#been slaying through the last year of college

[inyourgravehcs]

♡ You're shining already ♡

❥ TAGS: gn!reader, hurt/comfort.

Warm bed, soft pillow, heavy blanket - an indescribable comfort, enveloping body and soul, beckoning deeper and deeper into itself.

...And unfortunately, all this is spoiled by the fact that it's morning. One has to get up and give up the true peace that's so hard to achieve with today's pace of life. Even the sun, breaking through the treacherously wide windows, clearly hinted with its insolent rise that there was no way back to the sleepy world.

Your head felt as if it was molded of lead, and no matter how you moved it, it seemed that gravity itself was nailing the skull with the back of the head to the pillow. Your eyes stuck together under the unbearable weight of your eyelids, which was impossibly hard to fight, but it was still necessary, because falling asleep again was not an option. Your limp, weak body wanted to curl up under the blanket and stay there for the rest of your life, never to see these absurd days full of boring, repetitive life. And the finishing touch was the annoying drilling in your nose: after all, the low humidity was giving your mucous membranes a hard time.

Uncomfortable. Worst morning of your entire life. Even if you had it worse, now it made you feel like a withered twig instead of a full human being, and that pissed you off far more than any possible misfortune that could befall you. You didn't even have the energy to turn around, let alone get out of bed and start the day. Gathering all your will into a fist, you roll over onto your other side with the last of your strength, bumping into something.

Your vision focuses slowly, gradually. The pale flesh tone gradually draws out into indistinct reliefs, then making up a vague blob of muscle. The blurred outlines make up the silhouette of a man's back, and as you look up higher, you come to the conclusion - that silver hair belonged to Al-Haitham. That's right. You're completely oblivious to the pain, not even paying attention to the fact that you weren't alone in the bed the whole time. Your boyfriend was probably still asleep, though.

Deep breath. Maybe if you snuggled up against his broad back, the discomfort would fade into the background and you could fall asleep. Maybe he could be a better pillow than the one already wrinkled and warmed up under your head. Your fingers move awkwardly across the sheet, moving to your lover's side — and then your arm slips over his waist as you nuzzle your face between his shoulder blades and mumble unintelligibly to yourself. Even if the discomfort didn't recede, at least you could find comfort in the warmth of your lover's body.

“Are you awake already?”

The low voice with the slight hoarse notes instantly stirred the thoughts inside your head. So Al-Haitham had recently woken up as well, but he didn't want to leave the comfort of your bed? In response to his question, you only whine unintelligibly, thus expressing your genuine and sincere displeasure with this morning.

The man sighs deeply, and then falls silent, as if in thought. He slowly turns over to face you, trying not to drop your hand in the process. Al-Haitham scrutinizes your face, paying particular attention to your eyes. Your eyelids tingle and sting, but you keep them open as best you can, reciprocating your lover's gaze — so familiar, the intense stare of turquoise eyes, the red flecks which only emphasized the man's seriousness.

“I understand you.”

Suddenly, one of his strong arms is wrapped around your waist, pulling you to him and pressing your body against his while your flushed face finds itself pressed into Haitham's chest.

It’s soft. His relaxed chest hugs your face like a pillow, supporting not only your head, but your soul.

It’s warm. The restrained heat of the human body emanates from the man's skin, soothing and lulling even better than a blanket.

It’s tight. You're pressed by his hand against the supple contours of his muscles with enough force to feel their every curve, but not enough to feel the strain or discomfort of it — a perfect support for your tired bones and limbs, many times better than even the best mattress.

Right. Al-Haitham was just like you — he knew the value of starting the morning on the wrong foot and was smart enough not to make that mistake and not to let you make it. What was the point of rushing off somewhere? He could afford to put all his worries on the back burner, which meant you could too.

You sigh this time, diving deeper into the man's chest and finally closing your eyes. Even if you can't fall asleep again, it's better to rest in the arms of your beloved than to toss and turn in bed, hoping it will get better.

A big hand patting you on the back only confirms this argument.

♡ ── ✦ ──『♡』── ✦ ── ♡

Please note that english isn't my native language and can be awkward at times.

Please don't translate or repost my works without asking for my permission first!

[fairuzfan]

19 October 2023: In Gaza, we have grown accustomed to war

Horrific experiences of death and destruction have permanently impacted Palestinians’ culture, language and collective memory. “Is it war again?” asks my little Amal, 7, memories of the previous Israeli assaults still fresh in her mind.

The wording of the question shows the maturity she has been forced to develop. Last year, Amal asked her mum if it was “another war.”

Yes, it is war again in Gaza! In Gaza, we have grown accustomed to war. War has become a recurrent reality, a nightmare that won’t go away. A brutal normality. War has become like a grumpy old relative, one that we can’t stand but can’t rid ourselves of either.

The children pay the heaviest price. A price of fear and nonstop trauma that is reflected in their behaviors and their reactions. It’s estimated that over 90 percent of Palestinian children in Gaza show signs of trauma. But also, specialists claim there is no post-war trauma in Gaza as the war is still ongoing.

My grandmother would tell me to put on a heavy sweater because it would rain. And it would rain! She, like all Palestinian elders, had a unique sense, an understanding of the earth, wind, trees and rain. The elders knew when to pick olives for pickling or for oil. I was always envious of that.

Sorry, Grandma. We have instead become attuned to the vagaries of war. This heavy guest visits us uninvited, unwelcomed and undesired, perches on our chests and breaths, and then claims the lives of many, in the hundreds and thousands.

A Palestinian in Gaza born in 2008 has witnessed seven wars: 2008–2009, 2012, 2014, 2021, 2022, 2023A and 2023B. And as the habit goes in Gaza, people can be seven wars old, or four wars old. My little Amal, born in 2016, now holds a BA in wars, having lived through four destructive campaigns. In Gaza, we often speak about wars in terms of academic degrees: a BA in wars, an MA in wars, and some might humorously refer to themselves as PhD candidates in wars.

Our discourse has significantly changed and shifted. At night, when Israel particularly intensifies the bombardment, it’s a “party”: “The party has begun.” “It will be a horrific party tonight.” And then there is “The Bag,” capital T and capital B. This is a bag that is hurriedly prepared to contain the cash, the IDs, the birth certificates and college diplomas. The aim is to grab the kids and one item when there is a threat of evacuation.

The collective memories and culture of Palestinians in Gaza have been substantially impacted by these horrific experiences of war and death. Most Gazans have lost family members, relatives, or loved ones or have had their homes damaged or destroyed. It’s estimated that these wars and the escalations between them have claimed the lives of over 9,000 (it was 7,500 when I started drafting this last week!) Palestinians and destroyed over 60,000 housing units.

Death and war. War and Death. These two are persona non grata, yet we can’t force them to leave. To let us be.

Palestinian poet Tamim Al-Barghouti summarizes the relationship between death and the Palestinians that war brings (my translation):

It was not wise of you, Death, to draw near.

It was not wise to besiege us all these years.

It was not wise to dwell this close,

So close we’ve memorized your visage

Your eating habits

Your time of rest

Your mood swings

Your heart’s desires

Even your frailties.

O, Death, beware!

Don’t rest that you tallied us.

We are many.

And we are still here

[Seventy] years after the invasion

Our torches are still alight

Two centuries

After Jesus went to his third grade in our land

We have known you, Death, too well.

O, Death, our intent is clear:

We will beat you,

Even if they slay us, one and all.

Death, fear us,

For here we are, unafraid.

23 October 2023: Five stages of coping with war in Gaza

Our familiarity with war in Gaza has led us to develop a unique perspective and unique coping mechanisms.

We can identify five major emotional stages that Gazans go through during these grim conflicts. The stages are denial, fear, silence, numbness, hope, despair and submission.

This is day 16 and Israel has killed more than 5,000 Palestinians (many are still unaccounted for under the rubble), including over 2,000 Palestinian children, Gaza authorities tell us. More than 15,000 were injured and over 25,000 Palestinian homes were destroyed. And Israel says it is ready for ground invasion.

Stage one: Denial

In the early stages of a crisis, there is often a sense of denial. We convince ourselves that this time won’t lead to war. People are tired of the recurring conflicts, and both sides may appear too preoccupied to engage in warfare. As missiles fall and soar, we maintain a form of partial denial, hoping that this time will not be as lengthy or devastating as past wars.

No, this time it’s not going to be war. Everyone is tired of wars. Israel is too busy to go to war.

Palestinians are too exhausted and too battered to engage in a war. It could just last five days, give or take, we hope.

Stage two: Fear

Soon, denial turns to fear as the reality of another war sets in. Gaza is paralyzed as civilians, including children, are attacked by Israeli bombs. The pictures and videos of massacres, of homes obliterated with the families inside, of high rise buildings toppled like dominoes turn the denial into utter terror.

Every strike, especially at night, means all the children wake up crying and weep. As parents, we fear for our kids and we fear we can’t protect our loved ones.

Stage three: Silence and numbness

This is when Israel particularly intensifies the bombing of civilian homes. Stories are interrupted. Prayers are cut short. Meals are left uneaten. Showers are abandoned.

Therefore, amid the chaos and danger Israel brings, many in Gaza, especially children, withdraw into silence. They find solace in solitude as means of coping with the overwhelming emotion and uncertainty that surrounds them. Silence prevails.

Then numbness follows. As people attempt to protect themselves from the constant onslaught of distressing news, they grow indifferent. Because we could die anyway, no matter where we go. Emotional numbness sets in, as individuals attempt to detach from their emotions to survive.

Stage four: Hope

In the midst of despair, glimmers of hope may emerge. Even in the darkest moments, Gazans may hold onto the belief Israel might at least kill fewer people, bomb fewer places, and damage less. The most hopeful of us wish for a lasting ceasefire or an end to the siege or even the occupation. But this is merely hope. And hope is dangerous.

We hope that politicians will man up. We hitch our hope to the masses taking to the streets to reassure their politicians and warn they will be punished in future elections if they support Israeli aggression against Palestinians in Gaza.

Stage five: Despair and submission

Unfortunately, hope can often be fleeting, and many Gazans have experienced recurring cycles of despair. The repeated loss of life, homes and security lead to deep feelings of helplessness.

In the final stage, there is a sense of submission as Gazans accept the reality that they are unable to change the situation. That they are left alone. That the world has abandoned us. That Israel can kill and destroy at large with impunity. This is a stage marked by endurance, as Palestinians strive to adapt and persevere in the face of ongoing challenges.

These stages of war have become an unfortunate part of life in Gaza, shaping the resilience and perseverance of the Palestinian people in the face of unimaginable hardships imposed by the Israeli occupation.

27 October 2023: What it’s like when Israel bombs your building

I have six children. And so far we have survived seven major Israeli escalations, unscathed. We are an average family. My wife, Nusayba, is a housewife, I have two children in college and my youngest child, Amal, is 7. In Gaza, Amal is already four wars old.

We are an average family in Gaza, but we have had our fair share of Israeli death and destruction.

So far, since the early 1970s, I have lost 20 (and 15 last week) members of my extended family due to Israeli aggression.

In 2014, Israel destroyed our family home of seven flats, killing my brother Mohammed.

In 2014, Israel killed about 20 of my wife’s family including her brother, her sister, three of her sister’s kids, her grandfather and her cousin. And destroyed several of my in-laws’ homes.

Combined, my wife and I have lost over fifty 50 members to Israeli war and terror.

2023 war on Gaza

As the bombs fall and Israel targets sleeping families in their homes, parents are torn between several issues.

