#bring her back in H3 too

[kelsochronicles]

I don’t think Sekuli gets near enough credit for being the visionary she is

[bladekindeyewear]

HS^2 bloggin’ mainline 2024-08-01 continued #2

(Previous post - current page 433)

==>

Time to see what these Satyrs are about--

We're drawing it out for appropriate drama here, I see.

(Whoa, Terezi's saliva is TEAL?!? Interesting. That's a fact that I will absolutely file away in my mind to remember forever for definitely no specific reason whatsoever.)

==>

T4ST3S L1K3 HORS3SH1T.

Oh nooooo!! Don't tell me they're disappointing! (Or perhaps even a red herring, and not even successfully the race that ends up playing the game as they'd planned??) ...Let's hope it's just Pyrope's opinion...

(I highly doubt it, but imagine if Rose successfully created a race of motherfucking Squiddles to throw against Dirk in the contest.)

==>

OH DAMMIT THEY'RE HOLDING OUT ON US!!! Dastards!

TT: I heard that. GC: OH MY GOD 1 DON'T C4R3 TT: I can smell what you smell. Taste what you taste. Nothing you do is unknown to me, really.

Ewww, dammit. Stop trying to outdo Doc Scratch in creepiness, Ultimate Dork.

TT: Speaking of, if you think I'm not wise to your subtle little scheme, think again. GC: WOW K1NG, YOU 4R3 SO POW3RFUL, HOW D1D H3 T4ST3? TT: Pretty bland. GC: OH? TH3N HOW 4BOUT-

WHOA WAIT, what the heck are they talking about?!? Terezi has a scheme, and it's a "him"?? Or Dirk THINKS it's a "him"?

Hmmm... I originally thought this was a scheme about reawakening Rose to awareness or temporarily freeing him from Dirk's control to see what he'd done to her, just because that's the obvious Seer of Mind subterfuge that would have been going on here, but... Terezi's scheme possibly involves CREATING someone?

"HOW D1D H3 T4ST3"? Who?! Was "H3" being hidden in the now-empty "Terezi's weird horse shaped bug snacks" jar?

Did Dirk really bring John's cryo'd dead body here (I thought she'd brought it in the wallet, I forget, he was clearly hiding something he tried to keep Terezi from remembering when she smelled it), Terezi discovered it again, and then Terezi might be possibly using the life-creation machine or assembling robotics to make a new body for the Meat timeline's JOHN to come back??? Was the comeback to "HOW D1D H3 T4ST3" about to be "OH? TH3N HOW 4BOUT H3R" because she'd be brought back as June???? ...No, that feels too early, not something they'd be talking about so casually... is it?

It's more likely that Terezi is responsible for trying to create the Carapacian race to throw into the mix if we're going for the session that seeded all other sessions, right, something she'd have made to throw in to Rose and Dirk's 'duel' to screw with the session or give it a scale's balance? Carapacians would be extremely "bland" to Dirk, right? They're practically designed to be!

For some reason, though, Dirk potentially calling the concept of a returned John "bland" feels really on-point though... John was always a character who could be mistaken for a generic reader-projection protagonist but whose personality and talents really shined through his effects in conversation with others which made conversations where John was involved some of the most entertaining in all of Homestuck. Dirk would ALWAYS underestimate that sort of protagonist, an Heir always following the whims and Directions given to him by others, who sparks subtle change and inspiration in others not purely for his own sake but by hardly even trying and just kidding around with them or believing in them.

Let me stop with the wild baseless speculation and get to the rest of this conversation to see if it's clarified in only a couple of lines.

TT: You're wearing the more sensible outfit I alchemized for you. TT: That tastes like victory. GC: NOT B3C4US3 YOU M4D3 1T FOR M3 GC: 1 L1K3D MY OLD OUTF1T F1N3, 1 L1K3D TH3 COLORS GC: HON3STLY, 1 THOUGHT TH1S W4S 4 JOK3 GC: 3V3NTU4LLY TH3 OUTF1T P1L3 JUST K33PS G3TT1NG SM4LL3R, UNT1L F1N4LLY... GC: JOK3S OV3R

Dammit, he's put her in Lil Cal suspenders!!! Asshole.

I do notice, yet again, the red heels still much like the ones she borrowed from the Witch of Space Jade though-- which when she wore them back in original Homestuck after Game Over, signified a Witch of Heart balance that she used to force John's character back on the right track and perform her final acts of that timeline to arrange a course correction to reverse Vriska's death and save causality. Or at least, that's what I interpreted at the time-- hints at her inverse role and how she both employed it a bit to shout John back into control of his true self and to represent a final balance to achieve the heights of her Seer of Mind role with her whole-timeline-spanning retcon assistance. To ascend, one must first descend, and all that Jungian such.

TT: You looked like shit. GC: 4 TRULY BOLD ST4T3M3NT FOR SOM3ON3 CURR3NTLY DR3SS3D L1K3 4 L1TTL3 L4D W1TH 4N 4N1M3 C4P3 TT: I'm not dressed like a little lad. GC: YOU 4R3 DR3SS3D L1K3 4 L1TTL3 L4D WHO LOV3S B3RR13S 4ND CR34M BUT ST1LL F1NDS T1M3 1N H1S P4CK3D SCH3DUL3 TO SHOP 4T TH3 M4LL GC: "OHOHOHO~ HOW 1 DO LOV3 MY B3RR13S 4ND CR34M D3SU N3" GC: TH4T'S YOU, TH4T'S WH4T YOU SOUND L1K3 R1GHT NOW 1 B3T TT: How would you know what I'm wearing right now? TT: Maybe I'm posted up in a tank top and jeans. TT: That'd be pretty classic. GC: YOU W34R YOUR PR3C1OUS L1TTL3 M4ROON K4R4T3 LORDL1NG OUTF1T B4S1C4LLY 3V3RY D4Y, 1 KNOW TH1S TO B3 TRU3, 1T'S TH3 ONLY FUN TH1NG 4BOUT YOU 4NYMOR3

Terezi really tearing him down modern-weeb-mockery style for his candy-ass outfit, damn.

TT: I don't have the time to tell you how wrong you are about this, but I will. GC: 1 GU3SS T1M3 1S MOR3 YOUR BROTH3R'S TH1NG, 1SN'T 1T? GC: >:? GC: 1 WOND3R WH4T H3'S DO1NG R1GHT NOW

Does Terezi know that bringing up Dave perhaps really bothers him? Dirk definitely doesn't NOT care about Dave. He wants to get his way at almost all costs, but I don't think he wants Strider's life to be one of those costs, even though Dave is on his way here to oppose him.

==>

Heheheh, the way that all filled in and she sniped right back against his narrative powers was really fun. I love how she can at least MOSTLY resist his narrative powers-- possibly even more than he thinks she can, the way he believes (and we believed) he successfully directed her away from that mystery hidden on their ship way earlier. That reminds me, Terezi kept talking about this earlier as an INVESTIGATION. Is she trying to figure out what Dirk is up to? Are her creations or whatever he deemed "bland" part of her "subtle little scheme" to figure things out somehow, not just interfere with what she already knows to be true?

Also, the way Dirk uses the word "unascended" here implies the key difference is "not God-Tier", that a God-Tier Seer of Mind might have had the ability to possibly not just see further but RESIST Dirk's control even more, which would make plenty of sense. If there exists any sort of Mind aspect Quest Crypt in the new session Dirk and Rose are trying to create, perhaps ascension is a tactic she can actually take? In fact--

KARKAT is coming along too, and we still don't know if his blood caste has a lifespan issue that would cut his relationship with Dave Strider a lot shorter than they want. Could a BLOOD Quest Crypt for Karkat's use end up in this new session too? A Space crypt is obligatory as well, just about ANY session would have a Space player and Kanaya could hijack that crypt to ascend... Could the new session be an opportunity for the remaining trolls to go God-Tier, allowing the readers to finally see some magic Blood powers in action once and for all instead of the normal Knight of Blood talents latent in his personality (which have still had a major impact on the plot, to be sure)?

In Kanaya's case... that also makes it seem likely that as a seamstress and a god-tier Sylph of Space, she could MEND THE HOLE IN EXISTENCE that the Black Hole's creation punched through, cycling an emptied-out Paradox Space right back to its very creation and sealing the escapees of the Black Hole outside of Paradox Space, free from Lord English forever:

UU: it is the day whereafter the legendary octet of mUtUal progenitoriety will come together and heal a great breach in paradox space.

But enough about that for now. It looks like Terezi is leveraging the PERSONALITY part of her Seer of Mind powers potentially successfully on Dirk: Taunting and provoking and annoying him into doing what he wants her to do, and potentially switching the narrative over to show us more Dave.

T3LL M3.

Dirk Strider you ass!!!!!

Also yeah we're STILL not gonna see what his Satyrs look like after all, not for a little while. Or if they'll end up being a red herring and not being the main participants of the session at all.

OH AND ALSO I FORGOT TO BRING UP SOMETHING IMPORTANT-- one of the creations these folks might be responsible for if this is the sort of Omega Session that creates the framework of Sburb and all other sessions might be the Denizens, too. I should keep an eye out for that potentiality.

==>

TEREZI: H3H3H3 TEREZI: D1D YOU S33 TH4T? TEREZI: NOBODY WR1T3S MY STORY BUT M3

Oh my god NOOOO I'D FORGOTTEN CAUSE IT'D BEEN SO LONG, TEREZI'S BEEN HAVING THESE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE DEAD JOHN CORPSE STORED IN THE WALLET AAAAAAH THAT'S SO SAD D': D': D':

...and since the corpse is still in her hands, REALLY raises the chance that she's trying to revive him, that the John in her wallet is the "subtle little scheme" that Dirk is alluding to, and why she immediately responded with "how did he taste" and he responded bland. That's suddenly the most plausible explanation for all of this.

Could she be... planning on ectobiologizing... a kid with him...? No, no fucking way, she's not THAT crazy about him is she?

Also that's a banger fucking declaration of a line at the end there from Terezi against all of Dirk's narrative horseshit, I love that for her.

==>

TEREZI: 4ND TH1S T1M3 1'LL G3T 1T R1GHT

John's corpse is just IN there still, isn't it? No cryo or preservation or anything, right? That's unsettling. It's been or going to have been a full year of travel and arrival here or more, right, before she can do something with it? I forget the exact timeline. Pretty in-character for the morbid Terezi to be this audibly familiar with and carry around a corpse, though.

...do God-Tier corpses not decay at all? I remember a joke about that being in ONE recent bonus HS^2 joke panel I got notified in my Patreon about and glanced at without thinking about it, showing [SPOILER]young alt!Callie-possessed Jade's corpse[/SPOILER] as if her spirit suddenly left it temporarily, though I'm trying my best not to think about what it means.

I have to go to bed early for something in the morning, we didn't get as far as I wanted but I'll take a break for now and will probably continue sometime in the next two days. Next time we'll hit the next link for Meanwhile...

[meggannn]

playing lego horizon has unlocked some old bitter feelings about the sequel in me that i just remembered i never jot down. i think i'm now able to put words to why i never really bonded with the whole beta plotline:

it's partly because in the lead-up to forbidden west's release, i was crossing my fingers that future twists would not come in the form of "more clones!!" and that's exactly what they did (a post for another time)

it's also partly because despite loving sister stories, i didn't find aloy and beta's relationship very compelling or earned

it's also partly because well, this is going to sound cheap, but i do think beta's introduction removes aloy's uniqueness in the plot somewhat. if there's another clone of elisabet sobeck out there in close proximity to the zero dawn facilities who is willing and able to rebuild gaia, then why is aloy still our protagonist, and why isn't this beta's story of starting as a scared girl in space, then rebelling against her masters and learning to rebuild a planet with nothing but the clothes on her back? that game sounds awesome, actually!

obviously, the answer to that question is because this is an action game, and we need a protagonist who can climb rocks and shoot things. aloy was specifically raised to do that. beta's introduction does not threaten aloy in this regard, and it's not like aloy is less of a protagonist now that beta's here... except i do think that beta's inclusion removes something, or has the potential to remove a role that aloy has. i've realized that one of my fears for h3 is that beta will become mission control, which will result in this juxtaposition: aloy is the tough action hero who eats machines for breakfast, and beta is the "nerdy one" who sits back at base and figures out shit that aloy used to, and is still, capable of figuring out on her own.

i think guerrilla wants me to believe beta's girl-in-the-chair role should actually be seen as a good thing, because aloy needs friends to help her save the world and you don't want to spend significant game time on aloy doing coding minigames. but i fear that to make this shift of "aloy doer, beta thinker," they will minimize aloy's intelligence, or maybe her opportunities to demonstrate it, to instead promote engineering and programming as skills that beta brings to the team.

it might be an unfounded fear, because aloy is still certainly smart in fw and is capable of keeping up with tech talk. she spends her life practically living in machine guts and knows them mechanically inside and out. i just think how in zd, they showed how smart aloy is about other things rather subtly: learning to use a focus alone (and presumably learning to read with it too--since the nora rely on oral tradition, rost couldn't have taught her!), figuring out the planet is a sphere all on her own, etc. in fw, she should be even smarter than she was in zd after studying all this old world knowledge alone, but instead we have aloy going "that's too much math :(" when gaia explains the distance the odyssey traveled. now enter beta, who was specifically trained to do this role aloy had thought she would do alone, bring gaia back online--and we know the zeniths' tech is way better than what aloy has access to. beta is much better qualified to fully restore gaia and wrangle hephaestus's runaway code than aloy. the setup for guerrilla to assign roles to the girls is right there, and i'm worried it will pigeonhole them both.

to be clear, i don't think they'll make aloy downright stupid (unless it comes to her struggling with emotional intelligence, which is an actual flaw), and she is able to keep up with various characters' tech talk in fw, which calms this fear somewhat. but overall it's just another niggling concern i have that makes me go :/ when i wonder what was driving them to include beta in this story at all.

