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intrawebs · 1 year

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A list of misc. Hermitcraft/Life Series fics from someone who loves AUs

There is no smut on this list

❤️ = Angst 💜 = Fluff 💛 = Fic I recently added

No Romance and Romance Optional

❤️Hermit Hybrids (In Progress Series) by Flickersprout - "Loosely connected fantasy AU with background dystopian elements. Mostly exploring the Hermits as a magic found family and all their different ways of being nonhuman." Can be read in any order! I'd suggest starting with The Colors of Friendship cause it's the earliest chronologically, ZombieCleo's great, and it's a good introduction to the world.

❤️the sanctity of the mundane (Completed Series) by crabbunch - “Snippets of life on the Double Life server; mundanity can reveal the most interesting things about people, after all.” This series makes me crazy. The only happy pairs are Boat Boys and Ranchers hell yeah

From the Archives (Completed Series) by Sixteenthdays and zeph - “A collection of statements from the archives of the Void Institute.” A Hermitcraft/Life Series Magnus Archives AU with Grian as the Head Archivist and Pearl, Mumbo, Scar, and Impulse as his assistants. Can be read with no knowledge of the Magnus Archives.

Interlude From Another Reality: Peacock's Eye by Sixteenthdays and zeph - “‘My assistant,’ announced Scar Goodtimes, newly-promoted Head Archivist of the Peacock's-Eye Institute, to nobody in particular except maybe the paused audio recording software on his laptop, or perhaps the small pile of tape recorders his predecessor'd left piled on a shelf in the corner, or arguably the little peacock-feather eye logo that dotted the office as haphazardly as it did the entire Institute, ‘is weird.’

(In which Scar is Grian's Archivist, and Grian is Scar's assistant.)” Sort of an AU of the Magnus Archives AU? Haha. But it’s completely divorced from the canon and can definitely be read stand alone.

❤️Shining and Polished (But Never to Plan) by SaltyServal - “A cough makes Grian freeze in his tracks, shakes him to his core. Despite all the signs, of all the things he was expecting to find in this cave, a truly sentient creature was not one of them. That’s what scares him the most.

He turns, grabbing his dagger and pointing it at the newcomer, who simply smiles at him, fangs and all.

‘Why hello there.’

tldr; Grian is an avian desperate to keep his wings, and he'll do whatever it takes to save himself. Even if it means stealing from a dragon.

(It turns out there's more to the dragon then he thought).” A fantasy AU with bird!Grian and dragon!Scar

oh captain (let's make a deal) by birrdie - “No one on these shores knew Scar’s name. Aside from Tango, of course. No one feared the humble, white-sailed ship docked on the south side of the port. This, like the tides, would eventually change with time. They would know his name soon enough. The greatest pirates all rose from humble beginnings like a phoenix from ashes. Scar was no different from them; that much he was sure of. And it would not take him long to prove it.

Or; Scar is a Captain of a humble pirate crew of one. That is, until a discovery on the shore shakes things up a bit.” A heaping helping of greedy pirate Scar and mysterious crewmate Grian, with evil Boat Boys and innocent Solidaritek as a garnish.

❤️starry eyes stare through me by whatcaniwriteinthis - "'You know,' he says. 'Gotta have a good show: high stakes, violence—' He nods at the room, at the 24 children learning how to use weapons, how to start a fire, how to find food that won’t kill them.

'An unlikely allyship,' Scar finishes, smiling a little. Grian smirks back.

–

Grian is this year's male tribute from District 9. Clearly, the odds are already not in his favor. But he has to get home to his sister and to do that he has to play the Games. Give them a show. Stay alive. Remember to step out of line is to threaten Pearl. Don't get too attached to the Career that agrees to be his ally, but not to put a damn shirt on." Angst without a happy ending. Made me cry

❤️Stained Glass Sunlight (In Progress Series) by Cosmic_Retribution - “The Watchers had seemed so nice, is the thing. So… disarmingly hospitable.

When they’d set out for the ruins, they’d gone in search of some magical beasts reportedly plaguing the area, according to the flyer they’d taken. What they’d found instead was an empty city and a group of mages and scholars studying… something. They’d been cagey about what. Certainly not the history of the place— the Watchers arrived long after the fall of Dogwarts, content to live and work inside the city’s corpse with no special reverence for the grave it lay ruined in. They had no stake in its fall, or its future, or the preservation of its once-hallowed legacy— but its bones, certainly, served as protection enough for their studies.

The beasts were the only thing troubling the Watchers’ work, or so they’d said. Strange, then, that Grian and his party never once saw a trace of them.

How long after, until his friends realized Grian was gone? That they weren’t safe?

—

Two decades ago, the city of Dogwarts met its demise. Today, a traveler meets god wearing the mask of a merchant, looking for a miracle.

These two things are not as unconnected as they appear.” Grian and Scar’s version of the lamplight AU(below). Featuring bored god Scar and oblivious paladin Grian.

Lamplight (In Progress Series) by skelew - “Welcome to Lamplight, a DnD/Fantasy Third/Last Life Renchanting AU. Ren is a god stuck in the form of living fire. Martyn is his sole follower. Martyn and Ren help free one another from imprisonment by the Watchers and are now traveling the world on a two-man adventure of fond companionship and occasional arson.” There’s angst but really just in the first fic. The main series has no shipping but skelew has written some treebark one shots that are also in the collection.

❤️dandelion wishing by skelew - “The white lily is known to symbolize purity, innocence. It is also a symbol of mourning, a popular choice to decorate the casket at a funeral. This is due to their beauty, yes, as well as the fact their smell can cover up the scent of a decaying body. Dandelions are best known for their magic, but no dandelion survives a wish.

The King of Dogwarts is not dead.” A Martyn and Ren centric fic about coming back from the dead.

❤️Wooden Mausoleum by skelew - “‘To take the life of one you love an agony Martyn understands far too well. It’s not something he’d wish on anyone—not on his worst enemy, and certainly not on his dearest friends.

Least of all would he wish it on Ren.’

Or, for the Red King, there are fates worse than death. How fortunate he is that his Hand will never let him meet them.” Dogwarts makes it to the end of 3rd Life but Martyn has a betrayal arc.

💜Performance Evaluations by glossyblue - “From The Desk Of His Majesty’s Most Private Of Areas: A True And Accurate Evaluation Of Growth Opportunities For The Knights Of The Square Table, The Loyal Court of Ren the King, As Suggested By The HR Department. (Note to self: when did we acquire an HR department? Ask Bdubs.)” Super cute and funny performance evaluations of the knights from the King Ren Hermitcraft arc.

The H.T.G.Y. Files by glossyblue - "Research scientist Cub didn't intend to make a person. He just came up with the plans. But when a competing team looking to make a supersoldier gets hold of the genome he invented, Cub is pulled in to stop them screwing up—and whatever he expected to find, it wasn't someone like Scar." This is part of a series called Lab Escape but the other fic has a ship that's not in this list so I can't put it in. But I really recommend the whole series!

💜The Government Institute for Ghost Supervision (G.I.G.S.) by glossyblue - “HIGHLY SENSITIVE: G.I.G.S CLASSIFIED. Audio logs for a team of supernatural agents investigating reports of a ghost at a local high school.GRIAN: Yeah, Skizz, why did you let Scar set something on fire? Pretty irresponsible.

SKIZZ: [noise of incoherent outrage] You try stopping him, buddy.” Goofy GIGS story

fixed and dilated by iamsolarflare - “Anything waterdwelling knows from bait.

---

Or: xBCrafted deals with the people around him, and a secret he's been keeping for one hell of a long time. Not the ‘old enemies hunting him down’ type, no - this should be fine, as long as nobody pries. It's the way you should deal with secrets like this, really, just don't let people know. No questions, no answers.

Hypno never got that memo, apparently.” An xB and Hypno fic where neither are human and neither wants to talk about it. Even if you don’t watch them I recommend it.

on the getaway mile by Odaigahara - “‘You want me to do what?’ the civilian asked disbelievingly, and Scar’s body language shifted to that of an impatient trainer, one whose fuse was running short. It was a precursor to bad things, like being tased or forced onto a treadmill for hours; Mumbo flinched even knowing it was an act, and the civilian cut off with a squeak, so Mumbo knew he felt the same way.

Or possibly that was the gun. Scar having a gun seemed more likely as an explanation, now that Mumbo thought of it.

Stealing the car would be better, but they had no idea where they were going, and neither of them was familiar with road laws. What if they hit a person while driving? What if there was some sort of kill switch in the car that the owner could flip to blow it up with them inside? Anti-villain tech had to be wild, from what the Foundation had on hand– and they were villains now for sure. Not just for defying the Foundation, but for this. Heroes didn’t take the actions he and Scar were taking.” Heroes Villains Scar and Mumbo take civilian Grian hostage for a road trip! It's not as bad as it sounds

counterclock by scarabies - “When it’s over, Impulse finds him in the throne room.

(or, Bdubs and Impulse chat after a rebellion ends. Can be read as either platonic or romantic.)”

Scarian

💛💜Tangotek Evil Incorporated by onawhimsicot - “As the supervillain Dr. Blaze, Tango has a fondness for oddly named "ificators" and stylistic flair. He spends his days trying to take over the city, shaming superheroes for their basic costume designs, and then sending said heroes home with better equipment that actually matches their aesthetic because clearly, if he wants a cool fight scene to happen, he's got to do everything around here himself.

For some reason, not many people think he’s evil. On the bright side, the superhero Canary, does and has made it his personal mission to bring down Dr. Blaze! But when he suddenly goes missing, Canary's partner, Parrot, is convinced that Tango is at fault. Seeing as this is not true at all (kidnapping is so gauche), Tango is offended that someone is trying to steal his nemesis right from under his nose. If Tango wants to get his nemesis back, he'll have to work together with Parrot to find and rescue Canary from whatever danger he's got himself into this time.