Should we leave? But go where, when Israel targets evacuees on their way and targets the areas they evacuate to?

Should we stay with relatives? Or should our relatives stay with us, whose home is relatively “safe?” We can never be sure. It’s been more than 75 years of brutal occupation – and over six major Israeli military onslaughts in the past 15 years – and we have so far failed to understand Israel’s brutality and mentality of death and destruction.

And then there is the fear of what to do if – when – we are bombed. We try to evade them. But how can you evade the bombs when Israel throws three or four or five consecutive bombs at the same home.

The big question Palestinian households debate is whether we should sleep in the same room so that when we die, we die together, or whether we should sleep in different rooms so some of us may survive.

The answer is always that we need to sleep in the living room together. If we die, we die together. No one has to deal with the heartbreak.

No food. No water. No electricity.

This 2023 war is different. Israel has intensified using hunger as a weapon. By completely besieging Gaza and cutting off the electricity and water supplies and not allowing aid or imports, Israel is not only putting Palestinians on a diet, but also starving them.

In my household, and we are a well-off family, my wife and I sat with the children and explained the situation to them, especially the little ones: “We need to ration. We need to eat and drink a quarter of what we usually consume. It’s not that we do not have money, but food is running out and we barely have water.”

And good luck explaining to your 7-year-old that she can’t have her two morning eggs and instead she will be having a quarter of a bomb! (Israel later bombed the eggs.)

As a parent, I feel desperate and helpless. I can’t provide the love and protection I am supposed to give my kids.

Instead of often telling my kids “I love you,” I have been repeating for the past two weeks:

“Kids, eat less. Kids, drink less.” And I imagine this being my last thing I say to them and it is devastating.

Israel bombs our building

If we had a little food last week, now we barely have any because Israel struck our home with two missiles while we were inside. And without prior warning!

My wife Nusayba had already instructed the kids to run if a bombing happened nearby. We never expected [our building] to be hit. And that was a golden piece of advice.

I was hosting four families of relatives in my flat. Most of them were kids and women.

We ran and ran. We carried the little ones and grabbed the small bags with our cash and important documents that Gazans keep at the door every time Israel wages a war.

We escaped with a miracle, with only bruises and tiny scratches. We checked and found everyone was fine. And then we walked to a nearby UN school shelter, which was in an inhuman condition. We crammed into small classrooms with other families.

With that, we lost our last sense of safety. We lost our water. We lost our food and the remaining eggs that Amal loves.

We are an average Palestinian family. But we have had our fair share of Israeli death and destruction. In Gaza, no one is safe. And no place is safe. Israel could kill all 2.3 million of us and the world would not bat an eye.

[chunkymamatam]

Hi! It's me again lol and I'm back with questions. Please feel free to answer the questions you want to answer only, and don't feel as if you have to answer any or all. This is mostly a twst related ask btw:)

How did it feel to you? (aka just what went through your mind when you first shifted to twisted wonderland) and do you do the same thing/method every time you shift? I know that I always affirm and that's what I enjoy the most and feel like progress is being made whether I shift or not, it's just calming to me hehe.

Is the food good? Do you have any favorite foods that aren't in this reality but are in twst? Oh and of course the opposite as well, anything you don't like.

With it being a college version is anything particularly different?

Is there anyone you enjoy hanging out with more? I know I want to go to twisted wonderland because it seems fun(though stressful too) but also cause I really like Floyd and want to be around him. So if you can say anything about how he is or acts around you or others that would be wonderful to hear about.

Last question! Is there anything you suggest to script or at least prepare for in regards to shifting to twisted wonderland? I know the overblot situations will be stressful, but this is mostly like general things such as the ghosts don't bother you too much, Crowley gives you money, etc. Thank you in advance for your response!

Sorry For only responding now, I've been having a really bad time with my mental health.

That's a great question. It's dizzying tbh. It's like being yoinked from your physical body, spun on a wheel then yeeted back into physicality. I don't really use a method but yeah I do the same thing every night unless I get it in my ass to actually try a method lol

The food is delicious. I'm the kind of autism to not try anything I'm not familiar with unless I'm either forced to or in the adventurous mood and that has not happened yet. I wonder if Idia has the Miku Ramen now that I'm thinking about weird food

Yeah its definitely different than High School lmfao some classes mix years, there's a sound to signify the change of classes but it's not like it rules when you're dismissed also they're a lot more lenient when it comes to things like going to the bathroom. also this one is important as a disabled person, get this, they actually listen to you when you say you need something health wise. Crazy right? /s It's nice honestly. Like yeah some profs are harder on you than others but at the end of the day they'd prefer you to take care of your health and not die.

Tbh my favorite people to hang out with are the Octavinelle Trio(I work at the lounge), Leona, Vil, and Malleus. They're great honestly.

I definitely suggest you script you can't die from the overblots because that shit is more than stressful they will literally try to take you out. Also that Sam gives you his best deals because fuck man. he's great but he's breaking my bank. If you wanna join the SDC Make sure you script that either Vil/Rook see potential or you're decent at singing and dancing(lest you already have that talent, in that case slay honestly )

[isshua]

Breaking the Wall (Find Comfort in Those Who Might Hear You)

Sagau Xiao x Reader

I haven’t been feeling great lately, so I decided to write this little story to cheer myself up. I had this idea about what might happen if Teyvat’s environment were to reflect your emotions whenever you logged on, and by extension whatever character you are currently playing as. I also wanted to write my own play on a character “breaking the fourth wall” in order to communicate with their player. This story follows the more classic sagau trope of how the characters are semi-aware of the fact that they’re living in a videogame but view it as a sort of boundary between their world and ours.

Xiao is a huge comfort character to me and I mostly wrote this for myself as a way to cheer myself up. I thought it came out okay though, so I decided to share it here. Hope you guys enjoy! :)

To break the Wall meant instant termination.

  Teyvat made this clear. It would not allow its people to make contact with the divine world. Forging a connection that extended beyond the mechanics of life was simply not meant to be. The Vessels could communicate with the Creator within the bounds of Teyvat’s laws; that was what being a Vessel was all about in the first place. For non-Vessels, then such hopes for communication with the God Above All Gods was impossible. That was how Teyvat was designed. That was how things were meant to be.

  Xiao, typically, did not mind following the rules. After all, he was an immortal being with thousands of years of experience in his belt. He knew attempting to break the Wall would result in his death. Long ago, before he had been chosen to be one of the Creator’s envoys, he hadn’t even cared about the Wall. Why would he want to break it? Meddling in such matters was not of his concern. His duty was to protect Liyue, nothing more.

  But then he got to know you. And his feelings for you only grew. When you chose to, you guided him through his daily tasks with kind words and praising whispers. When your golden light possessed him, his karmic debt would dissipate and he would feel a thousand years younger than he really was. You took him to places he never dreamed of seeing: the peaks of Dragonspine, the streets of Inazuma City, the dunes of the Sumeru desert. With you, there was a sense of adventure. With you, there was excitement. With you, he felt whole.

  You did not speak often, not that he was bothered by it. He was an introverted soul, one who appreciated the silence between the two of you whenever you would travel together. Occasionally you would comment on the environment or the enemy he was fighting. Sometimes you grew frustrated after completing domains-not with him, he understood, but rather with the horribly mediocre artifacts the two of you would receive. He liked it when you laughed. The noise was so clear and invigorating, he found himself hoping to hear it every time you appeared. He liked when you would softly hum some unknown tune from the faraway land you inhabited. He loved it when you acknowledged him, how he was a stronger and better version of himself only because of your dedication to him despite knowing the many sins he has committed. If you could have known the impact you had on him, you might find it amusing to see how easy it had been to steal the aloof Yaksha’s heart.

  There were so many things about you that he loved. But there was one single thing he hated.

  He hated it when you cried.

  The day began as a typical one. You had not possessed him for the entire week, not that this was something to be worried by. You typically did disappear due to some strange thing called ‘college,’ but you always came back. Xiao largely spent his day patrolling Dihua Marsh, slaying monsters, and saving the occasional mortal from dying at the hands of hilichurl tribes. He did not interact with anyone beyond stiff acknowledgment; the only person he did talk to on a regular basis was the Traveler, and the last he heard of them, they were somewhere in Sumeru, ever exploring, always curious.

  Your presence was not anticipated, but it was welcomed. When your golden light descended upon him during late afternoon and he felt your presence tugging at his mind, he felt contentedly unsurprised. Your voice echoed his name: “Xiao. Let me in.”

  He did not resist and allowed your influence to settle within his body. “You called?” he murmured, halfheartedly hoping for a reply. You never did answer him whenever he greeted you, but that was due to the Wall. Conversations were strictly one-way.

  He waited for you to take control. Whether it meant being teleported somewhere or just taking off into Dihua Marsh, he knew the two of you would be off eventually. He waited. And waited. A minute went by. He did not move.

  “Your Grace?” he called out, puzzled. He could feel you, he knew you were there. So why weren’t you interacting? Surely you didn’t appear just to stare at him, right? What is going on?

  Something wet fell onto his hand.

  He looked up at the sky and immediately noticed the ugly gray clouds gathering overhead. A filter of mundane color cast out the light of the sun. Droplets of rain started pattering down onto his face, his hair, and his clothes, leaving him drenched. But he did not stop staring. Because within his head, he could hear soft sobbing.

  The Creator was weeping. And so Teyvat weeped along with them.

  The first thing he felt was anger. Who hurt you? he wanted to ask. Who would dare make you cry? But as he listened to your cries and watched the rain come down, he realized that anger would do nothing to help. He could not solve your problems. After all, he was in Teyvat, and you were somewhere else entirely. His second reaction was to comfort you, but he could think of nothing to say. The issue of you two being separated was still in effect. The Wall would not allow him to offer you any consoling words. He had no choice but to let you suffer alone.

  But by the Archons, you were making his heart ache. Xiao was one to usually think that tears were for the weak, but he could not make himself see you in a pathetic light. Would it not be pitiful of him to deem his Creator as a lamentable coward? He didn’t even know why you were crying. You could be in danger!

  That’s when he decided. I have to make contact with them.

  It was a nearly impossible feat. But he knew he could do it.

  Break the Wall. Establish communication.

  He had never heard of anyone doing it before. Not even Rex Lapis, the strongest god he knew, dared mess with such an unpredictable, mysterious force of power. The Wall was not hard to find, but it took willpower to face it. Xiao didn’t know if he would perish the moment he did, or if it would take time for him to dissolve away. There were too many possibilities of failure. He could think of no way this sudden plan of his would lead to success.

  But your crying was like a million arrows piercing into his heart, and the pain of his karmic debt was rising as he continued to soak in your negative emotions. He was hurting right along with you-but if he could only talk to you, things could be made right.

  Xiao held out his hand, and his jade spear materialized. He braced himself and raised the polearm high into the air. Focusing on the ground beneath him, he concentrated and felt his surroundings. The energy of Teyvat came to him quickly, most likely due to being exposed to your power for so long…and then he pinpointed it. The moment of weakness. He brought his spear down with every bit of strength he had and tore into the fabric of reality. A gaping hole of darkness ripped right under his feet. He did not scream when he fell in, nor did he grunt in pain when he slammed into a glass-like surface after his short freefall. Everything was dark, except for the millions of green bolts of  electricity racing all around him at the speed of light. Your golden glow encompassed him and fended off the overwhelming power this Abyss-like area radiated.