[thewertsearch]

Things are going well out in the Veil, I see. At least Gamzee's happy.

CGC: WH4T DO YOU GUYS TH1NK 4BOUT K4RK4TS N3W PL4N CGC: TO TROLL TH3S3 K1DS

I have to say, I'm interested in hearing how Karkat pitched his plan to the team. I'm sure many of them can already tell that it's counterproductive, but maybe Karkat's not the only one who wants to let off some steam.

CGC: P3RSON4LLY 1 TH1NK H3 H4S F1N4LLY SN4PP3D 4ND 1T DO3SNT M4K3 4NY S3NS3 CGC: 1 F1GUR3D M4YB3 W3 COULD T4LK 4BOUT 1T H3R3 1N S3CR3T WH1L3 H3 ST4NDS OV3R TH3R3 M4K1NG H1S BOR1NG 1NSP1R4T1ON4L SP33CH [...] PAST carcinoGeneticist [PCG] 7 MINUTES AGO responded to memo. PCG: YOU THINK I STOPPED KEEPING TABS ON YOUR VAPID, SEDITIOUS BULLSHIT??? [...] CGC banned PCG from responding to memo.

Karkat already read this memo - which means he's making an impassioned speech about trolling, fully aware that Terezi is heckling him in the group chat.

I can just picture him glaring at her for the entire duration of the speech, as she slowly reaches for her keyboard with the biggest shit-eating grin she can muster.

CAC: :33 < i dont understand why we are doing this! CAC: :33 < what was the point again?

Sounds like Nepeta's out. That's a shame; her RP schtick would make for some good trolling. Maybe later.

PAST carcinoGeneticist 2 [PCG2] 5 MINUTES AGO responded to memo.

Karkat's back - implying Trollian bans only apply to a single iteration of that account, regardless of the gap between iterations.

In other words, you can circumvent a ban by joining from a different timeframe, even if that's literally two minutes later. You don't even need time travel to abuse this - just wait, and your ban will be ineffective almost immediately.

This app is amazing.

CTA: you all can troll the2e iincompetent aliien2 all you want, iit won't change anythiing.

We saw some of this attitude from Sollux back in Act 4. With the context that Hivebent brings, I have to wonder if he's been listening too much to Aradia. He was certainly trying to change things before the session.

[possibly-in-wonderland]

WAIT MY DAD STOLE A FUCKING CAR WHEN HE WAS YOUNGER?!

im actually not suprised

dude bro has:

been hit by a car

stabbed a guy in the leg with a screwdriver

got bit by a handful of snakes

pierced his eyebrow with a safety pin (in class)

had to have two or four (cant remember) spotters when he worked out and got told by the school he couldnt be lifting that heavy (he was the strongest there and they got jealous bc he refused to join the wrestling team)

also he got into a shit load of fights

saw two (2) dead bodies (one while fishing, the other while crabbing)

got flung from a boat because a fishing line got wrapped around the motor (it's my favorite story dude-bro went water skiing)

almost got shot (probably more times than he's telling me)

has quit a job at a lumber place before because he noticed the wood slabs coming out with an increasing amount of blood and his boss said "it's nothing to worry about, get back to work" (some guy severely fucked up his arm on a saw and needed a fuck ton of stitches)

fUCKING SPED AWAY FROM THE GAME WARDEN ON A BOAT WHILE SHAKING CRAB POTS WITH HIS UNCLE

DON'T GET ME STARTED ON HIS OTHER UNCLE, UNCLE DANNY

(side tangent: uncle danny would cut people's fishing lines if they kept crossing over his and reportedly threw someone off of a pier once. he also busted a guys head open with a gas pump nozzle and sprayed gasoline in the open wound. let's not forget, this mf threatened his landlord and ended up not having to pay rent for a handful of years. after getting surgery (brain cancer-related i think) someone busted him in the head and he looked at them and said "that shit's healed motherfucker (it was not)" and beat the dude. i wouldn't be surprised if he actually killed someone)

alright aside from that, there's so much more that he probably hasn't told me (and none of this is barely scratching the surface of the shit he HAS told me)

and none of this is even TOUCHING the stuff my grandpa's (on my mom's side) did. it could be the subject of a southern rock song like bro. missouri state penitentiary? ESCAPING JUST TO SEE IF HE COULD AND WAITING FOR THEM TO BRING HIM BACK IN? HE WAS WANTED FOR 17 ACCOUNTS OF ARMED (toy gun) ROBBERY! TH3Y ORIGINALLY ONLY HAD HIM DOWN FOR SIX BUT HE CONFESSED TO THE OTHERS! HE WAS SUPPOSED TO SERVE 20-SOMETHING YEARS. HE GOT OUT IN SIX ON GOOD BEHAVIOR! H3 HAD A FUCKING PET FLYING SQUIRREL AND WENT DYNAMITE FISHING!

since we're on the subject of family lore, one time my mom sprayed the telephone wires outside with a squirt gun. she was 14 and wanted to know what would happen. my grandpa (her dad, the prison escapee) was an electrician.

she could have just asked.

also my grandma (also mom's side) once picked up a hitchhiker because he looked like bob segar. she's also seen ghosts and-

this post is getting way too long.

[foibles-fables]

tag game (Horizon)

stolen from @hellcheercaine!!! Thanks for the excuse to put off starting work for another few minutes.

1.ride or die ship (your otp): Aloy/Talanah. my rotten soldiers my sweet cheeses my good-time gals

2. most annoying ship: nah you know I don't play that game <3

3. second favourite ship: Aloy/Yarra

4. favourite platonic relationship: Aloy and Erend, Talanah and Milu, Aloy and Sylens

5. underrated ship: gonna say Aloy/Yarra here too. Also Fashav/Kotallo, Beta/Milu, Alva/Seyka (thoughts of an angsty Loyalist!Federa fic won't leave my brain ALONE)

6. overrated ship: see question 2 bls

7. one thing i would change in canon: Oh man. There are...many things, lmao. The clear and obvious one is having Talanah join the base (as we now know was the original intention [rolling_in_the_deep.mp3]). But since that one is a given--completely toss the Zeniths out of HFW. Ground the narrative conflict in gathering the subfunctions, the collapsing biosphere, and Regalla's rebellion instead. Bring GAIA back only at the very end. Save the Zeniths for the major H3 antagonist instead, negating the need for Nemesis as the Bigger Fish. How absolutely baller would it have been if the Beta reveal came as a post-credits stinger instead? (Gerard's voice: "Are you ready to finally make yourself useful, Beta?" and then a camera pan over the face of a Sobeck clone, GOD)

8. something canon did right: The entirety of "Deep Secrets of the Earth" in HZD was a masterclass in storytelling. Every part of exploring PZD HQ was remarkable. The datapoints, the juxtaposition of "The Bad News" with "The Good News," the latter of which as the culminating reveal of the mystery that's been building throughout the entire narrative--it's pretty much perfection.

9. a thing i'm proud of creating for the fandom PLEASE BRAG ABOUT YOURSELF I WANT TO SEE/READ YOUR ART: may I present to y'all my AO3 trashpile

10. a character who is perfect to me (wouldn't change a thing): ALVA. My personal shining star amongst the HFW companions. I'm also contractually obligated to say Talanah here, even if I want to shake her by the shoulders sometimes (affectionate)

11. the character i relate to the most and why: This is a tough one. I see pieces of myself in a number of the characters, but I'm not sure if there's one that I'm like, yes, that is ME. I could prrooobably say Alva again? But it's not a definitely one-to-one.

12. character(-s) i hate the most and why: All the homies hate Ted Faro, that's for sure. But that's low-hanging fruit. So I'll give Amadis as well, though not for the seemingly-obvious reason--I cannot stand the sole purpose for which he was written, from the comic all the way through his weird unsatisfying ending in HFW. He's a repeated character with a repeated conflict that was already handled much more compellingly through Nil and is rendered useless and storyless by the end of Need to Know. Bringing him back in H3 would be the sorest mistake the narrative could make aside from a sacrificial ending for Aloy. He's just unneeded character bloat in an already-admittedly-bloated cast.

13. something i've learned from the fandom: You will make some of your very best friends here. Everyone is creative and hilarious and so smart. We all connect to the Horizon universe in a different way, and sharing your enthusiasm with others is what just makes the world feel even richer than what you could have imagined.

14. three tags i seek out on ao3: I typically don't browse AO3 directly!

15. a song i strongly associate with my otp/favourite character: you're gonna make me pick ONE?? oh man, okay. so this changes by the day, and today I'll say Oceanator's "I Would Find You" is THEE Hawk and Thrush anthem.

tagging: since I stole this untagged, I challenge YOU to do the same! Choose your fandom and talk about it!

[surveillance-0011]

I may blend the hotd and tboi x splatoon aus but it may be too many ideas or people in one place,, idk but ive got ideas,, and i’ll put em in one post ehehe

hotd x splatoon:

ams and nsbs are affiliated or just the same thing the idols r still there but more in the bg,, Maybe they’d all have different themed codenames rather than numbers.. lisa would probably be neo 3 or adjacent then. this is one of the points that would clash with mixing it with the tboi x splat au

All creatures are sanitized or like. half fuzzy half sanitized some sort of secret third thing fucking neosanitization idk maybe it’ll have to do with coral instead,, but curien is an inkfish so misanthropic he’s bringing squids back and/or continuing what Tartar started. Goldman is either an inkfish the opposite species of curien or some sorta fish. hm. goldfish hehe. but he wants to make a sanctuary of more “natural” beings. And thornheart is thornheart.. 

Most of the creatures are made from already existing people maybe theyd be able to be reverted back into their previous selves with some side effects. others are made in the lab. Most are inkfish but it gets wacky

Temperance is a part of the same clan as shiver and is like.her 2nd or 3rd cousin. they did not get along before hand and he’d try to upstage her a lot. now while warped he’s still relatively lucid so he’s just kind of an ass to her. ALso going to drag ocean hunter into this the shark he’s tamed is leviathan. Since the muatations still make him gigantic he swings the poor shark around. 

Likewise Justice is a part of the eel clan though he is not as closely related to frye as shiver is to temp. He’s very cryptic and not rlly all there. Frye did used to look up to him so seeing him like this is distressing

Emp(eror +ress) and the world are hybrid lab-grown creatures, all glass octo + sea angel probaby? maybe human in there?

Heirophant is a salmonid yeayy

hotd x tboi

maggie is neo 3 isaac is lil buddy. samson is agent 4 lilith is 8 idk about the og 3 yet maybe cain

Isaac’s mom is a goldie. ??? the lost and the forgotten only exist in Isaac’s nightmares when he thinks about his future of possibly dying, being abandoned etc etc.

His dad is a steel eel driver but defected to grizzco bc he Fucked Up Big Time

idk if azazel would be better as a salmonid (bc isaac parallels/evil him) or an octoling i kind of want the latter

Most demons r octarians but some of the human kids r too. Eve escaped to the surface early on and participated in turf wars circa Splat1 while in disguise. She’s also a werekraken. She uses the .96 gal deco

Lilith as mentioned before is 8. Incubus is some sorta seeing eye octotrooper guide and gello is a bby zapfish. Dark one/Adversary is her dad and he gets sanitized

Horsemen r salmonids yeeeayayay

Beast is a super fucked up king salmonid, some sort of giant mudmouth

ig there is a sect of octarian + salmonid diplomacy that all of the bosses mentioned here work under ehhh

dogma is some sort of ai, maybe a remnant of human society

Apollyon is also a salmonid they’re basically a worse flyfish in a weird tartar-based shell

deadly sins are an octoling team or more salmonids

most monsters are weird fuzzied inkfish

bethany mains ballpoint splatling and one of the stringers. Laz has the same mutation yoko has which leaves him sickly but when he’s well he plays with the h3 nozzlenose.

