#but I think the main bulk of them should stay the same

[alloarboreal]

Fuck it, I have some free time so I'm gonna run my allo aro survey again to see what's changed over the last few years - if you have any questions you'd be interested in seeing as part of the survey, let me know!

[solarwynd]

An interesting turn of events - it is fascinating to see Jikookers being as vile they are right now towards Tae. Now I will preface this by saying I absolutely dislike that man. I think he’s fkn annoying, cringey and his pretentious attitude gets to my nerves. I have muted all JK related key words too. I am here for JiHope. And Jimin is my forever ULT. But in the shipping world up until 2021, the norm was Jimin getting the absolute worst shit on Twitter for doing nothing while JK and Tae get away with everything. Like the things Jimin would be labelled an attention seeker or whatever for, will be called cute and adorable when TH does it. And Jikookers largely really did pretend like OT7s for the longest time. They wanted to be the ones with common sense, middle ground, moral superiority. Their “you can never make me hate taetae(barf)” ideology was pretty strong.

But I have seen a new flurry of Jikookers that are absolutely unhinged lol. There’s this gang of theirs on Twitter, like a clique and they are all petty hateful towards Taehyung. They call themselves KM solos I believe and I think they really do hate him. I have majority shipping accounts blocked but I was on the trends yesterday and I saw a tweet with Jimin cropped out by a Taekooker account, and the qrts were filled with quality edits and shit and pure spite towards TH. Someone even made a meme where he looks like a donkey? And there were several hit tweets there with thousands of likes, all belittling TH. I also saw some “OT7 joker” getting ripped a new one because they said JKKrs are the same tkkrs. Like the comment section destroyed her. It’s a real shift for those who have witnessed the shipping landscape evolution. He used to get away with a lot and babied. Idk what changed. Now it’s still not even remotely close to what Tkkrs does to Jimin. There’s simply no comparison, but it’s interesting to see a counter narrative. Literally nobody gets benefitted from shipping except for JK I guess.

Can’t wait for the members to start revealing their relationships etc. I will be getting the butteriest pop corn and a front row seat.

You’re actually very right about the bulk of jikookers wanting to appear as OT7 and I never got that. You go on any of their accounts and it’s nothing but Jikook/JK/Jimin on there. What’s the point to even pretend. It seems exhausting putting up that kind of front knowing that you don’t care about the other 5 members to stay in armys good graces. Especially when you’re already ostracized by them. It’s the same as these diet solos who still try to act like they’re armys. Like I can’t imagine if I had decided to continue faking being an army past April of last year.

I think it’s easier for jkkrs to mask their dislike towards Taehyung cause unlike for taekookers, Jikook’s existence does not hinge on Taehyung being seen as some type of wedge. I feel like the bulk of them are indifferent or just don’t care about him. And I do know the exact clique you’re talking about. Including the main one who’s too invested in dragging Taehyung unprovoked and always gets Jimin dragged.

I also did see that big jkkr account that got ratioed and deservedly so, cause frankly idc how neutral or upstanding you’re tryna be. If you bias jimin, your priority should be him. To hell with Taehyung and his fuckass stans.

[raayllum]

I've been thinking about the two-headed snake from the beginning of the show, and the Law of Chekhov's Gun is telling me that it's going to be coming back and causing problems sooner or later. Thought/theories?

The soul switching spell is definitely one of the most interesting plot and thematic elements the show has introduced and it looms over most of the fandom's thoughts regularly, I think. So let's go over it:

Plot

Obviously the biggest question here is "did Viren use the soul fang serpent to successfully switch Harrow's soul with Pip?", which people have speculated for years with about the same information (s1-s2) until s5 recently kicked things up a notch in terms of like having something new to turn over. @kradogsrats has a great meta here in regards to what exactly we can glean from 5x02 and how it may re-contextualize what we already 'know'. I highly recommend giving it a read.

That said, two things are true to me regarding the "is Harrow in Pip" theory:

Something happened in that room

Harrow is not going to come back

With these in mind, it's important to note that we know that TDP develops its seasons in batches simultaneously. The team didn't go from s1 to s2 to s3, but instead developed all three around the same time. Obviously production and some stuff was going around in order, but the only decisions that have been noted as changing was 1) Callum and Rayla were decided upon being a couple when storyboarding 2x04 as it wasn't originally in the cards and 2) Ezran going back to Katolis at the end of S2 was a surprise.

I make note of this because season two is absolutely the last point in show where you could angle things so that a Harrow who survived in Pip could come back and it wouldn't be Fucking Weird, basically. This is for two reasons:

1) We spend a good chunk of the season worrying about what the boys will do when they find out and actively mourning Harrow, with only one episode (2x07) not touching on it at all. That is a lot of time to spend on a character death you're going to ultimately undo. Conversely, we get less episodes dedicated to Rayla's relationship with her parents (1x05, 3x03, 3x08) in the first arc because it is widely implied that she's going to get them back; no point seeing her heavily mourn them when that's going to get reneged.

2) Harrow coming back wouldn't have much of a plot or character standpoint on the bulk of the trio — Callum largely received his dad/family related closure back in S2 and it'd let Runaan off the hook, so his and Rayla's relationship would be easier, not harder — but it'd nuke Ezran from both an emotional and a plot standpoint. His main arc is intrinsic to being royalty of a prince-turned-king, pushing him to make more decisions and figure out how to manage the difficult road to peace.

If Harrow comes back, he'd either stay on as an advisor (but that'd still kinda take weight off Ezran's shoulders that's currently there and arguably should be) or step away, leaving his young son to shoulder it alone. The first lessens Ezran's emotional poignancy within the theme(s)/show, and the second makes Harrow like, a bad father in ways he absolutely never was in life.

As pointed out in Krads' meta, Viren is likewise surprised when he sees Harrow alive and well in his 5x02 dream, and we get this exchange:

While we could read Harrow's initial "Surprised to see me" (because if the show points something out in dialogue, they really want you to Know) as "surprised to see me [out of the bird]" the show itself quickly does away with that reading. Viren is surprised that Harrow's survived, period. That doesn't bode well for "Viren is 110% sure that he, himself, put Harrow 100% into that damn bird". But like I said, something had to have happened, and Viren's behaviour with Pip is real fucking weird otherwise if he didn't at least try for something.

[ Side note: I also think it's worth noting what, exactly, is happening in the initial stages of Viren's dream with Harrow. This is decidedly not real Harrow, but the Harrow Viren wished for: someone who would not only forgive him, but embrace his dark magic use (aka him) rather than reject it. Not only is Harrow here alive because of Viren, but this Harrow loves Viren for what he did, and accepts Viren's act of devotion not only as one of family, but reciprocates it: "You're not just a servant. You're my family. You're a brother."

And Viren, for his part, is giving the reasonings behind Harrow's refusal ("I was frightened" / "They were coming to kill you") on both ends, without actually addressing the dark magic elephant sized rift in the room, still citing that it was about circumstance rather than principle or perspective. Moving on. ]

Remember how I said S2 was the last possible point things could've been shifted to accommodate a "Harrow comes back in full" plotline (most likely)? Yeah, well the other side of that is that S2 is the last time the show could've accommodated a retcon of "Viren didn't do anything to Harrow, actually, at all" the way that fans have often implied, and it's largely because of this otherwise very unnecessary scene all the way in 2x09 (in which other changes, like Ezran turning to go home, and Rayllum's romantic route, had been more than well decided):

This to me is the singular biggest sign that something did happen, and it's something we will uncover in the future, because otherwise, there is literally No Reason to not have Pip in Katolis upon Ezran's return. If the writing team truly intended to fully nullify Viren and 'retcon' the Harrow-bird situation, keeping Pip in Katolis and having him interact visibly and non-life alteringly with Ezran was the way to do it. But Pip has been MIA since 2x09 and has not interacted with anyone other than Viren since 1x04, and so it remains a Mystery that, likewise, the 5x02 Harrow dream went to completely unnecessary stakes to remind you of Pip's existence in the first place.

Moreover, you simply do not have a main character who can Talk to Animals (a power that outside his connection with Zym has not been incredibly plot relevant in ways that couldn't otherwise be achieved since like... 1x08-1x09 itself) and then Remove an animal he could talk to unless you decidedly Do Not (or cannot) have that conversation happen yet.

Which reaffirms what I said earlier: we can be 100% sure that something happened, and we can be at least 95% sure that Harrow is not being fully brought back in order to not lose narrative weight to Viren and Runaan's responsibility in his death and in Ezran's series' long arc.

So what did happen?

One possible answer (that I've posited, of course there are many) is that Harrow's soul got split in two.

We've seen people be separated from what would let them 'go on' before (Sarai's last breath yelling no as her spear sinks into Avizandum's chest; the Moonshadow assassin troupe in TTM). This would allow for a part of Harrow to exist in his own body (since there's a hot second between the spell being over and when Runaan's binding falls, though that might just be linked to bodies > souls, but the Lotus flowers are clearly linked to souls, so...?) and for part to exist in Pip. Pip could offer a solace and goodbye, that part of Harrow ultimately needs to be freed (literally) and left to be at peace, which could be effective and tie in both Ezran and Callum's emotional needs about their father.

Of course, this is all speculation. Harrow could be brought back as an advisor after everything, helping but not telling Ezran how to rule because the new generation should pave the way; something else could've been put into Pip entirely that we just don't have the Star or Deep magic context for.

Thematically and symbolically though, I think a lot of the actual concept of "switch souls with somebody else" > actual Pip-Harrow plot line has been brought back somewhat in full already, so let's talk about it.

Theme / Symbolism

The switching spell is, textually, a warped collision of Callum and Claudia's brains, and we see it repeatedly echo throughout both their arcs from S1-S5:

Some of this is quick-paced and obvious, such as when Callum literally switches places later just this episode and says he's Ezran, preparing to die in Ezran's place. (This is one of the reasons Callum, Claudia, and Viren circle each other so closely in the series; not only are they our three primary mages; Viren and Harrow's rift happens indirectly on Viren's end, after all, because of Callum and Claudia's collision here.)

Some of this is more of a slowburn — Claudia, collapsing on the floor and clearly having done a number on herself to spare her brother; Rayla with Callum's scarf to make Sol Regem chase her instead; Callum, taking Finnegrin's deal that was originally to set himself free in hopes he'll let Rayla go — or taken onto the shoulders of other characters (Ezran and Viren's literal king exchange in 3x04) simply because the idea of Exchange is so intrinsic to the series and to dark magic use in particular. Sometimes transactional, sometimes selfless, occasionally necessary in the eye of the beholder.

However, in a more literal sense, it sets up the series' long association of dark magic with snakes, and all that comes with it (poison, losing your soul, knowledge, chains, etc):

When Callum does dark magic, he's crushing a snake's rattle tail, a literal warning sign. Claudia for the entire first arc has a literal (snake) chain on her wrist that she uses for dark magic. The fact that the series routinely uses Christian symbolism for its villains (Aaravos eating an apple, Viren dying and being resurrected, sacrificing your "only beloved son" etc etc) only heightens this more negative association.

We also get mentions from the Book 2 novelization that the true sight serum Viren uses to try to see the mirror is 1) inherited from Kpp'Ar, which never bodes well and 2) made from the venom of eyeless vipers under moonless nights by the Oracles of Ophidia, just to double down on the "snake shit obscures your sight with dark magic and madness" angle.

But at the end of the day, thus far, snakes are just a symbol.

The more interesting way the soul-switching spell has come full circle though, already, through the possession plotline. Case in point:

Aaravos sets up his pawns to suffer and take the fall for him in the past (Ziard) and present (Claudia). He's hidden within Viren's body before (3x07 siege of Lux Aurea). He takes this to be a more literal, threatening embodiment through his possession of Callum. His soul and will overtakes Callum's body. Callum asks to die so Aaravos can't use him; in this lens, Callum will be dying for not just Aaravos' mistakes, but Aaravos' choices. Aaravos will 'hide' inside Callum's body and enact his will through it, and it'll lead to bloodshed either of Callum or of Rayla (or both) inevitably while Aaravos, in S6, will presumably get off scot free. (To be clear, Callum's not going to die, but this is the idea/risk of the concept and one of the reasons why it's so terrible.)

Which makes sense, honestly. The soul switch spell is the first real dark magic spell we get to see the context for, as Ziard's 1x01 spell takes time (3x01) as well as the moral reservations against. It just makes sense that Aaravos, the 'originator' of dark magic for lack of a better understanding, would then take said spell to its natural conclusion in which case even the consent of the vessel isn't just violated, but completely terminated and disregarded. Because, y'know — dark magic is awful, and it always has been.

[transformers-platonic]

Friendship Day: TFP

For those who don’t know, today (July 30th) is friendship day. It’s not really celebrated in Canada and I’m not sure if it’s celebrated in the U.S, but I wanted to make this cute story.

Optimus frowned as he watched Miko whisper something to Jack.

Jack looked at the image Miko was showing on her phone, at the others and then nodded. Raf waved them over to a different area and the three humans left the room.

“You’ve noticed the children acting strange as well?” Wheeljack asked, leaning against the wall.

“Yes, has Miko mentioned anything to you?” Optimus asked.

“No, Bulk’s mentioned that she’s been more secretive this past week.” Wheeljack replied, shaking his head.

“It started after Raf found something on his phone, he shown Miko and Jack and they started acting secretive after that.” Bee added.

“We cannot push them to share whatever they are bothered by too quickly.” Optimus said, “However, we must be alert in case there is something troubling our young friends.”

On the ride home, Bulkhead was quiet for a bit, “So, is everything alright?” He finally asked.

“Yeah, why?” Miko asked.

“You and the others have been quiet lately.” He admitted, “Are you hiding something from us?”

