hold now."

A shift of power? That'd be quite an opening for an escape. Harper peered up, watching. The Elite looked miserable. Downtrodden, thrown out like trash; even if he was weak, he was still over 7ft tall, made of lean corded muscle. If Harper could tip this one Sangheili into his corner, the odds may follow in his favor.

"Hey, what's your name?" Harper tried to channel Jonah. His tone turned sweet, his gravelly voice softening. "If you're gonna be stuck as my warden, I might as well know your name."

"Me?" The Elite raised his head. He crept a little closer to the cell, eyes narrowed. "Uhm. I'm Xiga. Xiga 'Vuntak."

"Nice to meet you, Xiga, I'm Harper-057," Harper forced a grin and hoped he didn't look manic. "I'm a Spartan II, I work infiltration assignments on the reg. Sorta sneak and stealth sorta guy."

"Wow," Xiga looked starstruck. "Then how did we capture such a highly-skilled enemy so easily?"

Harper felt a vein pop in his forehead but pushed on.

"Hey, what if I taught you some combat stuff, huh? I bet human training is real different from Sangheili training, yeah?"

"Depends on if you'll mock and demean me when I mess up, then beat my body into pulp."

Christ, this bastard was pathetic. Harper shook his head, still holding a toothy grimace.

"I promise you I won't. Here-- hold your spear, right over left, and take a stance," Harper clambered upright. Even as a smaller Spartan, he felt claustrophobic in this cell. Spreading his feet as wide as his shoulders with his right leading, he gripped an imaginary spear and swung with his hips. "You're real lanky, you've got a more substantial reach than you realize."

Xiga copied his movements and a flash of excitement passed over his serpentine features. He repeated the motion and approximated a grin.

Hell yeah, Harper thought. He was that much  closer to an epic escape.

[dropoutparty]

ngc ramblings part 3- chapter 5

here we are at part 3!!! sorry this one took so long, i originally was gonna make this post include entropy and extus (along with finally talking about face in depth) but it was so fuckin long that im splitting it into 2 different posts! the next part isnt done yet but im like almost halfway done so it shouldnt be too much longer until its out! also before we get into this one:

tw for: death, animal death, and suicide. pls take care of urself and don't read this if those things are triggering for u <3

ok lets get on with the post

at the start of entropy zach doesnt waste any time getting right to the point. this place is bigger than the other planets so far, and zach says the music this time around is a melody that “started out normal but then got distorted” played by a violin sounding instrument. even tho i do sometimes forget that this is supposed to be a creepypasta im not surprised that he said it made him feel depressed and unnerved lmao. anyways, this planet has all new level types in it!! no reused ones!! ok now this is epic. the bosses this time around are megalon, battra, and mechagodzilla, but itll be a good while before we get to those guys because this chapter is long as hell holy shit?? buckle up babez <33 now, before i get into the meat of things as usual im gonna talk abt the planet name! entropy basically means “a lack of order/predictability or a gradual decline into disorder” and that's very accurate to this part of the story. at this point, red is pissed off and is getting desperate, which means from here on out things are going to be getting more intense and more unstable. this world is the turning point in the overall story, basically.

now with that out of the way, zach first goes to the worlds quiz level as usual! this time something was different. usually, in the quiz levels there would be goofy ass music playin in the bg (specifically the GH1D0RA cheat music, if you wanna like listen to it ig?) but from here on out its been replaced by the music from the games password screen, which zach called creepy earlier on in the pasta. im gonna glaze over the quiz again this time, but when we get to the next planet ill talk about all of the quizzes in depth all at once. basically all you need to know for now abt what happens here is face asks “do you like mothra?” and when zach picks no (after going on a tangent abt how mothra sucks lmao,, bro i swear im good at the game my controllers just messed up /s), face enters bastard mode and goes “TOO BAD!” and boom now zach cant play as anyone but mothra. zach is pissed for now but little does he know this is just going to become an even more epic gamer bc of this,, youll never get better at something if you never try and all that.

after that, zach moves on to the first level type- the forest. immediately zach gets an eerie feeling from this level bc he has some kinda fear involving forests at night (i can think of a reason why but ill have to talk abt that later just to be sure). hes also not feelin great about being forced to play as mothra, so the pressure of it all is def starting to get to him by now. the music in the forest is woodwinds followed by slow, rhythmic drums and chiming bells. must have been some ominous woodwinds and bells bc it made him feel like he was intruding somewhere he shouldnt be (oh rlly?? u dont say,, everything up until now has been fine /s). getting into the level itself, eventually zach comes across some weird deer-like monsters just vibing and scares them away when he gets close. later in the level he finds more of these weird deer along with a sloth-like creature on some of the trees and some raptor dudes killing some of the deer. zach shoots one of the raptors but thats about it. nothing really happened in this level but zach noted that he didnt feel like he was playing a video game, but instead it felt more like he was exploring a forest in another dimension. thats interesting for reasons ill ~get to later~ (yall must be so tired of hearing that by now omg,, i know im tired of saying it at least. i was gonna wait until after replay to talk about things but i severely underestimated how long this whole project would be, so i might make a post for the “more on that later” stuff before i get into replay. let me know what u think i should do).