[jeffchats]

🧠 - Hi! I don’t know if I want this posted publicly so I’ve added a little emoji incase you want to add anything or reply separate.

I have to admit this is probably one of the strangest era’s that we have seen Jeff go through. The fact that he couldn’t find a girl on his own, so he’s had to resort to essentially dating a fan? And although he may not like to admit that, she is most definitely a fan. She’s everything he wanted in terms of a “normal girl” but because she is a fan and went through an entire process to even get near him, it will never be normal. She is of course more of a lowkey fan and obviously watched and studied him from the sidelines to get this far but she will most likely never be the one to cut things off with Jeff. This is where we see the difference between Jeff and his previous relationships. It’s always been the girl that has cut things off with him or he’s ghosted, gone back and the girl has enough self respect to not take him back. This time is different since she’s a fan, I suppose even if he does end up ghosting her, she will still take him back ��in a heartbeat”. She’ll also probably make more of an effort than previous girls. If he does realize that she’s a fan and this is stupid, he may say he doesn’t care but doesn’t take away from the fact that it’s still one of the weirdest dynamics between two people that I have seen. Usually the H3 Bach3lor show isn’t fans applying to date. Idk, the previous seasons were very different. And they love to ride the whole “100% success rate” when that’s not exactly true either. Jeff’s got himself in a very difficult situation here, if it doesn’t work out he’ll be left following this “fan” he has slept with and probably knows too much about him. I imagine he’s shared a lot with her the past week. People will always bring up the “jealousy” line but I think it’s more-so the fact that it’s not a natural way of meeting someone. As a fan myself, I don’t think I could ever see Jeff quite the same as I used to after this. Just my thoughts.

You can let me know if you want me to delete this.

The show was set up so regardless of who won the one thing they have in common is they are fans. They are people who know more about Jeff than he does about them. No matter what people say...this was an opportunity for Jeff to date a fan. These people made submissions selling themselves on why they should win. They were always from the start more invested than Jeff was. Jeff, whether or not he wants to admit it, is dating a fan girl. She will always be able to tailor and cater her answers to Jeff because she has more background knowledge about him. This was never a "fair" shot for anyone if Jeff gets to filter out the contestants from the jump. He literally chose his pool of women to choose from. If they wanted it to be fair, H3 needed to be the one to cast all the girls without Jeff knowing or developing a bias from the beginning.

[horizonzerodawnaesthetic]

Thank you for finding those lines! I'm always too caught up in the moment to ever mark anything down, even by my fourth playthrough. Oops this is long af, cut time.

I had also completely forgotten about Laulai and her family, I was actually writing the words "there's no mention of having a father among any Banuk" when I remembered her whole thing. And I hadn't thought about how her family/Werak must stay in the region in order for her to play. It may be for specific ceremonies though. She also mentions that her father played them to rally warriors during the Red Raids, which of course kept a steady number of Banuk at the border (Song's Edge) to defend their lands and people.

Also I realized I forgot to mention something in my last reply, but you touched on it a bit! It seems you are not born into any Werak, you have to test into them. Now, some tests may be as simple as being able to take down a watcher or provide the ingredients for a simple goat stew, but you still must pass in order to enter a Werak, no birthrights here. I wonder if there's a specific age in which children are considered adults and expected to test into the Werak that raised them or another group? Similar to the Proving of the Nora. Of course Banuk can leave their Werak to join another, it seems to be as culturally significant as leaving your job in modern day (every now and then is totally fine, but it would probably be a little sus if you're constantly moving Weraks).

I love that you found that line about true Banuk being closer to machines, I hadn't even thought about that when I wrote about machines having utility beyond their parts. I was drawing off symbiotic relationships between animals and humans throughout history. Perhaps Snapmaws break the ice to reveal the lake water underneath -not providing water for the Werak, they can melt ice to drink- bringing in local animals the Banuk can hunt for food.

That's really cool that you found some lines about Weraks getting together beyond politics and war parties, I bet there ain't no party like a multi-Werak party!

Back to the courting rituals, I 100% agree that it would be based on gift giving. I also think it's less of a public event such as a wedding, and more of an agreement between the two people. Though I'd imagine there would still be an announcement of some kind. I think bluegleam is the perfect choice for a truly dedicated proposal, I don't remember anything about it being Shamans only (Ourea's apprentice tells Aloy to take some from the Shaman's path, but I see that it just happens to be there and she may as well take some) and Banuk hunters are notoriously bad at carving machines. Perhaps larger or more pure pieces are more sought after. Though I wonder if their gifts would be on the more practical side? A spear inset with bluegleam, rather than a necklace of some kind?

Also, I remembered that the Burgrend specifically says the Banuk burn their dead (when they can recover the bodies). Obviously this comes from the fact that you can't really bury people on a glacier or in snow, but I wonder if there are more spiritual reasons for it as well? The idea of coming from warmth (the mother) and returning to warmth (the pyre) as an example. I'm just spitballing here, it's not really related to anything else it's just a bit of Banuk lore I remembered.

And about the H3 thing, When talking about Aloy's ability to override machines, Sylens says that it's not far from Banuk Shaman tactics (WHAT?!? Geurilla explain PLEASE) so I would love love love to see that come into play in the future. Also I feel that the derangement must have shaken the Banuk faith to some degree, and perhaps they Conclave is splintering and there's turmoil in Ban-Ur (come on Geurilla just let us 5 Banuk fans write your next game) which would be cool (although bad for them) to see.

Headcanon time! Banuk edition

So we already know that there are many many different Weraks within the Banuk tribe. We also know that they all have their own way of going about things, with different levels of intensity. The White Teeth (the werak associated with Ikrie's questline), for example, is very strict about the survival capabilities of its members, as new recruits must be able to survive four days and nights alone on a glacier. It's doubtful the White Teeth are the only werak with these ideals.

So with that in mind, that leads me to this question: what happens to the babies? Now it's fairly simple to imagine that a member of these weraks who could not keep up with the extreme lifestyle would either be ostracized or die trying to keep up (and in some cases left to die). But I feel that a baby would be treated (slightly) differently. Yes, a child is incapable of many of the actions required by the werak they were born into, but they have the potential to grow. Their weakness isn't a failing at this point, it is an inherent aspect of children which (in the eyes of the werak) can be overcome. I doubt many weraks would leave infants to die (though it's not unheard of) and that's where this headcanon comes in.

It is a common occurrence (at least to the degree that it isn't considered strange in Banuk culture) that the children of these extreme weraks are left in the care of other weraks. Some may know their heritage, others may not, depending on their birth parents and the werak that raised them. Should they wish to become a member of their parent's werak they are usually just as welcomed as any other Banuk.

Some weraks have many of these orphaned children because their land borders that of several extreme weraks. This may even become a part of their identity. Other times there may be only one due to one or both of the groups being nomadic. I believe the extremist weraks would want to be rid of a child as soon as possible, if a nearby werak recently had a birth then they're in luck, they won't have to wait for the infant to be weaned off of milk if they are able to pay the mother to raise the child. Otherwise they will have to wait.

Additionally, the parents of the child could be shunned by their werak as well. Obviously such a werak is no place for children, but people are people and sometimes babies happen. If the child becomes a large burden on the werak, I could see both parents being shunned until the problem is solved. (There's also something to be said here about how childbirth isn't something you just bounce back from and go back to roughing it on a glacier, but this headcanon is about orphans.)

Long story short, it isn't uncommon for weraks to raise the children of these extreme weraks. Many of these kids will remain in the werak they were raised by, some not even knowing they weren't born a part of it to begin with. Others will strive to join the werak of their parents, even if they don't know who they are. And yet others will feel abandoned, not feeling as though they belong to either werak. They might choose to strike out on their own or join a completely different werak.

A/N

WHYYYYY don't we know ANYTHING about Banuk family units??? do they even stay with their parents or is it a group thing??? literally the only people who mention having alive family is Ourea and Aratak and they're siblings. Do parents actually raise specifically their kids or is it like a whole gaggle of moms and dads working together on shifts? Are there weraks that function as giant daycares/boarding schools? I'm just trying to make some sense out of all this. One thing is for sure though: the White Teeth are not gonna keep kids around but kids are still gonna happen. That's life (literally).

[noforkingclue]

Hey I have a request for a Malcolm x reader. Let me just start this off by saying I LOVE your writing. Anyways could you do something where everyone notices that Malcolm looks very well rested and is eating well and is very confused by it. Like his new girlfriend who is a nurse takes good care of him and she comes into his work because he forgot his lunch and everyone finds out he has a girlfriend and Gil calls his mom and she says she wants to meet with her. Sorry if it’s too long.

Really??? Thank you so much anon!

I love Prodigal Son and more people definitely need to watch it! Malcolm just needs a big hug! I love this request and I adore writing for Prodigal Son :D

Title: Meet the Family

Prodigal Son tag list: @takethee

Everything tag list: @greenrevolutionary

“Is it me,” said JT as Malcolm walked into the station, “Or is Bright looking different recently?”

“Yeah,” Dani leaned against the counter and took a sip of her earl grey, “A lot less Bright-ish.”

Malcolm has definitely been acting different and people were starting to notice. The most notable difference was the gradual disappearance of the dark circles under his eyes. Bright seemed happier in general. He had more of a spring in his step and it was starting to make officers talk. JT and Dani stood up straighter as Gil walked over looking tired.

“He’s on something,” muttered Dani, “Definitely.”

“Nah,” said JT, “Think he’s finally found someone.”

Gil coughed on his coffee and Dani paused in taking a sip of her tea. They both looked at JT in shock but JT folded his arms and nodded at Bright.

“Just look at him” he said, “Distracted, well more distracted than usual. He’s all,” JT grimaced slightly but there was a warm affection in his eyes, “Loved up.”

“You sure?” asked Dani looking at Bright intently

“Positive.”

“He’s probably just on some new medication,” said Dani, “Not sure he’s too interested in dating after Eve.”

“You saw his lunches,” said JT, “All neatly presented and actually healthy?”

“Just getting his life in order,” said Dani, “It’s good for him.”

“Dani’s right,” said Gil, “Bright’s just sorting himself out.”

The three of them lapsed into silence. JT frowned and shook his head. It was too obvious that Bright was seeing someone, he recognised it. Apparently he looked like that when h3 and Tally first started dating. A junior offer burst into the room and the three of them looked over.

“Err,” she said, “Is Malcolm Bright here?”

“Yes,” said Malcolm walking over to her, “What’s wrong?”

“There’s a y/n at the front desk. She-“

The officer didn’t get to finish before Malcolm had ran out of the room. JT looked over at Dani and Gil and couldn’t help but feel slightly smug.

“Told you,” he said as he followed Malcolm out of the room, “I’m going to prove that I was right.”

 *

 “Y/n,” Malcolm said rushing towards you, “Is everything alright? What happened?”

“Noth-“

Malcom stopped right in front of you and gently cupped your face. His thumbs brushed along your cheekbones and you blushed slightly at the contact. Malcolm usually didn’t going into PDA and he usually reserved these actions for when the two of you were alone.

“I’m fine Malc.”

“You are?” Malcolm frowned, “But you’re here.”

“Because you forgot your lunch.”

You held up a bag and smiled.

“You were in such a rush with the case that you left this morning with it.”

You loved cooking with Malcolm and it was one of the things that took his mind off of his troubles. The two of you had reserved time out on Sunday to make sure that you cooked together and prepared lunch for the week.

“You could’ve just texted me,” said Malcolm, “You didn’t need to go and deliver it to me.”

“It was on my way to work,” you said, “No trouble.”

Malcolm opened his mouth but something made him freeze. You looked at him in concern as he closed his mouth and took a deep breath.

“I should probably let you know,” he said quietly, “That I haven’t told anyone about us yet.”

“Ok…” you said slowly

“And,” Malcolm turned around and you looked over his shoulder, “We have an audience.”

“Hi,” you waved awkwardly at Dani, Gil and JT, “I’m y/n.”

“A nurse,” said JT, “Didn’t know you had it in you.”

 *

 You were sweet, that was the best way Gil could describe you. He collapsed into his chair once you had rushed back off to work. It clear that you and Bright adored each other and if Malcolm’s improving health was anything to go by you were good for the kid. His lips twitched as he remembered the looked Malcolm gave you as you left the station.

