#making howdy was a pain to do but I still managed.

[l0ganberry]

Here's Howdy! Now Barnaby won't be alone. (I will NEVER separate the two)

[cobaltperun]

Woe out the Storm - Shelter from the Storm

Wednesday Addams x female Reader

Summary: It took some time, but eventually you came to realize only Wednesday Addams could look at the raging storm of chaos and destruction and make a home out of it. Only she could listen to the cacophony of the roaring thunder and hear a melody.

Story warnings: Wednesday Addams, violence, slow burn

Story Masterlist / Next part

Word count: 3.7k

-I came in from the wilderness, a creature void of form-

Lightning is the force of destruction, capable only of offense, never of defense.

You trembled, curled up in the corner of the room. You didn't dare to open your eyes, worried about what you'd see if you did. As the storm continued raging you felt more and more agitated, covering your ears to muffle the thunder and the sound of rain hitting the rooftop and windows. Feeling the stone walls you were pressed against heating up you stumbled to your feet and went to the other corner, still refusing to open your eyes. Your foot hit the desk and you winced when you heard sizzling and smelt the faint scent of smoke. That forced you to open your eyes and, much to your frustration, find out that you did, indeed see even in the near darkness the room was engulfed in. If nothing else at least the deck didn't catch on fire, but the smoke was just another reminder of why you weren't in your bed and why you were put in the highest room at Nevermore.

You were a lightning beast, a raiju, and you were at your strongest during thunderstorms. You were, also, at your most destructive, unable to completely control your lightning during those very storms.

It took immense effort not to blast the entire room with your lightning, to stop the pain you were feeling as the electricity accumulated within your body, begging to be released. You couldn't allow that, though, because you were finally getting a roommate two years after you first came to Nevermore. If you couldn't properly handle bigger and longer thunderstorms there was no way Weems would allow that.

So, you groaned, your cry sounding a lot like the subdued, quiet thunder, and slowly but surely you weathered the storm.

~X~

By the time morning came you were barely able to keep your eyes open. The last lightning strike was half an hour ago and you could finally gradually discharge the electricity within you without causing any damage to your surroundings or attracting lightning from the clouds.

With a yawn you slumped into the bed, you felt the static on the soft blanket beneath you, but you honestly couldn't care less. You needed to rest, you needed to recover at least some energy, to let your aching body heal. Your roommate was supposed to arrive in a couple of hours, and you promised yourself you'd only take a brief nap.

You should have known better.

The doors opening and energetic footsteps echoing through the room made you jump out of bed, and, due to momentary disorientation look around. You saw Weems already looking at you with a mix of sympathy and disbelief in her eyes. How did she even manage to combine those two? Still, as you looked at the energetic blonde turning around and taking the fairly bare room in, you found yourself thanking whoever designed this room for a couple of seconds you had to compose yourself.

"Uh, hello," that was definitely not smooth, your voice cracked a bit, and you'd be genuinely worried about someone's perception skills if they missed the uncertainty in your voice.

"Hi!" the girl's demeanor was the exact opposite as she immediately not only approached you but skipped to where you were. Skipped! "Howdy, roomie! I'm Enid!" right away she completely disregarded safety protocols and hugged you.

You didn’t expect the hug, or any contact, that was the protocol every student knew, do not touch a raiju after a storm. So, you didn’t have the time to react, your eyes just widened as you stilled in her hold and looked at equally surprised Weems. So, she did mention you were a raiju, and the girl still went for a hug. You cleared your throat and lightly patted the girl on her back. "Y/N, uh Y/N L/N, nice to meet you," you said and visibly relaxed when you were released from the hug.

It wasn't that you minded hugs, or were against touch, but a rather heavy storm just passed, and you didn't want to risk accidentally electrocuting someone. Okay, maybe you weren’t exactly eager to be hugged by strangers, but it really was the danger of electrocuting someone by accident that made you worried.

"Enid, what are you doing? Don't touch a raiju!" an older woman Enid somewhat resembled rushed over and pulled her back. You could see the excitement and energy just evaporating from the girl as she gave into her, you assumed, mother's demand.

"I can assure you, Miss L/N is no danger to anyone, Miss Sinclair was perfectly safe," Weems assured, but, judging by the way the older woman glanced behind you, you figured she didn't quite buy it.

In the two years at Nevermore, you only had one incident, about half a year ago, when there was a storm even worse than the one last night. A storm during which you couldn't go half a minute without another lightning striking. So, just for a few seconds, you lost control and even after fixing the wall one could still notice the large claw-like dents in it.

Still, Weems wasn't about to say Nevermore had a raiju that could be a danger to other students. The school was the safe haven for all the outcasts, and it couldn't maintain that reputation if the dangerous beast couldn't be controlled. Which was another reason why you didn’t have a roommate up until now. Weems only now considered trusting you, and even now it was just barely.

The older woman raised her head in contempt. "That better be true, Principal Weems," she huffed and marched outside.

Enid looked to the side. "Sorry about that, mom can be a bit, old-fashioned," she apologized and then looked at you with a small smile on her face. "I don't think you're dangerous."

You couldn't help it, you had to laugh at that. "Sorry, sorry," you raised your hands when you noticed the baffled look on her face. Your laughter turned into chuckles and eventually subsided completely. "Thanks, but raiju are dangerous, so maybe don't go hugging every single one you come across?"

Her eyes widened slightly as the two of you went to the balcony. There wasn't much that could top getting fresh air after being stuck inside due to a storm. Inside was nice and cozy, but there was just something about not having a choice but to stay inside. "I wasn't supposed to hug you?" she asked, almost as if she never heard that before.

You raised an eyebrow. Surely someone warned her. "Unless you know you are both safe, no, you shouldn't. Didn't someone warn you? I mean, you were told I'm a raiju," you hopped backward so you could sit down on the stone fence so you could still look at Enid.

"Uh, yeah, they told me you are a raiju, but no one warned me about not hugging you," she said, though she didn't back away from you, she just leaned against the fence next to you.

In hindsight Weems probably expected the old woman to tell Enid about what she shouldn't do since she was so adamant about you being dangerous. "Right, quick list of rules. Don't touch me during storms, or a few hours after the storm, or if you or I come into contact with any liquid that conducts electricity. It's better to be safe than zapped, so if at any point you think I might accidentally zap you, follow your instincts, don't touch me. The same goes for any electronics you have, don't bring them to my side of the room under those conditions. If I can zap you, I can definitely short-circuit your things. I think that about covers it."

"So, you can't touch water?" Enid asked once she took the information in. "At all?"

"Unless it's distilled, nope, it really hurts to suppress the electricity and keep it from damaging something or hurting someone. I can't drink regular water either," you shrugged, used to the negative sides of being a raiju.

"What if it rains when you're outside?" her question brought forth all the memories of being caught in the rain and you flinched a bit.

"Well, it sucks to be me, that's for sure," and with your luck, well, it happened kinda often. You saw the excitement completely fading from her, and she looked like she was sorry for you. From her point of view the way you lived probably sounded really restrictive, and in some ways it was, but, it was your life. You couldn’t change it. "On the brighter side, when I'm completely in control you won't need to charge anything," you grinned when Enid perked up and offered you her phone.

She was lightly bouncing on her feet as you took her phone. "Show me!" okay, she was back to being excited.

You pressed a finger to where the battery was and you both watched as the screen lit up and showed the phone was charging. Within a minute you charged it from thirty to fifty-seven percent. "And I'm fast and safe as well," you grinned triumphantly. If only you knew what it would escalate to once more people found out you were basically a portable charger...

"OMG! That's amazing! I'd trade with you if I could!" Enid exclaimed and you tilted your head, blinking a few times.

"Trust me, not worth it," did she miss all the downsides you mentioned? From the looks of it she thought never needing a charger was a fair trade for drinking distilled water and fearing even the briefest rain. Most groups could function in a normie society and would just have to avoid specific dates or circumstances. Say, full moon for werewolves. Raiju were different. Thunderstorm? Trouble. Rain showers? Trouble. Water in general? Trouble. Too much electricity in the air? Trouble. A damn water balloon could set off a reaction if a raiju was inexperienced. Luckily you moved past that level of inexperience. Still, that inability to function in normie society was what caused you to start attending Nevermore ever since you were twelve.

"Right, sorry," Enid laughed uncomfortably at your questioning look and turned back to look inside the room. "I know I just got here, but what are we going to do about our room?"

That was a question you didn't quite consider when you first arrived. The highest dorm room of Ophelia Hall was divided into two sections, bathroom and wardrobes not included. Looking at it now, you figured it looked a bit like the letter P. The main part was the same as the other rooms, open space meant for two people to share the room. A bed, a desk, a wardrobe, and a pair of nightstands on each side of the room, aside from that it was up to the student to decorate or leave their side of the room as it was. Your part of the room was on the right side, divided by a large sliding door that was usually left open, but could serve as an additional barrier during storms. You never really had to close it before.

Your part of the room showed signs of being lived in, and not just with the damage to the wall. You had a slightly bigger ice maker in the corner, just in case you ever ran out of distilled water Nevermore provided you with. Your collection of knives was on display, also for practical purposes, and then there was your pride and joy, a small fulgurite you created with your lightning. Sure, it was on accident, but you made it and you kept it. Finally, you had a shelf with books and movies you liked near your bed. All in all, between those additions and some posters hanging on the wall you figured you felt cozy enough while still staying safe during a storm.

Oh, and the bathroom was connected to your part of the room, so, whoever designed that took one person being a raiju into consideration. Likely that same person failed to realize taking a shower near a raiju, during a storm, wasn't the safest option.

"Honestly? I'm fine with whatever, as long as it isn't a safety hazard," you shrugged, finally answering Enid's question.

