#how can you drop such a lore bomb before leaving

[writingpoorly]

Recently reread Paranatural and I'm chewing the bars of my enclosure. There's not enough fan-content.

[galactic-magick]

here i come with arcane prompts bestie >:3

but this one might hurt ;-;

also SPOILERS FOR S1 IF ANYONE HASNT SEEN IT YET

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how about a reader's reaction to the council getting bombed O_O

their frantic attempts to find their lover(Viktor ofc :3), but who they find may not be the man they once knew TwT

I got a little carried away with this one bestie...

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I Thought You Were Dead: Viktor x Reader

Words: 3.2k

Warnings: Smut about halfway through. I put a *** before the smut starts in case anyone doesn't want to read that part. Reader has afab anatomy but no pronouns or feminine specific endearments are used. Also LORE SPOILERS, if you don't know what happens to Viktor in the League of Legends lore then don't read this!!

Author's Notes: This could be read as a part 2 to my other Viktor fic Nights Like This, which takes place in Act 1 whereas this takes place after season 1.

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The explosion was deafening.

You can feel your soul sink as soon as you step outside your house, watching the smoke surround the council building. Your feet start running before you’ve processed anything, pushing through the gasping crowds in the streets with their eyes glued to the same devastating spectacle.

Tears stream down your face against the dusty wind, praying to anyone who will listen that your worst fear hasn’t happened. Running as if getting there faster might change the outcome.

It can’t end like this. Not when you haven’t said everything you want to say. Not when you have so much left to do together.

Not when you haven’t said goodbye.

The truth is, you haven’t even seen your husband in several days, maybe even a whole week. He’s been distant lately, so consumed by his experiments that he rarely comes home anymore. You knew what you were getting into marrying a scientist, especially the finest scientist in Piltover, but it still hurts. It hurts to see him driving himself mad and getting sicker, refusing to let you take care of him like he used to. He doesn’t like when you come to visit him at the lab because it’s too dangerous, and he doesn’t come home because he wants to be in the lab—so you’ve stopped trying. You can’t bear to see him hardly eat or sleep for days. You know he loves you, and you still love him, but right now there’s no getting through to him, and all you can do is wait it out until he either comes to his senses or succumbs to his torturous research.

Your mind flashes back to all the fights you had, begging him to come home, begging him to let you stay by his side. You both said things you shouldn’t have, hearts torn apart in mourning of a marriage that once was so perfect. You miss the nights where you were each other's safe space, where the world didn’t feel so grand and overwhelming. You wonder when it was exactly that you stopped fighting, when you gave up on begging and simply loved him as much as you could whenever you finally saw him.

A large battalion of enforcers encircle the scene, pushing back civilians as they attempt to view what happened. The rubble has fallen into mountains, several of them on fire.

You know he was in there. He must’ve been.

“Where are the survivors?!” you demand, shoving against the enforcers.

“We have not found any yet. Please return to your home-”

You pull out the knife you keep in your pocket for emergencies, pressing it against the enforcer’s throat, “My husband was in there. I am not leaving until I find him.”

The other enforcers turn their weapons towards you, and you quickly realize you’ll never beat them with nothing but a dagger and deep rooted rage.

You drop the knife to the ground and put your hands up, awaiting your fate. Would they kill you? Send you home with a warning? Trial you?

Well, not without a council.

“Please…” the sobs return, their weapons still pointing at you. “I just want to know if he’s alive. Just let me look for his body-”

You’re cut off by hands on your wrists and mouth, handcuffing you and knocking you out.

Several months later...

You should’ve known any retaliation against an enforcer could get you thrown in here.

Back against the stone wall of your cell in Stillwater, you envision that day once again, hating yourself for being so stupid. Without the council, the enforcers have started throwing literally anyone in here. In an attempt to contain the chaos of no longer having a government, even the smallest crime or protest is equivalent to murder. All you did was threaten an officer for information on your husband, but that was enough to banish you from any possibility of ever seeing him again.

If he was alive, would he know to come find you? Or would he go back home to find you gone and assume you died? Would he throw himself back into his research regardless of the tragic accident, not even noticing you haven’t tried to visit him in months?

Most days it’s easier to just tell yourself he’s dead. The man you loved so deeply no longer exists, and you’ll never love again. This is your life now, cold and dark and hopeless.

You sink to the floor, leaning on your side in an effort to get some sleep.

Though your slumber is awakened not long after by terrifying noises down the hall.

A collection of screams, an alarm bell, and loud clanging fill your ears. You jump up, looking through the bars of your cell to get a glimpse. You see nothing, but then begin to hear stomping footsteps thundering towards your end of the hall.

You stumble back to the far wall, shaking as the footsteps get closer.

The first thing you see is a pair of glowing orange eyes staring at you through the bars, and your breath leaves your lungs.

Is this really how you’re fated to die?

With ease, the mysterious figure rips off the door with what looks like a mechanical arm. The dim light hits him, and your entire body trembles. He’s covered in metal plating and armor, his face covered with a thick mask. He doesn’t strike you as human, except for what looks like human hair falling around his head.

He walks towards you, and you cower in his shadow. What does this machine want from you? You have nothing.

He says your name, and you freeze. It’s modulated and echoed from the mask, but you are certain that’s what he said.

And you’re also certain you’ve heard that voice before.

The figure reaches his hand towards you, the cold metal of his fingers touching your face. It tingles, as if there’s energy sparking through. His other hand lifts off his mask and drops it to the floor.

“Viktor?”

Parts of his face are covered with metal plating, but it’s undoubtedly him. Same eyes, same nose, same cheekbones. His hair swooping down the sides of his forehead and the small gap between his teeth.

You throw your arms around him and kiss him, your body hitting his metal torso hard enough to leave a bruise, but you don’t care. You kiss him until there’s not a single atom of oxygen left in your lungs, and even then you risk a few seconds more, his lips worthy of causing suffocation. Your fingers slide into his hair, just as soft as your remember. He gently embraces you back, wary of hurting you with how tightly he wishes to hold you.

“Viktor—I went to find you that day—“ you pant for air. “I thought you were dead—“

“I know, darling, I know,” he kisses your forehead before fervently returning to your lips. “I thought you were dead too before I heard word of people being sent here.”

He breaks apart from you and you let out a soft whine, “Vik-”

“I have to get you out of here now, okay?”

You nod in understanding and grab onto him as he puts his mask back on. He races back down the hall, pushing any leftover guards out of his way. You cling onto him, in disbelief that he moves so fast with ease. So many questions run through your mind, but you know you’ll have to wait for answers.

He carries and holds you in silence until you both get to safety. You don’t recognize the place he’s taken you to, but it’s undoubtedly his space. The tools and gadgets all over the tables and walls, the dim light you don’t understand how anyone could work under, the journals with different equations written barely legibly. You wonder if your old home is still standing or has been taken by someone else. Either way, this is your home now.

With him.

He takes off his mask and you’re once again met with his beautiful face. Scarred and tired, but still more beautiful than you’ve ever seen him.

“I’m so sorry. For everything,” he says. “I know I will never be able to make it up to you, and I don’t deserve your forgiveness. But I am never letting you leave my sight again.”

Your bodies instinctively wrap around each-other, him picking you up and setting you down on one of his desks. The sensation is so new, since he’s never been strong enough to lift you before. Despite the novelty though, it feels as if no time has passed, as if this is a routine you’ve done every day, his hands all over you as soon as you’re alone.

You want to ignore the insanity of all this, how the love of your life has returned to you encased in metal. You want to forego all the questions, letting him continue his kisses on your neck and the wandering fingers on your thigh. You wonder what he feels like now—if it’s different—if what he can do to you now will make you forget every tear you ever shed for him.

You sigh, completely drunk on his touches.

“Viktor…” You look into his eyes, tracing your thumbs along his now metallic jaw. “I want to know what happened to you. Please.”

His caresses slow, his focus shifting to your words, “I will tell you everything, I promise,”

You grasp his hands, “Then tell me.”

He exhales, looking down at himself. He doesn’t want to think about it, doesn’t want to acknowledge the truth. He doesn’t want to risk you thinking of him differently or not loving him the same. Without you, he’d have nothing left to stay human for.

After all, he’s more machine than man now.

“I was as good as dead,” he finally says. “My injuries should’ve killed me, but an old…” he hesitates, “...friend found me. He helped me use hextech and shimmer to fix and augment my body. I’m stronger now, I can help more people now, I can protect you now. I’ve evolved beyond my human ailments-”

“Viktor,” you interrupt him. “Who helped you?”

He falls silent, fully aware you already know the answer.

“How could you?” you scold him. “How could you go back to that horrid, vile man? Who knows what he really did to you?”

“Singed may have unethical methods, but I assure you I’d be dead right now without him. You wouldn’t understand-”

“I understand that he sees you as nothing more than an experiment! What’s going to happen when this new body starts to break down? He’ll replace you with more mechanical parts until there’s nothing left of you. He does anything to make his specimens survive, and you know that!”

“So you’d rather me be dead? You’d rather still be in Stillwater, rotting your days away in misery?”

The floodgates of your glassy eyes break, and you let out the ugliest of sobs that have been building up for too long. No, you don’t want him dead, of course you don’t.

But there are fates worse than death.

You clumsily grab for him, pulling him between your legs and surrounding him with your limbs. Your lips crash together once more, this time more carnal and aggressive. Regardless of how angry you are, you can’t deny that you need him desperately. He cradles your face, wiping your tears away as they fall.

“Just promise me…” you beg into his mouth. “Promise me you won’t go back there again. Stay with me.”

“I promise,” he hums. “But you have to promise me something too.”

“What?” your eyes are already fluttering deliriously.

“You have to promise you’ll let me apologize every day of the rest of our lives,” he brushes his lips against your ear while his hands wander up your shirt, “And I think I know how you want me to do it.”

Your eyes widen, shivers already running down your spine.

***

It’s been so long, your body yearning for his as if you’ve been deprived from him for an eternity. You want to feel his new hands everywhere, his new fingers inside you…

Viktor wastes no time stripping you down, your shirt and bra flung across the room. He buries his face between your breasts for a moment before hoisting you up again, carrying you to the mattress in the corner.

“Since when do you ever have a proper place to sleep in your labs?” you laugh, sinking into the unexpected comfort.

“I didn’t get it for sleeping,” he smirks, placing kisses across your chest and shoulders, “I knew what I wanted to do as soon as I rescued you.”

“You’re telling me you got this bed just to fuck me?”

“Of course,” he shrugs, completely matter-of-factually.

You chuckle, a genuine smile stretching across your face so wide it almost hurts. You haven’t laughed or felt the pure joy and bliss of being in love in so long.

“I…” Viktor speaks again, hovering over you. “I don’t know fully what this new body can do. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“We’ll figure it out together,” you smile, intertwining your fingers with his. “Is it...different?”

“Everything’s different,” he leans down to kiss you again. “Let’s just hope it’s in a good way.”

You nod enthusiastically, pulling him down to you. His cold metal torso presses against yours, a surprisingly pleasant sensation. You quickly acclimate to the new textures of his figure, wondering if any skin still exists.

He remembers all the places you like to be touched and kissed, and you grow more impatient by the minute. You’ve needed him—ached for him. You want him in any way he can give you.

He pulls off the rest of your clothes, teasing his mechanical fingers in circles around your clit.

“Are you ready?” he asks.

“Mmhmm,” you moan, slithering your own fingers into his hair.