The two of you were a cute couple.

The buzz of his phone drew him out of his thoughts. He glanced down at it and when he saw it was Jessica Whitly he knew it would be better if he answered it. If he didn’t she wouldn’t let it go.

“Jessica,” he said, “Everything alright?”

“Oh yes fine,” said Jessica, “If you don’t count not hearing from your son for almost a week fine. Calling you seems to be the only way I can get a hold of him.”

“What do you need Jessica,” he said pinching the bridge of his nose, “This case-“

“I know, I know,” he heard her sigh down the phone, “I’m just concerned about Malcolm. You know what he gets like during cases like these.”

“The kid is fine.”

“You sure?”

“Yes. His new girlfriend seems to be helping him keep on track.”

The silence down the phone told Gil everything.

“Malcolm has a new girlfriend?” Jessica asked and Gil could hear the curiosity and amusement in her voice.

“You didn’t know.”

“Whereas you did.”

“We only found out today. I think he was trying to keep it quiet.”

“Well then, thank you for this little chat up Gil but I really should be going.”

“Jessica-“

“Such a lot to get done and never enough hours in the day.”

“Jessica-“

“Bye.”

After Jessica hung up Gil was left looking desperately at his phone. He wondered if he should warn Malcolm or let him find out on his own.

 *

 Malcolm was getting used to the fact that the two of you had different schedules. Usually you got home later than he did so he was surprised when his door was unlocked. However, the scent of perfume in his flat told him that it wasn’t you in his flat.

“Malcolm,” said Jessica walking towards him, “Got home early tonight.”

“Mother,” He said looking at her suspiciously, “What are you doing here.”

“I was worried about you,” she said, “It’s been so long since we’ve had a proper dinner. So this Saturday you, me and Ainsley will be having dinner.”

“I don’t know if-“

“It’ll be fine,” she said walking towards the door, “And bring y/n. I’m dying to meet her.”

As the door shut behind her his mother’s words fully sunk in. Malcolm closed his eyes and ran a hand over his face. Dinner was going to be interesting and he was going to have to fully prepare you to meet his mother and sister.

Oh well, at least you weren’t meeting his father.

[dianaburnwood]

(Heavy question II) I mean that if the two either never met or lost the other, would they have drastically different personalities or lead different lives.

I don't think so. Diana and 47 would still be in the assassination business, even if they'd never met, because they were both in the assassination business before they met.

But let's get into the looooong answer cos of course I wrote a long answer

47:

If 47 had not met Diana, he may never have come to work for the ICA. His loyalty nowadays is not to the ICA, nor to any business. His loyalty is to Diana. She is what keeps him coming back, time and again, and we've seen that throughout the series. I do think it's possible (or even likely) that 47 would have found a way out of assassination if it weren't for Diana. That is why I have long been in favour of Diana examining the hold she has over 47 and really reflecting on the right thing for him. I was honestly amazed (and delighted) that the writers seemingly agreed and explored that in H3.

47 is now making his own choices about the business he does, but it is still so that he can be at Diana's side. He isn't going it alone. Would that be different if he'd never met her? Or would he have imprinted on someone else, whomever he may have met instead - the first person with authority that was kind to him, shared a joke with him, gave his life meaning? When he met Diana, 47 was seeking purpose. Now, 20+ years later, she is his purpose. He chooses her. I still think he might have had a chance for normalcy if he'd never met her, which is sad but I do love angst lol

Diana:

If Diana had not lost her parents the way she did, it is possible that she would have gone down a different path, but Soders still knew her parents sooo it's still likely that life would have come calling anyway

I don't think Diana's personality was shaped by 47 the way 47's has clearly been shaped by her. Diana is extremely independent, aware of her own needs, and comfortable with who she is (maybe a little too comfortable). Clearly, 47 is incredibly important to her, and the fact that she was finally willing to let him go in H3 shows how much she has grown.

But, if she lost 47, or had never met him, I don't think her life or personality would be very different. However, I don't think she would have formed such an emotional attachment to just any agent. She was drawn to 47 because of his trauma, a shared darkness, and a fascination with what lay beneath the surface. She fell in love with that, and with him. That has certainly influenced her actions.

Overall:

In some ways, I think Diana and 47 are worse off for knowing each other. Because 47 needs Diana, and Diana (until H3) doesn't want to lose him. So they keep each other in this loop.

At the same time, I think they are better for knowing each other.

47 has grown emotionally - we see that with each game - and that is largely down to Diana's influence. He has someone who cares about him, not just as an asset, but as a person. Someone he can trust - and he does, completely. That is something he needs.

Diana's moral code is no doubt influenced by 47's trauma. She is aware of the responsibility she has to him. She is careful about the decisions she makes, the contracts she chooses, the people she works for (e.g. Travis) - and, eventually, brings that scrutiny to bear on herself as well.

So, the tldr is that while I do think 47 would be quite different if he'd never met Diana, I don't think Diana would be that different if she'd never met 47 - but 47 makes her a better person. If they lost each other, I don't think it would change their personalities, but depending on how the loss occurred there would probably be a few towns burning.

[jettingtothemoon]

Shiggy pt 2

➳ pairing: shigaraki tomura x f!reader ➳ genre: fluff, smut ➳ warnings: swearing, smut, soft shiggy, rough sex, unprotected sex, pulling out, slight overstimulation, virgin shiggy, shigaraki being a parent to y/n for a solid chunk of this fic ➳ word count: 4900 ➳ rating: 18+ ➳ summary: In which y/n is unexpectedly hit with a quirk that turns her into a toddler for a short while and has no memory of shiggy. ➳ a/n: y/n turns back before the sex because like if she didn’t that would be seriously wrong. also reading part 1 isn’t necessary but is advised ^.^

After confessing for feelings for Shigaraki, the two of you started dating. Cuddles in his room became common for the two of you. Not to mention your late-night gaming sessions. Shiggy would sit on the floor with you in his lap, a controller in both of your hands as you played until the early hours of the morning.

Kurogiri always told the two of you not to stay up too late, especially as your quirk required a lot of energy to run on, but you didn't listen. You figured it would be fine as long as you ate enough food before going out on a mission. Eventually, however, the late nights caught up on you.

It was supposed to be an easy mission and, had you been at your full capacity, it would have been. It was just you and Dabi as your quirks were the best suited for the job. Unfortunately, you were not aware of your opponents' quirks. You were being careful and, after only a couple of minutes you had figured out most of their quirks. Well, all but one. It was that one quirk that would incapacitate you during the fight. You were caught off guard when you didn't have enough neon energy to use another bust to get away in time and, as soon as their hand landed on you, everything became rather... unusual.

Everyone suddenly seemed much, much taller than you. In fact, who even where these people? And what was all that noise? Such scary noises. It wasn't until a burst of blue flames shot overhead that your fear finally settled in and you fell onto your bottom as you began to squeal out. Tears ran down your face as you sniffled, not understanding what was happening. Before you could even begin to comprehend where you were, someone was scooping you up into their arms and running away. You didn't recognise the man but, for some reason, he seemed familiar.

He ran with you in his arms as he tried to keep you safe and, when you were finally away from the scary people, your tears began to clam down.

Shigaraki was sitting at the bar as usual while he waited for your return. He sat there, playing on his switch as he waited for you and Dabi to come back through the door safe and sound to update him on how the mission went. However, when the door did open and you finally came back, Shigaraki furrowed his brows.

"Who's the kid? Where's y/n?" He asked, bringing to scratch at his neck.

"We might have a slight problem." Dabi sighed as he walked over with the child, carrying her over to his boss.

Shigaraki's eyes widened when he finally recognised that small little face, "y-y/n?"

He reached out, taking you from Dabi's arms, as h3 tried to process what he was looking at. It was most certainly you but you were, well, small. A baby almost, probably about four or five. You clung to him, your tiny hands scrunching up his shirt as you nuzzled your head into the dark material.

This man, he seemed familiar too. Although you had no idea who he was or why you felt so safe in his arms. You couldn't remember any of these people but you knew they were not your family. You remembered your family, your mum and dad. They were not here, maybe they were at work? Maybe this was an uncle you hadn't met before?

"Shigaraki." Kurogiri spoke, drawing your boyfriend's attention away from your tiny form for a moment.

"What do we do?" Shigaraki asked, looking back down to you as you fell asleep in his arms while sucking your thumb in between your teeth.

Kurogiri began to reassure him, "This is most likely a temporary effect. Not many quirks are powerful enough to have a permanent effect like this so she should be back to normal in a few days."

"A few days," Shigaraki spoke a little too loudly and lowered his voice when you began to stir, "She could be like this for a few fucking days?"

"Calm down, we will be able to look after her until she turns back to normal."

Shigaraki lifted you up, holding you at arm's length from himself as he looked over your tiny sleeping face.

Then, his own face softened and he pulled you back to his chest, "Someone needs to watch her all the time. This place is dangerous enough as it is, let alone for a child."

"Aww, little Shiggy is getting soft." Toga giggled although it only earned her a threatening glare from Shigaraki.

Only you were allowed to call him that.

Toga held her hands up in surrender but continued to giggle when he stood up and carefully carried you into his room.

He put you down on his bed, gently tucking you in before brushing a strand of hair from your face. You were so tiny that it scared him. He didn't know what to do, he wasn't good with children, but he also knew that someone needed to keep an eye on you. Knowing that he would certainly not entrust your safety to Toga or Dabi, he decided that either he or Kurogiri would need to watch you and maker sure you weren't doing anything dangerous.

He sighed and left you in bed as he went over to his computer and loaded up a game. You were sleeping for now, after all, so it wasn't like you could get into too much trouble. He wasn't sure if you remembered who he was but he hoped to find out once you woke up later.

He had been playing for about an hour when it started. At first, you began to call out quietly for your mummy, which he sympathised with as, although he didn't know the ins and outs of what happened to your family, he knew they were no longer around. You were alone just like him but he wasn't alone anymore because you had become his family. He was going to pause the game and check on you but you soon quietened down again so he continued.

Ignorant of what was happening behind him, Shigaraki continued to immerse himself in the game, almost forgetting about your current situation completely. Well, until he heard a crash.

He threw his controller down and jumped up, running over to you and scooping you up off of the bed just before a piece of the ceiling fell on you.

"What the hell?" He questioned looking up at the purple scorches that had clearly been created with your quirk.

Before he could even begin to understand what had just happened, you were crying rather loudly. Your tiny little face was covered in tears and snot as you hugged him tightly and fisted at his shirt.

He still didn't know what to do or how to deal with this but he knew he needed to at least try and calm you down. So, he carried you over to the chair by his computer and sat down, holding you carefully as you sat in his lap and contained to cry.

"y/n? It's okay, I... I'm here." He thought about how a normal person would comfort a small child such as yourself and tried his best to sound calm in hopes of calming you with the tone of his voice.

You sniffled in his arms and pulled his top towards you, rubbing your runny nose with it before looking up at him with big, red eyes.

"I- I had a nightmare." You sniffled again and suddenly it began to make sense.

You had mentioned to him before about how you were a handful for your parents when your quirk first manifested because any little emotion could set it off. That must have been what had happened while you were sleeping.

"It's okay, y/n. It was just a bad dream. You're okay." He hugged you and ran his fingers through your hair again, being extra gentle as he was still not used to your fragile form.

"W- Who are you?" You sniffled again and his heart dropped, you didn't remember him.

"I- I'm Shigaraki."

You giggled to yourself and grinned up at him, "Uncle Shiggy."

It seemed even the child you liked to give people nicknames, or maybe it was a remnant of your missing memories.

He sighed and nodded his head, "Yeah... Uncle Shiggy."

Uncle Shiggy looked after you all night. He got you something to eat, that Kurogiri prepared just for you, and even stayed by your side as you ate. While you were eating, Shigaraki explained what had happened earlier to Kurogiri, who explained that all they could do was try to keep you calm so that you wouldn't accidentally hurt yourself or anyone else with your quirk.

When you finished eating, you demanded that Uncle Shiggy carry you to bed, which Toga found rather amusing, but he did so nonetheless.

"I want to sleep with Uncle Shiggy!" You exclaimed with your arms outstretched towards him, grabbing at the air hoping for him to come close.

Shigaraki sighed, knowing that the others had certainly heard you call out and were most likely sat giggling in the other room, but he still turned his games off and climbed into bed with you.

"Uncle Shiggy?" You asked as you snuggled up to him.

He only hummed.

"Why am I here? Where are mum and dad?"