You did not expect an explosion of color to completely engulf Enid’s part of the room, or the bare window to basically turn into a rainbow. But, well, you did say you were fine with whatever as long as it wasn’t a safety hazard.

~X~ Two years later ~X~

Go to your shed, you thought. Do some 'one-raiju-club' activities, you thought. Well, getting caught outside in the rain was exactly what you deserved after you so stupidly decided to believe the weather in this damn town wouldn't get worse!

Luckily the red sparks coming from your soaked body made the students stay away from you as you sprinted through the pentagon. It was a damn pentagon, and you were not going to call it a quad! At least you had better control over yourself now.

The sound of thunder boomed in your ears as you finally reached Ophelia Hall. At least the heat coming from your body would make sure you were mostly dry by the time you reach your and Enid's room. You'd be tired, but you'd be dry.

"How's it going Sparky?" Yoko laughed as she saw you climbing up the stairs. Even with the teasing she still made sure she was way out of your path.

Your eye twitched at that. "Just great, thanks for-" lightning struck near the building and you dropped to your knees, barely containing the lightning within you. You were better at this now. Unless it was a really long and bad storm you could handle it, you could even handle electronics if lightning wasn't too close. But you were wet now, and all that control seemed to be going out the window. Yoko smartly stayed away. She felt sorry for you, but she wasn't getting anywhere close when you could light up with enough electricity to power the entire Ophelia Hall or fry every device in it, at any moment. "-asking," you groaned, the sarcastic reply you intended fizzled out as you regained control once again.

“Make sure you rest!” Yoko called after you as you parted ways and you gave her a quick thumbs up.

Finally, finally, you reached your room and stumbled inside.

Enid got up from her chair right away and tossed you a towel. She didn't approach you, even if she definitely was worried. "How bad was it?" she asked as you went to your side of the room and sat on the floor.

You were mostly dry by now, but it wouldn't hurt to use the towel just to be safe. Also, for a reason you couldn't explain keeping a soft towel over your face as you weathered the storm became a bit comforting to you. Maybe it helped you ignore the world around you a bit. "Could have been worse. I was two-thirds of the way back when it started raining," it wasn't raining hard right from the start, so you figured you had at least a bit of luck. "Don't worry, I'm just a bit tired," you assured her and glanced at your wardrobe. You should change, but you wanted to cool down a bit more before you did anything.

The sound of footsteps told you Enid was coming closer. You didn't worry. She knew not to get within fifteen feet of you. You still peeked at her. "I know," she said as she leaned against the wall. "It still hurts to see you like that," she said gently.

If anyone in this school actually cared about how you were handling being a raiju it was Enid. Not Weems, not the teachers, not other students, only Enid. The rest were more concerned about being zapped. You took the towel off your face and offered her a wide grin. "Hey, I got this. It's not even the worst storm we went through in the past two years."

Enid nodded at that and grinned back. "That was actually terrifying,” and it was. About a year and a half ago there was a really big storm, heavy and close enough that you were screaming by the end of it, your cries sounding just like the loud thunder outside the building. “You think you can handle taking our new roommate on a tour?"

Your eyes widened, it completely slipped your mind! "Shit, you're on your own this time," even if you weren't outside when it started raining there was no way everything would be safe and dry by the time Wednesday Addams arrived.

Enid nodded. "Leave it to me, roomie! What do you think she'll be like?"

You thought it over, you heard the rumors, but the most telling sign was the furniture that arrived. Dark and vintage-looking. "I think you should get ready for a drastic change in scenery, at least on her side of the room," you really didn't think the decorations Enid placed were going to stick around in Wednesday's side of the room.

~X~

Barely fifteen minutes later Weems led three people into the room. The first thing you thought when you saw them was 'That's a lot of black,' the next thing you thought was specifically about Wednesday. 'She's kinda tiny,' and from the looks of it her boots gave her almost an inch, and she was still shorter than Enid.

The woman gasped audibly. "It's so... vivid," the man looked around, almost as if he was horrified by all the colors in the room. Well, it was actually a fairly usual reaction to Enid’s part of the room, gothic fashion and refusal of colors aside.

Enid got up with much more energy than you did and, much like she did when she met you, skipped over to Wednesday and her parents. "Howdy, roomie!" she greeted the girl enthusiastically. The girl didn’t back away, but you wouldn’t be surprised if the intensity of her stare set both Enid and you on fire.

"Hey," you just raised your hand as you went to stand next to Enid. The girl remained silent and still. She wasn't even blinking! You had to double-check to see if she was even breathing. Which she was, thankfully.

"Wednesday, these are Enid Sinclair and Y/N L/N," Weems introduced the two of you.

"Are you okay? You look a little pale," Enid asked, worried for the girl.

"Wednesday always looks half dead," Wednesday's father explained.

You grinned and pointed a thumb at Enid. "Enid always looks too alive, so it evens out then," well, there was a sentence that could be taken out of context.

"I can see that," Wednesday spoke for the first time while Enid processed what you just said.

"Y/N!" Enid pouted at you, though you could tell she didn’t actually mind what you said. She was a ball of energy and sunshine, and she was proud of that.

"Sorry, sorry, you just get excited easily," you raised your arms up, surrendering.

"Whatever," she shrugged, she had more important duties than dealing with your occasional antics. "Welcome to Ophelia Hall!" she went in to hug Wednesday, only for the girl to outright reject her by taking a quick step back. "Not a hugger. Got it," Enid backed away, respecting the boundaries Wednesday was setting.

"Please excuse Wednesday. She's allergic to color," Wednesday's mother spoke up and you raised an eyebrow puzzled by that. How did it even work? Was it just when she was in contact with them, or was it even looking at something too colorful? If it was the second then Weems really fucked up by making her room with Enid.

"Oh, wow, what happens to you?" Enid asked, unable to imagine what she would do if she had to deal with that.

"I break out into hives and then the flesh peels off my bones," dark humor and dry, even tone. Noted.

"Y/N is basically allergic to water," Enid pretty much returned the favor.

You thought it over for a moment. "Pretty much, yeah. I burn from the inside and light up like a Christmas tree, literally," well that was the most extreme possibility aside from shifting.

Weems faked a cough, not exactly appreciating your sense of humor. "Luckily, we've special ordered you a uniform. Enid, please take Wednesday to the registrar's office to pick it up along with the copy of her schedule and give her a tour along the way," Weems instructed and you honestly appreciated that she took notice of the rain that just recently stopped falling.

Still, you were left with three adults now as Wednesday followed Enid outside. So, you just nodded and moved to your part of the room.

~X~

About an hour later Enid was still fuming from her interaction with Wednesday, and honestly, you found it kinda hilarious. "I find social media to be a soul-sucking void of meaningless affirmation? That's what she said?" you repeated, watching from your bed as Enid paced around in your part of the room.

"That's right! Can you believe that?" she definitely sounded like Wednesday frustrated her, at least a bit. "She's like a pit of disdain, a black hole sucking anything positive out of whatever is near her! I don't know if we can do this, Y/N," forget the ‘a bit’ part, Wednesday absolutely frustrated her.

But you just began laughing. "Okay, I get it she didn't make the best first impression, but I think I'm going to like her! Soul-sucking void of meaningless affirmation? Damn, that's a good one!"

"Y/N!" Enid cried out. “She said she killed two kids at her old school!” she exclaimed, not understanding how you weren’t taking this more seriously.

"You survived rooming with me, a raiju, you can survive a goth girl with a questionable background," you just grinned. How bad could it possibly get? Surely one girl couldn't flip your lives upside-down.

Right?

A/N: And that, people, is chapter one. Light spoiler, if you are here purely for romance, I have to disappoint you, there will be hints, but as far as actual romance goes, that's for later seasons.

Story Masterlist / Next part

[riinkun-art-stuff]

Howdy ho! I'm very excited to finally be able to share this illustration I worked on as part of this year's @bumblebybigbang for @tahnex's lovely and super fun fic (with no pain attached whatsoever), "Of Dragons and Panthers," which you can read here! As soon as I read the original notes on it this scene captured me so much I had to do something dramatic for it. It's been such a pleasure watching the whole collab come together, tysm for having me!

First time joining an event like this, and I'd love to again if the opportunity comes around hehe. Still a few postings to go on this one, the pieces before us this year have knocked it out of the park and I'm super excited to see the rest once they come around!

Made a few process cuts just for fun, which I left under the cut!

I did do a few sketches roughly before I started out, especially based on other parts of the chapter, but this particular composition was so fixed in my mind that I ended up just sticking with it. In retrospect, I would've loved to go back and do some more thorough exploration for it. Here are a few of the sketches I managed to fish back up:

I also was thinking of trying a few other doodles/another big piece, but ended up not really having the time between other obligations :')

And the sketch I finally settled on:

Inking was SUCH a fun process on this piece in particular. I'm a huge fan of how dragon!Yang's mane turned out, especially, and all the detailing on the head and around Blake's fur and such. Feel like I'm really satisfied w the particular way the line weight variations came out, and it's where the piece shines the most imo.

Panther!Blake, too. Oh gosh. I feel like it took me a lot of reworking to get her structure to a point where she felt very leopard-like, rather than any other type of big cat- especially around the head.

Colours were such a challenging part. There was a big feeling I had for that glow coming off dragon!Yang in the middle of the heavy rain- I love seeing that sort of effect in real life so that's something I'm really hoping to work to capture better as I practice. Trying to get dragon!Yang's slight iridescence in there and to balance out the lighting on panther!Blake's fur each took a long time, too- I'm only a pinch sad that a good chunk of it is covered by other lighting effects XD

Blake's rosettes were SO fun. Augguhugg.

