#cause I have a burrows end DR

[moorlandwayfarer]

Do you ever just get that urge to run around barefoot - maybe on all fours - and splash in water and climb and just. Idk. Sob.

[thecreaturecodex]

Ryujishin-Mushi

"Beetle Dragon" © Pauliina Linjama, accessed at her deviantArt here

[The earthquake beetle, or jishin-mushi, is a Japanese artistic entity that has undergone significant derangement in English sources. For one thing, the name; most English adaptations call it the jinshin-mushi, which means "humanity beetle", not "earthquake beetle". They can be enormous or small, have dragon-like heads or not, and are in general a wide breed, as befits a monster that existed originally more as a bit of iconography than any established narrative. There's even two of them in 90s D&D! This one was called the earthquake beetle in the basic D&D Creature Catalogue, and is colossal and dragon-headed, and the Kara-Tur Monstrous Compendium had a medium-sized, more beetle like jishin-mushi as well. The name I gave this, meaning "dragon earthquake beetle", is a neologism intended to cover if I ever loop around to covering the Kara-Tur version.]

Ryujishin-mushi CR 18 N Magical Beast This titanic monster has the carapace of a beetle, reddish orange above ten black furry legs ending in scything claws. Its neck is long, and ends in a head like that of a horned dragon.

The ryujishin-mushi, or earth dragon beetles, are enormous creatures with features of arthropods and dragons. They are of animal intelligence and are primarily motivated by their appetites. The bulk of their nutritional needs are supported by consuming metal ore and gemstones, but they occasionally come to the surface to gorge themselves on meat before returning to dig in the depths. Only the strongest armies and boldest adventurers have the ability to fight back against these raids—for everyone else, evacuation and rebuilding are their only hope.

A ryujishin-mushi’s body is so dense that its very movement causes the ground to shake. The tremors that come with its burrowing are often the only warning surface dwellers have before the creature is in their midst. Earth dragon beetles focus their attention on the largest and tastiest looking morsels at first, but will fight back if creatures are capable of actually wounding them. They can punch holes in armor and snap weapons in half with their adamant teeth and claws, and often do so. Ryujishin-mushi possess a powerful acidic breath weapon, but they rarely use it unless reduced to below half hit points; melted flesh and oxidized slag is much less appetizing to them.

The reason for the great size and draconic aspect of the ryujishin-mushi is debated by scholars, and none of the proposed explanations are much comfort. One school of thought holds that ryujishin-mushi are dragon-like as a form of Mullerian mimicry; appearing to be a more magically adept creature to intimidate other monstrous hunters of the Darklands. The other hypothesis is that these creatures are descendants of Festering Ulunat, the first of the Spawn of Rovagug. How ryujishin-mushi reproduce is a mystery, and whether they have sex and lay eggs in the deep like normal beasts, or have stranger and more esoteric ways of replication, may shed light on this mystery.

Ryujishin-mushi CR 18 XP 153,600 N Colossal magical beast Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Perception +30, tremorsense 120 ft. Aura frightful presence (120 ft., Will DC 23)

Defense AC 29, touch 6, flat-footed 25 (-8 size, +3 Dex, +1 dodge, +23 natural) hp 310 (20d10+200); fast healing 10 Fort +22, Ref +15, Will +16 DR 15/magic; Immune acid, fear; SR 29

Offense Speed 60 ft., burrow 40 ft. Melee bite +24 (4d6+12), 4 claws +24 (1d10+12/19-20) Space 30 ft.; Reach 30 ft. Special Attacks adamantine claws, breath weapon (3/day, 120 foot cone, 20d8 acid damage, Ref DC 30), trample (4d10+18, Ref DC 32), tremor step

Statistics Str 34, Dex 17, Con 31, Int 2, Wis 26, Cha 16 Base Atk +20; CMB +40 (+44 sunder); CMD 54 (56 vs. sunder, 70 vs. trip) Feats Combat Reflexes, Critical Focus, Dodge, Greater Sunder, Improved Critical (claw), Improved Initiative, Improved Sunder, Power Attack, Staggering Critical, Stand Still Skills Climb +16, Perception +30

Ecology Environment any land and underground Organization solitary Treasure standard

Special Abilities Adamantine Claws (Ex) The natural weapons of a ryujishin-mushi are treated as adamantine for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction and hardness. Breath Weapon (Su) A ryujishin-mushi can use its breath weapon three times per day, but must wait 1d4 rounds between uses. Tremor Step (Ex) Whenever a ryujin-mushi moves at least half its speed in a turn, all creatures touching the ground in a 100 foot radius treat the area as difficult terrain and must succeed a DC 32 Reflex save or fall prone. The save DC is Strength based.

[tabletopmonsteroftheweek]

Community Build-a-Threat vol 3!

I finally had some frer time at work to finish this up!

Monster: Dr. Joseph Cassius

A simple man, really- middle aged pediatrician with not much thrills in his life. However, those who have been around him feel oddly sick and itchy. There’s also a weird, light buzzing noise around him. His shadow seems to actually sway a bit as well, like an unruly swarm of flies.

Type: Parasite (motivation: to infest, control, and devour)

Powers:

Causes infected victims to have their personalities overwritten with that of a very polite and mild-mannered middle-aged black guy named Dr. Joseph Cassius, who works as a pediatrician in Idaho

Replacing people’s own shadows and controlling them as they feed on their life essence

After eggs/larvae are implanted into an open wound, the parasite infests another living being, taking over the movement center of the brain over the course of 24-72 hours.

Attacks:

TMI (1 harm ignore armor)

Tell Me Where it Hurts [see custom moves]

Glock 22 (2 harm far)

Child-wrangling grip (0 harm hand restrain)

Cross-Contamination (1 harm close far)

Weakness:

Find the original Dr. Cassius, who will know exactly how to fix the problem and end the threat of the monster effortlessly. However, he’s on vacation right now so that might be a challenge.

A Taste of His Own Medicine: Turn his moves against him, such as:

TMI: Tell him a fact about himself

Tell Me Where it Hurts: research Dr. Cassius and throw his own trauma back at him

I’m a Healer, but…: His own gun deals damage to himself.

Child-Wrangling Grip: when a hunter rolls a+10 on Kick Some Ass and chooses the “You force them where you want them” option, +1 harm gets added to the total damage dealt

Cross-Contamination: use bug spray on Dr. Cassius’ open wounds and shadow to prevent insects from flying out.

Harm: 15

Custom Moves:

TMI- Dr. Joseph Cassius tells you facts about his life that no one would care to know. These facts can range from incredibly boring to mundane to disturbingly intimate.

Tell Me Where it Hurts: The infected shadow takes hold of the victim’s shadow to re-open old wounds. When the shadow touches a hunter’s shadow, have them roll Act Under Pressure. On a mixed result, the hunter takes 2 harm ignore armor. On a miss, they take the 2 harm ignore armor but the wounds go deeper than physical. Mental wounds start to open up as well, causing whoever is infected to go into distress. They take -1 ongoing until they can patch up those mental scars.

Cross-Contamination- The infected use its shadow and open wounds to release a swarm of insects at either a single target or a group. If a hunter is hit with this and has an open wound, they must roll Act Under Pressure to get the bugs out. On a mix they get a choice to either get the bugs out or let them burrow; if they pick the latter let them mark experience. On a miss the bugs burrow within them, they are now infected.

----

Minion: Last Stage Puppets

Prior to final transformation into Dr. Cassius, victims are made violent puppets by the monster, using whatever weapons they have on hand

Type: Right Hand (motivation: to back up the monster

Attacks: Makeshift Weaponry (1-3 harm. Pick one tag that applies: intimate, hand, close)

Harm: 6

Weakness: Killing the Dr. Cassius that infected them in the first place will slowly bring them back to normal. They will have to be supervised though. Those killed before Dr. Cassius is destroyed will have their bodies dispersed into a swarm of harmless insects.

[wolveria]

The Raven's Hymn - Ch 37

Pairing: SCP-049 x Reader

Series Warnings: Eventual smut, dubcon, slow burn, violence, horror, death, monsters, human experiments, dark with a happy ending

Chapter Summary: “Whatever causes you so much anguish, I wish to hear it. Do not hold back on my account.”

AO3

You rinsed out your mouth in the sink again, washing your face while you were at it. Taking one more precious moment to stall for time, putting off the inevitable and having to speak the impossible. Doing that, after all, would make it real.

Turning off the sink, you leaned against it, facing the SCP but not quite ready to look him in the eye.

“I’m sorry,” you began. “It wasn’t you. Or… it wasn’t your fault. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I am relieved to know I was not the direct cause of your distress, but that’s not what concerns me.”

049 hadn’t moved from the threshold of the containment chamber. He stood there, his eyes more guarded than usual, but the worry was still there. He was unsettled.

You stood up fully, letting go of the sink, and you automatically glanced to the bed. The sight of it turned your stomach, and you looked away with an unsteady breath.

049 finally entered the chamber the rest of the way, and he pulled out the chair to his desk.

“Please, sit. You look to be in discomfort.”

Quietly thanking him, you took the seat, wincing at the metal seat. You didn’t know how he sat on this thing for hours, and you briefly contemplated requesting a cushioned chair as a replacement. But of course, what was the point? Uncomfortable furniture was going to be the least of your worries soon.

Not knowing where to start, you rubbed your thighs and stared down at your slippers. The words lodged in your throat—no, long before that. They sat in your chest, buried in your stomach, burrowing deep so they wouldn’t see the light of day.

But then 049 crouched down, bracing one knee against the floor so he could meet your eye from your hunched position.

“Whatever causes you so much anguish, I wish to hear it,” he said softly. “Do not hold back on my account.”

You pressed your lips together, fighting to keep your expression under control. Each kind word from 049 was a prick to the heart. This affected him just as much as you, and the burden now lay on you to tell him. Maybe it was unfair for Dr. Puli to put this on you, but it was a little too late for fairness.

Even though you had no idea how 049 would feel, or react, the best thing would be to not drag it out and tell him as simply as you could.

You gave a nod and another breath, suddenly grateful that you were talking like this. You didn’t think you could do this while sitting up straight, let alone standing.

You began to talk.

“Leahy wants to make Foundational personnel with anomalous abilities. And he plans to do this by forcing humans and SCPs to procreate. To… to have children. And he wants…”

You maintained a flat, clinical tone until the end, where your voice cracked.

“…He wants you and I to be the first.”

You wondered if he’d heard. He didn’t react at all. Not so much as a blink.

“It’s insane,” you said in a rush. “It’s-it’s beyond unethical. I don’t even know how it would work. If it would work. We’re not the same species, we most likely have differing numbers of chromosomes, not to mention gamete recognition—I mean, why does he think you would even be able to… to…”

“I possess compatible anatomy.”