  He looked at his hands. His weapon was nowhere to be seen, and the tips of his fingers were…glitching. In fact, his entire body seemed to be crackling-falling apart and knitting itself back together with technic shrieks. It was a sure sign that he was in a place not meant for him. He had done it; he had broken through the Wall. Now he was beyond it, but where, he did not know. Surely this can’t be the Creator’s domain, he thought. This place was far too dark, and there was no hint of your aura anywhere except for within him. But it had to be the realm in which he would form a connection with you.

  He could still hear your crying, but now, it was less ‘in his head’ and much more clear. Xiao walked forward, his footsteps echoing against the glass floor. “Your Grace!” he called. “Can you hear me? It’s me, Adeptus Xiao!”

  No answer. He was utterly alone in this place…but the sound of your crying was getting undeniably louder. Xiao pinpointed on the direction in which it was coming from and took off. With each step he took, the glow of your light grew brighter. He took that as a sign of goodwill.

  And then, he saw you. You were sitting at a strange looking desk with your head buried in your arms. Xiao slowed to a walk and crept tentatively up to you. He had never seen your physical form before, and only had a minor grasp of your appearance from the various statues of you scattered across Liyue and the abstract depictions of your form in history books. To be honest, he had been expecting you to be a bit more…god-like. The person in front of him did not look like an all-powerful deity. They were ordinarily mortal, and possessed no external qualities that differentiated them from the average human being.

  But then you lifted your head to scrub your tears away, and his breath was lost within his chest. Within your eyes he could see countless stars, and flecks of gold were scattered through your hair. All around you, there was an explosion of light, and Xiao was exposed to the warming feeling of your aura at an even greater intensity than usual. This was you. You might have looked human, but you were undeniably, most definitely his god.

  “Your Grace,” he uttered, kneeling at your side. “It’s alright, I’m here now. I heard your cries. You called out my name. Please, let me speak to you.”

  You didn’t respond. The connection still wasn’t there. Xiao tried again. “Your Grace, can you hear me?”

  You let your head flop back into your arms and continued to sob. Xiao leaned back on the balls of his feet and couldn’t help but growl in frustration. That damned Wall was still keeping you and him apart! What more did he have to do in order to simply talk to you?

  His eyes flitted to the strange device set up on your desk. It had the appearance of a box, but at its front there was a screen, and on it was displayed a shrunken image of Dihua Marsh. This must be a divine mechanism. It’s a way for you to forge contact with Teyvat. What…what would happen if he touched it? Would that finally allow him to communicate with you? He had his doubts, but it was worth a shot.

  Without hesitation, he pressed his palm over the screen. There was a jolt of energy that started at his fingertips, then rocketed through his entire body. He shuddered at the electrocuting sensation and refused to allow himself to flinch away, even when every instinct in his body was telling him to do so. The Wall was trying to repel him; like hell he was going to allow it to do that.

  With his other hand, he reached out to you. At first, he was nervous to touch you, for why should a creature tainted by karmic debt and innocent blood be allowed to embrace the God Above All Gods? He shakily slipped his hand over your cheek and raised your head. Your cries stuttered, and your eyes widened open in confusion. You were not looking at him, but rather at your divine mechanism’s screen.

  “Don’t cry,” Xiao whispered. He swiped your tears away with his thumb. “There is no need to cry. I’m here. I’m with you.”

  He desperately hoped you could hear him. He hoped even more that you would reply.

  You had no idea what the hell was going on.

  Today was a horrible day. A day filled with anxiety and embarrassment and ruined expectations that things might go right, only for them to go wrong. When you returned to your room and let yourself collapse into your desk chair, you thought playing your favorite game might cheer you up. After all, losing yourself in a fantasy world was practically the best way to forget what the real world was like.

  You logged into Genshin Impact and found yourself where you left off last time you played: in Dihua Marsh. Your current character was Xiao, and he stared blankly out at you while you waited for the game to catch up with your internet and for everything to load in. But you did not feel any happier. In fact, you felt worse. The events of the day were just too much to simply forget, and pretty soon, your hand slipped off of your mouse as you slumped forward onto your desk and started to cry. It did not feel good to let your emotions out. The sobs shaking your body were ugly, and the tears staining your cheeks made you feel gross. But you couldn’t stop, and frankly, you didn’t expect to for quite some time. These were tears you had been holding in all week; it was only a matter of time before the dam broke and the water came rushing out.

  You did not expect to feel a sudden intuition to lift your head. You did not expect for your body to automatically follow that intuition, either. It was like someone was lifting it for you, and when your blurry eyes raised to focus on your computer’s screen, you were shocked to see that the in-game chat box had a message in it. It didn’t make any sense. You weren’t in a co-op world, and you were pretty sure you were far too preoccupied with crying your eyes out to accept someone’s co-op request. Could it be a glitch? Far too curious for your own good, you clicked on the chat box and opened it.

  Two words had been sent to you by an unknown entity with no icon. “Don’t cry.”

  “What…?” you mumbled.

  More messages appeared. “There is no need to cry.”

  “I’m here.”

  “I’m with you.”

  This had to be some sort of joke. Someone hacked your account. This had to be a real person.

  It was then that you noticed Xiao was gone.

  “I know what it feels like to break. I understand what you are feeling.”

  “Just know that I am here for you. I will always be here for you. All you have to do is call out my name.”

  “Xiao?” you breathed.

  You felt the phantom sensation of someone wiping your tears. The scent of Qingxin flowers wafted fainty around you.

  “Yes,” the chat-box answered. “I am here.”

[evermorethecrow]

asking really nicely so you can properly explain? please? pretty please? with a cherry on top? 🛐

SIGHHHHHHHH

fine because you were nice

Every evermore au summarised PROPERLY

1) Yuuko au-

Chuuya gets a kid at 14 and has to deal with it

2) Cryptid au-

Chuuya nakahara died in 1935, came back and is now murderous and evil (and a giant ram sometimes)

3) High school au-

Chuuya nakahara is a 15 year old who wants to be completely erased from memory when he dies, simultaneously he wants to fight with everything to keep living (it doesnt work)

4) Vampire au-

Chuuya was born (wrong) into an aristocratic heavily established vampire family with a lot of not so great traditions. after escaping from them the third time he looses it a little bit and decides to now dedicate his life to murdering them all off, as well as anyone who gets in the way. hes aproached by mori ougai the head of a powerful vampire slaying organisation and joins to help his plans. i also gave him a gun

5) God au-

born as the god of luck and fortune chuuya is stolen by humans and placed in a shrine to bring insane luck to the earth. then shit hits the fan. Now hes stuck as the god of curses (and bad luck) and cant walk around without hell breaking loose

6) Plant shop au-

Chuuya nakahara ends up at a police station at 14 and meets murase (as well as some other cops). Chuuya is going to be given a death sentence but after some less than legal talk with his supervisors murase can remove it completely. the only condition is rehabilitating chuuya back into society, which proves a harder task than thought considering a few extra issues that went down in his past.

7) College(idol) au-

At 15 chuuya nakahara is the lead of a world famous pop idol group. Shifty treatment from his manager makes chuuya decide to quit, however on while preforming his last show something technical goes wrong, the stage explodes, the other members got away safe but chuuya was hospitalised. the world assumes him dead and since he contract is over he decides to keep it that way, content with living his life like a normal person now. until hes in collage and it turns out his new roomate was the biggest fan of him and his old group. chaos ensues

8) Sky casino chuuya au-

After hardly a year in the sheep chuuya is found by fyodor and placed inside the sky casino for safe keeping. now at 16 hes very good at his job and very bad at being tollerant of annoying house guests from the port mafia

9) DOA au-

15 goes wrong, chuuya gets hit a lot harder by the sheep and he ends up at fyodors doorstep (through less than natural circumstances). hes been working for the doa since. Dazai and him re-meet at 22 after hes captured by the port mafia. it goes intrestingly.

10) Scene kid au- a fun au where everyone in the show wears some kind of alt fashion (also theres like the worlds impending and quickeningly near end looming over everyone but that doesnt matter)

11) God+Vampire slayer au-

Chuuya is the (born human) reincarnatation of the god/lord of the wild in an era where vampire-like zombies run wild. he meets a boy who turned into a vampire but somehow remained concious and is now working with him and a shifty doctor to blast gore everywhere try and find a cure

12) Ability swap au

Chuuya has no longer human instead of Tainted but keeps his singularity, dazai has flawless but keeps being anything but. They have eachother. (that could be enough)

13) No Yuuko au-

Yuuko (that kid who chuuya got) never actually MEETS chuuya and instead through a long path of events ends up in the custody of a 20 year old dazai. what could possibly go wrong

14) college au 2 eletric boogaloo-

Chuuya nakahara grows up strict catholic and ends up a single parent in some lousey apartment trying to ballence class and like not killing his child. also his roomate is an annoying bastard who wont shut up

15) Nun Au-

Chuuya's raised in a cult and then joins the mafia.

16) Pokemon au Red-

All the bsd charecters live in the world of pokemon. chuuyas a gym leader and secretly a team rocket executive following his bosses order to prevent some kid finding mew

17) Pokemon au Blue-

Pokemon exist in the bsd verse! Canon except they all have pokemon to fight with and chuuya may or may not be spiritually connected to a lucario

18) Demon ability au-

Instead of tainted sorrow chuuya has an ability reminiscent of kouyou and kyoukas. (hes still got that singularity unfortunatly but this time its in a huge fucking demon?) his role in the pm changes acordingly

19) Mermaid au- chuuya's a mermaid happily enjoying life on land. Dazai is a mermaid hellbent on dragging chuuya back to the ocean

20) Circus au-

when chuuya joins the port mafia hes placed under lippmanns command instead of kouyou's. unfortunatly its not that easy and the port mafia's fronting as a circus. now chuuyas got to learn how to use rope.

21) Elise au-

On his deathbed mori manages to transfer his ability to chuuya. hes now living through elise. it goes as well as you'd expect now the mafias being run by an 11 year old

22) Chuuya stays with the sheep au-

self explanitory, dazai's plan fails and chuuya never ends up leaving the sheep. then 15 rolls around and verlaine disposes of them. chuuya travels around with verlaine until hes eventually rescued by the flags

23) Ada au-

chuuya moves to the ada after stormbringer. he works with yosano in the infirmary.

24) Demon/Coffee shop au-

Ex-fighting ring demon chuuya runs a coffee shop and tries to be evil (hes bad at it)

25) Chuuya is inside my laptop au-

Dazai finds a beat up laptop on the floor one day and being the cheap person he is decides to take it. the only issue is theres someone (something?) living inside it (its chuuya)

26) Dragon au-

Chuuya nakahara is one of the last dragons of his kind. dazai wants a pet dog but gets something more exotic instead

27) Nyan bungou stray nekos au- nyan neko sugar girls but bsd derailed and i dont know how to explain this now

29) Botw au-

chuuya's a gerudo who isnt that good at fitting in, dazai's a zora next in line for the throne whos bad at everything. together they make a wildfire look like a beach holiday

Honarable mentions

Danganrompa au (Only existed so i could execute chuuya)

Vocaloid/Utauloid au (canon except they have vocasynth voices)

Evermore's chuuyai farm and factory

[commander-wame]

☼ - Wame

☾ - Eldrid

☆ - Gixi

years after dreaming up a timeline for the main three i finally made one 👍

+ more context under the cut! anything commander-y in story not mentioned is glued onto Wame

Wame doesn't act on his Slaying a Dragon destiny for a long time. He needs a lot more guidance regaining his strength and working on his social skills than most other saplings before he can leave the Grove. Pale Tree's and Caithe's insistence just leave him feeling more pessimistic about the whole ordeal, he leaves to live in Cathal finding his calling as a ranger training Fern Hounds. His older brother Fehine is teach him in Mender skills.