You really did want to know why you were staying here instead of going home, not that you minded having a sleepover with Uncle Shiggy.

Shigaraki didn't know quite what to say, or do, in this situation and his silence started to worry you.

"Uncle Shiggy?"

"Your parents have some business they need to take care of so you're staying here with us for a while." He explained but, had you not been a toddler, you would not have been convinced with his words.

"I get to stay here with you?" You asked, growing more excited as you thought about having more fun with Uncle Shiggy.

He nodded and turned over to turn the light off, "Yes, now go to sleep."

"But what about my nose rubbies?" You pouted, looking up at him.

He raised an eyebrow, "Nose rubbies?"

"Yes, I need my nose rubbies before going to bed." You demanded.

"Um..."

After a moment, even the child version of yourself knew that Shigaraki had no idea what you were going on about.

"This is a nose rubbies." You huffed before pressing your nose softly to his and rubbing it side to side.

Shigaraki, who was still not used to the physical affection in your normal relationship, practically froze stiff when your nose pressed against his. Regardless, he didn't stop you and even found some comfort in your small, innocent gesture.

Without realising quite what came over him, he pressed a soft kiss to the top of your nose and pulled you closer. He would have liked to have kissed you normally but, as you were currently a child, that would have been much too weird even for him.

"Nighty night." You yawned, wrapping a tiny arm around what you could of Shigaraki.

He just sighed but, smiled a little nonetheless, "Nighty night, little y/n."

When morning came, you had thankfully not had another nightmare and hadn't caused any harm or damage to the building or anyone in it. You woke up, lying against Shigaraki, who still had one arm wrapped around you.

Shigaraki was one who liked to sleep in, unfortunately, with an energetic child to look after that wasn't going to happen.

You climbed up onto him and he groaned when you dropped your weight onto his chest.

"Uncle Shiggy. Wake up, it's morning."

He groaned again, draping an arm up over his eyes before lifting it slightly to peel his eyes open and look at you.

"Shit."

He flipped his head back down onto the pillow, arm back over his eyes as he came to realise that what happened yesterday wasn't just a bad dream and that he really was stuck with a child version of his girlfriend for the foreseeable future.

"That's a naughty word." You complained, scalding Uncle Shiggy for his choice in words this morning.

He just sighed and lifted you off of him as he climbed out of bed before placing you back down. He stretched and looked at the clock before turning back to you with an almost angry expression.

"You woke me up at five to seven?"

In his tone alone you could tell that maybe you should have let him sleep a little longer but it was too late now, the damage was done. And so, you simply hung your head and mumbled, "Sorry."

He sighed again and sat back down at the end of the bed, "It's fine. Just... try not to do it tomorrow."

You grinned and nodded obediently, "Okay, I won't. I promise."

Although, when the next day came, you broke that promise.

"I thought I told you to let me fucking sleep?" He yelled.

However, his tone quickly changed when all it did was make you cry.

He immediately sat beside you and tired to hush your cries, gently wiping your tears away with his sleeve, "I'm sorry, y/n. I shouldn't have yelled at you."

You sniffled and looked at him with your big puffy eyes, "I'm sorry, Uncle Shiggy. I just had so much fun yesterday that I wanted to wake you up early to have more fun today."

He sighed and wrapped his arms around you, pulling you to his chest as he carded his fingers through your hair.

Although he didn't particularly find the day before to be any fun at all, you certainly had. After waking him up before seven, he made you breakfast, although he wasn't entirely sure how to do it or what you could eat. Then, once you had eaten, he pretty much just let you watch movies all day.

He sent Dabi out to get popcorn and sweets, which turned out to be a very bad idea because it just made you hyper. Not to mention, watching you watch crappy kids tv and movies all day drained the life out of him. You stood in front of the screen, singing along or calling out when the characters on the screen asked you something. You literally stood on the spot, bouncing up and down constantly until hours had passed and you were finally drained of your energy. 

By that point, Shigaraki picked you up and tucked you into bed, hoping that this would have tired you out enough to get some more sleep the next day. He was wrong, however, and you had somehow managed to wake him up even earlier than before.

You were now onto day three. Three days of looking after a toddler. Three days of his life that Shigaraki was never going to get back and it didn't look like you would be turning back any time soon. He just missed you, the older you. He missed your kisses and cuddles. Holding such a tiny version of you in his arms just wasn't the same. You would fidget and try to take off his gloves even though he told you how bad it would be if you did so. He was starting to understand why so many parents seemed so exhausted all of the time. Only, he wasn't looking after his child. He was looking after you, his girlfriend, who should most certainly not be a toddler when you were really a fully grown adult.

"How much longer will she be like this?" Shigaraki asked, still holding you in his arms as he spoke to Kurogiri.

Of course, you were too preoccupied with the toy he had made Toga buy you to pay any attention to their conversation.

"It shouldn't be much longer. To be honest, I thought she would have already turned back by now."

Shigaraki looked down at you, "What if she never turns back?"

"She will. No quirk is that strong." Kurogiri reassured, although it didn't help ease Shigaraki's nerves.

When it was time for bed, Uncle Shiggy tucked you in like usual but was surprised when your little hand reached up to touch the dried skin around his eyes.

You tilted your little head to the side and asked so innocently, "Why is your skin like this?"

Shigaraki was taken aback by our question, not really expecting you to bring it up because you hadn't even bothered to ask when you were adult.

He frowned a little and began to scratch at his neck as he sat down on the bed beside you, "It's, um, some kind of skin condition? I think- I don't really know. Allergies or something?"

"Oh."

That was all you said, your only reply and, somehow, it was the best one you could have given. Your lack of interest in it made Shigaraki feel better somehow because it was like it lacked importance. As if it didn't really matter that his skin was dry and, as he had heard so many times before, gross. He had always hated it, especially when he was younger and actually cared what people thought of him. He just wanted to look normal, like all of the other kids. He was insecure about it, not that he really showed it all that much, and was especially insecure about it around you. Because you were the only one that mattered.

He smiled when you just grabbed his hand and turned onto your side, closing your eyes as you drifted off to sleep. He sat there and brushed your hair out of your face, leaving his other hand where it was being hugged by your two little ones while he waited for you to fall asleep.

It was only ever quiet when you were asleep and he had found that he even enjoyed watching you sleep so soundly. When you were definitely asleep, he slipped his hand out and leaned down, pressing a gentle kiss to your forehead before walking around the bed and climbing in the other side.

The next morning, despite his scalding of you the two days before, he had expected to be woken up early. However, when you were finally shaking him awake, it was much later than those other days.

"Shiggy?" You questioned, not quite remembering how you had wound up in his bed.

You cuddled a lot but you hadn't slept in here yet, surely you would remember why you were in here in the first place. The last thing you do remember is fighting alongside Dabi.

"y/n?" Shigaraki exclaimed, sitting up so abruptly that it made you jump.

Before you could ask him what was going on or why he looked so surprised, he dived onto you and wrapped his arms tightly around you. You giggled and hugged him back despite still not understanding what was going on.

"We are never having kids." He grumbled upon releasing you, only confusing you further.

After that, he explained everything to you about what had happened and how many days had passed. Four days ago you had been turned into a toddler thanks to a de-ageing quirk but now you were thankfully back to normal.

Of course, Toga had giggled and told you all about how cute you were and how Shigaraki was so protective of you. She also told you that you had taken to calling him 'Uncle Shiggy' and that you demanded to sleep in his bed with him every night. Not to mention, you apparently liked to sit in his lap and cuddle him pretty much all of the time.

You just chuckled at it all as she told you and glanced over to Shiggy, who was frowning but blushing a little nonetheless, every time Toga brought up how he was with you in your tiny form. It made you smile as you thought about him looking after you when you were so small and confused, especially how much of a handful you must have been.

When Shigaraki had had enough of listening to everyone explaining it all to you, he took hold of your wrist and dragged you along to his room. You sat down on his bed, eagerly waiting for him to sit beside you so you could cuddle up next to him. He soon complied and nestled his head into your hair when you cuddled into his chest.

"When you were- well, little- you had a nightmare and your neon was purple. Does it change colour a lot?" Shiggy asked.

You nodded, "The colour changes based on my mood. It'll be red when I'm angry or fighting. It goes blue when I'm sad and yellow when I'm happy. Purple means I'm scared or in distress."

He hummed and seemed to think for a moment before flipping you down onto the bed so that he was on top of you, his face hovering just above yours.

"What colour is it now?" His breath fanned over your face, his lips barely brushing over yours.

You smiled, feeling your heart pound in your chest and allowed a flicker of light to flash through your eyes.

"Pink? What does it mean?" He tilted his head to the side, eyes still looking into your own as you reached out for his hand.

You pulled his hand over and placed it onto your chest, knowing he would be able to feel the rapid beats of your heart, "What do you think it means?"

His answer to that question was rather simple as his head dived down and he finally captured your lips with his own. His hand didn't move from where you had placed it until you pushed one of your own into his hair and used your other to move his.

When you moved his hand so that he was cupping your breast, he took the sign and didn't hesitate to squeeze it slightly. His groping only continued as you wrapped your legs around his waist, pulling him closer.

When your lips parted, you pulled his bottom one between your teeth before letting it go and kissing him again.

"I love you." You grinned, grinding against him as your lips connected again.

His hands continued to roam your body until one slipped under your shirt. His fingers were almost gentle as they ran over your skin, still somewhat unsure of how to do this affection thing. Not to mention, you were his first kiss so he was certainly still a virgin.

Not that it made much of an impact.

Shigaraki was new to showing affection, new to kisses and cuddles and tender touches between lovers. And yet, he was an unexpectedly fast learner. He still seemed unsure but his confidence only grew as you continued to kiss him with such desperation, such need.

His touches grew rougher as he pulled reactions from you, figuring out what felt good and what didn't. He came to realise that you liked his rough hands, much like you liked the rough skin of his lips against your own. However, what seemed to set you off the most, was a combination of both roughness and gentleness. So, as one hand almost harshly pulled at your hair, the other tenderly squeezed at your breast while a gentle thumb rubbed over your nipple.

Both of your hands were in his hair, moving around to twirl and tug at his messy locks. Occasionally, your hands would slip back towards his face until his ear was between your fingers. His ears were sensitive, as you had unexpectedly discovered during one of your cuddle sessions.

As he kissed at your neck, tongue coming out to lick you here and there, your lips went to his ear. Your teeth pulled at his lobe, biting down just enough to leave the pale skin there a pretty shade of pink.

When his hand ventured lower, slipping into your underwear, your breath hitched.

"S-Shiggy-"

You were cut off with a groan as he slipped a finger inside of you, moving it about randomly as he got a feel of your insides before slipping in another. He spread them about inside you, trying to figure out what felt good as he listened to your breathing. A hitch; he'd hit a sweet spot. A moan; he was doing a good job. Nothing; you weren't feeling it at all.

"I- Is it okay? Does it... does it feel good?" He asked, his insecurities coming into the light once again.

You nodded, breathing out another moan as you tightened your grip on his hair.

"It feels really good but- but I want you." You had to stop halfway to catch your breath only to whine in dissatisfaction when he pulled his fingers out.

Although, your breath stopped altogether seconds later when he suddenly pushed into you. You could tell he was trying not to move right away but, from the small movements of his hips, you could tell he was struggling.

You buried your head into his neck, holding tightly onto the back of his shirt as you adjusted. He was somewhat larger than you had expected but not so much that it shocked you. He was around average and, in your opinion, the perfect size to slot comfortably in you.

"Y- You can move, Shiggy. You don't have to hold back."

With your confirmation, he began thrusting into you. He tried to keep a steady pace at first but grew rough quickly. Not that you minded. Actually, you liked seeing him losing control over you.

Every time his hips snapped into you, his little grunts and groans humming in your ear, you squeezed so tightly against his shirt that you swear your knuckles must have been white. It just felt so good. Not that it was the best sex in the world. He was clumsy and even a little sloppy if you were being honest but just the fact that it was him was enough. Just knowing that he was pouring all of his feelings, however new to him they may have been, into trying to please you was enough. You loved him so, so much. And, although it wasn't always so clear, he loved you too.

"Fuck, Shiggy. There, right there." You whimpered out as he hit that certain spot within you.

He hit it over and over, missing every couple of thrusts only to hit it head-on again the next time. He was trying so hard. He just wanted to try his best to make you feel good too.

Many people, civilians, heroes and even villains alike would call Shigaraki selfish. He didn't care for his league, he just cared about himself. His goal was to be the most powerful villain, to kill the great all might, to take over from his master.