Miko’s expression softened, “It’s nothing, I promise.”

Bulkhead sighed as he considered this. “Alright, but promise me you’ll tell me if you’re in any trouble or if something’s bothering you. I promise, I won’t be mad.”

“Thanks.” Miko said.

At the house, she texted Jack and Raf in a group chat. “I think the Bots are getting suspicious. Bulkhead’s been asking me if everything was fine.”

“Same with Arcee. Maybe we should just explain the surprise to them.” Jack texted back.

“That’s no fun. We just need to make them not worry.” Miko replied.

“How?” Jack replied.

“What if we talked to one of the Autobots about it? They could run interference and help convince the others that nothing’s wrong?” Raf texted.

“Sure, but who?” Jack asked.

“Tomorrow at the base, we’ll see if any of the bots are alone, that way asking to talk privately won’t raise suspicion.” Raf texted after a pause.

“Sweet; good thinking Raf!” Miko replied.

“Yeah, maybe this will still work.” Jack texted.

The following day, they got to the base. Ultra Magnus motioned for the three of them to follow him. The children looked at each other before following.

“I know you three have been acting secretive lately. I want to know why.” He said sternly.

Raf sighed, “It’s Friendship Day in a few days, we were planning on surprising everyone for it; we never meant to cause trouble.”

“Friendship day?” Ultra Magnus asked.

Jack typed on his phone and shown Ultra Magnus the info.

Ultra Magnus carefully read the page. “I see. You three were planning some sort of surprise?”

“Yeah.” Raf said. He pulled out his laptop an shown the notes.

“With the decorations, if you are trying for a time all Autobot are out of the main room, it will be challenging until night.” He pointed out.

“It’ll be during that time we planned to stay at the base overnight; remember the ‘science fiction camp’ our families thought it was? Well, other that Jack’s mom.” Miko said, “We just told her.”

“Right.” Ultra Magnus replied, “Recharging isn’t like human sleep though, it is quite easy for a cybertronian to wake up from a power down. You three are not very stealthy and the noise would alert them.”

“Well, it’s worth a try.” Miko argued.

“I am willing to provide assistance, I can work quietly so they would be unaware.” He said.

“Thanks so much.” Raf said, “I thought you wouldn’t be into that stuff, sir.” He added the ‘sir’ as an afterthought.

“Optimus told me how team Prime was like a family, perhaps if I assist you with this, I will truly understand what that means.” He said.

“Now, the Bots are worried, any advice on how to handle that, sir?” Jack asked.

“I will inform Optimus that it is nothing to worry about and it is just human youth being restless in the middle of summer vacation as you now lack the structure of formal education.” He said.

That night, Ultra Magnus kept his promise and put up the decorations. Afterwords, he paused to look at the room and saw the hand written posters that told funny stories of their memories. He smiled as he walked around the room, reading the memories.

He paused at the mention of them playing racecars in the base. A part of him thought he should be angry as it shows a disregard for the serious nature of the base, but he couldn’t help but smile. He paused when he saw posters of memories of times he gave them advice. Jack’s poser even mentioned how he appreciates Ultra Magnus thoughtful responses. He took a sharp intake of breath as he realized that he formed part of the family without fully understanding what a family is. His eyes darted to some paper the humans had left. He found a pen that was kept in case Agent Fowler forgot one again and needed to write the report. He picked up the writing utensil and carefully wrote on the page. He put that poster with the others.

The next morning, the Bots work up early and they at first looked confused seeing the posters. Bee beeped exciteldly, pointing to the one where it mentioned that Raf shown him how the remote control racecar works.

“Look, there’s the time Miko realized we couldn’t go to her school’s talent show so they made a little stage and she performed for us.” Bulkhead said.

“And here’s one where Jack and I were just outside the base, talking about plans for the future and what Earth and Cybertron were like.” Arcee said.

The humans left the guest rooms as each had their own, when they heard the Bots talking.

“Did you guys do this?” Arcee asked.

“Well, Ultra Magnus helped.” Raf admitted, looking at the floor.

“I don’t get it, what is all this about?” Smokescreen said as he read the one where he and Miko were playing music too loud while Bulkhead was on patrol and Ratchet came and scolded them so they pranked him by hiding the phone in his medbay after setting up music.

“It’s friendship day; it’s a day to celebreate friendship and we thought we’d do that by sharing good memories.” Jack replied.

The group all got together, the bots sharing memories of friendship with the humans.

“Remember when I was in a bad mood and snapped at the others and you went to check if I was alright?” Wheeljack asked, smiling at Raf.

“Yeah, I mean, I have a lot of siblings, I’ve seen it before.” He said.

“Or when you taught me how to use a phone’s camera like Miko does?” Wheeljack laughed, at Jack.

Jack smiled at the memory.

“Or when I found your guitar and even though it was hard with the size difference, you shown how to play.” Arcee said to Miko.

“It was fun.” Miko agreed.

“For the longest time, my only priorties were protecting humanity and my team and defeating Megatron; when you three joined the base, I learned how to really enjoy the moments of peace.” Optimus replied thoughtfully, his eyes on the posters.

“I have to admit, I was the same way. I didn’t understand humans so I didn’t get how we could be expected to be close to you but I’m glad you three joined.” Ratchet said.

“Hey, who put that poster up?” Miko asked, seeing the one in the corner of the room. The three humans went to the poster. The Autobots followed closely behind. After reading it, they all knew who wrote it.

“Jack, Miko, Rafael, seeing all the memories of the friendship you share with Team Prime shown me what it truly means to be a family. Thank you for allowing me to be involved with this project.”

[kimberlyannharts]

Mm. Yeah. That sucked! Sidelining Tommy to lift up M/tt in unprecedented ways! I don’t even know where to begin with this. We fridged Grace TWICE for this? Arguably Coinless Trini and Kiya too? Tigan by definition I guess wasn’t fridged but I still hate it! At the same time I wish I knew more about the character to have feelings about it beyond “that sucks!”

Also I know we talked about Rita and Chloe’s mom already but you know what? Remember Coinless Zack (and to a lesser extent Skull)? I sure thought they would be relevant! I would’ve cared more about Adam and Rocky and whatever that was if they had ever bothered to give Adam an arc, and actually spent time with them this event! Also Tommy giving up his powers to help people he largely doesn’t know uhhh sucks. How was Tommy more important in Shattered Grid, he was DEAD. I was really hoping we would get M/tt relinquishing the Green coin but that would’ve meant actual development and reflection on his part and not being the writer’s best boi. If M/tt had stayed a civilian supporting character I could actually see him having a role in the civilian army plot (which by the way why didn’t we just call in the Eltarian army ages ago. I think they said something about Eltar being attacked but who cares.)

The last note I’ll end on is part of me wants to look back on Ryan’s writing a little kinder now, but at the same time it’s the shitty decisions of villainizing Kiya and Death Ranger and M/tt’s rangerhood that got us into this mess in the first place! At least Coinless Trini/Scorpina yuri real. And the Gravezord shoutout felt like it was meant for you personally. I’m sorry this is so long, and I hope Prime has nothing to do with the main book. We are free.

= I probably should have felt more triumph at that panel of the MMPRs morphing together but it was literally ruined by how Tommy wasn't there and instead M*tt was basically in his spot (even positioned so he was slightly ahead of everyone else. good lord. was it not enough coddling that you literally erased the ONE bad thing he did in this storyline, which was murder Grace?) He should have died instead of Tigan. I know I'm partly saying that because I hate him but it's so unfair that that asshole gets to survive EVERYTHING and end the series with TOMMY'S COIN but Tigan only existed to die. It actually would have been impactful because like it or not, M*tt has been around for so long while Tigan was only here for.....three issues?

= Candice had checked in with the Command Center to report Aquitar fell and then in a later issue it was mentioned they hadn't heard from her for days, leading them to believe Eltar had fallen too. Honestly it doesn't even really matter because her return was clearly just supposed to be a reward for Skull doing the civilian soldier plot (because as the more conventionally attractive one of the comic relief duo, he gets the passionate, committed romance while Bulk just gets to weirdly call Taylor hot.)

= As much as I still do love the Coinless book on its own, so much of it never meant anything to the book or outright contradicted it. Dark Specter took over that whole world with evil lava goop, why didn't he do that in the prime world? The book explicitly states that the White Coin can't be split, but they just do it anyway in this event? I GUESS we can just assume that world turned out fine when Dark Specter was defeated, but we don't even get a panel where we can show Coinless Zack and Skull and maybe even Jason okay in their world?

= Going along with that, Scorpina calling for Alt-Trini is probably the only other time besides the Tomberly scenes that I felt genuine emotion in this finale, because damn they really just took out Scorpina's loved one AGAIN. And for literally no reason lmao (why did shattering the Grid delete Alt-Trini and Kiya but not Billy? Obviously he was present for the blast too)

= I did like the Gravezord shout-out so you're right about that

= And yes, a lot of the problems with this event can be pointed to Ryan refusing to give a proper ending to his concepts and storylines (something he has said that he likes about comics; that they can go on indefinitely. which. uhhhhh) - so Melissa felt she had to tie up all of the loose ends that were left. I think that was unnecessary for some of them - for instance, I really wasn't wondering where Dayne was. The guy's a mercenary for hire so it's easy enough for me to believe he wouldn't want to be associated with jobs involving Rangers ever again and went on to parts unknown - but she was clearly trying to put away the toys that Ryan had left out

[scripturient1998]

About Me

Hey, I’m Mackenzie! I write a variety of things, including stories, songs, and poems, and this is my imperfect attempt to keep a writeblr.

While I may share content for any of these things, my current focus is a series which I am presently 6 “Terrible First Drafts” into!

I’ve made myself a handy-dandy list of complicatedly aesthetic tags to use as I sort the posts I share here, all related to this series and its characters. I may add to this list in time, especially if I shift focus to other WIPs, but right now I expect this will be the bulk of my content. The tags are meant to be both enigmatic and organizational, so I will share a quick rundown of them below, but you are under no obligation to keep track of them. They’re mostly here so if there is certain content you like, you know where to find it!

Without further ado, here’s the things you might need to know:

c tags denote character p tags denote pairings d tags denote types of relationship dynamics

WIP: DVS

(An official title? Absolutely not. Do I have any idea what I’m actually going to call this series in the long run? Also absolutely not.) Premise (I’m not calling it “synopsis” because it sounds too official, and then I’ll overthink it): six girls with superpowers set out to help their community in little ways, never planning to risk any major danger. Of course, when do things ever go to plan?

Protagonists:      Gabrielle Davis: practical / eldest cousin / early 20′s / prophetic dreams, visions, and feelings + forcefields / (#c: praying for a sign)      Janessa Davis: passionate / middle sister to Gabrielle and Kimberly / graduating high school in first arc / healing quickly + boosts to speed, strength, and agility / (#c: heart and soul)      Kimberly Davis: headstrong / youngest cousin / 15 in first arc / summons and controls electricity / (#c: chaos child (affectionate))      Lynley Davis: hopeful / twin sister to Charity / mid-late teens / time manipulation / (#c: oh you are well-named)      Charity Davis: cautious / twin sister to Lynley / mid-late teens / affects plant life + affinity with animals / (#c: would it kill you to be hopeful?)      Kiera Davis: sagacious / only child / same age as Janessa / literal empath / (#c: beautiful bleeding heart)

Other Characters: (aka minor characters I’m likely to rant about)      Jack: (#c: I just wish you were a better man)      Luke: (#c: who could stay? you could stay)      Steven: (#c: you and I should stay the same)      Kevin: (#c: loyal. earnest. true.)      Other: (#c: the utter importance of impermanent people)

Main Relationship Dynamics: (#d: my sister’s keeper) = dynamics between any of the sisters (#d: love is worry) = family relationships in general (parental, between cousins, etc...) (#d: I’d take a bullet for you) = friendships (#d: why would they be miserable?) = romantic relationships

Platonic Pairing Tags: (#p: what a pair we are) (#p: how to save a life) (#p: anchors) (#p: triumphal tuesdays)

Romantic Pairing Tags: (#p: through the heart right?) (#p: no regrets) (#p: the choice I would’ve made)

--- Alright! I think that’s it for now! As I said, I may add to this (or otherwise change it) in the future, but this should be an accurate representation of where my thoughts currently are in the series. :) Thanks for reading! ---

[cyberrat]

66th Batch Of Fics: 7th Fill

Hanzo/Cassidy – Trucker AU – Part 24 – Hanzo has to pay Cassidy's informant.

---

“Wait- wait a moment!” Hanzo reaches over before he can think too much about it, hand grabbing a hold of Cassidy’s thick wrist. The bastard does pause at least, shooting him a mildly interested gaze.

“What? The gentleman is waitin’.”

“What should I do if he comes here and wants to inspect me? I don’t have any papers.”

Cassidy shrugs one shoulder and pushes the door on his side open. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come there, right? Just stay put an’ look like a treat, why don’t’cha?”

He quite easily pulls his arm free of Hanzo’s grasp and slides out before he can grab him again. Hanzo watches as the asshole pulls his crusty jeans back up over his ass before he starts to make his way around the hood of the car. “Evenin’, officer,” he can hear him drawl before he’s too far away and speaking too softly for him to eavesdrop.

Hanzo wants to crawl over onto Cassidy’s seat and pull the door closed that he’s left open but he doesn’t want to move any more than necessary. Maybe if he stays very still…?

He peers out of the windshield. The cop is standing just outside the cone of light given off by the truck and Hanzo still can’t make heads nor tails out of the shadowed mass. That is, until Cassidy is close enough to thrust out his hand in a greeting. The shadow moves, though it is the main bulk of it that peels off of the rest. Aided by the flashing lights of the quiet siren, Hanzo can make out an absolute behemoth of a man.