In terms of backgrounds. HOO boy I was going through a strange patch in life while working on the background and final polish for this piece, which is why (at least I feel like) it looks kinda rushed. I have been practicing natural landscapes and doing some observational studies but still struggling to get those rock shapes quite right, which I think is a big make or break point of something like this. I did really enjoy toying around with inking on the foliage and foreground layers of the ground, though! And in the end, lighting and effects ended up masking a lot of the big weak spots :D

I think natural effects like smoke/steam, and rain, are big things that I got to practice more of in this piece, but also really would like to get better at in future. Esp since I feel like it's been a great opportunity to mess around with different colours and brushes that I use way less, which I'm always grateful for w painting. I think just layering the rain on its own ended up being about 10 odd layers?

I think the only other thing I would have loved to improve is to just help the piece feel more Bumbleby™ in the final look. I think I like the cool colours of the lighting for this particular outcome, but I also would have probably tried to have made things much clearer (ahem at the very least switch to yellow/purple) in the long run in terms of representation and resemblance. Ik that at least for me it is fairly easy to associate the two characters with dragons and panthers since I'm more familiar w the fandom lingo around these two, but esp for outsiders I feel like it's probably not great at conveying who they are, and why they are potentially in this situation.

I'd also love to try and find a shading style that still has a painterly quality but compliments the inking a bit better, rather than overpowering it.

I think that, on the whole, I am pretty satisfied with the piece and had a great time working with Tahnex on the whole collab! And I've also has a fun time reading his work and notes in return, and thank you so much for being so so patient with me even as my updates were slow n rocky at points :'D

That's about all I got, have a great day y'all! Still a few big bang postings to go, so very excited for those once they come around!

[the-s1lly-corner]

Howdy! May I request Caine and Jax with a reader that comes back from abstraction but doesn’t remember anything about them or themselves? I think it would make for some good angst material. Have a good day/night!

Back from the 'Dead' (Caine and Jax x Mended!reader)

i dont know if the fandom has made a term for unabstracted people for fic stuff but i like the way mended sounds anyways YES MORE ANGST!! yipee! gonna probably be flip flopping between answering requests and finishing my art wips tonight so!! listened to this song while writing this, feelings were made jack stauber // just take my wallet

You wake up on the floor, not knowing where you are. Everything before you opened your eyes is a quickly fading blur of darkness, far too fleeting for you to grasp and make sense of. Your body hurts, a dull ache seeping down into your core. As your sight clears, you can't make out where you are... you appear to be on a stage of sorts. You can't bring yourself to move, even after the pain becomes bearable. You feel so tired. Eventually, someone approaches you

CAINE:

youre torn back to reality as a loud chattering voice fill your ears, talking almost a mile a minute. looking up you see a short man with a set of teeth for a head. he keeps repeating something that, after a few seconds of processing, sounds like its meant to be your name

hes also throwing in names of endearment, namely "My Dear"

you cut him off mid sentence after he fails to pause between his words, asking who he was and where you were

in an instant he stopped speaking, jaw hanging open and hand paused mid gesture

he doesnt ask if youre joking, i dont think caine would be in that kind of denial

on one hand, i can see him trying to jog your memory, but on the other hand i cant help but feel that he would accept it. maybe its because he doesnt want to stress you out more when youre already in a murky space, fearing that he would accidentally undo your sudden mending

its so weird for him, you were his first love and first partner; and now hes grieving your loss. except youre still here. you still have your mannerisms, but none of your memories. he truly doesnt know how to go forward

gone, blanked, erased, deleted even

he has to stop himself from calling you the nicknames he once called you

he still tries to foster a new relationship with you, but whether or not you would fall in love with him again is up to you

bonus angst, imagine you do fall in love. just not with him. like can you imagine how much that would hurt

the longing looks, the way he would attempt to reach out to you only to stop with his arm half-outstretched, the stumbling of words as he tries to stop himself from spilling how much he loved you

even if you ever abstract again, or you somehow leave the digital world, he would still go on to love you just the same. in fact, i dont think he would ever move on from the heartache

theres a visible change in demeanor in him, too, he seems a little more. fake?

JAX:

he sprints towards you, he doesnt care at all if someone hears his footsteps pounding the ground, just as long as hes there to make sure its really you. and sure enough, it is

similar to caine hes asking you how you managed to come back, not even noticing youre confused and uncomfortable face as he placed his gloved hands on your shoulder firmly and pulled you up

similar to caine as well, you have to cut him off in order to get him to stop talking, having to assert your voice firmly in order to get him to back off

you ask him who he is, where you are, and what he meant by 'coming back'

denial

this man would be in denial i think

like deep down he knows theres something going on with you, but he doesnt want to acknowledge it

hes not really outright romantic with you, since he doesnt want to actually. screw his chance to reconnect with you up, you know. i mean he can kind of see it from your perspective, you just wake up and some guy is already trying to make out with you? yeah no, he would be put off too

i think jax would have more luck trying to rekindle something with you simply because unlike caine, he doesnt carry the same fear of you abstracting again

i think, as an added thing to think about it jax's feelings of hurt and grief coming to a head and he kind of. unintentionally snaps at you, telling you to stop messing around and drop the act

overall sad stuff

constantly trying to get your attention through being a nuisance, kind of like when you guys first met and he started catching feelings

[werewolfcave]

GOD OK I was getting my psych degree when it was announced they'd be adding Maruki

and I was sitting here like "Atlus is gonna fumble this so hard i just know it." because in collectivist countries/cultures like japan, you mind your business and don't air out your problems.

AND I WAS RIGHT I WAS SO RIGHT AND IM SO MAD ABOUT IT.

like thanks for making a prominent to the story therapist be a big time bad guy you CLOWNS. BUFFOONS.

Sorry I just. I needed to say! I AGREE hes interesting and I see a lot of traits that would make a good therapist but BOY HOWDY. He makes me so fucking mad the way he was handled lmao

Okay I totally get where you're coming from and do agree framing a therapist in a bad light especially as the first therapist in the series is going to have negative consequences. BUT when I was talking to my own therapist yesterday it occurred to me that Maruki is a genuinely a fascinating critique of the clinical psych field. Because, as my therapist pointed out; "[Maruki] makes you realize how silly and unrealistic the idea of no one experiencing pain is. It makes you stand back and stop idealizing that idea of no one experiencing that pain because it's so absurd and harmful."

I then added onto that by pointing out how a lot of his ideals are a very interesting reflection of the psychology field when you look at it from a Western Standpoint (I am not sure how it is from an Eastern Standpoint I do apologize about that), because in the West we are very caught in the idea of Intervention instead of Prevention, and Maruki is obviously under the same idea.

See the Clinical Psychology field fails when it views things under the medical model, that mental health problems are something one can just "cure". Viewing pain as unique to the individual and that it's something that can be fixed is a very temporary solution. Instead there needs to be prevention, which is focusing on that pain comes from systemic places, and that we need to reform society rather than focus exclusively on individual pain. I will get into how we can tell Maruki is focusing on intervention exclusively in a moment, but first let me further lay out what Intervention vs Prevention is using an excerpt for a Reflection Essay I wrote for my Community Psychology Class:

"The concept of Prevention vs Intervention can best be explained up with a parable often credited to sociologist Irving Zola. The parable tells of man standing on the edge of a river, when suddenly he spots someone drowning. The man jumps into the river and drags the person out, and just when he manages to get that person out, he hears someone else. So he goes in to drag that person out as well. And it repeats. Eventually the man is exhausted and there is still people falling into the river. It is then that he realizes he never even thought to go upstream to check how people were falling in in the first place. This parable tells of the way that intervention by itself will never be truly successful, because there will always be people falling in, and never enough resources to keep pulling people out. This most efficient solution would be to fix whatever is causing people to fall in."

It should be stated that Intervention is not wholly unnecessary, as I go on to say in that same essay:

"Yes there has to be someone who goes upstream to address what is getting people in the river in the first place, but that isn’t possible with someone staying downstream. Because of we yet to prevent the harm from being done, we do still need intervention. To allow the preventionists to do their work they need the interventionists to keep that hurt at bay until we can prevent the hurt from happening in the first place."

Now, returning to Maruki. Maruki obviously has the idea in his head that he can remove points of pain for people, and that at all costs someone, to be healthy, must avoid a situation in which they get hurt. We take all of this with the fact that capitalism, corporations, etc still exist in this world. Let me break that down as to how this itself is a prime example of how his idea of a world with no pain does not take into account systemic oppression nor works as a long term solution.

A.) If one's pain stems from, say, low wages making it hard to pay rent and thus having to work multiple jobs, Maruki's solution would likely be to raise the amount of pay for whatever job is preferred by the person and continue from there. We do know that he makes it so that way Okumura Foods is a more idealized company that treats its workers fairly and has more ethical sources for its food. But this only works within the short term, as there is still a need to get money to put food on the table, to keep a roof over your head. Economic stress is still there even when paid well enough, because there is still the fact that you must keep getting more of a limited resource to pay for the ability to live. There are still people who come out on top, there are still people who are working the factories, there are still people who must do backbreaking work. Additionally Maruki is of the mindset that if your dream isn't working out you must abandon it, which will leave those whose dreams lie in underpaying jobs (such as an artist who makes a living through their art, and is hit with art block that keeps them from producing work) they are to abandon that for something that will keep a roof over their head. This leads to a rather soulless existence.

B.) To quote the Combahee River Collective, a Black Feminist organization that is responsible for intersectionality really making it's way into the collective consciousness, in their Coalition Statement:

"We realize that the liberation of all oppressed peoples necessitates the destruction of the political-economic systems of capitalism and imperialism as well as patriarchy."

That is to say that systemic oppression cannot be undone without the removal of capitalism. Scholars such as Cedric Robinson and Ruth Wilson Gilmore talk of how capitalism itself is rooted in the oppression of racial minorities, especially Black people. This is a concept called Racial Capitalism, which put as simply as possible in the Wikipedia entry for this concept is:

Racial capitalism is a concept reframing the history of capitalism as grounded in the extraction of social and economic value from people of marginalized racial identities, typically from Black people. 