Because, after all, what's a supervillain without a nemesis?” A very fun modified Phineas and Ferb AU with Tango as Doofenshmirtz and Jimmy as Perry the Platypus

❤️coliseum by artanogon - "Grian is on a mission: kill the Red King of the Third Precinct. Unfortunately, when he travels to the capital where the king resides, he lands in a spot of trouble with a local merchant when he accidentally destroys the merchant’s shop. After he enters into a contract to help pay off the damages, he discovers that there might be another side to Scar under the silver-tongued salesman— and that he’s not the only one who wants the Red King dead." This one made me cry. Happy ending but it gets worse before it gets better.

Picture Perfect, Trapped in Eternity by CloudySkyFlight - “Grian's an architecture major in college, minoring in art history, and when the largest, and supposedly most haunted, collection of royal portraits in the world is displayed in a museum only a few hours away from his dorm, he gets up early to go see it.

Scar's been dead for centuries, living in a royal portrait he cursed to hold his memories and soul, waiting for the moment his best friend would come back to him. Several centuries later, he wakes up to see a brunette that has the looks and soul of his friend, and Scar knows that he cannot let Grian leave without him.” Starts out with Scar sort of kidnapping Grian? But the mood quickly lifts from there

and everything is you by eastwards - “‘Oh my gosh. I’ve got paint on your face.’

Grian moved to wipe the paint off, but Scar shook his head, ‘No the other side, here let me-’

He held Grian’s head steady with one hand, the other carefully brushing across his jaw. With an affirming noise, Scar nodded and bid Grian farewell, as he wandered back to his station in the studio. Grian held his hand up to where he had touched him, feeling his head begin to warm. How troublesome.

–

artist au w/ scarian wooo”

somewhere between the surface and the seabed by LovesickPrince - "It's a classic tale of love: Grian, a mer from the depths of the sea, makes a deal with a sea witch to exchange his voice for a pair of legs and go visit the human whose life he had saved. Only in this case, Grian is more interested in the sea witch than the human.

(If only someone had bothered to tell Scar, the sea witch in question, about this divergence)."

💜Dead Heat by glossyblue - “Jimmy's having a meltdown, Ren and Martyn are flirting outrageously, Tango gets cruelly betrayed and Grian and Scar are being unrepentantly weird about each other in every shot. It's the nation's favourite no-holds-barred elimination game. It is, of course, the Great British Bake Off.”

A Certain Je Ne Sais What by glossyblue - “Literally any one of Grian’s friends would be a better soulmate than Scar, and Grian is going to prove this scientifically.

Grian’s already felt it, a pinprick in his thumb. He’s familiar—he’s so painfully, unforgettably familiar—with the way Scar sees something and is already reaching out to touch it before he’s asked questions like 'what is this' and 'is it bad news' and 'is it going to hurt me, Scar, and by extension the unwilling bystander my physical sensations are now linked to'. Scar just immediately reaches out.” Grian tries to convince himself that anyone else would be a better soulmate than Scar while proving that Scar is the best soulmate for him.

❤️wait the worst is yet to come by glossyblue - “‘Grian is smirking at him. ‘I know, Grian, I know,’ Scar says. ‘Trade by name and trade by nature–okay, Scar by name but still trade by nature–we are going to be in business, opening soon, special rates for favorite customers of course–’

‘But have you done it yet,’ says Grian.

‘No?’ Scar says. ‘We only just started.’

Grian bounces on the balls of his feet, delighted. ‘Okay. Okay, okay, so. You need to know how it works, then, don’t you? Kiss me.’” Scar centric Last Life AU where you transfer lives by making out. There’s a sex scene but it’s not smut. Angst without a happy ending.

heart under your sleeve by Anonymous - “Scar was easy to love, as mortifying as that was to think. Grian didn’t think he was in love with the artist, it was far too soon for that, but he knew it would be easy for anyone to love him.

In the back of his mind, he wondered if Scar had met his soulmate, then shook his head to dispel the thought before it could fully form.

“Look, we can’t bring in a live panda, but if you want, we can try and connect with a zoo in the area so that they can set up a live stream of their panda exhibits,” Grian compromised and Scar brightened again. He ignored the sweeping feeling of relief in his chest as he opened his laptop, typing in a quick search for nearby panda exhibits. “Maybe we can even get one of their handlers in to give a talk about pandas.”

“Perfect!” Scar agreed, putting on a bright grin. Grian smiled to himself in turn.

—

Soulmate AU: You are born with a birthmark, similar to a tattoo, that is shared by your soulmate. Grian is a curator for an art museum. Scar is an eccentric artist who is just as attractive as he is infuriating to work with. Everything goes sideways when Grian realizes they're soulmates.”

💜If you like it… by GoodTimesWithScar - “‘Hello,’ slurs Scar, ‘you wouldn’t happen to know where a man such as myself… would find… an eligible bachelor to spend a little bit of time with?’

Grian blinks. ‘Oh, you are plastered.’

or, the ‘you got so drunk you asked your husband if he was single’ trope, but with added mumbo being 100% done with this nonsense.”

💜Well It’s Not Quite Narnia, But- by Raichett - “It’s just past seven in the morning when Grian opens his built-in wardrobe door to find a man dressed in something close to a green and gold matador outfit standing inside.

---

Or: Grian is not giving up this dirt-cheap rent flat for anything, not even the strange (if fun) goings on around the place and the elven king coming in through his closet.”

my ever after / is holding you by LovesickPrince - “Grian has been many things.

A servant of a respected noble family. A survivor, with bruises on his skin and hidden wings tied down to his back. A rebel, sneaking away for a night of wonder in the heart of the kingdom - and a curiosity, gawked at by all as the King himself swept him into his arms and spent hours by his side.

When Scar spent days tracking Grian down and helping him escape the cruel grasp of the Watchers, Grian thought his life couldn’t surprise him anymore. Pledging his life to serve Scar was all he could do to thank his King.

Of course, being the personal servant of the King comes with its' own risks - and now Grian could add ‘hostage’ to his list of titles.

Or; someone decides kidnapping King Scar’s beloved servant was a good idea. It really wasn’t.”

i live in a hologram with you by remrose - “‘Anyone in there would be lucky to be graced with your company.’ Scar told him. His face was calm but at his sides, his hands tightened and knuckles went white.

‘Stop trying to sweet talk me, I've already caught you fleeing.’ Grian stalked another pace forward, eyes alight with mischief and excitement. ‘Where are you going?’” Scar’s bad end in the treesekai AU (which you need to have read to understand).

Treebark

💜love goes toward love as schoolboys from their books (In Progress Series) by GoodTimesWithScar - “treebark theatre kids au, with ren as the male lead and martyn as the very distracted spotlight operator!”

Through the Sky-Blue Cracks (In Progress Series) by Amethystfairy1 - “This is a compilation of all the pieces that take place within my Over-City/Under-City AU, which is also a Hot Guy/Cute Guy Superhero AU, though that's not the only thing that'll be going on!” The first treebark fic is quite a ways down (It’s called Dagger and Rose), but I believe in yalls ability to figure out the setting through context clues.

❤️Sgt. Pepper’s Broken Hearts Club Band by harpydora - “The sign next to the door just reads, ‘Support Group,’ which frankly doesn't leave a great impression for the gathering inside. Martyn double-checks the Facebook event on his phone, but he's unfortunately certain he's in the right place: a support group for people whose soulmates are no longer with them.” The double life broken hearts club in a modern AU.

wild things can't get comfortable by donnerstag - "Ren and Martyn steal what small moments of comfort they can get.

Several loosely-connected scenes from Dogwarts as Ren struggles with his feelings towards the Hand of the King."

Scribbling the lines (from you to me) by Siri_Spy - “Martyn and Cleo are soulmates… but what exactly does that mean for them? And with Martyn starting to fall for the over-the-top president of his RPG club, and Cleo starting to realize that they might be a little late to the ‘disgustingly in love’ phase… something needs to change.

What will that something be? Well don’t look at me, I’m the one who wrote it. Look at yourself, and ask yourself: Why don’t I know?

Exactly. That’s what I’ve been wondering. Anyway, what are you still doing here? Go read!” A really sweet modern AU about Cleo and Martyn.

not the ghost by csillagvizsgalo - “Martyn tags along with his friends on a ghost hunting trip (he has seen people who had weirder hobbies anyways) for fun in an old run-down castle museum that has definitely not been kept properly. It's all fun and games, and he definitely doesn't believe in the supernatural, so it's not scary at all, until he starts noticing things lying around in areas that nobody has been to in ages, that remind him of memories of events that he never experienced, hundreds of years ago. The voices aren't helping. Well, the one Voice.

The Not Ghost of the Castle (he is a very dedicated cosplayer, thank you very much) takes a liking, and possibly some recognition, to Martyn, and while he spends the night terrorising Martyn's friends, the two of them build an unlikely bond and friendship.

The Red King just wants to rest, and so does Martyn. But not everything is as easy as it first seems.” Ren pulls out all the stops to try and intimidate Martyn but Martyn is a little rude to him and completely ruins it.

Wild Life: A Conservation Podcast by donnerstag - “Ren and Martyn, hosts of a popular little nature and conservation podcast, go camping together as part of a season finale special; discussions of the future, for both the show and themselves, ensue. Featuring: a campfire! innuendos! and even a little bit of kissy, perhaps?”

A Romance Route For The Doomed Villain?!? by skelew - “These days, Martyn doesn’t really have a lot going on. This is where the dating sim comes in.

Granted, if Martyn knew he was going to die so soon, he maybe would have tried a little harder at, like, holding down a job. Or maybe not. It's not like he has a lot of time to think about it.

Or, Treebark Isekai Romance Parody Which I Spent Far Too Much Time On.”

❤️I Think I’ve Seen This Film Before by GoodTimesWithScar - “In which Martyn fails to get the guy - but he doesn't let that stop him for long.” Set in the treesekai AU (the fic above), which you need to read to understand.