You stared.

“You possess… compatible anatomy.”

“To propagate offspring via sexual intercourse, yes.” He paused, a slight tilt to his head. “Though I’ve never made the attempt.”

“You’ve never… had sex?”

049 looked away.

“I believe that’s what I just said.”

This was by far the most ludicrous conversation of your life. If you weren’t already crazy, you might be well on your way.

“But… even so,” you pushed on, not wanting to linger on that earth-shattering revelation. “Even if we could—surely nothing would come of it? And even if an embryo formed, it’s impossible it would survive long enough to be carried to term.”

“I have not taken the time to contemplate or study such a case,” he said slowly. “It’s not a scenario I believed would present itself to me. I do not know what is or is not possible regarding… chances of fertilization.”

“It doesn’t matter.” You rubbed your forehead, trying to relieve the pinch of tension there. “None of it matters because we’re not going to do this. We’re not.”

“I’m afraid, dear doctor, that the Site Director is not a reasonable man. It is not in his nature to negotiate or compromise.” His gaze was soft. Sad. “If this is his design, then he will find a way to manifest it. Whether we cooperate or not.”

You swallowed down the bile threatening to climb up your throat.

“But it’s unthinkable. And if it is possible then-then it’s even more important we don’t do this. Children? Going through this is cruel enough, but bringing children into it? It’s… this can’t be real. Oh, God, this can’t be real.”

Covering your face with your hands, you propped your elbows on your legs and gasped for air. Silent, panicked cries rushed through your thoughts.

We can’t! We can’t!

A light touch pressed to the backs of your hands and then rested into your hair where your fingers were pressed into your scalp. You looked up. 049 had moved closer, the curve of his beak nearly touching your knee.

“Do you trust me?”

Your answer was without doubt or hesitation.

“Yes.”

His eyes grew warm, and he pulled you slowly into an embrace, one you could have easily escaped from. But you didn’t. He spoke directly into your ear in a tone so low you knew the mics couldn’t pick up the words.

“Then know that no matter what befalls me, I will find a way to free you from this prison.”

His words were so startling, so certain, that you weren’t sure what to say. He was talking a containment breach, he had to be.

Before, you would have cautioned against it. Anomalies rarely escaped their facility walls, and procedures following recapture were always harsh, conditions worse than those leading up to the breach.

But that was before. Before Leahy’s insane plan, and the certainty that if you didn’t do something now, worse things than this would be in your future.

“What can I do to help?” you whispered back, barely breathing the words so they wouldn’t be heard.

“Nothing, as of yet. When I have an answer, you shall know.”

You nodded, the side of his hood brushing your cheek. You lightly placed your fingers on his shoulder for comfort as much as you did stability.

“And until then?”

“We… do as they say.”

The words were heavy, as if they cost him a great deal to utter.

You leaned forward, curling into his robes, acknowledging you heard him, that you agreed with his assessment. It was as much permission as either of you were able to give.

049 moved his arms further around you, holding you no longer on pretense. It was comfort, a reminder that you weren’t alone in this.

As you rested your cheek on the cusp of his shoulder, you thought back to what he’d first whispered. You hadn’t overlooked his wording when he said he would free you from the Foundation without mention of himself. You had little doubt of his priorities, and you would just have to make sure he was included in this escape plan.

One thing was for certain; you were not leaving without him.

Next Chapter

[myemuisemo]

If Doyle's goal is to deconstruct gothic horror, he's hitting on all cylinders in chapter IX of The Hound of the Baskervilles, "Second Report of Dr. Watson," in Letters from Watson. I could believe he is: A Study in Scarlet ended up being about the romance of the frontier West going very wrong, and The Sign of the Four gives us the romance of a Moonstone-like story gone very wrong. Racing about with romantic notions is not the key to success in this universe.

Watson does... Watson just... WATSON.

The man is rather deaf

Suddenly, Barrymore is somewhat deaf. There's been no sign of this before. Ah, serial-writing, where if you forgot to foreshadow something convenient, you can't go back and fix the earlier chapters!

Sir Henry goes a-courting

Watson truly does not understand Holmes' instructions to simply observe without imposing his own expectations. What does he actually see when following Sir Henry to his meeting with Miss Stapleton?

Sir Henry has contrived to meet Miss Stapleton on a walk, whether by appointment or learning her routine. They speak in a serious manner. Beryl Stapleton resists Sir Henry's efforts to embrace her. They are interrupted by her brother, who is not happy about this scene. From this, Watson constructs a romance of a sister prevented from happiness by a possessive brother.

Sir Henry later reports that Beryl Stapleton reluctantly agreed to the date and used it to try to warn him to leave the moor, just as she tried the first time we met her. Watson nonetheless makes no connection that perhaps Jack Stapleton doesn't want her warning Sir Henry off the moor.

Stapleton's explanation that he can't bear parting from his sister should have set off "not quite healthy" alarm bells even in 1889. His responsibility ought to be to see her settled appropriately.

Nothing here suggests that Beryl Stapleton wants to marry Sir Henry. Yet Watson is determined to find a romance.

Sir Henry and Watson go a-stalking

Mrs. Barrymore should have just stashed her brother in a disused outbuilding or back bedroom. I know we're having decorators in, but find an attic. Heck, the house probably has a priest's hole.

Common sense dictates that, knowing Selden's rough position on the moor, one keeps the Barrymores away from windows until morning, at which time one contacts the prison warden with the news. Let the warden field a team to surround the hiding place!

But no. Addled by testosterone and cigar smoke, Watson and Sir Henry hare off into the moor in the dark, causing Selden to flee to who-knows-where.

Of Selden's face, lurking:

Foul with mire, with a bristling beard, and hung with matted hair, it might well have belonged to one of those old savages who dwelt in the burrows on the hillsides. 

Modern archeology reveals that the Bronze Age inhabitants had combs.

Watson's vision

In the aftermath of having completely effed things up, Watson sees something odd.

There, outlined as black as an ebony statue on that shining back-ground, I saw the figure of a man upon the tor. Do not think that it was a delusion, Holmes. I assure you that I have never in my life seen anything more clearly. As far as I could judge, the figure was that of a tall, thin man. He stood with his legs a little separated, his arms folded, his head bowed, as if he were brooding over that enormous wilderness of peat and granite which lay before him. 

My first thought was "please be Sherlock Holmes, having thrown off his disguise as a humble peddler, prison guard, or moor sheep!" Then I realized Holmes would be face-palming at the foolishness he'd just witnessed, so it's more likely a shadow, an oddly shaped tree, or either Barrymore or Stapleton stalking our "heroes" about the moor.

Where are we now?

We know a secret of the Barrymores (that they were helping Selden the murderer). Is this their only secret?

We have reason to believe the Stapletons have secrets, none of which we've discerned. Whatever those are, marrying Beryl to Sir Henry apparently wouldn't forward their goals.

If it's intentional (not a serial-writing slip-up) that the black-bearded man in London acted as if he had perfect hearing, then that wasn't Barrymore.

The purpose of killing Sir Charles and threatening Sir Henry remains unknown. Also, the whereabouts of his second missing boot.

[solalunar-eclipse]

Sonic Boom - S3E19

Chapter title: Unknown From M.E. (Part One)

Summary: Knuckles has been having some odd dreams lately…what could be causing them? The team bands together to explore a new area and find out.

AO3 Link

First | Previous | Next

[The camera opens up in a first-person perspective. We see two red arms, ending in white mittens with double knuckle-spikes on each hand.]

The echidna pushed aside a tangle of vines, walking through a dense jungle. The scenery looked nothing like the forests of Seaside Island, instead appearing distinctly more tropical in nature.

It seemed quite familiar to the person walking through it, at least, since they climbed over fallen trees and pushed through the undergrowth with ease. Clearly, they were quite confident in their own abilities. 

Suddenly, however, a faint chanting could be heard off in the distance. 

The servers are the Eight Chaos…

The echidna looked up sharply in the direction of the voice, startled. After a moment’s pause, they began to walk closer to where they’d heard the chant. 

“Hello?” they called, their voice pitched high with youth.

Chaos is power, enriched by the heart…

The young person began to run through the forest, chasing the sounds to the foot of a mountain. They looked up at the peak and began to climb, digging their spikes into the solid rock. However, the next time the voices came, they sounded further away.

The controller serves to unify the chaos…

Abruptly, the echidna dropped from their perch, beginning to dig into the ground instead. As they burrowed deeper and deeper, they heard the chant one last time, guiding them into the very center of the mountain.

This is what we have been sworn to guard.

And with that, the echidna emerged into a room—a room that gleamed green from every surface, sparkling and shimmering like it was made of one massive crystal.

They reached out to touch the floor beneath their feet…

…and Knuckles fell out of his hammock in his home, gasping for breath.

[The intro sequence goes off perfectly well! The individual character introductions and team shot all stay the same.]

[This time, the villain intro shows a red glow that illuminates a massive cave painting, one that’s difficult to make out. However, it appears to depict many different creatures holding oddly shaped machinery. Some of them are being struck by a mysterious unidentifiable force, dropping their possessions in the process…]

[The intro then continues on, before ending with the title of this week’s episode.]

Another day, another attack from Dr. Eggman, located in the town square. As always, Sonic and all his friends were there to fight back, frustrating the ever-persistent (or perhaps simply just in-denial) doctor. 

“Come on, Sonic! Can’t you just give me one win?” he complained, hovering warily nearby in his Eggmobile.

“I already gave you a win, remember? It was on New Year’s Eve!” Sonic shot back, spindashing several badniks as he spoke.

“That one doesn’t count!”

“Yeah it does!”

“No it doesn’t!”

“Yeah it d—!”

Before Sonic could continue his argument with his nemesis, Knuckles stumbled into his side, having overshot his left hook.

“Wh-whoa!” the hero yelped, struggling to stabilize his taller friend. “Knux, you good?”

“Oh yeah, I’m fine!” Knuckles gave him a thumbs-up. “Just didn’t sleep a lot last night, but it’s no problem!”

Sonic frowned, but let it go for the time being, opting to smash more badniks instead of pressing the echidna on the matter. Soon enough, the tide of the battle was turned, and Dr. Eggman was forced to retreat, grumbling all the way back to his evil lair.

“Knuckles?” Amy called, tugging on her hammer from where it had gotten stuck in a bush. “What happened back there? You don’t normally kick my hammer instead of the robots…”

“Knux here says he didn’t sleep last night.” Sonic showed not a single sign of remorse as he revealed this information to known health enthusiast Amy Rose.

“Sonic!” the echidna cried, shooting him a distinctly betrayed look.

Amy immediately dragged her hammer out of the bush and de-summoned it as she rushed over to get a better look at Knuckles. “Oh no, you’ve even got dark circles under your eyes!” she fretted. “Do you want that sleep hygiene checklist I mentioned a while ago?”

He grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. “I dunno, I mean, I don’t drink coffee before bed or anything like that! I just had some weird dreams lately, that’s all.”

“They’re not nightmares, are they?” Shadow asked softly, giving Knuckles a cautious look.

“Nope! Just weird! It kinda feels like someone’s trying to tell me something…” he mused.

Sticks clambered up on top of Knuckles’s shoulders, squinting at him warily. “Do you need me to make you a tinfoil hat? I can make ‘em good so no aliens talk to you in your sleep!”

“Before we decide if it’s aliens or not, I think we should ask Knuckles what these strange dreams are about.” Tails said decisively. “It may be nothing, or it could be important, but we won’t know unless we have all the information.”

“Would you like to talk about it here, or would you prefer to go back to one of our houses first?” Amy asked kindly, taking one of Knuckles’s hands in her own and giving him a reassuring smile.

Knuckles beamed back gratefully. “The second one sounds great.”

Once they’d all settled down in Tails’s living room (“Just in case it does turn out to be something that requires further investigation!”) and Amy had helped make everyone drinks (“We may be close, but that just means I get to be a good host even in your homes!”, she’d quipped), she sat down on the sofa next to Knuckles, leaving a small amount of space in between them and looking up at him hopefully.

“So…in the dream, I’m somewhere else. I can’t see it super clearly, but it’s someplace that isn’t Seaside Island.” Knuckles began. “I’m smaller, I think, and I hear some people talking, so I go looking for them. It sounds like the noise is coming from inside a mountain, and I dig inside, but once I get there, all I find is this cave made of green crystals. Then I wake up! I just wish I knew who was talking.” He frowned, genuinely somewhat concerned by the fact that he couldn’t identify this mysterious person. 

Tails leapt to his feet excitedly. “So it really could be someone who’s trying to communicate with you! Is it the same dream every time?”

“Yeah, it is!” The echidna couldn’t help but be infected by his friend’s enthusiasm, brightening up as the engineer began to scan him.

“Huh…” Tails hummed, frowning down at his screen. “I’m not seeing much out of the ordinary, but my screen is a little on the fritz.” He tapped the side of his device, concerned.

Shadow teleported over beside him, making the fox squeak as his fur puffed up briefly. “Sorry.” he muttered, already looking over the device. “Can you scan the ambient wavelengths around Knuckles? That might be a better way to tell if someone else is sending him messages.”

“I guess…my software might have some trouble with something that subtle, but if I boost the strength, it could work.” Tails mused, flying over to his friend and adjusting several settings in an effort to improve the data.

The android moved a little closer to Knuckles as well, only to freeze, his eyes wide. “Tails? Actually, I have a feeling that technology, incredible as it may be, is not what is required here.”

“Why not?” Tails shot him a distinctly skeptical look.

“Because,” Shadow began, “he is currently surrounded by an incredible amount of raw Chaos energy.”

Suddenly, everyone began shouting at once, making Shadow wince at the shocking increase in sound. Thankfully, they all noticed the effect almost immediately, backing off and watching him and Knuckles expectantly, but with a distinct aura of concern.

“It isn’t necessarily dangerous.” the android explained. “Raw Chaos energy simply refers to energy that originates directly from one of the eight Chaos Crystals, without having been absorbed or filtered through a Chaos user’s body.”

The tension in the room dropped significantly.

“But Knux doesn’t have a Chaos Crystal, does he?” Sonic asked, still looking confused. “All he has is that Fregosi Sapphire thing.”

“Yeah! I think I’d know what jewels I do and don’t have!” Knuckles added.

Shadow inclined his head slightly. “This is true. However, distance is not always an issue when it comes to Chaos. From what I have heard, these crystals existed long before the time of even the Ancients, with some legends claiming that they are fragments of whatever force first brought Chaos energy into the world. Legends aside, there was enough scientific research done on them in my time to suggest that the Chaos Crystals do have a limited form of sentience. Essentially, they have their own wishes and desires, and they are capable of limited communication, if they find someone they deem worthy of their attention.”

“Um, that’s definitely not creepy or anything,” Amy said. “Seeing as we’ve spent time around them once or twice already.”

Shadow exhaled in a way that almost sounded like laughter. “Don’t worry. The crystals have always been supportive of people who intend to help others. They want the world and those within it to remain thriving as much as you all do.”

“So how do I find out which one’s trying to talk to me?” Knuckles asked.

“If you will allow me, I can do my best to help.” The android folded his arms. “I can assist you in tuning your personal energy to the same frequency as whichever Chaos Crystal is causing this, so that we can work together to find its source.”

“Why wouldn’t I let you?” Knuckles looked over at him, bewildered. “Go ahead!”

Shadow blinked, momentarily silent with astonishment. “You do realize that you are, essentially, allowing me access to your life force, yes?”

Knuckles shrugged. “I mean, I already trust you not to beat me up every day. I do that with all my friends! I don’t think this is any different.”

A small smile made its way, unbidden, onto Shadow’s face. “Very well then. Let’s give this a try.” He moved to stand directly behind where Knuckles sat on the couch, placing his hands on the echidna’s broad shoulders. “Are you ready?”

“As I’ll ever be!”

“Very well then, close your eyes.” 

As the other four looked on, golden energy began to glow and swirl around Shadow’s hands. It twisted and spun in the air, before slowly making its way down Knuckles’s arms to his hands. At the same time, its color gently faded from gold to green.

Abruptly, the energy shot towards the echidna’s heart, glowing so brightly it was almost difficult to look at—

—and then it vanished, and both of their eyes snapped open as the two suddenly gasped for breath.

“Are you both alright?!” Tails exclaimed.

“I believe so. That was…” Shadow wheezed, “…not a source of Chaos energy I have ever sensed before.”

Knuckles beamed. “I am in contact with it now, though, and I think I can find it! Thanks, Shadow!”

The android struggled to meet Knuckles’s eyes. “Well…of course. Anytime.”

“A new source?! Do you think you could direct me to it if we were flying in my plane?” Tails asked excitedly.

“I think I could!” Knuckles stood up from the sofa, a determined look in his eyes. “Let’s go find the thing that’s giving me weird dreams so I can sleep normally again!”

Shadow laughed quietly, shaking his head. “Only you all would have to hunt down a mysterious energy source because its mystical dreams were disturbing your sleep.”

“Well, it’s not going to hunt itself!” Sonic declared. “Alright, guys, let’s do it to it!”

Everyone stared at him blankly.

“Uh, I was just—I was trying a new thing.” Sonic stammered, explaining quickly. “Audiences said they wanted us to be a little more genuine, so I thought I’d give it a go, and—you know what, let’s just go find this weird energy thing!”

[Cut to Tails’s plane, carrying all six heroes as it flies over the ocean.]

“It should be coming up on our left now!” Knuckles shouted, trying to make himself heard by the entire team over the roar of the propeller. Tails quickly banked to the left, soaring downwards and coming in for a smooth landing on the beach of the island that Knuckles had indicated.

Once the echidna had hopped off the biplane, however, he froze.

It took a moment for his friends to notice that he was standing stock-still, staring into the jungle beyond the yellow sand of the beach. Amy walked up to him, giving him a concerned look. “Knuckles? Is everything alright?” she asked gently. Knuckles blinked rapidly, before looking down at her with a stunned expression.

“This…this is the island where I grew up.”

“WHAT?!” everyone collectively shrieked, staring at him incredulously. 

Knuckles grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. “First my gliding, then this…I guess I forgot to tell you guys a lot, huh?”

“I knew you grew up in the wild like me, but on another island? How’d you even leave?” Sticks asked.

The echidna shrugged. “I didn’t originally mean to—I just went out on a raft one day trying to catch fish, but a storm blew in suddenly while I was out on the water. When I woke up, I was on Seaside Island, with no idea how to get back. And as much as I wanted to, once I met you guys, well…that started to seem less important.”

“Aw, Knuckles, that’s so sweet!” Amy latched onto his arm, her eyes wide and sparkling. 

Tails flew over to him, hovering around excitedly. “Does this mean we’re gonna get to see the village where you grew up?” 

Knuckles sighed, his mood suddenly much lower. “As far as I know, there’s nobody else on the whole island. If I had a family, I don’t know who they are—I hatched alone and learned to survive that way, too.”

Shadow walked up to him, giving him a sympathetic look. “I am glad you survived. It’s incredible that you were able to do so, and the world would have been at a loss had you not.”

The echidna had a small smile on his face at that. “Thanks…” he muttered, half to himself.

“And hey, that doesn’t mean you can’t show us around the place where you grew up! I want all the secret Knuckles lore!” Sonic added, shooting his friend an encouraging smile.

Thankfully, Knuckles perked up quickly and began to lead the way forward into the trees. “Let’s go check it out!”

After some navigating through the jungle, the six emerged into a clearing surrounding a massive mountain that soared up through the clouds, around which were clustered a variety of buildings. All of them were at least two stories tall, bolted into the side of the rock and made largely of intricately carved wood. Outside each one, a knotted rope hung from a hook, with different patterns of knots for each individual house.

“I used to live in this one here.” Knuckles explained, gesturing to the largest building there was. The building was marked above its door with a classic diamond-cut jewel symbol in green pigment. It was twice as wide as most of the other houses and rose eight stories into the air.

Tails whipped out his Miles Electric and began to scan it immediately. “This is a marvel of architecture! I’ve never seen wooden structures of this height before on Seaside Island, either Ancient or modern!”

Sticks frowned. “Hey, Knuckles, do you still feel that weird energy?”

The echidna jolted back to attention, having briefly been lost in his memories of the island. “Oh, right! Yeah, I do—I think it’s inside the mountain, just like in my dream! I can’t actually dig into it, though, it’s made of solid rock.”

“Well, maybe there’s an entrance somewhere?” Amy mused, eyeing the rock in front of her thoughtfully. “There’s a gem painted on the front of that building, so surely they must have known about the existence of powerful crystals, if nothing else.”

“Hey, lil’ bro, I know you’re all hyped about this village, but you think you could spare your scanner for a sec to find us a way inside this mountain?” Sonic asked, tugging playfully on Tails’s shoe—the only part of his brother he could reach, since Tails had started flying in excitement some time ago.

“Sonic!” the fox whined, shaking himself free and landing a safe distance away. “Of course I can!”

 He held the Miles Electric up, scanning the general area. “Ugh, there’s so much ambient energy here, it’s making my screen glitch out really badly!” Tails called, frowning at it—

—and then nearly dropped his screen when the glitching stopped entirely.

“Um.” he added nervously. “…thank you? To whoever…or whatever…fixed that?”

The entire team shared wary glances. 