anyways, the next thing zach checks out is the first tv screen level so far. these levels just play an animation with some music in the background, and theres a different animation per level. this time around the animation is of a kid with a beaver(?) head licking a lollipop and the music is the GH1D0RA music that the quiz levels used to use. the only thing of note here is that zach says he had a shirt that looked just like that when he was a kid. after that, were off to some of the weirdest fuckin levels in this whole thing imo- the hourglass levels. these levels have an entirely brown color palette, with grandfather clocks standing in the background (the level appears to be in like a hallway or something) and various time measuring things floating in the air. the music is the same as the board (ig cosby just didnt feel like thinking of what theme this place would have lol). after a little bit zach was rlly happy to see actual enemies from the normal game show up! these are basically like aircraft, tanks, etc. thats not the main attraction here tho, bc this level has its own unique mechanic! this mechanic is the colored hourglass items you can pick up. there are three of them, a blue one that slows time down and makes enemies from the past appear, a red one that speeds up time and makes enemies from the future appear, and a green one that made the time flow normally and spawned enemies from the normal game. zach found the blue one first, which caused a bunch of prehistoric enemies based on real animals to show up. after that he found a green one and fought normal enemies again, and then he found a red hourglass. the future enemies here look like aliens to me, and zach says that one enemy reminds him of something he saw in a book once. eventually, a special future creature showed up and zach was suddenly in a boss battle! or a mini boss battle? that description is probably more accurate. this guy doesnt have a face, and he can only attack by shooting a beam from his face, it sure does look cool! after zach beat it tho, he was off to the next level type, which is basically a toxic waste dump.

zach called it grungy and inhospitable, with the music being a synth ambient loop that made him feel dizzy while he listened to it. this is important because this is the first instance of the game making zach feel something *physically*, not just psychologically. all of the enemies here are mutated to some degree, with him first seeing green mummies with bird skulls coming out from vats of toxic slutch and a brownish cow skeleton monster with spider legs. later zach comes across a deer from the woods, drinking some toxic slutch (delinchous). zach got close to it to try making it stopped but suddenly some enemies came out of nowhere and scared it into running right off a ledge and into the slutch. rip :pensive:. after that zach found more mutated enemies (i.e some things with tentacles and some other deformed thing with human teeth) before he finally gets to the end of the level, where theres another miniboss waiting for him!! this ones a toxic sludge monster with a whale skull who attacks with a mouth projectile and by charging into you. the monster sank into the slutch and thats all for this level babeyy!

the next level is another forest, but this time its winter! its still at night, but this time zach doesnt feel off put, which he mostly attributes to the music. he describes it as a gentle, calm song that almost sounded romantic. the entire first segment of this level had no enemies in it, but dw this level is interesting i swear. the next segment starts out just as empty as the last one, but this time its silent. that is, until the music from “unforgiving cold” starts playing. yaa you remember that place!! i think i said it was less interesting than i remembered but its interesting again now bc it was foreshadowing these levels!! anyways soon after the music started up, zach started to come across tons of frozen bodies of the deer from earlier. some were mutilated, some werent, but they were all frozen and covered in snow. eventually zach does come across something living though, a sloth creature from earlier! its just vibing when suddenly the winter versions of the raptors from earlier rush in and fuckin obliterate the sloth thing. those things just blindly try killing everything in sight, and even start fighting themselves before zach finally gets to the last part of the level.

now this is where shit starts to get crayzay. this part opens up to a big empty field with a full moon and the nice music from earlier back. despite the nice music tho, zach immediately starts feeling dread and eventually he finds a lake. the lake comes down from the sky and starts to crack like an egg, a humanoid figure curled up in the fetus position dropping into the lake below and the moon halves disintegrated. this spawned the moon beast, the hardest challenge zachs had to deal with so far. after he finally defeats it, the screen goes to black and the name “melissa” is on screen, written in red. after that, the screen then says kys. the word kill then fills up the screen, layering over itself until it forms a picture of reds face. its now that we finally get to hear abt the whole melissa thing (which makes it sound like shes been mentioned in the pasta before this but thats not what i mean lmao). to summarize, zach had a middle school gf named melissa (also bro middle school?? wadda hell) who often went into “episodes” where she would stare off, expressionless, before trembling and putting her face in her hands. she and zach hung out in a field at night a lot but one night she just stared at the moon the whole time before running into traffic and dying.

NOW its finally later!!! were not done with entropy yet, but this is the end of part one of entropy so i wanna just take a little break to talk about things so far. this planet is FULL of symbolism and foreshadowing. to start off, i think a lot of the questions face asks at the beginning foreshadow things that happen. some examples are “is time slipping though your fingers?” which could allude to the time levels, “do you have any regrets?” which i think obviously foreshadows the whole melissa thing, “is it safe to go out at night?” and “do you find it hard to sleep at night?” both follow the same kinda theme, which i think relates to how the melissa incident happened at night, specifically out at night. i dont think the forest levels have anything too important in them, other than to introduce the presence of an innocent, harmless creature that doesnt deserve what happens to it later (aka the deer things) which might symbolize melissa. more evidence for this symbolizing melissa comes from the encounter with the deer in the toxic dump and the winter forest, where in the former zach tries to stop it from hurting itself but is too late, being forced to watch it die, and in the latter the same innocent thing from earlier is found dead close to where the real incident took place. the two big themes to keep in mind here are death and time, more specifically the past. most of the enemies here are either made from bones or kill other enemies, there's a dedicated time level referencing things that zach remembers seeing at one point (aka that one alien zach recognized), the beaver head had the same shirt as child zach did, it all connects to zachs past and the death of melissa. as for the moon beast, its the most obvious reference for reasons ive already explained. i dont really know what the moon cracking open and dropping a curled up human into the lake could mean other than some other thing melissa related, but i *do* think that the fact that the moon beast is the most difficult thing zach has faced so far is symbolic of the fact that the trauma from this event has followed him throughout his entire life, and its something he struggles with daily. it could even be the reason why he said no when face asked if he could sleep easily at night. the moon beast also has some black fur around its neck, which i think is meant to represent a tire track, referencing and/or mocking the way melissa died.