His insides shrivel up into a tight fist and his mouth runs dry.

“What… the Hell?” he whispers as he clutches at the plastic of the dashboard, fingertips going white. He just can’t help but lean forward until his breath starts to mildly fog up the windshield. He’s never seen a human being this ginormous. The shadow moves a bit more, shuffling more into the light and showing off the fattest man Hanzo has ever seen. His hand is huge even compared to Cassidy’s paw which he shakes.

Hanzo is too preoccupied with staring at this… vision of a man, not noticing the familiarity with which the both greet one another. He tries to make out the exact shape of the bike that is able to carry such a mass but his attention keeps wandering back to the behemoth.

They’re talking quietly. Hanzo can only hear the rumble of their voices. It takes him embarrassingly long to notice that he’s heard that same bass-y wheezing voice before: on the phone with Cassidy.

He can feel anger rising up in his throat like bile as he finally realizes that this is the man Cassidy had been talking to and with whom he had exchanged a few texts upon the fat bastard’s order. They’re acquainted. Maybe even befriended.

Of course they are – and Cassidy has the nerve to pretend he didn’t have a single damn clue about the officer waiting for them on this godforsaken highway.

Did he just want to fuck with Hanzo or did he get off on scaring him half to death?! Both, maybe. Quite possibly, even. Sick fuck… Hanzo grinds his teeth together but his white hot anger subsides as quickly as it had come up. It doesn’t change anything in the situation, after all.

He’s… helpless… without Cassidy’s assistance. He would’ve been dead or on his way back to his father by now if not for this disgusting, old pervert. The same pervert that is now laughing and clapping a hand on the cop’s back before the both of them shift and start to move toward the truck. Hanzo can only stare at this mountain of a man moving. His fingertips start prickling, as does his belly.

With dismay he realizes that he’s starting to get turned on despite himself. Maybe the concussions he’s had have scrambled his brain more than he thought…

The cop steps in front of the open door. He’s surprisingly tall and has no trouble peering into the cubicle. He still takes out a flashlight and shines it directly into Hanzo’s face, blinding him for a moment as he blinks profusely and tries to shield his eyes from the glare.

Of course an acquaintance of Cassidy’s would turn out to be a bastard. He’s not even surprised at this point.

“Get out.”

The deep voice resonates in Hanzo’s chest and makes it feel too tight. He has trouble breathing, his palms clammy with sweat even though he knows this is all just some kind of game for those two. He thinks he knows, at least.

He doesn’t dare argue, at least. He crawls awkwardly over the center console toward the police officer waiting at the door. He can smell his cologne as he swings his legs over the edge of Cassidy’s seat to hop down onto the street. It’s not off-putting. Not in the least.

Their size difference excites him more than he likes to admit. He has to put his head back into his neck to be able to peer into the expressionless face looming above him. He gets blinded by the flashlight once more for his trouble, hissing out an expletive under his breath as he rubs his eyes.

While he is blinded, a meaty hand grabs his shoulder and steers him away from the road where the occasional car passes them. He almost stumbles over his own two feet but the grip on his person is nice and strong and doesn’t let him fall.

Dark spots are still dancing distractingly in Hanzo’s vision by the time they arrive next to the cop’s vehicle. It looks larger than normal motorbikes, but not as large as he would have suspected a man of this size needs.

The wind brushing past them is cold but the fat man radiates heat. It makes Hanzo hypersensitive, his skin prickling and breath burning in his chest. He breathes faster, his lungs filling with the smell of the other’s cologne.

“So… you’re that little tramp. Hmn. Small.”

He has no idea what to say to that, so he doesn’t say anything. The cold is seeping into his clothes and he tries not to huddle closer to this man.

“Yeah… but he takes ‘em like a champ.” Cassidy’s voice startles him. He’s somehow managed to forget all about the fat bastard. He can sense his presence at his back seconds before a heavy hand yet again lands on his shoulder.

“That’s my buddy Roadhog. Why don’t’cha say hi to him? He’s been really helpful to us so far.”

Hanzo exhales sharply, head turning to peer at the cars driving past them every now and then. What can those people see? Do they suspect what is going on?

“Good… good evening-” he starts but is cut short by the warm grasp of massive fingers on his chin, pulling his head back around.

His first instinct upon the behemoth descending on him is to lash out violently. Luckily he can contain the urge as all that happens is the fat guy kissing him. That’s… not bad, he supposes, though he distinctly feels like prey that is just being tasted by their pursuer.

[endless-sketching]

Maybe I should make it the title

Identity Least Searched

Or maybe

Identity Last Searched

Just been thinking about how the story really does ultimately start with Zenny's final bit of their arc timeline wise. Prehardlight incident they escape years worth of abuse from their father then was able to form an unbreakable bond with Emi after coming out to them without a single word, then inconvenient timing comes in and wrecks their plan to fully transition by giving them a corporeal form that changes at a slight self conscious thought.

I do want to emphasize how transitioning really does take time, I guess that's why I want to interweave Rosa and Pumpkin's story into this so that as Zenny takes slow but gradual steps to be their better self that we get sweet yuri goodness in between those moments.

Still doesn't help how my main cast is basically all girls lol, it's not like I need to make male characters but at the same time I do need side characters. That and I might as well make that Zenny's bully idea into a pricticious side dude.

Oh yeah, story telling wise: the story starts with Pumpkin's perspective after waking up from a weird dream but you're not shown her dream but a dark rubble filled screen with Emi's muffled screaming searching for Zenny, it needs to stay muffled and really hard to make out all to make it a neat little foreshadow of the Hardlight Incident.

I never really gave Pumpkin a solid story ground aside from her frantic gay panics and her working at her grandma's cafe. I've been thinking of making her a battle artist of sorts, a magic battle artist. The concept is basically fancy fighting for show, that way it works with Pumpkin's shy (I think it's shy at least, it's that bashful reluctantly not drinking at the party then minutes later is the most wasted person kinda deal, a hesitant kind of personality but isn't afraid of doing it anyways) personality and her magic handicap.

I guess in a way I did want Pumpkin to be bullied in a really weird way? Wait no it's alienation, it's the fact that she needs a elemental gemstone to help stabilize her magic. And in this world, even though magic has taken a slight back seat in the modern age of technology, there are still parts of the world that are slightly outdated in their ways so they would often be boastful of how pure their magic is.

Did I ever talk about that great mages concept here?

Essentially it makes it so that elemental gemstones become the world's main source of energy but before the industrialization there were temples across the world of each element. 4 major ones and one that's buried deep. Each temple housed a great mage of each of the respective elements including the light element, but then all 4 of the great mages feared the light element at how almost impervious the element is so they collectively banished it and killed light magic as a whole.

That bulk of lore was essentially how Emi was able to rediscover the light element through odd elemental casting notes and elemental gemstone notes.

And I'm thinking that Emi, Zenny and Luna rediscovers the light temple to see if they can turn Zenny back.

Though I wanna make it so that at this point in the story, Zenny's content with staying how they are now. They just want to shed light to an unfairly restructure of history and push forward light element tech.

There's also a plot line here where each great mages has an apprentice, and the light great mage knew their time was limited so they told their apprentice to run away before the other great mages get them. Which then lead the apprentice to develop the very spell that helped them to alter their form with light magic, a one way magic transformation.

Oh my god this could lead into myths of a light spirit in the deep forest near where the buried light temple is. Which said light spirit is the original light element apprentice in a drastically altered primal owl form.

Hm it does break into a lot of story beats that I need to write more about later.

Yeah I just need to write a lore bible lol.

What I have in mind right now is that the main crew finds relics and artifacts from the light temple that helps them reach out to the primal light owl or understand leftover notes of the light elemental apprentice. It honestly might be better if that owl was the apprentice's pet of sorts. That said owl would appear in random forest backgrounds where it involves Zenny, and the light owl has a big liking to Zenny for being really similar to the apprentice and a light being themselves.

I just really want Zenny to have an owl friend huh

If anything it helps set in stone how old the temples are where everyone from that age is basically dead. Except the light elemental apprentice, the idea rn is they're basically the opposite of Zenny form wise, that despite being able to create light creatures they failed at turning themselves into a light being. And failing such spell has essentially killed their identity. What Zenny had accidentally become was what the apprentice tried to do.

Oh wow I could make it so that the apprentice losing their mage because of the fear of their magic potential mirroring people fearing trans people because of the fear of breaking down the stupid pillars of gender norms. So In turn losing the last person that the apprentice could've confined in had left them isolated by society. That loneliness drove them to advance light magic faster than the other elements but at the cost of also burdening the advancement with the intent of vengeance.

Light magic takes hold of the caster's psyche, the clearer the mind the more powerful the spell will be.

It can also be wielded creatively but that's the case for all of the elements.

So when the apprentice casted the form change spell on themselves, they made sure they were inside the ruined light temple. The spell only failed for them because their mind was tainted by revenge. Resulting in creating a vengeful light spirit instead.

And the idea I wanna run with this is that Zenny faces the light spirit by essentially keeping it into a Steven Universe fusion stasis.

What that means is that Zenny has a conversation with the leftover feelings of the light elemental apprentice by fusing with the spirit instead of fighting it. And what I meant by fusion stasis is that they just become a ball of light that basically went by in a flash for the other people in the room but was a whole ass neon genesis final few episode kind of deal for Zenny and the spirit.

The key part of this thing being a spirit is to firmly state that Zenny chose to stay the way they are, during that conversation with the spirit, they offered Zenny a way to change back but Zenny chooses not to.

Now that I'm thinking about it, this is the same kind of deal the mc from Boku Girl had between being a guy or a girl at the end of that manga. The main nitpicks I had with that manga was how it doesn't explore fully the mc's perspective enough and how it links gender identity with sexual orientation. Like there are parts in the story where the main mc changes back into a guy when they're having feelings for their girl friend crush but then changes back to a girl when they're having feelings for their guy childhood friend.

So when it comes to the final arc to Zenny's character development, I want to write something like what Boku Girl tried to do but firmly disconnect that link between gender identity and orientation. Basically making it so that Zenny turns into a girl when they're feeling feels around Luna is my end goal :p

Alright sleep time weeeeeeeeee

[orleans-jester]

“I know,” Elsa said with a soft and subtle nod of the head. She didn’t find him weak for having to recover from his speech in the slightest. She understood only too well. “Take your time.”

They were not a hand in hand couple; she was not ahand in hand person. She had been traumatized by her own hands and what can shoot out of them. She had tortured her hands with burns, covered them with gloves for what feels like an aeon. Even during her relationship with Flotsam, she had been careful about those hands. About touch in general. And now, here was Koda, just bravely taking hers as if it was a casual thing.

He took her hand like they were just anybody else in the world.

And she took his, wrapping her fingers around the large bulk of his hand. She didn’t have to think too much about controlling herself. She didn’t have to regulate her breathing to stay calm and make sure that she didn’t have an episode. As long as she was not suddenly attacked or startled - she could do this. She was sure that she could do this.

She stayed quiet as they left, not having much to say to those around them, except for perhaps a little nod to his uncle, a ‘we’re leaving now’ sort of acknowledgement. A ‘see you at home’ she supposed, since they would be staying in Koda’s room at the old house.

She would give another nod to Koda, motioning to him that she would have whatever she had. Alcohol seemed essential for this moment, and not something as cutesy as winepops either. She would sit upon the bed, with one leg tucked beneath her, the back of her head leaning against the wall. She took a deep breath in and out because indeed - it had felt like a long night of work. Funerals took a lot out of a person.

“You know me so well,” She observed. Because of course that’s what she was going to say next. There was no need to be sorry. But she would say it in a different way. “I chose to be here with you. Ambushed or not.” And then with a slight hum she added, “It was not as bad as it could have been.”

She took a drink too. Family events are always nerve-wracking, but it felt even more so when you were on the outside, when you only know one person, maybe two. And then that one person is the main focal point - but indeed, she had been thinking that she would have been off to the side for most of it. That Koda would have been surrounded by love and family members and hugs and the whole kitten-kaboodle. She wouldn’t have complained if that were the case, but she was glad that it hadn’t. Selfishly.

A small laugh, a chuckle at the mention of them being in the same club. It was dark, but true.

“Mine was easier,” She admitted. And this was the first time that she had ever spoken about her parents funeral, ever. The topic hadn’t come up with Flotsam, just that they were dead and gone and she was a hundred percent alright with that. Ellie never really asked about her grandparents, knowing that it was a tough subject. And Anna had tried to bring it up once but Elsa had shut that shit down immediately, putting those barriers up.

But given this situation, she’d open up.

“I had a script. I knew before hand that I was going to have to speak, to be the only one to speak. The eldest daughter, who was meant to take their place in business and inherit everything,” She said, looking up towards the ceiling as she thought back to that time. She was young. So young. At least, it felt that way now. It was something she wouldn’t wish on anyone. And yet, now her niece was in the same predicament but without the bodies to bury or the funeral to put on. But she seemed to be doing alright. “And I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t say anything sentimental. Just talked about how they contributed to the economy. And they didn’t even deserve that kindness. I should have said the truth.”

And with that, she took another hearty drink.

Koda was feeling overwhelmed, but he wasn't the coddled sort, not with his particular mother. Maybe that was why he found some comfort in Elsa's ways. There was something about her that was familiar from the start even if they weren't exactly the same.

"I'm trying." He admitted about breathing after she said he could. He knew he technically was, but the heavy feeling in his chest made him feel like he wasn't.

Then he took Elsa's hand and it was important to note they weren't even hand in hand type walkers yet. They weren't that couple, all mushy, and cozy every last second. But, he took her hand and he held it as he took one last look over the site. Then he turned to escort her back to the house. He had no intention of staying longer and mingling with the rez. He just couldn't do it, not tonight.