To you, however, he was anything but selfish. He was a shimmer of hope in the darkness. He did care, he was just bad at showing it. He cared for you and the rest of the league in his own special way. Obviously, the way he felt about you was very different from his feelings towards them. However, they were the closest thing he had to a family now and he knew that. If someone were to harm any of you he would kill them without hesitation.

That was just how he was. Shigaraki cared, he always had.

"Shiggy. I'm going to-" Before you could even finish you released.

Toes curling, back-arching, nails digging into his shoulder blades. After that, it was all too much for you but he still wasn't quite there. His thrusts grew even harsher as he chased his own high, over-stimulating you in the process. When he finally saw the tears building in your eyes, he quickly pulled out and finished himself off in his hand. He came all over you, dirtying your shirt as he rubbed himself through his release.

When he was done, he reached up and wiped the tears from your eyes, apologising for hurting you but his eyes only widened when you took a hold of his hand and kissed his palm with gentle lips.

"It's okay Shiggy. It didn't hurt, it was just a little too much." 

Your eyes met his and he seemed to melt completely. But, after feeling his own tiredness, he climbed off of you and got off of the bed. He grabbed a hoodie of his and passed it to you before he delved into a messy draw for some clean sheets.

You got up, putting his hoodie on and grabbing a box of tissues to clean yourself up. When you were finally free of all the sticky bodily fluids, you threw the tissue into the bin and grabbed a clean pair of pants, pulling them on before climbing back into the newly made bed.

You reached out like a child, hands grabbing out towards Shigaraki to get him to come to you.

He sighed, "Not this again."

With a soft chuckle, you pulled him into the bed. His head rested on your chest as you played with his hair, pulling the covers up over the both of you.

"Goodnight Shiggy. I love you." You smiled, yawning as you cuddled him.

He closed his eyes, head resting against your comfortable chest as he mumbled, "I love you too."

[startoverr231-blog]

How long does it take to learn web designing?

Becoming an best website designers doesn’t want to be tough. If you want to know the essential basics, we’ve prepare this manual that covers the whole lot you need to realize to get started.

What is internet design?

Part artistry and part science, net design faucets into every the modern and analytical side of a person’s thoughts.

Web designers take what’s conceptual and translate it into visuals. Images, typography, colours, text, terrible place, and structure come together offering no longer only a patron experience however a conduit for speakme thoughts.

A best website developers is conscious the importance of each piece of a layout. They make alternatives on a granular degree, styling each element, whilst in no way losing sight of the way the factors will come together and function in handing over at the format’s extra dreams.

Web designs are powered through the lower again give up

You’re going to stumble upon the phrases lower back end and front give up as you are mastering. Most novices combination these up, so it’s important to realize how they’re precise.

The returned end is everything that runs behind the scenes in showing a net website. Websites are dwelling on servers. When a user makes a request like navigating to a particular segment of a internet web page, the server takes this incoming records and in flip shoots out all of the HTML and distinct code simply so it presentations inside the person’s browser effectively. Servers host the records a net web site calls for to feature.

Know what the the the front prevent is

The again quit is taken into consideration the server facet whilst the the the front cease is the patron side. The the front end is wherein HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and distinct code work together to show a internet web site. This is the part of a web layout that humans have interaction with.

As you boost to your profession you can venture into greater specialized regions of net development. You can also additionally turn out to be operating with frameworks like React or Bootstrap or skip deeper with JavaScript or jQuery. These are extra superior regions that you shouldn’t fear too much approximately within the beginning.

How to study net design (in 5 steps)

1. Understand the important thing standards of visible design

Line

Every letter, border, and division in a format is crafted from lines that make up their greater structure. Learning internet design approach know-how the packages of traces in developing order and stability in a layout.

Shapes

The three easy shapes in seen layout are squares, circles, and triangles. Squares and rectangles work for blocks of content fabric, circles paintings for buttons, and triangles are frequently used for icons that accompany an vital message or name to motion. Shapes also have a enjoy of emotion, with squares related to electricity, circles with harmony and luxury, and triangles with importance and movement.

Texture

Texture replicates something in the actual worldwide. Through texture, we get an idea of whether or not or no longer a few factor is hard or smooth. Textures may be visible throughout web design. From paperlike backgrounds to the colourful wisps of a Gaussian blur, be privy to the awesome kinds of textures that would make your designs greater interesting and may supply them a experience of physicality.

Color

To create designs that aren’t an eye fixed strain, you must train your self in shade idea. Understanding the shade wheel, complementary colorations, contrasting shades, and the feelings that unique colorings are tied to will make you a better net fashion designer.

Grids

Grids have their roots inside the earliest days of picture design. They feature so well in bringing order to photographs, texts, and different elements in a web design. Learn how to structure your web layouts the usage of grids.

2. Know the basics of HTML

Hypertext markup language (HTML) gives the instructions for a manner the content, photographs, navigation, and other factors of a internet website online display in a person’s net browser. Though you don’t need to be an professional in HTML, it however permits to have a few familiarity with how it works, even in case you’re the use of a visual-based layout platform like Webflow.

HTML tags are the instructions a browser makes use of to generate a net website. Headings, paragraphs, links, and snap shots are all managed through those tags. You’ll specifically need to apprehend how header tags like H1, H2, and H3 tags are used for content hierarchy. In addition to affecting layout structure, header tags are crucial in how net crawlers classify a design and feature an effect on how they display up in natural are trying to find rankings.

3. Understand CSS

CSS (or cascading fashion sheets) offers styling and extra instructions on how an HTML detail goes to appear. Doing such things as utilizing fonts, such as padding, setting alignment, choosing colours, or even growing grids are all possible via CSS.

Knowing how CSS works will offer you with the abilties to create unique searching websites and to customise modern templates. Let’s pass over a few key ideas of CSS.

4. Learn the regulations of UX

UX is the magic that brings a internet site to lifestyles, remodeling it from a static arrangement of elements into a few element that engages with the emotions of someone scrolling through it.

The color scheme, content cloth, typography, format, and visuals all come together to serve your target audience. User enjoy layout is about precision and evoking emotions. It gives someone now not only a clean journey but an enjoy that connects them with the entity or brand inside the lower back of the net layout.

Here are a few UX standards you’ll need to realize.

User personas

Web design manner understanding give up users. You need to discover ways to do character research and a way to create consumer personas. In addition, you’ll need to realise how to utilize this statistics in developing a layout that’s optimized for his or her needs.

Information architecture

Without easy organisation, humans receives harassed and jump. Information structure and content material mapping provide a blueprint for a way the internet site and every phase will paintings together in offering a clean patron journey.

User flows

Constructing character flows might also come into play at the same time as you paintings your manner as much as greater sizeable design projects, but you’ll be better off within the destiny in case you begin considering those and building them out for your early designs. User flows talk how people will float thru a layout. They will let you prioritize the maximum critical sections and ensure that humans can get right of entry to them.

5. Familiarize your self with UI

A consumer interface is a mechanism that places a piece of generation into movement. A doorknob is a person interface. The extent manage on your car radio that your huge other received’t stop messing spherical with is someone interface. And the keypad that you input your PIN into at an ATM is a consumer interface. Just as buttons and other mechanisms within the real global allow a person to have interaction with machines, the person interface factors on a net website allow a person to position actions into motion.

No code presents an easy access into internet design

There changed right into a time, now not that long in the past, even as you had to have a deep information of HTML and CSS to manually write the code in the back of a web layout. Today, with out a code gadget like Webflow, it’s feasible to put together a website and release it in a brief amount of time. What took days or perhaps weeks can now occur in hours.

Of course, so much goes into developing a pinnacle layout business enterprise web sites. Learning the fundamentals in the back of visual format, the basics of UI and UX, and information how the front give up and again stop function will make you a more best website designers.

[stoneygo]

S-Force Analysis/Deck Profile

As the new S-Force (Security Force) Archetype will be released in the new Booster: Blazing Vortex, I've decided to make an analysis on the archetype, my thoughts on each card, and leaving a deck-list for casual play 😎

Archetype Explained

S-Force another column based archetype where your S-Force monsters nerfs your opponent's monster(s) that's in the same column; they also banish one another to dish out more support for themselves, for an example:

Banishes one S-Force Monster from your hand to special summon another from your deck.

It also has another effect: "Each of your opponent's monsters in the same column as one of your "S-Force" monsters can only target that monster for attacks.". If you didn't get this effect already by reading all it's saying: "While this card is on the field, your opponent can only attack S-Force monsters in the same column of the attacking monster" this locks your opponent (not you), from attacking freely.

Is another monster that banishes one of your S-Force monsters from your hand to supply a (Quick Effect): "When your opponent monster (they control) activates their effect you can banish one S-Force Monster from your hand and destroy that Monster"

Now this effect is... ok? It doesn't negate the activation/effect it just destroys the monster, it doesn't target the card either so I guess if you wanna out a monster that usually activate their effects but it cannot be targeted... This is the effect you can use to out that card... I guess? 🤔

The other section of the archetype is stunning your opponent in someway, but for the effects to work: they will also need to be in the same column as the S-Force monsters so...

Each monster that your opponent controlls that's in the same column as this card, when they leave the field they will be banished!

Once, per, turn... If this card is Summoned(Special/Normal) to the field, you can add one S-Force Card from the deck to the hand! Might be helpful for getting some of your support cards from your deck to the hand; it's dissatisfying that this card is not a lvl 4 or lower monster; which forces you to Special Summon if you don't have/wanna waste a tribute summon...

Each monster that's in the same column as this one, will lose 600 ATK.

Once, per, turn... If this card is Summoned(Special/Normal) to the field, you can Special Summon ONE BANISHED S-Force Monster onto the field. This is a great way how to bring back monsters you banished with (S-Force Rappa Chiyomaru) or (S-Force Orrafist), back onto your field. The only thing is you "CANNOT" Special Summon a banished (S-Force Pla-Tina), so she cannot target herself for the SS...

Each monster in the same column as this one, cannot change their battle position.

Once, per, turn... If this card is Summoned (Normal/Special), you can target one monster your opponent controls and switch their battle position. This effect is an overall meh... It's a good option for non-link related decks

The Spell/Trap cards that make this archetype "WORK"...

(Which is a Secret-Rare BTW), This can only be activated once, per, turrrnn... Once activated you can add 1 S-Force card from your deck to the hand; Also when an opponent attacks one of your S-Force monsters that's in the same column of the attacking monster ([S-Force Rappa Chiyomaru] can force this activation with her effect) this effect can only be used "ONCE" per turn...

Activate 1 of these effects:

Special summon from the hand

Add 1 monster from the GY to the hand

Can only activate this card per turn...

Again pretty decent support...

Target cards up to the number S-Force monsters you control (with different names), and send them back to the hand; If A S-Force Monster effect would banish A card(s) from the hand, you can banish this card from the GY instead.

This is actually a pretty good trap card, it doesn't destroy and it's a pretty good spot removal for pesky cards... only downside for this card is that it "TARGETS" but I can't complain too much it's a GREAT out for Mystic Mine; The other effect comes in handy as-well if you wanna activate Rappa Chiyomaru, but you have no cards in your hand... you can banish the trap SS the Pla-Tina, Pla-Tina then goes for one of your banished S-Force Monsters and place them back on the field 😇

Another great recovery card (or A second Pla-Tina). You can SS 1 S-Force Monster from your GY or that was banished "INTO" a column of your opponent's monster they control; If this card is in the GY you can then banish it, then move your S-Force Monster into another (Main) Monster Zone.

A pretty good card to recover some loss of your S-Force monsters that was sent to your GY rather destroyed/used for ED summoning; Needing your S-Force Monsters in your banished pile so your "S-Force Pla-Tina" & "S-Force Specimen" becomes live.

That one ED Monster

Requires 3 Effect Monsters, including a S-Force Monster to link summon.

(Passive Effect): You cannot Summon/Set monsters to a zone(s) this card points to; At the start of the Damage Step, if this card attacks: You can banish all monsters this card points to.

(Quick Effect): Once, per, tuuurrrnnn... You can target 1 face-up Effect Monster your opponent controls; negate its effects until the end of this turn, then you can move that opponent's monster to their Monster Zone this card points to.

This monster carries the deck, but the whole targeting thing isn't so great, since "MOST" boss monsters cannot be targeted with card effects but I can't complain because of the 2 passive effects which are really good on their own.