its so cool how this entire part of the story builds up to and foreshadows the bomb it drops at the end of the part, giving people something to look back on. a lot of ppl say that as soon as the melissa stuff gets introduced the story goes down in quality, and i do somewhat agree with that sentiment, especially if they want the story to actually be scary, but i think the direction the story goes from this point on is so unique and cool. it does follow the whole “theres a ghost in the game” troupe (even tho it was probably seen as a spin on that originally) but it doesnt do the same cliches as so many other gaming creepypastas do and it really takes the concept and makes it its own. i just think its neat,,,

anyways im done gushing abt this story, lets get on with part 2 of extus!! basically zach has a fuckin panic attack and, after taking a few minutes to calm himself down when its over, he decides that he has to finish the game now because if he doesnt its just going to haunt him for the rest of his life. zach has now realized that the game is “alive” and can somehow see his thoughts and memories, so understandably hes pretty freaked out by it at this point. when he keeps playing, the first thing he does is check out another tv screen level. this time, the animation is of a fish dude just kinda standing there with his mouth flapping open and closed and the music is the neptune board music from the original game. the only reason i can think of for why this is here is maybe the game is mocking zach for the panic attack he just had (bc when u have a panic attack you feel like you can barely breathe, if ur lucky enough to have never had one before and u dont know) but thats abt it. its probably just a random goofy thing cosby threw in there.

anyways, the next actual level is the first labyrinth level. this time around, its a gold labyrinth specifically. the music in these levels is a slow, ominous drum beat with female vocals occasionally coming in and (basically from here on out) the monster zach plays as is now half the size it used to be. i think this shows how zachs feeling at this point, like this whole thing isnt just being a big strong monster and beating up enemies any more, he feels small and scared and helpless in the face of something potentially dangerous that he doesnt understand maybe his confusion about the game is the reason *why* theres so many labyrinth levels here in the first place. anyways im getting ahead of myself. personally, i think the aesthetic of the gold labyrinth is very similar to the green temples back on trance. while trance had a more circular and soft theme to it's architecture and sculpture, entropys is much more square or rectangle oriented. despite this, i think that the golden mazes at least are another religious kind of building, and the architecture is just different because theyre two different cultures who just happen to worship the same spiritual figure (aka melissa. did i say that earlier? i think i did,, if i didnt well the religions worship melissa, not knowing she's a dead human or anything. probably).

moving on, zach notes how the gold labyrinth would probably have been impossible to navigate as any of the other monsters, so turns out face being an asshole was a blessing in disguise after all huh? anyways this place is full of weird gold monsters, lava/fire traps, and stone faces (both in more of an easter island head style and in the regular feminine headshot weve seen so far). zach comes across two feminine heads, one that is more adult looking and pure gold, and another one that looks much younger and whos eyes have red irises and blue scleras. this statue apparently looks a lot like melissa did on the night she died, so zach leaves it pretty quickly. i *think* this is the first time we see the color blue associated with melissa? if it isnt sorry abt that, its been a couple days since i worked on ngcr so ive forgotten some of the smaller or more subtle things by now. GOD i keep getting side tracked ANYWAYS eventually zach finds a non-gold enemy and sees it get picked up by like an arcade crane claw. hes curious so he follows the claw, only to see the monster be put in a big gold cauldron and walk out the side of it as a gold monster.

gonna be honest, no idea what the hell this could mean. like? theres been no themes of corruption or good things becoming evil so far so this just kinda. exists,, yea idk lol. im not part of like any discord servers or anything so all this theorizing and analysis has just been me, maybe getting some small ideas from like random youtube comments or something, so if something ive said so far has been unanimously disagreed with somewhere i dont know about it. thats also why this isnt really a definitive or comprehensive analysis (even tho im trying to be as comprehensive as i can).

anyways zach finds the exit soon after and hes on to the next level type (there's so fucking many of them ik dont worry weve almost gotten to all of them now), the indigo cliffs. the background of these levels is similar to the blue mountains from trance, but now the moon and clouds from the toxic dump background is also here (and colored indigo to match). the music here is just a deep rumbling noise. the first “enemies” he sees here are just a bunch of multicolored little guys coming out of a hole in the ground and jumping off a cliff. were continuing the death theme yall!! anyways zach continues, flying over some more weird creatures (tho some of them just look like dinosaurs lol) before he sees a bunch more of the multicolored guys out and about but this time theyre getting grabbed by birds!! wadda heel!!! zach comments on how the multicolored dudes seem eager to die and thinks maybe the moon has something to do with it (like melissa dude wat!!!! that's crazy /s). at the end of the level there were some more multicolored dudes just walking into a creatures mouth so zach attacked the thing and killed it and the levels over yay!

now its time for the bosses babeyy!!! first zach fights battra (basically an evil moth kaiju), the music is varans theme. battra starts off in his larvae form, where he basically just fought by running into you and shooting stuff at you. while fighting this form, zach noticed that the game buffed mothra because his gamer skillz were too cringe lmaoo. he beats the larvae form and battra goes into his second form, where hes basically a stronger clone of mothra (misogyny). zach fights battra and has fun doing it (for once,, good for him) and he wins yay! next hes fighting megalon (a big beetle/bug kaiju), whos music was gigans theme. im tired when im writing this so ill just give you zachs description of how he fought: “strong, persistent, but dumb”. after this, zach checks out the last tv screen of entropy. this time, it shows a big buff guy with a sack over his head hit a womans head with a sledgehammer while shes tied to a table or something. the music for it was the password theme. i think this is probably here because red is getting angrier? like this guy is still here after i triggered his ptsd?? what the hell!!!