💜I should’ve known it would be you - water/woods by theorionsound - “Martyn sort of expected to fall in love with Ren eventually.

—

On their bi-annual hiking trip, Ren and Martyn get lost in thought. Mainly about eachother.”

❤️To Sit in Hell With You by dirtybinary - "Ren pulled Martyn close, breathing in the smell of soot and cinders still clinging to his clothes. 'You never kept secrets from me, back at Dogwarts.'

'Sure.' There was something knife-bright in Martyn’s eyes. 'And I’m a good little Southlander now.'

Martyn's playing every side in the death game. He's a loose cannon, he's a wild card, he's a selfish bastard who's going to betray everyone in the end, even Ren. Probably. Most likely. Any minute now."

Solidaritek

💜Red Bandit AU (In Progress Series) by scribblingdragon - “A Empires Season 2 AU with Jimmy as the Sheriff of Tumble Town, and Tango as a local bandit that is slowly, forcefully, being domesticated. Shenanigans ensue from there.”

❤️💜Hels To Pay AU (In Progress Series) by aquaquadrant and lunarcrown - “Angsty Tango-centric Hermitcraft/Double Life SMP AU”

❤️The Highwayman by EnvelopedByOblivion - “Fate walks many paths - but for each person, it only wears one face. Sheriff Jimmy Solidarity’s fate is a handsome red-eyed highwayman who saves Jimmy from a group of bandits. Despite being on opposite sides of the law, something keeps bringing them together, tangible as gravity and inevitable as death.

Which will get to them first? What will win out – a growing relationship between them, or their obligations to the life they’ve chosen for themselves?”

💜Let Me Show You Everything I Know by MassiveWaffle - "Jimmy Solidarity is an ordinary guy. He goes to his grad school classes during the day, works at the campus library in the evenings, and neglects his friendships a little too much. Then, engineering student Tango enters the library for some help, and Jimmy finds his friend group growing, and his life inexplicably changed."

A Nestcommunication by YacintheMorning - “Tango just wants to make the ranch a home for both him and his avian soulmate. Unfortunately, he knows almost nothing about avians. But the least he can do is try, right?” In which Tango is accidentally way too forward.

💜A Lesson in Listening by YacintheMorning - "Grian's brother is moving to town and staying with him while he house hunts. While introducing him to his friend, however, Jimmy and Tango seem to make quite a connection. Determined not to suffer through the pining, Grian and Impulse attempt to play matchmaker."

💜He loves that horse by ThatTallQueerBassist - “Tango uses his horse training knowledge to get Oreo back in shape after all the drama of being stolen back and forth.

Unfortunately, this panicked Jimmy at first.

He quickly calms down once he finds Tango training Oreo just outside the walls of their ranch.

They chat, and everything is well in the world again.”

❤️The Best Soulmate by BlocksRuinedMe - “‘But everyone else didn’t know that - it was possible even Bdubs didn’t know that - and yet he carried on like that, all the time. All about Joel’s soulmate. Bdubs didn’t respect Joel, and fuck that.

SmallEtho

Fuck that.

Joel had been fantasizing about killing Bdubs for weeks.’

—

The Boat Boys have made it to the end of Double Life, standing with Impulse and Bdubs, watching the divorce quartet crumble. Joel has a plan to make Etho win Double Life, whether Etho likes it or not.” Joel being an unreliable narrator because rage clouds his thinking is really something I wish there was more of. You definitely want to read the tags before diving into this one btw.

Holy Father, judge my sins by giddyfenix - "Joel and Etho as the seven deadly sins. After all, what were they if not corrupted?" The lust chapter has a sexual scene, obvs, so skip that if you so wish.

A list of facts and problems by giddyfenix - “Joel had never realized it was possible to feel someone in your bones until Etho came along.”

Amores anacrónicos by giddyfenix - “Don’t be further than 10 blocks from Etho for 10 minutes. One attempt only.”

You held his hands, it felt like flying by Prudent_seer - “Etho doesn't believe in soulmates. Doesn't believe in fate, destiny or an invisible little string tying two people together indefinitely. It was ridiculous, maddening even to think of two people who were made for one another; made perfect for each other by the "universe's almighty will". With that being said, he had someone in mind that was pretty damn close. So when Grian threw them in a world where these soulbounds did in fact exist in a tangible form, where health and pain was shared with someone else, he sought out the person whom he thought was his match. Only to literally fall into the life of his actual soulbound.

It was Joel. And with that Etho cursed the universe for its twisted sense of humour.

Creative rewrite of double life through the eyes of Etho, who learns to love his soulmate.” There’s sex but it’s not smut, you know what I mean?

when everything burns, they burn together by TheYesterdayShow - “No one for Joel because he's always been a loner. For as long as he can remember he's been on his own in these games—in the first one he had his cottage on the hill (so long ago that he can barely remember what it looked like, he can only remember it burning and the flames licking up at him and melting his skin and the smell of his hair and he has to put it out—), and in the games since, he's been alone. Alliances that last little more than a week, here and there, and somehow he always ends up at Grian's side at the end of things, but he's never actually teamed up with anyone else.

He doesn't want a soulmate.”

etho has said parkour tag! by panch_owo - “Neither Cyan or Aqua make it to finals, which means the rest of the event is unimportant!

And instead of dwelling on their non-team, they go on another round of tag because it's them.” No smut but a lot of innuendo and tension

More Powerful Than Fear Itself Is The Will To Win by smoothlikebutter - "After a devastating crash ends Etho’s racing career with the McLaren Formula One team, he’s forced to take significant time off to recover. While his fans are eager to see him again soon, what they don’t know is that Etho’s crash was worse than reported; he had to re-learn how to walk and talk before he could even think about racing again. But the desire to get back in a racing car is a strong motivation, so Etho pushes himself to his limits… However, his team couldn’t wait forever. His replacement is talented and the endless competition of motorsports is ruthless. Now Etho has to prove to his old team— and to the whole world— that they were too quick to forget about him. And what better place than the 24 Hours of Le Mans?

ConCorp is eager to snap up a big name like Etho. They’re entering under the Garage 56 innovative category this year, and their CEOs aren’t interested in much more than publicity so the pressure is low. But they’ve also signed Joel, a ruthless pro endurance racer who isn’t about to settle for anything less than the top step of the podium and a champagne shower at the end of the race. And honestly? That’s exactly the kind of teammate that Etho needs." Had me dancing around my room with excitement. Etho's character arc is amazing.

We're a Couple of Freaks by smoothlikebutter - "Joel is a weapon. Etho is also a weapon. They're professional monster hunters, and they've got a job to do tonight: clear out a ton of undead from an abandoned old mansion. Simple, right? This could only possibly go wonderfully well.” Epic Smalletho Souleater AU

❤️Blurring The Lines by FountainPenguin - “Dad always goes overboard with presents. They're never something traditional that a kid would ask for, either. It's always something he had left over in the back of his truck after a project or something stupid he bought after sipping a few too many potions and regretted sober.

One year for Scar's birthday, when he and his cousin Grian were playing in the sandbox out back, Dad and his friends arrived unannounced with four oak saplings. Dad didn't grab his arm or anything (Dad basically never touched him except on rare occasion to brush sand from his hair before loading him in the car; he always said it would make Mom mad), but he used words and praise and empty promises to drag Scar away from his and Grian's game to plant them right away.

Maybe Dad gave so many gifts because he was never around in summer. As early as April, he spent every weekend out fishing with his cousin on his houseboat...

AKA - That Scar-centric standalone piece about the Clocker family in contemporary suburbia.”

And goodness you’re bleeding (What a wonderful feeling) by knightinshiningarmor - “When the relationship burns, Etho feels an intense burst of emotions that leads to a revelation.”

#masterlist #fic rec #scarian #treebark #solidango #solidaritek #smalletho #hermitcraft fanfic #trafficshipping #traffic life fanfic #life series fic #can u tell i watched double life first? lol

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katarh-mest · 9 months

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finished Apothecary Diaries light novel 9

Bah, now I have to wait until January 18th for the 10th one to come out in English, but that was some good binge reading.

Spoilery thoughts under the cut. No holds barred. Stay out if you mind. Mostly just trying to untangle stuff that's been rattling around my head as I've inhaled a novel a day for the last week.

JinMao

Maomao quickly got adopted by the aro-ace community (for good reason) but as the series goes on, I think she's probably more of a graysexual / sex neutral. She's not sex repulsed. She was simply raised to view sex as a transactional thing, not a romantic thing, and never saw how it could apply to her. (She lacks certain assets.) She also saw women around her using men and being used in turn, selling their talents and bodies, and decided she wanted no part of that aspect of being a courtesan, because she could see the damage it could do to both parties of the transaction. Her own mother died of an STD. Men in the pleasure district waste all their money chasing fantasies that are not real.

That said, she was trained as a courtesan and knows exactly what women need to do to please men, to the point where she was the one running the darn sex ed class for the rear palace.

I don't think she'll ever change her views on sex as a transaction, but Lahan planted the idea in her head that she'll probably want to have at least one kid for the experience, and there's only one way to do that. So there's her incentive. It's funny because she objectively knows Jinshi is attractive (and has a decent frog, ahem) but that isn't the same as being attracted to him. He makes her flustered sometimes and there's a massive level of denial that comes from her perceived status difference, but as the story progresses, we've learned that status difference isn't nearly as steep as she thinks it is. And you can come to care for someone, even love them in a non romantic way, without being sexually attracted to them. This seems to be about where she is as of volume nine. She doesn't reciprocate his feelings, and she really doesn't understand why he picked her, but there's an affection and some level of resignation that his infatuation hasn't cooled yet, and may not ever. (She hoped it would.)

Then there's Jinshi. I pinned him as the classic nonbinary bisexual stereotype at first too, but he's more of a pure monogamist demisexual type, if anything. (Or as someone put it, he's "Maomaosexual.") Which is a disaster to have as a position such as "imperial male" whose only real job is to try to father as many children as humanly possibly.