Someone even tried to stop them, but Koda's strides didn't slow. They had started to ask if he was going to stay and- Koda cut them off with a wave of his hand and a, "Not tonight. Thank you." He kept walking.

They'd reach the house before his uncle who stayed to handle the crowd. Koda did in fact appreciate that much. On the way through the special doors, he'd stop at the fridge for a brew, offered Elsa one or anything else if she wanted, and then would head back to their room with a couple in hand like he knew they were going to go down fast. He landed on the bed in the way a person does after a long day at work that no amount of overtime pay was worth living through ever again.

"I know you'll say I don't have to be sorry. But, fuck that. I'm still sorry you had to see all that. I felt ambushed." He twiddled with the necklace Denahi gave him.

He took a swig of the cold brew and then held the bottle against his head. The icey feeling against his skin felt good like calming a headache. He wiped some dripping condensation from it off his brow.

He really hadn't given much thought to what it felt like being a guest there until right then. He was too wrapped up in his own feelings. It was only now dawning on him Elsa lost her parents too. It wasn't like he didn't know it. It just wasn't at the forefront of his mind in the middle of all his grief. But, as it all settled and she of all people bore witness to his bits and pieces of the side of his life he keeps shut from nearly everyone how wide open he was now became a feeling all it's own.

Koda wasn't exactly the vulnerable type. The rez wasn't like the voodoo encampment with so stringent rules for their obscurity, but they felt like the outsiders themselves. His mind raced with thoughts of the Laveaus, Feral, the rez, and flashbacks of coven came to mind too. Then here he was with one of the strongest women he knew left in this world. As he thought about all the shit he'd been through, his thoughts turned to all the shit this stunning woman had been through too, the one right there in his room.

"I guess we're both in the same club now. The we buried our parents club."

"I hope you didn't get ambushed at your parents' memorial... because that... sucked. I think it would have been easier to just pretend everything was normal like we always do. I'm more used to working with that."

After another swig he leaned his head against the back of the wall behind the bed. He was so ready to not think anymore.

[elvenmother]

Context and Perspective: Sidesteps And Sidekicks

Pairing: Marcus Moreno x F Reader Rating: Teen. Warnings: Swearing, mentions of injuries, mentions of blood Chapter: 12/15 Word count: 3042

Summary: The newest member of the Heroics has gone missing and as one of the better-known Villains on the scene, you are blamed. Then your sidekick goes missing. You must go after the Heroic’s leader to try to get them back and clear your name.

Note: This has not been beta read, so apologies for any mistakes. This is my first time writing for We Can Be Heroes and Marcus Moreno.

Part Eleven | Part One

The cleanup from the building collapse had already begun, and as you and Marcus made your way around the area close to Donna’s salon, there was evidence of the Heroics all around. A set of two temporary metal cabins had been placed next to the intersection where the bulk of the destruction had been and all around was evidence of heavy booted foot traffic. It looked like the Heroics had organised for a clean-up crew and builders to help the community get back to normal, which you had to admit was a nice thing for them to do. You heavily suspected Marcus’ hand in that. Massive metal sheet fencing had been placed all around the main collapse, each with the large yellow H of the Heroics on it. You had to hand it to them. They had branding down to a fine art.

Building by building, street by street, the two of you began to search. Looking for clues that could lead to either Chloe or Freefall. A marking, a note, a scrap of clothing, anything. Marcus combed the ground while you took to the air and checked rooftops. But there was nothing.

After three hours of checking the same places and looping back on yourselves, you flew down to where Marcus was leaning against a rundown-looking tech store.

“Anything?” You landed gently next to him. He just shook his head. You could feel his frustration and anxiety. This had been your only lead on Freefall. But more than that, you knew Marcus was worried about Missy.

He’d had to leave her in the house rather than talk to her about what she’s overheard. If you’d been able to find a clue or something, it might have seemed worth it. But you were willing to bet that right now, Marcus wished he had stayed home with his distressed daughter.

“We’ll have to start a spiral out from here.” He said finally. His voice sounded hoarse, almost as though he was forcing himself to speak. “It’ll take time, but it’ll all we’ve got.”

“Right. Tomorrow though. It’s late, and you must want to get home to Missy.” You sighed, stepping closer to him, wishing you could give him some hope. “I’ll-” A noise from your pocket cut you off. “That’s my phone. It might be… my assistant. I mean, she’s not really… she’s my friend. She’s Chloe’s aunt. Hang on.”

Marcus just nodded wearily as you fished your phone out and looked at the new message. It wasn’t from Jada.

Crushing Low has been sent to an address where it is believed FF and C are. Think you should take your new friend there. Coords to follow - B

“It’s my contact in Heroics HQ.” You looked up at Marcus, who immediately stood up straight. “Crushing Low has been sent to find Freefall at a location not too far from here. We should go too in case Chloe is with him.”

“Let’s go.” Marcus began jogging back to his car before leaping in and starting the engine. As soon as you closed the passenger door, he set off. Keying the coordinates B had sent you into your sat nav app, the monotone voice soon began giving directions.

“I don’t understand.” You looked over at Marcus. “I thought you were in charge of this investigation.”

“That makes two of us.” He frowned. “If Noah has been spotted or HQ had a lead, they should have contacted me first.”

“You are the leader, right?” You turned in your seat to face him better, and he shot you a look. “Hey, I don’t mean it like that. I don't understand how the Heroics work. If you’re the leader, even if this wasn’t your case, can Heroics be sent places without you knowing?”

“Technically, yes.” He admitted reluctantly, making a sharp turn onto an unlit street. “We have a director. Ms Granada. She decides who gets assigned to what.”

“What’s the difference between you and her, then?”

“When I retired from active duty, my role became more administrative for a while, but after Ms Granada was promoted to director, I began focusing on training and coordination more.” Marcus explained. “So now I help train the younger Heroics as well as work with Granada on team assignments. Although technically, she’s my boss, I’m still the team leader. All new Heroics have to be approved by me, all assignments have to be approved by both of us.”

“I still don’t fully understand but ok. So, this Ms Granada is the one who sent Crushing Low out tonight?” You were still confused. It didn’t sound like Marcus actually did much leading, and the title was probably just a token one.

“Yes. But it still should have been run by me, and I’ve got no messages.” Marcus chewed on his bottom lip for a moment. “Granada is a real stickler for the rules. This can’t have come from her. Can your contact find out who ordered this?”

“I’ll ask.” You picked your phone up off the dashboard and quickly typed out a message to B.

MM is concerned. This should have gone through him. Can you find out who sent out CL? - Z

The reply was almost immediate.

Already working on that. Tell him it wasn’t G. - B

“They’re working on it.” You said as Marcus began to pull up outside a dilapidated-looking factory. “But they said it wasn’t G. I assume they mean Granada.”

Marcus nodded as he switched the engine off. As you both got out of the car, you got your first real look at where you were. A sprawling industrial site, long since abandoned, stretched out before you. Nearly all the streetlights were dark, probably broken or without bulbs, and only a few flickering beams of orange lit the area and the maze of roads that made up this huge factory district. If it hadn’t been for the coordinates that B had sent you, there was no way you would have found the right building.

“Moreno!” A voice came out of the darkness, surprising you both. A voice you recognised immediately. A voice that made you instantly on edge and on guard. You recalled a memory of flipping him off and deciding the Heroics were assholes. Damn it.

Sure enough, stepping out from behind a battered-looking shipping container was Crushing Low. His curly dark hair was shorter than the last time you had seen him, and he was now sporting a neatly trimmed beard streaked with grey.

“Liam.” Marcus greeted his teammate, who glared for a brief moment at the use of his real name. “Liam, this is-”

“I know who that is, Marcus.” Crushing Low stopped next to Marcus, looking over at his leader with a mixture of confusion and irritation. “The question is, why are you here with her of all people?”

“She’s been trying to help me find Freefall.”

“My friend is missing too.” You decided to be as honest as possible straight away. If Crushing Low started a fight, then it was not one you could win. His juggernaut powers were one thing, but he also had super speed and super strength. If this got violent, your only chance would be to take off and hope you could lose him in the air. You watched as he raised a single eyebrow. “I know what the media has said and what Heroics HQ is saying, but I had nothing to do with Freefall’s disappearance.”

“Uh huh.” Crushing Low eyed you carefully.

“Liam, listen to me.” Marcus put his hand on Crushing Low’s shoulder. “She has been nothing but helpful. That build collapse yesterday? She helped me rescue people. Liam, please.” Marcus leaned up close to the other man. “Who sent you here? I know it wasn’t Granada. This is my case. Don’t you find this strange?”

“This whole case is strange, Marcus.” Crushing Low chuckled and gestured with his head towards you. “There is definitely more going on here than meets the eye.”

Marcus kept his eyes on Crushing Low. “So why were you sent here?”

“I received orders telling me there had been a sighting of Freefall.” Crushing Low took a deep breath, looking around and finally pointing to a building a little to the left of where the three of you stood. “It said a supervillain was holding him.”

“Who?” You frowned. You already knew what he was going to say.

Crushing Low considered his words for a moment before answering. “You, actually.”

“God damn it!” You threw your hands in the air, exasperated. You were expecting this, but it was still so frustrating.

“The report said you had Freefall, and he was being guarded by your sidekick. Frost Root, was it?” Crushing Low cocked his head, carefully watching you.

“So Chloe and Noah are together.” You looked over at Marcus, who nodded.

“Wait. You know his real name?” Crushing Low shot a look at Marcus.

“Yeah, I went to school with his mom.” You put your hands up as you took a step towards the two men. “I meant to tell you earlier, Marcus. My friend got back to me. She talked to Ashley, and she confirmed that Noah and Chloe met last year at a party.”

Jada’s text from that afternoon had totally slipped your mind. You had been so distracted by Dale and then Missy. You had meant to text Marcus immediately after Jada’s message, but then the phone had rung, and then Dale had bothered you. After that, all you’d been able to think about was how much Dale knew and how long he’d been watching you.

“So he’s not your prisoner?” Crushing Low narrowed his eyes and looked from you to Marcus and back again.

“For fucks sake-”

“Liam.” Marcus cut you off. “No, we’ve been over this. She’s not the bad guy here. She never was. She never has been.”

Crushing Low looked sternly at Marcus. “What are you talking about, Marcus?”

“There’s more going on here that we realise.” Marcus pointed towards the building Crushing Low had been sent to. “But right now, we need to get to Noah and Chloe before someone else does.”

“You think they’re in danger?” You frowned as Marcus nodded.

“I think someone would pin this on you or Chloe, and either of you could get hurt.” He started walking towards a ruined-looking factory. “I’m not going to let that happen.”

The three of you set off towards the factory, with Marcus taking the lead. You could feel Crushing Low’s eyes still watching you intently as he brought up the rear. It irritated you, but at the same time, you understood his point of view. One conversation wasn’t going to undo years of people and the media telling him you were a threat. It had taken a building collapse and speaking to two other Heroics for Marcus to fully believe you. All you could do was be yourself and he’d see you were no villain. Or at least that was what you hoped.

What first caught your attention as you all but crawled through the small gap between the heavily rusted doors was that the building smelt terrible. It was that horrible mixture of damp, dust and piss that hit you in the face like a slap. Behind you, Crushing Low retched as he squeezed himself through the narrow opening.

“Nice place.” You muttered, looking around the dark empty room of what once must have been the factory’s reception area. All furnishing had long since been cleared out, but the outlines on the floor for a reception desk remained along with half the letters for the company’s name.

“Look.” Marcus pointed to the floor, clicking on a flashlight and shining it over near a doorway leading further in. “Someone has been here recently.”

Stepping forward, you squinted in the dark to see what he was looking at. It took you a moment, but then you spotted them on the floor. Footprints in the dust. Crushing Low walked carefully over to them and squatted down, examining them meticulously.

“Two sets.” He said after about a minute. “I’d say one male and one female. So, probably Noah and… Chloe, was it?”

You nodded. That was good. If theirs was the only set of prints, then that meant no one had come after them. Yet. Someone knew they were here, you reminded yourself quickly. Someone had sent Crushing Low, someone who hadn’t wanted Marcus here.

“Let’s take this slow.” Marcus whispered to the two of you. “We don’t want to spook them. Let's just find them and get them back to my house to talk.”

“Agreed.” Crushing Low stood back up. “You take point. We’ll follow.”

Marcus shook his head. “No, I think she should go in first.” He motioned to you. “They are much less likely to run from you.”

“I agree.” You nodded. “You two follow me but not too far. I want them to see me first, then you, but for them to understand we’re all together.”

“All right.” Marcus fell back a step next to Crushing Low. “Ready whenever you are.”

You took a deep breath and headed through the open doorway that led further into the factory. The factory floor smelt even worse than the reception area, if that was possible, with the heavy iron smell of rust joining the mix from the handful of broken machines that still filled the space. You heard Marcus mutter something under his breath as you led the way through the dark assembly floor.

A small light in the distance caught your eye. A dim yellow glow peeked out from under a closed door to the former manager's office. Turning slightly to Marcus and Crushing Low, you motioned to it and started heading in that direction. Reaching the door, you stopped for a moment and listened. Behind the flimsy door, you could hear muffled conversation. Two people in hushed voices, too quiet for you to hear what they were properly saying but just loud enough for you to recognise a voice. It was Chloe. After taking another deep breath, which, thanks to the stench, you instantly regretted, you knocked. The voices stopped immediately.

“Chloe.” You called softly through the door. “Chloe, it’s me. Please, honey. Can I come in?”