anyways before we get to the last boss we have one last level type to get through- the shadow labyrinth. at this point, zach starts to feel drained because no shit sherlock you just had a panic attack and youve been playing this game for fuckin several hours at this point of course youre fuckin drained. anyways zach enters the shadow labyrinth, which is a black recolor of the gold labyrinth. the music is “evil ambience” similar to unforgiving colds music but distinctly different apparently. there werent any enemies so zach just kinda wandered for a while until the lights turned off, darkening the whole screen and (secretly) spawning tons of spooky enemies thatll chase and hit mothra in the dark. eventually the lights came back on and zach started scrambling to the exit. when the lights turned back off, zach was able to find one of the melissa looking statues and stood next to it. it warded off the monsters while the lights were off, so zach was safe. i think this shows 2 things: 1) its a little more validation for my “religion in this world worships melissa” theory and 2) it foreshadows the way melissa wants to protect zach at the end of the game. zach beat the shadow labyrinth a lot faster than the gold one so were done with all the stages now!! now theres only the last boss and red and were done with entropy!

the last boss is mechagodzilla, but when zach starts the level, normal godzilla is there instead!! its whatever tho bc soon the disguise is gone and its just pretty much the normal mechagodzilla fight (but now hes got a gay beam). at about half health tho, mechagodzillas sprite breaks into pieces like gezoras did way back on earth and reforms into not-mechagodzilla. even tho it looks uncanny (and the usage of the face statue on the front is probably there to further mock zach bc melissa) zach beats it p easily and now its time for the chase. ba dum ba dum thats the sound of a chase.

as usual tho, before i get to the red chase its time to talk about entropy as a planet!! i think the best way to describe the layout is “a big forest with a toxic waste dump in it takes up half the planet while the other half is a large religious temple/labyrinth with a dangerous underbelly”. there doesnt seem to be any intelligent life there now (its all dead by now probably) but there was at some point at least because imean the huge labyrinth is there dude!!! i dont have much to say for this section tbh bc i feel like i've already said everything i wanted to, so its time for the chase ig!!

basically the chase with red here takes place in a labyrinth level bc of course it does. this labyrinth, however, seems to be made of some kind of organic matter. is it flesh? organs? nondescript viscera? idk but it's pulsating and bloody. also this time red has wings too!! anyways, basically zach avoids red throughout the maze, red breaks through one of the walls with his big alien tongue, and zach gets to the end of the maze. nothing crazy happens at the end of this chapter (i think it was crazy enough as is) so thats the end of that and now its time for the penultimate planet- extus.

[darrowsrising]

And top 5 battles

this is the last one ok have a nice day honey <3

This one is hard too!

1. Battle of Heliopolis - Part 1 - when Darrow is everywhere on the battlefield and soldiers scramble to get him to stay put because he jas a heartattack. That meant so much to me and I declare dishonour on everyone who dares to consider this scene as part of 'Darrow should retire/it's not his war/it's tragedy forshadowing' garbage talk.

2. Battle of Ilium - that Battle set the tone for the IG trilogy and we never even noticed. Though, I could do with more traitorous, fascist pathetic bastards dying.

3. Lion's Rain - One of the most epic battles, I loved everything and when you add that it was Darrow's first Iron Rain and he and his mates conquered Mars and the amount of self-sacrificing and love my boy has...

4. Siège on Apollo's Keep - one of the best Institute moments and always sweet to think about. Simpler times, friendships, angsty teens with worlds to conquer and trauma to adress.

5. Siège on Olympus - don't mess with pretty much the only remaining link to humanity Darrow has in RR - from killing Apollo, 'I will rip yoir bloodydamm heart out,' to attacking Olympus and tying up all the Proctors, Darrow getting mad is hella powerful and cute.

Thank you for the ask!

Btw, the gala and the light resistance bringer do not count as Battles, but they were epic stuff on their own.

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

Dynamite Duo.

HRGH!

*The first assassin wields a long staff, which he spins around in the air and tries to joust into Kibin with.

!!

*Kibin grabs the end of the staff with her hand and catches it.

Ok, so I say I take two, and you take two.

Alright, I’m down with that.

You two sound very confident that you’ll win you know?

Heh. Of course we will. We’re a dynamite duo, you know?

Ain’t nothing gonna stand in our way when we team up...!

Speaking of...!

YAH! WUH! GAH! ACK!

*Kibin yanks the staff towards her, pulling the hitman towards her too. She backhands him, kicks him in the shin to knock him off balance, and then punches him in the face and knocks him back.

Split up!

Got it!

*Kuripa and Kibin rush to different sides of the club, with two of each hitman in hot pursuit.

Get over here!

*The hitman takes a swing at Kibin as she makes a run, but she turns round and catches his fist.

It’s just as I thought...You guys really are pathetic...

If only Datenashi had hired me instead...

Why you-! 

*The first hitman rushes at her and takes a few swings with his fists. Kibin flawlessly dodges all of them.

Hey, can I borrow this?

H-Huh!?

*The hitman with the staff who originally attacked Kibin suddenly gets his weapon stolen from him out of nowhere.

*WHAP!*

AOHOHO!

*Kibin effortlessly wields the staff and uses it to smack the other hitmans backside.

HRUGH!

AAAAAAAAAAUUUUGGGGHHH!!!

*She then repositions herself, and shoves the stick straight up his ass.

Be thankful. Most girls would be jealous to be impaled with something this long and hard.

Did you just make a dirty joke!?

Of course that WOULD be the only thing you hear!

Ghh...! Aahaha!

!!!

UGHGH!

*Kibin yanks the staff out and instead grabs the mans face and smashes him against the wall. When he stumbles forward from the recoil, she grabs him from behind and suplexes him headfirst into the wall, knocking him out.

Looks like Kibin’s got everything handled over there...

*Kuripa on the other hand, is running up another flight of stairs to the floor above, being swiftly chased by the two hitmen behind him.

*PCH!*

EEEEK!

*When he gets to the top of the stairs, he halts his escape and kicks one of the hitmen behind him in the groin.

HRAGH!

OOF! UGH! EH! AH! OFF! UGH! ACK! OCK!