“Sooo, if I can still trust this to be even remotely accurate, it says there’s an opening on the roof of that tall building that Knuckles used to live in.” Tails said.

“Nice one, pal!” Sonic zipped over and ruffled Tails’s hair, making the fox yelp and bat at him in an attempt to get his brother to release him once again.

Quickly, the entire team scaled the house, using their various skills. Amy hammer-jumped to get herself to the second level and clambered up from there, while Sonic just sped directly up the mountain alongside it. Sticks climbed the structure with ease, Knuckles punched his spikes into the rock of the mountain, and Tails, of course, simply flew all the way up (stopping to rest once). Meanwhile, Shadow actually ascended through the inside of the house before teleporting through the roof.

[Please envision a cross-section of the house with all of this happening at once for the desired effect.]

Once they were at the top, Shadow scrutinized the mountain’s face skeptically. “That…doesn’t look an awful lot like a door, I’m afraid.”

“Maybe Knuckles has to be the one to open it?” Amy suggested.

The echidna placed the palm of his hand hesitantly against the rock…and nothing happened. 

“I’m sorry, guys, I really thought it was up here!” Tails’s ears drooped unhappily at the thought that he’d led them wrong.

“No, I can feel it stronger through here—I’ll try again!” Knuckles insisted. He pushed both his palms fiercely against the side of the mountain, willing it to move as powerfully as he could.

And with that, a circular outline flared green around where he stood, before receding outwards into the mountain…leaving an empty, pitch-black tunnel beyond.

“Well, that certainly isn’t a safety hazard.” Shadow muttered.

Sonic smirked. “Just ‘cause you don’t have special light-up gear doesn’t mean you’ve gotta be nervous, Shads—we’ll keep you safe!” As he spoke, his bandages and bandana lit up, and the other three with glowing gear did the same. (Meanwhile, Sticks pulled out some of their bioluminescent paste and smeared that onto their face, arms, hands, and legs.)

Shadow stared at Sonic unblinkingly for a long, uncomfortable moment. Silently, he held up one hand, palm up, and let golden Chaos energy blaze to life around it. 

“Hmph. Show-off.” the blue hedgehog muttered, rolling his eyes.

“Let’s just get in there, alright?” Amy sighed, pushing past them both and into the cave. “We’re here to help Knuckles, not inflate either of your egos any more.”

The rest of the team filed into the cave behind her, walking one by one down the path. Between the six of them, there was more than enough light to see by. It illuminated all the walls of the cavern…as well as the split in the path up ahead. 

“So which way do we go from here?” Sticks asked, frowning at the two different tunnels. 

Knuckles closed his eyes for a moment, doing his best to focus. “I think we go…left.”

“I trust you, pal.” Sonic patted his forearm briefly, turning to go the way he’d suggested. 

“Can you really feel the source of all that energy?” Tails flew up to hover alongside Knuckles as they continued down the path. “What’s it feel like?”

“It feels sorta…comfortable? But also lonely, I think.” the echidna explained, before stopping as they reached another junction, this time with three pathways. “Uh…center this time.”

The caverns continued in a similar manner, branching and diverging in various ways, with Knuckles leading them through all of it. At one point, once they’d been walking for quite some time, Amy spoke up hesitantly.

“We’re sure this energy thing isn’t just leading us in circles, right?” she asked, smiling nervously. 

“I don’t think it would do something like that.” Knuckles spoke with surprising confidence despite his low volume. “Something like this…I think the people who made these tunnels knew it needed to be kept safe. If it really is as powerful as it seems—y’know, with all the causing dreams and fixing Tails’s scanner—then it’d probably be pretty bad if someone like Eggman got his hands on it.”

There wasn’t time for more than a second or two of silence before a green light began to shine from the end of the tunnel, immediately drawing everyone’s attention. Amy shook her head wryly. “I’ll admit it. I was wrong to doubt you, Knuckles.”

The team rushed forward, eager for some freedom from the dark, cramped tunnels. Quickly, Knuckles entered the chamber beyond—only to stop short, causing everyone behind him to slam into his back and then sprawl all over the floor. As they began to get up, in various states of grumbling and collecting themselves, they all froze and stared in awe alongside him at the place they’d found.

A massive cavern soared over their heads, formed entirely out of green crystal. Huge gem stalactites speared out from the ceiling, while the floor was polished and smooth. Various ledges were present at different heights along the walls, which formed a near-perfect circle around the jewel-like floor. And within every single facet, an otherworldly green glow shone, casting all of the heroes in its own color.

“Whoa, Knux…what is this place?” Sonic breathed. 

But it wasn’t Knuckles who replied.

“Chaos,” Shadow swore. “It’s the Master Crystal!”

[robynator]

burrow's end spoilers!

i am not a huge fan of horror. as a rule, i avoid horror movies and books, because oftentimes the violence in them is just too graphic for me

that being said, burrow's end is shaping up to be my favourite dimension 20 season, namely because of the horror aspects of it. very few streamable dnd shows have been able to recreate the dread and anticipation that i feel while actually playing dnd, but burrow's end does it perfectly

there is, of course, violence and gore (notably the infamous bear scene) but that doesn't bother me as much as it does with other mediums, probably because it's dnd and im sort of used to it. and yet it's the more "psychological" aspects of it that draw me and from what ive seen, many other people in as well

at first it's the not knowing, the uncertainty that causes the unease and later it's putting the pieces together, realizing where the stoats are and what they're dealing with, while they themselves are still ignorant on the basis of just not having the background information we do

i can't not talk about the tapes and the chilling revelation that it was the first stoats that were behind everything. hearing dr wenabocker at first say that everything was under control (and it's likely that he was right), and then only a couple tapes later say that there were clear signs of sabotage, that the cables were chewed through

and, of course, the attack, which is so far probably my favourite part of the show. it's shocking, and downright horrifying to hear and i genuinely had to take a quick break after that, just to process it. carlos luna, you absolute madman, that was incredible

and then we were introduced to phoebe

phoebe, who was behind it all. phoebe, who suggested they sabotage the plant. phoebe, who ripped her sibling's jaw off, when they wouldn't listen to her. phoebe, who gleefully attacked dr wenabocker and may or may not be puppeteering him right now. phoebe, whose return even the first stoats feared (and awaited)

ive thought about the implications behind taking over someone's body to further your own goals long before burrow's end but this has reignited that train of thought (i made a post about it months ago, relating to lockwood & co.) so i know for a fact that i will be thinking about the horror of it for some more time now. especially if that gets confirmed — and im hoping it does

aabria iyengar is a brilliant dm and storyteller and this entire season i have been consistently in awe of the pure genius of the narration and symbolism and plot points, and how she's able to craft such a masterful story

[queen-lich-dumb-bitch]

Why Dr. Takuto Maruki in P5R is Very Wrong and Why His So-Called “Perfect Reality” is Deeply Upsetting

(This is a hyperfixation rant that spoils a great deal of the ending of P5R and addresses mental trauma and therapy in great detail. So please, make sure you know what you’re getting into when reading this. Also, while I have played P5R many, many times and have experienced a pretty hefty amount of my own trauma and suffering in my own life, I’m not an expert on psychology and matters of the mind, so most of the thoughts on his mental state are purely perspective and opinion.)

Dr. Maruki in P5R infuriates me beyond any character in any game I’ve ever played for so many reasons and for the longest time, I couldn’t pinpoint why. Because a lot of people thought we were stopping a good thing at the end of P5R and I couldn’t explain why I didn’t agree until this week and I’m now going to go into detail on why this man is making a massive mistake.

Starting with the obvious red flags:

Totalitarian society is the idea that a person or very small group of people not only keeps an entire society in line, but controls how people think and bends their will in service to the state, which is what Maruki is doing. It may look like utopia, but when mind control/“actualization” is required, that already sends warning alarms.

A man who felt his only option was to bend the will of another Persona-user against her will and wield her own power against other people (while she is in deep trauma and mental struggle might I add) is a deeply upsetting move and does not uphold what he perceives his moral standards to be.

Reality-bending power is very dangerous and giving one imperfect man the ability to not only rewrite life and its progress is vastly unwise. Especially if that man could also just as easily erase people from the narrative and no one would ever know they were gone. Just the flick of a finger and whoever didn’t fit his plan just didn’t exist. Bad. Very, very bad.

A man using the persona named Azathoth is like a billboard for petty despot. Azathoth is a Lovecraftian deity of Change, Creation and Destruction and the most powerful entity in all of Cthulhu Mythos. Yikes.

People praise Maruki for the same reasons they hate Yaldabaoth. Both should be hated. What people don’t understand is that they are serving the same shit on different platters. Humanity isn’t strong enough or smart enough to handle their own free will, so I will do it for them. Maruki just gift wrapped his to look like paradise instead of servitude.

Maruki is a vessel of DISTORTION. This man thinks he’s capable of running all of reality while suffering under debilitating trauma. And instead of actively getting help, he sets a vendetta against reality itself. Smart? No!

What was it that Brennan said in Burrow’s End? “Power should make you tired.” Taking godlike power for yourself and using it to reshape society to your liking is ALWAYS a red flag.

Everything about him screams cult and brainwashing. Everything. The outfit at the end, the way he speaks, the verbal and physical manipulation he uses to make you think he wants what’s best for you. No one who says they want to “save” you in a very religious way has your best interests at heart.

Putting people in places like a puzzle is a very dystopian theme. That’s what Maruki’s entire plan revolves around: the idea that, if something has the potential to cause you pain, it is to be avoided. That includes family, that includes jobs, that includes desires. Complete avoidance is his plan and he executes it by bending the minds of the masses to believe that what he says your role in society is is gospel.

Utopias crash regularly. Especially ones based off of peaceful living. Every utopia is a lid covering a festering sickness that, no matter how well buried you think it is, will spill out onto the surface eventually. And it’s devastating when it does.

There were still homeless people and impoverished people in Maruki’s “paradise”. Explain that.

That’s all the physical red flags. From a therapeutic perspective…:

Swallowing, avoiding, bottling, neglecting, or walking on the scars you gain from trauma is always a recipe for disaster. Physical and mental scars are very similar. Treating them with the appropriate care, time, and patience for the specific trauma can help them heal over. It’s why therapists and psychologists exist at all. To help you treat those wounds and help them to heal. It’s never said to be easy, but it’s doable if you’re willing to put in the work. Maruki’s not only bottling all of society’s trauma, but this whole mess started because he was doing it to himself. Trauma festers if left unchecked. It can dig into your mind and heart and make you irrational, bitter, vengeful, lonely, and often angry, sad, and numb. However, being willing to reach out and stumble towards people who can help you work through it can ease the burden, so you won’t do anything you’ll regret.

