#i may rewrite it later

[fandomfuntimem]

Half a Life for Half a Life

Jason stood on the rooftop, staring down the creature in front of him. It floated, green tinted skin, long pointed ears, flowing white hair, glowing green eyes, and regal clothing. Despite the inhuman features, it looked pretty close to a male in his 20s.

"Uuuuh, helloooo?" It called, waving a hand in front of Jason's face, calling him out of his thoughts, "I asked you a question!"

"What?"

"Ugh, ok. You gotta listen, man. I hate repeating myself," It lemented, "My name is Phantom, king of infinite realms, bane of Perah dark, protector of the realms, the greate one, Yada Yada title title title..."

Phantom rolled it's eyes as it rattled off the titles. King? That thing is a king? Jason guessed it made sense, explanes the clothes and crown. 'Infinate realms' he would have to look into that later.

"...I'm here, because YOU! have half of my life."

"I- what???" That threw him for a loop, "I don't own anyone's life!"

"Not own! Have! A few years back, you crawled out of you grave, while I, metaphorically speaking, crawled into mine," it grinned. The grin was broken, though. Mournful, even, "when you came back, you needed a life, and in all it's infinite wisdom, the universe decided to take mine! You revived, I died. Y'knooow eye for an eye? Soul for a soul? Half a life for half a life."

"Wait- no. Ok. Hold on," Jason pinched the bridge of his nose and stepped back, "you're saying. I killed you by coming back? How did I only get half your life? What about the other half?"

"Oh! I still have it! Something, no clue what, interrupted the process. Leaving us both half living. Though, unlike you, there was material to fill that gap in my case. Something completed your process later. I think it was when that fruitloop Demon head guy threw you in that tub of ecto-sewage," Phantom gagged, "so! How's my former half doing? Hope you're not wasting it!"

Jason needed a smoke.

[southasianpercy]

ngl i hate how rick treats wisdom and intelligence as mutually exclusive when they actually mean two separate things. he always has annabeth being intelligent (having knowledge gained from books & study) rather than wise (using knowledge gained from experience & offering advice). and i’m not saying she has to be the wisest person ever but it really does not make sense that she is supposedly very smart when that’s not what wisdom means. plus, it would’ve made more sense why she’d want to go on a quest so badly…because she wants to gain experience in order to gain more wisdom. she (along w other athena kids) should have a deeper sense of intuition in situations compared to other demigods and have experience, knowledge, and good judgment. self control and self-awareness are also a part of wisdom too. but all rick focuses on is making her very knowledgable, rude, and narrow-minded. moments where her wisdom should shine through, the opposite actually happens. for example:

• when she looks down upon mortals (i.e. rachel). i know she was supposed to be jealous or protective but i think it would’ve been more interesting if she actually was more accepting of rachel then, when alone with percy, she expresses some type of discomfort but not knowing why, which drives her crazy because she wished she knew (she’s never experienced this before which is why she isn’t very aware of why she’s acting this way). also, it’s wild that she thinks demigods are better than mortals when she should actually possess the opposite belief or something with a more positive view on mortals (what with her being the child of the wisdom goddess and all).

• always looking down upon percy. she really thinks he’s dumb and can’t do anything without her, which makes her very egotistical. if she were truly wise, she’d at least recognize that percy is intelligent in ways different to her or that percy has the capability to be just as smart as her, because, once again, she’s supposed to be the daughter of the goddess of wisdom, not the daughter of the goddess of intelligence.

• her bias towards cyclops. i know she experienced something traumatic involving cyclops, but that doesn’t justify her negative attitude towards tyson. if she actually possessed powerful wisdom, she would have the sense to know that tyson is trustworthy. and she could’ve felt put off by that, which could’ve allowed her to share with percy what happened to her, thalia, and luke all those years ago.

another thing i don’t get is how her fatal flaw is pride. how ironic is that? a child of wisdom shouldn’t have pride be a fatal flaw of theirs…that seems like the last thing that would be a flaw because she should know she doesn’t know everything nor will she always be right. annabeth’s potential fatal flaws could’ve been being impatient (she gets easily frustrated when others take longer to understand the stuff that she does understand), always pushing herself and striving to be the best she can be, or even being in a desperate pursuit for more knowledge/experience. and honestly she could even have the fatal flaw of lacking confidence in herself. or even the fatal flaw of loyalty because it specifically clouded her judgment with anything involving luke, especially since judgment is a core part of wisdom and it would’ve been interesting to see how her fatal flaw got in the way of her abilities as a child of athena.

[cloudysarts]

this show would be good if literally everything about it was different

[goodolddumbbanana]

[Superhero au] Pre Dazzle - Ur... You make him cry, boss

Warning: Solar get ties up.

“You know, Eclipse, we should stop ending our confrontation like this. With me in the sky without a scratch and you writhing at my feet like a worm that needs to be torn apart.”

Yellow glinted from SUN’s blue glasses, almost in contrast to Solar’s ​​already ashen-colored hoodie. A wrong decision, a subjective judgment that had separated Solar from his group. Moon was still too busy scattering civilians, and Lunar was still struggling with SUN’s henchman. He was alone here, as usual, being the punching bag for this asshole.

A loud explosion made Solar frown. Half of SOlar’s ​​systems had shut down, unable to withstand the impact. His ​​internal systems were also plastered with yellow icons, as the incessant notifications of urgent need for repairs rang out deafeningly.

Fine dust formed a mist that curled in the air, as the smell of burning plastic and soot condensed together noxiously, with the crackling of the rubble surrounding Solar.

The malicious mockery could be tasted in SUN's eyes, as they drew closer, the pleasant ringing of their footsteps, the way they stared at Solar's body that was almost paralyzed, the result of that bastard wondering what would happen if they just plugged in the various wires in the circuit board behind his head, after they dunked him in the water.

“I mean, aren't you tired?”

The voice was too gentle, as if they were genuinely concerned for Solar's well-being. It made his finger marks dig deep into the ground, leaving long holes as he raised his insolent eyes to the villain hovering high in the sky, his throat cutting with searing pain.