The Profile

Main Deck

Monsters

1x PSY-Frame Driver

3x PSY-Framegear Gamma (The gamma package for negation)

2x Archnemeses Eschatos (Banishing your S-Force Monsters for a Boss monster that can destroy & can't be destroyed is a honest trade-off + you can use the effects of "S-Force Specimen"/"S-Force Pla-Tina")

3x Parallel eXceed (This is general support for cyberse LINK plays)

3x Radian, the Multidimensional Kaiju (SPOT REMOVAL)

1x S-Force Gravitino (Not really needed at 3 nor useful at 2 since this can be searched with the field and special summoned with Rappa Chiyomaru, also can be recovered with specimen & pla-tina)

2x S-Force Pla-Tina

3x S-Force Edge Laser/S-Force Orrafist (Most likely will replace with Edge Laser once it's out)

Spells

3x Allure Of Darkness (Draw Power)

3x Cynet Mining (Search for Edge/Orrafist)

1x RoTA (Search for Rappa Chiyomaru)

1x Terraforming (Search for field... to search for things)

3x S-Force Bridgehead

1x Called By The Grave

3x S-Force Showdown (This card was the most complicated card I've ever handled in a deck, I wanted to see it when I have another S-Force Monster in my hand, but didn't want to see it if I didn't... I decided to run it at 3 since I have so many searches, so I at-least will have 1 S-Force Monster in the hand)

Traps

3x S-Force Chase

3x S-Force Specimen (Reasons are obvious...)

Extra Deck

1x ZEUS

1x Firewall eXceed Dragon

2x Time Thief Redoer

1x Accesscode Talker

1x Apollousa Bow of the Goddess

1x Mekk-Knight Crusadia Avramax

3x S-Force Justify

1x I:P Masquerena

1x PSY-Framelord Lambda

1x Union Carrier

1x Link Devotee

1x Link Disciple

Side Deck

3x Nibiru

2x BLS - Envoy of the Beginning

3x Artifact Lancea

3x Iron Dragon Tiamaton

3x Ash Blossom

1x Bujinki Ahashima

[tundrainafrica]

Title: En Prise (Chapter 1)

Summary:  

Hange already had the innate analysis skills and the quick wittedness to excel in the classroom. Chess should have come easy for her. As she processed her fifth loss to the man in front of her, she started to understand that there was more to the game than meets the eye.

College AU! Levi is a little too good at chess and Hange gets roped into studying the game further.

Link to cross-postings: AO3

Links to other chapters: 2

Notes: Netflix has this new show out called "Queen's Gambit" which makes chess look like I pretty good driver for a story. Attack on Titan has its fair amount of chess motifs as well and that's when I knew a Chess AU has to exist somewhere in the fandom. With that, Levihan AU came into existence.

Chapter 1

His earliest memories comprised only three sensations --- gnawing hunger, paralyzing despondency and the reprieve of the cold hard pieces at his fingertips as he maneuvered them through the board.

Over the years, his body had tuned out everything else, justifying it to his being too young to have processed it anyway.

If anyone had asked him though about the first games he had ever played with his mother, he would have been able to replay them from opening the game with a queen's pawn to the sight of his mother's hand laying the king on the ground in defeat.

It had been ten years since his mother's death, three years since his uncle's disappearance and Levi was alone. It was just him and the last memories of his uncle and his mother immortalized in a game of strategy.

Somehow, that was what made tournaments so calming to the young adult Levi.

It was his sixth game of the tournament and Levi had ended up playing on one of the boards on the corners of the large dining hall turned tournament venue. He snuck a glance at the top boards at the stage towards the center of the room before making his first move.

"The London System. Too scared of tactics eh? Typical of beginners."

Calming yet oddly stressful. Calming yet oddly depressing. Levi thought to himself as he watched the familiar play of the London System transition into an unfamiliar position.

Of course, there are billions of possibilities. There are bound to be some I've never seen in my life.

"Hey kid, your position is just weakness after weakness. Those doubled pawns on your f file, your h3 pawn. This is just a mate waiting to happen."

Within a few moves, Levi's opponent tore through his castled king with a bishop sacrifice. Seeing that the mate was inevitable, Levi put his hand out from under him in surrender.

"This was way too easy, kid. You probably could have given me a harder time if you just didn't show up at all. Do yourself a favor and find yourself some other hobby."

There were assholes in the chess community and Levi had heard that same insult towards him countless times. He grabbed his hoodie, put it back on and made his way out of the tournament hall. On the way out, he stopped in front of the list of their latest scores.

Scores as of Round 5

He scrolled towards the bottom of the sheet, knowing his name would be there.

Levi : 0

Levi was surprised to feel a knot at the pit of his stomach as he stared at the score for a few more seconds.

Losing would hurt for anyone. He thought to himself, making sense of that odd bout of emotion.

He walked away from the tournament hall and disappeared into the crowds of the subway beneath it.

                                             En Prise

Mens Sana in Corpore Sano.

A Sound Mind in Sound Body.

Every student was required to take eight units of physical education, spread out among the first two years of college

If Hange had read the flyer before she applied to the prestigious Eldia university, she probably would have figured it out by the fine print right under the name of the university. If she had at least opened her study plan since she got it three months ago, she probably would have seen it written in clear fine print below “General Chemistry” and “Precalculus”

She had picked her university for the Chemistry degree, the prestige and nothing else. All she had to know was that it was one of the highest ranking universities in the country and they had complete facilities for biochemistry research.

She was quick to take the test, fill out the paperwork and submit it along with her essay.

Five months after she found the results, a week before the start of classes, came enlistment. As Hange stared at her study plan during her online enlistment proper, she felt completely and utterly trapped.

Her majors were no problem since they were all pre-enlisted. Her predicament came in the form of her physical education units.

Four semesters of PE. Hange grimaced. And it's gonna be counted towards my GPA?  She was not athletic at all and had hoped to avoid anything physical so she could dedicate herself to her studies.

How long will I have to do this?  Hange thought to herself as she scrolled through her four year study plan that opened up in the website in front of her.

   Physical Education [for enlistment]

She clicked on it and watched as the choices opened up in front of her. Around the country, hundreds of other students were enlisting and she watched as the numbers of open slots fell to zero in some classes.

It's not like I wanted to take basketball or volleyball anyway. Hange thought as she sorted it by slot. Surprisingly, the ones which were running out of slots faster were the more physical ones. She had already planned to try for anything with the least exercise.

Table tennis. Fencing. Tai Chi. Yoga.

She stared at those four for a moment as she considered those alternatives if she could not find anything less strenuous. She continued to scroll down.

Street dance. Folk dance. Chess.

Her eyes fell on the last one with twenty full slots. She had played the game many times before, having been taught by her own parents growing up. She had beaten a lot of her peers as well since she had the innate analysis skills and the quick wittedness, most people her age did not have growing up. She was confident she would have it easier in that class.

For a moment, she had considered pushing it back towards a later semester. As the numbers started to fall though on all the classes, Hange knew she had to make a decision soon.

She clicked "Chess" and a few pages later, "Confirm Enlistment."

It's gonna be my first year. The important thing is I get through it.

                                               En Prise

A few days after enlistment, Hange moved into her dormitory room with her roommate, Rico Brzenska, a petite girl with short blond hair and glasses who looked too busy to even acknowledge the new presence in the room. She looked like she was studying the first few pages of their precalculus textbook, only offering her name in response to Hange loudly and messily emptying the contents of her suitcase on the floor next to her bed.

Hange had similar plans of reading in advance. The first day of classes was three days away though and she had wanted to see the campus at least before burying herself in study material

She looked out the window to see that the sun was starting to turn a mild orange. She had arrived in her room by 4pm. It was early autumn though and Hange guessed that it might get dark sooner than she expected.

Unpacking could wait. She wanted to see the city. Hange threw aside her suitcase, pocketed her wallet and phone, and made her way outside of the dorm.

She stepped out into the green landscape just outside the entrance to the women's dormitory. The air was starting to get cold and she almost regretted not bringing a jacket. Not wanting to waste any time though, she trudged on, making her way out of campus.

A lot of new students must have moved into the dormitories already. There were many people her age already walking the streets of the university town. Hange could see some students already inside the bars that lined the busier streets.

Even since high school though, she had never seen the appeal of bars and parties. She chose to walk on without giving them a second glance.

Hange was about to circle back into campus when along the more quiet streets, she came across a small book shop.

I walked this far already, might as well check out stuff.

The familiar musty smell of books welcomed her as she opened the store shop. She had spent years cooped up in library after library, and had developed an affinity for that scent in particular.

She had bought most of her textbooks in advance. In fact, the only subject she had not prepared for at all was her Physical Education classes. She had chosen that university for their chemistry curriculum and the fact that she had to take physical education units, left her bitter and indignant about giving it the same  preparation she would have naturally given it if it were any other subject.

With time though, Hange did get curious. A day before she left for college she started playing a few games of speed chess anonymously online, winning most of them. It was an easy and straightforward game. All she had to do was make sure her pieces didn't get eaten and make sure she takes the free pieces. When she accumulated enough of an advantage, she went for a mate. All the games had been like that.

As she walked through the bookstore, she crossed a games section. The books in the store piled up all the way up to the ceilings. Hange surveyed the stack of books in the game section, only to realize that at least half of them were about chess.

Was chess this complicated of a game? Hange opened one of the books only to find paragraphs worth of explanation for one board position. She pulled books out of the shelves one by one, scanning the first few pages of each book that had caught her interest.

The Sicilian Dragon

The London System

Attack with Black

Chess Puzzles

Common Chess Mistakes

Maybe it was worth studying. Hange settled for what looked to be the most similar to a text book. It was thicker than a lot of other books but was worth as much as the others which only convinced her more that it was the best bargain.

Modern Chess Openings.

Hange was sure if she just followed the path she had taken an hour ago to the bookstore, she would have ended up safe home.

If I follow the same general direction, I'd also get home anyway. With that in mind, Hange stepped out of the main street and into one of the narrower and darker alleys, her new book safe in a paper bag by her side.

Although the streets were starting to get dark as the sun started to set below the horizon her curiosity and sense of adventure remained unwavered. It was a reckless habit and Hange's parents had told her before that it could get her killed one day.  

The streets she found herself in had their fair share of bars and eateries, although not as posh as those in the main street. Her own experiences had dictated to her multiple times though that the smaller ones probably even served better food than those in the main street.

She slowed her stride, gathering in the rustic view of the alleys, the souvenir kiosks and the shabbier bars.

"That shortie is fucking hustling me! He left his knight en prise on purpose. I'm not leaving until he gives me back my money!" A middle aged man burst out of one of the bars, his face pink with what could have been anger or alcohol.

He left his knight en prise… A free piece. Having spent a good hour in the bookstore going through chess books, the lingo was still fresh in her mind.

Two men were holding him from behind, looking the same shade of pink and Hange deduced then that he was probably drunk.

"We're really sorry for the trouble we're causing you here. We left the payment on our table." Another voice said from the doorway of the bar.

As Hange approached the bar, she saw another man bowing his head in apology to what looked to be the owner by the door. The two men made space for Hange to enter as they continued to discuss the logistics of what just happened. Hange knew she would get more context on that scene if she checked it out herself.

She did not need to think much to see the cause of the ruckus. Most of the bar goers were still staring in shock at one of the tables in the corner.

On the table sat a young man who looked to be her age, counting a wad of fresh bills on his hand. In front of him was a chess board, the pieces lined up so neatly, it was unbelievable to think it had anything to do with the drunk angry man who had burst out of the bar just a minute ago.

"What's that?" Hange asked no one in particular as she approached the table. The complexity of the game had caught her eye already back in the bookshop. Getting to see it in practice so soon after that got Hange red with excitement.

"Chess," the man at the table said as if the answer wasn't so blatantly obvious. "You play?"

It was an easy and straightforward game. All she had to do was make sure her pieces don't get eaten and make sure she takes the free pieces.

All she had to do was accumulate enough of an advantage to go for a mate.

He put two of his closed fists in front of her, a pawn in each of them. She picked the one on her right which opened to a white pawn. She was slated to start first.

She opened up with her king's pawn, knowing from experience that it opened up the most pieces. He mirrored her first move, pushing his king's pawn so it was right in front of hers.

She brought out her knight, then her bishop, preparing to castle kingside.

By the start of the middle game, Hange was starting to realize that the man in front of her had completely mirrored her position. A few moves in, he left a piece en prise.

Wins were usually straightforward for those with a material disadvantage. Before taking the piece, Hange looked at the man in front of her, only to see he looked completely unbothered by the free piece.

Am I missing something? It's too early in the game. There's no attack.

Oddly enough, fifteen moves later, Hänge found herself resigning having trapped her queen in the corner of the board.

She was a knight up. She should have been able to win.

"Again."

                                      En Prise

Five games in and Hange was out of money.

"Wait. Let's play one more."

"It's late." The man stood up and counted the cash which used to be Hange's. "Besides, I'm assuming this is all you have on hand?"