There was a little shuffling and the sound of latches being undone before the door opened slowly. Your heart leapt as you saw the worried face of a young woman greeting you on the other side. Chloe.

“Hey.” She sheepishly said your name, her eyes not quite meeting yours. “How’d you find me?”

“I had a little help.” You pointed your thumb over your shoulder, and you watched Chloe’s eyes widen as she recognised who you were with.

“Is… is that?” She stammered. “Are those Heroics?”

“Shit.” A male voice came from behind the door.

“Noah, I take it.” You tried to keep your voice light. The last thing you needed was for them to panic and make a run for it.

A mass of messy brown hair poked out from behind the door, and you got your first proper look at Noah McMahon, aka Freefall. He was around the same age as Chloe, peering over her head almost as if he was hiding behind her. He looked at you but quickly, his eyes landed on someone behind you, and you knew exactly who he was looking at.

“Hey.” Noah started weakly. “I mean, erm, hello, Sir.”

“Noah.” Marcus stepped forward until he was shoulder-to-shoulder with you. “And Chloe. It’s nice to finally meet you. I’d glad to see you’re both safe.”

“Yeah.” Noah’s eyes fell to the floor while Chloe continued to stare at you in disbelief. “Sorry about all the trouble, Sir.”

Marcus held a hand up and shook his head. “There will be time to talk later, but right now, we have to get you out of here.”

“I’m not going back to the Heroics, Sir.” Noah’s eyes shot up, and he seemed to stand a little straighter. “I can’t. I-”

“No, I agree.” Marcus cut him off. “It’s not safe right now. I can’t explain here, but please believe me we need to leave here right now.”

“There’s something weird going on, kid.” Crushing Low offered over your shoulder.

“Yeah, no kidding.” Chloe looked at Marcus and then back at you. “You came here with them?”

“Let's get somewhere safe, then we’ll explain everything.” You held out your hand for Chloe to take. “Please. Someone sent Crushing Low here, and it wasn’t Ms Granada.”

“What?” “Who’s Ms Granada?” Noah and Chloe asked simultaneously. Chloe spun to look at Noah, who shook his head.

“She’s the director for the Heroics. Nothing gets done without going through her or Mr Moreno. If someone went around them, then we’re in more trouble than I thought.” He placed a hand gently on her shoulder. “We should go with them, babe.”

You raised your eyebrow at Chloe at the babe nickname, and she shot you a look back that reminded you exactly of her aunt Jada. After a couple of seconds, Chloe rolled her eyes and nodded reluctantly.

“Ok, let's go.”

“Great.” Marcus stepped away from the door and turned to Crushing Low. “I’m going to take them to my house. Report back. Claim it was a false alarm, and you found nothing. Then meet us back at mine.”

“Got it.” Crushing Low started to walk away.

“Wait!” You called out. He stopped and turned. “Please, make sure you’re not followed and don’t trust anyone other than Ms Vox or Blinding Fast at HQ. We still don’t know who sent you here.”

Crushing Low frowned and nodded. “You’re right. I’ll be careful. You all should be too. See you all later.”