“Aren’t you allergic for shut the fuck up?”

Solar growled, his throat aching, feeling like a few pebbles had gotten stuck in the screws moving inside him, as the attacks he had suffered from SUN a few minutes ago had left no mercy in their aftermath.

“Hmm…” The villain just tilted his head, his fingers flicking Solar’s ​​rays. A snap of his lips was heard as they said ‘Nope!’ 

The movements were almost too fast for Solar to react, as they giggled, lifted him up by the neck, and slammed him into a nearby wall.

Bricks flew out, causing the world in front of Solar to spin. The sharp pieces hitting his face were not as painful as SUN’s annoying voice. A few of his rays had cracked in half, black oil splattered all over his shirt.

“You don’t understand, the moon killed my brother.”

SUN’s fake joke was so empty that Solar felt disgusted. He felt like an ant, a toy in SUN’s hands, only alive because they were bored.

This time too, they only managed to save the world, because SUN was busy arguing with his henchmen and forgot to focus on their plan to blow up the moon.

Solar didn’t understand, and didn’t want to understand, with SUN’s power, whether he destroyed or dominated the world, it was all a piece of cake. But they were still here, with their unrealistic and ridiculous plans, as if they just wanted to play, as if they just wanted to dip their hands in blood and lick it like a cat just wanting to play with its prey.

They just wanted to spread agony and suffering, and they didn’t care whose life they took, as long as it was fun.

And in those empty, cruel eyes, there was no one but themselves.

“So, tell me Eclipse, what should I do with you?”

SUN’s voice again. They hummed, the bells clanging along their steps. There was something extremely eye candy, the way their crimson robes undulated as if they were alive, flexibly hugging SUN's slender body like a cat's tail.

The sunset cast a burnt orange glow over SUN’s face. They sat down, tilting their heads to look at him, their hands roughly grasping his rays, forcing him to look at them properly. Still as splendid and intact as ever, without a trace of worldly dust, with the mocking and indifferent look of a god from another world. Their minds always seemed to be lost somewhere, with a distorted look as if they only saw him, and this world as numbers, inanimate objects.

As if they were the only ones who existed here.

They still spoke so nonchalantly.

"You ruined my plan, you even injured my minions. I should have blown you up, or just made your death so slow, you would beg me to put you out of your misery.”

SUN whispered into Solar’s ​​ear, their voice was soft, too gentle and sweet as their hands squeezed Solar’s ​​shoulder blades, causing the metal to almost dent inward.

“But I’m feeling merciful today, so… Why don’t you sleep for a while, huh, Hero?”

Light exploded before Solar’s ​​eyes. A searing pain shot through his body, leaving him unable to react, only to convulse and collapse to the ground. Everything became too blurry, and what remained in SOlar’s ​​memory, was SUN’s hateful crescent smile.

—-

Tick… ​​Tok…

Solar didn’t know if it was the steady ticking of the clock, or the buzzing, fan-like sound that woke him up.

Where the hell was he? Just a few minutes ago he was still in the square, then–

Ah…

Solar grimaced, a terrible pain that seemed to crack his circuit board in half, pushing the jammed data to Solar’s ​​CPU.

Everything flashbacks to his eyes. 

The plan went wrong, he was separated from Moon and Lunar, and was knocked out by SUN.

And he woke up here… Where was this?

Everything was dark, hazy. It smelled like detergent, and the dampness was stagnant as if he were in a bathroom. He tried to get up but was immediately pulled back. It seemed like his neck was chained. The wire pressed against Solar’s ​​shoulder.

For a moment, Solar was terrified, thinking that SUN had finally gouged his eyes out or done something to negate his abilities to such an extreme degree.

But luckily, that wasn't the case. His eyes were just covered, felt rough like tape. And what was even more uncomfortable was that he was tied up.

Solar didn't know what the hell SUN had done, but his entire body was tied to the ground, making him unable to move at all. Solar's two hands were tied together and coiled with iron chains behind his back, while his ankles were all jingling as if the steel wires were being coiled together.

Rubbing against the wall, he realized that the chain was quite long, and based on the feeling from his rail, the end of the chain seemed to be fixed to the wall.

Solar tried to stand up, but only caused the chains to get tangled together and made him fall over. The black dust and oil stuck to Solar's palms, making him frown unconsciously in disgust.

‘Calm down Solar, first you need to figure out where you are.’ 

Solar gritted his teeth to calm himself down. He couldn’t be so desperate, if SUN kept him alive, maybe they needed Solar for something. He just needs to have hope.

Now he needs to think of a plan to escape. 

Diagnosing himself internally, he breathed a sigh of relief when none of his functions were too badly damaged. His battery was still at 54 percent, still not too bad, enough for him to think of a way to escape. And now, Solar needed to focus on his surroundings.

Took a deep breath, he curled up against the vertical wall, then tried to adjust his hearing to the highest possible level.

Tok… Tak…

They were probably on water, judging from the crashing sound he heard. The pungent smell of detergent, mixed with the strong iron smell of blood and oil, filled his nostrils. The steady, occasional clicking of the keyboard. Solar could also vaguely hear the sound of the television in the distance—

“MIKU, WE’LL TALK ABOUT YOUR NOVEL WRITING HABITS LATER!!!! YOU’RE NOT ALLOWED TO WRITE ABOUT YOUR BOSS LIKE THAT!!!--” SUN’s distant shout startled Solar. When did they arrive? Solar’s ​​radar didn’t even sense anything. Just a gust of wind blew by and—

“Oh, Eclipse~~ I didn’t expect you to wake up so early—”

SUN was speaking when he stopped. Solar could vaguely feel SUN’s gaze staring at him. There was a gasp from SUN’s direction, and then his mortal enemy walked out, the sound of footsteps fading away and their shrill, angry voices.

“MIKU!!! I TOLD YOU TO TIE HIM UP!! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?”

“What do you mean, Boss? Didn’t I tie him up nice and tight?” SUN’s henchman responded, her voice sounding bored, as if the anger of a villain who could turn dozens of cities into dust was a joke.