*Kuripa grabs him and throws him back down the stairs.

HRRGGGGHHHH!!!!

*The other hitman lowers his head and charges straight at Kuripa, who continues to run backwards to avoid him.

HUP!

OCH!

*This however is a bait, as at the last second, Kuripa jumps over him, causing him to run head first into the wall.

Huh!? ACK AAAACAKCAK!!!

A-shakashakashakashaka!

*Kuripa grabs the hitman by his hair, and grabs a salt shaker from a nearby table. He empties the content into the hitmans eyes.

You bastard...!

*The other hitman who was pursuing Kuripa climbs back up the stairs to greet him.

Sorry! This is the VIP area! And you two don’t make the cut!

HIYAAAH!!

UGH!

UGH!

*Kuripa grabs one hitman by his belt and collar and throws him into the air. He jumps up, kicks him and sends him hurtling into his ally, sending them both flying back down the stairs.

Wh-What in the hell...?

HUP!

*Kuripa himself also leaps down the stairs, and lands on his feet. Seina watches from the main stage in utter disbelief that the two are winning.

Kuripa! Need a hand over here!

Yeah, I think I’m gonna need one too!

HRRRRGGHG!

*pant!* *pant!* Get over here you piece of shit!

*WHAM!*

Ugh!

HupHupHup!

NGH!

*Kibin whirls around the man who is chasing her and grabs him and thrusts him foward.

H-Huh!? N-No!

HRAGGGGGH!!!!

HUUUUUUGGGGH!!!

GAGH!

HAH!

BRLEGH!

UGHHGH!

*In what can only be described as a takedown of epic proportions, after Kibin pushes the man and throws him off balance, Kuripa, in the process of running away from the man behind him, leaps into the air. At the same time, Kibin front flips over the man and rolls over Kuripa mid-flight. With a powerful battle cry, Kuripa drop kicks the man Kibin pushed, nailing him directly in the chest, while at the same time, Kibin rams her foot straight into the other mans face, breaking his jaw.

...

...

No...H-How!? How did you do that!? Those were my elite bodyguards!

How did you defeat them so easily!?

I knew it...

*Kuripa and Kibin emerge victorious without so much as a scratch on either of them.

Kn-Knew what?

Datenashi, let me ask you something. Do you actually know who these guys are?

Of course I don’t. Our relationship is purely business related and I’d like to keep it that way.

...

...This chick is an imbecile...!

What did you say!?

I’m gonna be real with you Datenashi...You got scammed. These guys aren’t the real deal.

Wh-What!?

I’m a hitwoman myself. Well, FORMER hitwoman. I mainly do black ops missions nowadays. And I’ve met a lot of other hitmen and assassins on my job.

Every one of them has a unique style when it comes to using the environment to their advantage, and each have a unique sort of fighting style. I mean, look at me. 

But these guys literally know how to swing their fists and yell stuff. They aren’t real hitmen or bodyguards.

You’re not seriously telling me that you hired these guys and thought they were the best just because they were the most expensive, are you? If all you’re going to do is throw money around and make bad investments like this, then it becomes ever the more clear that you don’t deserve the money you have! 

In fact, now that these posers have been taken care of, I think it’s your turn!

Don’t come any closer!

*Datenashi pulls out her gun.

...!

...!

I-I made it all the way here! I’m almost there! All of the money funneled into Japan’s Cabaret industry will be mine!

Money is all that matters in this world! Haha...HAHAHAHA!

*sigh* Great, she’s gone batty...Time to kill this bitch!

Kuripa, wait-!

B-Back off!

If you’re really serious about this, then TAKE THE FUCKING SHOT!

NGH!!

SHOOT ME YOU COWARD!

GRRGGH!

*Seina cocks the gun.

???: SEINA! STOP IT!

H-Huh!?

*Everyone turns in the direction of the shout.

...*pant!* *pant!* *pant!* *pant!* Looks like...I made it...

Asayoru!?

You! What are you doing here!?

*Seina is surprised, but keeps her gun aimed at Kuripa and Kibin.

Seina...please, w-wait!

Asayoru, you’re ok!?

I...I wouldn’t say that...To be honest, I had to sneak away from the doctors and drive here in secret...

Why are you here!? Oh I get it...you’ve come to ridicule me, haven’t you!?

No, Seina...I’m here because I want to save you...

Why...? I...I shot you...and I used you...!

Hahaha...Yes, I’m afraid you did...and suffice to say, that hurt in more ways than one...

But even if that is true, the pain that you’re causing not only me is easily overshadowed by all the times that you were there for me when I needed you the most...

So yes, while you did use me, and the rest of the Four Horsemen, that doesn’t mean I’m about to give up on you.

You aren’t making any sense! Oh...Oh, now I get it! You want me to share the profit with you, don’t you!?

I don’t give a FUCK about profit Seina! I neither want nor need your money!

I...I just want you back. 

Wh-What...?

...You’re not above redemption Seina Datenashi. Like I told you already, you and I were once the same woman.

But I grew...and when I grew, I changed. And when I moved in with Kuripa, I decided to start over again from scratch. I think...that’s what you ought to do.

I know that you hate the Cabaret Club industry for how it ruined you in the past...But look at it this way. Instead of destroying everything and ruining people’s lives...why not work with Asayoru to atone for what you’ve done, and then build a whole new club from the ground up?

Kibin’s right. She was one of the most shallow and antisocial girls I’ve ever known when we first met...But I tried to get friendly with her, and miraculously, it worked. She’s really developed into a good person with good morals since then...

Of course, she could develop in other areas...mainly her breasts...but other than that...

Kuripa, I will snap your neck!

Ahaha! Sorry, sorry, I jest...

But in all seriousness, she’s right. You can be redeemed if you make this the last of your crimes...All you have to do, is put down the gun, and I swear on my life, I will end this fight here.