Crushing Low disappeared into the dark as Chloe and Noah gathered their things from their small hideout. Once they were ready, you and Marcus guided them back to his car. Setting off back to the Moreno house, you could feel the tension coming off Chloe and Noah in the back seat. While you had a lot to catch them up on, they also needed to explain why they left. It was going to be one hell of a conversation when you all got back.

~~~~

Tag list: @Anaaaispunk, @littlemisspascal, @galaxyofmando, @pintsizemama, @athalien, @wondercloud, @amoriavelton, @alm0501, @kinda-nobody, @zanzann, @furiousmushroom, @lemonboynsp, @ghostofaboy,

[nejiraez]

one day, you all will know true peace when i stop making bakugou the default character to the maladaptive daydreamz i write. but until then...

get well soon! | bakugou katsuki

pairing: bakugou katsuki x reader // 2.9k words

genre: fluff — contains spoilers from mha chap 298; includes kissing, thats it!

summary: free bakugou until it’s backwards!!! but until then, he appreciates having your presence around as he takes the time to properly heal.

the way i haven’t written a full fic since oct </3... but i needed to post this b4 aquarius season ends tmrrw...

He’s never had to stay this long in a hospital before.

Sure, there were minor check-ins that he had to tend to at the clinics every so often from the injuries he’s received, but he never had to stay more than a few days at hand.

“Only a couple more days until you’re discharged…” 

The sound of your voice prompts Bakugou to shift his gaze away from the TV screen stationed at the corner of his hospital room to focus his sights on you. Deep shades of scarlet watch as your hands absent-mindedly pick at the white petals from the bouquet that his mother had gifted him. 

Carnations, a ‘get well soon’ present that would prompt him back to wellness. They were becoming quite the eyesore. The stems were beginning to droop and dull in colour with how poorly maintained they had been kept for the past week.

“That must be exciting for you, yeah?”

Bakugou shrugs, but he’s quick to regret his slight movement due to the small wince that follows shortly after. Despite being placed in the hospital for a little over a week now, a great mass of Bakugou’s body still aches. “It’s whatever,” he mutters, dismissing the subject matter altogether, “I’ll be back to doing the same crap over again anyway, so it’s nothing special.”

Closing your eyes, you sink yourself further down into your seat near his bedside and sigh. The windows a few steps away from Bakugou’s left allow for the sun’s late afternoon glow to beam into his room. You’ve sat here with him for the past two hours and a half from when you first came.

“You’re so pessimistic, you know that?” You announce, resting your arms against the bed’s side rails, which promote access to you, propping your cheek onto your hands with your face turned towards Bakugou. “Always thinking so negatively.”

Choosing not to respond to your comment, Bakugou soaks in the brief silence shared within the confines of his room.

For the past few days, other than his immediate family, who was relentless about visiting him as much as they could- save for the days where work would pull them away- your regular visits were something that became apart of Bakugou’s daily schedule. 

Wake up. Eat whatever shitty food the kitchen staff has to offer for the day. Wait through numerous check-ups and appointments, while the nurses examine the vital state of his internal organs. And then, he has a bit of free time to himself before either you or any visitor arrives at Hosu General hospital.

“I’m just telling it as it is.”

Bakugou would be lying if he said that he didn’t look forward to your visits.

Like Pavlov’s law, he’s grown conditioned upon awaiting your arrival every day, always finding himself sitting a bit straighter in his bed whenever 15:00 rolled around on the clock. 

Growing bored with not much to do, Bakugou allows his eyes to wander the room, skimming each object with little to no thought before his eyes would drop down on your form once again. With your eyes still closed, Bakugou takes this chance to absorb your presence before him fully. Watching the tiny twitches that would happen every now and then on your face out of curiosity.

The amount of fear and dread that washed over you the moment you caught news of how Bakugou jumped in front of his childhood friend, Midoriya, to spare his life, in turn, putting his own on the line had you aching to the bone. 

You were scared and couldn’t bring yourself to the thought that you would lose him, and there wasn’t much that you could do about it since you and a few others were far from where the main fight had gone down.

Regardless of whether Bakugou had a chance of waking up or not, you were still adamant about swinging by his hospital room as often as you could until the second day where he miraculously woke up. And caused an uproar as he did. He had to be restrained as he tried to check up on the others’ wellbeing as he did so.

To be placed inside of a room alone, with no one around to tell him what the fuck exactly went on, Bakugou was on edge. Hands down, that day would take the cake as being the most overwhelming experience he has had at his time here. Where were was Deku, for starters? And where did you disappear off to? 

He really didn’t deserve you.

Pulling himself out from his thoughts, Bakugou breaks the silence to pester you with something. “Pass me that, will you?” He asks, nodding his head over to the sole snack that sat on his bedside table. Something that one of the nurses left behind for him after his physical exam.

You blink, snapping yourself back to reality. You crane your next behind you, following his line of sight to the bright Tarami packaging. “Sure,” you grab and toss it for him to take.

Bakugou grunts out his gratitude. “Getting to eat normal food again will be the pinnacle of my life,” he states, rolling the Tarami around in his hands. “They feed us nothing but literal dog water and bland shit. “

“I’m sure the staff is trying their best. You aren’t the only mouth they feed in here after all,” you say, referencing the fact that your other peers, such as Todoroki and Midoriya to name a few, found themselves in the same situation as he did. 

“I fuckin’ guess,” he mutters in response, his focus shifted onto trying to rip open his snack but to no avail.

“Want me to - ”

“Don’t need it,” he says, cutting your sentence short. His bandaged thumbs are still fumbling to get a good grip on the plastic seal that stood in the way between him and his fruit cup. “This stupid gauze is just - ” The cup tumbles out from his hold and rolls out onto his lap. “Dammit!”

You smile at the display in front of you. Bakugou glaring at the container as if it had crossed him wrong was quite the sight to see. The fact that he has shown no signs of making another attempt at opening the seal gave you an indication that it was your turn to step in.

What a dork.

“Jesus, Katsuki,” you say, shaking your head at his stubborn nature. You take the fruit cup off his lap and, without issue tear the seal off before passing it back to him. He was too headstrong for his own good sometimes. “Nobody’s gonna bite you if you ask for help once in a while.”

Bakugou scoffs - losing steam now, he tips the rim of the cup against his lips, knocking back as many diced peaches he could fit inside of his mouth.

A mix of wonder and admiration suddenly crosses you as you study how quick he is to swallow down his food. Not even bothering to make use of the silver spoon left astray on the stand.

Bakugou silently chews. His cheeks have bulked up in size for the time being until all traces of food have been gone. Cute. “You’re so - ” You start but cut yourself short, wanting to enjoy the serene atmosphere rather than spurring him to the edge towards nagging at you.

You reach your hand out towards Bakugou, thumb grazing the corner of his mouth to clean the small mess he has made, to which he gently swats your hand away. His mannerisms were still the same as ever, never changing.

“I’m so what?” He asks, flicking his attention onto you as he watches the way your eyes linger on his face.

“You’re so amazing, was what I was going to say.” 

“Damn straight.”

You half-heartedly roll your eyes at his narcissistic response and reach for your phone, checking the time. “Wow, it’s now getting to 18:00?” You exclaim, swiftly entering the passcode to your iPhone and so that your fingers could scroll to the Tokyo Train Navigation app to check the times of when you should catch the next ride home.

Bakugou brows bump together in confusion at your surprise. “What about it? That means you’re ditching me already?” 

“Only for today though, the next train is coming in 30 minutes, and I gotta catch it before it gets dark out.”

As much as Bakugou isn’t a big fan of having your time spent together but abruptly short, he understands where you’re coming from, mentally putting himself in your shoes. 

At hours like these, when the begins to sun hide behind the city’s tall, towering buildings, it isn’t an ideal situation to have you walking out alone in the middle of dimly lit streets where villains may lurk at any corner. Especially after the shit show that went down this past week with the jailbreak.

He’d have no problem walking you home at times like this, but he can’t. Not when he’s on a “house arrest” list with the staff of the hospital.

“Fine,” he replies, dropping his head into his hands, which then finds purchase through his hair. Pissed with the cards he’s been dealt with. Feeling like he should clarify about your safety, Bakugou pipes up, “Make sure you ask the front desk to have one of their idiot guards walk you to the station. I hear that they do that.”

“Yeah, of course,” you say, collecting your belongings from the ground. “Not trying to be edited in with the clouds.” A remark that was supposed to prompt a lighthearted, humorous feel to the conversation, but Bakugou remains tight-lipped as ever. A fitting expression for your grouch of a boyfriend.

“I’m serious. Text me when you get home too.”

“And so am I! I love my life.”

And he loves you-- was something that Bakugou refrains himself from saying. It was something that he still had trouble saying verbally but had no difficulty expressing.

You walk towards the door, ready to bid your counterpart a farewell, but he beats you to the punch.

“The hell are you doing?” Bakugou’s voice halts you from making your grand exit.

He stares at you sharply from his bed. Glowering with jaw taut as he eyes your hand placed onto the sliding door. “Cut that shit out, come back.”

“For why?”

You hear Bakugou breathe out a hushed hiss, becoming peeved at how evasive you were when he knew for a fact that you were aware of what he wanted you to do for him. “Come and do the thing.”

At his sudden inquiry, you finally turn around to face him. “What thing?” You prod, wanting to hear him say what he wanted out loud. To be straightforward with you for once rather than dancing around the topic like he always does.

Sidestepping the multiple wires and the IV tube that he was hooked up to, at last, you close the distance between you both. Finding yourself back beside Bakugou’s bed, and now settle yourself down onto the small space that he has created for you on his mattress. 

You feel giddy. A hazy warmth exudes from your chest that spreads down to your toes as you watch the slow change of pigmentation in Bakugou’s face. Blotches of a soft, rosy pink littered his exposed neck, indicating the effect that had over him.

Caving in, Bakugou swallows down his pride and utters, “Kiss me…” His tone is wavering in the slightest.

There it was.

Propping your hand near Bakugou’s face to steady yourself, you nod. You’re gentle in the process as you move much closer to Bakugou, attentive as not to brush up against any of his wounds. “Okay,” you murmur. 

You think to yourself about how pretty looks from your point of view. Admiring how Bakugou's plush and soft skin was despite the light bruises and scratches he’s gained from the fight, he looked very well-maintained for a hospital patient.

The more time that you take, you become aware of the fact that Bakugou isn’t above taking a fistful of your shirt and tugging you down so that you could meet his lips. Hell, it wouldn’t surprise you if he were to do so right now.

But he doesn’t. 

Instead, he waits. Patiently, for you to make your move and just fucking kiss him already. Though there’s only so much he can take before he breaks.

Feeling the bed dip beside him, Bakugou could damn near feel his heart hammering against his chest. “Hurry up and get on with it will you,” he chides, his striking features already beginning to twist into an unreadable expression.

You laugh, unable to bite back your giggles as the male fixed you with his signature scowl. “Look at you, being a bully to the person you want a kiss from...” You say, leaning in close, now only hovering a few mere centimetres from his lips, both of you desperate for what would come next.

“You’re so mean, I swear.”

And that’s when you decide to close the distance, pressing your lips together.

It was quite sweet, literally, for his lips tasted of citrus.

Bakugou does a poor job at suppressing down his groan the moment your fingers wind themselves into his hair. The pads of your fingertips adoringly dance across his scalp.

The kiss starts off relatively chaste, both of you relishing in each other’s warmth as you pepper several small kisses against him—your stomach ties into knots as you experience how gentle he was being with you.

Despite the dull aching pains that Bakugou could still perceive whenever he made broad movements with his arm, his hand steadily finds its way to reach up towards your neck, pressing you further against him to deepen the kiss, swiping his tongue upon your lower lip. 

When your tongue comes into contact with his, it’s tentative and quick. And then it happens a few more times before fully feel comfortable enough to full-on kiss Bakugou.

Your thought process was growing muddled. Not a clear premise came to mind as his bandaged hand trails to the small of your back and back up again.

With every sound or hum of approval that you made way past your lips, it fed Bakugou’s desire to satisfy both you and his needs even. His thumb smooths over the curve of your jaw, easing your nerves each time you shyly pull away attributable to the great intimacy that swirled between you both.

He chases your lips, fervent on returning your energy that you were relaying to him, back tenfold. He loves you. So fucking much, and he only hopes that his appreciation and devotion may reach you.

You choke on a tiny gasp. “Katsuki - ” And that’s when he feels it, right in his chest. It’s as if he has been jump-started back to life, his heart quite literally skipping a beat at the sound of his name tumbling past your lips. It was adorable, and he wanted to hear you like that again. Say his name like that again, on loop without end.

Fuck.

With adrenaline coursing through your veins, your breathing was starting to grow laboured now, and you decide to break the kiss before things can escalate and before you miss your train.

Pulling away from Bakugou, the traces of confidence that you once had prior to the kiss have all but flung itself out the window, completely gone now. “I’ll, uhm -” You stammer over your words, brain trying to compose a proper sentence in spite of your current dazed state. “I’ll be back to see you again, with the others.”

With how flustered and scatterbrained you were acting, it stroked Bakugou’s ego beyond belief. A wicked smile threatens to split upon his face, but he bites it down along with his greed to ask for one more kiss before you go. “Tomorrow,” he affirms, flicking his eyes back towards the TV—an entirely new show publicized on its screen.

You hoist yourself up from the bed and stand to your feet, ignoring how your knees almost buckle. “Right,” you say. No fucking way were you this beat up over making out with your own boyfriend, for crying out loud- you thought as you wander towards the door, almost taking out one of the monitors in your trail. 

Sliding the door open you step out, but you poke your head back in, stalling a bit so that you could look at the blonde for the last time that day. “But until then, get well soon, okay?” 

Bakugou’s eyes stay glued to the screen, trying to distract himself from how damn sweaty his palms were, that or how he could feel the beat of his heart pick up in tempo. Its incessant pounding was all too much for him.

It’s so stupid how whipped he found himself to be nowadays. “I know,” he dismisses, a bit all too quickly. He wants your ass out before you have a chance to glance at the heart monitor he was wired up to.

Fortunately enough for him, you don’t. You wave and close the door behind you, your smile being the last thing he sees.

With the coast clear, Bakugou throws himself back onto his mountain of pillows. “Shit,” he curses, panting out a sigh of relief seconds after you were gone.

That was amazing, you were amazing, he thought, recounting the kiss. He swipes his palms against his sheets, being sure to get rid of any nitroglycerin that may linger to activate his quirk successfully.

Bakugou can’t stress how much he’s aching for nightfall to come, knowing that he would be one sleep from getting to see you again, and again, and again, until he would finally be let free.

But until then, as you had said, he had to heal.

And with the knowledge of you being around whenever he needed you the most, Bakugou was most definitely on the bright path to a speedy recovery.

[cryptidmads]

alright, so i went through the ama with wan hazmer and daim dziauddian on twitch and picked out every little tidbit i could about the megastars bc i knew you guys would want to know. this is a long post and i’m on mobile atm so i can’t put it under a read more — sorry about that! bosses are in chronological order, starting with DJSS and ending with Eve!

DJ SUBATOMIC SUPERNOVA

- djss took the least amount of time to develop out of all the bosses (haz says his fight took about half a year.)

- daim purposely tried to make djss' name as long as he could. he was specifically looking at negasonic teenage warhead from deadpool for inspiration.

- haz and daim do have the briefing/kliffnotes for djss. they discussed sharing them at some point, but idk when that would happen.

- related to the above, daim says that dj is in his mid thirties. EDIT: his kliffnotes were shared on twitter and they say he’s 41. daim must have goofed haha

- when asked if djss actually has a face and how he eats, daim compares it to kenny from south park and how you never see his face. he thinks dj does have a face in there, but that we just never see it. as for the “how does he eat” part, daim says that sometimes they don’t have to show everything.

- daim is a djneon/neonnova shipper, and it’s one his favourite pairings alongside zuke/mayday.

- daim said that uncle ali basically instantly landed the role as djss. he was that good.

SAYU

- sayu was obviously inspired by hatsune miku and other vocaloids, but haz brings up one particular commercial involving miku and google chrome, which involves a bunch of people collborating on songs and concept art for miku, similar to how sayu started as a collab between remi and tila in-universe.

- someone asked about the models for sayu's crew's apartments. there wasn't much on that, but haz mentions that one of his favourite nsr fanfics (yes, he reads them) is "Road to Redemption," and there's a scene that takes place in a studio where the crew works on sayu, and he really likes that.

- the devs wanted sayu's name to sound both malay and japanese at the same time (as well as a nod to miku). haz says it means “warm water” in japanese.

- akusuka is a direct copy of akihabara in terms of locale.

- sayu’s shellfish commercial is a homage to a real snack in malaysia named mamee monster, which is hugely popular with kids. the format of the commercial itself was inspired by a pocky commercial that featured hatsune miku.

YINU

- her game design (for her boss fight) was partially done in ms paint by music director falk (who made the base version of her boss theme)

- yinu's mom doesn't have a name. she's just mother/mama.

- haz confirmed that yinu's father is, in fact, dead.

- daim thought yinu’s name was a nod to yuna (a popular malaysian artist). it’s not.

- natura is daim’s favourite district. he likes how calm it is compared to the others.