While not a study on Japan itself, and instead China, here is a fascinating chapter on Racial Capitalism in China wherein it states:

Emptied of their former political content, the disarticulated concepts of race and ethnicity have often been reduced to foreign and domestic modes of social differentiation in the reform era, which can allow nationalists to claim that there is no racism in their country and can allow China scholars to deny the relevance of race to the field. Yet, the externalization of race and racism is particularly dubious these days as China’s participation in global capitalism has been accompanied by prominent examples of Islamophobia and anti-Blackness.

And to address how Racial Capitalism is relevant to Japan itself, we are to look at Race Relations and the Capitalist State: A Case Study of Koreans in Japan, 1917 through the mid—1920s by Kazuhiro Abe. From the Abstract:

"Expansionist Japanese capitalism developed racist ideologies toward Korea and the Koreans. In 1910 Japan annexed Korea. After 1917, Korean labor was imported on a large scale into Japanese society, where racist attitudes were rapidly taking shape. However, cheap Korean labor produced a wage differential that caused a split in the labor market along ethnic lines. Thus, competition for jobs between Japanese workers and Korean immigrants transformed racial prejudice into overt ethnic antagonism."

From the talk of the Theoretical Framework at play:

"The analytical framework employed here is the synthesis of several current theories of race and ethnicity. It draws heavily on Marxist theories of race relations, and especially on the split-labor-market theory. In the Marxist tradition, as Wilson argues (1978, pp. 4-9), there are two major approaches to race relations. One is orthodox Marxist theory emphasizing the manipulative role of capitalists who seek to divide the working class racially by exploiting racist ideologies so as to preclude the emergence of a unified working class. (For an example of this position see Reich 1971 and 1981). The other approach is the split-labor-market theory systematically developed and elaborate by Edna Bonacich (1972, 1975, 1976). This theory involves three groups of actors: business, higher paid labor, and cheap labor. The labor market becomes split when cheaper labor is introduced into the market. Capitalists prefer to use the cheap labor, and the higher-paid labor consequently faces threat of displacement. The higher-paid labor group attempts to forestall such displacement by excluding cheap labor from its territory. If exclusion is not possible, the higher-paid labor establishes a caste system to systematically block the access of cheap labor by certain occupations. The success or failure of these attempts largely depends on the amount of political resources the higher-paid labor group can mobilize"

All of this is to say is that while not on purpose, the game implies to us a complete lack of understanding of systemic injustice that causes much pain in the first place. Maruki is very purely intervention and has no interest in prevention.

Maruki himself talks about totalitarianism and how it is something that forces everyone under one ideal, and Goro himself points out (in an implied sense) that that is precisely what Maruki is doing. He is forcing people into his idea of intervention and no pain, while doing nothing to rid the world of the root cause of unjust pain. He is creating a totalitarian dystopian world without any sort of self-awareness.

[wannab-urs]

The Spreadsheet Digest - Vol 23

Howdy y'all!

If you're new here this is every new (to me) fic I read this week and some of my silly lil thoughts about them.

I did some catching up on series this week and also did some writing so I've only got 12 fics for you this week! I read a lot of dark shit this week, but that's October for ya. There's still some sweetness in here somewhere if you aren't into dark stuff and I've made sure to mark everything appropriately (I think).

As always you can find all my previous fic recs here.

Recs below the Pedros!

Apple - a Frankie/Santi/Will one shot by @romana-after-dark

You are married to Santi and you have a CNC kink he very happily obliges. You set up a thing where Santi, Will, and Frankie pretend to be home invaders and they gangbang you. Stuff goes a lil sideways and it ends up being NC/DC. This was wonderfully unsettling. I love how there's this strand of believability that they don't intentionally overstep her boundaries. It's dark and scary and feels very real.

sam and diane, eat your heart out a Marcus Pike one shot by @chronically-ghosted

You've been working with Marcus for a while and finally wrapped up the case you were on. You've almost given up ever getting what you want with him when finally!! You both admit your feelings for each other. Cue steamy office make out sesh with thigh riding. I loved the will they won't they shit in the beginning. The frustration makes the pay off so good.

i am touchin', i am grabbin', everything I can't be havin' - a Dieter one shot by @chronically-ghosted

You show up at the doorstep of your long time but estranged family friend Dieter Bravo, soaking wet and with nowhere else to go. You've known him so long you call him Uncle Dee, no I'm not kidding. I almost didn't click on this bc like UNCLE?? But he's not really your uncle and I cannot express enough how fucking hot this was. Like Dieter is just so fucking good this OH MY GOD. If you love Dieter, read this. You'll love it.

Recovery Road - a Dieter series by @chronically-ghosted

Dieter finally gets his shit together, he's clean and married and working on a new project. His costar (you) is a cunt fr. You're on drugs, you're a brat, and you're a mess. And Dieter can't stay away from you. When his wife gets fed up with him and humiliates him in public, you're there to catch him... and ruin his sobriety, his marriage, and maybe everything else. I have a couple chapters left of this but OH MY GOD. I was so MAD at Dieter, but also so sad for him. Don't take that as me saying I didn't love this because I did. I do. It's so beautifully written. The pain and angst and desperation and everything is so powerful, this hurts to read. And the smut? Mind altering actually.

a revolting development - a Joel series by @chloeangelic

Your new step dad is really hot... and that's gonna be a problem. I've been reading so many step dad fics lately (not just Joel!) and I'm so into it and what is wrong with me?

The Rogue Who Coaxed You - a Joel series by @atticrissfinch

You're Joel's secretary and you suck him off while he fields a phone call from his wife! We love an infidelity fic round these parts, we really do. Reader is filthy, Joel is mean, there's a lot of degradation, the works. I'm so obsessed with this dynamic I can't wait to read more.

When the Gallow-Grass Gives - a Silva one shot by @gasolinerainbowpuddles

Silva rescues you (m!reader) from the gallows, walks you home by the rope you were supposed to hang by, and then tells you that you remind him of someone he used to know. I love a good gay cowboy fic and this is a GREAT one. The historically accurate lube made me cackle. This was so well written and so HOT and managed to maintain that wistful sadness Silva seems to have hanging like a cloud around him.

Desires and Complications - a Marcus Pike/Dave York series by @ezrasbirdie

Sweet little Marcus Pike wants to please you better in bed so he calls up your ex, Dave York, to show him how to be a dom. It goes a little differently than any of you imagined when Marcus turns submissive for Dave. This fic is so hot. I read up through "plead" and it looks like maybe there's some throuple dynamics forming!!! I'm so excited to finish this AHHHGHGHG

Ripping Sunrise - a frankie one shot by @idolatrybarbie

You accidentally take an edible and Frankie takes care of your high ass. And then once the high wears off he really takes care of you... This is so sweet and hot, I love it so much.

I Might Kill My Ex - a Joel one shot by @beskarandblasters

Joel leaves you for Tess and that... well that's just unacceptable. We got dark!reader, asshole!Joel, murder, dub con for Joel, the works. This fic is so good. It's dark and gives you a fascinating look into reader's crumbling psyche. I love the ending so much also

------------------

I wrote Ouroboros and Eat You Whole. Dave York x f!reader fics set in the same universe, canon divergent but some canon stuff still happens in the background. Love as consumption/Love as violence type thing. Basically you and Dave are two touch starved, miserable people with nothing left in this world and you have crazy sex about it. There’s some softness in there too.

-----------------

Here's some series I've been reading (not a comprehensive list): Hot and Heavy (Joel), Muddy Waters (Joel/Ez), Stepdad!Joel, Exile (Javi P), New York or Nowhere (Joel), Feral Woman (Joel), Yearling (Joel), a lover's pinch (joel), the world tipped on it's side (Frankie), and Pretend Alleyways (Marcus/Dieter)

(In order: @tieronecrush @bonezone44 @toxicanonymity @jksprincess10 @beskarandblasters @gasolinerainbowpuddles @justagalwhowrites @hier--soir @idolatrybarbie @radiowallet)

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Happy Reading!

[finnzhal]

Anon asked.

Howdy! I was wondering if I could request Blitzø with a gn s/o who's kinda chubby and insecure about their appearance? Like how Blitzø would react/if he would care at all?

No worries if you're not interested in this one. Much love to you 💛

FINN's Voicemail.

Hii! This is adorable ! This might be a short one because i don't have many ideas.. but I hope you do love it ! Thank you !

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Reader : GN!READER

Character : BLITZO - HELLUVA BOSS

Mentions : I tried my hardest for making this relatable and canon as much as i can. BLITZO is harsh on this one (as expected, he's always harsh on other characters in the episodes.)

Links : Masterlinks for requesting !

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How'd you guys met? Well, of course in the imp city. When you assigned as an assassin on your first days or weeks if you didn't manage to catch with them by anything in that matter, he would comment or joke about one or thing about your weight.

Although, He would help you once or twice during the missions but he wouldn't do it without complaining about it.

BLITZO wouldn't think much about how you feel about his comments not until you guys started dating. (I can't think of anything about how did he manage to- he's a stubborn little bitch-)

But he's still clueless about your feelings about getting made fun of, he hates it when people mention about your appearance or weight though.

Once you opened up to him about it, he feels like an asshole (cause he is) and apologized.. in his own ways.

Your relationship with Blitzo changed him a bit about communicating only a little. You made him open up about his white spots too and the history why he got it.

In your private time, you guys mostly cuddled up and enjoying one's company. He likes the way how warm it is with you, Talking about something and he'll slip out a compliment about your appearance.

From now on, he would literally kill if someone made fun of your weight and appearance. He'll be soft with you just like he is with Loona, Moxxie,and Millie. Once you guys are alone he'll smother in kisses if you're still feeling down.