Pre Personal Story

Wame and Eldrid awoke the same day. Wame first during noon, but his pod was so high up that his first meeting with the ground would've been his last if El hadn't found him slowly bleeding out 12 hours later when she awoke during night. They dreamt of each other, they recognise each other. Wame dreamt of slaying a dragon and saw Eldrid die a firey death. Due to his injuries to his spine and head he ended up Soundless against his will. Eldrid barely remembers anything save for a few glimpses, including Wame's face.

Eldrid is more adventurous and has slowly built a party of friends. Like lots of sylvari, she's obsessed with knighthood and wants to be one herself. She always visits Wame before and after an adventure. She wants a Wyld Hunt of her own, but never gets one. Neither of them admit to romantic feelings, being unable to feel each others emotions due to Wame' soundlessness.

Gixi is having a horrible teenage / young adulthood. School was a terribly rough time and the one college that accepted her booted her out after a few weeks due to 'incompetence'. Slowly cultivating mesmer skills in her spare time, but really wants to be academically succesful like an asura is 'supposed' to be.

Weeks go by and Wame is worried, and finally starts following his Hunt, but only really in hopes of finding El. During his travels he starts appreciating and caring for Tyria more. He's still pretty sure he'll be dead before reaching Zhaitan though. He joins Whispers, thinking their tracking skills and hidden knowledge might help him find El.

Personal Story + Lws1 + Lws2

Eldrid left one day and didn't come back. Unbeknowst to everyone else, her entire party was killed fighting creatures from the Mists. She was sucked into the portal the creatures came from.

Gixi turns out a pretty talented mesmer but still feels useless. Whispers ends up recruiting her, after Tibalts death she ends up becoming Wame's newbie partner. She has 0 confidence in herself. Wame and Gixi become good friends, Gixi gains Some confidence (but not a lot).

With Zhaitan dead, Wame is now fully invested in his, Trahearne's and Caithe's cause. Hasn't lost hope of finding Eldrid yet, but chances of her being alive start feeling more slim.

Gixi is now a very active Whispers agent. Wame is collecting friends (future Dragon's Watch) like pokemon. He doesn't tell them about Eldrid. The lead-up to HoT and its implications has him worrying that Eldrid ended up in the wrong part of the jungle.

Eldrid is ???.

Wame was captured and Mordrem Podded in Tangled Depths. Managed to resist and escape just about, but physically altered halfway through his Mordremisation. Finds his first pet Honeybee (fern hound) dead. Has a terribly hard time convincing Pact members and friends not to kill him on sight.

HoT

Very painful no good time. Gixi was on a crashed airship but survived. Mostly stayed in Verdant Brink scouting out survivors and getting them to camps unnoticed.

Finds a juvenile Smokescale, names her Sparkfly.

Eir's dead. Had to kill Trahearne. Life sucks but we keep trucking for Tyria's sake.

Eldrid meanwhile popped back into Tyria, extremely confused with no memories of what happened in the Mists. All she knows is that she feels angrier than ever and there's creepy voices in her head. It concerns her greatly that they sound like her dead friends, writes this off as grief. She hears about a commander with her dear friend's name, desperately wants to see him again. Follows rumours and murmurs of his presence best she can, but with no way to contact him ends up far behind.

Lws3 + PoF before the Departing

After the events of HoT, Wame 100% thinks Eldrid is long dead. Finds solace in taking care of Aurene's egg and eventually Aurene herself, being the only creature nearby who doesn't have a reference of what he looked like before the jungle, simply looking at him with love and happiness.

Whispers remember El from Wame's description of her. They don't trust her casually popping back into existence just like that and think something's up. Gixi is tasked with tracking and observing her, and if need be to keep her away from Wame if she gets too close. Gixi knows abt Wame's desire to find Eldrid and feels incredibly guilty, but ultimately doesn't fully trust her either.

Eldrid gains a reputation as the Rosewood Knight on her travels. Noble and kind with devastatingly high skill in combat and helping those in need, fighting with a rage and strange new magic people don't want see up close.

While following Eldrid still, Gixi was killed in the desert and promptly got Awakened by Joko's forces. On the grounds of her being asura, she's sent to Rata Primus. She... actually isn't too mad about this. Someone finally thinks she's useful for traditional asura stuff, like portals. It's nice to feel appreciated in the way you've always dreamed of even though you're dead?

PoF after the Departing

Eldrid followed Wame into the desert, FINALLY catches up with him just as he's about to be barbequed by the God of War himself. Heroically gets herself barbequed instead. Wame is now tripple traumatised (Aurene kidnapped + someone he loves who he thought died, now actually dying right in front of him + being horribly burned himself). Oh wow Eldrid dying a firey death in his dream was a prophecy. That Sucks.

Wame wakes up to horrible pain, burn marks, and Eldrid rising from the dead. 1 Tender mutual confession later and they're now dearhearts. Turns out she's still too angry about dying right before properly seeing Wame again and couldn't let that go. Kills God about it (mostly to save people but also out of spite). Wame is stressed about being unable help out, but has to recover manually instead of death-resurrection instantly.

Rytlock keeps his mouth shut about having seen Eldrid in the Mists. He didn't think the rampaging incoherent entity was a person. He awkwardly tries to help her with her new revenant powers she also got in the Mists.

Gixi, after Joko's death, now a free awakened, has a personality freeing and changing breakdown. Fully a mesmer master now that she knows her full abilities and can't get tired because she's a walking corpse. Glamours herself up to look alive. Isn't sure whether she feels happier or acts it.

Lws4

Wame is back on his feet. Eldrid is learning to control her rage and her powers. No time for dates all time for kicking Joko where it hurts.

Bangar shot Wame in the face. Wame lost his eye about, seeing as it was a Dragon Killing Bow and Dragon Killing Arrow. Eldrid, being the only sylvari nearby, tried her best to fix his face while he was recovering. She wasn't very good at it. Wame loses the eye but doesn't mind, just mad at Bangar.

IBS

Wame and Eldrid were having a decently relaxed time getting to know each other again and recovering from the trauma that was. Everything. Before charr civil war broke out. No time for dates again.

Gixi joins everyone in EotN and mostly stays there to help out, fascinated by Aurene and keeping Taimi and Gorrik company. Gixi still glamours herself but finally fully knows who she is. She likes being loud and happy and pranking people where possible. Having lived all her life in anxiety, she now wants to not care about what others think at ALL.

Killing Soo-Won luckily set Eldrid free without needing to kill her, but it nearly got to that point.

EoD

Turns out the voices in Eldrid's head weren't JUST her dead friends and restless spirits. Also the Void! Yippee! She turns into an incoherent powerful corrupted mess (again. but she doesn't remember the Mists). Wame and Gixi are having a no good time trying to not kill Eldrid (who seems the most powerful and clever of those corrupted). She always wanted a powerful destiny, but this isn't what she meant.

After that ordeal it's FINALLY time for some dates.

Eldrid having been the one who died and got better, received the honour of having Peitha in her head. Sometimes Peitha will slip into Wame's mind just to mess with him a bit and freak him out. Eldrid trusts Peitha and they both might feel wlw about it.

SotO

Wame would've liked some more chill time together but they all felt the itch of wanting to do Something. Rumours of strange people and portals sounded like a nice getaway. Ah crap.

Gixi wants IN on being part of a secret wizard society. WHY wasn't she invited. She bonds with Zojja.

[more tba when the story progresses]

[possibly-god]

Patrick O’Bannon – the Shield

(1975 – 16/2000 – 41)

It was love at first sight for Mary O’Bannon when Mikhail Bogdanov flew in to stop her being mugged. Learning that her big, strong savior was fresh off the boat, she invited him to stay in her Vinegar Hill apartment until he got on his feet.

When Misha found work out west, Mary insisted on making their last night together special. For her, it was a dream come true that gave her her precious boy. For him, it was a final favor to a friend, and a final confirmation that he didn’t like women that way.

Little Patrick always told his mama that they didn’t need his disappeared dad, that he’d protect her now. When the policeman told him about the car crash, it wasn’t just a loss to him – it was a failure.

With no relatives willing to take him in, Patrick spent the next 9 years being shuffled around foster families and group homes. He learned quickly to make himself a target, a punching bag for feral fosters or problem parents, taking the hits so the other kids didn’t have to.

It helps that he’s a giant for his age – he was 6 feet tall by the time he was 12, and his underfed frame is all muscle.

This kid is a born and bred New Yorker – blunt as hell in every language (he’s got the basics down in Spanish, French Creole, and Mandarin), can slip through a crowd like a fish through water, and keeps a ranked list of bodega bacon-egg-n-cheese sandwiches.

Things actually seemed to be looking up for him as ’75 began – he’d been in the same home for almost three months, he had time to focus on his homework (he actually wasn’t terrible at history), he’d joined the wrestling team – and then he got kidnapped while taking out the trash.

That wrestling training did pay off – he managed to get Scout into a submission hold before realizing these RED weirdos were here to rescue them.

It destroys Heavy, finding out he has family he wasn’t there to protect (his already complicated feelings about that time of his life don’t help) – he’s immediately doing everything he can to reach out, which just puts Patrick off even more than he already is.

Arriving on RED base, he becomes a guard dog for the younger kids around all these strange men. It takes him a while to stop reflexively hiding them in closets when an adult shows up, but he does eventually relax, and being less worried about their safety lets him be softer with them.

It takes plenty of time and conversations with Zhanna and Medic, but it eventually gets through to him that Heavy really wants to know him, to care for him.

Heavy and Zhanna take to calling him “Pasha” – he’s not a fan at first (he thinks it sounds girly), but it grows on him as they do.

One person who doesn’t grow on him is Soldier, no matter how much his “uncle” tries.

Once OHM is defeated, as the kids prepare to leave, Heavy makes a few calls. A week later, Patrick has a new foster placement with his babushka Grusha in Brighton Beach (it doesn’t take him long to start picking up Russian).

Heavy and his sisters call frequently and visit whenever they can – Patrick begrudgingly lets them drag him through all the Big Apple tourist spots before showing them the city’s real treasures.

After high school, Patrick joins the fire department while attending community college on the side (Pauling has to talk Pyro out of jump-starting his career with “a few light arsons.”) Every year he sends each of his aunts a copy of the firemen’s calendar (to ogle his coworkers) and a marker (to draw a shirt on him).

Come the new millenium, it takes a fair bit of convincing to get Patrick out of his quiet (ish) life, but he’s not letting his friends take on the world without backup (or missing out on the action) and joins Team Fortress International as the Shield.

Next up – Kevin McCallister if he slayed…

TF2K Master Post

[autisticsupervillain]

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to Stats Equalized!

The show where we equalize strength, speed, and durability to decide who would win a battle of hax, skill, and versatility.

This Month's Fighters...

Sollux Captor vs Cole MacGrath!

Sollux Fanart by @rabble-dabble

Conditions:

InFAMOUS 2 Cole without the RFI is used.

Scenario:

Cole assists in fighting off an Alternian Invasion of New Marias, bringing down one their battleships with a thunderstorm. Sollux survives the crash, having been kept prisoner onboard as a backup battery. Cole mistakes him for one of the invaders and attacks him.