I realize now that pretending to be a eunoch in the rear palace was his way of avoiding getting forced into his own political marriages he wasn't interested in. Taking the "eunoch medicine" (was it some sort of proto-spirolectone? was it just a libido blocker? who knows? pretty sure it stopped erections and maybe suppressed facial hair growth to some extent) wasn't a big deal for him because he, too, wasn't particularly interested in sex. Not with the randos who only wanted him for his pretty face. Probably the Emperor being a lusty bear and the horror stories about his grandfather had him also decide he wanted none of that either.

Until he fell in love with Maomao, and then he wanted to have her no matter what it was going to cost him, no matter how long it took. (And no matter how long it took him to convince her to come around to the idea - which he still hasn't done, although it seems she's finally starting to get resigned to it.)

Too bad for him, Maomao being the La princess means that's going to be a messy political marriage too. (And it's what he was trying to avoid! Who could have known that the cute little apothecary that was working as a laundry girl was the missing daughter of General Lakan?) The whole nation is apparently already aware she's been proposed for the position of the Imperial Brother's consort - and her getting dragged on the trip west with Lakan and Jinshi in this current arc is all but declaring her the front runner and daring the other factions to do something about it. I keep thinking back to the hairpins - she has Jinshi's, Gyokuyou's, and even Lihua's hairpins still. At the right place and time, those three could make a powerful statement about how many allies she has in the court.

Other Character Thoughts

The real nonbinary beauty Ah-Duo, who had a hysterectomy alongside Jinshi's birth. (I had one of those myself a few years ago. Its been swell. 10/10 highly recommend if you don't want kids.) In a modern setting you'd probably be able to keep your ovaries, but she likely lost those as well during the traumatic birth, so she went through menopause at the age of 16. That's, uh, not great from a health standpoint, but hey, she's alive, and thanks to the intentional baby swap, her son's alive. She is the mom friend everyone deserves. I'm so happy that after she "retired" that she got her own estate and became the local zookeeper for People Who The Government Had To Pretend Died For Reasons But Didn't Deserve It.

(On that note: We now know for sure that Ah-Duo knows Jinshi is her son. She proposed the swap! Anshi knows; she agreed to the swap and loves her grandson much more than she did her second real son. Suiren knows. The Emperor knows but can't say anything. Luomen knows but won't say anything. Maomao figured it out but also won't say anything. I suspect the women in the Ma family probably figured it out as well - Taimao, Maamao, and Chuo, all independently, and all tacitly keeping the secret. Gaoshun may suspect but like Maomao, knows not to think too hard about it. Gyokyuou does not know; she thinks of Jinshi as a brother-in-law, not a stepson. Probably a good thing, considering they are close in age. I think she knew that the local eunoch running the rear palace was the missing Imperial Brother, and that's how their relationship has always been. And I don't think Jinshi knows he's Ah-Duo's son. It's going to break him if he ever finds out. Being "the spare" his whole life has been bad enough. He definitely never wanted to be first in line.)

There's the bisexual Big Sister Pairen, who could have quit being a courtesan long ago if she wanted to, but she likes sex work and has a libido the exact opposite of Maomaos. Maybe some day her prince Lihaku will be able to afford to buy her out. (Hopefully Maomao gives him tips on how he needs to ride into town. On a white horse. With a parade and stuff.) Having a true sex positive character in the same series as an aro-ace spectrum character to act as a foil is a great contrast. (The fact that Pairen is also implied to be a succubus sucking out men's energy to stay youthful is also funny as heck.)

Then we've got the one off characters, like the Shrine Maiden. They never call her this by name, but today we'd flat out call her trans. Not that she had a choice... she was castrated at birth. I'm happy her tale didn't completely end in tragedy and she's now got a place on Ah-Duo's Government Secret Farm. Same with Suirei - sure, she directly or indirectly caused the deaths of a lot of people as part of a conspiracy to kill Jinshi, but she was ordered to do it by her stepmother. So she didn't have much of a choice.

Same with Lishu. Her life has been one of misery but maybe she'll finally get a chance at a happy ending in a future volume. Hated by her dad. Married to a pedophile (that her father thought might be her real father - fucking EW) .... who promptly died. Sent to the nunnery. Sent right back as a bride to his son, still as a 9 year old. Even more ew. (The emperor absolutely treated her like a daughter the whole time, thank god.) Multiple assassination attempts. Bullied by her own maids. Treated like shit. Threatened to get swapped to the Imperial Prince as a consort. Falsely accused of infidelity because stress stopped her period. Humiliated. Ended up locked in a tower. Drugged. Almost driven to suicide. Saved, but sent right back to the nunnery since clearly she wasn't fit to be a consort.

That poor girl.

But she's still got a chance at happiness, if Basen gets to claim her as his reward. Crossing my fingers for them.

Going Forward

I can't wait til volume 10. Is Lakan getting dragged over there because the Empress's brother is trying to snag Maomao (the only La family princess) as a consort for one of his family members, even as he tries to force a marriage between Jinshi and his own daughter? (Or worse, make her become a middle ranked consort to the emperor as a snub to Gyokuyou?) Or is it genuinely because there's war brewing and the general is needed to help make plans?

#the apothecary diaries #the apothecary diaries novels #jinshi x maomao #jinmao

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accio-victuuri · 1 year

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Bunny laoshi’s 1005 birthday CPNs Part II 🎂🎉

part one is here. this covers xz studio’s birthday video and all the clownery that came with it. this day is truly for celebration and i hope all of us are gonna have a good day~

a conversation that’s kinda loud is where the first part of the video was shot, and more importantly, when. because compared to the other sections of the edit, it appears to be his personal time that was added in. and the rest, with them taking photos, those are deliberately for the birthday material.

I thought this was somewhere in IM too, but it’s actually in Beijing. It’s confirmed by the photo he shared on his weibo. The place is at Lianquan Xianggu Natural Scenic Area Tiangong Cave📍Huairou District, Beijing. There are “reviews” from people who visited and said : “Highly recommended as a great place to get close to nature. There are very few people and there are many routes to choose from. No matter what your physical level, you can play!”

So i guess it makes sense for ZZ to visit. But when was this? I’m seeing 2 speculations on when this could have been. However the common denominator is that WYB was with him in this trip. It’s a place where they will not be recognized that much and no crowds.

OPTION NUMBER 1 : September

The theory is simply lining up the date when they were both in Beijing. GG allegedly went back to Beijing on 9/23 to 9/27 for work. Since he has other commitments other than shooting the movie. If you remember, he had a couple of livestreams and shoots. His schedule lined up with WYB who had no public itinerary on 9/26-9/27. So this could be the time window when they went hiking & exploring. Maybe WYB had his camera with him too and they both took pictures.

OPTION NUMBER 2 : August

This one has more clues to it and the guess is 8/14-8-15 which is free time for both of them. 8/13 was also when the mysterious driver was spotted so there’s that. The one who restored the cake mentioned to count the number of the sheep and it should be 32. Also it’s called something like a Beijing Camping cake and the plan for it ( with photos ) was shared 8/15 since this person didn’t know it’s for XZ. However the“original” one who made the concept is from Hangzhou which I already talked about. There are also posts from other people way before this material came out that they did see XZ around that time in the area. Remember there are some parts of LOCH done in Beijing. Tho they said that the filming site was very strict and closed off.

So anyway, I really believe that this was some sort of a joint celebration for them even it’s not 1005. I mean, why would his cast mates celebrate it with him that early??? Unless they both know that the two of them will be busy in the next couple of weeks so why not celebrate it now. While we’re out here camping 🏕️

This photo too, when i first saw it i expected for the XZS bday edit to have the scene where they sang for him. BUT NO. They shared a different “birthday moment”. I’m looking at this and thinking — maybe they didn’t want to share this private moment. They are aware of how eagle eyed CPFs can put things together and notice stuff with photos, all the more in a video. I’m leaning more towards the fact that it’s private and they wanna keep this between.

We could all be wrong about this. As with all CPNs, more clues come out as the days & months go by.

Moving on….

Is this the new favorite mini fan? LOL. I mean the CQL couple fan they have will always have a special place but it’s nice to see him have some “upgrade”.

We are seeing that again! P1 and P3 are a nod to how the sunrise is seen from the space station. P2 which is from XZS video looks like it’s a nod to that too but in a different way.

The whole feel of the vlog too, some of the cuts have that “Like The Sunshine” vibe to it. It’s a common reaction from some turtles, especially if you put the lyrics side by side with some of the stills. You can easily cut the scenic shots and use LTS as the background music and it will fit.

Watching the starry sky with the wild beasts. What is your name, in the shadows. Waking up in the night, silent like me. We lit the bonfire while we chatted. Time sneaks by, falling like flower petals

I have traveled a long way, you have dreamed a long time. If we can exchange our sincere hearts, then we can get through winter. Many lonely nights drift like fallen leaves: But it always finds a way and is always new on the branches. We will meet again, like the world will go on as usual

I have a firefly for you in the palm of my hand. It's some happiness picked up along the way. What is your name, how gentle is your name. Please tell me when the night breaks. We lit the bonfire while we chatted. Time sneaks by, falling like flower petals

Tell me this doesn’t match. 🙃🙃🙃 Their works really complement each other.

I can mention some other elements in the video like the windmills again & that cut with the violin/symphonic sound that wyb just mentioned in his vogue interview. I mean, if you clown hard enough I bet you can connect everything to a candy. But the topics I’ve mentioned here are what’s mostly talked about.

-END.