Hange stood up to look at the clock behind her and it was only then did she realize she stood a good few inches taller than him. His domineering presence on the board had somehow made him look much taller to her.

She looked to the clock behind her.

9:30

Shit. Hange had lost track of time. Her dormitory had a 10pm curfew on weekdays. She grabbed her paper bag, pocketed her empty wallet and hurried out of the bar.

Hange made her way through the narrow alleys towards the general direction of the university. Those streets were much more peaceful than their wider counterparts and that gave Hange the perfect environment to reflect on how the man had played.

She taught back to the first game. He had left his night en prise at the start of the middle game, his face completely unbothered even as Hange took it. Either way, he was a material down and she knew enough of the basics to know that the win should have been straightforward from there.

Hange could not pinpoint exactly which move proved fatal on her end. The man had slowly taken over her position, advancing his territory slowly but deftly until suddenly her queen was trapped.

At first, she thought that she had been careless but as she looked back to the five games in a row. They all started with her opponent giving a notable advantage to her, whether it be a three pawns, a free knight or a rook for a knight.

Every game, she had thought she was winning. His blunders at the opening, would have made anyone think that he was a little careless or a little too overconfident. His wins came out looking like lucky breaks. Those lucky breaks though were the reason he managed to earn from the games in the first place.

In between games, if Hange had given herself time to breathe and consider the situation, she probably would have noticed the pattern. Her frustration at her own carelessness had taken over every single time.

That man was no scatterbrain. He planned everything

She thought back to the drunk man who was dragged out of the bar.

That shortie fucking hustled me! He left his knight en prise on purpose. I'm not leaving until he gives me back my money!

That same shorty just walked away with almost half of her allowance that month.

As the realization dawned on her of what just happened, Hange found it difficult to contain her anger. "That fucking asshole!" Hange screamed as she kicked the sign that welcomed her back to university grounds.The pain that quickly spidered up her foot and the ice cold wind that brushed past her only added injury to the insult of having been duped too easily.

As Hange limped back into campus, her thoughts flew back to her opponent a while ago. He had counted the money multiple times as he waited for her to move. He kept his face expressionless with every move she had played. Those images only served to further infuriate her and Hange started to scramble for an action plan.

She had to get back at him somehow.

[sailormurkury]

History3: MODC review I guess?

Word Count: around 2,080

Warning: Potential Spoiler for POSE Season 2. I’m not sure if it’s been streaming globally yet, but I mention the death of a character.

I fell in love with the BL drama HIStory this past August. It was after coming across a video on twitter of two men embracing, kissing and both breaking down in tears on the floor of a lavish, minimalistic, bedroom. After a bit of digging in the replies, I learned the name of the show, History3: Trapped. One google later, I’m on VIKI and I find the entire first half-season which had just wrapped up two months prior. The rest of that month was spent binging it and the first 2 seasons (and The Untamed). This week the second half of the beloved drama’s third season which has been hailed the best BL drama of 2019, possibly all-time, ended with a thud on the 18th. Prior to this week it had a solid score of 9.5 on MyDramaLive where it now sits at 8.5. (Rating seems to be falling slightly every 2-3 days, now sits at 8.4.) This season’s love story focused on the story between Yu Xi Gu, an orphan, loner, and presumptive valedictorian of Zenren High and Xiang Hao Ting, the carefree Mr. popular of the school. The show also follows a side couple, HaoTing’s best friend Sun Bo Xiang and Xi Gu’s boss, Lu Zhi Gang. This season focused on the blossoming of these two couples’ relationships in such a way that most of us thought “Oh wow they’re going for full on happy go lucky in love” and while they met challenges like HaoTing’s homophobic parents and entrance exams they managed to fight for each other with their relationship getting stronger every time. That was until this week’s finale when we were served with a plate of Deadly Distant Finale with a side of Bury Your Gays and a glass Gay for You.

I initially thought that I was okay with the finale in a similar way to how I was with the finale of HIStory3: Trapped. That was bittersweet yet common sense. Shao Fei was a cop, Tang Yi a mob boss who shot an officer, he “had” to go to jail. Yet the more I thought about it I felt grieved, insulted rather by MODCs finale. So, like everyone else is doing on social media, I’m going to nitpick the hell out of it as part of my “healing process.” Also, while all of us are upset, unfortunately as in the summer, some fans are attacking the cast and crew. In the words of the master heart crusher, Shonda Rhimes, “Don’t tweet them your crazy,” or...whatever the weibo equivalent is. So, before the nitpicking, a caveat. My beef is with the lazy writing of episode 10, this entire cast was outstanding from Wayne and ChuanChih to the ZENREN homies to The Xiang Family just outstanding. Possibly the best History ensemble since H2:Crossing The Line. Thankfully, this season was not written the same writer of H3: Trapped that would have been way too much for me. (Although, word in the fandom is that MODCs screenwriter wasn’t fond of Trapped’s screenwriter, or rather her treatment for the finale? Alexa, Play Ironic by Alanis Morrisette.) Also in this review, I’m going to be using the VIKI episode count when referring to episodes so just 1-9. *wink*

 On to the picking apart, if you watched all of episode 9 last week, you probably had the same horrified realization as I that our first intimate moment in episode 2 where HT saves XG from getting run over by a moped was foreshadowing for the finale. I don’t want to dissuade anyone from watching the series again, I will, but with the ending we got? It’s going to be difficult to revisit that scene again without resentment. It’s bad enough that XiGu, the main character up to this point, dies off screen in a way that nearly renders him worthless. Especially in the way that this story said “meet this soft, pitiful, malnourished and overworked boy; fall in love with him as he allows himself to fall in love and watch as that love makes him bloom.” I haven’t been this upset over a needless character death since, well, I can’t even say that I have made peace with Candy’s death in season 2 of POSE and that was 5 months ago.

 I don’t know why the writer chose this ending that says “fighting tooth and nail for love is meaningless, yet the memories make it worthwhile?” I’m being petty, we know for HaoTing this love was not meaningless, XiGu’s death is not meaningless. If XiGu’s death was meaningless he wouldn’t have thrown himself into his undergrad studies and gotten into Stanford grad to continue XiGu’s dre…hold the hell on. Wait a damn minute, isn’t that…the dead love interest trope? So, in the POV of this finale, XiGu’s existence was to get HaoTing to mature and become a physicist? Remember, high school HaoTing didn’t really have a dream outside of being with XG 24/7. He became a better student and chose to become a Physics major solely to be with XG. During the show, this particular plot point had some fans noting, while sweet in theory, pinning your hopes and dreams on teenage love can be costly in real life.  

  Six years on, it seems the only people that have been affected by XiGu’s death are HaoTing and Lin Cai Chu, his ex-girlfriend?  I understand in real life we tend to be moved on after this much time. Yet, there was no mention of Xi Gu from the crew or the family, even when he was visibly upset around them. You could count Mrs. Xiang when she spoke to Hao Ting while he was packing, but she never names him, only implies, and,  I feel we had to dive for that meaning. Also, there was no significant interaction from Sun Bo or his sister Yong Ching, who were the closest with HT during this whole relationship. Yong Ching listens to her brother cry after their father tears XiGu and HaoTing apart and she plays messenger between them during their parting. However, in episode 10 she’s enamored with Phoebe’s style? Sun Bo is HaoTing’s brother in the battle for love they share everything about how their hearts feel about their guys. But when HT drunkenly pours out his grief after six years, and he kinda gives a “damn bro, that sucks” vibe for a good part of the talk? (Sidenote: Wayne acted his whole ass off in this episode, do you hear me?) In Trapped, ShaoFei knew everything about TangYi. When Chen Wen Hao and Sister Lizhen were revealed as TangYi’s parents he grieves with and comforts him back at home. (Bonus: if you watch that scene again you can see Jake break down with Chris when they pull apart.)  

  I’m not touching that damn doppleganger moment, why even do it? These decisions have been made, yet the way both XiGu’s death and HaoTing’s potential girlfriend Phoebe are hinted and implied at, yet never really engaged with or seen. Which, to me, signals fear on part of the writer. These are the decisions you felt comfortable making so why not go ahead and give it to us full out. Show us XiGu dying in HaoTing’s arms, HaoTing visiting his grave a la Trapped episode 10, or show us the moment when Phoebe meets the family. We could have gotten more thought or effort put into these plot twists on the part of the writer. We see the way HaoTing weeps over XiGu and how he just shrugs off the mention of Phoebe from his family. XiGu and HaoTing lined and called each other daily, Phoebe can’t even email to let him know where she is? Worse yet, HaoTing does not even attempt checking up on her? Is on a 13-hour flight or about to get on one? Don’t really know, damn sure don’t care.

 I “got” that he doesn’t think the love of his life can ever be replaced, but we also know through his actions that he doesn’t love her either. Even though he’s introducing her to his family, I ask, does he even like her? Where’d they meet? How old is she? Why bring her up if you aren’t going to flesh the concept of Phoebe out? If you really wanted to give a love story closure “well” you should have done all of this several episodes ago by breaking them up or even condensing the love story and killing XG earlier on rather than handing us this death/new gf cocktail in ONE EPISODE. So many HIStorians thought that the boys would split because of HaoTing lying about the rent, and this makes perfect sense as it’s a clear violation of XiGu’s desire to be as self-reliant as possible, even in a relationship. That could have given rise to the first big argument and potential breakup.

 At first, I thought that the most insulting thing about this finale was that we didn’t get a happy ever after, or at least a happy for now like Trapped. Happy endings are an unofficial mission statement of the series. However, the most insulting thing about this finale, for me, was that death became final. Three years in a series, where death has NEVER been final, or even an option for its leads at least since season 1. (Which HIStorians like, but don’t really talk about for good reason.) Now, you could argue about Trapped because Shao Fei does get shot twice and if any storyline was primed for death it was theirs. However, even with the action element, the Brooklyn Nine-Nine type comedy never gave it the gravity that MODC unknowingly had. We were presented the stakes, the murders of Old Tang/LiZhen, and knew the threat, Chen WenHao. In MODC, there was a quiet unease I had for most of my watch along the lines of, “this is perfect. I love it, but it’s too perfect.” The “challenges” XG/HT faced they pretty much steamrolled every time so I assumed they were in the clear until the last 5 minutes of episode 9.

 H1: My Hero and H1: Obsessed both had plots that dealt with the boundary of death, making it impermanent “because love.”  While we’re at it, let’s talk about Obsessed shall we. Even abusive ass, stalker ass Jiang Jing Teng, a man who by logic and common sense shouldn’t have, got a chance to love again. He got to say goodbye to, spread the ashes of, and reunite with Shao Yi Chen. After his beard, who it just so happened was also a witch/sorceress, brought back SYC from the dead, not once BUT TWICE?!? (First, from rebirth. Second, it was all a dream.) Yet YXG/SHT, the most loved couple since CTL, can’t get a similar twist of fate? Make it make sense, especially given that this is likely the final season for HIStory.

 That hurt to type, but, it looks like History3 is going to be the final season for the series. Since we haven’t had any official announcement from CHOCO. And with 2 major backlashes, the first based on misunderstanding with Trapped and the second due to MODC lazy finale, it’s looking like a done deal until the CTL movie comes out at the end of 2020. In which case, everyone involved is going to have to be on their very best behavior from now on. In the hearts of some HIStorians, this finale has done irreparable damage to MODC itself and the HIStory franchise. Which is sad, considering that up to this point HIStory was getting better and better with each season only to decimate that growth in one episode.

  *cue Mariah* I still believe that MODC is the best BL drama of 2019. It’s the best to come out of Taiwan since CTL. Most of that is due to the phenomenal work of the cast, and… yes, the initial episodes written by our screenwriter. Even with my frustrations with the finale, I was conflicted as I said on Wednesday night. I was very disappointed, but the performances I did get, specifically from Wayne, kept me engaged to the point that I still enjoyed it. Does it make up for the cruelty to Yu Xi Gu not at all, but the previous 9 episodes pretty much put it in my top 5 all-time early on. What now? I’m waiting for the dvd drop next year and reliving every blissful moment. Oh, and I’m rewatching episodes 5/6 for Christmas. 

If you made it this far, thank you HIStorians, you all have made this surprise journey most certainly worth it.  

Merry Christmas and Best Wishes to all of you in 2020,

 Jo

 PS: word from Mandarin speaking fans is that the novelization of this series has 2 endings. One happy and the one we saw on Wednesday which…*sigh* at least there’s a universe where the boys are happy. I also have some notes on issues I had with HaoTing’s family in episode 10 that I’ll likely touch on after Christmas.

PPS: I can’t believe we got blessed with multiple Duke Wu appearances!!!