Analysis: Cole MacGrath

Many years in the future, human civilization would meet its grim end at the hands of a monster known only as The Beast. Humanity’s last survivor, a man calling himself Kessler, would use his fantastical powers to travel back in time and prevent the apocalypse. Taking over a secret society called the First Sons, Kessler would use their research to amplify the powers of Conduits, humans with special powers, with an explosive device called the Ray Sphere. Setting the Ray Sphere in the middle of Empire City, one man would survive it’s blast and go one to become the world’s savior. The name of that survivor, of the man who would slay The Beast, is Cole MacGrath.

Even before awakening his extraordinary powers, Cole MacGrath was an impressive young man. A parkour prodigy, Cole has the streets, rooftops, and sewer systems of both Empire City and New Marias memorized like the back of his hand, even capable of outrunning police with his skills. He was an incredibly intelligent man as well, smart enough that his parents can easily pass him off as a teacher. He was a straight-A student during his four years of college prep, only dropping out when one of his professors began tormenting his friend Zeke. But, after the blast, he became something more…

Now gifted with extraordinary electric abilities, Cole became a living battery, capable of absorbing and manipulating electricity to an extraordinary degree. With his newfound powers, he can create a wide variety of bolts, missiles, grenades, and blades out of his electric powers, ranging from homing missiles to sticky grenades. He can also create Arc Restraints, electric chains designed to pin his opponents down.

In regards to his defensive abilities, Cole has a huge moveset to draw from. He can create shields that convert bullets into energy for him to absorb, glide through the air and telekinetically throw heavy objects by manipulating magnetism, regenerate from being riddled with projectiles, can fully heal himself and restore his stamina by absorbing electricity, and even restart his heart to come back from the dead.

This wide variety of powers is only scratching the surface of what Cole can do, which comes as a result of how his powers work. See, Cole can develop new powers in a wide variety of ways, such as by absorbing large quantities of energy, or even just by using his powers in creative ways during a fight. Throw these methods, he has developed and mastered both the above powers as well as the following ones. He can:

Create thunderstorms.

Throw tornados.

Drain electricity from storms.

Absorb ions from killed opponents to enhance his powers.

Amplify his speed immensely via Precision, causing foes who were previously only a blur in his view to move in slow motion.

Give himself unlimited energy and stamina briefly via Karmic Overload.

Heal crippling wounds with his healing pulse, an electric zap that amplifies the body’s natural healing abilities.

Can see visions upon getting new powers, teaching him how to use them.

Can see how a person was killed by touching their corpse, as well as see a path leading to their killer.

And suck the bio-electricity from a person’s body with bio-leech, a technique that requires he grip their face.

Can create electric grappling hooks.

And many, many more.

Of particular note is his Radar Sense, a sixth sense that operates independently of his other senses in an omnidirectional way, allowing him to see electrical sources, people included, as well as outline those with hostile intent towards him in red.

Keep in mind, these are all just his electricity powers. Upon reaching New Marias, Cole was able to use a device to transfer some of Lucy Kuo’s powers into himself, after which he gains additional ice based powers, allowing him to create ice missile, ice grenades, and ice spikes roughly the size of buildings, even using his ice powers to launch him skyward to create distance from his opponent.

Speaking of distance, he’s probably going to need it, as he isn’t a great melee fighter. He’s a skilled user of the Amp, yes, and he can hurt people as strong as he is, but he lacks any kind of martial arts training. Cole is a ranged fighter through and through. Thankfully, Cole has a wide variety of resistances to aide him against anyone who manages to get in close. Cole has repeatedly shrugged off ice and fire attacks, taking no damage when getting ragdolled by The Beast, who is a giant monster made of magma. He has successfully endured Sasha’s mind control, which was powerful enough to take control of all of Empire City even while weakened. He has survived being doused with acids and resisted being ripped apart by The Beast’s Black Holes, which break down and absorb matter on an atomic level. He, like all Conduits, are resistant to most forms of radiation and all forms of disease, including the Plague that would’ve wiped out the human race had it not been stopped. His powers can even ignore the resistances of others, such as where Cole killed Kessler and David Warner, two people who can absorb electricity on contact, with his electric attacks.

Even with all this though, he does have one major weakness: water. Large quantities of water will short circuit is body, killing him in a way he likely can't resurrect from. Even standing in neck deep water for 30 seconds will kill him, being able to withstand being drenched only for brief periods of time. Furthermore, cutting out the electricity in the areas around him will make him nauseous and give him a headache and he can’t touch most electronics or fire arms without making them explode.

Overall, Cole is a remarkably powerful master of electrokinesis and he’s remembered as one of the most powerful Conduits of all time for good reason. Respect the Patron Saint of Empire City.

Analysis: Sollux Captor

Doom. The Aspect of dispair. Those bound by Doom are fates chosen sufferers, predestined for a life of pain and misery. And there is no better example of that in all of Paradox Space than Sollux Captor.

Born on the alien hell world of Alternia, Sollux was born as a Gold Blood. The third lowest caste in Troll society. Thanks to his status, he was not only relentlessly persecuted, but he was predestined to serve as a living battery for the Empire's warships, guaranteeing a short life of pain and misery once he left the planet. Even on the planet, his life wasn't much better. Largely because a nearby highblood and local 8itch mind controlled him into killing his own girlfriend.

So yeah, as you can see, if you're bound to the Aspect of Doom, then life is just going to shit over you right from minute one. While all your friends are bound to primordial concepts that grant them cool superpowers, you're bound to a concept that forces you to hear the voices of those who are soon to die. Well, okay, I say that, but it's not all bad for poor Sollux. For one thing, being a SBURB Player does give him a few handy perks, like a video game style hammerspace inventory called a Specibus, or a leveling up system called an Echeladder, which goes up continuously as you do random things, ensuring that you're always getting stronger.

Not like Sollux needs much help with that. He's easily the most powerful psionic on the planet, arguably the strongest in history. As a direct descendant (or clone. Kinda. It's complicated.) of the Psiioniic, Sollux has inherited all his absurd abilities and psionic powers. This includes telekinesis powerful enough to lift buildings and eye lasers big enough to vaporize skyscrapers.

Sollux's telekinesis is so powerful, it can overpower and redirect meteors summoned by the Reckoning, including those the size of Australia. And that's on top of it's utterly ridiculous range, allowing Sollux to grab and throw meteors from the other side of the universe or blow up a laptop that was in a different timeline entirely.

But, as with all things Doom bound or SBURB related, it came at a price. Since Sollux was a SBURB Player, he was inevitably going to witness the end of his race, as it's the job of him and the rest of his friends to create the next universe while their old one dies. Furthermore, he didn't even get to live in our universe, because someone from the universe he and his friends just created traveled back in time to kill all of his friends. The pressure of having to hide from this god-like entity shattered his already fragile friend group, causing Sollux's rival, Eridan, to go on a killing spree. This resulted in Eridan vaporizing Sollux's eyes and killing his new girlfriend... right before Sollux gets dropped down a flight of stairs for unrelated reasons.

Man, Sollux is just the Spider-Man of the Homestuck universe. He certainly has about as many dead girlfriends. That isn't even counting the time he got forcibly fused with the person who killed his girlfriend (not Vriska, the other one). Yeah, needless to say, when your life sucks as much as Sollux's does, you become something of a grumpy dick. He's relentlessly cynical and pessimistic asshole, which is certainly not helped by his bipolar mood swings and short temper.

Despite this though, Sollux's luck did eventually begin to turn around. He's far and away the most competent hacker in Paradox Space, capable of hacking into a video game that alters the fabric of reality. Eventually, his first girlfriend came back to life as an immortal time goddess and they hooked up again, a little while after Sollux discovered he is now half-ghost. This means, not only does he not age anymore, but he's only half blind now, with only his living half being bound to his pre-existing injuries. So, not only is Sollux Spider-Man, he's also Danny Phantom.

So, no matter how badly life kicks him, Sollux is always going to rain down hell on whoever and whatever crosses his path.

Throwdown Theme:

Throwdown Breakdown:

This is an interesting matchup.

Sollux has an absolutely massive advantage in terms of range and scope. While Cole can cover entire cities in thunderstorms and tornadoes, Sollux can call down meteors from space all the way from the Outer Ring. Solluc can quite literally throw everything in the universe that he can lift at Cole. This is a fantastic way of separating Cole from his options, ripping entire buildings out of the ground to seperate him from sources of electricity and keep him from recharging. Given how similar Cole's powers are to those of a typical goldblood, I think it's safe to say Sollux would think to do this. Goldbloods are literally used as batteries to power spaceships, the idea of one drawing on power from technology isn't too far fetched.

On the other hand, Cole vastly outpaces in terms of versatility. Besides his telekinesis, Sollux's only other conbat applicable powers are eye beams and very specific procognition. And while said eye beams are fuck off huge, Cole is bringing a lot more to the table. Cole's shields, movement options, and healing powers give him a lot of ways to simply tank, dodge, or recover from a lot of the damage Sollux can deal. Frankly the image of Cole electric web slinging across the buildings being thrown at him is simply hardcore.

Most importantly, Cole does have a limited counter against his electricity sources being taken away. Precision Mode would let Cole move fast enough for Sollux to not track him, allowing him to get his hits in and reach sources of electricity before Sollux could react. The problem with that is that it chews through energy really fast, which won't work if Cole's already hurt for energy. Karmic Overload is basically a free instant refill, but in practical terms it's a one-off until Cole can farm more Good Karma for himself.

Meanwhile, Sollux's telekinesis counters a lot of things thanks to its scope. He can just disperse any storms Cole creates, send missiles and grenades right back, and throw sources of electricity into space where Cole can't reach.

However, Cole's similarity to other goldbloods could very well let Cole catch him off guard with some unique tricks. The ability to just revive from death at will because his body still had electricity in it would trip Sollux right up, Cole's weakness against water isn't something he'd ever even suspect (meaning throwing the whole ocean at him is right out), and stuff like Karmic Overload and Precision Mode would come right the hell out of nowhere.

But, ultimately, I think telekinesis on Sollux's scale is just too clean of a counter against Cole. It can get him out of Arc Restraints, throw Cole's projectiles back, get rid of his storm clouds, and even just... yeet all the city's electronics into space where Cole can't get them. Fight's over I guess.

There are certainly circumstances where Cole can win this. Namely by perfectly exploiting openings created by Precision Mode or resurrection. But they are much more circumstantial than Sollux's own powers.

This Throwdown's Winner is...

Sollux Captor!

[junietuesday]

i have a week left before school starts and im so upset bc i did literally nothing this summer. like not even that i wasnt productive but like i didnt even do the Fun things i wanted to do. like i wanted to play all the dragon age games before the new one comes out but i havent even finished the first one. i wanted to play disco elysium but i never even touched it. i didnt finish any of my bg3 runs. i barely wrote any fics. i barely crafted anything. ive just been rotting in bed all the time scrolling social media. ive just had no energy all the time and on the one hand im trying to tell myself its my body and mind recovering from the nonstop all the time stress of last school year, w college applications and theater rehearsals past 7 pm every day and ap exams and final projects and various horrible social events, like i was straight up in the worst mental health slump of all time from january through may, 5 straight months of suicidal ideation, of course im going to take 3 months just hanging out doing nothing to recover. and its not like i did Nothing bc i did put out a few fics, and i got really good at slay the spire lmao, and ive gotten into sewing, and ive gotten halfway through season 1 of naddpod and started fantasy high, and all these other things. but i hold that up to the hours i just spent online instead of doing things i Actually wanted to do and feel so disgusting

[daxieoclock]

Been lurking around your persona stuff for a while, can you tell about your hunters campaign personas and how much player input you had into them. Also Greek myth plus lovecraftian horror is fucking epic.