“NOT LIKE THIS!!! YOU— WHY DID YOU USE SO MANY CHAINS?!!!”

“Isn’t this supposed to be an extra session for you two? I just like making things more spicy.”

“Miku… I’m going to kill you. I’m going to kill you for real this time. And I’m going to cut your head off and throw it into the blender.” SUN hissed, even without looking, Solar could feel the smoke starting to puff out from the top of SUN’s head.

“Boss, you know that’s my kink. Don’t threaten me with a good time if you will chicken out on this latter. Being crushed by a criminal… Oh daddy, thinking about it makes me—”

“STOP!! Okay… I’m sorry. I admit I was wrong. Please stop talking.”

The sound faded away. It was gratifying to see SUN miserable, but was there something wrong with the way he was tied up. Honestly, if that was Miku’s job, she did a pretty good job for a lackey.

He literally couldn’t move.

The sound of the door slamming interrupted Solar’s ​​train of thought. SUN’s irritation, even the blind could see it.

A deep breath to compose themselves, then the voice returned to its usual contemptuous sneering.

“Isn’t it embarrassing? Letting you see this.”

A cool swish around Solar’s ​​neck and arms. Suddenly, his movements became easier. His arms were still tied behind his back, but everything about him was now free to move, including his neck. “What do you want?” Solar spatted out each word, wriggling his legs to relieve the fatigue. The real question he wanted to ask was why the hell was he in this place, because usually SUN would just dump him into whatever trash pit when they got bored and just leave him to fend for himself.

Not once had they dragged him back—if he guessed correctly, their lair.

“What do I want? Hmm? Let’s see…” The bell rang once more in Solar’s ​​ears, he could feel the soft, itchy feeling of the ribbon brushing against his cheek as someone’s footsteps drew closer. “—What could I want? Guess what I could want Eclipse? Money? World domination? Escape from boredom? Haha… I, right now, just want…”

The hem of SUN’s cloak draped over his legs, the minty scent mixed with someone’s extremely clean detergent lingering near Solar’s nose.

The soft feeling and weight of a hand pressed against Solar’s ​​thigh. The mockery was disguised as an invitation, as if they were something innocent. “…to be alone.” Solar could feel the curve of their backs, as they pulled themselves closer to Solar, as if to make him feel pressured by their presence. As if to make him fear them.

The vague shadows of their hands descended.

A gentle pressure on Solar’s ​​blindfold, as their fingertips leisurely traced lines up his jaw, then slowly go down to his neck.

Slow and gentle, as if asking a child not to eat cookies before dinner.

“I want you to stop bothering me. Once and for all.”

Solar didn’t really hear what SUN said. Too used to SUN deliberately making him feel uncomfortable, he just waited patiently for them to get close enough to make his move. Time seemed to stop between the two of them as Solar slammed his head into Sun’s face. He didn’t even care if his life was in SUN’s hands or if SUN could easily snap his neck right now, he just wanted to make that bastard feel angry for as many seconds as possible.

SUN’s screams of pain and confusion as he kicked his legs forward, knocking them down sounded like music from heaven for Solar.

In a flash, he pressed his knees against the other’s stomach, pinning them down with his own body. It was ridiculous, Solar didn’t even have any breathing space, but right now, he himself was panting. He could feel his entire body trembling, as the distance between him and freedom was only a hand’s breadth.

Of course, reality came back and slapped Solar in the face.

There was a growl of thrill under his knees, and suddenly, a strong pull on his neck caused him to fall backwards.

“You like to play like that, don’t you!”

That bastard used the damn chains they had cut as weapons against Solar. They didn't even use their strength, just pure physical strength to grapple with Solar, as if there was something funny about watching him clumsily fight them with no vision and his hands tied behind his back.

"Fuck you!" Solar spat. He ignored the taste of oil in his mouth and charged forward, only to fall over due to the shortness of the chains.

"Language." SUN scolded. "Aren't you a hero? Really proves my point." SUN sighed. "You never know when to stop." They sat on Solar's back, occasionally patting his head like a dog. 

The shadow moved closer to Solar's head, as they pulled him up. They even dusted him off, removing the sharp pieces of stone he had hit while they were wrestling. Solar stiffly tried to show his glare and malicious feeling, as the other tapped on his intact ray. It was quite painful, especially with the way they pressed their rounded fingertips to the top and pulled, as if wanting to rip it off Solar's head.

"Then, I'll make you a proposal." SUN's voice was leisurely, their hands brushing against Solar's collar.

"You leave me alone, and maybe... your two little friends... will stay intact."

"What do you mean by that?" Solar was startled, raising his head. It felt like something was twisting ugly in Solar's stomach, as if it was fear.

SUN had never used this method, they always simply exploded their power to wherever they hated. But SUN was also an evil person, and with these disgusting tricks, Solar was also used to it to the point of pain.

He just never hoped SUN would lower themselves to this level.

“Hehe… How stupid do you think I am that I don’t know you’re trying to buy my time? Your little fairy and scientist have been… captured by my loyal minions.” The bell rang as SUN leaned on his shoulder in delight. Something rustled as they waved it in front of him.

“Hey Eclipse… Do you want to know what they’re doing?”

At this moment, Solar finally understood the devil with an angel’s face. They spoke so softly, so sincerely, but their words were filled with cruelty. For the first time, Solar felt fear, he half dared to listen, half refused. Anxiety writhed like a knife stabbing into his heart.

<SJGUIOSP{

It sounded like radio static. Then gradually, Solar heard screams. The pitiful screams of innocent people, and…

Moon and Lunar.

“Help!! Eclipse!!! Help me!!!”

“Oh boy… Don’t worry Eclipse, we’re fine, we’ll be fine!!.”

“What do you mean???!!! You idiot, we’re about to die!!!”

And was cut off by a flat, emotionless voice.

“Boss, can I blow them up now?”

“No!! Don’t!!” Solar screamed. He tried to move forward but couldn’t, just desperately following the sounds of the people he cared about.