P.S: I can relate to this so much. The state of turtles right now 😂😂😂

#yizhan #bjyx #there is no science here i’m just clowning like i always do #omg this day is so busy i can’t even take a break lol

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wrenhavenriver · 9 months

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Top 5 dishonored NPC lines?

ohhhhhhh this one is so hard, the incredible amount of really damn good NPC dialogue is one of my favorite things about dishonored and probably THE number one thing i love gif'ing the most from it. i have to exclude Outsider lines from here to give anyone else literally any chance, but i spy an Outsider specific ask in my inbox rn so thankfully there's that sorted. instead of spending five hours agonizing over the literal dozens of lines i love here are some random ones that came to mind immediately from base game dh1, in no particular order:

Samuel: "Maybe it's not my place to say, but men of the faith shouldn't live like barons." there's just something so samuel about it, the coating of dignified humility around a center of utterly unimpeachable morality. it sums up so well his role as a quiet observer/arbiter of the actions of the people around him--and how he often goes unnoticed by those very people, in part because of that humility and the way the powerful look down on him as a working class man (see the bastard trio, especially havelock, wildly underestimating him--when he can remember his name at all). there's a reason it stings so hard when samuel finally calls a high chaos corvo out in mission 9, like, this man just sees straight through to the heart of matters (and people), and he is never wrong. but on the flip side, that makes it just as amazing in low chaos when he praises you instead.

plague survivor in the flooded district: "I don't blame them. I know why they did it. But I only wanted to die at home." this brutal line. unbearably poignant. a man who wasn't even asking to live, just to die at home, and how even that tiniest of mercies was denied to him.

on a lighter note - Miss White: "You're a scandal in that mask. I like a man with poor judgment!" makes me laugh every fucking time, 928340923 playthroughs later.

Sokolov: "Once you start ordering people killed to get your way, everything else becomes mere detail." stealing my own very ancient tags from the old blog to explain why i like this line so much: this is essentially dishonored's main cautionary message and it falls to anton sokolov to say it, goddamn. in short it's a snappy bit of writing and also just kind of funny who gets to be the mouthpiece for it--really says something about how dire things have become in dunwall.

Daud: "And you choose mercy. Extraordinary." just. gives me terrible shivers. the awe of it all. the recognition of the incredible, impossible choice corvo has made. indescribable.

#askbox games #goobshark

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bleachbleachbleach · 2 months

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I don't know if you'll see this, but I've been having this thought for a while and needed to share

You have already shared your view about that whole "souls can't remember their lives before Soul Society" and such, but I've been thinking...

It's ever said that the souls in Rokungai know that they're dead? Well, the Shinigami makes sense to know and the other souls knows about the Shinigami, obviously, but I don't remember if it was ever commented about them knowing they're dead when they wake up in Soul Society

Maybe someone else needs to explain them the situation when a new soul appears? Idk

What do you think?

And excuse me if I'm being dumb about this topic, I'm just not good at remembering stuff

This blog receives 1 ask every few months and averages about 9 notes per post. XD Of course we saw this! Thank you for stopping by! <3

I think this might be in reference to tags we left on this post? At least, that's the most recent discussion I can recall.

Canonically speaking, this guy comes to mind, who knows the year and location of his death:

[Bleach 076 -- (Sorry, no original text--I'm not on the right laptop right now!]

Granted, that doesn't mean he knew this immediately on entry into Soul Society, or knew that he was in this place because he'd died!

But then, of course, there's also this whole ticket system, so I suppose even if you didn't know intrinsically that you had died, some terrible dude dressed in black and shouting about your having died might be something you take at face value (or not!). Or maybe people in Rukongai find you first, and you get the folktale of your own death from souls like you before they send you off to the proper authorities for your ticket.

I've also written fanfic where Hinamori does a more intensive intake of a soul, sort of like what you're describing (though in his case, he knows he's dead, because he died on purpose).

My preference is pretty much always going to be for things to be as paradoxical, contradictory, elusive, and mutable as possible, so if I were going to incorporate Mr. "1947 in Yamanashi" into something, there's a 99% certainty he'd be the odd duck out in terms of having retained that information, and it would be info that existed in fragments and broken conjurations. I'd probably write that there were entire divination practices within different Rukongai subcultures that strove to either remember/cogently arrange the past, or predict the future (in reincarnation), and it's this whole elaborate thing. Some of the divinators are probably legit--but many are probably charlatans who implant all manner of weird, potentially harmful false memories in people--or benign but ultimately untrue--things in people's heads. But then, maybe that's all they need to be. When you're constantly told that the ghost-life you are currently living exists only as a waypoint or halfway between one reality and the next, I imagine it's hard to hold onto desire. Whether the spark is real or not, maybe the fact of the spark is all that comes to matter.

Personally, I also like the idea that although shinigami have this whole ticket system and they'd love for souls to enter into Soul Society all in the same place, in an orderly fashion, that's not necessarily how it works, and the number crunching the 12th does about how many souls are in which district (and which plane of existence) is based on statistical models and cannot actually account individually for each soul. Maybe some come into Soul Society in human form. Maybe some were STILL A BIRD when they arrived, but ultimately became a boy. Maybe some souls spring out fully formed and humanoid and others are elemental first, before solidifying into something else. Maybe some are cut out of peaches or bamboo, or appear as monsters, almost as Hollows--until it turns out they were a human soul all along (or were they...)

Anyway, that's where I'd take that! I'd love to hear more about your thoughts re: who explains the situation. It's a really fun question!

#asks #no brain just bleach #shinigamiology #bleach headcanons #bleach manga

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meekmedea · 5 months

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time-travelling back to your 8-year-old self makes for funny moments and all, but I'm just realizing how devastating it can be at the same time

Because by the time TBOSAS starts, the mentors are 18 and its the 10th games, which means Clemmie has reincarnated to when the games first started

And maybe it doesn't click at first for her, because she's only been thinking of the tributes of the 10th games (ie. Reaper) and she's been navigating her primary school life once more.

But as they get closer to July? The chilling realization starts to creep up on her

There is very little an 8-year-old can do in the grand scheme of things, even if she retains memories of her former life

It's the first game, and TBOSAS tells us little about the ones prior to the 10th

But for the first, maybe they try to garner some interest?

Still probably way less pomp than the 10th, and maybe less people care that the tributes are dumped into the zoo enclosure

Maybe there's talks of a giant screen set up for public viewing

Clemensia realizes there is pretty much nothing she can do to stop it - for all her thoughts of preventing Reaper from dying and maybe some of the other tributes too, she's never stopped to think about all the tributes from the previous games

24 annual tributes, 9 games. That's 207 deaths where one could argue that a child would never be at fault for - but when said child has the knowledge of a past life? It's...complicated

And even when she turns 18 again, who's to say she could stop the games? Which brings about the question: how many more people have to die before the games end for good?

When the concept of the games in the summer are initially announced, Sejanus obviously has his thoughts (to the ire of most of his classmates), what changes is Clemmie's vocal support

Some of their classmates think she is crazy for agreeing, but they do find it hard to disagree when they hear her reasonings

Unfortunately for Sejanus - he has to deal with the fact that people write off his very logical reasons due to him being from the Districts

Clemmie is lucky(?) enough that she's too young for the adults to write off as a district sympathizer (derogatory) - she's 8, kids have the darndest of ideas

Then the Reaping comes along. The Capitol is still recovering from the war - that public screen set up from earlier is there (on Academy grounds maybe?)

For some strange reason, the adults have no problem bringing their kids along. It's probably seen as like THE outing to be at or something

Clemmie would like to be anywhere but here - she's sort of numb to it all. People are talking, she's not really paying attention, just zoned out and staring at the screen

"Clemmie, what's wrong?" Coriolanus looked concerned for some odd reason. "Are–" Before he could finish, he gets shoved harshly to the side. "What'd you do to make her cry?" demands Livia. Cry? Her hand goes up to her cheek. It comes back wet. Oh.

Coriolanus and Livia are bickering about whether he made Clemmie cry or not that they're too distracted to notice that she's got up

Clemensia runs. She's not really thinking, she's just needs to be away from the whole event

Somehow she ends up at Dean Highbottom's office and she knocks on his door, demanding to speak to him

Dean Highbottom has to deal with an angry/crying 8-year-old who demands he put a stop to the games (He really isn't sober enough for this. Or perhaps he shouldn't have tried morphling this morning)

He feels like he's getting scolded - Clemmie isn't in the right mindset to remember that she's not like in her 80s and is currently stuck as a young child. So she's tearing into him for creating the games

Eventually, Clemmie runs out of steam and it's just tears. Somehow that's worse for Casca - Anger? He can handle. A crying kid? Yeah...that's a bit harder. Awkwardness doesn't begin to cover it

Meanwhile due to Clemensia's abrupt disappearing act, people are starting to freak out - the kids are playing the blame game of whose fault it is; the adults are more so worried of where she is than anything

Clemmie's dad is ready to tear apart the Academy find his daughter. "What do you mean I have to ask permission from the Dean to invite the Peacekeepers to help search the grounds? My daughter is missing and frankly, I don't give a damn about protocol."