You can’t make the whole world happy. Checks and balances. Someone’s joy is often someone else’s misery. It sucks, but that comes with the territory of being mortal.

Pain is intrinsic to the human condition. It sucks. It really does. No one likes to experience pain or misfortune and I really do understand the idea of wanting the world to be anesthetized to pain and suffering, but that’s the side effect of free will. You can’t expect a world to live free and with the capacity to make their own decisions without conflict.

Mistakes are meant to be made. We don’t learn anything otherwise. Mistakes bring pain, pain brings learning, learning brings growth, growth brings joy. Yes, sometimes pain is sourceless and you’re just in the wrong place at the wrong time and it sucks, but, again, as rough as it is, it’s part of the human condition and taking that away means taking away free will. The difference between the P.T.’s and Maruki is that the P.T.’s were changing the hearts of the people that were using their free will to silence other’s free will. The only exception is Futaba, and she specifically asked them so that she could start taking steps to working through her trauma, the opposite of what Maruki wants people to do.

Taking a W in life isn’t as rewarding if it is constantly happening. All of the rich people I’ve ever met are fucking miserable. When you have everything you’ve ever wanted, you forget what it’s like to feel actual joy because there is nothing to work towards anymore. If I had to choose between getting torn to shreds as I climb towards my goals and suffering defeat after failure to finally reach it and feel that pure happiness or have it given to me free of charge on the house perpetually, I hope my hands bleed as long as I finally get where I’m going and look back on how far I’d traveled to get there.

Scars, cuts, and bruises tell stories. I was always told as a kid that scars make you look tough, but I also learned that it was ok to cry and scream when I got hurt. Taking pride in the immense amount of emotional cuts and wounds and beatings I’ve taken was something that took forever to learn, but if I hadn’t taken any of those beatings, I’d still be the sheltered little Mormon boy that couldn’t speak up to save his life. All of those stabs and scars made me into the fluidflux, curious amalgamation of interests that knows how to stand up for herself and punch back if she has to. Not all scars are scars to be proud of and not all scars are glancing blows. Some hurt. Really bad. Bad enough to leave trauma and impressions. However, it’s telling you that, no matter how unlucky you are, you’re still alive. And that’s what matters. Because any scars you can walk away with, even if it’s not physically, are wounds that will heal given time and patience. And if it leaves such a scar that it will never truly heal, please reach out for support. Friends and confidants are there for a reason.

Maruki never reached out for help. And I know. That’s rich coming from me, who, to this day, claims that the most difficult thing in the world for me is to ask for any kind of help. But traversing the rough road that is trauma healing is easier traveled when you have people to help you.

At the end of the day when you strip Takuto Maruki down to his bare essentials, what you see is a man who is deeply traumatized, wallowing in his own regret and pain to the point where he is self-destructive. This same man is seeking to become a god of the world, pulling the strings to every single persons life and forcing people to live his ideal of what he thinks is the perfect reality and attempting to become untouchable while doing so.

The protagonist suffered so much injustice and unfairness in his life. Wrongfully accused of assaulting a deeply corrupt politician, he became the pawn in a deal between two gods as he struggled to stick his neck out for a society that deeply rejected him and still proceeded to change the hearts of 21 people without reality-bending capabilities just by talking with them and supporting them in their endeavors. It seems small, but in the end, 19 of those people come together and feed his support right back to him. The 20th person was his biggest rival, someone who betrayed, almost killed, and actively worked to destroy him. He ended up fighting by his side even if it meant in the end, he would die. And the last and 21st person was Maruki himself.

You don’t need godlike powers to change the world. You already can just by connecting with people on a personal level. Maruki sacrificed his own self-care, mental stability, and, honestly, the love of his life in a Faustian bargain with an entity that was trying to usurp the vacancy Yaldabaoth left in the universe’s power vacuum. It quite nearly cost him his life if the protagonist hadn’t been there to stop him, fight him, and show him that you don’t need to perform miracles. You just need to be there for people when they need you.

[a-dragons-hoard-of-stuff]

Finally finished Kipo and the age of Wonderbeasts!

It was a fun show, always has been, and it had a nice ending. Though there is one thing that bothered me…

Why were there so many deaths that were shoehorned in? Like who’s bloodlust was not satiated by the mob frog’s and other Dave’s deaths?

Cause first if all why were all the de-muts not re-mutated? What happened to Song making a vaccine? There’s no mention of it after they get supplies for it and then after the time skip there’s still normal animals! Like what???

And then Hugo died. Somehow? I genuinely don’t understand how he was hurt enough to die. Like he was throwing humans around left right and center at the coronation! He survived getting buried in rumble as a teen! How did getting flicked by a mega mut end him? He even had his flamingo car to take the hit/fall!

Like I do actually kinda like that they didn’t just kill off Dr. Emilia. But also it would have been way better to just kill her instead.

Her death has way more potential for making sense. She could have had severe side effects from the shot she gave herself on account of wanting to still look as human as possible as a mut. A building could have comedically fallen on her after her attempt to stab Kipo.

Not to mention there’s no way she’s still alive when the time skip happens. There were bones in the old science burrow. And it’s unlikely Fun Gus would understand the concept of giving his ‘buddy’ and break or feeding her.

So there was no point in not killing her off if the show needed a death that bad!

But yeah it feels like someone decided the series ended too happily and they needed more perma deaths. So they swept the vaccine under the rug and decided redemption equals death.

[dollkichi]

HELL YEAH I CAN!! There are at least 3 or 4 MC (or at least in their own stories) Danganronpa OCs I have! Mainly for V3 cause its my favorite -w-

Roselyn Monet (Sandasu)

Ultimate Actress or Ultimate Pediatrician it depends honestly..-

Black and French, moved to Japan for business

One of the Chpt. 3 victims (found in the infirmary) (I made one appear out of thin air I'm so talented/silly)

Shes shy and jumpy, very Mikan coded pre and post-game, but in-game she's a bitch/aff!!! She's very cold and distances herself from people but if you persist enough she miight open up~ (˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧

Had two ships with two guys I've selfshipped with- Stage Play (Kokichi x Rose), Detective's Script/Black Rose (Shuichi x Rose) I end up using the former for videos more, but I do have quite a lot of Stage Play ones!! >w<

She actually is a part of a longgg story on her own!!

And I couldn't mention Rose without mentioning another part of her story!

Hayase Miya (Sandasu)

Lil' Ultimate Seamstress

Youngest (Has two older siblings who are twins!!)

Ultra Despair Girls!!!! Would have been a part of the WOH but I scrapped it!!

7 (But 8 now!!! Her birthday is on July 20th!!!)

While her biological family is (somewhat) alive, her adoptive ones are dead ( • ᴖ • ｡)

Her adoptive parents died at her brother's hands, and she killed him out of fear and self defense technically-?

Traumatized little girl with a specialty handling needles, she's very shy and proper!!

Rose's cousin, i guess???

She miiight get adopted <3

This one isn't well known unfortunately!!!! But I still love her!!!

Sukoshi Shizukana

Ultimate Social Outcast

Specifically pops up Post-V3!!! She knows nothing and is only thrown into the loop because she's married to one of the participants tbh

Me and my platonic wife usually roleplay her and (her) Post-game Kokichi!! The married couple ever pt 1 because he loves her and she's kinda like "wtf??!?!?/pos"

They also have two sons!! Akihiko and one I haven't named yet (っ- ‸ - ς)

She's gone through...a lot.

Recovering Alcoholic and drug addict because she wants to get better for her son (her parents weren't great before they died

She's a very scared yet sweet girl underneath her rude and passive aggressive front, her talent pushes people away

She has two D.I.C.E members who are parental figures to her because she deserves it!!!! Give her good role models!!!!

And THIS is perhaps my most well-known and beloved DR OC!!!!

Ai Kegareta

Ultimate Succubus, and is a literal Succubus!!!<33

Her past, In-game and Post-game was not kind to her

Princess of the Lust Ring in hell, and the youngest of 16!!! (๑•̀ㅁ•́๑)✧

She's Kaede's half sister, but they look so alike the only things telling them apart is Ai's demonic features and her natural pink-blonde hair (ᵕ—ᴗ—)

She's a very innocent and bubbly girl!! She makes friends with everyone (or at least tries to) and believes there's good in even the worst people!!

She had a very sweet mom before she died, and was left with a shitty stepmom who hated her and abused her (¬⤙¬ ) After killing her mom since they were twins!!! (๑•̀ᗝ•́)૭

She's British this isn't important just though to drop it /silly

Ai is very shippable (my mootie and one of the lomls even selfships with her!!) But AiOuma has burrowed itself deep into my brain and nested there I cannot escape it because they're so. Fucking. Cute. But also really angsty I have way less AiOuma videos for how much this ship circles in my brain

GONTA AND AI ARE BESTIES!!

Rantaro was also her first crush~ ♡

Ai's worst fears are losing loved ones and being replaced in any manner. So you can imagine how bad it was losing Rantaro, Kaede, Kokichi and Gonta was and having to live up to be like Kaede or up to her image (╥‸╥) Being mistaken for her sometimes also stings, she was part of the cast, yes, but she also felt like Kaede overshadowed her in a way, but never resented her for it outwardly, at least...

She's the light in any room, but the darkest shadow in her own mind.

AND THATS ALL!!!<33 Fun fact, I was listening to Kokichi x Listener ASMRs in the middle of my teacher yelling at us because Angel doesn't care about a whiny adult~ (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)

– 🩷🎮

THIS WAS A DELIGHTFUL READ!! Their talents are all pretty unique. I don’t think I’ve seen an ultimate pediatrician, social outcast, or succubus before. I wonder what your post game is like, definitely sounds intriguing.

What does being either the ultimate actress or ultimate pediatrician depend on? Did you just like both talents or is there another reason? Was she originally one or the other before you thought of another talent you liked? ALSO NOO RIP TO HER… making stuff appear out of thin air for ocs though is so real. Also, videos? It’s always so cool to see people creating stuff with their ocs :0

UDG OC LETS GOOO ‼️ The lil ultimate oc was such a surprise, but a good one. Poor thing, I hope she does get adopted. If no one adopts her, then I will!! (/silly)

She’s been through so much omg :(

I haven’t seen many lil ultimate ocs… probably only like three total if I count yours. People should make more lil ultimate ocs.

How did Sukoshi get the talent ultimate social outcast? Why does she only pop up Post V3?

Super curious to see how hell and demons would work in the Danganronpa universe if you ever wanna talk about that. It’s interesting how Ai is so innocent when she literally comes from hell. She’s see the worst of the worst there and yet she still thinks like that? Perhaps it’s because she’s from there that she does because she’s able to see the worst do good. I am all for the Gonta and Ai besties, Gonta deserves a friend‼️

Giggling, how did you not get in trouble for that?? Also, considering how many times that he’s been brought up in this ask, you seem to really like Kokichi. Is he one of your favorite characters?