“Oh? My hero doesn’t want me to destroy these people?” SUN whispered, his even, hateful tone creeping nausea down SOlar’s ​​spine.

“So you know what you have to do?” SUN tapped Solar’s ​​head.

“What?”

“Apologize.”

“Huh?”

“I say sorry.” SUN said sternly. The cold tiredness was the most genuine, for the circus act just now. “Apologize for wasting my time. Sorry for being a troublemaker. Sorry for hurting my lackey. Sorry for being you, a hero, but more useless than those policemen out there.”

“And promise not to bother me again. Including giving this warning for those other annoying heroes.”

“If you promise to ignore me every time you see me, then the people, under your responsibility, will live.”

SUN’s whisper was like sweet venom biting into Solar’s ​​metaphorical heart.

“You don’t want innocent blood on your hands again, right?”

Solar’s ​​knees trembled. His throat felt like it was faulty, he couldn’t make a sound.

“If I agree, what will you do next?” Solar’s ​​voice faltered. Only to be answered by a jingling sound, as SUN’s arm pulled Solar around the neck.

“It’s not something you need to care about anymore, right?”

“So, what’s your decision?”

“I—”

“Save me, Eclipse! I’m scared!! I don’t want to go!!!”

“Don’t worry about us!!! Ecp—”

The voices mixed together, tearing him into two different pieces.

Is it too selfish when he just doesn’t want the people he cares about to be lost again?

“I– I’m sorry. Please spare them—” Solar gasped, squeezing out each word. His head was pounding. Everything was spinning and smashing him into a hundred pieces. He couldn’t think, any logical plan or backup plan, all gone when the people he had worked so hard to take care of were weighed down.

Eclipse was a hero but SOlar had always been selfish.

He couldn’t, he just couldn’t…

“It’s okay.” SUN’s voice was gentle in Solar’s ​​ear, causing him to lift his head.

“I forgive you.” SUN’s palm brushed against Solar’s ​​cheek, as they brought the walkie-talkie to their mouths.

“Blow them up, buddy.” SUN’s silvery bell-like laughter and the endearing voice from the other side like a nightmare shattered Solar’s ​​fleeting reality.

Solar didn’t even have time to scream. He hadn’t even finished speaking when the sound of the explosion hit his ears.

BOOM!!!

The screams died down quickly, along with the flickering of flames and the sound of something breaking.

Ah…

There was a static sound ringing in Solar’s ​​ears.

He still couldn’t process it. It felt like it wasn’t real.

Is that all?

It hurts… It hurts so much… His chest shouldn’t have hurt like this.

Suppressing everything Solar was feeling right now, he trembled, gritting out each word.

“Did– Didn’t you say we would make a deal?”

His voice box seemed to be broken because no matter how hard Solar tried, he couldn’t form words. A pat on the head from SUN, and for a moment, Solar could see the golden light flashing from the bastard’s crescent-shaped eyes.

“I lied. Have you forgotten that, hero? Villains always lie.”

Something wet was dripping from Solar’s ​​chin. Was he shivering? It was so cold, why did Solar feel so cold? He couldn’t understand, he just knew that he was shivering.

He couldn’t show weakness, he couldn’t cry in front of that cold-blooded bastard.

But Solar still lowered his head, unable to hold back the trembling sobs in his throat with black oil dripping from his eye sockets.

Look at that SOlar, that’s your true nature, a destroyer of happiness. Wherever you go, there will be devastation.

How disgusting you are, Eclipse.

The overly familiar voice in Solar’s ​​ears belonged to the ghost he had killed. And, another voice, more meticulous, gentle that Solar rather just ran away.

‘What would you do without me, Eclipse?’

00000000

“Haha– Look at you, I was just kidding. It was all fake–” SUN laughed heartily.

Eclipse’s face went blank like an idiot, making him laugh out loud. Yeah, SUN was evil, but he wasn’t evil enough to do that. Professionals have standards. Threatening the hero’s loved ones, the cheapest trick in Villain 101. SUN was just so fed up with the face they always wore and the way they always got in his way, he wanted to make a prank to embarrass them.

It was easy to imitate the voices of the sidekicks. He meant, they were all animatronics, the dialog boxes were pretty similar.

And the guy named MOnty made a pretty good script, even if it was just an online transaction.

He should pay them more, SUN thought slowly, still staring at the camera.

He didn't expect them to apologize to him easily like that. Anyway, everything has been recorded, he will bring this evidence back and upload it online for the whole world to know how pathetic their hero Eclipse was.

Huh?

Why was his hand wet?

Did they hit any water pipes so hard that they cracked them?

No, it was black.

Oh… Huh?!

SUN looked closely at Eclipse's face. Two lines of black liquid were flowing down Eclipse's cheeks. They were crying. Ouch… They were crying… OHHHHH

Those three words hit SUN's face like a hammer. It shook SUN and slammed SUN to the ground, screaming the words you are a terrible person.

A sob echoed in the silent atmosphere. Luckily Molten was going outside, otherwise with their enhanced hearing, they would definitely crawl out to check if SUN was okay.

…

What now? SUN hadn’t actually thought about what he would do at this stage. He was always the type to act first, think later.

Beat Eclipse off, mock him, sure. But then what?...

Uh…

And with Eclipse keeps continuing to shed tears like this, it became awkward, and—

Did he go too far? He had been like this all the time before, he never cried.

And now, should SUN comfort Eclipse?

“Um… I was just kidding… See… They’re still alive.” SUN hesitantly poked his fingertips. He awkwardly moved closer to wipe Eclipse’s tears. But the more he wiped, the more they flowed. And when he removed the tape from Eclipse’s face, the black oil came out even more, soaking a black patch on SUN’s shirt.

SUn’s internal system was screaming, congratulations, you fucked up, and the little SUNs in his head were jumping around screaming.

What the hell could he do?

“Hey Boss, are you done with your antics? I need you to take me out.”

Okay… SUN admitted that he still thought MIKu was a nuisance, but he had never been more grateful for Miku’s presence than now.