IT WOULD BE MY GENUINE PLEASURE ANON G-DBLESS

(Most of the art you'll see in this post was done by Nyanko, who also plays Sammy.)

"The Hunters" is a Persona tabletop campaign I've been running with my friends and partners for the last three years(!) over Discord, using a homebrew tabletop system to emulate both battles and social links. Since it's a text-based campaign, the result often approaches pretty careful collaborative storytelling.

The main hook of the campaign is a group of rabblerousing college students taking on part time work for a shady secretive organization called the Daedalus Collective, whose stated goal is protecting the world from the threat posed by Shadows. These students (and various NPCs) take on the mantle of "Hunters," traveling into a mirror world known as Fractals, where Shadows roam free, along with their eldritch monarch-deities, the monstrous Behemoths. The Hunters' mission: to locate and slay Behemoths within their twisted kingdoms.

As the Dungeon Master ("Keeper of Power" i suppose), I worked with everyone individually but their characters (including Personas) was ultimately their decision. But as for a cast list...

Blake Leto (@lilyhoshikawa) They/them Justice Arcana Persona: Artemis

Arrested at a young age, pinned for the crime of murdering a police officer and subsequently abandoned by their only living family, Blake Leto took advantage of the public fascination with their case to adopt a public facing mask pulling directly from tabloid headlines: the "Murder Prince." Intelligent, well-read and charming, a victim of circumstance with a good sense of humor about being falsely imprisoned and absolutely no resentment towards the officers who beat and abused him. It is only through this mask that Blake claws their way into a good enough reputation to be granted parole, attending Belknap College while secretly searching themselves for the real killer who they took the fall for.

(Edit by Jane)

In Fractals, Blake's spite pokes through the cracks of their mask. Clad in the armor of a paladin, channeling Artemis through their once-lost childhood journal, with the brand of a bow on their wrist. While they act as team leader and navigator, using their natural smarts and Artemis's support focus to guide the Hunters, bloodlust has started to mar their actions. A perfectly good bow is worth firing, isn't it?

Ilse Belanger (@triskaidekaphilist) They/them Fortune Arcana Persona: Clotho

Ilse wasn't meant to be Ilse. But they are. The closeted-trans child of strict and religious parents, Ilse had all but let go of control over their life. They were a good kid, a Belanger, a product of faith and privilege. They were a good kid. They were. And then there was Stephen. Their first close friend, with whom they shared their innermost self, their name and their passions and their love of fantasy. For years, the two were inseparable. And then they were separated. Even as an adult, Ilse struggles with feeling in control of their life, their narrative. Their fate does not feel like their own. But it is. Twicefold, now that they finally found him again...

In Fractals, Ilse is a supportive spellcaster with a scissor brand on their collar, pulling from Clotho's magic to cast powerful nuclear bolts. While a heavier hitter of the gang, Ilse leans towards sticking back and debilitating, following Blake's direction and helping where they can. When the occasion demands it, they will lean on Clotho's power as a weaver to rewrite fate and bend circumstance, a powerful and often-used trump card.

Lena Tarr (@mcpuliotjr, above and below art drawn by him) She/her (for now) Chariot Arcana Persona: Goliath

A baby butch with a reputation for lashing out at authority figures, Lena wears her heart on her sleeve. After spending years of her life in painful and often demoralizing surgery recovery and physical therapy for an ankle injury that never properly healed, she habitually externalizes her daily pain as open hostility, amplified by years of overbearing family making her bottle up her feelings. Over the course of the campaign, she's been hard at work fostering feelings self-worth, channeling most of that frustration into beating up Behemoths and protecting her friends. Most recently, she's taken a huge step towards healing by starting an intimate loving relationship with longtime NPC and newfound Hunter Lucy "Twitch" Blum.

In Fractals, Lena is a physical powerhouse and a tank, clad as an urban skirmisher with a brand of a broken stone on her ankle. She soaks up damage for her allies while dishing out strong physical hits in return, with the occasional burst of powerful flame from Goliath. Despite this power, her most powerful and helpful skill is her overflowing compassion and willingness to put her life on the line chasing kindness. She was the one to suggest the Hunters save a Behemoth they were assigned to kill, and it was she and Blake who were able to get through to Lucy when the girl's Persona (at that point a Shadow) went berserk.

Sammy Cabra (Nyanko) They/them Hermit Arcana Persona: Neko Shogun (perhaps...)

Samael "Sammy" Cabra is an odd duck. They're fixated on their past, forging an outwards persona based on who they were as a middle schooler - friendly, open, creative - as a rejection of their dissociated and depressive high school self. Not to say that their childish joy is an act, far from it, it is genuine and honest. But they aren't a middle schooler anymore. Young adulthood has brought its host of bitterness, especially since their foundational memories of joy involve a friend who vanished abruptly from their life, splintering them somewhat as she left. Sammy is spry and sweet, and Samael is desperate and loyal to a fault. With no one is this splinter more seen than with Prim, a vicious protective specter in Fractals. Sammy has made it their mission to integrate this violent guardian into their life and the lives of the Hunters, at any cost...

In Fractals, wearing a green cat onesie (made by their missing childhood friend Tango), with a cat-face brand on their left shoulder, Sammy is adept at both ice magic and ranged attacks, a mixed damage dealer. In theory. If they ever leaned on Samael. Sammy is hesitant to use their powers, hesitant to push Neko Shogun to his full potential, hesitant to follow in Blake and Prim's violent footsteps. They're extremely powerful but see themselves as a guardian, and their goatish stubborness leads them to fight with a shield, focusing on defense and debilitation despite their damaging skillset.

Camellia Pavel (@shinyvibrava) They/them Star Arcana [Contested] Persona: Hecate [Contested]

The bearer of the curse.

The only Hunter not currently attending Belknap College, Camellia is a chronically unemployed college dropout living in a bare-bones apartment near campus, struggling with debilitating insomnia. One part depression. One part nightmare-avoidance. They have pulled away from the party somewhat over the course of the campaign, and their quiet distance was recently revealed to be due to ongoing offscreen conversations with an eldritch deity called the Dreamer, though it goes by many other names as well. They are now hospital-bound recovering from an overuse of their new powers.

In Fractals, dressed a bit like a fantasy sage, Camellia is a capable supportive healer, balancing between firing off psychic attacks with Hecate and healing/buffing their allies. For a long while, they were the party's foremost ace in the hole, with a limited-use power known as Salvation to protect themselves and others from deadly attacks. More recently, they have been pushing themselves past their expected limits, forging new deals with the Dreamer. At times, though the brand of a key on their right shoulder is still Hecate's anchor, light bursts up from inside their throat, staining their words with great and terrible power. The nature of this strength is still not fully grasped, but it is indeed potent.

There's a LOT more to talk about when it comes to the work I've done on the world and the bonds forged between PCs and NPCs, I'd love to go off for another few thousand words, but I think I'll need to leave that to a masterpost part 2. Look forward to that later today.

To be continued........

[magicalyaku]

Greetings! It's been a while, but here I am, same as before (as in probably talking to much. :P) Work sucked the life right out me, I had a few conventions to attend, and I wrote another book. But things are slowing down again, and as I'm reading regularly again, I feel the need to share. I have four months which were hugely different in reading volume to talk about, so I'll split it up by theme this time! First up is: Ace books and Academic setting!

Dear Wendy (Ann Zhao): I was apprehensive about this one when I read the summary for the first time. Because two aroace protagonists? Awesome! But the setting and the story themselves didn't appeal to me at all. Unfortunately, that stayed true as I actually read it. Don't get me wrong, I do think it's a good book. I liked how the discussions about aro/ace and gender topics where integrated quite naturally into the story thanks to it being a college setting. And I liked what topics were chosen. It's just that I couldn't care less for that social media war they have going on. I'm the weirdo who has never used instagram, twitter, or facebook. The only thing I have is my tumblr and even here, I'm barely interacting with anyone. Stories centered around social media just aren't something that appeals to me. It also didn't help that the formatting of the e-book edition from libby that I borrowed was kinda hard to read for the posts and comments. I think I remember wondering if I am actually too old to enjoy this, but then again, the last ace/aro book I read before this was Just Lizzie which hit really hard and that was about a 12-year-old. :'D So personally for me, it was more meh, but I can see it resonating with other people. Go give it a try, please.

Upside Down (N.R. Walker): Another book with two ace protagonists, male this time and homoromantic. This one had me wary at first as well, because the author usually writes gay romance with smut? (That's what the books look like at least, haven't read anything.) But it's super cute and really funny. The discussions about asexuality were more basic in here than in Dear Wendy, the usual "we're all valid" etc., but a) they were for the most part well intergrated again as one of the protagonists leads an ace support group, and b) if the author's usual readers can broaden their horizons a bit through this, that's a good thing, right? Overall, I had a lot of fun reading this. There's two cover versions for this one. Obviously, the new one with illustration is superior.

A Darker Mischief (Derek Milman): Ugh, this … was weird? Intriguing? I'm still not quite sure what I'm supposed to take away from the ending. I'd have to reread the whole thing for the analytical part of my brain to activate and I'm not going to do that any time soon. The prologue was wtf, then for the longest time not much happened. Except, you could totally see the slow descent into the abyss. That one guy? Not real. The other one? Walking problematic person with difficult tendencies? Next guy? Alarm bells from every side. Fortunately, the main protagonist is smart enough, he's just poor and sixteen and been through rough times, what reflects in his choices. Oh, and there's probably a bunch of references in here that I didn't catch (history is not my thing at all). I did get the apple thing, at least. Yeah, so a weird experience, but all in all I liked the book.

Darker by Four (June CL Tan): This is one of the two books I read in April, so it was ages ago. :'D I remember having fun, though! It's the kind of book that was basically written for me. Badass sword-wielding heroine, suffering boy hero who kisses other boys, interesting worldbuilding, magic, evil creatures to slay, action, a sweet romance that is not the focus of the story, actual story to think about. A ton of good ingredients! What I liked best was that you get to know both protagonists, Rui and Yiran, equally as people. There's two of them but only one can have the magic! There's no choice but to have one of them suffer! And it's so mean, which makes it so good! I'm very eager to read the second volume to see where it all leads, the sacrifices and the triumph. <3

That's it for today. Next up will be another five books in Part Two: France and Other Places. :)

[mrsgiovanna]

Altering fate (Giorno x Bri)

This had been something that was on my mind, it's less about Bri and Giorno's relationship per se but more about their bonds with the special people in their lives, Polnareff is actually the star here 🥺🤣

Featuring: Team Bucciarati (mentioned), Jotaro Kujo, Scolippi, Aria Hertz (@theclairedelunemiracle) and Niccolo Vilaro (@donvilaro)

WC: 2.1 k

"Thank you for agreeing to see us at such short notice doctor Kujo…" Bri's voice still shook slightly each time she had addressed Jotaro. Sensing her nerves, Giorno took her hand in his, a small gesture that was able to quieten the worst of her fears. 

"It's not a problem, you both sounded anxious on the call," Jotaro had taken a seat opposite the pair of young mafiosi observing them over his steepled fingers. 

"Anxious is one word… we need just one small favor from the foundation," Giorno relaxed his posture, and nodded to Bri to brief Jotaro on the relevant part of their last mission which she did in as much detail as she could. 

"In short, the serum that the Speedwagon Foundation had recently acquired does nullify stands without killing the user… and it needs to be turned over to us… I'm sure you can appreciate how serious this is. If it fell into the wrong hands it would be catastrophic for us all." Jotaro furrowed his brow while he considered their request. 