What do you say Seina?

I....

N-No! I can’t!

*She says this, but she drops the gun, making it clear she doesn’t intend to shoot anyone.

Even if I were to return to your side Shozo, it wouldn’t change the fact that I value becoming rich above you and all else! If I had money, then maybe my sister would still be alive!?

I can’t help you! If you really desire to start over, then I’ll only end up getting in your way! Maybe...in the next life, I’ll become someone who really deserves to be with you...

*She aims the gun at herself...

Woah, woah WOAH!!

S-Seina! Stop!

I’m sorry...But this is the only way to end this...Goodbye...Shozo...Kurafto...and you, Kibin Hatsudoki.

DON’T!

SEINAAAAAAA!!!

*BANG!*

[lover-of-skellies]

And Then There Was One

a blurb I wrote for adult!Mal, inspired by this epic cover version of “The Final Countdown” that I found on youtube :P

Her eye lights scanned the area around her once more, taking in the cracked earth, toppled buildings, and destruction. The smoke. The blood. The monster dust. The smell of death hung in the air around her, and she made a face, disgusted. From the other side of the makeshift battle field, the guardian of negativity watched her, visibly amused at the position she’d been left in. To her right, Necro’s body laid broken on the ground, his eye lights extinguished as Zerif clutched him to his chest, ignoring his own injuries as he frantically tried to heal those of his partner, lime green tears dripping down his face. To her left, Lucky was on the ground as well, lying on his side. He wasn’t moving and there were no signs of his eye lights returning anytime soon, but at least he hadn’t begun turning to dust yet.

Ink’s body was also lying nearby, beaten down and broken into multiple pieces in a puddle of black ink. Dream laid near him, just barely conscious and unable to move. Template was nowhere in sight, though his pen had been broken in half and was carelessly tossed aside. His glasses were also broken, their lenses cracked horribly as they rested not far from the broken pen. 

Nightmare’s side had also sustained casualties though as well; Axe had been knocked aside, hitting his head in the process and falling limp. Asy was also lying on the ground, his straitjacket coated by a thin layer of dust and clear stains from both grass and blood. Dust had also been taken out; he was still conscious, but much like Dream, he couldn’t move. Not a single inch. Killer was still very much present and able to fight, minus the fact that he’d managed to lose an arm, and half of his skull was cracked. While Error casually perched on a tree branch to watch the battle until it was deemed necessary for him to get involved, Nightmare himself stood, his hands in his jacket pockets as he narrowed his one visible socket and arched a single brow bone, silently challenging Mal to continue fighting. He’d known her since she was just a mere child, so of course he was confident that there was nothing she could do to surprise him.

The female skeleton in question stood, her body rigid as she curled her hands down into fists by her sides, narrowing her sockets and sporting a look of sheer hatred and resentment as she gazed back and the goop covered guardian, his eye lights also briefly flickering back and forth between Error and Killer as well. A bead of blue tinted sweat slowly rolled down the side of her face as she let out a deep breath, her chest feeling heavy as she called out to her last remaining companion, “...Fresh. I’ve got one last thing I need your help with.”

A portal opened behind her and the nineties nightmare peered through it. He was immediately aware of the numerous bodies scattered along the field, but chose to ignore them in favor of responding to his friend, “Yeah, Sparky? Whatcha need?” Mal felt a pang of regret course through her and she frowned, “I need you to take them to Geno. Then from there, I want them taken to ReaperTale. They should be safe there, right?” Fresh tilted his head, also frowning once the realization dawned on him, “For a while, yeah. Don’t tell me you’re gonna do what I think you are though. Please. You have them ta think about too, ya know? I’m not good w’kids or anythin’ either, an’ I don’t wanna have ta explain ta them where their ma is when ya don’t come back from this.” Mal scoffed, glancing over her shoulder to shoot a glare in his direction, “If you really think I plan on dying here, you’re an idiot.”

From within the portal, two small voices could be heard, “Mom?” “Mommy, is that you?” Mal’s expression softened as she looked back at the portal, a human child with golden blonde hair peeking at her from behind Fresh while a second child, a small, rather fragile skeleton, darted through the portal to cling to her. Immediately kneeling on the ground and wrapping her arm around the child, she pressed a kiss to the top of their skull before looking to the second child and offering him a sad smile, extending a hand to him, “Come here, Avalon. I need to tell you something.” Though he was nervous, the child did as he was asked, stepping through the portal and going to his mother, now also clinging to her. 

Mal pressed another kiss to the second child’s head, sighing softly as she began speaking softly to both of them, “Things… might not look too good right now. For anyone. But I promise you, everything will be ok again soon. I’ll come get you, then we can all go home. For now though, I need you to go with Fresh. He’s going to take you to see Geno, then the four of you are gonna go on a trip together. Somewhere new that you haven’t been before.” Avalon tightened his grip on her shirt ever so slightly, his voice cracking, “You promise you’re gonna be ok, mama?” She offered him a reassuring smile, gently ruffling his hair, “Yes, Lonnie, I promise. Here,” she paused, holding up a fist with only her pinky still held straight, “should we make it a pinky promise? Would that be better?” Smiling slightly, Avalon lifted a hand, wrapping his pinky around hers to complete the promise, “Uh huh.” 

She laughed softly, hugging him a hair bit tighter before sighing, “You’re a good kid, you know that? Always so strong and brave, always such a big helper.” The child smiled at the praises, trying to snuggle even closer to her, and with a heavy heart, she continued after a brief moment of silence, “I love you, ok? So, so much… with my whole soul. I will come for you once this is over.” Feeling him tighten his grip on her again, she hummed, gently pulling back from him just enough to delicately cup his face as she met his gaze, giving him another smile in hopes of offering even a little reassurance, “Hey, everything will be ok, I promise. Have I ever lied to you before?” Avalon shook his head, his voice soft, “No, I don’t think so.” Mal chuckled, leaning slightly closer to whisper to him, “Exactly. Now, go back to Fresh. If you get scared, him and Geno will be there for you, ok?”