“Miku!!! Save me— Oh, I mean, help me with this.”

“Huh? Don’t tell me you guys are playing too rough and I need you to find a mechanic?”

The rude bastard who never respected SUN stepped in. The smile on her lips disappeared when she saw SUn still wiping Eclipse’s tears, surrounded by a pile of ruins.

That deranged dared to look at him with judgmental eyes.

“Boss. What did you do to him?”

“I didn’t do anything??”

“You guys didn’t do bondage with each other too hard, right? I totally  understand if that the case but~~~”

“You don’t understand shit!!”

SUN waved his hand. Both of them completely ignored the sound of metal being torn apart from each other.

Bang!!!

SUN flew into the wall unexpectedly. He groaned and crawled out, before MIku's wide eyes, proving that even she had no idea what was going on.

"Come back here."

The voice was truly terrifying.

SUN turned around in shock. His mortal enemy, standing unsteadily, with a murderous aura like that of a demon from hell.

Their eyes were red, they growled his name in their throats as if it could tear SUN in half.

Honestly seeing his hero this angry, it would be an understatement to say that SUN didn't feel a little bit scared.

--

Solar staggered, his wrist aching terribly, with a wet feeling dripping onto the floor. The sound of the chain falling onto the tiled floor was still too much for Solar's processor to process the situation, he could only vaguely hear SUN stammering about how this was Tungsten, how the hell could he break it.

Shakily, he brushed the remaining tape off his face, the soft light of the bathroom hitting Solar’s ​​eyes. Oh, so he was right. Nice, he liked potted plants. After a few seconds of panic, Solar had finally realized that he was being pranked. But he didn’t expect SUN to be so caught off guard that Solar could just break the lock and attack them like that. His hand limply touched the button in his palm, the familiar voice of Moon rushed over, intermittently telling them that they were okay and where the hell he was.

Good… Good… Good.

Solar nodded numbly.

Fuck SUN.

Solar just wanted to punch someone right now.

His eyes widened, capturing SUN’s image in his retinas. Their enemy looked more rugged than usual, probably still confused with the stunt he pulled.

Good, let them be confused.

His hand flashed, and Solar smiled contentedly, as he heard SUN scream loudly.

“Shit–!! MIKU!!! Throw your stuff out the window, we—”

BOOM!!!

—-

“Hey Moon.”

“Hey SOlar. Sorry… I’m late again. It’s okay, I've got you now.”

“... I’m just tired. I think I want to go home and sleep.”

“Don’t worry buddy. Just leaving everything for us, and resting. We got you now.

—---

Somewhere…

“Boss, it’s all your fault.” Miku yelled as she was carried by SUN like a sack of potatoes as they flew through the night.

They could have had a cozy place to stay and not drive SUN’s cleaning function crazy. But no, now they had to find another place to stay, which took a ton of time because her Boss was a picky bitch.

“I KNOWWWWW. Now shut it before I drop you!! We also need to find Molten too.”

[crustyfloor]

seen a interesting post on Twitter regarding the pencil line from Till, that said that this line signifies that Ivan WAS on Tills mind, especially since this was a incident that happened when they were young, and that this was his way of saying "I see you"

Really now....truthfully I didn't know how else to read pencil.exe other than Till just wanting his pencil back, but hearing this I feel like my eyes were opened

Ivan has been said to have a perk for stealing Till's things and giving them back to him like an evil secret Santa, and I always found it odd why he was never told off for it, Till is smart, and has been smart since he was a kid, surely he would catch onto the fact that all these trinkets of his were stolen and just so miraculously found by Ivan? I think the dude just genuinely didn't mind, letting Ivan humor himself since at least he wasn't gatekeeping his stuff. And so the pencil, why would he have such a care for it anyway? well, the goodbye cards were made when Ivan and Till were ultimately about to be separated, I think their relationship may have strained a bit after they all passed,(?) something had to happen because the way Till was about the pencil was the most indirect question alluding to a direct statement I've ever seen. Till was so utterly focused on Mizi but a part of him did want to keep Ivan close when they were kids, why this was the way to regard that? why he couldn't do anything else? well, I guess this was just the most kid Till with his mixed feelings about Ivan could do, because even if he saw Ivan as a nuisance i myself am sure that he considered Ivan a close friend despite Ivan thinking he didn't.

I also found some context and it stated that Till already had his pencil back. Ivan had found it for him, so whats with mentioning it now? I think that was Till's attempt to get Ivan to talk to him again and explain himself so that Till could swing in and try to build their friendship back. Ivan was always on Till's mind and he cared deeply about him, the pencil was only an excuse to say "I see you, I will always remember you." but Till just didn't have the greatest methods of getting that across to Ivan,

And I assume they never did approach the topic of the pen so Ivan and Till never got the chance to talk again and steadily grew apart, and here we are now. but at least we have some idea that Till didn't really hate Ivan or something, this is a plausible take on the deeper meaning of pencil.exe imo.

[horsetailcurlers2]

the more i think about how desperate and lonely addison must’ve had to be to do what she did to derek, the more i feel like he didn’t take nearly enough responsibility for the end of their marriage. like, i’m absolutely not trying to excuse what addison and mark did. it was fucked up and cruel. but, especially after we get to know them both as characters (and realize that although they have their moments they aren’t exactly cruel callous people by nature), i’m like, how bleak did the state of that marriage have to be for them to both even consider it? especially factoring in the depth of marks history with derek. idk i think in some twisted way derek was relieved to have an out and not be the bad guy. and he had like one episode where he acknowledged his absence in new york but then five seconds later he had meredith’s panties in his pocket (barely apologized for that either)

[autumnrory]

i rmr when all the initial meta around endgame was coming out people were talking about steve being depressed and whatnot and it's like well yeah but he's BEEN depressed, like he woke up alone in this century and he kept going, now i can understand it being worse this time after finding a family and getting bucky back and losing them all except of course that's not why endgame steve was on about so like......the people writing meta were trying to connect these things that of course weren't really there on screen because that simply wasn't our steve

but i think it really could've been SO interesting to see this is the thing that finally makes steve stay down like he's lost so much and he just CAN'T keep fighting like i get some people think that's what they were going for but considering the ending......it's really not. and so i'm just thinking about a version after iw, maybe he gets some of the thor treatment except not turning his depression into a dumb fatphobic joke lol and maybe nat and others are trying to get through to him and it just doesn't work and then we get some flashbacks (which you could have done for all the original avengers actually which would be particularly important for bruce and nat and clint who did not have their own trilogies) including his mom telling him "you always stand up" and THAT being the thing to finally get him moving like it would've been such a perfect way to finally show sarah rogers some respect and ACTUALLY show steve really struggling instead of whatever they tried to do with him in that movie

[thunderstomm]

“Can I ask you something?”