Viktor’s always been good with his hands, being an inventor and all. He’s never once failed to satisfy you with his hands alone since you’ve been together, and he certainly wasn’t stopping now. He goes slowly, constantly needing reassurance that you’re alright. There’s nothing sharp about his fingers, a relief to both of you. They move just like his old flesh did, pulsing in and out with the finest precision. There’s moments where you feel a slight vibration, although you’re unsure if he’s doing that purposefully. Either way, he keeps you in ecstasy until you eventually come undone.

You pull his lips back up to yours immediately, craving his taste. His hands run down your body once again before returning back to the same spot.

You yelp his name as he works more fingers inside you. This is unheard of, him going back for more so soon. You had grown accustomed to his low stamina from before, and you never minded multiple rounds being a rarity. But now there’s not a single hint of exhaustion on his face, his augments freeing him from much of the pain that used to plague him. Instead there’s determination in his eyes, a drive to make love to you until you can’t take it anymore.

He builds you up to your second orgasm of the night, kissing and holding you softly as you come down from it.

“Viktor…” you sigh, completely out of breath. “I want to make you feel good too.”

He shakes his head, watching as your hands slide down his body, “Darling, I...I’m not sure if everything works the same. You don’t have to worry about me—“

“Let me try,” you plead. “Does any of this come off?”

He nods, removing the outer layers of metal with clicks and hisses. It was hard for you to tell where the armor ended and his body began, but the more he takes off, the more you recognize his familiar silhouette. There’s still patches of flesh here and there—warm skin to your fingertips, fused with the augmentations flawlessly.

And it seems the area you’ve wanted to see is one of the places untouched.

Well, not completely untouched. It’s covered in glowing purple veins, throbbing like they’ll explode any second. Viktor looks into your eyes nervously, and you reassure him with a kiss.

“It’ll be okay,” your breaths are hot, hovering over his lips. “Now tell me what you want, darling.”

“You.” he moans as your hand takes hold of his hardness.

“Everything seems to be working fine to me,” you smile, lining him up with your entrance. “I’m ready when you are.”

He’s shaking, for the first time since all his enhancements. He’s been so strong—no—indestructible, yet one look at you and the vulnerability returns in crashing waves. He’s still the same man you fell in love with, but now he could too easily hurt you.

He presses in slowly, eyes locked on your expressions for any sign of discomfort, but they never come. Instead, the noises and faces you make could be enough for him to finish right then and there if he didn’t have such control.

“Viktor…” you sigh, pulling him towards you as he bottoms out. “I’m okay. Are you okay?”

He stamps kisses on your jaw, then nuzzles his nose into your neck, “You feel even better than I remembered.”

“Do I now?” you chuckle, brushing some of his hair out of his eyes as he looks back up at you.

“Mmhmm,” he begins to thrust in and out slowly, earning more luscious sounds from your lips.

There’s so much of him that feels the same, but the sensation is so new. Is he bigger than before? Is it just the different texture from the shimmer experiments? You’re not sure, all you truly care about is that he feels divine.

You’re both getting close, whispering “I love you’s” until the long awaited release. He holds you tightly afterwards, refusing to let go until you both catch your breath.

“Viktor,” you ruffle his hair. “As amazing as that was, I don’t think I can handle a round four.”

He chuckles, “That’s alright. I’ll only go as long as you want me to. There’s always tomorrow.”

You giggle, kissing the top of his head. You push yourself up on your elbows, looking at the mess you both made, “I think we ruined your new mattress.”

He glances as well, noticing the cum stains, some of them a light purple color, a supposed side effect of the shimmer, “We’ll get a new one. For now lets get you cleaned up.”

He picks you up in one swift motion, carrying you outside. His new lab is conveniently next to the river, and far away enough from other houses to protect your decency. The water is cold, but not unbearably so. The stickiness rinses off, and you’re left to admire your lover once again in the moonlight.

He glistens under the stars, his gaze soft and sweet, just as it’s always been. His hands never leave you, caressing your wet skin gently and adoringly.

He’s still everything you’ve ever wanted. He’s still the man you’d die and kill for.

He’s still the one you’ll spend the rest of your days with, no matter what he becomes.

[garciaasfluffypen]

stop embarassing me! (she knows everything you're saying)

pairing: jemily x reader word count: 3k warnings: jj and emily find it very hot that you can speak italian, illusions to sexy times at the end request from this ask a/n: everything y/n says that's in italian is translated at the bottom of the post! that being said, everything was written with a translator so please excuse any errors. also, enjoy the lore drop ;)

your italian grandmother was in town, and you were quite literally going to shit your dick.

you had cleaned your apartment top to bottom roughly five times since the news that your grandmother was coming in the off chance she asked to stay at the dingy little place. granted, you hadn’t been there full time in months, but she didn’t know that. while you had a strained relationship with your father, you were very close with your nonna. she had been there for you through all the battles you had to fight against your father as a teenager, including all the battles where he didn’t want you to take care of your siblings simply because of who you were as a person. while he saw your life through facebook, that was the only access he got to you after you turned eighteen. you only kept that line available simply so he could see how your siblings were doing. and that was it. he had created such a big fuss when you came out the month before your 18th birthday that you decided you’d cut him off as much as you could. he tried to alienate you from the rest of your family, for pete’s sake. he didn’t get to know shit about you anymore.

the joke was on him, though, seeing as the rest of your family was cool with the idea of you being queer. granted, you hadn’t dropped the bomb about being polyamorous, but you figured with how well your support system in DC was going, it would be okay. you had told your little brothers about a month prior, and all they wanted to know about emily and jj was if they were treating you right. and obviously, when they could come meet them. your older brother was in the army, so it took a little longer to get a hold of him, but he promised to stop by DC whenever he had leave next so he could meet them. 

but this? this was your grandmother. it was absolutely terrifying to think of losing her. she was one of your only relatives left that could fight for you, and even though she was in her seventies you were worried about losing her. if anything, you were worried that she’d lose you first, but you didn’t want to think about that or else you’d start spiraling. you stayed alive for not only yourself and your siblings, but for her too. and you would probably cry if she said anything that even insinuated that she’d leave you. either way, you figured that you’d introduce her to them before dropping the polyamory bomb. it worked, since hotch said you could give her and your two brothers a tour of quantico this weekend and everyone except for you had been called in for a mandatory paperwork weekend.

you met up with your brothers and nonna outside quantico, slipping into the italian you had shoved into the back of your brain easily. considering it was easier to speak italian with your grandmother since your dad had never really learned it, it was something you just naturally did whenever you were around her. you weren’t sure how the team was going to react to it, but you’d cross that bridge when you got there. you got them all visitors patches and explained all your favorite parts of the building, showing them every little nook and cranny that you loved to hide in when you didn’t want to talk to people except emily and jj. making your way up to the bullpen, you felt a jolt of nervousness flow through your system. you didn’t know how your team was going to react to them at all. they had known bits and pieces about your older brother, but you hadn’t told them about your two younger brothers. that was a can of worms you weren’t sure you wanted to open around them yet. 

“nonna, before we go meet my team, they can be… they can be a little excitable.” 

your nonna shrugged. “nothing i can’t handle. i raised your aunts and uncles.” she paused. “and unfortunately, your father.” 

“you bring up a very good point. and don’t mind anything derek says. he doesn’t really have a filter.” 

“is he the one who likes football?” your youngest brother, colin, looked up to you. 

“yep. i’m sure he’d love to talk to you about it, depending on how far into the paperwork he is. and let me… let me handle the introductions, please. at least the first ones.” 

“of course, sweets.”

jj was one of the first people to realize you had stepped into the bullpen, seeing you walk in from where she was making her third cup of coffee in the kitchen. she was about to come say hi to you, but then she heard it. that beautiful, mid morning husk that you had whenever you woke up late mixed with… was that italian? she had to grab onto the counter to stop her knees from buckling as you talked to who she only could assume was your grandmother, since you had been talking about her all week leading up to today. she wasn’t sure who the two younger boys were with you, but she was sure she’d find out shortly. the keurig beeped, shaking her out of her thoughts as she turned around to grab her coffee, a stirrer going in seconds later. 

she felt a wave of want go through her body, and she had to physically stop herself from going over to you and ravishing you then and there in front of everyone you had spent the past five years working next to. she knew it was hot when emily spoke in other languages, but hearing you speak so fluently and so carefree, with that giant smile on your face? it was one of the hottest things she had ever seen you do. granted, a lot of the things you did were hot, but this? this took the cake. jj took some cool water from the sink and rubbed it on her cheeks, knowing all too well that her cheeks were most likely a crimson red from just thinking about you speaking in another language to her. you didn’t know much about that aspect of jj and emily yet, considering you only been exploring everything for a few months. she knew so much about emily, yet she felt like she didn’t know anything about you sometimes. 

“you done coffee-ing that stirrer?” luke leaned up against the counter, a smirk on his face as he watched jj. “you’ve been stirring for five minutes.” 

“have i?” jj let the stirrer go, watching it go around in the cup. 

“you seem distracted, are you okay?” 

“i… yeah.” 

while luke knew the general aspects of your relationship with her and emily, she didn’t want to delve too much into it while on the clock. he knew there was more she wasn’t saying, but knew not to push too much. but that didn’t stop him from joking around about how hard she was very clearly simping for you in the middle of the office. 

“are you gonna stare and gawk at your girlfriend or are you going to say hi?” 

“i will, i just…”

luke smiled. “i see. go to the bathroom for a sec, i’ll cover you.” 

jj scrunched her face as luke started laughing. “ew. you pervert.” she jokingly punched him in the arm. “it’s just… they speak italian.” 

“okay… doesn't emily speak italian?”

“that’s different. she’s not… she’s not them.” 

meanwhile, you had started to make your rounds, slowly introducing your nonna to your team. she found everyone quite charming, and it relaxed you quite a bit knowing that they all made a good impression. even hotch came out of his office, introducing himself and engaging in the conversations. it was nice, introducing one of the most important people in your life to your found family. the next part, however, was telling your nonna about emily and jj. colin seemed to catch on very quickly when he caught jj staring, but didn’t want to say anything in case your nonna didn’t know, but he would definitely be facetime you tomorrow to talk about it. the longer you talked with your team, the more you realized you were subconsciously searching for jj the whole time. emily was at her desk, but jj was nowhere to be found. which was unlike her, unless she had taken a late lunch. which would also be unlike her. 

“y/n!” penelope’s voice carried through the bullpen as she walked out of the round table room, smiling and bringing you in for a hug the second she got next to you. “i thought you weren’t coming in today? and ms ruthie! it’s so lovely to see you again!” 

you visibly relaxed at her touch, “hotch said i could show my nonna and brothers around today.” 

“it’s lovely to see you again too, penelope. did you dye your hair?”

“i did. just filled my roots in a little bit.” penelope chuckled. “nothing too crazy, don’t worry nonna.” 

emily stood up, a smile on her face as she walked over to introduce herself. “you said she was italian, right?”

“yep!” 

“ciao signora, piacere di conoscerti!” 

“she speaks italian?” your grandmother looked over to you, excitement in her eyes. “che emozione.”

“i do, i lived in italy as a teen.” emily smiled. “prentiss. emily. emily prentiss.” she held her hand out. 

“è una da tenersi stretta, ed è anche carina!” your grandma raised her eyebrows at you. “she speaks italian!” 

you couldn’t help but blush. “nonna! mi metti in imbarazzo.” 

“oh hush, i’m not embarrassing you!”

“considerando che lei sa italiano, lei sa esattamente quello che dici, nonna.”

your other brother, justin, piped in. “y/n has a point, nonna. if her coworker knows italian she’ll understand everything you’re saying. you’re not very slick with that.” 