Clemmie's mother is equally worried, but the more logical/level-headed of the two

(Thankfully) Clemmie makes a reappearance before her father gets the chance to tear the school down. (Casca managed to calm her down enough and ask after her parents. Man was stressing)

The explanation is that Clemensia was so distraught from the Reaping that she ran and got lost; Casca found her

Her parents are relieved

(Once the first hunger games end, Casca reaches for the morphling again- only to sweep the packet into the bin. In his mind, he recalls the angry child who told him he was a coward for using drugs to escape reality)

~~~~~~

previous time-travelling thoughts: part 1, part 2

#crack au #time travelling #clemensia dovecote #reincarnating to your eight year old self is not ideal #here's a healthy dose of angst #whoops :)#tbosas au #casca highbottom #at this rate I might as well start a tag for this au #time travelling clemmie #<-

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vaguelyoriginaldrivel · 11 days

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RANDOM TOWN GENERATOR

My longest-running campaign ended this year. Granted, that’s not saying much - only ran 9 sessions, started last fall, but still as of yet the only real “campaign” I’ve ever ran. Was some sort of “urban fantasy” thing, players a bunch of wizards (and one giant shrimp-man) driving around some undefined region of the USA in an again undefined recent past… though near the end I think I’d decided on it being set in Pennsylvania? Definitely a learning experience in a lot of ways for me, regardless. Anyways here’s some tables I made for it

Town name (d10):

Washington

Franklin

Chester

Dover

- 10. [random - roll prefix, suffix]

Prefix (d12):

Spring

Hill

Glen

George

Kings

Green

Arling

Clay

Ash

Gold

Mill

Fair

Suffix (d6):

field

lake

hill

view

ton

-Town

Notable Feature (3d10): 1-3. Can’t be rolled on a 3d10

Ignore everything else - this isn’t an ordinary small town, it’s a neo-nazi cult compound. They have guns and they don’t like you

Historic building - Weird modern house - all pods, steel, fiberglass, and concrete, with spherical pods covered in pods. Abandoned.

Ruins - Abandoned Shopping Mal

Speed trap town - local cops lurk on the side of the highway, entire town economy based on speeding tickets. Basically operates on piracy. Absurdly low speed limits not properly demarcated

Weird art installation - field of sculptures (d4 - abstract metal, cobbled-together trash, stone statues of animals and people, monoliths with inscriptions)

Historic building - haunted mansion, old style - wood, maybe some stone

Notable dam overlooking the town, potentially vulnerable to failure

Ruins - Abandoned Factory

College town - small local college dominates the local economy, most residents are students or staff

Tourist trap - Historic house (d4- Rotting wooden mansion with a ghost story, old colonial stone fort, weird modern house of a dead eccentric rich guy/ weird cult leader )

Large immigrant population from a distant country (ie not part of the Americas- like Kazakhstan or Swahililand or Lichtenstein, not like, Colombia)

Oddly high concentration of a hyper-specific specialized type of business - an entire district of dentists or dog groomers or something

Not a full on cult compound, but much of the town’s population do follow a specific esoteric cults religion like scientology or sedevacantist mormonism or something

Birthplace of some celebrity, statue in town square proclaims as much

Tourist trap -Giant sculpture, gift shop (d4 - historic figure, giant animal, mascot of attached restaurant, dinosaur(young-earth creationist))

Historic building - old colonial fort, earthworks and stone and wood

Geography - Subterranean water (1d4 - Hot spring, bottomless pit in a lake, water-filled mine pit)

Geography- Big rock (d4 - Balancing rock, weird outcroppings (like fang ridge nevada), meteor (in far-off museum, there’s a plaque next to the crater though), butte)

Geography - Weird Cliff (1d6: columnar jointing, waterfall, petroglyphs, looks like a face, church built into it, odd color)

Retirement community, no children whatsoever and everyone is either a senior citizen or a caretaker

Odd museum - animal (1d6- snails, songbirds, butterflies, earthworms, leeches, mice)

Odd museum - human (1d6- finger, ear, spleen, tongue, nose, lip, nail)

Odd museum - local cryptid (1d6 - sasquatch, lake monster, grey alien, weird alien (ie flatwoods), hodag, giant toad, devil)

Religious - large megachurch, drawing in the faithful from across the state

Weird art installation - small grove with (d4 - dollheads hanging from the trees, extensive etchings onto the bark, geometric statues in between the trees, the trees coated in colorful yarn)

Ignore everything else - this isn’t an ordinary small town, it’s some kind of hippy commune or cult compound or something. Either pseudochristian or pseudodharmic, flip a coin

Special - roll on Supernatural table

(intentionally weighted to be biased more towards the middle but I didn’t really check the probabilities here, might be way too hard to get the ones at the further poles)

Extra: Supernatural element. (d4)

Entire town was replaced with body-snatchers a few years ago. They’ll try to keep you in town for a few days - constantly surveilling you, in order to grow a body-double - when they’re done they’ll try and kidnap you to replace you with it the next time you wander away from the group. Body snatcher type varies - (Fae-esque boogeymen cuckoo-bird shapeshifters, pseudo-plant pod people, 1979 Alien style androids, etc)

Recent sightings of some kind of cryptid or something has drawn droves of “cryptozoologists” to town. This is a problem because some of you are cryptids. Coinflip if the cryptid in question is real or not

Entire town stuck in groundhog day loop - the US military has caught on and is using the town as a testing-bed/training site. Just like groundhog day, there’s one guy somewhere in town originating the loop - kill him or put him to sleep and it resets - make him learn the error of his ways - or keep him awake til midnight - and the effect ends permanently. The feds know about this, first thing they do every loop is send their special ops guys to bag him and hide him in a van before they start the raid in earnest. Outsiders, like you and the special ops guys, can enter the loop - no matter what happens, when the loop resets you’re plopped back outside right where you entered in exactly the state you were then except for your memories - even if you died you’re revived.

Certain nights, at the witching hour (12-1), local monsters and spirits and such emerge and walk the streets openly - certain stalls and shops pop up in areas that are normally unused, catering to this strange clientele, and others who sell mundane wares during the day reveal their magical affiliations at night. Also there’s street performances, music and dances and parades - and games, dangerous ones - ones you can join. The rest slumber on, but the magic that keeps them asleep does not apply to you. As magicians and cryptids yourself, this could be a good opportunity, but not all the spirits who’ve emerged are peaceful.

this is what the map of the actual campaign ended up looking like at the end btw

#blogpost #misc

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starsofreya · 1 year

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So, Bad Omens just released a comic teaser AND a music video for Just Pretend; Noah said TDOPOM is a story he came up with and that all the MVs are connected in some way. With some Twitter friends we did some diggin', and we came to some conclusions...

These are a comic pannel and the last scene in Just Pretend. M.I.N.D. is an organization of some sort that works with artificially-induced memories. From what we can see, Noah is using M.I.N.D.'s technology to in some way "revive" memories. As we can see in Concrete Jungle, they are perhaps an organization or mafia ruled by the elite and rich people, and they use the memory simulation and inductions to make people escape the post-apocalyptic world that is The Death Of Peace Of Mind.

The story starts in District 9, as seen in The Grey. Perhaps the setting is M.I.N.D's headquarters.

In Nowhere To Go, we see a person, seemingly one of M.I.N.D's robots, apparently doing something buisness related. This whole MV and song could be related to a contradiction from part of Bad Omens to M.I.N.D., like a rebel yell sort of thing. It makes sense too when you read the lyrics.

Going back to Just Pretend, it seems as if Noah wanted to revive and recover old, happy memories of himself and a past relationship. At first you wouldn't think it's him, but this is confirmed in the credits of the song.

At first, it looks like everything was going well, but all of a sudden, theres a failure in the "Sim". This could indicate that the memory simulator failed -> meaning that everything he was looking at was probably fake, false made up happy memories. What could've happened is the relationship he was in was toxic and overall bad, and with the simulations, he wanted to escape in some way and convince himself he was happy with her.

Noah seems in pain when all this happens; this could mean he's purposely replaying memories to hurt himself; or maybe just to revive them because he can't live without her, even if they are sad and horrible memories, he needs to live them with her again.

He then disconnects and destroys everything (supposedly a cameo to Artificial Suicide, where everything is destroyed, and we have a computer/hospital-y setting, with tubes and cables). When he destroys everything, the scene changes to a hospital one, where doctors are trying to resurrect someone who's in organ failure -> This could mean, when Noah disconnects himself, he is also disconnecting the other part. — Though it could also mean that he disconnected himself from the system because the girl allegedly died when she was shot by some intruder. (And now that I think about it, that masked intruder could be one of M.I.N.D's workers. I really don't know why he would want to shoot the girl, though. Let me know your thoughts!)

Another curious fact is that the hand in the end of the video has the same bracelet as the one in the start, meaning that the gunshot didn't kill her, instead left her in a sort of coma.

TL;DR -> M.I.N.D is an elite mafia organization that helps people escape a post-apocalyptic world with memory simulations and inductions, and Noah uses their technology to try to get back his memories and past life with a girl he loved to death. It could be related to today's world with technology and how it gives us an escape, being it negative or positive.

— • —

I personally think this is an amazing story, Noah is big brain he's so cool, I'd love to see what goes on in his mind when he's writing this stuff

#bad omens #bad omens cult #tdopom #the death of peace of mind #noah sebastian #LORE EVERYONE WOOO #If u have something else to add feel free to rb w ur thoughts!

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alexiafeyblogpost · 8 days

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RISE OF THE ASHES 8/? (Alexia AU)

February 23, 11:56 a.m. – District Court, Defendants' Courtroom No. 2

In the lobby, Ema is sitting on the sofa. Alexia is standing, while she is drinking a black coffee, without sugar, as it should be.

"Miss Fey?" Ema calls insecure.

"What's wrong, Kitten?" Alexia says turning to look at the girl.