[exoticalmonde]

LUNDInium Outskirts /but it's her insane doodles/ PART V

Important Notice: Everybody who loves Mlynar should like this post now, so Dr. Lundi would finally doodle him as this meme. She already did the one where he's washing dishes in the back room of some type of fast food and we need to commission her for more love.

We have McLateranolds, we need Subwaymierz now.

Important notice over, back to the doodles!!!

---

We were talking about how I was going to include some cooking and just soft stuff between Dr Lundi and Eve and Mlynar and Hoederer as they advance in their adventure through Sami.

"Thankfully, there are just enough thin pieces of wood to gather, and Lundi helpfully offers some spare rope from her backpack to bind them together for easier carrying. The moss appears a little later when Eve strays from their already carved path towards an ageless oak tree. 

She takes a picture, waiting for the film to develop so she could slip it into her pocket, while Lundi carefully approaches a burrow of fangbeasts with a rusty coat similar to her friend’s tail. 

The light from her wings disturbs the tiny creatures, while the bigger, older one, cracks open one viridian eye, fur standing on end. It’s a simple warning she heeds, stepping back from the careless family to join the Doctor of RI-8. 

When they’re back in their camp they find Mlynar gathering snow into a small cooking pot. It seemed that while Eve had filled her backpack mostly with sample-collecting materials and clothes, Hoederer was the one who had packed their supplies. He was now sitting on a small chair inside, parting their rations. Potatoes, carrots, a bizarre-looking type of dry pasta and some herb mix.

“Just in time.” He greets them as all three enter the small shack, closing the door firmly behind them to stave off the cold. 

Breath was visible in the brick-walled space, but that was quickly mitigated when the warmth of the cooking pot begins filling the air with the aroma of spices. Hoederer throws together a portion of the ingredients to create a creamy soup which causes Eve’s stomach to grumble where she sits.

The windows fog up, but the hatch at the top of the barrack easily cracks open just enough to let the smell of food and steam disappear into the wintry scenery.

Near the fire Dr. Lundi is squinting at the paperwork in her hand while Mlynar’s fixing up something else. Evealia can’t see it from this angle, but she definitely notices the longing way the Sankta Doctor checks on him from time to time. 

Whether the colour of her cheeks was due to the bubbling warmth she’s sitting next to or something else - her friend decides not to look too close to figuring out."

Which is how this AMAZING doodle came to be. She melted through. Dr. Eve is still there being supportive of her silly ways to show affection.

---

Data provided by RI-00, the ship where Dr. Pinkie is stationed:

"While Rhodes Island 00 enjoys a lifestyle that would be considered lavish to the other Rhodes Island, no one would ever doubt their combat prowess. That is to say, being consistently 0.7 meters or more above their statistical average height across all Rhodes Island deviations usually means their size alone is intimidating on the battlefield.

Outside of general issues with size accommodations for the tallest operators, most members are not perturbed by this anomaly and continue to enjoy a more luxurious lifestyle. After all, in comparison to Pinkie's true size, this discrepancy in height is really nothing at all."

A later Third-Party investigation has determined that the biological changes may be a result of their standard diet, which has been discovered to be composed of 61% Wildlife Seaborn, 22% Columbian Agriculture not yet approved by the FDA, 15% normal foodstuffs, and 2% Lateran imports.

After multiple evaluations, it has been deemed by Rhine Labs LLC that this does not violate any standard Health and Safety protocols are therefore no actions will be taken to force compliance to a more generally established standard of living.

Report from 30 May 1103

UPDATE:

After further investigation, it has been brought to attention that the deviations of Rhodes Island 00 are not as substantial in the male operatives as opposed to the females. More specifically, the anomalous properties seem to be dichotomized between the males instead; taller males have the tendency to deviate less strongly from the average height but develop effeminate characteristics, whereas shorter males develop growth cycles as seen with female operators, but with little height deviation.

While such deviations should have been more obvious to other Rhodes Island ships, Interdimensional Cooperative Engagements were only enacted in a recent period of time. Operators of R.I. 00, simply put, have never lived any other life but their own, and are in fact content with their lives despite obvious visual differences, and thus once again Rhine Labs LLC sees no reason to attenuate to the standard deviation.

Approved and Accepted by the O4 council.

Report from 06 June 1103

---

From what I understood, Dr. Lundi and Dr. Pinkie had a conversation about Ulpian and that somehow spawned and then there was a WAHOO intervention that inspired Dr. Lundi to make more doodles. I will be honest, some of the best reaction images were created that day.

The only thing I remember was that I entered the chat and I saw Lundi screaming and crying about Ulpian.

Just look at them

---

Intermission so you can look at the ADORABLE Hollow Knight Drsonas Dr. Kryo did for us. We also have abilities!!

For the reason why Dr. Pinkie is missing, well...

---

Having entirely normal reactions.

---

Pinkie: "I've turned your life upside-down. You hate fish, you hate religion, you hate horses..." Lundi: "OH NO, WAI!"

Also Lundi, 2 days later:

We all love to see it.

[ninwes]

Update 30/04/2025

Intro:

Hey i'm back with the updates but i wil do it a bit different, i will just Update what i did that month meaning Completed, Sometimes you only see 1 game or no update, meaning i didn't completed any new games that month, this can happen when i do replays of games that are long or not allot of gaming time. I also will be using Colors to seperate the Best - Worst game of that month, this does not mean it's a bad game. So let's Start shall we, i will do the 3 months i missed from this year in 1 blog.

Completed:

January;

Dishonored:

Set in the plague-ravaged city of Dunwall, Dishonored follows the story of Corvo Attano, the last bodyguard to Empress Jessamine Kaldwin. Framed for her murder and the abduction of her daughter, Emily, Corvo is falsely imprisoned by the Empress' Royal Spymaster and usurper, Hiram Burrows.

Six months later, on the eve of his execution, Corvo escapes confinement with the help of a shadowy group of loyalists who seek to eliminate those involved in the assassination of the Empress and restore Emily to the throne. He is further assisted by an enigmatic god called the Outsider, who grants him Supernatural Abilities for reasons equally mysterious.

Corvo takes on the role of a feared and infamous assassin as he pursues members of the coup one by one - but whether he is out for justice or revenge is another question.

Dishonored 2:

Dishonored 2 is set 15 years after the events of the original Dishonored. The Rat Plague has long since been eradicated, but new problems have arisen in Dunwall. An unidentified serial killer known as The Crown Killer has murdered a number of political opponents of Emily Kaldwin, the reigning Empress of the Empire of the Isles, undermining her rule. She is soon overthrown in a coup led by the mysterious Delilah Copperspoon, who claims lineage to the throne, and Luca Abele, the Duke of Serkonos.

The game features two playable characters: Emily Kaldwin, the dethroned Empress, and Corvo Attano, the protagonist of the original Dishonored and father of Emily. Each character has their own set of unique abilities and dialogue. During the course of the coup, the Outsider's Mark is removed from Corvo who loses his supernatural abilities. Depending on the protagonist chosen, either Corvo or Emily are turned to stone by Delilah. The other must then escape from Dunwall and seek to defeat the conspirators by setting out to Karnaca, the capital city of the isle of Serkonos, aided by Meagan Foster and her ship, the Dreadful Wale.

The mysterious being known as The Outsider returns, offering his Mark which may be refused if the protagonist so wishes. The protagonist must travel throughout Karnaca, which is plagued by large parasitic insects known as bloodflies and wracked by dust caused by the overmining of silver ore. To defeat the coup, key figures need to be eliminated and new alliances may need to be formed, all while deciding just how much blood to shed in the process.

Dishonored: Death Of The Outsider:

Set a couple of months after the end of Dishonored 2, Billie Lurk returns to Karnaca to reunite with her mentor, the legendary assassin Daud. Together, they will explore the dark underbelly of the city to recover artifacts in order to kill the source of chaos within the Empire, the Outsider himself. The story will delve more into the Outsider's past and the reason for his existence.

Billie will not have the Mark of the Outsider, but will instead have new powers and abilities granted from artifacts and new gadgets at her disposal to infiltrate underground fight clubs and plan a bank heist, square off against the Sisters of the Oracular Order, new Clockwork Soldiers, the immortal Envisioned and the Outsider-obsessed Eyeless gang.

Remothered: Tormented Fathers:

The events of the game's story are linked to fall tragic of Arianna Felton, Richard's wife who has apparently been in a catatonic state since Celeste's disappearance, as well as Dr. Felton's own terrifying past, the anguishing loss of his adopted daughter who became the only thing in Felton's life that gave him a reason to live, but also became his nightmare and torment. Rosemary's investigation will bring her to believe that the girl's disappearance is a cover up for something terrible, some kind of massacre. She begins to discover that and a group of cloistered nuns in red and a long dead cult called Cristo Morente could hold the key to finding out what happened to Celeste and finding answers about Jennifer.

Remotherd: Broken Porcelain:

After her expulsion from an all-girls boarding school, the rebellious Jen suffers an injury attempting to escape from the Ashmann Inn, where she was sent to serve as one of its maids. Together with her new friend and fellow maid, a timid violinist named Linn, Jen slowly becomes aware of the manor's unsettling history. As the two girls begin to observe strange occurrences involving the inn's residents, a haunting figure lurking within the halls, and an ominous presence from inside the hotel, the duo must escape from their prison with the truth...and their lives.

Meanwhile, the enigmatic Rosemary Reed encounters an old nemesis, the since disfigured owner of the Ashmann Inn, in her continued search for Celeste Felton - a young girl who vanished years before under unexplainable circumstances. Closer to the answers she seeks than ever before, Reed will uncover everyone's role in this twisted plot, for better or worse.

Just Cause 2:

Four years after Just Cause, Rico Rodriguez is dropped into Panau to find his former handler Tom Sheldon, who is suspected of going rogue and aligning himself with the country's dictator Pandak "Baby" Panay. With the aid of intelligence asset Karl Blaine and a weapons dealer only known as the Sloth Demon, Rico allies with the island's three dominant criminal gangs and factions: the Roaches, an organized crime syndicate; the Reapers, an insurgent socialist militia; and the Ular Boys, an ultranationalist rebel group which espouses traditionalism and opposes foreign influence.

Assassin's Creed Revelations:

After the events in the Colosseum Vault which resulted in Lucy Stillman's death, Desmond Miles entered a comatose state and awoke in the Animus' Black Room, following being placed back in the machine by his father, William Miles, and Harlan T. Cunningham. While Shaun Hastings stayed behind in Rome to attend Lucy's funeral, William and Rebecca Crane monitored Desmond's condition while they headed for the city of New York. Within the Black Room, Desmond met the virtual construct of Abstergo's sixteenth test subject, Clay Kaczmarek, who explained that in order for Desmond to regain his consciousness, he must relive the remaining memories of his ancestor – Ezio Auditore da Firenze – until a Synch Nexus triggered. Entering a digital portal within the Black Room, Desmond began reliving the later life of Ezio, who was now in his early 50s and on his way to Masyaf.