- daim said that they wanted a hint of hope in all three of yinu’s backstory photographs, to show that no matter how bad your life gets, there’s always that glimmer of hope and that good things can still happen.

1010

- the members of 1010 do not have any official names.

- the assets for the autographs were made by the artists at one of the partner companies working with metronomik on nsr. haz and daim didn't really have anything to do with making them, and while daim did approve them for the final game, he was sorta skimming through a bunch of assets along with the autographs, and he didn't realize what they really were at the time until later. haz is impressed with how the fans managed to decipher them.

- 1010's fight was purposefully put between yinu's and eve's as a break from the emotional stuff.

- michael jackson was used as a reference for 1010's animations/moves.

- the Bio Tactical Shield that you get for zuke after beating 1010 is a reference to BTS.

- tangibly related, but the collectable figurines are supposed to serve more as a backstory to vinyl city as a whole, rather than 1010 or neon j. daim describes the figures as what events were going on and what people were doing before the events of nsr.

- 1010’s appearance from older trailers (where they all looked the same) were actually placeholders. 1010’s actual designs weren’t finished yet when those trailers were released.

- parts of 1010’s designs (for their bodies/outfits) were inspired by tron uprising, a project that daim worked on.

- somebody asked why 1010 and neon j have sculpted butt plates. daim and haz have no idea, but daim suggested that ellie (who designed 1010) and jan (who did their character models) put them there to up the “sexy robot” factor.

- daim’s favourite member of 1010 is purl-hew/blue, and haz’s favourite is eloni/green.

- the members of 1010 were designed based on popular tropes in boy bands. rin/white is “the main guy,” zimelu/red is the “bad boy,” purl-hew/blue is the “cool guy,” haym/yellow is the “young/innocent one,” and eloni/green is the “weird/funny one.”

- eloni/green not getting fan mail was based on how the “funny guy” of kpop bands/idol groups don’t seem to get as much attention as the rest of the group.

NEON J

- haz and daim didn't expect neon j to become so popular. haz joked about blaming it on ddaddystar, who did that doodle of djss and neon j from the credits.

- when asked about neon j’s age, daim said he’s definitely older than djss, and that he could be in his forties.

- related to the age thing, someone in chat said he should be older if he went to war in the sixties. haz replied by saying they never mentioned what year the game takes place in, so it doesn’t necessarily take place in the present/2020.

- a lot of people asked about the border wars, and daim and haz said they like leaving the bulk of it up to fan interpretation.

- daim said that neon j’s organs were preserved in a robotic shell after the war, and that’s why he’s considered a cyborg.

- as stated above, daim is a djneon/neonnova shipper, and it’s one his favourite pairings alongside zuke/mayday.

- neon j’s monologue was slightly longer, but it was cut down because zul (neon j’s va) didn’t do very many takes for the monologue, and the takes he did do didn’t have the comedic punch that daim was looking for, so it got shortened.

- the singing parts of neon j’s lines were ad-libbed by zul in his audition, and daim liked it so much that it stayed for the final game.

- neon j’s monologue had to be altered in the japanese dub so that the jokes/comedy would make more sense.

EVE

- the color changing paintings from her boss fight were created by accident.

- eve was put as the last boss because of how emotional her relationship with zuke was and how complicated and intricate she is as a whole compared to the rest of the bosses.

- daim considers eve to be the "final boss" for zuke, while tatiana is the final boss for mayday.

- eve took the longest to develop out of all the bosses. she was orignally a lot more complicated, and daim said they had to "filter" a lot of things about her in order to tone her down and fit her into the game.

- eve was almost scrapped from the game. daim said her concept as an eccentric artist wasn't as well known as the other four bosses’ concepts, and combine that with how long it took to finalize her... yeah.

- none of the artists have set in stone heights because of how the gameplay works, but eve is the tallest one. the closest scene in the game that has them at their actual heights is the ending.

- her name was originally eva, but it was changed bc there’s already a popular artist with the same name.

- daim explains that a big part of eve’s concept and theme is her embracing herself. he uses the example of eve’s backstory where she starts out hating herself and trying to cover the pink half of her face, but then starts doing less of that overtime. he also mentions that all the body parts (hands, arms, legs, etc.) from her fight also come from her embracing her body and using it in her artwork.

- dream fever is haz’s favourite district.

- daim didn’t originally think of zuke and eve as being an actual couple until later down the line when the story heavily implied it.

- eve’s younger designs were done by lzbros, who did all the 2d animation for the game.

[yutahoes]

Punch

pairing : bodyguard! Yuta Nakamoto x rich girl! Y/N

genre: angst, fluff, childhood friends au

word count: 2.7k words

summary : Yuta has his eyes on one girl. A person he cannot have. 

a/n: based on this ask. you’ll probably guess that I intended this to be an angst fic so the ending is kinda off but I still hope you’ll like it anon.  

“Can you please act like a proper lady?” the mother of the house scolded which only made Y/N sip her soup loudly. “Y/N!” she shouted, which made the younger girl flinch. 

The oldest sighed loudly, closing his eyes. “Can’t we just enjoy our meal without shouting?” The younger girl snickered. “And Y/N, please listen to your mom. Act like a proper lady.”

She rolled her eyes at that. It’s not like she’s not an obedient child, she listens to what they want. She just hated how they put all this pressure on her to be a proper woman when it’s not what she wants. The disadvantage of being born into a rich family. 

Her right wrapped fist hit the punching bag before her left fist hooked to hit its side. The door opened and she swings a punch, only to hit her childhood friend by the shoulder. “That is one weak punch.” Yuta teased, fixing the wrap of her right fist. “Why do you have to practice boxing when you have your bodyguard?” He whispered while fixing the other wrap. “I’d rather break all my bones than let someone lay a finger on you.”   

She laughed. “For someone so strong and muscly, you have such a soft spot for me.” She swing another punch and he quickly dodged it. Yuta held her wrist, gently pulling her to the side but Y/N kept on coming to him with punches. She hit his shoulder once but he didn’t flinch making her repeat the punching.  

Yuta stepped backward, laughing at her attempts. His foot reached the edge of the mat at the same time as Y/N landed a punch on his chest. He fell down on his back, dragging Y/N with him. The girl grinned, “I think I just knocked you down.” 

She sounded so proud of herself that it’s comical. Yuta held both her arms, pushing her down to the mat. Him, hovering above her. “The first rule is to never put your guard down.” He can feel her warm breath against his lips. Her fruity smell arousing his senses. A loud heartbeat, he wasn’t sure if it was hers or his, ringing on his ears. 

Yuta stood up as if he’s on fire. Y/N chuckling while lying down on the mat. He reached a hand to help her stand, letting go when she stood up. “Luckily, you will always be here for me.” The side of his lips curled up. 

He didn’t know when it started. Maybe it started even before he realized it. Since his parents work with her family, he became her first friend. When she went to high school, she refused to have bodyguards following her every move so Yuta, being her classmate, became her personal bodyguard. The main reason why he bulked up. 

But it should end now. He can’t be her personal bodyguard forever. Because from the little girl he first met when they were six years old, Y/N had grown to be a pretty woman. And he’s just a guy. A guy who is attracted to the person he needed to guard. 

-----

“I’m sorry,” Y/N said, holding her shoes while running outside their mansion and into the car. Yuta laughed, closing the door behind him then entering the driver’s seat. “Is mom mad?” 

He shook his head, adjusting the rearview mirror to watch if she’s comfortable in her seat. She was putting on her sandals, the skirt of her dress hiking up her thigh that made him cough. “If she asks, just tell her your piano class ended late.” 

“But I don’t have piano classes.” 

“Exactly.” 

The girl smiled. This was one of the things she liked about hanging out with Yuta. Her parents believe him more than her and he’s good at making up excuses. 

It’s not her fault that she enjoyed watching the boxing match on TV and she forgot about the party that her mom kept on reminding her. Honestly, she would rather just stay at home and practice her boxing skills rather than stand in that posh party and act like her mom’s Barbie doll. Why is this the fate of a chaebol’s daughter? 

The car stopped at the entrance of a posh hotel, the valet already opening the door for her. “Are you coming up after parking the car?” she asked but Yuta just shook his head while reminding her to keep her slippers on the side so he can hide them in the trunk. “What if I get bored?” 

Yuta chuckled. “I’ll be drinking coffee in the lobby.” She grinned before getting out of the car and closing the door behind her. 

The elevator ride is boring already but when she came inside the venue, the party made her yawn. Her mom scolded her for arriving late then smiling at her friends which she greeted with a fake smile on her face. She introduced her to one bachelor after another, obnoxious jerks that she knew since she’s a kid. “Didn’t I told you to wear makeup?” Her mom scolded and she hissed, closing her eyes. She’s pissed off that she’s hungry and her feet are aching real bad. She just wanted to go home. 

Maybe she can make a run for it and go to Yuta in the lobby. 

But her mom held her arm, whispering that she should stop being a brat. It wasn’t until her dad said that they should go home since he’s almost drunk that a smile crept on her lips. She almost hurried outside the hotel, grinning when Yuta opened the door for her. “You look like you had fun.” 

She rolled her eyes at that, “I almost died of boredom.” He chuckled before she got inside the car, Yuta opening the front door for Y/N’s dad. 

The car was quiet that surprised him. Normally, her mom will keep on scolding her for her behavior at the party. Maybe she was being obedient today. “Yuta, your dad told me about your family leaving.” He saw movement from the rearview mirror and shrugged it. “Let me know if you need anything.” Yuta nodded, thanking the older man. 

“We know some doctors in Japan. Maybe we can help.” The older woman from the backseat claimed but Yuta just shook his head. He already feels bad about his family moving so suddenly, he’ll feel worse if he let them help his ailing grandmother. This was a decision that his parents had been pondering for a while and when their employer agreed to let them go back to Japan, he can’t say no. 

The car stopped in front of their mansion, the couple getting out of the car but the girl refused to move and even closed the door of the car. She was glaring at Yuta, arms crossed in front of her chest. “Why didn’t you tell me that you’re leaving?” 

Yuta sighed. “I can’t find the right timing to tell you.” She rolled her eyes once again. “I’m sorry but grandma is already old and she wants us to go back to Japan.” 

“Can’t you stay?” 

“I can’t, Y/N.” He hissed. “My parents are already old. They need me more.” 

The girl pursed her lips and he cautiously met her eyes from the rearview mirror. “When are you leaving?” 

“Tomorrow.” 

“Already?” Yuta nodded. The sooner, the better. “Morning?” Again, he nodded. Y/N pouted, squinting her eyes at him. “Can you wake me up before you leave?” 

He smiled, laughing while he turned to her. “You can wake up by yourself.” But she shook her head. “I’ll wake you up tomorrow. Promise.” She grinned, even repeating that he needed to wake her up before leaving the car. 

Yuta sighed, leaning in his seat while taking a silver chain from inside his pocket. His thumb tracing the heart pendant. This was supposed to be his gift for her but seeing as how the other guys from wealthy families gave her diamonds and expensive things, he hid it for months. A knock on the window startled him, hastily putting the necklace in his pocket. He rolled down the window to reveal his dad, smiling at him. “I’ll just park the car.” 

He waited for him outside the mansion as he returned the keys, closing their door in the process. “You know you can stay if you want.” His dad started that made Yuta shake his head. It was his decision to come with them. He can’t stay here and be away from them. They needed him. “I’m sorry, Yuta.” 

“What for, dad?” 

“I should have worked harder and maybe our family is wealthier.” He claimed that surprised the younger guy. His dad is thinking about these things? “You wouldn’t have a problem loving her.” 

A smile crept on Yuta’s face. Of course, they know about it. Everyone does. Except her. 

“It was your mom who found out. You even worked part-time jobs just to get her a present and I felt bad.” Yuta shook his head. They’re the parents he wished for. He doesn’t want anything to change. “Did you at least tell her your feelings?” 

Once again, he shook his head. “It’s just a one-sided crush, dad.” The older tapped his shoulder. “This will pass.” But even he had a hard time believing the words coming out of his own mouth. 

He promised to wake her up and although he’s in front of her room, he can’t have the courage to knock on the door and tell her that they’re leaving. It’s just a crush. He kept on telling himself. This will pass. With a heavy sigh, he put down the necklace on the floor and went downstairs. 

“Did you wake her up?” Yuta smiled, shaking his head. "That girl, really." The older woman was about to leave when the younger stopped her, saying that it's fine. His mom stared at him in worry.

Yuta went inside the cab while her parents thanked the other couple. This is it, he thought. His goodbye to her. His thumb grazed against her smiling photo as his phone wallpaper. His parents both looked at him when they went inside the car, asking if he's alright and he nodded then closed his phone. 

As the car started moving away from the mansion, his phone lit up with her name. He's a coward. He shouldn't be her bodyguard. He closed the phone, removing his sim card and breaking it in half. 

Yuta's goodbye to her. The love of his life. 

The last few years were so good to Yuta. His uncle sent him to a university in Tokyo where he took a course in business administration and start a small business of his own. He met a lot of good people, nice girls from his line of work but sometimes he would trail to thoughts of her. Her smile, her eyes. 

Whenever winter comes, he would think of her grinning excitedly at the thought of snow. When spring comes, he finds himself smiling at the cherry blossoms. Wanting her to see them with her own two eyes. Whenever summer comes, he wished she’s here with him and eating delicious foods at festivals. When it’s autumn, he would dream of them walking under the shedding trees and holding each other’s hands. Then the cycle repeats itself. 

He missed her more as time pass. 

Can he even see her again? Why can’t he fully say goodbye to his feelings for her? 

“I heard there are pretty girls at the party. We should definitely check it out.” One of his business partners claimed, referring to a party happening to a famous hotel in Tokyo. “Maybe this is your chance to forget about that girl.” 

Maybe it is. He should focus on forgetting about her. Maybe this time, he can finally say goodbye to the thoughts of her. 

Surprisingly the more he stayed at the party, the more he was reminded of her. Is this how it feels like being the ‘Barbie doll’? Just standing, smiling, and greeting people when you want to go home and just rest. Seeing how some creepy rich old men were walking to where younger girls are, he thought that these chaebol’s daughters should really have a bodyguard of their own. How is she? Did she find another bodyguard?   

Yuta excused himself outside to get some breath of fresh air. This is dangerous, he kept on thinking about her. He’s failing his mission. “Y/N!” someone called that made him turn to the owner of the voice. A guy in simple shirt and jeans, very different from the semi-formal attire in the party, was looking around the garden. “Y/N, your mom is going to kill me.” 

He really said her name, didn’t he? Before he can walk to where he is, he heard a small sound behind the bushes then some movement. Curious, he peeked behind only to get punched in the face. Hard. “Oh shit, I’m sorry.” Is he hurt that much? Why is he seeing her? “Yuta?” 

“Y/N!” the sound got closer that made her pull him to hide behind the bushes. 

“What are you…?” She put a hand over her mouth to cover his voice. Their distance so close that he can feel her warmth and the fruity smell that he always associated with her. A loud heartbeat ringing in his ears but now, he’s sure that it was his. 

When the guy went inside the party, Y/N breathed hard in relief. Her head lay on Yuta’s shoulder, catching her breath. “That was so close.” 

He lightly pushed her, moving to the side to create a distance from the two of them. “What were you doing?” 

“Hiding.” she said with a grin. “He’s going to return me to mom and introduce me to some Japanese hotshot." he rolled her eyes while fixing her skirt. "I don't even know how to speak Japanese, I just passed class because…" She lightly glanced at him, her eyes widening in surprise. "Your lip is bleeding." 

Yuta touched his bottom lip, a bright red tint appearing on his thumb. "Maybe because of your punch." She repeatedly apologized, handing him her handkerchief. "Have you been practicing your punches?" 

"I'm training to be a boxer to join the Olympics." 

"Seriously?"  

The girl squinted her eyes at him. "I'm stuck with that lanky guy who can't even land a punch. How am I supposed to protect myself?" 

Yuta laughed then pulled her down in an attempt to hide her from the guy looking for her. "Why are you stuck with that guy anyways? Your dad knew better." 

"Well, my bodyguard left me without even saying goodbye when he promised me..." 

"I'm sorry." Yuta whispered. "Saying goodbye is harder than staying with you." He breathed heavily. "I'm falling deeper for the girl I'm supposed to protect. I'm scared I might hurt you." He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. 

She rolled her eyes at that. "Why didn't you tell me?" 

"Because I'm a nobody and you're way out of my league, Y/N." 

"You're stupid, Yuta. I didn't even sleep that night and waited for you to knock on the door that morning." She lightly punched his shoulder, earning a yelp from him. Tears were streaming from her eyes that startled him. "I even went to Osaka to look for you." 

He held her cheeks, wiping the tears away with his thumbs. “I’m sorry, Y/N.” He mumbled. “I can’t get you out of my mind as well.” He held her in his arms, her necklace hanging loosely from her neck. He traced the heart pendant, smiling at her. “It looks good on you.” 

She punched his shoulder another time, surprising Yuta. “Don’t hide from me again. I’ll kill you, Yuta.” 

The guy rubbed the spot she just punched, “I don’t think I can be your bodyguard anymore. Let me just guard your heart instead.” Another punch and he just chuckled, pulling her in his arms again.

Yuta smiled. Mission failed. 

He really can’t say goodbye to the love of his life. 

[mrs-mikko-rantanen]

WHG Prompt 1: Ferret

    Ferret kept his closed his eyes and sighed, trying to ignore the open pit of anxiety opening up in his stomach. He shifted a little, rolling onto his side so that he faced the window instead of the thin sheet that had been hung in the room to separate him from his sisters, the three of them packed into one of the two small bedrooms in the house. Their mother had the other room to herself, since his father had died in a mining accident when Ferret was little. He sat up finally and listened carefully for breathing on the other side of the sheet. Nothing. 