"The trials... are always like this with you?" Ema asks. "It is like you're swimming from the bottom of a lake, about to reach the surface... but no matter how hard you swim, you never seem to get there...?"

Alexia nods. "To sum up, sort of. But it seems as if we are swimming in quicksand today." She sits next to the scientist. "But putting that aside, where did your sister go?"

"Apparently she was called to the judge's room," Ema replies. "I think it's about the piece of fabric."

"It's the safest thing to assume. After all, it was thanks to that that we managed to extend the trial a little longer." Alexia murmurs, before taking another sip of her coffee.

"This is where we turn this trial around, right?" asks Ema hopefully. "Maybe this small, insignificant piece of fabric is the key!"

Fey sighs exhausted. "Honestly, I'm the one who feels small and insignificant."

Ema cringes slightly, before moving to hug the lawyer. Hug that was answered with one with one arm by Alexia. She genuinely needs this hug...

"Hello, Bambinas!" Someone greets them coming to them.

Alexia, who is the one who separated from the hug, responds; "Hello, Officer Marshall."

"They say that if you show a red cloth to a bull, it will get angry! Or that's what I was told when I was young.." Marshall says, adjusting his hat.

"What are you doing here, Mr. Marshall?" Ema asks curiously.

He shrugs. "I thought I'd come and take a look and see how the trial is going. Moreover, it seems that I am late. They have the place closed with more force than a fort in enemy territory!"

"That's how hard it is to sneak out, huh?" Alexia comments, looking sideways at Ema. Before returning his gaze to the officer. “What's going on there in the police department anyway? All the uniformed men I've seen these last two days have been really nervous."

Marshall lets out a small half-hearted laugh. "Don't worry about us, bambina. You already have enough on your plate to worry about. Like a certain lady's taste for scarves, for example."

"What do you mean?" Ema grimaces. "The scarf thing wasn't about exhausts: I wasn't even wearing one!"

"Come to think of it, why did she take it off?" Alexia murmurs thoughtfully.

Marshall takes off his hat. "A good question. In fact, she wore her scarf that day, at the award ceremony. I think Edgeworth himself saw it."

"That means Ms. Starr wasn't wrong in what she saw," Alexia says, cold sweat running down the back of her neck.

The cowboy looks towards the doors. "Well, it's about time." He looks at them. "Remember, bambina, sometimes you have to grab the bull by the horns... And sometimes you just have to let the bull go where it wants. Time will tell!"

"(I have a bad feeling about this.)” Alexia thinks worriedly.

"Miss Fey, what are we swimming in now?" Ema asks.

"(In shit, Ema. In shit...)” Alexia thought frustrated.

"If it's Bistec sauce, I can make you some thin ribs!" He throws his hat in the air. "Ooh-wee!"

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February 23, 12:32 p.m. – District Court, Courtroom No. 9

With a blow of the mallet, the trial resumes. "Without further ado... I would like... resume...?" Oh, it seemed like that...

"What's going on? The judge stares at the bench of the accusation." Alexia murmurs, before directing her gaze there.

"Is something wrong, Mr. Edgeworth? Your face is blue, your lips are purple, you're sweating profusely! That frown, those gnashing teeth, those watery eyes... what's more, your gaze is unfocused, you're hunched over, your back is hunched over..." The judge describes.

He's right. Miles is beside himself and seems inconsolable. "This can't happen!"

"Ms. Fey, do you know what's wrong with Mr. Edgeworth?" asks Ema.

Alexia shakes her head. "I wish I could..."

"Well, then I think it's time to continue with this trial." The judge scratches his head. "During our recess, I had requested that the prosecution conduct an investigation..."

This accusation is not yet in their right mind. "It can't be! This is unacceptable!!"

"It seems that our prosecutor is still out of his mind." Comments the Judge.

"Excuse me, knock knock?" Someone says.

"Who's there?" the judge asks.

They all turned their gaze to the witness stand, where one of the most eccentric men Alexia has ever seen now stands. And she has seen Redd White and Manfred von Karma before.

"(What's up with this guy? A strange, suffocating aura seems to be filling the courtroom.)" Alexia thought, loosening her scarf.

Ema takes off her coat and ties it around her waist. "The temperature went up 5.7 degrees since that man walked in!"

"Don't you say..." Alexia murmurs, unbuttoning her jacket. "(He looks familiar, as if I have seen him before... But from where...?)"

The judge seems to have an idea. "Ah, it's you..."

The man stares for a moment, but it seems that his words take him out of himself. "Oh! Hello, Udgey! I'm sorry I'm late!" He applauds. The room seems to shake. "It's been a while, how have you been? Do you swim much these days?"

The judge looks somewhat embarrassed. "It's a pleasure to see you again. And no, I haven't been really busy..."

"Ha!" he barks. "Busy? Very bad, Udgey! You have to make time to relax!"

"Yes, I know..." Judge says, before sighing wearily.

"It seems that 'Udgey' is the nickname this guy gives to the judge," Ema says with a small smile.

"I'm afraid you're right... Alexia says, before turning to the strange man. “Um... I'm sorry, but... who are you?"

He looks at her. "Ah, you must be the little Feyo! I've heard good things about you!"

Alexia raises an eyebrow, "You have heard about me?"

He smiles. It looks so disturbing. "I'm sorry our little Worthy is causing you all this trouble, huh?" He crosses his arms. "You know, we should all go swimming together one day! Jolly!"

Alexia turns to look at Miles. "Little Worthy!?"

"Miss Fey!" The judge is surprised. "Don't you know who this person is!?"

Alexia looks at him strangely before returning her gaze to the smiling man, trying to search in her memory if she remembers anything related to him. Or that was until she looked at the badge in the center of his chest, dictating what his rank is in the police squad... and needless to say, she began to break out in a cold sweat when she realized...

"O-Oh, I remember..." Alexia murmurs nervously. "He's the chief policeman of the district..."

Ema gasps, shocked. "What?! Is this him!?"

The judge nods in confirmation. "He is the highest-ranking police officer in the entire district!"

The man bows slightly, not much different as does Miles. "My name is Gant. Damon Gant. It's a pleasure to meet you all!"

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"Then what do we owe this honor to today?" The judge turns to Gant, who is now standing by the prosecutor's bench. "It have been more than... two years since you last came to this courtroom, haven't you?"

Gant nods. "Well, if I came, it's for Worthy." Look at Miles, who still refuses to move. "Look at the poor man, what a bad look!" He pulls something out of his pocket. "I thought I should help him... So I came to bring this!"

"O-one moment!" Alexia exclaims in surprise.

"That's my sister's scarf!" Ema adds, just as shocked.

“(That means Angel was right! When the crime happened, Miss Skye was really wearing that scarf!)” Alexia thinks nervously.

"But to think that it was stuck in that exhaust pipe..." He places the handkerchief on the evidence table and unwraps it. "In little Worthy's car, no less! It's really quite embarrassing, even for us."

"What's that?!" The judge points to the object that put one the table.

Gant picks the object again and shows it to everyone. "Oh, this? It's what you'd call an automatic razor. This is quite disconcerting."

"OBJECTION!!"

"Chief Gant!" Miles seems to have finally come out of the trance. "What kind of equipment are you carrying here?! How could they have missed such a vital piece of evidence!? If your investigators are so lax, how do you expect us to do our job?"

"What 'job'?" Alexia murmurs, raising an eyebrow.

"Mr. Edgeworth!" The judge hisses.

"Wait a minute, Worthy!" Gant says with a smile.

Miles shakes his head. "I don't want to hear any kind of excuses!"

"I'm telling you to wait!" He insists. "Or didn't you hear me?"

That keeps him quiet. Gant, seeing that he was no longer being interrupted, decided to give the explanation.

"Take a look at this document, where it says 'person in charge of the investigation'..." He picks it up and turns it to show it to all of us. "There's no doubt that the firm... Right, Miles Edgeworth?"

Miles gasps. "What? That's not fair!"

"(I wish I could spend more time enjoying this moment right now. Watching him whining like a child.)" Alexia thinks, satisfaction overflowing from her body.

Miles continues. "On the day of the crime, I had..."

The COP raises its hand. "The head in the clouds because you got that award! I know how you feel..." He shrugs. "But you're the person in charge. I expect a written apology."

"Are you serious?!" Edgeworth exclaims shocked.

Gant smiles, which is somehow scarier. "Don't get too grumpy, we'll find a way to clean up the mess... that you did."

Miles covers his mouth.

"Wow, I've never seen Mr. Edgeworth speechless...," Ema says in surprise. Alexia hasn't seen him very often like this, but she has.

The judge seems disappointed. "This kind of serious mistake is not like you, Mr. Edgeworth."

Miles groans in his hands. "I know..."

"The court accepts this new evidence." The Judge says, letting the knife be placed with the rest of the evidence. "But first I'd like to ask the defense a favor."

"Yes, your honor?" Alexia asks curiously.

"Just to be sure... I'd like to take a look at the blade of this knife." Says the Judge.

"I don't see why not," Alexia says with a shrug.

"Could you open it for me?" The Judge requests.

Gant throws the knife across the room. Alexia catches it with ease.

"I think all you have to do is flip that switch..." Alexia says, before being interrupted.

"If I cut off my finger, Miss Fey, I wouldn't be able to use my mallet anymore." Says the Judge seriously.

Alexia frowns. "Yes, but if I cut mine, I won't be able to point people anymore..." She about to press the switch, when she reads the label out of the corner of her eye. "'SL-9 2'...? I feel like I've seen something like this before."

Fey decides to keep that thought to herself and proceeds to press the switch to open it.

"Waaaaa! D-Don't scare me like that!" Ema says moving away a little.

"I'm the one who should be afraid!" Alexia responds. "And it looks like there's blood on this broken tip..."

Added the switchblade to the court file

"Either way," Miles says, "this doesn't excuse the actions of the Police Department! I'd like to hear an explanation from the Chief of Police himself!"

The judge wrings his hands. "I'm so sorry, Damon, but could I ask you to testify for us? About the division between prosecutors and police... and this knife."

It takes a few seconds before Gant responds. "Of course! Sure. No problem, not even the slightest! Really!"

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Beginning of Witness testimony – Statement of Damon Gant, Department in Disorder

"This knife is special... But I can't say how here. Unless there is evidence to prove a connection between this knife and Goodman... It was a bad day for the department. We weren’t in any shape to do an investigate, as a detective had been killed in the police department... what a mess! Time of the crime? 17h15. Scary coincidence, huh? But since it is not officially linked to this here case, so I can’t talk much about it."

End of Witness testimony – Statement of Angel Starr, Department in Disorder