BlazBlue: Continuum Shift:

The game is set after the events of BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger. A few days have passed since the reported raid by the silver-haired Ragna the Bloodedge, the 13th Hierarchical City of Kagutsuchi forgets to celebrate New Years, as his alleged involvement in the “Mysterious Bombing” and “Huge Pentacle Sightings” becomes the talk of the town. With the World Void Information Control Organization offering no official explanation, the citizens voice their own theories, exaggerating and spreading rumors like wildfire. Ragna’s name is engraved in the minds of the people. Completely indifferent to the state of the city, the man grips his massive sword and quietly bides his time—waiting for the chance to achieve his true objective. And then, the enormous “power” that has ensnared Ragna begins to activate…

Aragami:

Aragami is summoned into existence one night by an astral projection of Yamiko, a girl who identifies herself as a captive of the Kaiho, an army of light adepts. She describes them as oppressors who conquered the land from the shadow aligned Nisshoku, led by the Shadow Empress. She claims that after winning the war, they imprisoned the Empress and her retainers in the Nisshoku's main temple, including Yamiko. She requests Aragami's help in freeing them, for which she needs six talismans to unlock the prison. This must be done before the night's end, for Aragami will dissolve if sunlight touches him.

Conclusion:

Best: Aragami - I like the view of this game and also the story, nothing is pushed and you can play it at your own flow. Also is is multi playable as you play it how you like it.

Worst: Remothered: Tormented Fathers - Sometimes you get really stuck or your doing someting and then you have to start again because of no in between saves and too much of the same thing in this game.

February:

God Eater 2: Rage Burst:

The struggle of God Eaters, like that of the members of Blood, had ended. The "Devouring Apocalypse", a threat that would engulf the world, changed its form into a structure known as the "Spiral Tree" due to the sacrifice of a God Arc user.

Then, one day something odd in the "Spiral Tree" happens. The members of Blood set out for an investigation together with fellow God Arc user, Livie Collete dispatched by Fenrir headquarters. While each holds their own feelings in their hearts, they will have to confront with the Spiral Tree once more...

The balance of the world and a promise with a comrade. Something awaits for Blood at the depths of the spiral tree....

Conclusion:

Best: God Eater 2: Rage Burst - as there was only one game this month the choice was easy, but still the game is a improvement of the first one and the story is also amazing.

March:

God Eater 3:

Everything began when the Ashlands arose. Whence is not yet known, but they began to expand, and everything they touched turned to ash. Fenrir was helpless to fight back as the Ashlands took their Branches and reduced them to naught. What survivors remained fled underground and constructed bases known as Ports (JP: Minato), from which they conducted experiments to create a new breed of God Eaters--the Adaptive God Eaters, or AGE for short, who are capable of resisting the corrosive effects of the Ashlands.

However, due to both their power and usefulness, AGEs are considered a dangerous commodity and are not allowed their freedom. The AGEs, in addition to their resistance to the Ashlands' harmful effects, have increased physical capabilities compared to normal God Eaters, and they are said to be closer to Aragami. However, even though the AGEs are subjected to dangerous work, their rewards are small-to-nonexistent due to the shortage of supplies and resources.

Fort Solis:

As maintenance technicians Jack Leary (Roger Clark) and Jessica Appleton (Julia Brown) prepare for an oncoming storm at the Martian colony, Fort Minor, they receive an emergency alert from a nearby mining station, Fort Solis. Traveling to investigate, Leary finds the station on lockdown with no sign of the crew. His exploration is initially limited by the lockdown and his lack of security credentials. As he ventures further into the station, he encounters bloodstains and signs suggesting he is not alone.

Deathloop:

Waking from a dream in which he is murdered by an unknown woman, Colt Vahn is hungover on a beach with no memories of himself or his location. He receives guidance from messages and meetings with alternative versions of himself, instructing him to break the time loop in which he is trapped. To do this, he must kill all eight Visionaries before the time loop resets itself at the end of the day. Julianna Blake warns the Visionaries and their followers, the Eternalists of Colt's plan, and calls for him to be hunted. Julianna taunts Colt to try and break the loop, although she works to stop him. Colt finds, unlike the other inhabitants of the island, he has gained the ability to retain his memories across loops, allowing him to better plan and prepare for his goal of breaking the loop. He learns Julianna also appears to retain her memories across loops.

Dead Island: Definitive Edition:

The game begins with the opening cutscene, following an unnamed drunken guest as he stumbles around the Hotel on his way to Sam B's party. On the way, he meets the playable Heroes of the game, in order of Logan Carter, Sam B, Purna Jackson and Xian Mei. After passing out in his room, we are taken to one of the rooms of the heroes, who also made their way to their rooms after the party. Upon awakening, the heroes find the Hotel deserted and overrun by strange people, the infected. They manage to escape a group of them while being guided by a voice via the Hotel speaker system before being knocked out by a zombie.

Tiny Tina's Wonderland:

Set after Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep, you play as a character in the in-universe fantasy-themed tabletop role-playing game "Bunkers & Badasses."  Tiny Tina (Ashly Burch) is your dungeon master, telling the story, describing the encounters, and changing the game's world however she pleases.

The ancient, evil Dragon Lord (Will Arnett) has been reawakened. It's up to you to stop him, this time once and for all! During the game you are joined by two other players: Captain Valentine (Andy Samberg) and Frette (Wanda Sykes), who will help and guide you throughout the quests.

Dead Island Riptide: Definitive Edition:

The game's story picks up right where the initial Dead Island left off, with the survivors landing on a military ship after their flight from Banoi. However, they are kept imprisoned inside the ship and experimented on individually. The Heroes thought that they had escaped the terrors of Banoi and survived the approaching apocalypse, but their fate takes a turn for the worst. After meeting John Morgan in the ship, the heroes awake one day to find the ship overrun with zombies. After fighting through the ship, they reach the bridge and deal with The Captain, who is now undead.  Colonel Hardy attempts to steer the ship away from the rocks, but it crashes and strands them on Palanai, located still in the Banoi archipelago. Palanai has also been struck by the infection, and the island has been overrun with zombies. The survivors are found on the beach by a woman named Harlow Jordan. She instructs them to head to the survivor camp called Paradise Survival Camp.

Dead Island: Retro Revenge

Max is living in his trailer with his pet cat, Rick Furry, playing on his game console. However, while Max is distracted playing the console, a couple of bandits come and steal Rick from the trailer. Upon noticing Rick being missing, Max looks out the window to see Rick staring at him out the rear window of the RV he's been kidnapped in. Angry, Max grabs a weapon from his trailer and bursts outside, determined to follow the RV and get his cat back. However, California is filled with zombies as well as gangs of bandits and to reach Rick, Max has to battle his way through them all.

Aragami 2:

Set 100 years after the events of the first game, three elite Aragami work to save their people of Rashomon Valley from invading armies.

Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes:

The main storyline follows Batman, Robin and later Superman as they attempt to foil the Joker and Lex Luthor's plans to have the latter become president of the United States, joining forces with the Justice League along the way.

The Invincible:

In the game the player assumes control of astrobiologist Yasna (voiced by Daisy May), who must explore the planet Regis III for her missing crewmates while facing an unknown threat.

The Forgotten City:

The full game begins with the protagonist waking after being rescued from floating down the Tiber River in Italy. The mysterious individual who rescues the player character asks them to look for her friend, who had disappeared whilst investigating nearby ruins. As the player explores said ruins, they are sent back in time to 65 CE,[5] with the ruins restored as a city of the Roman Empire. As the plot progresses and the player continues exploring, it is elaborated that the city is under the protection of the gods, where if anyone is to commit sin, all citizens of the city would be equally punished and turned into gold in a system referred to as the Golden Rule (originally Dwarves' Law).[6]  These gold statues, depicting previous inhabitants and residents, can be heard whispering, but seemingly only by the player. The specific sins that are criteria for the Golden Rule to be enacted are not clear to any resident of the city, with numerous records of contradictions. T he player is able to re-enter the portal they had entered from and restart the time loop if the Golden Rule is ever enacted, allowing them to keep both physical and mental objects such as important items and information.

Conclusion:

Best: God Eater 3 - I really like the upgraded graphics and the feel of the game, the downside would be that you need play assault missions to get al the links and they nof alway comming.

Worst: Dead Island: Retro Revenge - This is just a side scroller game that is fast paced like the old days, it is good to play but it is the worst game i played this month.

[desoax]

One of my best friends from middle school to high school, mixed like me but with the most beautiful green eyes you've ever seen. Big girl, grew up way too fast, tall and STRONG. I would often stay for extended periods at her family house, she sometimes had to share a bed. There were a lot of cats and it had this distinct smell to it, these people would sit around watching TV all day eating processed foods. One time I joked with them "not to look in the drug drawer" right before we went to go on a walk. We didn't even make it to the corner before one of those hobgoblins called her up yelling at her about it, when I know not to go through peoples stuff and not to do drugs. When that house got sold later on, I heard that there was a secret back room full of needles...

When her and her mother got thrown out, my mom took them in. It was a lot of fun, sometimes some conflict because of her nasty farts from top ramen which she claimed "smelled like roses", lol, generally only an issue with odors I had. Now that I look back, she had a lot of behavior I had when I was withdrawing from methamphetamine. It was like her mind deleted what I would say to her then she would reiterate it as if it was her own thought. Our whole family ended up getting scabies from them, it was incredibly traumatic fighting those creatures burrowing into my skin. It took a year and I kept getting it again due to my stubborn father. I would spray down my mattress every single day with windex, a lice spray, and wash my bedding. That's when I realized I was reactive to tide, which is why I hated wearing clean clothing and changing out my bedding. My stupid bitch doctor that violated me by unconsensually sticking her hand into my pants to feel my pubes, commented on how NICE IT MUST HAVE BEEN TO SMELL THE DETERGENT. It pissed me off so bad. I actually called her a bitch at 12 btw. Dr Amber Yee. You still a dumb bitch, I know cause she treated my father up until he retired to Arkansas.

Oh... anyway...... my former best friend did not deserve the shit I would say about her when she was a victim of the trap. I am filled with remorse because I know I spread scabies just like her in my area, I think I may have started to become resistant to them to an extent. My friends who would come over ended up going to the trap across from my house (I was not allowed to go there, this guys mother would have him selling drugs, if I recall correctly he was a certain color that his mother was not....) not long after, while at school where we were both meeting with our teachers at the weekly meeting (we would go in around the same time) I overheard him explain that he couldn't go for a month due to scabies... I'm sorry dawgs... I would not wish scabies upon even my worst enemies and I likely gave it to my beautiful girl friends. I remember one of them asking me if I was itchy while at my house, and I actually was not anymore. Was not lying about that. I vividly recall it cause I felt immense guilt in that moment.