The child nodded, leaning closer to kiss his adoptive mother’s cheekbone, “Ok… I love you, mama.” The skeleton felt tears prick at the edge of her sockets, but in fear of upsetting her child, she blinked them back, forcing out another smile as she sighed, “I love you too, Avalon. And I always will.” Avalon, though very clearly reluctant to part from her, slipped from her grasp, and she watched him as he slipped back through the portal and clung to Fresh’s jacket.

She turned her attention back to the first child, offering them a soft smile and mumbling, “And then there was one.” The skeleton child smiled weakly, one of their eye lights shifting into the shape of a tear drop. Seeing the familiar shape, Mal’s smile became a frown and she gently touched their face, stroking their cheekbone with her thumb and whispering, “Baby, hey… don’t look at me like that. Everything will be ok, I promise. I swear on my soul, even, that things’ll go back to normal soon. We just have to be patient.” The child frowned, their gaze flickering over to where the three remaining enemies stood, before looking back at their mother, “Mom?... How do you know it’ll be ok?... Everything… Everything here doesn’t look like it’ll ever get better.” Mal hummed, smiling weakly, “I just do, I guess. You could even say I feel it in my bones.”

The child snorted, trying to hide a small smile, and Mal tilted her head, feeling a tad bit more at ease now. The magic shifted in the air and she froze, looking up to see Killer beginning to approach her and her child, his knife drawn. She was immediately on her feet at that, one arm protectively nudging her child behind herself as she glared at Killer, her sockets narrows as she frowned, “Killer, back the hell off right now. You are not to get any closer to my kid and I.” The skeleton arched a brow bone and chuckled, a black tar-like substance dripping down his face as he smirked, “Yeah? And just what are you gonna do to stop me?” Scoffing at the arrogance in his tone, she used her free hand, touching her fingertips to the edge of one of her sockets and producing blue threads. 

With a flick of her wrist, the threads were quick to shoot toward Killer. Despite only having one arm, he sliced through them and continued on toward her, and she hissed, “Last chance, shit for brains. Back off, and maybe I’ll be nice about how I kill you.” He continued on toward her, his head tilting again in interest as the child peeked out from behind Mal, their sockets widened in fear. Seeing the look they wore, Killer grinned widely, “That’s a cute kid you got there, Mal. I’m a little hurt that you haven’t introduced me to them yet.” Mal took a single step back, her child following her movements. As red magic surrounded the child’s soul, one of their eye lights shifted into an exclamation mark and they called out, their tone soaked with alarm, “Mom?! Mom, what’s going on?” 

Glancing back and seeing Killer’s magic enveloping her child’s soul, Mal’s eyes briefly widened in fear before they narrowed and her eye lights extinguished. Whirling around to face Killer again, her blue threads gradually became a vibrant shade of crimson and shot toward him, and she roared, “DON’T YOU DARE TOUCH MY CHILD, YOU BASTARD.” Not expecting to see her threads become crimson, Killer momentarily froze, giving the threads just enough time to wrap around his neck vertebrae. And then he was soaring through the air, the threads searing hot as they cut into his neck. Mal’s child hid their face in her shirt as her threads released Killer, causing him to fly directly at Error, successfully knocking the black skeleton off his perch.

The crimson threads faded from view and Mal took a deep breath to calm herself before turning to face her child, removing her black and white striped scarf and draping it over their shoulders, offering them a sad smile, “You need to go, baby, it’s not safe here. I’ll come get you after this is over, I promise.” The child touched her scarf, pastel rainbow tinted tears pricking at their sockets as they whimpered, “Mom… you promise you’ll come back? You won’t die, right?...” As the tears began to roll down their cheekbones, Mal frowned, dark blue tears beginning to drip from hers before they transformed into more threads. She let out a shaky breath and hugged her child tightly, “I swear to you, Pastel, I won’t die. Not here, not to losers like these guys. As long as I have you waiting for me, I’ll always come back. I mean… that’s what moms do, right?” Pastel sniffled, their one eye light becoming the shape of a broken heart as they whimpered again, “Uh huh… I guess so.” 

She smiled weakly, kissing Pastel’s face and mumbling to them, “I love you so much, ok?... You and your brother are my whole world.” Pastel nodded, rubbing at their sockets with the back of their hand, “I love you too, mom… You’re so strong and cool. If you come back, can you show me how to be like you?” Mal sighed, chuckling softly, “Love, there’s no need for that. You’re already as strong and cool as me. Maybe even more. Now, you gotta get going. When you see Geno, give him a hug for me, ok? And if it makes you feel any better, you can tell Reaper that your mom’s gonna come kick his butt later, too.” Unable to help it, Pastel pressed a hand over their mouth and giggled, earning an affectionate smile from Mal. Though she really didn’t want to, she parted from her child and gently nudged them toward the portal. Fortunately, they went without any sort of argument or hesitation, and as the portal closed behind them, she let out a sigh of relief.

Now that her children were gone, she could finally focus her attention on Error and Nightmare. Judging by Killer’s position on the ground, she guessed that he wouldn’t be getting up anytime soon… or ever again, for that matter.

Nightmare and Error looked at each other, seeming to communicate in silence, and Mal watched them intently, her threads at the ready. Whatever they planned to throw at her, she’d be ready. 