"What makes you think it's safer with you than here? The security at HQ has never been breached." 

"We don't mean to keep it… it will be turned over to the person from whose blood it was synthesized, where it will most likely be destroyed… ultimately the decision lies with him and him alone," Bria had thought about the horrors that Niccolo had been subjected to during his childhood to acquire that serum as she spoke. Giorno sensed her emotions roiling beneath her skin and squeezed her hand, anchoring Bria back to the present, which she reciprocated with an uneasy smile. 

After a moment of careful consideration Jotaro had agreed and made a few calls requesting the item that Bria and Giorno had sought. 

"Thank you for being so obliging, I must admit I thought you might have resisted.” admitted Giorno with a small smile, as they all eyed the small vial containing the ruby liquid while Jotaro turned it over in his hand.  

“To be frank, I’m not looking to add more enemies to the legion that currently threatens my family, and if a problem can be eliminated as seamlessly as this one, I welcome the gesture… it is an interesting concept though… to get rid of one's stand… as if it were a disease… anyway, it's yours to do with what you’d like,” said Jorato, handing the small vial to Bri signaling the end of that matter. 

The trio had continued their talk, catching up on how Giorno’s relatives were doing, exchanging stories about Josuke’s misadventures at college and Jolyne’s precocious preteen years. Bri sat back and happily absorbed their conversation, eyes wandering through Jotaro’s office settling on the row of picture frames that lined the shelf behind him. 

“What’s caught your eye?” asked Jotaro, noticing that her attention had been taken by something else. 

“Sorry doctor Kujo, I was looking at that picture of you with your grandfather and Mr… Pol… say, may I please have a closer look at that?” Bria had carefully taken the picture into her hands, examining it with a soft smile and tentatively asked for a copy of it to the curiosity of both men. Shortly after Jotaro had assured her that he’d arrange for it to be sent to her, the pair had wrapped up their visit and said their goodbyes. As Jotaro walked them out of the building, Giorno had left him with a small butterfly trinket for Jolyne. 

“What did you see in that picture?” Giorno briefly glanced at Bria before starting the car, intrigued by her interest in a photo that had been taken while on a mission to slay his father. 

“I just had an idea… I want to run it by you before discussing anything with Pol though… seeing as you and GER will be doing most of the heavy-lifting,” her response came with a wry smile. Giorno already knew he was going to be involved in a wild scheme. 

“I am serious though, Giogio, your knowledge of anatomy is astounding, you’ve created individual limbs, turned bullets into tissue, you’ve literally brought people back from the dead… this isn’t that  different…” 

“Bri… you can’t be serious,” the colour drained from Giorno’s face as he held the picture and took a bite of his pizza. Grimacing, Bria had put down her slice and mumbled before responding. 

Giorno sighed, it was difficult to reason with Bria once she had gotten her mind hooked onto something and any other time he would oblige her without question, but he had feared that this idea might have been slightly outside of his skillset. 

“This is creating a fully functioning body from stone, every blood vessel, every organ, every cell… we also need someone's DNA… if there are any miscalculations then he-”

“He would go back into the turtle, use my tissue if you'd like, everyone in our circle would be a willing donor, but at least he knows we tried Gio…” 

Giorno had tried to reason with her but he had to admit to himself that she did have a point. Bria had grown close to Polnareff, and as time went on she had tried hard to always include him in everything that the group had undertaken. 

“Think of the possibilities Giorno… please, just think about it first, try to wrap your head around it, have a private conversation with GER if you must, he knows things beyond our knowledge… just give it a chance…” Bria walked around to his side of the table and draped herself around his shoulders completing the last of her plea just next to his ear and he sighed once more. 

“It’s not fair, you know I can’t say no to you when you’re like this…” he complained. Knowing she had won, she smiled against his cheek, kissing him after each word, “You have your gifts, and I have mine.” 

"I accept your request… I have to mention, I was intrigued when I found out that my commissioner was you, Mr Giovanna…  nobody has ever managed to tug the threads of fate into a different trajectory before," Giorno smiled and humored Scolippi with as much as he could before he departed with Bria beaming on his arm. 

A week later the couple had sat before Scolippi and explained their request. He regarded them with a curious gaze before speaking. 

In the weeks that followed, Bria and Giorno and thought about how best to speak to Polnareff, and decided that it would be best to wait until Scolippi had completed the sculpture and Giorno was certain that GER had constructed every cell and neural pathway, creating a perfect vessel for Polnareff to inhabit should he wish to. Convincing him was not as difficult as they had anticipated. 

"Are you sure about this Pol? I don't want it to seem like we're forcing the issue…" she asked, peeking into the ruby window of the key affixed to the turtle's shell. 

Giorno and Bria had made their way into the hidden bunker that once housed Bucciarati, Narancia and Abbacchio in the past prior to their re-emergence and still served as the meeting room for the current execution squad. 

"I am… I just... if...-" 

"It's going to work I'm sure of it," there was a calm confidence in Bria's voice that put both Giorno and Polnareff at ease. Giorno was certain of the intricacies of what needed to be done, but it felt good to hear the unwavering faith from Bri. They had arrived at a platform with the body that was just created for Polnareff under a crisp white sheet. 

"It's time… similar to what you witnessed with Bucciarati, as soon as you inhabit this, GER will hit you with lifeshot and you will fully awaken in this body," explained Giorno as GER had materialized and gently nodded at his words. 

"I'm ready… " Polnareff's apparition had floated and hovered over the body, while Bria pulled back the sheet just enough to reveal the perfect likeness of his face and shoulders. A golden glow had bathed the entire room while GER had enacted the final part of their plan. 

"It's done, all that remains is for him to awaken," said GER in an even tone before he had faded back into Giorno’s body. He had placed a hand over Polnareffs forehead and could sense his life energy roiling beneath his skin, blood starting flow through his veins, neurons sparking to life beneath. Taking a rasping breath, Polnareff's eyes had shot open, blinking at the soft lighting before settling on Giorno’s face and then Bria's. 

"Welcome back Pol, take your time, this probably feels so… strange? Is that even the right word…" said Bria with a smile. 

"Merci, ma cheri," his voice was still raspy, but it was undeniably Polnareff's. She tearfully smiled at him as he tried to sit up, his movements careful and slow. He flexed his fingers and felt his face with his hands, slow deep breaths moved his chest. Bria had silently wrapped him in a hug and decided to leave Giorno and Polnareff to chat like they always did. Polnareff's recovery period was short, and before anyone could protest he was fully occupying his role as consigliere next to Bucciarati. His reunion with Jotaro had been an emotional one, however his interactions with Jolyne and Josuke provided the comic relief everyone needed. 

"And so the demon continues to live, still as arrogant as anything, Mahin" 

"Jean-Pierre Polnareff…" 

"As does the traitor," replied Mahin with a smirk and his hand extended in Polnareff's direction. 

Bria sighed, the same long suffering sigh that accompanied her father's shenanigans as she nestled into his protective embrace. 

"Dad, you promised you'd be nice," 

"This is him being nice," said Arturo as he walked a few moments later, trailed by Niccolo and Faust. 

"Hello beautiful Bria," cooed Niccolo, with his usual flirtatious grin. 

"I'd like to make it into next year, so can we all behave ourselves? And hello Niccolo, it was really nice of you and Faust to join us all," she said after giving everyone double- checked kisses, playing the perfect hostess. She looked at Arturo and Faust, they had been around each other long enough to acknowledge the silent plea in her gaze, and so for the night, Arturo was in charge of reigning in Mahin and Faust, Niccolo. The mood at villa Giovanna was delightful, for the night, everyone indulged in good food and drink and relished in the beautiful music played by Aria. For this one night nobody held their titles or acknowledged the clout they wielded, and it was just a gathering of people who considered each other family despite not necessarily sharing blood. Looking over the room, Bria had seen everyone happily engaged and took that opportunity to escape for a moment to gather her thoughts. 

Forgoing the chaise Bria perched herself on the balustrade of her favorite sea-facing balcony, took a deep breath and exhaled, letting go of all the tension that had been holding her shoulders taut through the day. The crisp breeze ruffled her raven hair and bit at her cheeks. 

"So this is where you're hiding?" She smiled and leaned back into Giorno's warm embrace, eyes never leaving the water.

"I just needed a moment, are you alright Gio?" She rested her hand on top of his where they had encased her waist. 

"Everything is just fine‐ I just missed you…,"

"Charmer…" 

"I have to be, competition is rife tonight," 

"What's everyone doing?" Bria asked with a small chuckle. Giorno smiled, remembering the atmosphere inside the room. 

"Everyone is fine, your father, Pol and Niccolo are brainstorming their next business venture, Arturo, Mista, Faust and Fugo are debating about supercars, and Trish and Narancia had a bit too much to drink and are playing spin the bottle by themselves,"

"Let me guess, they're both so happy it keeps landing on each other?" Bria chuckled, imagining the scene.

"Don't worry Bruno and Aria are watching over them… well Abbacchio too, begrudgingly so,"

She could feel his chin settle onto her shoulder, his breath ghosted over her ear as he hummed with content. 

"We should probably head inside soon, I'm sure its getting close to midnight," she shifted to face Giorno. 

"They've hogged your attention enough for one night, besides, I want you all to myself when the year changes," Giorno's grip tightened around her waist as they heard the commotion of the countdown from inside. Before they knew it, ten became one and his lips found hers, rough and impatient he poured all of his feelings into that kiss, and stole her breath away. 

"Happy New Year my angel," he said pressing feather light kisses onto her face. "I know I've neglected you… not anymore Bri, that's my resolution," Bria had been hit with a sudden wave of shyness at the urgency in his voice, feral and unrestrained. 

"It's okay GioGio, I'm patient,-" 

"But I'm not, not anymore," he said, stealing the rest of that sentence along with her breath from her mouth once more. 

With a knowing smile on her face, Aria had slid the door shut and closed the blinds, giving the Don and his love a moment to themselves. 