Gosh the girl who gave me scabies was the realest, she could have easily beat my dumbass and never did. Lmao. She loved me. In middle school I'd be gone for over a week and I'd come back hearing about how her and my other friends would get into fights over what happened to me LMFAO.

[bloodsweatandbeerspart1]

'Cause if I was a man, I'd be Daron Blaaand

That's right, call me the man, because the last time I posted in here was while I was doing my punishment for coming in dead last for the inaugural season of Blood, Sweat, and Beers. But these are new times, times during which the leading receiver in the NFL is Taylor Swift (receiver of attention, that is), and times of the broken down and defeated becoming the UNdeafeated... well, not really, but you now what I mean.

With only 2 weeks left in the Fantasy regular season (whaaaat), let's take a look at the terrifically average teams of Blood, Sweat, and Beers, and break down how most are still playoff contenders. Now, some of you may have that tiny Jim Mora voice in your head that's saying 'Playoffs?! Don't talk about playoffs! You kidding me? Playoffs?!', but consider this - 75% of teams in this league are still in the running to win the Golden Goat and its accompanying $350 cash prize, and that is wild.

Amon a roll (Ali) - Playing a QB, WR pair from the same NFL team is always a risk, and it seems to be paying off for Coach Ali this season. With the Herbert Allen duo, and additionally Dr. Sir Christian McCaffrey, his highness (I believe he has earned this title), Amon a roll has been able to consistently put up some of the highest single-game scores this season. However, this team faces an upHILL battle playing the highly successful Hanna conference to close out the regular season.

Highway to Hill (Jake) - Remember when Coach Jake reasonably drafted Joe Burrow who got a fat contract then laid a giant disgusting goose egg all over the beginning of Highway to Hill's season? Doesn't matter now though, because like his TE Travis Kelce, Coach Jake has shot for the stars and has snagged several strong performers throughout this season, keeping him a playoff contender. Does Highway to Hill make the playoffs? I say yes, so long as Taylor Swift attends the Chief's games the next 2 weeks.

Fields of Dreams (Lexi) - The reigning champ team finds themselves in playoff contention once again, which is not surprising, considering how Coach Lexi is a jack of all trades who excels at all she does. However, she is currently last place in the Hanna conference, and that mostert. Fields of Dreams' season will get a bit spicier at the end though, when they face the current champ, Amon a roll, with most of their team on bye week.

The Friendzone (Jack) - With 3 of the original The Friendzone starters on IR, this team must get credit for its resiliency. Similar to Amon a roll, The Friendzone is a phoenix that has risen from the ashes of last season. But this phoenix of a team has also been without life during several matchups this season, and any falters in performance in the upcoming weeks could cause The Friendzone to be friend-zoned into last place before they know it. Is the friend zone an actual place, and do mayonnaise bears live there? Coach Jack may find out.

When Life Gives You Evans (Steven) - When Life Gives you Evans, or literally when your wife (inadvertently) gives you Evans, you think you would play him to defeat your spouse with their former player. But Coach Steven did not play Evans and lost because of it, and now he must continue to Chase the waterfalls that are the playoffs, because his team is the first on the outside looking in.

Dallas wears Prada (Niki) - Dallas wears Prada sports a high-end name, but this team has put up points-for that are in the bottom half of teams' performances for this season. That being said, this team had 4 games determined by 5 points or less, and could easily have 2 more wins than their record shows. All jokes aside, Coach Niki can still kick and scream her way into the playoffs, but she is going to have a bad time if she plays her 54839574932 Cowboys players against the Eagles next week.

Rookie of the Year (Jenna) - Within a league full of near 0.500 teams, these bottom 2 teams are unfortunately the only ones guaranteed to not make the playoffs. Although Coach Jenna smartly picked up C.J. Stroud later in the season, this team struggled with overall performance from Week 1, particular consistency with the quarterback, and was never quite able to find its footing. There is a silver lining, though - Rookie of the Year ends its season playing against 2 teams that are currently ranked in the bottom half of the league. Coach Jenna may still be able to dodge The Punishment.

Duuuval of the Lights (Alyson) - Although this team name makes me the happiest, the team itself makes me the saddest :( Duuuval of the Lights currently LEADS in least amount of points-for and has the TOP losing record, therefore is currently the MOST-FAVORED contender for last place. Although Coach Niki's biases towards Dallas have seemed to generally favor her, Coach Alyson's bias towards keeping Trevor Lawrence with the Jax Jags seemed to keep her team from ever reaching greatness, particularly in the QB position. In order to NOT be stuck with the punishment, Duuuval of the Lights will have to pull off their first win in the Florida girls conference, but hey, at least it's the weakest one. :)

And now, before we go... Call me AWS Next Gen Stats, because here are some random stats that no one asked for to prove superiority in things that don't matter. You're welcome!

Girls v Boys (win percentage average): 0.450 vs 0.583 UT v FL v NV (win percentage average): 0.583 v 0.361 v 0.583 Gerner conference (v other Gerner): Tied 1-1 Hanna conference (v other Hanna): Tied 1-1 Florida girl conference (v other Florida girls): - Rookie of the Year (Jenna) 2-0 - Dallas wears Prada (Niki) 1-2 - Duuuval of the Lights (Alyson) 0-2 Utah conference (v other Utah folk) - The Friendzone (Jack) 2-1 - Amon a roll (Ali) 2-2 - When Life Gives You Evans (Steven) 1-2 Bow twins (v each other): Amon a roll (Ali) 1-0, Dallas wears Prada (Niki) 0-1 Parents v degenerates (win percentage average): 0.583 v 0.472 (setting your lineup must be a distraction from raising your children, we get it) Highest single-game score: The Friendzone (Jack), 186.6 Lowest single-game score (you suck): Also The Friendzone (Jack), 59.86

Go forth, my fantasy friends. May the best team win, and for the love of God, Niki, please continue to put all of your faith in the Dallas Cowboys, because it seems to be working out, at least for them.

P.S. Sorry not sorry for all the Taylor Swift references. It's her world, and us and the NFL are just living in it.

[salmonprince]

It’s the hottest summer in recorded history and the haze envelops America east of the Mississippi. Smoke from Canadian wildfires dip down and burrow in pockets of Pennsylvania, Michigan, New York. Dry heat and humid oppression give way to billowing fires budding out of rustic townhomes, tearing down the block like some sort of deranged, translucent, suffocating Pac-man, ingesting everything in its path. Don’t start your propane grill on the roof. The pools in Baltimore are closed for the summer.

Much like a well-placed score in a film by an auteur who grew up in Benedict Canyon to studio executive parents and came of age with David Lynch and Ridley Scott movies, this summer feels like The End. There’s sex trafficking fear-mongering that leads to innocent bystanders being shot and vigilante civilians losing their jobs, well-built and stilted North Carolina homes are drifting from the Outer Banks into the vast sea, billionaires are being crushed into the size of a soup can while attempting to live out their most voyeuristic maritime fantasy, the Grateful Dead stopped touring, and the fucking Orioles are the best team in baseball. The pools in Baltimore are closed for the summer.

Do you ever think about dying? I didn’t really, at least not until this summer. Is my mortality catching up with me since I turned a quarter-century old, or am I just re-hashing the existentialism from Margot Robbie in the Barbie movie trailer? The two biggest film releases of the year, and maybe the past decade, are a brand-laden marketing monolith about the country’s most emblematic All-American babe and a reckoning with the man who created the inevitable end of the world. I think Oppenheimer will be vindicated, though, because this world will probably end before anyone has a chance to press the Dr. Strangelove button. The pools in Baltimore are closed for the summer.

Ring doorbells are profiling minorities in gentrified neighborhoods, women with unchecked mental illnesses are going viral on the internet for a breakdown on a Southwest flight, our social communities are dying with no valid alternatives, and black kids are drawing the ire of neighborhood Karens and local news stations alike for breaking into barren community centers in the shadows of a path to sure environmental perdition. The pools in Baltimore are closed for the summer.

Have we no hope? Are we beyond reproach? Our planet healed during the darkest era for society in my lifetime. Once people— creatures whose sole purpose since their creation was to dominate the planet instead of share the planet, causing irreversible damage and imminent ecological implosion— went inside, the world recovered more than scientists previously thought possible. Then, the terror-inducing pandemic became but a distant memory, and in its dying embers humans went back to what they’ve always been doing: destroying their home. There was no hope, and then there was hope, and now we’re trapped in a freeze frame of heat, smoke, sickness, and hatred. And the pools in Baltimore are closed for the summer.

[haleyusesherwords]

Burrow's End - Alternative History/Ending

Dr. Wenabocker, a totally normal scientist, is the last person at the Warren Peace Power Station. He's desperately working to try to prevent a complete melt down of Reactor Charlie even after everyone else has evacuated. According to the official records, he was found down the road from the plant a few days later and was treated for serious injuries. When he woke up and was asked if saboteurs or spies attacked him, he just said he yes but his memory was fuzzy. Effect of the radiation sickness. He was the last one out after all, he must have had the most exposure.

And honestly, who would believe that 5 stoats attacked him? He barely believes it himself. It must be the radiation sickness talking.

But he can never stop wondering. What if it really had been stoats? In fact, what if the stoat caused the meltdown in the first place?

So he stays working with the Warren Peace Power Station. He heads up the reclamation efforts for 20 long years. (One day, a survey team mentions in passing that they saw a little rodent walk away unharmed after getting zapped. He reads the report over and over again, trying to convince himself its a coincidence.)

But finally the radiation levels are low enough to return. He brings the military this time to reclaim the plant. He says he is in favor of them coming because it's a military facility. He barely admits to himself that he wants witnesses if anything happens this time.

He enters Reactor Charlie and doesn't know if he should laugh or cry when he sees the corpses of 4 stoats inside. Is it better that there really were stoats all those years ago? That he wasn't crazy this whole time?

But at least they are dead. It's over now.

Then a giant glowing ghostly blue stoat rises from the center of the reactor, locking eyes with him even through his hazmat suit.

"Hello Dr. Wenabocker. My name is Phoebe. I believe we have some unfinished business."

Roll initiative

Look, I understand that Dr. Wenabocker is possessed by Phoebe for like, narrative reasons, but honestly? If a bunch of weasels caused a nuclear melt down, attacked me, and then threw me in a closet I’d also say it was secret agents! I’m not telling my boss I lost a nuclear power plant to 5 rodents…..