“oh it’s okay,” emily chuckled. “it’s quite amusing.” 

“let me not be rude,” your grandma turned to the rest of the team. “i’m ruthie. i practically raised y/n since she was a baby.” 

“dang, sweet thing, i didn’t know you came with another language!” derek chuckled. 

“derek the next thing that comes out of your mouth better be appropriate for my seventy six year old italian grandmother to hear.” 

“i was going to ask if your girls knew about that, is all.” 

you rolled your eyes, knowing that not at all what derek was about to say. “no, they don’t, but they’ll be meeting nonna this weekend if everything goes to plan.” 

“who am i meeting?”

“le luci della mia vita, le ragazze che ho frequentato.” you couldn’t help but sheepishly smile as you caught emily’s eye. “one of them is right here, actually.” 

emily wasn’t sure if the blush on her face was any indication of how she was feeling, but good god it was sending her into orbit hearing you talk in italian. over the five years they had known you, the fact you knew italian this whole time was the most surprising. there were bits and pieces that they had been able to get out of you, but you were pretty secretive about your life before joining the bau. penelope knew most, if not all of your story since you two had been friends since high school, but that was all she knew. besides the fact that you turned her on so easily. that was a given. she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear as she watched you slowly try to explain to your nonna about how you were dating two girls, not just one. the way you took so much care in choosing your words, explaining everything as easily as you could… it was endearing. 

she couldn’t take her eyes off of you, not until jj came to stand next to her, knuckles white as she seemingly held herself back. your face lit up as you saw jj, launching into another tangent to your nonna about how jj had been one of the first people to befriend you when you joined the team. within seconds, the two women started having a silent conversation with just their eyes. they both felt the same way, it seemed, and they were both going a bit feral over this new side of you. although emily did appear to be hiding it a bit better than jj was. emily nudged jj’s knee with her own, shooting her a smirk that could only be read by two people. you and jj. jj bit her lip, having to physically restrain herself once again as you seamlessly switched back into italian, your eyes lighting up as you explained the dynamics of the team to your nonna. 

“so tell me again, who are you partnered with?”

“i go out in the field with either derek or matt.” you pointed to them individually. “matt’s role is unique, he also helps the IRT team so he comes and goes depending on if he’s needed internationally. we like to joke we split custody of him with the international team.” 

“and the tall one?”

“reid? he’s the brains.” reid awkwardly waved from his desk. “he usually knows stuff that we don’t. kind of like how colin knows almost everything about football.”

“oh yes, that makes sense. and what about the lovely ladies?”

“well you know what pen does, tara and jj do a lot of the interviews with families, and i always say that emily’s job is to sit there and look pretty, but she usually goes out in the field and investigates with reid.” 

“you all seem to be a well oiled machine,” ruthie started. “i’m glad you’re looking out for my y/n. they had a tough life growing up, it’s nice to know they’re supported here.” 

“oh they’re a pleasure to work with,” rossi piped up. “a welcome addition to the team for sure.”

as your nonna conversed with the team, you couldn’t help but glance over to jj. you forgot how much she adored it when emily talked in italian, but hadn’t even considered the option of how she would react when she heard you speak italian. to you, emily appeared to be holding in her need for you relatively well. her cheeks were flushed, sure, but she was also in a turtleneck in the office where they blasted the heat the second it got below 60. jj on the other hand… jj looked like she needed a cold shower. you had to hold back a chuckle as you caught tara’s eyes, who also appeared to have clocked her reaction as well. jj’s jaw was slack as she stared at you, eyes filled with lust. while your grandmother was distracted, you took the moment to squeeze her hand lightly to see if she was okay. tara took the opportunity to close jj’s jaw for her, shooting you a small smile as she did so. emily had to hide a chuckle, covering her mouth with a hand as she nudged at the blonde. you locked eyes with jj, your eyebrows raising as she stared back at you, her gaze telling you everything you needed to know. you weren’t going to go all bratty on her here, since you hadn’t talked a whole lot about boundaries outside of the house, but you were tempted. 

“i didn’t know you’d act this way, jayje. i would have done this way earlier if i had known.” you chuckled. “you got a thing for other languages?” 

“only from you and em.” 

you squeezed her hand, resisting the urge to kiss her. “i’ll make it up to you, i promise.” 

tara, picking up on the mood shift between you two, suddenly stood up. “hey, i was gonna go grab a soda, do either of you want anything?” 

“nah, i’m good. do you want anything?”

“i’m good too, thanks t.” you smiled at tara, waiting for her to leave before turning back to jj and emily. “i’m sorry i didn’t tell you guys sooner.” 

“don’t be sorry, lovey, it never came up.” emily shrugged. “i will be using this information to my advantage, though.”

“what, so you can converse in secret in front of me?”

“mostly about christmas gifts, but yes.” you joined in on the joke, a sarcastic hint in your voice. 

“your nonna is very sweet.”

“she is.” you smiled. “i’m sure she’ll love to talk about your time in italy this weekend when you guys come for dinner. she doesn’t know i’m not in the alexandria apartment anymore, i figured this would be the last hurrah before i ended the lease.” you shrugged. “if you guys don’t mind driving out there.”

“of course not, baby.” jj squeezed your hand. “are you coming home tonight, though? or are you staying at the apartment?” 

you stared at jj for a second, your eyes narrowing. you crossed your arms in front of your chest before tapping your shoulder, eyebrows rising as if silently asking her are you in control? jj slightly nodded at you before tilting her head, waiting for your confirmation. you tapped your shoulder again in confirmation, making sure nobody in the vicinity besides emily had decoded your silent conversation. 

“i’ll try. i’m not sure where my nonna is staying, but i’ll let you know.” 

“i want you home by eleven.” jj’s eyes darkened, voice dropping slightly. “no later.” 

before the conversation could take a turn, you felt a light hand on your back. turning to see justin, you smiled. 

“what’s up?”

“nonna wants to know what the plan was, are we heading back to alexandria?”

“i uh… i was hoping to stay here, actually.” you tilted your head towards jj in silent explanation. 

“does she know?”

“well, she understood the fact that emily and i were together, at least.” you chuckled as you caught your nonna talking to luke and tara. “not sure she picked up on jj’s obvious simping.” 

“either way, it is a drive back to alexandra so if we want to go to dinner, we should go now.” 

“you’re right, we should.” you turned back to emily and jj. “i’ll text you guys when i figure out where i’ll be tonight?”

jj narrowed her eyes at you with a devious smile on her face. “11pm, y/n. no later.”

with a chuckle, you stepped away, letting jj’s hand fall back to her side.

“i’ll do my best.” you smirked slightly. “we have dinner plans.”

translations:

nonna- grandmother

ciao signora, piacere di conoscerti- hello ma’am, nice to meet you!

che emozione.- how exciting

è una da tenersi stretta ed è anche carina! - she’s a keeper, she’s pretty too.

mi metti in imbarazzo- you’re embarrassing me

considerando che lei sa italiano, lei sa esattamente quello che dici, nonna.- considering she knows italian, she knows exactly what you're saying, grandma

le luci della mia vita, le ragazze che ho frequentato.- the lights of my life, the girls i've been dating

taglist: @jayden-prentiss @idkwhatever580 @multifandomlesbianic @softestqueeen @xx-spooky-little-vampire-xx

[losersiren]

Yandere! Vault Dweller

N: I just finished the Fallout show, went on YouTube and fell down a rabbit hole of lore about the game. I decided Vault 11 shall be sacrificed (hehe). Everything I put in this fic is from the videos I've watched and the fan wiki, so it's like semi-accurate… Cw: talks about suicide, suicide (not the reader), violence, yandere tendencies, gore(?), death, manipulation, coercion, talks of death, should be gn! reader safe.... if not, put me in the chamber WC: 2.2k

Quiet. It was quiet. The silence is deafening, yet the ringing in your ear grows louder and louder, each second feeling as if eons had passed. The automated computer voice repeats in your head like a catchy song you’ll hear on those dusty records, the ones Mama used to play and dance to.

“Congratulations, citizens of Vault 11! You have made the decision not to sacrifice one of your own. You can walk with your head held high, knowing that your commitment to human life is a shining example to us all. And to make that feeling of pride even sweeter, I have some exciting news. Despite what you were led to believe, the population of Vault 11 is not going to be exterminated for its disobedience. Instead, the mechanism to open the main vault door has now been enabled, and you can come and go at your leisure. But not so fast! Be sure to check with your overseer to find out if it's safe to leave. Here at Vault-Tec, your safety is our number one priority.”

You were young when your parents escaped the bombs to the vault you're situated in right now; you grew up believing that damned computer about sacrifices and watched your fellow vault mates get killed one by one. You waited for the time it would be you in that same chamber. Now, with this information surfaced…they died for what? An experiment? What would have happened if you had been voted overseer…

The lump in your throat grows heavier, and the arguments and yelling in the background become more and more apparent that you can't ignore them anymore. Your eyes drift to the man standing tall and proud beside you, Charli, his hair still somehow slick back; he still looks perfect even after the maddening chaos of events that transpired these past few days. His blue jumpsuit was as crisp as an ironed suit that the actors would wear from the moving pictures on television before the vault. His expression is as vacant as his blue eyes, his soft lips decorated with a barely visible smile. As he watches the other three vault survivors argue, Your brows furrow. 

Why isn’t he affected by the news like everyone else? This information is soul-crushing and life-changing!

Then again, you reason with yourself that maybe this is his way of coping; who are you to judge and microanalysis him like some psycho? Perhaps it’s the lack of sleep or the sense of safety ripped out of your hand like candy stolen from a baby. Heavens, you might nearly flip your lid entirely if something else happens. You sigh. To believe you almost were insinuating that Charli would even be a drop suspicious, and of what, exactly? He saved and shielded you from the massacre that only left the five of you remaining; he was your childhood best friend..how could you? You reprimand yourself.

His eyes finally meet yours, and the sympathy and worry you sought appeared when the blonde saw how distressed you were. “Are you alright?” his soft voice fills your head–drowning out the talks of whether the group should commit suicide in honour of your dead vault men or venture into the outside world to educate others on how your vault was misled. You were somewhat dissociated from the whole conversation. Reasonably so.

His hands, soft yet calloused, turn your head side to side to check for any visible injuries he might’ve missed, which he shouldn’t have—knitted eyebrows and razor-sharp eyes search frantically for anything. 

Charles or… As you’ll call him later in your relationship, Charlie, has always been like this. When you met him, he was a reserved kid, a trait that would carry on from his pubescent to adolescent years. 

When other kids grew out of their shyness and worrisome attitude and eventually adapted to the vault, he was pushed aside. Well, that wouldn’t be the only reason. His father was the first overseer of Vault 11, the same overseer who thought the best course of action was not to tell the vault residents about the sacrificial system they were now to live with. That same choice he made was the reason for his death, and he was the first to test the new system. He wasn’t a good man. He was greedy, a neglectful father and husband, and so on. A family now ruined by one man’s ill-considered decision; Charles's mom wasn’t much better, the textbook definition of a hypocrite. Bad-mouthing her dead husband, the same one she defended when said husband would push his son away.

Most would fear having no one at the end of the world, but it became Charles's life; while everyone adapted to vault life, Charles adapted to the misfortune of the consequences of his old man’s actions. You decided one day to talk to him while others stood clear. It was a simple conversation; others would just brush it off…which he did initially. But after that day, you would constantly seek him out, and with that, you wore a genuine smile and interest every time you talked to him. His walls crumbled into dust for you and only you. You were like a shooting star he wished for. His reputation grew because of you and, with that, his feelings for you sored. You became his way of life. In his teen years, he decided to become the best match for you– He would participate in every extracurricular activity the vault would provide to make him an unstoppable force of a man. The perfect golden boy was made..for you.