Error’s body glitched and he vanished from sight, reappearing only a matter of feet away from her, his own blue threads drawn. Mal instinctively took a step back and used her threads to block an attack, and Error raised a single brow bone, deciding to question her, “You’re really gonna entrust your disgusting little glitches to that parasite? Geez, and here I thought you were smarter than that. You know, Nightmare’s good with kids. You would’ve been better off handing them over to us.” Mal let out a low growl, blocking another attack, “Like hell I’d ever do that. Fresh might be a parasite, but he’s still a better choice than two dudes with a massive little dick complex.” 

Error flinched, suddenly scowling at her, “Yeah? And just what does that mean?” Seeing that she’d provoked a reaction from the black skeleton, Mal smirked, “Come on, do I really have to spell it out for you? It means exactly what you think it does.” The elder of the two frowned, letting out a startled yelp as a row of scarlet bones whizzed past him, grazing the side of his skull. In the split second that his attention had shifted to the scarlet bones, Mal’s body glitched heavily as her threads grasped the tree he’d just been resting at, and proceeded to uproot it. The tree toppled over, and seeing the it was heading right for him, Error’s frown shifted into an amused grin, his threads slicing through its trunk with ease. He turned and shot more thread at Mal, and remembering how he’d essentially threatened her children, she narrowed her sockets at him

Her blue threads intercepted his attack, wrapping around his to form a large knot. Seeing that his threads had been caught, Error froze, unsure what to do. Mal’s gaze darkened as she offered him an almost manic looking grin, “Oh yeah, that’s right… You’re haphephobic, aren’t you?” His sockets widened for a brief moment before narrowing as he scowled at her again, “Don’t you dare.” Eye lights constricted into the size of mere pin pricks, Mal’s smile widened further and she suddenly jerked Error forward. She focused the majority of her magic on one of her hands, clenching it into a fist, and once the black skeleton was close enough, she hissed, “Gotcha, glitch bitch.” Her fist struck the underside of his jaw, and even though it’d lasted no longer than a couple seconds, his sockets filled with errors and he fell backward, his body glitching heavily as he began to reboot. 

Riding the pleasant high she’d gotten from her small victory over Error, she failed to notice the goop covered guardian lash out with one of his tentacles. As it wound around one of her arms, she was suddenly flung to the side. Just when she thought she was able to right herself before she’d had the chance to take any damage, Nightmare appeared much closer to her, one hand snagging one of her wrists while two tendrils wrapped around her arm again. There was a loud crack and she screamed, crying out in pain, all of the magic she’d been using almost instantly vanishing from view. 

Nightmare released her, a sickening, malicious grin on his face as he carelessly tossed her arm aside. Her body trembling as she winced and began trying to get up again, she let out a broken sob, yelping as the corrupted guardian stood beside her and roughly shoved her back down, a tendril pinning her in place. As a second tendril began wrapping around her good arm, Nightmare tilted his head and purred, “Even after all these years, it looks like you haven’t gotten any stronger… What a damn shame that is. Since you seem to need your hands for all those fancy string tricks of yours, I think I’ll be ridding you of them now.” Mal released another choked out sob, her mind flickering back to her children. She cycled through more memories of them, and all of a sudden, Nightmare recoiled, his tentacle immediately releasing her. 

She was momentarily confused by this, but then the reason for his change in behavior became clear as day; her memories were positive, and had evoked positive feelings from her in turn. She’d hurt Nightmare without even doing anything. 

Sitting on and clutching her bare shoulder joint, she closed her eyes, a small smile settling on her face as she began cycling through more happy memories. Nightmare hissed, very rapidly becoming enraged as he shouted, “STOP THAT. WHATEVER YOU’RE DOING, STOP IT NOW.” She chose to ignore him, focusing on her memories again; back when she’d visited the human world and found Avalon, wrapped in dirty bath towels and alone, abandoned on the doorsteps of an orphanage. She remembered how eagerly he’d accepted her help despite their obvious differences, and how quickly he’d become attached to her. She recalled all the things they’d done together, her smile slowly widening. As her memories slowly wandered to Pastel, Nightmare roared, a tendril lashing out at her again. She felt the rush of air, but the hit never actually came, and she opened her eyes, shocked to see Dream now standing up, completely healed.

Mal stared at him in disbelief, and he offered her a small smile, explaining softly, “Your positivity… was a lot more abundant that you thought, huh? It was enough to completely restore my HP and give me a bit of a boost.” She blinked, worry flickering in her gaze as she glanced back toward Error. Correcting her before she had the chance to panic and experience any negative feelings again, Dream cut in, continuing to speak, “Don’t worry. Error will be out for a while still, and as long as you think you could talk some sense into Zerif, the two of you could start healing the others. I already sent out a distress signal, and until our backup arrives, all we have to do is keep Nightmare busy. I can handle him on my own though, so you have nothing to worry about, I promise.” Mal let out a shaky breath, smiling up at him, “God, you’re so awesome sometimes, y’know that? If I was in better shape, I might actually kiss you.” 

A yellow blush dusted across Dream’s cheekbones and he laughed softly, smiling at her, “Yeah, there’s no need for that, I assure you. Just go to Zerif and get his head back in the game, and I’ll deal with Night, ok? You think you can do that?” Mal nodded, taking Dream’s hand as it was offered to her, and pulling herself up, “Yeah, I can do that, don’t even worry about it.” Dream made a soft sound of acknowledgement, watching to make sure she reached Zerif without any sort of difficulties before he returned his attention to Nightmare, who was very visibly feeling less than happy at the revelation that his brother was up and functioning again. Though Nightmare was tense and completely rigid with stress, Dream was almost completely relaxed; from here on out, it’d be pretty much the same old song and dance they’d had going throughout the years. Nothing new, and entirely too predictable. 

As soon as the backup arrived and all the casualties were dealt with, Mal would be able to return to her children. Dream was almost disappointed that he wouldn’t be there to see the reunion, because he already knew it’d be beautiful. More than likely full of tears, but still beautiful nonetheless.