It was another late night out on the tracks. The crowds and press had long gone, and all that remained was the two of them, as well as their cars. This wasn’t a new routine, but it had become normal. A breath of fresh air between each event, a moment of silence between each public appearance.

“Ask me what?” She questioned him in turn. There was an edge to her voice, as if she was preparing to put her guard back up. As quickly as she had let it down.

Coop looked at her nervously.

“I don’t know if it’s too much, or if it’s too soon, but… why’d you choose to become a racer?” He leaned against the side of the tracks. “Considering your… history.”

Cruise stared at him a moment longer, before laughing at his statement. Her laugh typically sounded cruel, but this was different. There was an air of amusement. It was… genuine.

“Of course you’d want to know that.” She said, going to sweep her bangs from her eyes. Coop took note of the action, as he tried his best to think of an appropriate response to her reaction.

“You don’t… you don’t have to answer!” He insisted, awkwardly holding out his hand.

Cruise snorted. “Stop that!” She said, a grin still on her face. “I’ll tell you. After all, it’ll be nice if at least one person knows.”

Her face softened, as she turned her gaze to the Street Shrieker. She looked at the car, as if recalling a memory.

“I’ve always wanted to race. But you know my father. He’s against anything with wheels!” She hummed. “I was so surprised when he built me my own car, and started training me to be a racer! It was the best feeling in the world, being able to both make him proud, and get to race, that I didn’t care about how or why I was getting to race.”

Cruise tore her eyes away from her car, looking up at the night sky. “But after that whole… fiasco ended, with us, and the ultimate garage, I was expected to stop racing. For things to go back to how they had been, or to move on to a skill that was more… useful to his goal.”

“We’re calling it a fiasco now, huh?” Coop smirked. He looked over to Cruise, realising his mistake. “Sorry.”

“Stop apologising!” She snapped playfully, but the sour undertone of her voice seeped through. She continued to speak, moments later. “To be a racer was to be against everything he wanted. It wasn’t just business- he saw it as a personal attack.”

“So you chose racing over your dad?” He asked, looking at her intently.

She shook her head, finally looking back into his eyes.

“I wouldn’t say that.”

“Then what would you say?”

Cruise thought for a moment, before coming to her conclusion.

“I’d say… I chose me. I don’t want to live to achieve his goals, I want to do things because I want to do them, make a name for myself, instead of being an extension of his. And so.. I’m here. Trying my best to keep going, to get better, despite everything.”

Coop nodded, taking the words in.

“Do you regret it? Leaving everything behind to pursue your dreams?”

Cruise raised her eyebrow again. “This is getting to be more than one question, Cooper.”

Cruise was the only person to consistently use his full first name- it was a playful insult of sorts.

“Well… do you?” He pushed, choosing to grin.

Cruise laughed again, the same genuine laugh as before. She rolled her eyes fondly, before speaking.

“…No. I don’t.”

[imthepunchlord]

Do you ever get tempted to watch where you left off in ML?

Oh absolutely not. I listened to those who watched later eps and it's a constant "wtf" response.

There's a good possibility if I resumed all the way to the end of s5, I'd be pissed, and salty, and not want to write for it for a while. I finally got my creative mood back for ML, and I don't want to kill that mood.

[dryeyed]

god ok so this was a post that was a long time coming that i just. never actually sat and wrote so i'm chucking this anyway. divergence info.

shouta is psychotic. he lives with bouts of psychosis and has learned to live with the episodes that comes along with it.

there is a baseline sort of deal with his hallucinations. the visual ones never really seem to cease, but they slow down. they're also the most common, most often in the form of oboro just. standing there. after the twins' disappearance, he would occasionally see their faces. after aksha's disappearance, he began to see her right next to them sometimes. hauntings, he feels they are, a reminder. ghosts of the past he knows only exist in his head - but that's simply after years of the impossibility of discernment.

he also does see blood frequently, and this was most often when he began teaching. blood on his hands, a jarring thing so real he has to actually look at them to realize they're clean. he'd gone through multiple scrubbing hand washes only to realize they were never bloody in the first place, most typically when he's swinging real high in a symptom cluster. he'd be reaching out to help someone up, maybe a student, and only seeing a bloodied and beaten arm instead. maybe his. maybe the other's. he would take a look at someone for a second and see a beaten victim. in the corner of his eye, someone would look dark and only until he registered it as red and possibly blood, he'd look at them and they would be fine.

then there are the delusions. he's learned to curb this through extreme self discipline, methods he keeps to himself to keep him grounded in reality and at baseline-shouta. these really only occurred when he became heavenbreaker, a solidification that everyone was going to die and the world was going to end and everything was doomed. why try. started like a paranoia, not in the way that all eyes were on him but a paranoia about just that : doom. he would become almost obsessed with it, and almost end up destroying himself in his attempt to embrace yet avoid that notion.