He had the “perfect body,” perfect sperm count, unmatched intelligence, and charisma—he perfected them (even if you were the only one he talked to for long periods)—strength, agility, endurance—all of it. He will be everything you need and more. With that, he made sure no one would vote you as overseer…

He was so soft on you that it would rival feathers. Do you need help lifting that? He's already there. Do you need help with your pre-war history? He’ll just sit you down and study with you for hours. Are you bleeding from an accidental cut? Don’t worry he just finished his first aid training. He already had a plan for you both for everything that would happen.

Everything

“I’m fine…” You grab both of his hands gently. “...Well, not fine, fine, but I'm not hurt.” You smile weakly up at him. “It’s okay. You and I will get through this,” He coos, pushing strands of your hair away from your face and behind your ear. His touch is warm and tender, yet the words you hear next aren’t.

“Fuck..I..I can’t do this I’m sorry.” A man, short in stature, starts backing away, gun in hand, clearly distressed. Your eyes move away from Charli’s to your fellow survivor; unknowingly to you, Charli rolls his eyes at the man's “dramatics.”  “We don’t deserve to leave...That thing called us a shiny example..f..f.fucked! Thats fucked! I..I can’t live with that!” Another man says, “Anyone would’ve done what we did.” A woman comments, “You ask me? That's exactly the problem. Now, let’s get on with this.”

“Wait,” you say, stunned, as if he had predicted this would happen. Charles moves his hands to cover your eyes. The short man is first, putting his gun on the roof of his mouth and pulling the trigger, not sparing any more time; the woman is next, the second gunshot. Then, with a sigh and short prayer, the last man repeats the action done by the others. Each lifeless body hits the floor one by one, and then there is silence.

What the hell.

You try to understand the situation, but your brain has yet to catch up…it’s all too much. Charli whispers calming phrases while he shields your eyes with one hand and rubs patterns along your back with the other. Tears start rolling down your face…and you sob. Hard. His hand moves to pet your hair, soothing you while you let it all out of your system.

He moves his body to shield you from the gruesome events that have just taken place; he moves both of his hands and cradles your face. You try looking behind him out of curiosity, but he stops you before you can.”Hey! Look at me with those gorgeous eyes,” He mummers, and of course, you comply. “There we go. You listen to me so well,” he whispers lovingly. “Here’s what we’re going to do. We’ll both go back to my vault room. I have enough supplies for the both of us to survive outside for a while, okay?” He asks you, and you nod, agreeing to whatever he says. 

“I need to hear you say it..” 

“…yes, of course, whatever you think is best.” He smiles at you, thumb caressing your cheek. “Keep your eyes on me, okay?” He takes your hand and leads you through the halls. It's quiet… you don't like it. Your eyes are trained on his back, Charli…he’s your lifebuoy in the angry sea, the only thing keeping you afloat; if it wasn’t for him…you might’ve met your end with the others. As if sensing your inner turmoil, he squeezes your hand, comforting you…and you squeeze back. Your world just fell apart, yet…it doesn’t seem entirely gone with Charli by your side. 

It's only a short time till you reach his vault. You’ve been here so many times it's basically your room by now. The tall blonde turns to look at you. “I’m going to let you go, just for a second, okay..? I just need to get the supplies.” He holds your one hand with both of his– you reply with a soft okay, and with your permission, he starts to move. He moves towards his small desk to grab a small, flat-headed screwdriver, walks to a particular spot, and pops the floor title beneath him, revealing a hidden compartment. It's filled with two modular military backpacks, filled to the bream with necessities for outside the vault.

He was prepared for all of this…

Then he starts talking about what he has in mind for the two of you, settling on the surface of living together and everything. Charles gets lost when talking to you; he can speak his mind about almost anything, and rambling is second nature with you. The hermit turned a social butterfly in your presence.

“You know that computer may have been our downfall, but god did bless me with more information than I could handle…good thing, huh, glad I went through all that code…Vault-tec tried to make it secure, but I found a way...We could go somewhere called New Vegas…” He keeps talking. 

But you stand there, still, as a statue, looking down at him as he gathers everything…What did he just say? 

You think back to the start when killing between the blocs started..he was right there, ready to protect you, when you and the other surviving tested out if the chamber would kill all of you…he almost seemed to be too assured nothing bad would happen to any of you, almost like…no…no. You’re overthinking, right? But the more you listen…

“You knew…” you shakingly exclaim out loud, cutting him off. “Hmm?” He looks up at you as he puts the tile back…” You knew we didn’t need sacrifices…you knew it would play out like this…” you say louder and more confidently. Those once-homey blue eyes become cold and distant… analyzing you.  

You both stare at each other.

You turn and run.

 But your efforts are in vain; you don’t even leave the room before two muscular arms wrap around behind you, overtaking you, holding your arms down around your waist, dragging you back. You scream and kick with no success. You end up with his arms around you while he sits down, his back against the wall, and you in front of him with his head in your neck while you let it all out. “When?” you croak out, “When we were fifteen, I didn’t want you to become overseer…I didn’t want you to die..so I wondered if it was the computer that sent signals to kill whoever was sent in that chamber and wondered if I could stop it from killing you specifically; that's when I found out .” He answers swiftly and truthfully, “Why didn’t you tell anyone?” You question, “I didn’t care, honestly, the only thing that matters is you…If everyone died in the process, it would be less work for me…I wanted it to be us from the beginning, anyway. I want you to need me as much as I need you…and now you finally do.”  

You feel weak and sick to your stomach… All your peers would’ve ended up dead either way. “I want to leave.” he hums, not mocking you but in acknowledgment. “And do what? You don’t know how to defend yourself; you have no supplies prepared, barely any survival instincts, and you don’t even know any information on the surface above. You can leave, but you’ll die…I can’t let that happen, sorry.” Charles buries himself more into you. 

“I hate you,” You whisper.

“That’s okay…all that matters is that you're here…with me and only me… I’ll keep you safe and sound.”

N: This was a long one, whew! I had to think about how I could make a Yandere fic with Fallout, and I had tons of concepts, but this one stood out the most. I hope my execution was good enough....Anyway, my next fic will most likely be a jealous fic about my Yandere lord, so stay tuned! Till then! see you soon my little guppies (´꒳`)♡ extra note: Throughout writing this, I thought "My Way of Life by Frank Sinatra" would fit Charli perfectly.

[do-it-uncomfterbl]

Evaluating Which Details Pose Continuity Issues (yeah, it’s long, sorry)

I’m being relentlessly annoyed by (some) people mad at the show and by (some) people mad at people mad at the show, so let’s clear up where the issues are and aren’t so we’re not just talking over each other here.

Destroying the Strip

Obviously not a retcon. Retcons refer to previously-established events. Some people might have their own problems with it (I definitely saw it cited as evidence of a coordinated attack on New Vegas), but it presents no continuity problems.

2. What exactly is a vial?

I don’t think this changed ghoul lore. They can still go 200+ years without turning, or they can start turning as soon as they get ghoulified. There’s just a new plot element where they can stave off the effects of going feral for awhile if they take this mysterious drug - without the drug, the rules are still the same. The story was NOT clear on this, and it confused me, but if ghouls need drugs to stay sane, Oswald, Dean, Billy, etc. could not exist even if there’s a massive industry in vials of goop that’s never been mentioned before.

3. It took Vault-Tec decades to build all the vaults.

This is something I worried about because there couldn’t have been much time between the boardroom scene and the bombs falling (Janey doesn't age). But I think it makes sense if you assume the vaults were already built and they filled them with experiments afterward. It does leave the problem that some vaults were unfinished but Vault-Tec also dropped the bombs - why would they do that before finishing their vaults? It’s possible that they planned to drop them but got beat to the punch, or any number of other explanations. Clear retcon but not a huge plot hole.

4. House is worse than Caesar all of a sudden?

This one’s a private gripe of mine because House and Sinclair were not originally written to be Actual Sadists Who Hate Humanity. There’s also House’s mastermind prepper attitude toward the apocalypse, which doesn’t indicate that he had a hand in orchestrating it. While the change doesn’t conflict with the text as far as I know, it really changes the flavor of the game, but not as much as:

5. The Fall of Shady Sands

Let’s say that this happened after the first battle of Hoover Dam, so no continuity issues with their ability to win that. (That’s probably why they set it in 2277, so the NCR would have almost four years to recover before NV. As if Caesar wouldn’t have taken half of their land by then, even with his armies crushed, but ok fine he’s going through a divorce, he’s busy right now.)

But are you telling me that a country can lose a massive city containing much of its infrastructure, most of its central government, and ~5% of its population and still be trying to manifest destiny four years later with no mention of it?

Losing the Divide as a travel route almost crippled the NCR in the Mojave for awhile. Now, not only have they lost the Divide and their capital city, but one of their other biggest cities, the Boneyard, is abandoned and inhabited by an apparently-unaffiliated town. (Yeah, Los Angeles is big, but we don’t see any NCR or Followers despite three main characters traveling through it.) Even if there were still people there during New Vegas, how is the NCR still conducting a campaign in the east?

Also, who is Muldover and what’s her position? Why does she have raiders at her disposal? Is that really supposed to be what remains of the government? I get that some of this will be resolved later, but short of complete societal collapse, there’s no explanation.

We don’t see any of this in New Vegas. The president (who was in office in 2277) is still alive. No one mentions losing family in the explosion. Caesar, Ulysses, and House, along with the many other characters who complain about the NCR’s weakness and instability, don’t bring it up. People even mention the politicians in Shady Sands specifically. PEOPLE ARE MAKING JOKES ABOUT WANTING A NUCLEAR WINTER-

Now there’s a saving interpretation going around that “the fall of Shady Sands - 2277” refers to a metaphorical fall, and the explosion was later. I’ll accept this if I have to, but don’t pretend it’s not a strained reading. Every entry on the board is dated. Why would you date an amorphous event and not date the city exploding?

The explosion was nineteen years ago, and it had to be that early because Lucy and Norm don’t remember living there. (Not clear how old they are but probably in their early-mid 20’s.) The earliest you could place the event without it making no sense is late 2282, because with the time skips in DLC, the events of New Vegas are about a year long. Maybe you could put a gap between Lucy returning to the vault and the actual destruction, but not a five-year one. And if it was in 2282, Max would still be a teenager.

There are legitimate concerns here. Between House and the NCR, the show changes a lot about the main conflict of New Vegas. It’s not just side details.

Not telling you how to feel! Just don’t pretend nothing poses any problems and people are crazy for being concerned. I think the vibe right now is to dismiss me as a hater, but I hope you can see I’ve tried to make it all work. Continuity is really important in a multi-decade story, especially to writers.

I will be appeased by a respectful and thought-out New Vegas remake that preserves as much of the original continuity as possible and is also really good and costs $4. Thanks in advance Bethesda.

Edit:

6. Tatoes in the vaults

TATOES IN THE VAULTSSSS? THIS IS MASSIVE DISRESPECT TO THE LORE. EVERYTHING WE KNOW IS DESTROYED. UNFORGIVABLE.

(but yeah there shouldn’t be tatoes in a vault that hasn’t opened)(maybe norm and lucy had seeds in their pockets when they came back, sure)

[seraphirism]

Hello, 🐈‍⬛anon is here!!