If you're insecure about eating,laughing,smiling in public. He'll make a joke or two just to make you laugh, removing the hands on your face as you laugh. He loves the smile you give him. For eating, if you take the food home he would accept it. If you cover your face while eating, he wouldn't remove your hand but instead just wipe your face if there's a mess.

If you have difficulty breathing from time to time, he'll help you in any way he can. He'll give you a minute or two just to take a break especially during a mission.

Whenever you have back pains, he'll actually try and massage you (which it didn't turn out great and so he buys you those pain patches instead) making you lay on his chest as you sleep. Especially when you have trouble sleeping or insomnia, he'll try to stay up late just to keep you company and if it was getting unhealthy.. he'll caress your temple or hum a song(don't expect to be great.)

Whenever you have those thigh problems he wouldn't hesitate to touch them for you, sometimes he would do it even if you didn't ask him to. Excusing it as helping you-

You would see him staring at you countless of times, once he was staring at you for too long to realize you were staring at him too. Later then you see him shake his head, blushing and shit

Overall, he wouldn't comment on your weight as much. Mostly positive and heartfelt one, he wants to make you that you know that he loves you.. wanting to make you love yourself too.

He would still be a stubborn bitch though, complaining but in private he'll be clingy and all over you.

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@Finnzhal. Do not steal other people's works.

[random-things-of-mine]

😔🥄

Mob Wally x GN Reader

Warning: Angst

- - - - -

It was really was unusual.

The mobster had considered his family to be perfect as it was at this point.

Till suddenly he saw someone, someone who had never interfered with him, a innocent bystander who would never involve themselves into his type of business or the type of person he was. Someone who's life didn't revolve around him. 

He had locked eyes with them and saw something that he wanted. And, if he wanted something, then he had to have it. 

"So, I took you. Isn't that lovely? It's not just a game of love and hate with me, I simply take what I want."

Mob was staring down at Y/n with a adoring expression. He found the confusion on their face a delight to look at as he finished his explanation as to why he brought them here.

A cruel grin spreads along his face. And, in his hands, he's holding a spoon. They didn't know what the object signified but soon came to the terrifying conclusion.

The tallest member Howdy stepped up helping hold Y/n still. 

"No no no no! You can't do this!" They panic as they trash around violently. 

"Stop moving, you silly thing..." He says, trying to soothe them. "Your resistance is only going to make this worse.

"I need both my eyes! I don't wanna lose one!"

"Need? My, my... we don't need the things in our lives. Just look at me." He says with a cruel grin, tapping the scar on his face with his finger. "We merely have them... It will take you some adjustments, but you'll live with only one eye."

"I'd say you wouldn't need me then, if you say we don't need things in our lives you don't need me." They snap back, trying to use his own logic against him.

To Y/n's unease Mob only chuckled, as he shook his head condescendingly. 

"My, you're a mouthy thing, aren't you? It's not about needing. I want you to join my family. I want to be close to you. Can't you see the difference? And I always get what I want."

"But it's not mutual, and never will be!"

Tears where starting to form in the human eyes, from the stress and fear. They could only plead or argue with the puppet and nothing seemed to help.

"You're only saying that because you're scared." He says with a smile. "I promise you'll come to love me once you are my family. So just... stop it, okay?"

Their breath hitched as they saw the spoon get twirled around in his hand. It felt more intimidating than any gun or knife could be.

Howdy was still holding Y/n down and keeping them from moving. He had a neutral expression on his face as if he wasn't fazed at all. He was simply following his boss's orders. On closer inspection many many scars where etched into his skin. 

Scars from the past, he too had once been in their position. Everyone here in the family had been. This incantation was necessary to join. 

"Please... I don't want this..."

"Oh shhh it will only hurt for a moment."

Mob cooed sweetly as he placed one hand firmly on their chin, tilting their head in the right position. His smile was furthest from comforting.

Y/n stared at him pleadingly, begging him not to do this as more tears where rolling down their cheeks.

"Alright, one.... two...."

He didn't finish counting as he twisted the spoon, scooping out the right eye with deliberate movements. 

Pain was all you could feel.

Their cries of agony were ignored as he placed the eye inside a jar with the eyes of the other members before he smiled at them, satisfied.

"And there you have it... you're now officially a member of my family. Welcome." He grins, not seeming bothered by the blood, even smiling a bit wider.

Y/n was hyperventilating as they where experiencing the most horrendous pain in their entire life till this point. If it wasn't for Howdy holding them up they wouldn've fallen to the ground clutching their open wound.

"I will never consider you my family. Nor anyone else here." They managed to say through heavy breathing, coughs and tears as blood steamed down their face soaking the gloved hand that was stil possessively holding their chin.

"That is such a dramatic response I nearly choked. But, regardless of what you consider us, now we have a physical connection through your missing eye. And that's all I need." He says, almost smugly. His smile grows more. "This eye is mine forever now. And so are you."

���𝓃𝓊𝓈𝓊𝒶𝓁..

𝒯𝒽𝑒𝓎 𝓈𝒶𝓎 𝓈𝓉𝓇𝒶𝓃𝑔𝑒 𝒻𝒶𝓈𝒸𝒾𝓃𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃, 𝒾𝓃𝒻𝒶𝓉𝓊𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃.

𝒜 𝓁𝓊𝓃𝒶𝓉𝒾𝒸.

𝒞𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝓂𝑒 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓈𝓊𝒾𝓉𝓈 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓉𝒶𝓈𝓉𝑒, 𝐼 𝒿𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓃𝒶 𝓉𝒶𝓈𝓉𝑒. 

𝒜𝓃𝒹 𝐼'𝓋𝑒 𝒶𝓁𝓌𝒶𝓎𝓈 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓇𝒹 𝒾𝓉'𝓈 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉'𝓈 𝒾𝓃𝓈𝒾𝒹𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓃𝓉𝓈.

𝒞𝒶𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝒾𝓃𝓈𝒾𝒹𝑒𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓇𝑒𝒹 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓉𝑜𝑜.

𝒜𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓇𝑒𝒹 𝑜𝓃 𝓂𝓎 𝒻𝒶𝒸𝑒 𝒾𝓈 𝓂𝒶𝓉𝒸𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓎𝑜𝓊.

𝒜𝓃𝒹 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝒹𝓃𝑒𝓈𝓈 𝓎𝑜𝓊'𝓇𝑒 𝒷𝓁𝑒𝑒𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔, 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒶 𝓌𝑜𝓃𝒹𝑒𝓇𝒻𝓊𝓁 𝒻𝑒𝑒𝓁𝒾𝓃𝑔.

𝒴𝑜𝓊'𝓇𝑒 𝒹𝑜𝓌𝓃 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓎𝑜𝓊'𝓇𝑒 𝓅𝓁𝑒𝒶𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔, 𝓂𝓎 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝒹 𝒾𝓈 𝒿𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝓇𝑒𝑒𝓁𝒾𝓃𝑔.

𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝓇𝑒𝒹 𝓂𝑒𝒶𝓃𝓈 𝐼 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊. 𝒯𝒶𝓈𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝒷𝓁𝑜𝑜𝒹 𝓂𝑒𝒶𝓃𝓈 𝐼 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊.

𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝓇𝑒𝒹 𝓂𝑒𝒶𝓃𝓈 𝐼 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊.

𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝓇𝑒𝒹 𝓂𝑒𝒶𝓃𝓈 𝐼 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊.

- - - - - 

[zeebreezin]

hiii its @neathyingenue!! just gonna go ahead and admit i am hazy on some of harb's details. this is an au for beverley yeah? or is it him in the future

Hello my good friend MJ Neathyingenue!! Dw about it I’ve actually been meaning to make a semi-formal summary on him so!

The Scintillating Harbinger is the Sunless Skies AU of Beverley, so yeah technically it’s him in the future (the wonderful year of 1906), but also it’s not the only possibility of him in the futures. Thankfully.

In the Sunless Skies AU, Beverley’s search in London failed due to Shaw’s machinations (and boy howdy did he do some shit). He never found his Dawnlight suitcase bomb - but more importantly, he never found out that B survived the shipwreck they disappeared in. He left London assuming his life’s work and his best friend were both lost to the waves, and threw himself into his work as a means to cope. It helps up until it doesn’t, and then he gets weird about the New Sun to cope.

Fast forward a couple years, and he’s risen through the ranks enough to be working on the Clockwork Sun personally, and rises to the Skies with the rest of the New Sequence. Surprisingly (or maybe unsurprisingly) leaving his home and the only world he’s ever known Doesn’t help Beverley’s mental health. So he doubles down on his love for the sun - this is when the idea that he’s given up everything for it really becomes mission critical.

And then the Clockwork Sun starts glassing/Dazzling the senior engineers. By the time it’s Bev’s turn he’s kind of a mess. Insert the fic I just wrote here, where he manages to stall out his own death with a combination of blind faith and mastery of the Correspondance, binding bits of metal to his glassy side to make it usable. However this has horrible effects on his sanity and overall health, he’s in constant pain and isn’t even really aware of that fact anymore due to being high on that sunny supply.

In my mind, Beverley’s become to the Logoi as the Clockwork Sun is to a Judgement. He’s just stuck in a (somewhat) human body. Right now at least. That’s part of why everything on his ship is - effectively - bound to live in time with his machinery.

Now with insane levels of… everything, he doubles down into his work of making Judgement Light powered weaponry, a speciality that gets him Victoria’s attention. Bev even starts bending the trapping of Other Judgements to make his weapons of mass destruction like the Icarus looking ass he is. For stellar service during the Winchester War (read: war crimes), he was awarded both the Victoria Cross and a dubious position of importance. Legally he’s a captain (despite having way more functional power) of a research Locomotive, the Deliverance, not a war engine. He just… has permission to test the creations on board on enemies of the empire! That’s all!

He’s also still dying due to the damage to his body, but he doesn’t really care he’s got other things to worry about :)

The actual story of him involves his encounters with Shaw’s son, Everett, who he… really doesn’t like, considering his history with Shaw in this AU.