'enhanced' tactile/bodily feeling. this is the worst for him, and is usually second in line to the hallucinations when he starts swinging into an episode. he can start to feel himself, feel all the intricacies of existence itself. he can feel air on his skin, his arm hair moving with the current of the air. he can feel his own heart beating, moving the blood from his chest. he can feel his lungs expand and deflate, how sweaty his palms seem to get. this can send him fairly quickly into complete detachment, as it's so easy it's almost painful for him to get so lost in thought during this sort of symptom. so easy to locked in on those feeling and panic, almost becoming a feedback loop of sorts.

these hallucinations and symptoms tend to stay on the milder side, but they can become a major problem if stress and trauma compound enough for him to lose grip on reality again. tldr; he visually hallucinates practically all the time. but when things are really rough for his mental state, he can begin to experience the full range of those (visual, auditory, tactile, somatic). his speech can become somewhat erratic. he has trouble discerning the waking world from what's in his head, either ranging somewhat catatonic or crazed and hyper. this can be called shouta's 'zoomies.'

i don't believe he tells anyone about this. or atleast, extensively. perhaps hizashi and nemuri know that he sometimes sees things. this is open for discussion/plotting, but know that this is a closely guarded secret.

[zytes]

I know that the average person’s opinion of AI is in a very tumultuous spot right now - partly due to misinformation and misrepresentation of how AI systems actually function, and partly because of the genuine risk of abuse that comes with powerful new technologies being thrust into the public sector before we’ve had a chance to understand the effects; and I’m not necessarily talking about generative AI and data-scraping, although I think that conversation is also important to have right now. Additionally, the blanket term of “AI” is really very insufficient and only vaguely serves to ballpark a topic which includes many diverse areas of research - many of these developments are quite beneficial for human life, such as potentially designing new antibodies or determining where cancer cells originated within a patient that presents complications. When you hear about artificial intelligence, don’t let your mind instantly gravitate towards a specific application or interpretation of the tech - you’ll miss the most important and impactful developments.

Notably, NVIDIA is holding a keynote presentation from March 18-21st to talk about their recent developments in the field of AI - a 16 minute video summarizing the “everything-so-far” detailed in that keynote can be found here - or in the full 2 hour format here. It’s very, very jargon-y, but includes information spanning a wide range of topics: healthcare, human-like robotics, “digital-twin” simulations that mirror real-world physics and allow robots to virtually train to interact and navigate particular environments — these simulated environments are built on a system called the Omniverse, and can also be displayed to Apple Vision Pro, allowing designers to interact and navigate the virtual environments as though standing within them. Notably, they’ve also created a digital sim of our entire planet for the purpose of advanced weather forecasting. It almost feels like the plot of a science-fiction novel, and seems like a great way to get more data pertinent to the effects of global warming.

It was only a few years ago that NVIDIA pivoted from being a “GPU company” to putting a focus on developing AI-forward features and technology. A few very short years; showing accelerating rates of progress. This is whenever we began seeing things like DLSS and ray-tracing/path-tracing make their way onto NVIDIA GPUs; which all use AI-driven features in some form or another. DLSS, or Deep-Learning Super Sampling, is used to generate and interpolate between frames in a game to boost framerate, performance, visual detail, etc - basically, your system only has to actually render a handful of frames and AI generates everything between those traditionally-rendered frames, freeing up resources in your system. Many game developers are making use of DLSS to essentially bypass optimization to an increasing degree; see Remnant II as a great example of this - runs beautifully on a range of machines with DLSS on, but it runs like shit on even the beefiest machines with DLSS off; though there are some wonky cloth physics, clipping issues, and objects or textures “ghosting” whenever you’re not in-motion; all seem to be a side effect of AI-generation as the effect is visible in other games which make use of DLSS or the AMD-equivalent, FSR.

Now, NVIDIA wants to redefine what the average data center consists of internally, showing how Blackwell GPUs can be combined into racks that process information at exascale speeds — which is very, very fucking fast — speeds like that have only ever actually been achieved on some 4 or 5 machines on the planet, and I think they’ve all been quantum-based machines until now; not totally certain. The first exascale computer came into existence in 2022, called Frontier, it was deemed the fastest supercomputer in existence in June 2023 - operating at some 1.19 exaFLOPS. Notably, this computer is around 7,300 sq ft in size; reminding me of the space-race era supercomputers which were entire rooms. NVIDIA’s Blackwell DGX SuperPOD consists of around 576 GPUs and operates at 11.5 exaFLOPS, and is about the size of standard row of server racks - much smaller than an entire room, but still quite large. NVIDIA is also working with AWS to produce Project Ceiba, another supercomputer consisting of some 20,000GPUs, promising 400 exaFLOPS of AI-driven computation - it doesn’t exist yet.

To make my point, things are probably only going to get weirder from here. It may feel somewhat like living in the midst of the Industrial Revolution, only with fewer years in between each new step. Advances in generative-AI are only a very, very small part of that — and many people have already begun to bury their heads in the sand as a response to this emerging technology - citing the death of authenticity and skill among artists who choose to engage with new and emerging means of creation. Interestingly, the Industrial Revolution is what gave birth to modernism, and modern art, as well as photography, and many of the concerns around the quality of art in this coming age-of-AI and in the post-industrial 1800s largely consist of the same talking points — history is a fucking circle, etc — but historians largely agree that the outcome of the Industrial Revolution was remarkably positive for art and culture; even though it took 100 years and a world war for the changes to really become really accepted among the artists of that era. The Industrial Revolution allowed art to become detached from the aristocratic class and indirectly made art accessible for people who weren’t filthy rich or affluent - new technologies and industrialization widened the horizons for new artistic movements and cultural exchanges to occur. It also allowed capitalist exploitation to ingratiate itself into the western model of society and paved the way for destructive levels of globalization, so: win some, lose some.

It isn’t a stretch to think that AI is going to touch upon nearly every existing industry and change it in some significant way, and the events that are happening right now are the basis of those sweeping changes, and it’s all clearly moving very fast - the next level of individual creative freedom is probably only a few years away. I tend to like the idea that it may soon be possible for an individual or small team to create compelling artistic works and experiences without being at the mercy of an idiot investor or a studio or a clump of illiterate shareholders who have no real interest in the development of compelling and engaging art outside of the perceived financial value that it has once it exists.