Sadly, I don't have really an opportunity and mental strength to give akuneko enough time, work's taking a lot from me☹️I still didn't even read the Butler's Wedding Party, I'm so far from the fresh events, gosh... I guess I'll have to force myself to catch up otherwise I'm scared that I won't be able to do so and the game will be closed by the time I'll have enough time (sorry for the dark thought I just was scarred by how Senjuushi was closed TWICE and I didn't had enough time to at least read the main story😭)

Anyway, I'm really hyped up for the Sanrio Collab Halloween!! Very interested to know what happened that sanrio pookies suddenly came to the world of our butler pookies (is it bc the third ultimate bbgirl of this title Bellen woke up?/j)

hii, 🐈‍⬛–anon (*^▽^*)!! hope you’ve been doing well!

I totally get it. since the summer event (the cruise one) i haven’t been too active as well 😭 i just login from at least once in two-days so i can collect enough gems (the ones needed to unlock memories of the butlers in the album).

and I’d say many of the events are filler content with lore dropped in small bits. they’re not extremely connected so you wouldn’t be missing out on much if you read the recent events for now and leave the previous ones.

god, don’t scare me, 🐈‍⬛–anon 😱 aknk won’t end it’s services ✨ it’s doing very well (like its always on top 15 or above in rankings) so it should be very unlikely (devs, please don’t think about it 🙏)

you played senjyushi too?! I played it as well \(//∇//)\, not the older one but the Rhodoknight one that ended its services this year. it put me in such a slump when it ended its services. i knew it wasn’t doing the best (it was literally 31 in ranking 😭) but god i loved it too much.

i started playing it a month after the new game launched. what got me into it was Snider 😔💖

I have gotten obsessed with fictional characters from time to time (quite a few i can name) but very few can hold a candle to how i liked Snider ✨ (i read his entire affection story from the older game and my obsession became deeper.)

i literally had every single card of his besides his Halloween card (the purple themed one) + his first anniversary card. i didn’t spent a dime on the game but I grinded hard enough to have all his cards, unlock all event stories of his + anything with him. plus, of course besides Snider, i loved UK’s faction, Kathariste and France’s faction a lot 💞!

I didn’t get to read the last few updates of the main story either 😭 i read till the introduction of the third part of the main story right before the bomb dropped for Like-two—and then they announced EOS and it made me so depressed. Senjyushi R was the reason i tried to learn japanese—it was my favourite game. before senjyushi, afterl!fe had also ended its services so senjyushi was another blow to me.

but I’m glad it’s getting a switch release! better something than nothing! as much as i regret the fact that the story will end and i won’t ever get see Mark, Like-two, Jitte, George, Snider, Enfield and so many more characters again with new content again, I’ll have to satiate myself with what i have 😔

i literally started akuneko because i didn’t have another game to obsess over after senjyushi. i also left akuneko two years ago because i wasn’t able to focus on senjyushi with akuneko 😭 it’s my rebound partner.

back to akuneko, I’m excited as well for the collab! I’ll read the event story in the weekend if i can make time. silent hill 2 remake was released too so I also want to play that (or at least watch the play through 🌫️)

you know, you’ve stated the best reason for sanrio pookies coming into the aknk world—it’s the awakening of the ultimate baby-girl, Bellen. I’m not accepting the reason the writers will choose in the event story—the actual reason in my heart will always be the awakening of Bellen 💞

[textingtroublesanswers]

[Lore attachment: The concept of ghosts in tf2 always confused me. You can go to heaven or hell but also the Mann brothers ended up as ghosts (and eventually tried to drag the other to hell in a previous halloween map) and there were ghosts with rocket launchers in the halloween maps. My theory is that it's like usual ghost rules where theres unfinished business that needs to be done, meaning someone else can conplete that business to let their souls be free to go to heaven or hell.]

To all of the mercs, if a bomb were to drop on all of you while everyone was in the base, destroying all your possessions (which will remove the "unfinished business is an object" unless they didn't bring it to the base.) as well as destroying the respawn machine, rendering all of you true and permanent deaths, where would you all end up? Would you go to heaven? Hell? Or would you haunt the living?

(Have fun with this one! You can even mix it up a bit with other people being in the base with them as it happens! Like the babies, Zhanna, Miss Pauling etc. etc. This is all hypothetical so maybe even the characters themselves would bring it up! This is why its a bomb and not just that every merc dies.)

-🤡 (made this in french colors for fun hehe)

Before you're even done talking, Ludwig is already gone from the room. No one knows where he went, no one even noticed him leave, not even Misha. He is just gone, & everyone realises this very quickly.

"Do you think doc left an experiment on the bunsen burner again?" Tavish asks while scratching his beard. He & Mikhail were the first to notice Ludwig's absence, & Tavish was the one to bring it up to the others.

"He usually doesn't leave them on when we get questions," Dell says, scratching under his helmet. He's just as confused as the rest of the team, "But, going back to the question, I'd hope I'd go to heaven, although I'd probably end up as a ghost. I have a lot of blueprints to work on, & I'd hate to leave them all unfinished, even if I never get the chance to build them."

Jeremy shrugs, "Eh, doc's weird. He's never really been on board with the whole heaven & hell thing. See, one time Bug & me were talking to him, & he says that he grew up Christian, right, but his family was actually Jewish, so he grew up with a weird mix of ideas, but then as a young adult he stopped believing in god cause what sorts god would force him to live through all the bullshit he lived through." The rest of the mercs stare at him for a moment, wearing matching looks of confusion.

"Vati said that?" Bug squeaks.

"Yeah, when he was drunk. All three of us were, but you the most, so you don't remember it."

"Oooh, right."

"Anyway," Jeremy continues, "I'm going to heaven, duh. I'm god's gift to humanity after all."

Mick is shaking his head, draping an arm around Jeremy's shoulders, "I'm not getting into all that with doc's past, if he knew you knew he'd probably dismember you. But, I know for a fact that I'm going to heaven." There is a chorus of mumbles from the other mercs, ranging from Mikhail & Tavish saying they'd hope they get to heaven, to Jane claiming he is immortal & could never die, to Bug saying she'd prefer hell because of all the fire.

"You've been rather quiet, French toast." Dell says, coming over to Jacques.

Jacques takes out a cigarette, & looks down at Dell, "With all of my sins, I thought it was obvious I was going to hell. However, I can't shake the thought that Ludwig is not telling us something."

Dell wraps his arms around Jacques, standing on his tip toes to lean up for a kiss, "Ah, when is doc not, not telling us something? You know how sensitive Lu is about his past, he hasn't had an easy life."

"No, but this is different, labourer, I'm telling you. That man cannot be stealthy to save his life, & yet no one noticed him leaving," Jacques sighs, "He is hiding something from us, & I simply hope it's nothing bad."

Dell smiles sadly, "He hides a lot of stuff from us, Spah. A lot of stuff, trust me."

[jamisonwritestf2trash]

minific :) hope u like it!! it doesnt have much of canon lore applied, and its Mann Vs Machine. Spy bein a dad when its far too late :(

----

The team had been split up when the robots attacked, and Scout and Sniper had gotten stuck together. Not that it was any issue for Scout, though. He figured the Australian wouldn't mind sticking with him for a little while, and so far, he hasn't left. But it's too quiet, even for someone like Sniper, the least talkative member on the team.

"Hey, you think the others are alright?" Scout looks at the marksman.

"Why wouldn't they be? They've better aim when close up than I ever bloody will." Sniper glances at Scout before returning his gaze to the hallway ahead of them. Broken robots lay littered about.

"Someone was here." Sniper frowns. "They must not be far."

"No shit, Sherlock-- is that blood?" Scout frowns, the red stain on the floor catching his attention.

"Yeah. Trail o' it, too..." Sniper frowns. "You follow it. I'll make sure there's no more of the bloody boltheads comin' down the halls."

"Gotcha." Scout quickly begins to follow the trail until he reaches the end of the hallway, where the rough smell of cigarette smoke fills the air.

"Ah. It's you." The voice of Spy says from the dark, and Scout flicks the lights on. Whatever he had been expecting, it wasn't... this.

Spy's injured badly. There's blood staining his suit in multiple areas, and what appears to be a gunshot wound to his upper body seems to be the main cause.

"Holy crap...!" Scout quickly snaps out of the trance he was in, and opens the duffel bag slung over his shoulder. He digs through it, pulling out bandages. Of course he'd forgotten the medkits. Fan-fucking-tastic.

"Scout, I am no doctor, but I don't think a simple band aid is going to heal a bullet wound." Spy glares at the runner.

"I'm tryna help you, man! Cut me some slack." Scout scowls, and Spy just sighs.

"Scout. Just... stop. I'm not making it out of this room alive. My leg is broken and I've been shot four times. It's a miracle I'm not already dead." Spy pushes the bandages away, fllicking his burned-out cigarette away with his other hand.

"Well... that's just morbid. I can use comms to get Snipes to find Doc?" Scout reaches for his headpiece, but Spy shakes his head.

"I want you to listen to me, boy. I don't want to be saved. I've accepted that I'm not going to make it out of here. It's better this way."

"Spy--"

"Shut up!" Spy raises his voice to a yell, before letting out a pained sigh, propping himself higher up against the wall. "Just... listen to what I have to say, Jeremy."

Scout's eyes widen slightly. He isn't wearing his dog tags, there's no way Spy could've known.

"How--"

"This will... sound familiar, I hope. I hate repeating myself." Spy lights a second cigarette. Hesitating. "27 years ago, I met a beautiful woman. She was everything I could've wished for... and we were happy together. As Tom Jones would say, I... dropped a 'sex bomb' on her. I was young then, and I ran from the explosion."

It all sounds so familiar. Had Scout heard this before? Where? When...? He can remember someone saying this to him...

Holy. Crap.

"You... You were the Tom Jones that I saw." Scout whispers. Spy just nods.

"I... It is one of my many regrets, leaving you and your mother behind. I was a coward. I suppose I still am, since it would seem I can only admit to this on the edge of death." Speaking is getting more difficult for Spy, and Scout can tell, hesitating before lowering his headpiece.

"Snipes. Find Doc. Hurry."

"Mate-? Wha--" The Australian's cut off as Scout tosses the headpiece aside, and Scout kneels at Spy's side.

"You're my dad. I-- I can't let you just... die here! There's... so much lost time to be made up." Scout starts unravelling the bandage. Maybe it's the shock stopping him from feeling the pain in his leg from a loose nail digging into his knee, maybe it's the sudden adrenaline rush. Doesn't matter. Spy needs to make it out of this alive.

"Jeremy." Spy's voice is calm, with the slightest hint of pain in it. Scout looks up at Spy, who takes his mask off.

He looks just like how Scout's ma had always described him, just... older, with streaks of grey in his styled-back hair and dark circles under his eyes that Scout had never noticed before. But they share the same blue eyes.

"I am proud to see the man you've become. You've made good friends. Your mother did amazing raising you." Spy pulls a photo from his suit pocket, holding it out to Scout. "Here. I kept this when I left. I always have it with me."

It's a photo of 2 year old Scout, with his mother and Spy sitting beside him, watching him open his christmas present: A baseball bat.

Scout looks back at Spy, his vision blurry. Spy smiles at him, whispering something in French that Scout can't understand, and Scout can see the life leave Spy's eyes.

"Dad?" Scout's voice is small, his eyes wide, staring at Spy's motionless body. He tentatively reaches over and shakes Spy's shoulder, but the Frenchman doesn't respond. He's dead. Forcing back a sob, he pulls the corpse into a hug as the sound of footsteps behind him come closer and closer.

Scout never got the chance to learn his father's name.