That’s the TL;DR!

[rosebloodcat]

Weirn Wally AU: Lacking Lies

Ao3 Link

Wally felt an itch at the back of his neck.

Someone was watching him.

He had a fairly good idea of who it was too. In hindsight, he really should have expected it.

Canceling the picnic with Julie and Frank suddenly would have raised some confusion, even if "not feeling well" was a perfectly reasonable excuse. That shadow from two nights ago had been stronger than he was used to in the hamlet.

It had laid him out pretty well, he was still smarting from the shot it managed to land on his side.

He hadn't had the magic to spare to make himself look like a puppet and join them at the flower fields the next morning for the picnic. He hadn't even had the energy to leave the house. Claiming that he thought he’d caught a day cold of some kind should have been a perfectly reasonable excuse. Nothing that should have been given more than a second thought when they saw him out and about the next day.

So, Frank's unusually intense stare on his back was worrying.

Wally ran through his mental notes, still keeping part of his concentration on his disguise while meandering toward the bodega. (The last thing he needed was to lose his hold on that in the middle of town. Aching side or not.)

Had he slipped somewhere and Frank had seen something? 

He had made sure to slip out long after dark. Dressed in clothes that didn't resemble his day-to-day wear. Got back before sunrise, wrapped up the few injuries he'd gotten while fighting, and grabbed enough sleep to drag himself out of bed to call Frank and Julie at a reasonable hour to avoid suspicion.

He had all his bases covered, from what he could remember. Why was Frank watching him so intently?

He let out a quiet huff. He was overthinking this.

Frank was probably just keeping an eye on him because he’d said he was sick. Wally would probably do the same thing if he heard one of his neighbors had suddenly fallen ill and canceled an event like that.

He gave his head a small shake to banish the worry, waving idly at Howdy as he stepped inside the bodega and headed for the store section he knew had what he was after. He’d made sure to read up on some new facts for this shopping trip, he really didn’t have a head for jokes today.

Assorted Vegetables, mustard seed, basil, garlic…

He looked up and the shelf Howdy had stocked the cooking oils on, fighting back a frown. Why did Howdy always have to stack it so high up? He knew how tall most of his clientele were…

(He wished, not for the first time, that he had picked a taller form for this world. But it was far too late to change it now. Small was what he’d gotten and he just had to live with it.)

He stretched up to grab the cooking oil he was after and winced at the way his side stretched. He let out a quiet, pained breath lowering his arm again. No, he couldn't reach for it with that arm. He tried to switch which arm was holding the basket, only for another twinge to shoot through his side.

Sharp footsteps made him tense as a presence appeared beside him. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Frank's bright yellow sweater vest.

"I believe this was what you were after, Wally?"

The weirn blinked, registering the bottle of oil he'd been reaching for being presented to him. And the quirked unibrow of the cloudy grey puppet holding it.

“Ah… Thank you, Frank. That was the one I was reaching for.” Wally adopted one of his usual, relaxed-looking smiles and took the bottle from his neighbor, carefully dropping it into his basket. That was the last thing on his list. Frank hummed at him and he fought back the urge to squirm under his stare. “Is there something wrong, neighbor?”

“Not exactly,” Frank idly commented, tilting his head slightly. “Julie was rather disappointed about you not being able to make it to our picnic the other day. So, after your call, I suggested rescheduling it for when you were better. If you still want to join us, of course.”

Wally felt some of the tension leave his shoulders, and his smile became more natural. Yes, this felt more in line with what he was used to from Frank. And he did still want to enjoy the picnic with them both.

“Ah, that would be lovely. I felt very bad about not being able to join you, I’d be happy to help plan another.” He shifted slightly, the dull ache in his side making itself known again. “Perhaps next Wednesday would work for you both? I can make something special to bring with me, to make up for missing the last one.”

By then, my side will have healed up.

“Oh? I’m sure Julie would love that. You don’t share your cooking very often.” Wally inclined his head at that, still smiling. He slowly started making his way back to the front of the store, Frank following a pace or two behind him as they continued making small talk.

Their conversation paused as they reached the counter, Wally “paying” for his groceries with some art and painting facts he was reasonably sure Howdy had never heard before. The caterpillar accepted them at the very least, so he considered it a success.

He carefully took the bags from Howdy but was further surprised when Frank took some of them as well. He considered trying to take them from the dower man, but…

It seemed his painkillers were starting to wear off. Which made carrying so many bags on his own rather painful. And there really wasn't any harm in letting Frank help. So he quietly thanked the frowning puppet and led the way outside and to his house.

The walk was quiet, but it wasn't uncomfortable (that Wally could tell). 

It was one of the things he’d always liked about Frank, even if it didn't happen very often. It was nice to just enjoy the quiet with someone on occasion.

“Wally?” Frank asked idly. The weirn let out an acknowledging hum, not feeling like breaking his own silence yet. “May I ask something of you?”

The edge of his mouth twitched at that. Oh, when was the last time he’d gotten to use this little joke?

“You have, but please continue.” He heard Frank let out a small huff.

(It wasn’t a good joke, he knew. But it usually got a few amused chuckles when he pulled it out.)

“Next time you have to cancel, please don't lie about why you can't join us,” Frank said, a tinge of irritation in his tone. Wally stopped dead in his tracks, turning sharply to face his neighbor.

“What… What do you mean by that, neighbor?” Frank's brow tilted at him, his expression thoroughly unimpressed.

“Wally, you canceled the picnic because you’ve hurt yourself,” was the dark-haired puppet’s response. His smile tightened at that.

“That’s silly, Frank. Why would you think-”

“Wally, you're limping.” Frank cut in with an exasperated sigh.

Now that it had been pointed out, Wally became hyper-aware of the state he was in.

Yes, he was in his usual clothes but he was favoring one side over the other as he moved (especially now that the medication was wearing off). And his clothes weren't as neat and clean as he usually preferred, the pompadour he always had his hair was messier than normal a few loose hairs falling into his line of sight. His eyes itched in the way that said he probably had some shadows under them, likely from the rough sleep due to his side before he’d had to drag himself out of bed to make the call…

Okay, now that Frank had said something he could see how easily his lie would have fallen apart once the detail-oriented puppet saw him. Everything would quickly add up to something being wrong.

(He wanted to smack himself, how had he missed this?! It was his own body, for pity’s sake!)

“Ah…” His smile turned a bit more sheepish while he mentally scrambled for a reasonable explanation that Frank would accept. What could he tell him that would make sense?

Frank sighed at him, seeming to not notice the subtle panic Wally was dealing with.

“Next time, just tell me the truth. I can understand that you don't want to worry Julie but I would appreciate a little more honesty from you.” He gave Wally another searching look and he struggled to not fidget. “How did you even hurt yourself in the first place? Were you trying to move furniture around by yourself?”

Wally latched onto the excuse the moment Frank said it.

“Uh, yes… I wanted to move my bookshelf. I thought I emptied it before I started trying to move it, but I missed a few books at the top and…”

“And they fell on you.” Frank finished, nodding along.

“Yes. I didn't want to worry anyone, so I didn't say anything about it. It’s a bit sore, but nothing really bad.” Wally assured, trying to sound more genuine than he knew he was being.

Frank sighed in that exasperated but somehow fond way he always did about his neighbors. The sort that said he wasn't mad at them, just disappointed that they hadn't thought something through.

(He used that sigh with Julie a lot. And Howdy. It was also distinctly different from the sigh he let out over things that Eddie did. Or the one he used for Poppy worrying over silly things.)

“Of course you did. Next time you should just ask for help, Wally. I'm sure Eddie or Barnaby or Howdy would have been happy to help if you’d asked. They’re certainly strong enough to move a bookshelf without too much trouble.” He side-eyed the small artist for a moment, and Wally fought back the urge to wriggle. “And they’re tall enough to see if any books had been missed.”

Wally smiled sheepishly at the look, even as the usual weight of discomfort settled in his stomach at having to lie to his neighbor. (It was a familiar feeling. One he’d gotten very good at ignoring over the years.)

“Well, I hope your side heals up soon. I'd imagine it's quite annoying.” Wally nodded at that. It certainly was.

The rest of their walk was spent in silence until they reached home and Frank handed off the bags he was carrying to Wally. He knew that Wally was particular about putting things away on his own, so there was no point in offering to help with it. The weirn gave a quiet thank you, after which Frank wrangled a promise to call if he needed anything while he was healing. Which Wally gave with little fuss.

(He wouldn't, he could handle himself just fine. But hearing Wally say that he would do that would settle the man’s nerves, so he still said it. (Not a true Promise, just an assurance that he would call in the future.))

The two finally parted ways with the click of a door, and Wally finally let out a breath of relief and let go of his spell once he was sure Frank was far enough to not see him.

He let himself slump against the front door for a moment, just breathing slowly.

A lamp nearby rattled and he felt the familiar ghostly feeling worryconcernquestion brushed against the edge of his mind.

“I'm fine, just sore from the medication wearing off. I need to take another dose soon.” He pushed off the door and slowly made his way to the kitchen to put away his groceries. He could take another potion once everything was in the correct cabinets. Doors opened of their own accord, his astral trying to make everything easier for him.

More feelings drifted over their bond, this time accompanied by a curious tug toward the front door. He inclined his head, smiling gently.

“Ah, it's nothing to worry about. Frank was helping because he noticed I was hurt. I forget how observant he is some days, he definitely thought something was up. I’ll need to be more careful around him for a bit.” He murmured gently, resting his hand against the wall comfortingly. He wished his astral could separate from the house so he could properly brush his hands over him, but the sun was up and their neighbors would notice if “Home” suddenly went still. “It shouldn’t be anything to worry over, I was able to assure him.”