If you’re of voting age and not paying very much attention to the climate of technology, I really recommend you start keeping an eye on the news for how these advancements are altering existing industries and systems. It’s probably going to affect everyone, and we have the ability to remain uniquely informed about the world through our existing connection with technology; something the last Industrial Revolution did not have the benefit of. If anything, you should be worried about KOSA, a proposed bill you may have heard about which would limit what you can access on the internet under the guise of making the internet more “kid-friendly and safe”, but will more than likely be used to limit what information can be accessed to only pre-approved sources - limiting access to resources for LGBTQ+ and trans youth. It will be hard to stay reliably informed in a world where any system of authority or government gets to spoon-feed you their version of world events.

[neuroslayyer]

GENETISYS

Originally established as a privately funded organization by Kenzo Kobayashi in the 1960s, it would later be restructured and recognized as a megacorporation in 1989.

The main focus up until the company was taken over by Kenzo's only daughter, Etsuko Kobayashi (later Hirose), was genetic engineering. When Etsuko gained control neuroscience, psychology & pharmaceuticals had been added to the company's repertoire. However there's persistent rumors that Kenzo had enjoyed dabbling in bio-warfare.

Research and services include but aren't limited to:

cloning

gene therapy

gene doping

overall genetic modification

"designer" babies

memory alteration

preservation and extension of youth

And when it comes to pharmaceuticals, most of the drugs are for psychological, genetic and chronic disorders.

Of course there's the experiments and research that's not shared transparently with the general populace such as genetically modified soldiers, gene splicing, and general human experimentation in the realm of psychology and the neurosystem.

Genetisys is known to pay people to be part of their clinical trials and research (though a next of kin is always required beforehand); a solution for those who are hard up for quick cash, though in some ways it may as well be the equivalent to selling your soul. When Sub Attica, the underwater prison, was still in existence they would also bargain and take some of the prisoners for test subjects as well. While volunteers had a higher survival rate in terms of their trials, nonvolunteers would never see the light of day again.

Over the decades there have been scandals or attempts to expose scandalous behavior. However, nothing would ever stick enough to knock the corporation down --- the legal department always acting as swift as a viper and security (both physical and cyber) would keep everything under lock and key. Though around/between 2060s-2076 more information about the company, including projects, experiments/research and files on victims would be leaked. It's unknown how someone could get a hold of such stuff; it's almost as if whoever did it, had a bit of insider knowledge when it comes to corporation.

While Kenzo and Etsuko never agreed on everything in terms of company practices and scientific pursuits, the thing they shared was the love of the study. Making millions, nearly billions, in wealth is a nice extra benefit. But both do what they do because of their morbid fascinations and curiosity.

[orionsstory]

Grandekofi Vampire AU

okay i know it's technically Friday but I haven't gone to sleep yet so it's Thursday in my mind !! here's my makeup for missing wip Wednesday <3 also I feel like I'm bad at writing like. passion and stuff so if it's bad I'm so so sorry LMAO -

Dame shut the door to her apartment and pushed Tia up against the wall, kissing her hungrily. Her hands roughly grabbed her hips, Tia throwing her arms around Dame's neck as she deepened the kiss. Their bodies seemed to move in harmony, Dame's hands ghosting up Tia's body as they broke apart for air.

"You're so pretty, Tia..." Dame mumbled as she kissed down Tia's neck, making her eyes flutter shut. "...which is why I'm sorry about this. Don't worry, it'll only hurt for a moment."

Tia looked at her in confusion, catching a glimpse of what looked like...fangs? Before she could process what was happening, she felt a pinch in the side of her neck. She stumbled, grabbing onto Dame to steady herself as she felt herself growing dizzy and her vision blurring.

"Sweet dreams, mon amour~" Dame purred, as Tia watched a red liquid drip from her mouth. That was the last thing she remembered before passing out.

[scratxhed-cd]

I was shocked to see Caitlyn has entered some sort of relationship/situationship (whatever is going on) with Maddie and with only three episodes left of the season, I’m doubtful we will get to explore an explanation much further. So much intention in character dynamics have gone into this show though so I’ve been trying to make sense of it.

When we meet Maddie in Arc 1 of season two, she gives off a very young, naive, and optimistic personality. This is the same characteristics we get from her in the last episode as she gives Caitlyn a look of hope and delight as she joins the room in encouraging her to take on Ambessa’s request of rising up as a leader to gain control over Zaun.

Moving on to Caitlyn for a moment, all throughout the first three episodes she is dealing with an immense amount of grief and rage. She becomes increasingly tunnel visioned and is behaving with much more violence and much less empathy than she ever before. When she accepts her new role at the end of the third episode, her emotions were likely still running very high from her last encounter with Jinx and her fight with Vi.

That fight with Vi is especially revealing in showing us Caitlyn currently feels she can only fully trust someone who sees things the way she does. There is no room for second guessing, otherwise she wouldn’t have been so determined to shoot Jinx while Isha held on to her. Despite how calmly Vi tried to approach this at first, Caitlyn was unable to understand, leading to an escalation and their separation.

So, the perfect person to fill the void Vi has left is someone who looks up to her and doesn’t come in between her grief and anger towards Jinx and other Zaunites. Maddie is the exact kind of person to fit this role. This is emphasized in episode 5 when she and Caitlyn are discussing Piltover’s presence within Zaun as well as Noxus’s involvement. Maddie demonstrates how she looks up to Caitlyn and trusts her judgement by telling her that she can change this if she wants, that Piltover followers her. And most importantly, that she follows her.

[mstormcloud]

Bluerune postinggggggg YIPPEE

[stargirl1331]

If you wrote me

Would you write me with care?

Would you be gentle in how you sculpted your words?

I hope you know

that every time I write you,

I trace my fingers softly through memories

Plucking carefully the moments I use

I can only write you gently.

If you drew me

Would it show me true?

Would a face appear in the spaces between strokes?

Every time

I try to draw you

I cannot continue to move the pen

to form the face I remember but cannot see

I don’t remember the color of your eyes

I wonder if you think of me how I think of you

I wonder if you think of me

I hope you do

- do you remember, original poem by C