I AM SOBBING

THIS IS SO GOOD, I LOVE THIS! THIS IS JUST OUGH.

The angst got to me. I'm not gonna lie. This is so amazing, Anon. If you ever start writing these on your blog (or if you already do), please let me know because I will be your number one fan, I swear 💪

Thank you for sending this in. It is very much appreciated. Keep up the good work. You're an amazing writer, and I literally can't compliment you enough!!!

[arkanis-englishupdates]

SUMMARY OF ALL ARKANIS POVS

DAY 101 & DAY 102 & DAY 103 — 13/12/2024 & 14/12/2024 & 15/12/2024

DAY 101 — 13/12/2024

The day in Valigma starts calmly with the announcement of a Secret Santa!

While some specialists were talking or busy making gifts for Secret Santa, Bia Raux appears and takes everyone to a location for the group to receive a new mission:

Find 4 hidden books in 5 minutes.

Even though Choke couldn't find the book he needed, Bia gave her more time out of pity. They get all the books and return to town.

As they are very large books, I will summarize them for you:

[As I haven't found all the book pages yet (and I'm still summarizing the other DAY 98 books), tomorrow I'll edit all the recent summaries to update the information!]

While this is happening, Bagatt/Bagi is teleported by a black beam of light and meets a mysterious and strange-looking entity, being a floating eye with countless wings around it. The entity is nothing more than CHAOS.

They talk about the time for Bagi's "Passage" and she asks the Entity just so Matt can survive. Bagi then allows herself to be completely consumed by CHAOS, departing from Matt and becoming one with the creature.

Broken memories of a person already at rock bottom, now impossible to save even though, deep down, she just wants to live without pain.

Bagi canonically dies in all realities permanently. Streamer Bagi confirmed the canonical death.

[Streamer Bagi, in her live, revealed that CAOS is a personification/allegory of depression, a silent and terrible disease that takes entire lives every day. If this topic has generated discomfort or resonated personally, know that there are emotional support resources available.

Talking about how you feel is an act of strength. You are not alone. ]

CAOS, or rather, CAOSgi goes to the city to talk to the specialists who were gathered at Bira's Bar. They talk to the new Entity about Matt and Bagi, before CAOSgi begins dropping bombs on Valigma, intending to destroy and spread chaos throughout the city.

Everyone tries to stop CAOSgi, but ends up being unsuccessful.

NickLink and Gabepeixe try to confront CAOSgi, hoping to find a way to save Bagi, but they are unsuccessful.

CAOSgi's bombings leave the city in ruins, with only a few houses having survived. The Bia Raux temple/library, the Alice Memorial, the Entertainment District, the Sumaúma Tree, the Gabepeixe Atomic Tower, among many other buildings were decimated (JVNQ fortunately managed to save Bira's Bar from the attack).

DAY 102 & DAY 103 — 14/12/2024 & 15/12/2024

On both days nothing very relevant to the lore happens. Calm weekend days.

If something happened that I didn't say here, please put it in the comments and I will edit it!

[Remembering that this is a general summary and some events may, unintentionally, be left aside. Don't hate streamers and be polite when criticizing characters.]

[oddygaul]

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2

So did y’all know this game is developed by a Russian team based out of St. Petersburg, meaning part of the money you buy it with will be going straight toward bombing Ukrainians every day?

As a big 40k lore guy and character action fan, I’ve been incredibly excited for this game to drop. Just this weekend, a friend and I were discussing it, and it came up how interesting it is that this 13-year late sequel is developed by a totally different team than the original. While I’m familiar with Relic, the developer of 2011’s Space Marine, I’d never heard of Saber Interactive – so I decided to give them a cursory look before buying the game.

And unfortunately, despite some seeming attempts at a smokescreen, I’m pretty sure this team is fully operating out of russia, meaning a significant amount of any purchase is going straight to the russian war machine.

So, Saber unambiguously was founded by 3 russians in St. Petersburg in 2001. Starting in 2016, they’ve opened some subsidiary studios outside of russia; the St. Petersburg studio, though, has always remained the largest of their teams. They were then acquired by Embracer Group in 2020. However, earlier this year Embracer fully divested in Saber, due partly to Embracer's financial woes, and due partly to a desire to cut ties with russian businesses. Saber was sold to a company called Beacon Interactive, and both Beacon and Saber are now listed as being headquartered in Florida. Ostensibly, this makes it sound like neither Embracer nor Saber are operating in russia anymore, and anyone can play their games worry-free.

However, Beacon is a company that was established in 2024 by Matthew Karch (one of Saber’s founders), so Saber was essentially sold back to its original russian owners. The headlines all proudly proclaim that Embracer has ceased business operations in russia by divesting in Saber. The unspoken, quiet implication of these articles, though, knowing what we know about Beacon, is that Saber itself never left russia, and seemingly is continuing to unapologetically contribute to the war economy with no intention of leaving.

When researching this, I came across some claims that Saber opened a new location in Armenia and moved all their russian and Belarusian devs out-of-country, so as to not financially support the war. While it is true that Saber opened a new studio in Yerevan, Armenia in 2023, I could not find any source or press release backing up any of the claims about the devs having moved, or about the St. Petersburg office closing – and in fact, the receipts pretty damningly seem to show otherwise.

While their English language website doesn’t specify any of their office locations and innocently describes the company as ‘a worldwide publisher and developer consisting of 13 studios in the Americas and Europe’, their russian website’s About Us section proudly lists the street address of their St. Petersburg office, and notes that as of 2022, over 700 people work there.

Their LinkedIn page corroborates this, with their ‘People’ section showing over 900 employees currently located in russia, with just over 100 in Armenia:

While this certainly shines light on Saber’s makeup, there would still be the question of which team made Space Marine 2; fortunately, we have the credits to inform us. The credits start off with about 9 full minutes of russians before you come across the section listing the Armenian team, which consists of 8 people:

So, point is: while I can’t claim to know the exact makeup and tax situation of Saber, it is clear that the company is still largely operating out of russia, with its American headquarters quite possibly just a front to avoid direct sanctions. As it is currently estimated that nearly 50% of russia’s current government spending is going towards their imperialist invasion of Ukraine, no matter how you slice it, this means any purchase of Space Marine 2 is contributing to the russian war economy, and the ongoing murder and cultural erasure of the Ukrainian people. (If you search a bit, you can also find some screenshots of current Saber devs straight-up tweeting their support for the war, but I’m not getting that in-the-weeds here) I was initially shocked at how little I see this being discussed - there’s just about no major reporting on Saber's location, and seemingly no online discourse about it, at least in the English-speaking spaces I frequent. But I get why: it seems to be a very intentional move on Saber’s part to not mention their studio’s affiliation. Looking at misdirection like them unabashedly sharing the address of their St. Petersburg office on the russian site while conveniently avoiding the topic in the English version, it seems pretty clear to me that they’re attempting to hide this fact from Western buyers, and it seems to be working pretty damn well. So whoever ends up reading this: please do not buy this game. I know Ukraine’s plight has fallen out of the public consciousness, but the war is still ongoing, and people are still dying every day. Every morning still brings brings news of another family lost to a russian strike on civilians, of another hospital being bombed, of a new ‘largest strike ever’.

russia’s strategy since the beginning of the war has been to outlast Western support for Ukraine: their idea is that all they have to do is fight a war of attrition until our news cycles have turned over so many times we forget what’s going on. And sure, a lot of these decisions for supporting Ukraine are made on a governmental level – but as an individual, you have a choice not to buy russian goods. Every purchase you make from a russian company, whether it be games, music, or ad revenue on a stream, goes towards taxes, goes towards keeping the russian wartime economy afloat, while they devote all of their production towards their genocidal aims. You don’t have to buy these things – you have a choice not to.

Look, believe me, I was fucking stoked for this game. I own damn near every Dan Abnett book, and the army I played back in the day was Tyranids - I was so thrilled they were finally getting a big-budget appearance, and I’ve been looking forward to Space Marine 2 for months.

But russians bomb my partner’s family & friends every day, and the idea of intentionally paying even one cent towards the glide bombs, cruise missiles and drones that have been killing Ukrainians indiscriminately for over two years is unacceptable to me.

[johanna-masons-wife]

Fic request for Gale Hawthorne. Can be on the shorter side. Exposing the aftermath on his mental health after experiencing and witnessing a near genocide. Maybe he gets triggered by some sort of accidental kitchen flame and, much like Katniss, has found his own closet he runs to. This one’s got a vent where air blows through and it calms him.

Hi! Sorry this took so long. At first I was a bit iffy about writing for Gale because I personally know so little about him, but I got a little more confident in my ideas, so here we are. Sorry in advance about any grammar mistakes, or general mistakes in lore.

Contains spoilers, and slight mentions of death.

જ⁀➴

Things were calmer in district two. The war had ended, and the presidents were dead.

Gale trudged through ‘2. The cold, crisp air bit at his skin and ruffled the strands of his short, dark hair.

He did regret walking out on Katniss and leaving her after everything had ended, yes, but he knew that was the best decision for both of them. Katniss had suspected that he had been the direct cause of Prim’s death, when in reality, he wasn’t sure whose bomb it was, or under whose order it was dropped.

Since then, the slightest things had set him off. Simply walking past a sewer drain reminded him of everyone they had lost attempting to sneak into Snow’s mansion. However, the worst of it came around fire. He was brought back to the bombing of '12, and how he felt so useless when he couldn’t get everyone to safety. Cressida’s words of reassurance rang in his head, 'You saved so many people, Gale. Without you there’d be no District Twelve, not even the memory of it.' But that’s not how he saw it. He saw it as he head done the bare minimum, and he could’ve done so much better. And with Prim…had the bombs not been dropped, or not dropped so soon, the girl would still be here, with her mother and sister.

So you can imagine what happened when he zoned out while cooking breakfast, and it set on fire.

He watched the flames for a moment, wide-eyed as he backed away in panic. Everything came flooding back, and found himself backed into a closet, leaning against the hard, cold wooden walls. The vent above him blew out a rush of cold hair, ruffling his hair as he sat under it. He let out a breath. It was just a small flame, and everything was okay.

The war was over, Snow was dead. He didn’t have to worry anymore. He sat in the closet for a few more moments, before opening the door and walking over to assess the flames.

Sorry about any mistakes, or if it just doesn’t make sense in general. I’m writing this at 3 AM, almost 4, so forgive me. (+ I haven’t wrote anything in months)

[clonerightsagenda]

His Dark Materials season 3 continues!

These were slightly less grueling although part of it might be that I had a task to work on while watching. I still get the sense that they dragged out every beat with a bunch of additional conversations whenever they could. Maybe that would be more welcome if I was watching this week by week as they were released rather than in a row.

Episode 5:

Oh thank god the mulefa do have their seedpod wheels, just not all the time.

I bet Mary wishes her degree was in botany, zoology, or anthropology, not theoretical physics.

We really speedrun the mulefa plotline in this. I wonder if it's difficult for show only people to follow? I naturally can fill in the gaps without thinking about it too much. The take that Eden is a savanna filled with rollerskating elephants remains bold.

They put Mrs. Coulter back into skirts... the monsters. Mrs. Coulter x pants is the real flagship of this tv show.

Will misgendered his daemon but then immediately switched to "her" when he talked about her being with Pan. Maybe the reminder that Pan is male tipped him off.

Going to the land of the dead and saying 'do you guys want to like. leave' remains a power move. Love a good harrowing of hell/afterlife breakout. The walls being piles of cast off objects from the living world is an interesting addition.

Roger: I've changed. My mom: I got a lot older. Me: It turns out if you die you can still go through puberty. It's part of our torture.