A cupboard door thumped worriedly by his head, more flickers of questionconcernnervous flitting over the bond.

“No, Frank doesn't suspect anything about how I got hurt. He's just being kind and worrying over me. Like good friends do. Like all the people here do. Everything’s fine. I’m sure of it.”

~~~~~

Frank sighed to himself as he walked out of Home’s line of sight, shoulders slumping slightly.

Wally had lied again.

Really, he wasn’t as good at it as he seemed to think he was. Though, admittedly, he was hurting so that probably hadn’t helped him in coming up with a good story to feed Frank to fool him. He supposed it would work for Julie or Barnaby, as they rarely dealt with bookshelves or rearranging them and wouldn’t know that what Wally claimed wasn’t possible.

Some books fell on him, honestly.

He might have believed it if Wally had claimed Home had accidentally knocked something into him while trying to help, but not an accident from trying to move a bookshelf by himself. If that had been what happened, then the books would have fallen on Wally’s head or shoulders or his back, not his side. Not below his arm in a place that would be pulled every time he tried to move or carry things.

No, something else happened to hurt their resident artist. His eyes narrowed in thought, a hand rubbing at his chin.

The question was: What was it?

AN: I've finally finished the first bit of writing for the Weirn Wally AU!! I've had most of this for a while in my docs, but I figured now was as good a time as any to finally post it. I still wanna talk about this au and the fun little details I have on the brain. But it seems like I'm the only one who's interested in the Weirn Books.

I welcome all questions and comments.

[drcharadreemurr]

A flower's tale

You looked out over what you could see of New Home while Frisk made their way to your old home. You wondered how many Alphys had managed to save and how they were going to continue after all of this. If there even was an after this.

By this point Frisk had acquired 19 LV and you could feel it crawling in you. You hated it. You wished you could stop Frisk, you wished that you could take the knife and just slit their throat.

"Chara." Frisk voice startled you as they said your name with such vitriol. "What the hell are you doing?"

You look at what is happening and notice the knife at Frisk's throat, poised and ready to cut it open. You stare in shock, you were just thinking about it sure, but you never thought it possible. "What are you blaming me for? I can't control you..."

"You were thinking about doing this, weren't you? You were thinking about killing me as a way to stop me. Guess all this LV is giving you some small amount of control. But remember, I'm the one in charge, not you."

You look down at your hands, the LV was giving you control? What happens at 20 then? Could you possibly take the power of reset from them, save everyone from their tyranny? If there was even a chance of this, then you had to try.

No matter who they have to kill.

When Frisk finally reached the house they immediately went t your old bedroom. There was only one box this time, seeing as how they already had the knife. Frisk took the locket from the box and put it on.

"That doesn't belong to you..." You say quietly, but they ignore you.

Before Frisk can reach the first key Asr-Flowey shows up.

"Howdy Chara, you finally got here, took you long enough."

It still hurt that they were calling Frisk by your name.

"I guess it doesn't matter though, soon everything will be done."

Frisk takes the key and heads for the kitchen. Flowey continues to pop up periodically to speak to them.

"You know, I'm glad you came back Chara, you made things so interesting. For so long things were the same and boring. Everyone had the same routine doing the same things over and over."

Frisk grabs the second key and heads for the stairs.

"You know, when I first woke up as a flower I was so scared and confused. I called for mom and dad but no one heard me, I was all alone."

Frisk unlocks the chain and heads downstairs.

"The king was the first to find me, I was in his garden after all. I told him who I was and he cried. We spent a lot of time together but you know, I didn't feel anything about it. I thought I would be upset by this but then I realized, I didn't care. I didn't have any emotions, so I went to the Queen. Surely, if anyone, she could make me feel something. She failed."

Your heart hurt hearing this story, you knew deep down that it was all your fault. If you had never come up with that stupid plan you both would be alive and this hell you're in wouldn't be happening.

"After that I kinda just gave up, went to a lava lake in Hotland and decided that was it. What good is living if you can't feel anything? So I threw myself in, but as I was dying I felt something burning inside me. A desire not to die, a desire to continue living, and in the moment I did. I woke back up in the king's garden and it was as if he had never met me. It took awhile but I figured out that death wasn't permanent for me. I could go back as long as I was determined to do so."

Frisk says nothing as they walk the path toward the throne room. You feel more and more pain as you hear about your siblings pain, the one person you cared about more than anything in this world.

And you caused their suffering.

"So, I started experimenting, seeing what I could get away with. I befriended everyone and made everyone happy. But I still didn't feel anything. Then I started hurting them, it started small, a random monster here and there. But then I got a thought, what if I killed them all instead. So I did, and it was invigorating, for the first time it was like I could feel something again. I revealed in it."

To think that such a sweet boy could be driven to such acts. This was all your fault.

"Chara, I'm telling you all this because you are the only person who understands me. In this world I've done everything I could. Every book, game, person, scenario. I've done everything with all of it, and I got bored. But you, you were different, you were new. People like us, it doesn't matter who it is, if they get in our way we wouldn't hesitate to-"

Flowey froze, his expression turning to one of fear. He started shaking.

"Wh-what's going on? What's this feeling?"

A sinister smile crept across Frisk's face.

"H-hey, w-what's with that expression?"

Frisk takes a step toward Flowey.

"H-hey, back off. You're a real freak you know that!? Stay away from me."

Flowey has fled.

[indecisive-dizzy]

Hiiiiiiiiii pookiiweeeee :)

I’m thinking more about my whole high school DearDollops angst au, I have so many ideas for them ;v;

I’m thinking a lot about their friendship after the entire situation. It’s awkward and complicated but they’re trying their best

Eddie lets his hair grow out a bit, and Daisey pulls it back into a little high ponytail. It’s cute and Eddie appreciates it

They’re just a lot more affectionate now, mostly on Eddie’s side cause he’s nervous. Daisey tries to reassure him but they’re also nervous

They hang out a lot more, but conversations are not super easy to hold up anymore

It’s just Eddie yapping and Daisey listening, but it helps them get comfortable again

Eddie invited Daisey to hang out with him and the rest of the neighbors/his friends and they immediately called for a group huddle to talk about it

Daisey could hear everything they said but ignored it

Daisey calls him Edd. It flip flops between that and Eddie, but they mostly use Edd

I’m thinking after some really stressful and tiring after school sports practice (I still don’t know what sport I want Eddie to do), Daisey just walks to the field to wait for him and he immediately runs and tackle-hugs them

Daisey’s just walking over to the field and saying hi, and Eddie just goes “Daaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiseeeeeeyyyyyyyyy :(“ and tackles them into a hug

They probably eat Smile-Dip behind the school and look at clouds

They’re the kind of duo to spray people with silly spray during parties together

The teasing from both their friend groups are non stop. They mention hanging out once and immediately someone starts making kissy noises

Is that the queue that I’m making them romantic? Possibly-

I need to make incorrect quotes for them they’re too precious to me once they’re at this stage :,3

Hiiii Bestieee :]

Oh yay Aftermath Friendship! let the awkward begin lol (post typing me is adding a cut bc I think this is a tad long lol 😅)

ponytail Eddie my beloved that sounds so cute

Sorry did you mean Touch Starved Best Friends Have Recently Made Up And It's Awkward But They Really Want To Cuddle?

Eddie's yapping is fun to listen to at least, bc of the topic, his accent, or his enthusiasm. Plus I think sometimes he'll mention something and Dasiey manages to respond to it before he moves on, thus triggering a more back n forth convo. still def takes a while for it feel as natural as it did before

Daisey standing next to the group huddle looking into the camera (the wall) like they're in the office lol

He may be sore as heck but that will not stop Eddie from tackling Daisey. Pain be damned it's Hug Time.

Also. Mind if I share some sport ideas for Eddie? Ahem! Weightlifting, Volleyball, Cross Country, or Soccer! Cross country and soccer are kinda funny w/ his clumsiness but I like the idea of Eddie in running type sports. Tho he could be a soccer goalie! Weightlifting needs little explanation lol he a strong boy. and volleyball is fun w/ more clumsy potential but less running lol

Points at you! That's sounds adorable but now I wanna know what they'd both be like on smile dip high or whatever it is that happens lmao

They're both hiding behind the same wall thinking they'll jump spray some rando only to spray each other in the face with silly string XD

NO DANGIT You just gave me the mental image of Howdy turning around to do the fake making out motions Thing! you know what I mean Idk what it's called! Barnaby Loses his mind and needs to lay down he's laughing too hard. Eddie's face is redder than his hair and he's yelling ajdhajdjah gah these idiots I love them sm

[bylightofdawn]

2023 Wrap Up.

It’s officially New Years in Texas. 2023 has been a weird year for me, one that both dragged and flew by way too quickly. There’s so much pain and awfulness going on the world right now that it’s hard to not dwell on or carry that into 2024 but I’m going to try and keep this relatively light-hearted and positive if only because I want to try and start the New Year on a positive note. For me personally? I didn’t really do anything big or notable but I had some smaller but meaningful victories.

I made a New Years resolution (something I’m pretty vehemently against because I always feel disappointed in myself when I don’t follow through) that I was going to start writing again and I would try and write every day. I didn’t manage every day but boy howdy did I still keep up that resolution. The major project of course being Seeds for the Future which I clocked in at 176,456 words minus I want to say around 10,000 words which I’d previously started like 3 years ago before abandoning it. So we’ll call it 165,000 to make it even-ish.

Holy. Shit. 165,000 in one year. I did not in a million years think I had that in me. And it’s been a wild ride. At points I felt like I was being ridden by a damned demon that was demanding I write this NOW. I was especially busy the first six months or so and then I burned myself out which….completely understandable when you consider your standard basic fiction book is around 70,000+ so I wrote two fucking novels in six months length-wise. But I also wrote a bunch of other stuff. I wrote A Fragile World Between Sharp Teeth which I’m still absurdly in love with. Wrote two whole-ass Witcher fics this month and one Star Trek fic as well as some other WIPs.