He wasn’t surprised to be alone in the room, even if it did make him feel a little exposed. Adelin was no doubt out hunting. She was the main source of food not only for the O’Conner house, but for many of the other families that lived on the outskirts of District Twelve, where the bulk of the miners lived in the Seam and din’t have the time or the means to get meat for their families themselves. Aislin had probably slipped into their mother’s room late in the night, before her twin had even rizen to sneak out of the house. Either his sister had had a nightmare, or his mother had. No doubt they had both stayed up the rest of the night, sitting on the edge of his mother’s bed and leaning against each other for comfort.

    Only Ferret had slept the whole night through, it would seem. Of course that was a lie though. He too had been plagued by nightmares and dark thoughts. He too had woken up gasping and panting and filled with terror and panic. But he knew that everyone else in the house would need comfort, so he let them find it in their own ways. He found it by laying in bed, counting splinters in the ceiling or cracks in the window until he fell asleep, whispering to himself that he and his sisters would be safe. 

    He sighed again and stood up, pulling on his usual clothes. His mother would make him change after breakfast anyway, force him into some old suit that didn’t fit him too well, would try to wrestle his curls into some form of presentability, and as happened every year, would have limited success. He was always allowed the comfort of his everyday clothes for a little while anyway. His black jeans and dark, long sleeved shirt was allowed for an hour or so, until it couldn’t be avoided. 

    He slipped into the kitchen, and set about making breakfast. What Adelin hunted, he traded. He was the one who would go to the Hob, barter and haggle, and sell. Meat from Adelin, medicines made by Aislin and his mother, and things that he’d never admit to knitting. He was the shopkeeper of the family. His little stall was his pride and joy. It pulled in a few extra dollars, and, more importantly, eggs. By the time Adelin came home, Aislin and their mother had come out of the room, and all four of them ate quietly.

    “It’s going to be fine.” Aislin finally said with a gentle smile.

    Adelin snorted and mumbled something under her breath. Ferret shot her a look before nodding and smiling at Aislin, trying to find the same optimistic hope that she always seemed to have.

    “Of course. I pulled a few strings down at the Hob, I think we should go eat down there after. Greasy Sae said she was going to try to make extra food today, she should be using that deer Adi brought in the other day.” He smiled.

    “We’ll see.” Their mother said, forcing a smile as well. “We’ve sat around long enough, go get dressed.”

    Ferret scowled at his reflection as he buttoned up the shirt that his mother had spent a week trying to patch. The shirt wasn’t the problem. The shirt fit fine. It was his slacks. His tall frame had only gotten taller since the last Reaping, and the pants were now even shorter. He had spent more time standing still and sighing as Mama had frowned and fretted with the hems than he had spent doing anything else over the last month. She’d let them out, she’d tried to hide new material, everything. Nothing worked. So Ferret was wearing dress pants that showcased his ankles nicely. He wasn’t even going to try the matching jacket on with it. He’d balled it up and hidden it under his bed so that Mama wouldn’t even try to alter it. He was folding his sleeves up when Mama pushed the sheet aside a little, a tie in hand. 

    “Mama, no.” He shook his head profusely, taking a step back, “I’m not going in there with a noose around my neck.”

    She tilted her head a little and frowned. “Ferret, you never dress up. Just once a year can you indulge me?” 

    His shoulders dropped in defeat and he rolled his eyes as she stepped closer, looping the tie over his head and putting it on gently. He didn’t miss the way she left it a little loose, so he wouldn’t feel quite as confined.

    “Are you nervous?”

    “No.” It was a lie. Short and clipped, reinforced with his trademark scowl and head shake as she left the tie alone and began to try to arrange his curls into…something. 

    “Good.” She sighed and gave up on his hair, stepping back and looking at him with a proud smile. “I wish you’d stand up straight. You may as well take advantage of your height.”

    “Why? So I can see over the trees and tell you where Adi’s run off to?”

    “Well it would be helpful.” She said with a grin. 

    Ferret sighed and bent a little so that he could properly hug her. His face scrunched up a little and he buried his face in the crook of her neck like he had when he’d been just a little kid. “Mama if it’s me–”

    “It won’t be.” She promised, patting his back, “It won’t be, baby.”

    “Mama. If it is, Ash can take over the stall. They’re not as bad as Adi says they are down there, they’re good people.”

    “Of course they are. I’ve been to the Hob more than once. I know them all too.”

    “Just…The stall is a good source of money. It’ll take care of you guys even if I can’t–”

    “Ferret–” Her voice hardened a little as she spoke this time, pulling away from her son.

    “Mama, please–”

    “Ferret, that’s enough.” She shook her head and worried at his tie again, trying to draw attention to anything but the conversation at hand. “Don’t make me think about that, Ferret. Don’t make me think about losing you too.”

    His jaw clenched a little, and he made up his mind to tell his sisters as quietly as he could on the way to the town square. They needed to be ready.

    “Ok, Mama. I love you.”

    “I love you too. C’mon. Your sisters are waiting.”

[joshslater]

Bulk Bucket

Similar stories and bonus material on my Patreon.

"Time's up, Parker" Ronan Parker felt a firm grip on his arm from someone who had walked up behind him and was now steering him. It was Seth Dale from the football team, though Ronan could never remember what position he played. Sport wasn't a big part of his life, and while he knew most of the players, it was mostly to keep up with the latest gossip. He had been big before the summer, but now he was huge. What had he been up to?

"Good news, Parker. We are going to help each other out." Ronan looked to his other side and saw Nigel Wilkinson, running back on the team. He too was way bigger than before. Had they been working out together over the summer? "Yeah," Seth continued, "we asked around, and everyone agreed we wanted you."

They flanked him on either side and walked him around the corner, away from the library he was heading to. "Christina started to call Brennan by the name you came up with, Brawnan. He really wanted you to help us out" Ronan felt a pit in his guts. Wherever this march ended, it would be payback time. Not being athletic enough for any of the teams, or had enough patience to really shine academically, he'd used his street smarts and social skills to be an authoritative voice on who was cool and who was a joke in the school. The jocks had decidedly been on his shit-list. Not because he really disliked them, he didn't know them, but because it was easy to come up with jokes and every other guy, and many of the girls, would happily join in for their own reasons. Some were envious, some rejected the patriarchal idolization, and some were just getting even after years of getting bullied. But now the tax was due.

Ronan didn't even try to resist. Outrun the running back? Even shake out of Seth's grip would be a feat. They exited the main building and walked towards the sports center. Ronan went through hazings he could recall and started to put them in order of suck. Tied to the flag pole would be preferable to being suspended and used as a punching bag. What about stuffed in a locker with smelly training gear? Probably depends on what gear and the size of the locker. He wasn't that big, so he could fit in all the new ones. "You're awfully silent all of a sudden," Nigel said as we crossed the concrete square outside the main building. "You don't have a new joke for us? The one about beef broth was hilarious to some." Ronan remained silent, thinking that was probably the sane thing to do. "Hey, what about the meatloaf one? People used it for weeks," Seth chipped in.

Nigel opened the doors for them, all the way to their locker room. Inside it was the entire team waiting. The moment they entered the happy banter instantly died down to silence as they walked into the room. Ronan got a shock seeing them. He recognized them all, of course, but the muscles they all packed on during the summer was unreal. Impossible even. The room was quite big, but somehow it felt very cramped with a whole football team's worth of large bodies around him. All had gym clothes on, of more or less revealing kinds. The air was damp and there was a smell of sweat and testosterone in the air. All eyes were on him, but he couldn't make out their expressions. It ranged anywhere from triumphant to muted. Jonathan walked up to Nigel with a protein drink shaker. "All there, freshly squeezed" The shaker was milky white plastic, almost opaque, with a dark, green-tinted liquid inside. Nigel gave it a few shakes. It looked to be about two cups of something sloshing around in it.

"Ok, anyone not ready?" Seth asked the room. There was a second of silence. "Let's begin then." Nigel handed over the shaker to Ronan. "Drink up, funny boy". Ronan's mind was racing. What was in the shaker? Were they trying to get him drunk, or to shit himself? He knew one thing, it would be pointless to struggle surrounded by what looked like a spartan army. Hesitantly he opened the cap, put the opening to his lips, and began to sample its contents. It was sour, it was bitter, it was salty, it was sweet, but more than anything it tested of herbs. Like someone had made a herbal smoothie with whatever they found in their garden, plus lime. "Hurry up, all of it" The liquid wasn't as thick as a smoothie, but it wasn't just water either. Ronan emptied the shaker faster, shaking out the last drops at the end as a pretend front of courage. Almost immediately a loud groan came from his intestines. Then another one. "What's that? I didn't really hear you," Seth joked, and got a murmur of laughter from the team.

Ronan felt clammy and sweaty, like the first signs of food poisoning. Apparently it showed as well, as Seth continued "Not feeling well, you say? You should take a seat." Ronan was showed down unto one of the benches by several hands. He was feeling dizzy. "It's working. Get the stone" someone said. From behind someone tied a leather strap with a stone pendant around his neck. Ronan just wanted to take a hot shower, maybe throw up, and go to bed. Sitting down they all looked even more imposing, looking down on him.

"How long until he's ready?" ask someone Ronan maybe recognized as Harry. It was hard to tell with their new bodies. "The fuck do I know, " Nigel responded. "It's not like we've done this before. Let's give it time to make sure it is fully absorbed. We have all afternoon after all."

"Let's show him what we got," Seth said to Nigel. Ronan still felt like shit, but it was kind of stabilizing. He watched as Seth and Nigel removed their shirts to show off their impossibly well-sculpted bodies. They had been regular jocks as they left for summer break, muscled for sure, but no where near this. "Ok, story time while we wait," Nigel started. "So this year the team had its summer camp over at the reservation. Pretty much the same as every year. Even if the location is different, there are the fires, the tents, outdoor sports and such. It's just that one evening one old indian dude showed up. He wasn't part of the organizers, cause we hadn't seen us before or since, but he talked about how you could channel the spirits around us. Nice camp fire story, but not much more to it. Not until a few nights later when a few of us got high and saw... Well, we realized some shit that turned out to actually work. Being a team we all did it, and perhaps a bit too much, since we ended up like this."

"The coach was fucking furious," Seth jumped in. "Turns out we got a bit greedy on strength and got way more pounds to haul across the field than we can win with, so we need to make some adjustments," Nigel concluded. Ronan started to get the picture, though wasn't sure what it would mean for him. Seth continued "We can't just give all of this back. It doesn't work like that, so we were all in agreement that the best bulk bucket to dump all the excess muscle on is you. The way you've run your fucking mouth off all last year, it sounded like a cry for help."

"Fuck it, let's do it now, " Nigel interrupted. He grabbed a wooden stick with both hands, and held it out in front of him. He closed his eyes and appeared to concentrate on something. Ronan could feel the heat building in his legs, and then tiny vibrations, like when you are pushing yourself to your limit and the muscle is about to fail of exhaustion. Then it spread upwards in his body, the heat, the vibrations, and followed by spasms. Nigel stood completely still, eyes closed, and concentrated. Then Ronan saw how Nigel slowly started to shrink. Slowly and subtly, but he was changing. From what he had been told Ronan assumed the opposite was happening to him, but he couldn't really focus enough to register that. His entire body was just a blur of vibrations, heat, and discomfort.

Then it all stopped, almost instantly. Nigel opened his eyes and inspected himself. He still looked amazing, but more appropriate for a football player his age. "Fuck yeah!" Seth exclaimed, and the entire room erupted in cheers and high fives.

"One down and the rest to go. You'll probably feel like shit until everyone who jizzed in your potion is done," Nigel told Ronan, while handing over the stick to Seth.

Ronan was wide awake and was greeted by staring into a pair of pecs as he opened his eyes. It hadn't been a bad dream after all. He really had been in that locker room for hours, getting more and more pumped with muscles as one after the other of the team grabbed the stick and spent some five, ten minutes on transferring muscles over to him. He had felt less and less sick as they progressed, but his heart sunk lower and lower by what was happening to his body. After about a quarter of them he needed to get out of his clothes. His feet hurt the most, but fabric was straining everywhere. He realized he was as buff as any of them, and by the half point he was confident he could kick the shit out of any of them, but to what end? If he ran away they would just continue anyway. Perhaps the pendant was needed, and he could rip that off, but just as Nigel said he was feeling like shit. So he stayed and went from his thin, normal self, through athletic, jock, muscular, swole, to whatever bodybuilding monstrosity he was now.

He didn't cry, that's not the kind of person he was, but he felt like he should as the now recognizable players went through his greatest hits of jock insults, and a whole list of new ones like meatpacker, swole sink, and hunkty dumpty. Harry had brought a roll of stickers from a supermarket saying "USDA Prime" and put one on his chest. After he had removed it he got another one stuck on his back, and to everyone's great amusement he couldn't reach that far back with all his new muscles. Someone had brought some clothes he could actually fit in. A pair of well worn, bulky sneakers, a pair of spandex shorts, and a stringer with the print "Size Matters", all raided from the lost and found at local gyms apparently.

A lot of the players had left after they had adjusted themselves, and the last few of them left just after having thrown the clothes at him. Ronan sat in shock and disbelief for a long while before he got up and put on the scant pieces of clothing, gathered his belongings, and started to head home. He felt off, but wasn't sure how much was residual of the tonic he drank and what was just his new normal. The way his thighs made him waddle and his chest and arm muscles made the arms stand out wouldn't go away just with a night of good sleep.

[sansukh-book-project]

Updates on fourth step (and step 4.5!)

Hello all!

Progress has definitely been made! I was able to stick to my schedule and finish doing my proofread on Friday! Overall, there were very little errors that needed correcting. A couple instances of a word misspelled, a few instances of a word missing, but overall the text itself was immaculate. The main things I had to note were that there were many dashes that needed fixing, and also a consistent capitalization error. Dets had a habit of not capitalizing the beginning of a dialog if it was in the middle of a sentence. Let me write up a fake example. The sentences would look like this: She jumped to her feet and cried out, “how can that possibly be?” However, all dialog, whether it’s in the middle of a sentence or not, needs to have the first letter of the first word capitalized. The dialog itself technically counts as it’s own sentence and so grammar rules still apply to it. So for our example, it should read: She jumped to her feet and cried out, “How can that possibly be?” Beyond fixing dashes, this was probably the bulk of the notes I took that needed fixing. Below is a picture of all my post-it notes, most stacked on top of each other.

I’ve finished fixing my first two documents, and am well on my way to incorporating my notes from the third document.

Now you might ask, what’s next? Well, funny story. I got to the end of Sansukh proper, and through my tears, I couldn’t help but want to read the epilogue story Tasalalkhud. It just didn’t feel complete without including that story as well. So, now I’m off to do all the steps I’ve done previously with Tasalakhud. I’ve already done the reformatting, the spellchecking, and the dash fixing. Now I’ve just got to read it and do my final proofing.

I also came to some decisions during my proofing. Originally, I had split the text for purely practical reasons; my computer did not like documents over 350 pages. I had originally planned to think more critically about how to split the volumes. However, I found that I actually liked where each volume ended! Volume one ends on a cliffhanger during the Battle of Helms Deep, with Gimli missing and Legolas asking Thorin to find him. I think this is a fun place to end it, as who doesn’t love a good cliffhanger, and it marks the point when the acknowledgement of their feelings begins. Volume two ends as the ring is destroyed, nicely wrapping up the story of the war. Volume three, then, becomes a sort of extended epilogue and wrapping up story. I wound up really liking these divisions, and so I’m thankful to serendipity that they happened naturally.

I also finally made a decision on how I want to handle the endnote translations for khuzdul and other languages. I had been waffling between making a glossary at the back of the books or including the translations on the page as footnotes. I’ve decided to go with a hybrid approach. I think for the endearments, family names, curses, or other terms that repeat frequently, I will include them all in a glossary at the back of each volume. Not knowing the translation of these words does not detract from my understanding of the text. For any phrases or words that need immediate translation, they will have a footnote on the page. This way, for words and phrases that are important to know in the moment, I won’t have to flip to the back of the book to know what is being said. I think this is a good compromise. It means I don’t have to translate the same word over and over again, but it lets me stay on my page when I do need a translation right away.

So, step 4.5 is to do my proof-editing of Tasalakhud. I have a week off coming up in August, and I should be done with my proofing by then. I look forward to using some of my time off to work on footnotes, the glossaries, and other appendix matters.

Until then my friends, thank you as always for joining me on this journey. It’s been about a year now since I originally downloaded the text, and I almost can’t believe how much time has passed since I began this project. While this is certainly the longest project I’ve ever worked on, it’s also one of the most rewarding.