They cut the liar/Lyra bit with the harpies which is a shame. I guess they sort of used it earlier with the guard in the entry area of the land of the dead calling her a liar. Still all the harpies stuff is kind of out of order, with Gracious Wings saving her before they made their deal. Also instead of human heads the harpies look like they are part turtle.

Will and Lyra: languishing in hell Mary: hot girl summer

They sure dragged the bomb thing out. Honestly I don't hate it missing Lyra because the target locked too early, considering 'a ghost magically knows about the bomb and they defeat quantum entanglement by giving her a haircut' was kind of an ass pull. I also don't necessarily hate the rift being the angels retaliating, since it makes Metatron a more major player before his defeat and it makes the increasing loss of Dust a more direct part of the 'battle'. It does sort of undercut so much of the damage to the worlds being humans fucking shit up in the name of the Authority though. The angels in the book really don't do much, and I think that's by design. Also talking to you, Good Omens showrunners.

Episode 6:

Nooooooo not more voiceovers

Ruta lampshades it in the books but really how did Lord Asriel build his massive compound with foundries in like 2 months after crossing universes with nothing but the clothes on his back.

Asriel seeing a giant rift rip open between worlds: clearly this is about me

Mrs. Coulter: Our daughter is dead. Asriel: *read 4:16 pm*

Mrs. Coulter is like what they say about converts being the biggest zealots except she's converted to parenthood

Sergei got sucked into the rift? Ok so they racebent Ruta, made her clash with Serafina as the more violent/impulsive one, gave her the tension with Mrs. Coulter, and then killed her off even though she doesn't die (at least onscreen) in the books. Not a good look, guys!

Adding some Roger/Will active jealousy rather than Roger just sadly observing how close he and Lyra are now while Lyra doesn't even realize it. Suppose that's harder to do in video. But Will are you really gonna beef with a dead kid. Let him have this

Asriel and Iorek talking is show!original but I'll let it slide because it was satisfying to see someone finally hit Asriel

Will's dad finally (vaguely) drops the lore about the wrong world killing you, even if he didn't make it sound fatal in the same way. You guys couldn't have even had him dramatically coughing up a little blood in the last season? That's a classic

IDK why Will's dad got to explain what happens to ghosts while Lyra keeps saying she doesn't know. Babe you have the alethiometer

They didn't have Lee and Will's dad stick around to be a gay ghost warrior duo! I'm genuinely surprised considering how they went out of their way otherwise to give LMM more scenes.

Mrs. Coulter heart to heart with the golden monkey. Golden monkey sympathy arc has been THE most surprising adaptation change tbh. Not even joking about this

[99griffon]

hey! i want LORE on your hippie ghouls (really loved their designs, they're so different and recognisable). are they some kind of a community? and what are relationships between them?

Totally! There are some more ghouls, humans, and mutants to come in the future, as well! Judt gotta do some more design work haha

I've also been planning to post lore, I just wanted to get some drawings to post with them for ✨️ flavor ✨️, but since you asked, I can share some!

Warning: this will be very rambly and I'm doing it on mobile at 1 am 🤡

The community they're from has existed since years before the war, starting as a hippie house by Lake Arcadia on Route 66 (I wanted to use some landmarks, again, for ✨️ flavor ✨️. Such as Pops, even though it was built after the 50-70's, it's got such a vibe. Info on how the bombs affected the state will come later on with different lore posts. This will include wildlife, weather patterns, factions/gangs etc...)

Most of the ghouls in the house, which name keeps changing every couple minutes because I can't settle on one... for now let's just call it Rainbow Garden because I Do Not Know. Lmao. The house was settled in by Jolene and Kenny who are de facto leaders of the community, though Jolene takes charge mostly. Even before the bombs dropped, Jolene was organizing protests and planning events, always ready to protect her family from cops and 'vigilantes' that might want to harm them. She's the kind to "be kind and love others but take no bullshit". Kenny is more laid back in comparison. The two are partners, though there will be more on them and their relationship later.

Folks that lived at the house prior to the bombs included them, a yet-to-be-seen ghoul named Gray Swan and her family, Russ, and (technically) Dezi. Dezi had been away for a couple years for a protest when the bombs dropped. They're a very lucky person is what I'll tell ya, now 💀. She made it back to the house, thankfully. Betty also lived there in a van she had parked in the house's driveway. She ran out of gas while visiting and just stayed. (I have more ghouls to design who did not live in the house, and any ghoul or person is also welcome to move in lol!)

Now (in latest game time, I suppose), humans have moved in, as has a super mutant named Melon and his son. Melon and his son ARE designed, but I gotta design the humans. I have so many characters to design for this and other projects fr lmao

In brief:

Jolene is a tough yet kind leader. She is open to change and open to anyone who has a good heart. She is vain and cares about her appearance-- and her wigs-- just about as much as she does her family.

Kenny is a laid-back fella. He lets Jolene take the lead and is perfectly comfortable in it. He is a very unqualified doctor, but has learned a lot in his years of patching folks up after protests. He will fight for what he's passionate about.

Dezi is a bit of a nut, in the best way. They're insanely passionate, if you can't tell by them leaving for YEARS to engage in a very crazy protest (loosely based off real events). They were devastated after the bombs dropped and, despite higher education, seems to having a growing interest in science.

Russ is a bit of a loner, doesn't talk to folks too much, but is a very bright artist who makes gifts for those he cares about. He always liked to give back to the community and, now that there isn't much left, occasionally leaves the house to do graffiti in nearby towns.

Betty was hit hard by radiation, and her glowing nature pushes her to being very careful ever since humans have moved into their community. It's hard for her, as she was a very bubbly young lady. She, like many in the community, were devastated by the change in her voice. Singing was one of her favorite things, after all.

[zaph1337]

Monster Hunter Rating 52: Shakalaka

When I talked about the Felynes, I noted that they--and other Lynians--were people with many cultures and customs. I also said that there were two kinds of Lynian: cat-like or ape-like. With our foray into the Second Generation, we can finally talk about the latter--specifically, the Shakalaka tribe!

(How they appear in the Second Generation)

(Kayanba and Cha-Cha, two notable members of the tribe from Monster Hunter Tri)

Appearance: Most Shakalaka wear next to no clothing, sticking to a mask and loincloth--the latter seems kinda pointless when Felynes can walk around butt-naked, but who am I to judge (I say as I write a review)? The Shakalaka you encounter out in the field seem to stick to a mask that looks like it’s made from a gourd, but it’s probably wooden. Given their propensity for masks, one wonders what they look like underneath.

Perhaps one should have stuck to wondering.

Behavior/Lore: Shakalaka live in large tribes ruled over by kings, and thanks to their intelligence, these tribes can survive in many different environments. Interestingly, while Shakalaka are described as “highly social” (on their wiki page, at least), the ones you encounter on hunts are immediately hostile towards you, so I guess they reserve courtesy for other members of their tribe or maybe even the species as a whole. That being said, some Shakalaka are friendly enough to live in human settlements, though the only examples I know of are literal children, so I can’t say if the adults are as amicable. I can say that Shakalaka likely have their own language, as the Shakalaka you can talk to seem to have a limited understanding of English (considering they can speak it at all at their young age, though, I’m impressed).

Two Shakalaka named Cha-Cha and Kayamba serve as Monster Hunter Tri’s version of Palicoes, and their own story within the game teaches us more about the Shakalaka; for young Shakalaka to be considered adults, they must leave the tribe until they can bring back a treasure of some sort, such as a rare monster material or, in Cha-Cha and Kayamba’s case, a legendary Shakalaka mask. How many of these masks exist is likely unknown, but masks in general are very important to the Shakalaka, to the point where being seen without one on is considered shameful. I guess they don’t like having bamboo shoots for heads (not that I can really blame them).

We don’t see the Shakalaka very often in the series, so we’re not told a lot about them, and I’m not gonna suffer through Tri to learn more from Cha-Cha ‘cause screw that. There are some interesting tidbits--their coming-of-age ritual and their maskless taboo--but unless the Shakalaka appear again in a game with more fleshed-out worldbuilding, I don’t think we’re gonna get much more.

Abilities: Shakalaka won’t always fight directly, instead relying on camouflaging themselves as things in their immediate environment, such as mushrooms. Unfortunately for them, these disguises aren’t exactly subtle, so a Hunter familiar with these tricks will have no trouble avoiding an ambush. That doesn’t mean they’re helpless in a straight-up fight, however; Shakalaka are nimble fighters that rely on overwhelming their enemies with fast attacks (even if said attacks can be clumsy) and status conditions--specifically, Sleep Bombs and poison-laced blades. For more direct damage, they can use Bounce Bombs, which launch themselves forward a short distance before exploding on contact with monsters or terrain.

But the Shakalaka have one more trick up their non-existent sleeves--one which takes advantage of the most primal instinct any gamer has: the urge to grab shiny collectibles. When a monster is struck, they’ll sometimes drop a material that appears as a large sparkle on the ground that appeals to the crow in us all, enticing us to drop what we’re doing and focus on grabbing the shiny before it potentially disappears (or at least, that’s how I play Monster Hunter). It seems the Shakalaka have picked up on this, and will occasionally drop bombs that take the form of “shinies” to trick poor, unsuspecting Hunters into getting themselves blown up by what should have been lovely goodies! Such abuse of what is assuredly human nature should be illegal!

I mean, it’s illegal anywhere where blowing people up is outlawed, so...hm.

It’s clear that Shakalaka recognize that they can’t rely on power to win fights, and this is adapted perfectly into their moves, which utilize their speed and intelligence to wear strong opponents down. Their abilities make the Shakalaka’s survival in a world where they’re so outmatched actually feasible, and I think that’s neat.

Equipment: Since King Shakalaka exist and they share parts with the normies, it was difficult to find weapons for this, and one of the weapons I want to show today doesn’t have any information about its materials. Not like it makes any difference to y’all, though, so I’ll stop wasting time and start with the Sword and Shield called Shaka Poison Bite:

As you can see, not only is the shield based off the Shakalaka’s helmet, the sword is also the same one they use. This may not seem special, but the only other time when we’ve been able to use a monster’s own weapons was with the other Lynians (granted, that’s because non-sapient monsters don’t really use traditional weapons, but still), so I personally think it’s cool that this is less Shakalaka-themed and more genuine Shakalaka.

All that being said, there’s something new here: small brushes on the shield that aren’t seen on Shakalaka helmets. Those are another cool detail, as the description for this weapon says that “[t]he shield's brush is used to apply poison to the blade.” So while it’s a new element, it also has a functional purpose that makes its inclusion seem natural. Overall, this is a solid weapon. Next up is something...interesting. Presenting the Dual Blades known as the Shaka Scarecrows:

These are obviously based off Kayamba and Cha-Cha, and according to their description, “Hunters use them to scare off flying wyverns.“ This means that these had to have been invented after the two Shakalaka found their way to Moga Village, and the Smithy looked at them and decided that they were so ugly that they could probably scare monsters into running away.

Rude. And clearly ineffective, as they don’t repel monsters any more than other Dual Blades--in other words, not at all. This results in the Hunters wielding them being forced to use literal handheld scarecrows as weapons, which they wouldn’t have to resort to if not for a judgemental blacksmith. And this is why you don’t judge people’s appearances, kids: no matter how ugly they may seem to you, they’re probably not repulsive enough to scare off deadly, supernatural creatures. And it’s rude. That’s probably the most relevant takeaway, honestly.