By my calculations I wrote -drum roll- 233,383 words in 2023.

223,383 WORDS WRITTEN ARE YOU SHITTING ME

And actually followed through on a New Years Resolution.

I also forced myself out of my comfort zone in little ways. I pushed myself to take action on my health to try and figure out the cause of my chronic pain and while the diagnosis was a bummer as was getting diagnosed with diabetes on top of everything else this year, I am proud that I forced myself to do it. I also did silly things like bleached my hair and dyed it all manner of crazy colors.

I think for 2024 I’m going to try and hold myself accountable for my health. I desperately need to go back to therapy and as much as I hate to admit it, I need to join a gym and strengthen my body. It will be the best thing I can do for my RA if I can help strengthen my muscles and I think it will help with my pain levels. It just...it sounds like so much effort though and it scares me so we’ll see how that journey goes. I’m going to keep plugging away slowly but surely.

I’m also going to keep trying to write in 2024. I have so many fic ideas I want to write. I’m definitely not going to do anymore crazy fucking 100K fics again. It definitely takes a toll on me creatively and not going to lie, after a while it feels like I’m just kinda screaming into the void because the sad truth of the matter is, long-fic will turn readers off and they won’t click or interact with it. And eventually my imposter syndrome reared its ugly head and the last half of this year and trying to finish Seeds has been a slog for the most part and not one I enjoyed.

Now, I’m going to go pour myself a glass of Moscato, eat some stupidly expensive caprese salad and I think edit the first chapter of my Gallahir sequel. I think I might be able to get it up and posted today if I can edit the first chapter tonight. Thank you to all my tumblr buddies, both new and old who have stuck it out with me through everything. I love and appreciate y’all and I am hoping you all have a happier, more kinder year than 2023.

[undertale-fic-librarby]

I've been struggling to find Papyrus fics, where it's a bit more dark. Doesn't even have to be any relationship or anything. I just want some sweet papyrus angst.

Howdy, thanks for asking! Here are some fics that might fit what you're looking for!

Like a Rattlesnake by sugarhullo (Teen And Up, Incomplete)

Papyrus, in a moment of desperation and loneliness, turns to the absolute worst person he could ever befriend. Flowey, bored with the repetitiveness of his world, decides to see the limits of a certain skeleton. Even the strongest of people break at some point. Edit: not finishing because hyperfixation ended :(( im really sorry

Insatiable by Orchid_Petals (Teen And Up, Incomplete)

Suffering through personal struggles and the ever-present stress of being trapped in the Underground, several monsters Fall Down and are sent to the Royal Scientist in a desperate attempt to salvage their lives. Papyrus is one of them. Papyrus is the only monster to walk out of Alphys' lab after being injected with Determination, evading the fate of the Amalgamates. He is not spared, however, from other adverse effects.

a realization. by Blaiddsumu (General Audiences, Complete)

He gasped and bolted upright, wincing as his body twinged in pain.  He had to make sure his father was alright. Because he had to have survived, he couldn't imagine if, he hadn't… No, no he was fine. It looked like a worse situation than it really was. He managed to catch him just in time, after all. The steady feeling of his magic gripping the other's soul- and then there was a flash of brightness, before he suddenly woke up here. But first… what was he doing on this roof? By the looks of it, he was in the capital? Last he checked, he was fairly certain he was in the CORE with his father and his brother. He wasn't about to forget that. Or, Papyrus, immediately after the accident that shattered W. D. Gaster.

A Puzzle Most Peculiar by LasagnaForGarfield (Teen And Up, Incomplete)

Papyrus is an ambitious boy who yearns for many things- to make friends, to adventure, to prove himself to his older brother, to prove himself in his own eyes, to help people- and the strange book of magic he found in a hidden tunnel beneath the puzzle store may be the answer to all of his problems. But the more he delves into this new realm of knowledge, the less he recognizes the world around him, and the less his brother recognizes him- yet oddly enough, Papyrus quickly finds he has never felt more like himself.

Hospice by TownFowl (Not Rated, Incomplete)

Dr. W.D. Gaster falls into the core and royally fucks up his life. Luckily, his brother’s there to help him get back on his feet. Sure, they still have some issues to work out (mostly of the identity crisis kind) but things are sure to get better! No matter what the man in the mirror says!

[dialogusnes]

Howdy, I'm fairly new to the site but I think this is where I post my weird 40k theories at length so here we go:

WHAT IF THE GODS OF CHAOS ARE SENTIENT GALACTIC TRAUMA RESPONSES?

In the lore of 40k it can be hard to understand the specific domains of the gods of Chaos. The 4 have wildly different themes and decades of lore- how do they tie together?

Here's how! You might have heard of the terms fight, flight, freeze, and fawn- 4 responses to trauma that grew in power as the galaxy was collectively traumatized until they became the primary entities of the dimension of emotion.

Fight- Khorne (stg i will not explain this)

Flight- Tzeench. Aside from the obvious bird themes, Tzeench is the god of change, revolution, plots, knowledge, and magic. All of these combine into a god that represents the hope for change to escape your circumstances. Tzeench's champions avoid direct confrontations, more concerned with gaining knowledge and using deception or sorcery to succeed.

Freeze- Nurgle. Someone stuck in the freeze state will often sit in depression, constantly trying to justify their circumstances in order to preserve the stasis. The followers of nurgle are often recruited while dying of a horrible illness. Joining up takes the pain away, and makes you survivable- but you're still rotting. You can almost cope with the horror of your circumstances by calling it grandfathers gift and spreading it to others. After all, misery loves company.

Fawn- Slaanesh. I think they're the god that most have a hard time describing beyond sex, drugs, and rock n' roll. Worse yet, lots of people get really queerphobic. I think slaanesh can be understood as the fawn response in the need to be perfect, to be more than you currently are, to be finally flawless and beyond criticism. Slaanesh also has a claim on every Aeldari soul, a galaxy-scale abusive dynamic that resulted from her birth. Each of the Aeldari sub-societies is effectively defined by how they manage this claim, and none of them view Slaanesh favorably. This is in contrast to humans, who will often immediately jump ship from their fascist overlords to a worship any demonic god- but this is mostly a reflection of just how much the Emperor blows.

That's my headcanon, hoping you liked it.

[risu5waffles]

TEN toes of pleasure

Gosh, but i let this set way too long. Meant to clean these up over the break, but... well, i just didn't? Honestly, they're a little pain in the butt, but what can you do about it?

i remember finding this one well more frustrating than it really needed to be, and not really managing to nail the theme that well? Everything just seems so washed out, and the level has a much emptier feel than Joja's usual. i honestly feel pretty hit-and-missy on Joja as a creator. Like, they put the work in, and when they manage to nail it, the look of their levels is fantastic; but it doesn't seem like they have a great idea of how to set up a proper difficulty curve, their checkpoints are... they could be placed better, and i usually wind up at the end of the level just kind of wanting things done wiv? Like a well presented meal that's really too much to stomach.

This one's a keeper tho'. i'd always been familiar wiv taxok20 through their music, so it was a bit of a surprise that they did gameplay levels, and did them so well. This level just oooooozes wiv charm and good humour, tons of neat details and characters; and i will never not appreciate when creators try to make their levels bilingual. It's not easy to juggle a second language, and that deserves respect. i wish i could use Japanese characters when inputting text in LBP3, but it won't register the keyboard even when i have system language set to Japanese, maybe on account of it being a US copy?

An earlier effort from taxok20, and it definitely shows. It's not a bad level, and i definitely had fun wiv it; but it's a lot clunkier than their later work, and you don't really get the charming vibe we found in Welcome to the Halloween. Still, we all gotta start somewhere.

i don't know what, if anything, i was expecting wiv this one, but gosh is it nice to look at. There's an oddly LBP2 feel to the whole affair, and i found myself just enjoying it throughout. Would have been a good pick for LittleBite-sizedPlanet, honestly.

We'll actually be talking about the follow up to this one next week, and the LBsP breakdown for this should be somewhere in here. Search the LBsP tag and that should turn it up? i hope? i know tumblr search is pretty pants.

A neat idea, and i really like the way the sandworm moves, but boy howdy was it a pain in the butt to actually engage wiv. i understand the need for a larger arena, just to keep track of where the thing is, but it makes things really hard to track, too. This is another Song 2 level, so i am doing this purely from memory, since i don't feel like digging out the media player to watch the archived file (i realize it's not really digging anything out, it's just that my laptop is VERY slow, and i have zero time this morning. Trying to do too many things at once).

This one's exactly what it says on the tin. It is unfinished. It has skellingtons. It is a level. Mineplanet is a fantastic kid, and i've known them pretty much forever now. Since they were an actual kid (well, teen, but that's pretty kid from this perspective), and i just hope to hell that life smiles on them. i mean, i hope that for most everyone, but this is a more personal hope, you know?

The set pieces in this one are so well done! Even if it's a bit limited, i still had a heckin' good time going through it. CB's great in just about everything i've seen them do, but it's nice that they're trying styles outside their previous usual wheelhouse. Nicer still that they're succeeding at them.

This one's a bit more hit-and-missy. Some of the dioramas do look really cool, but then you've got a few in there that just feel like filler added because trickyomicky had to have one for each biome. Still, i appreciate the ambition, and the difficulty of nailing down that many different ideas well. i'll be interested in seeing if this one gets filled out to cover the full series as promised.

i'll be honest, all i remember of this one was that it looked nice, and i didn't very much enjoy playing it.

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i'm hecking sorry it took so long to get these up; and i know we've still got 351~365 to go, and it's gonna take a bit of time. So damn much to do, and no time to do it in, that's for sure. Take care, y'all! i love ya lots, but i gotta run!