[ollibeuu]

original post

a rec list of one fic for each mphfpc character (including victor, ricky, and other side characters!)

enoch -> Opre, roma! - nr1enochkinnie_miha222: oneshot (410 words); rromani enoch

horace -> Mr forgettable - Ghostie_Luther: ongoing fic (last updated jan 11, 2022); horace has an eating disorder and smokes (this is my fav mphfpc fic of all time.)

hugh -> (to the tune of Mr. Sandman:) Mr. Bee Man, Here is Your Drink - putyourpantson: oneshot (1558 words); fiona pov; cafe fic; super super super underrated

fiona -> Sorrow Is Not My Name - lizard_bitch: oneshot (3507 words); fiona pov; disabled fiona; enoch cameo appearence; SO GOOD!; also highly highly underrated

millard -> A Step From Invisible - Rozavie: ongoing fic (last updated aug 4, 2022); millard x lily fic; millard pov; post-canon college fic; SUPER FUCKING DUPER UNDERRATED HOLY SHIT THIS SHIT IS FUCKING FIRE

claire -> Birthday Wishes - icannotevenhhh: oneshot (3355 words); miss peregrine pov; it was hard to find a good fic for claire no one writes about her :(

olive -> The Inner Workings and Complications of Being a Pyromaniac - mikasasha: ongoing fic (last updated oct 15, 2017); MOVIEVERSE SORRY GUYS; floatingfire (emma x olive); THERE IS SEX IN THE EIGHTH CHAPTER; it's really good for god's sake just read it. it's even got a hollowheart counterpart that is amazing too

if you're really that snobby about movieverse (or don't like sex), here's a bookverse olive fic from quotev called Olive vs. Emma

jacob -> You're Only As Good As the Hole In My Pants and the Bruises On My Thigh - mikasasha: oneshot (3266 words); SEX SEX SEXY SEXXX; MOVIEVERSE AGAIN; this was my fav fic for a while; and it actually introduced me to my favourite song of all time, Hatefuck by Cruel Youth! which is what the title is based off of

again, if you hate movieverse or sex then here's a super cute jillard oneshot (1353 words) titled Disappear by icannotevenhhh

emma -> Emma, Forever Ago - ArrivalOfTheBirds: ongoing fic (last updated feb 27, 2022); book rewrite; love it slaying amazing

bronwyn -> The Salt on Her Lips Stings My Wounds - icannotevenhhh: oneshot (4916 words); gorgeous; emwyn isn't my fav ship but this fic is GOOD

alma lefay peregrine -> I've loved you for a thousand years, I'll love your for a thousand more - Regal_Feather: oneshot (2308 words); godDAMN THIS SHIT IS FUCKING FIRE

noor -> Change may evoke happy tears - Birdiesflying: oneshot (894 words); joor; trauma (but like, sentimental trauma. cute trauma. wait that sounds bad--)

victor -> Invisible Ink & Visible Crushes - Spooky_Spooks: oneshot (1405 words); villard; just super cute and even more underrated

ricky -> Death Follows - Empressiveallydone: oneshot (4669 words); ricky pov; absolutely beautiful, it's one of those fics that kinda makes you think

lily -> Love at No Sight - LeelaSmall: oneshot (3137 words); this is a speculation on what happened exactly when they met

isabel cuckoo -> Duty - Pearlislove: oneshot (1501 words); isabel can draw n stuff; jacob is the only other character in this fic

honourary oc mention -> the red-eyed boy - p1nkigutz: ongoing fic (last updated sept 23, 2022); fucking good LISTEN PEOPLE, GOOD OC'S ARE GOOD. BAD OC'S ARE BAD. LEARN THE DIFFERENCE

obligatory ship mention -> Eighty Years - dragonsdendoodles: oneshot (3305 words); enoch and horace-centred; enorace; A BANGER 💪

the point of this rec list isn't to actually recommend you good fics. it's to recommend you good authors. read these fics; if you like them, go to the author's page and read more. look through their bookmarks. make a note of when you see them comment or kudos on another fic. i chose most of these fics with the intention of diversity, otherwise most of them would've just been one or two author's fics.

go out of your comfort zone and read something you usually don't read. read the movieverse. read the bookverse. read the miss peregrine/reader fics (there's plenty). read the filthiest, fucking smut ever. fanfiction is made for the fans, and if you're limiting yourself, then you're actually hindering yourself

these are the known tumblrs of these authors: @icannotevenhhh, @memekasasha, @miha-777, @averyauthorship, @evil-feather, @ghostie-luther, @birdiesflying, @dragonsdendoodles, @leela-small

[eframschweigersskincells]

HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY TO ZA4!

It still rattles my tiny brain that it has been 3 whole fuckin years since this game has appeared, three whole years since Hitler returned from the dead, 3 years since we took our first steps in a fully fledged zombie world, 3 whole years since the fun began!!!!!

I owe so much to this series and especially ZA4, of it wasn't fir this masterpiece I wouldn't have met the people I have now, I have made a shit ton of awesome friends that I will always hold deeply in my heart! Without this game I wouldn't have had the confidence to try out game design in college, to work towards a goal and to do more with my aspirations. I owe it all to this game.

It has been awhile since my last posts on here, I've missed this a lot and I hope to one day properly come back, I'll always be apart of the rebellion community and ESPECIALLY the zombie army one, through all its ups and downs its always been there since I was kid.

From a little kid mesmerized by a silly little sniper sneaking around berlin, to strategizing my evil lair to running around the sands of Egypt and of course slaying hordes of the undead, I'm 19 now and hit a rough patch. Homeless, no further way of continuing my dreams and stuck in a rut but I always have those memories, those friends, those games, the everything I've earned from this community and I know I have something to turn to when I need my spirits lifted.

So a special thank you to rebellion, to the wonderful games they create and the now 3 year old masterpiece that has brung me so much joy since day one of its release.

Thank you all, I hope to see you all again soon!

[occult-roommates]

Mom's new bestie

After work, Matteo came back home, with Daniele who wanted to spend the weekend with his family for once. He expected to see his mom, Isabella, busy designing new dresses somewhere in the house, but no, she was chatting on the couch, laughing with a woman he had never seen in his life. They clearly were in a deep conversation, so he didn't want to interrupt them, but he felt curious.

Matteo: Mom, who is that? Isabella: Matteo, this is Farida, I met her yesterday at the conference I attended about spellcastresses and matriarchy. Farida, this my son Matteo, I met him when I gave birth to him. Farida: Hi Matteo. Matteo: Are you really wearing that god awful hat again? Isabella: I am wearing it to show my support to you, because you are my son and I love you. Daniele: Yeah but he's right. Forest green with a ribbon the pastel color of the trans flag? Awful. Good message, but not a slay. Isabella: And this, Farida, is my homosexual nephew Daniele. I adopted him when his parents rejected him when he began losing his power as a child.

Whatever, Matteo can just go to his bedroom and let his mom be happy with her little new friend.

Daniele: You look familiar. I think I saw you somewhere before. Farida: Unlikely, last time I went to San Myshuno was in the 90s, unless you saw me elsewhere. I live in Oasis Spring. Daniele: I have a friend who's from there, his name is Dawud Sahan. Farida: ...That is the name of my son.

Oh, yeah that's right. Dawud had mentioned his mom was in town that week. What were the odd. Well, how funny it is that it seems like his aunt is getting along with her, the same way he's getting along with Dawud. Then, he went to his old bedroom too as he had nothing else to say.

Isabella: You didn't told me you had children. Farida: Oh, I only have one son too. I wanted at least two kids, and at least one daughter, but it never worked out. Isabella: And what about his father? Cause you mentioned you're single, so... Farida: Um, well he's dead, but I'm not really a widow. We divorced a few years before. It's sad, I really should have listened to my mother. Isabella: What do you mean by that? Farida: You see, my ex-husband and I were both born in the city of Basra, in Iraq, and we both moved to Arizona when we were children...Though we actually didn't met back then, as we grew up in different cities. My cousin, however, did grew up in the same as him and so, when I moved to Oasis Spring for college, my cousin made me met my ex right away. We fell in love pretty fast and six months later, we were married. I was 18, he was 19. My mom scolded me pretty hard, she could not stop us as we were adult even if very young one, but she believed I was worth better than getting married at that age. As to make this worse, I wanted children right away, while still in my freshman year of college. My mother was pissed, she did not abandonned her entire life for her daughter to be a housewife before turning 20.

"Thankfully", either her or Rashid probably had some fertility issues. She tried for years and years to get pregnant, and the few times she did succeed, it ended up having a miscarriage. At least, it gave her the time to graduate and start her adult life without also having to worry about taking care of an actual living baby. Then, shortly before her 7th wedding anniversary, Dawud was born.

However, since Farida really, really wanted a daughter, they went through the trouble of conceiving again. Then it happened, they were gonna have a girl aaaand...she was a stillborn. Every single dead fetus put an extra strain on their relationship, and now an actual dead baby was just the extra little thing to make their mariage also non-viable. This time, after seven years, they decided to divorce.

Isabella: Oh, I'm so sorry. It must have been so rough for you. Farida: Well, I'm fine now. I'm just sad I never got to have my own little girl. My best friend, who I met in a mommy group when I was expecting my son, had a girl and I'll admit, I've always been a little bit jealous of her. Isabella: But is your son healthy? Is he making you proud?

After a long moment of silence, Farida simply followed with:

Farida: ...I think he's healthy.

Prev - Next

[ladyelainehilfur]

Ooooh thoughts on Nice to Meet You's ending?

bruv....real life image of me entering the comment section of the last episode:

I know a lot of people feel very strongly about Nice To Meet You's ending. And well, I also have ✨opinions✨

For one, I'm not the kind of person to assume that just because a male character is on the cover, that he's going to be endgame. I had no real expectation that Daze was fated to end the series dating Mew.

Frankly, I barely found Daze engaging as a character. His most memorable moment to me was that scene where he helped Mew walk through the murder of crows to the phone booth. Butterflies ✅ invested in him as a character ❌

He's sweet enough, but overall, I thought he was kind of boring. Don't @ me but I'm pretty sure a lot of people only liked him because he was hot.

Does that mean I was Mew x Wyn shipper? Nah. That entire first season, I was extremely convinced Wyn was aroace. I should've known it was too good to be true. An equally attractive best friend to the male lead with NO interest in the female lead? We could've had it all.

I adore Wyn as a character. He's cute, fun, funny, good-looking, and supportive. His mullet is sick. His outfits are slay. He's basically perfect...but not for Mew, imo. Him falling for Mew was startling.

However, Mew is very lovable in the typical clumsy anime girl way. I just thought the story would become about her journey to self-actualization and idk...following her dreams or something. Not knocking on the romance, but season one was just so strong and handled her character so well. I was impressed that she rose above expectations and handled the theatre crush situation on her own, more or less.

But season two...girlie what even happened. It became all about her having to decide between Wyn and Daze. That would've been fine if it wasn't so heavily focused on her crushing and blushing and looking down at her shoes shyly. I didn't think Mew was weak or annoying, but the writing did her a major disservice in the second season.

One thing I'll say is that I really liked that neither Daze or Wyn were competitive or possessive of Mew. I despise love triangles, usually because they treat the female lead like an object to win, or they resort to bullying and pulling each other down to end up with the girl. It's like "guys, GUYS, why are we fighting over (1) girl when there are so many fish in the ocean".

But Nice To Meet You hopped right over that trope and had Wyn and Daze mutually agree to let Mew choose. They literally let each other have moments with Mew at their own expense. It was really sweet. I liked it.

But the ending still flopped 🙊 what do you MEAN a 3 year time skip????????? I feel like I'm the only one who was genuinely flabbergasted by Mew's painting of Daze. Was it supposed to mean something?? And if so, why did we never get an explicit answer?? Mew crying tells me nothing.

As I said, I ship neither Daze nor Wyn with Mew. I wasn't disappointed that she chose Wyn, but I was confused about why. I had so many questions.

Why did Daze give up on her? Why did Mew need to take a trip for that long? Where did she go? Why did she she cry while painting Daze? Was she letting go of her feeling for him? Did Daze never find someone else? Did Mickey just keep his unrequited crush on Daze for 3 more years? Why was Wyn willing to wait that long for an answer? What's Mew's brother up to? Did Simon follow him? Was Mew so hesitant to start a new relationship because her last one was abusive? What even happened to her ex? Why doesn't she talk about him more? Is Daze's dream to run a coffee shop? What's Wyn's career? Are they all still in college?

A three year time skip is just way too long.

More importantly, I do not like Wyn with black hair!!

I wasn't a ride-or-die Nice To Meet You fan, but I still had all these questions. I can't imagine how its biggest fans felt about the ending. Well, no, I can. That comment section on the last episode is brutal. I'm sure the creator had a reason for rushing the series to a close, but I feel the fans are equally justified in being very frustrated by the unanswered questions and Mew suddenly ending up with Wyn when I think most were lead to believe the painting meant Daze was endgame.

6/10 ending, what a bummer ending for a series with such good art and characters.