I don’t really have more to say about the Shaka Scarecrows since they’re just Cha-Cha and Kayamba’s heads on sticks, so let’s move on to our third and final weapon: a Switch Axe from Monster Hunter Frontier G:

...there’s a lot to take in here. Firstly, the blade is based off a Shakalaka sword, and the main body is based off the gourd-like masks, so it’s nice that there’s consistency in the design philosophy. Secondly, there’s poison on the rim of the “mask,” which is a nice detail that makes the weapon more organic (am I using that right? I think I’m using that right).

Thirdly, there’s a Felyne inside the gourd.

On one hand, this is funny, because the Felyne comes out (presumably) during Axe mode, so you’re smacking monsters around with a cat that’s constantly smiling at them. On the other hand, why a Felyne? Okay, that’s a rhetorical question; since Shakalaka don’t like to go around without masks, it makes sense that we wouldn’t see one “bare,” so to speak, and since Felynes are also Lynians, they’re the next best thing. This also implies that the smithies who first designed this weapon were aware of the Shakalaka’s maskless taboo, and opted to use a Felyne instead out of respect for the tribe’s wishes. That’s all conjecture, of course, but it’s a nice thought.

Next question: where does the sword blade go when it’s not in use? If you look at the Axe mode of the weapon, you can see that there’s empty space above the Felyne’s head, so it’s not attached to the blade. There’s no room for the sword inside the top half of the mask, either; does it compact itself somehow? Do Monster Hunter weapons work off of RWBY logic? Actually, I could believe that. Okay, mystery solved.

I like that rather than being “tribal themed,” the Shakalaka weapons are themed strictly after themselves; it really gives them their own identity rather than making them seem like a stereotypical tribe. The fact that several of them use poison like the Shakalaka’s own weapons is also a nice touch. Unfortunately, while the wiki says Shakalaka armor exists, there are no images of the sets, so we’ll have to end off here.

Final Thoughts: I’m glad that the devs put in so much effort to make it clear that the Shakalaka are people; the way they fight shows their intelligence, and we know a bit about their culture. Granted, it’s only a bit, but there’s always the chance that we’ll learn more in the future. Until then, I’m satisfied with what we have.

[ssruis]

Spoilers

> I don’t believe in gatekeeping. Here you go.

> niigo kaito needs to be trained better. Meiko come get your dog he needs to learn when his opinion isn’t needed.

> niigo meiko…. You are such a good friend. Slash mom. Slash aunt? You’re such a good virtual singer.

> “what mizuki is carrying is very fragile and easily shattered” hysterical sobbing

> rui is such a good friend. I’m glad he was here. which is a take I’ve had since the beginning and did not change after reading the event. No don’t scroll down my blog to find evidence against this claim. you’re delusional and it’s all in your head.

> in all seriousness I’m a little scared for their relationship after this event because like… Rui has been able to understand mizuki & her past in a way no one else can but I’m so worried that the fact that he’s been able to move forward & mizuki hasn’t (& has now experienced such a huge setback) is going to make mizuki feel isolated even from him….

> ena is also such a good friend… seeing mizuki is nervous but continuing business as usual & not pressuring her to talk before she’s ready…. “I’ve decided to wait” everyone who said you’d be bigoted in this event owes you $10000 I know those art supplies aren’t cheap

> I’ve only seen the shirts an/akito were wearing (ugly) and the shirts rks were wearing (actually cute!! 3C has a graphic designer among them! And i know it isn’t rui because his design taste is. Bad!) I wanna see ena’s shirt and mizuki’s shirt….

> what the fuck was that play tsukasa. Thanks for this moment of comedic relief before my heart is torn to shreds I guess. A brief smile before entering Hell.

> toya and mizuki :)

> niigo knows mizuki so well… ena being the one to figure out where mizuki would have put the key, & being technically right (only being wrong bc toya suggested a twist)

> mizuki also planning to come out to kanade and mafuyu…. I am so so so proud of her.

> and so unspeakably angry at that npc classmate A drop your address you’ve got a pipe bomb present ready for shipping.

> mizuki does get outed. I’m glad they changed the date even if it wasn’t because it was coming out day bc this would be a fucking awful coincidence.

> god it fucking. Breaks my heart. That so many things seemed to line up for mizuki to tell ena herself. Ena ends up going to the festival because she accidentally brought home stuff she’d need to return to the school anyways. Toya is covering a shift at the escape game reception. & then Mizuki has to go help someone and Ena has to wait for her and happens to run into the wrong people.

> ena waited for so long for mizuki to tell her on her own. Mizuki has spent so long building up the courage to tell ena. & she finally makes that choice and she’s ready to finally take this incredibly scary step and she’s robbed of that opportunity in the worst way possible. Ena had no way of knowing what was happening either… ohhh my heart.

>

And this has just fucking ruined that special place for her. Because Ena didn’t get to wait and Mizuki didn’t get to be the one to tell her.

> mizuki rejecting the kindness bc she knows this won’t change things. Niigo will love and support her all the same. but at the same time it will change everything………. The line delivery as she leaves & ena watches…. I’m fucking sick….

> I’m glad they confirmed that mizuki is trans.

> I don’t want to be the one to comment on whether or not this was handled in the right way but as someone who has been outed in… a lower stakes way. I’m not dropping the lore on that. It was violating and heart wrenching. Having something you keep so close to your chest shared so callously with no regard for your feelings… having the choice robbed from you… It sucks. It really does. I can’t even begin to imagine how she must have felt being outed like that. I’m so sad for her.

> cliffhanger fuck you colopale. Niigo disbands (temporarily) mizuki disappears from area convos in the real world….. we are fucked. We are so fucked. Kanade5 (unless they fuck w the rotation) I am so scared. let’s all kill ourselves.

> unserious note: if nene5 & kanade5 are both next month i am going to be going fucking insane. And I just know kanade5 will be so serious and nene5 is gonna be more wxs beach episode era unserious clownery training arc shit. Truly a niigo/wxs foils moment.

Found an event TL. oh mizuki……. Oh…..

[pandemi-writes]

Danny Phantom / Owl House Crossover Concept!

Okay so I don’t have a plot for this, just a concept and a couple scenes, and I don’t want to start another wip when i don’t even have a plot... so anyone can take this, verbatim even, I give full permission. 

So first thing’s first: This idea is set in The Owl House universe, with witches and magic, not ghosts (so also no Plasmius or Dani). So if you’re unfamiliar with TOH then i guess you can just skip this post. 

Spoiler Warnings for TOH season 2 finale: King’s Tide 

Buckle up, it got kinda long 

Scene: It’s post-King’s Tide, so the Hexsquad is in the human realm... for at least a few days, no longer than a week for upcoming reasons. 

The kids are outside in a fairly open area near the woods (?) but no one is around. They hear the sound of a car getting louder very quickly. They turn to see the GAV (would have to re-name the Ghost Assault Vehicle) screech to a halt near them. Jack and Maddie get out with their bazookas, followed by a frantic-looking Danny, trying to tell them to think this through. 

They pull out some sort of hand-held devise that beeps when it’s turned towards the kids. Jack probably yells “WITCH!” before firing at them. Someone creates a magic shield, but the shot was for a smoke-bomb thing, and it starts pouring out this red smoke. Amity, Gus, and Willow drop to their knees, very much weakened, Hunter is weakened but less so, probably leaning heavily but not down, and Luz is not affected (but Glyph magic doesn’t work in the human realm so she isn’t able to do much). 

Danny jumps in front of them before they can make another shot and tells his parents to stop. He looks a bit shaky. His parents call him back over but he refuses. Maddie, frustrated, calls out “Daniel Fenton-Wittebane, you get back here or else!” And he refuses again, so in an act of severe child-endangerment, she aims at the witches behind him. In that moment, white rings form around him and move up and down and transform him (no clothing change, just the white hair and green eyes if you want... the only required thing is the pointy ears) into a WITCH! Gasp! 

The parents as well as the group behind him falter for a moment (Jack and Maddie could do a whole “What have you done with our son, witch?!” and a “I AM your son!” thing), so Danny grabs the downed group with Luz and Hunter and are able to start running away. 

Danny makes a big circle with a free hand a little ways in front of the group as they’re running and yells to the group “Everyone hold your breath!” They run through the circle and turn invisible! They quickly loose Jack and Maddie because of the literary restraints of trying to hold your breath after/while running... 

Background/Lore: A while after the two Wittebane brothers disappear into the realm of demons and witches, the remaining Wittebanes find a baby (Caleb’s and Unnamed-Lover’s baby!) (PLOT HOLE: idk how the child got to the human realm, or how the Wittebanes knew they were Caleb’s, etc, etc, etc... that’s for any author who wants to pick this up to decide, even if that decision is to simply not address it), and eventually leave Connecticut. 

The child and their descendants are “cursed” (probably by the same witches and demons that lured the good brothers into their evil realm and killed them). They are a little susceptible to the affects of the Witchbane flower (read: Blood Blossoms) (term coined by the Wittebanes), and they have a weird tumor growing on their hearts. They continue the practice of Witch Hunting, even as the times move forward. 

Maddie Wittebane eventually meets Jack Fenton (a descendant of (in)famous Witch Hunter John Fentonightingale) and they fall in love talking about their hatred for witches. Maddie used to have a brighter orange hair like Jazz’s, until she got her tumor removed (first one in her line to survive, thanks medical science!). Her weakness to Witchbane disappeared and her hair dulled to a more natural orange. Of course, she kept the tumor for study purposes. 

Enter (yo) young Danny Fenton-Wittebane at just 14, he was poking around in his parent’s lab and accidentally turned something on near/under the tumor that Jack/Maddie had carelessly left out, and it exploded on Danny, activating his dormant Bile Sac! (the tumor was a witch’s bile sac, in case anyone didn’t figure that out) He’s a Witch! OH NO! But through panic and determination, he’s able to will the witch away (he unknowingly casts a Transmogrification spell on himself that turns him less witchy enough to pass the sensors his parents made and to cast a reverse-transmogrification spell). 

Eventually he gets curious and when he’s alone, he transforms and practices magic. 

Danny’s Powers: I’m thinking his powers would be pure -- uncorrupted by any structure or tradition -- Wild Magic. I think his powers would mirror Luz’s Glyph spells, each having a base of Light, Plant, Ice, or Fire. Absolutely no idea about any of the Isles’ magic tracts. He’d be able to do spells that no other witch has thought possible, but also would have no idea how to do some basic spells from the Isles. One of his favorites is Flight! He would take a levitation spell and just kinda supercharge it. 

Sam and Tucker: 3 options for Danny’s friends: 1, they just don’t exist. 2, they were his friends back in not-Connecticut (idk what state, it varies). 3, they’re in Connecticut and Danny could stay with Camila and the gang (dang sorry Camila), and Danny could meet them at school. 

If they exist, Tucker could stay the same, he’s perfect the way he is. SAM on the other hand is absolutely a Witchy-Goth. If you find the right online spaces, you can find people who have found Glyph magic, and do their own glyphs and combos! (The problem is... they all think that if the paper disintegrates, the curse/blessing worked, because the paper magically disintegrated!) When Luz finds this, she’s able to actually know what those combos would do if they actually worked, and finds new combos, and is inspired to make more for when they return to the demon realm. 

Other Notes: If Danny gets to the demon realm, he could adopt a little green dog palisman named Cujo. 

I don’t have any plot so anyone can take this and run with it, change anything you want, take everything verbatim, go wild (magic)! 

I FORGOT! So when the portal opened up to spit the kids out, the Fenton-Wittebane household got a ping on their new Magic Detector! So they packed up and drove to Connecticut, so that’s why it took a few days to get there.