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"Was there a murder in the Police Department?!" the judge exclaims. "And he was a detective?!"

Gant puts a finger to his lips. "Say it quietly, Udgey! That's secret information that we haven't exactly announced yet."

"OBJECTION!!"

"Wait a second!" Miles screams. "17:15"?! Exactly at the same time that Detective Goodman was killed in the Prosecutor’s Office!?"

"Order! Silence!" The judge snaps at the gallery, which had become a scandal again.

Gant plays with the pompadour on his head. "In the Department we were all nervous, as you might well suppose. We are in the middle of a top-secret investigation. Don't tell anyone, okay?"

The defense and the prosecution nod their heads in understanding. Well, the prosecutor's office not so much...

The judge nods. "I think we understand the situation of the Police Department ... well, Miss Fey?"

"Yes, your honor, I know you're thinking. And yes, I would like to cross-examine him." Alexia responds by crossing her arms.

"The chances of two detectives being killed at the same time in two different locations are really slim. Scientifically speaking, of course," says Ema with a small smile.

"Exactly. So I think there's more to it than Agent Gant lets us see..." Alexia says, looking at the smiling man.

"I'm willing to answer anything, as long as the questions stay focused on the case at hand." Gant says with a big smile.

"Well, the defense can begin their cross-examination," says the judge.

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Beginning of Cross-Examination – Statement of Damon Gant, Department of Clutter

"Is it special?" Alexia asks, doing tricks with the knife.

"Ms. Fey! Stop!" Ema begs. "It's still open!"

"It's hard to find this particular knife anywhere else," says Gant.

"Is it because of the tag?" Alexia questions raising an eyebrow.

He shakes his head. "I'm sorry, Feyo, I can't talk about it!"

"Why was there another knife at the scene... if the one who killed Goodman was mine?" asks Miles.

"It's all a mystery!" says the judge.

"And this one is wrapped in a scarf," adds Gant.

"Finding that knife in our scene doesn't connect them?" Alexia questions.

"Look, there are many things that happen in the Department that I can't explain..." Gant says scratching his head. "It's a bit delicate. You'll need stronger evidence than that, Feyo!"

Alexia quickly goes through the court file in search of something that can give her an answer. And then she found something that she herself had remembered when she saw the label on the knife.

The lawyer taps her left palm against the table. "OBJECTION!!"

Gant applauds. "Ah, finally! A real 'protest'!"

"I know how the two cases connect!" Alexia exclaims seriously.

"How?!" asks the judge.

Alexia shows the memo she found with Ema the other day. "Look at this! It says 'SL-9 2/21'. Goodman wrote this note backwards."

"It's the same as on the label." The Judge says surprised. "Well, chief?"

He tilts his head, smiling. "I guess the cat’s out of the bag... you win, Feyo!"

"What game is he playing?" Ema asks curiously.

"I guess we'll find out!" says Alex.

Gant gestures towards Alexia. "That knife was evidence of a case. It was stolen from the Department's evidence room."

"Stolen?" Alexia repeats, surprised.

"Exactly, Feyo, but it was the day of the murder." Confirms Gant.

Miles scratches his hair. "It was evidence," he says. Was it, in fact, a murder weapon?"

"Nice show, Worthy!" There goes the applause on the rise. "It just so happens that it was a murder weapon. It was the proof of a case solved a long time ago."

Alexia looks up. "So this knife was stolen on the day of the murder... and was found in the exhaust pipe of Mr. Edgeworth's car..."

"It's hard to believe that there isn't a connection there!" says Ema.

"Do you have any suspects, Agent Gant?" asks Alexia.

"Actually, yes! Actually, we just arrested him," Gant replies.

"Wow, that was quick!" says Ema.

"Yes, it was!" The chief officer answers. "But there are still many unanswered questions. Maybe you can help, Feyo!"

Alexia nods her head. "I guess it might help... if you help me by giving me details of your case?"

"Oh, well! This girl is smart!" Alaga Gant. "Okay, here's the deal. I'll tell you one thing and one thing only..."

"So, tell me... where was the victim found?" asks Alexia.

He shrugs. "I can't say exactly where the body was found. However, I can say that the crime occurred in the Police Department's evidence room."

"The Evidence room, huh?" Alexia says with a sly smile.

"What is it?" asks Ema.

"Well, they just gave us our ticket to link both cases!" Alexia replies before heading to Gant. "Boss? The position of the defense is simply this: The connection between these two cases has already been proven!"

He raises his eyebrows. "Ah, don't you say? And what is it?"

"It's the place!" Alexia answers. "The knife found in our crime was stolen from the scene of yours: the Police Department's evidence room!"

"Not to mention," Miles adds, "that the victim had written the numbers on the knife's evidence tag."

"And we also know that the detective killed in the Police Department..." Alexia concludes before exclaiming. "Was killed in that very same evidence room!"

The judge nods. "Indeed. There do seem to be too many connections for it to be a coincidence."

"You two make a good pair, don't you?" Gant applauds. "It took my men two days to find out what you deduced right here."

"Chief! I request that you release your information about the victim to the Police Department!" demands Miles.

Gant pulls up his glasses. "Look, that's the tricky part. It hasn't been announced yet and all..."

"Is there any chance we can get it… unofficially?" Alexia asks as if she doesn't want the thing.

The Chief hums before nodding. "Of course! Why not? After all, it's not official."

"What really!?" Alexia murmurs surprised.

Ema shrugs. "Who would have guessed?"

Gant is a little wobbly. "I'll cooperate, but I can't reveal the victim's name in the Department, okay?"

"You could also tell us everything," says Alexia. "If you want us to get down to business, of course."

"Ah, well, the information of the cases is somewhat complicated. You have to do everything correctly." Says Gant.

Alexia folds her arms. "Okay... How about you tell me the ID number?"

He shrugs. "Sure, why not? It's not like you’ll be able to tell who it is from that!"

"Of course not. After all, you won't tell me their name." Alexia murmurs as she stretches.

"We keep a tight lid on ID numbers, so don't get your hopes up." Gant says as he straightens up. "The number is... 5842189."

The judge spins his mallet. "Wow, that's long! I don't even think I can make it by remembering that! 8... 2... yes, not at all."

"(At least get the first number right!)" Alexia thinks with a drop of sweat.

"That's right, Udgey! And we have to remember all the things there are!" Gant says rubbing the back of his neck. "It's like going crazy!"

"Does this say anything to any of you?" The Judge questions the defense and prosecution.

Ema gasps. "Actually, yes!" Alexia just smiles slyly.

"What could I tell them?" The Judge questions.

End of Cross-Examination – Statement by Damon Gant, Department of Clutter

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"Kitten, you're smiling," Alexia says.

"You are too!" The scientist points out.

Gant and Miles look at them in silence.

"Why are you two grinning like that?!" asks the judge. "You look like a two schoolgirls on prom night!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, it's just that this got a lot more confusing now."

Miles rolls his eyes. "Confused as always, right?"

"Hmph! Yes, of course. It's not like this confusing shit that we're solving right now that you should have solved, literally YESTERDAY..." Alexia growls back. Miles backs down for the answer.

"Woah, that was a low blow..." Gant says with a half-smile. "But there's no denying that she's right. So how about you're a good boy and shut up for a while?"

Edgeworth just grunts in annoyance. But it says nothing.

"As I was saying before that I was interrupted so rudely." Alexia says seriously. "Here we have the identification of our victim here" Ema passes it and Fey shows it to everyone.

Gant points at them with his finger. "Ema! Feyo! Shame on you two! Those IDs are supposed to be top secret!"

"The number listed is 5842189!" Alexia reveals, surprising those present.

Gant falls silent again, as does Miles.

The Judge only looks around, confusion reflected in his face. "...And...? This means... what exactly?"

"Huh?" Both girls say at the same time.

The Judge seems to have remembered. "Wait... That ID number we heard from the Chief before... That one started with '82...' Hmm. I've forgotten."

"(You didn't even get the first number right! AGAIN!)" Alexia thinks with a drop of sweat.

Ema snorts. "Agent Gant said the ID of the murdered detective was 5842189."

"OBJECTION!!"

"Wait a second, Ms. Fey!" says Miles. "What does this...?"

"Mean?" Alexia says crossing her arms. "Well, what must it mean that the person killed in the evidence room was Detective Goodman!"

Ema looks at the Chief. "What does our witness think about this?"

"This is what I think," says Gant. "Sharp as a tack, you all are!"

The judge gasps. "Wait! But he is our victim!"

"This is impossible!" says Miles. "We're saying that the same person was killed at the same time... in a completely different place?!"

UH oh. The gallery is skyrocketing. Gant decides to clap his hands and make them shut up so that the judge doesn't have to.

"Chief!" asks the judge. "What does this mean?!"

"No, what I want to know is why I didn't hear about this! Yes, it's top secret, fine! But I'm the prosecutor in charge of the case!!" Miles is losing control again.

Gant raises his hands and waves them in a "calm" motion. "Wait, Worthy, there's no need to get all flustered."

Miles, in an almost plaintive tone, addresses the judge. "Your Honor! The Police Department has made a grave mistake in this case..."

"Worthy, do you ever hear when I tell you to wait?" Gant snaps. Oh my God, seeing him angry is terrifying. "Unfortunately, it is you who has made the grave mistake."

Edgeworth's eyes begin to pop out of their sockets. "What?! How dare you!!"

The Chief shakes his head. "We informed you yesterday. I think it was our officer Meekins who brought you the news."

"Officer Meekins? Isn't that the officer Mr. Edgeworth kicked out of his office?" Alexia questions. Miles’s blood freezes when he heard that.

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"Um...! Excuse me! But is Mr. Edgeworth... anywhere in the premises?" The policeman asks into the megaphone, almost leaving Alexia deaf for having used it directly next to her. "I am here, sir, at the request of the Chief, sir! I have your report, sir!" The policeman exclaims.

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“(I'm sure he's regretting some of his life choices right now.)" The defense thinks in unison.

"What!? That idiot cop!?" Miles exclaims shocked.

Gant smiles again. "He says you didn't take the report!"

"That's because it had nothing to do with Lana Skye! He told me!" It’s the excuse of the prosecutor.

"Technically, he just said that her name wasn’t there, Mr. Edgeworth," Alexia notes, and then said, "But... By any chance, wasn't the victim's name there, or something related to him?"

"Stay out of it, Miss Fey!" Edgeworth exclaims annoyed.

Gant shakes his head. "Worthy, didn't your parents teach you that you should be polite to the ladies? And, even more, when are they the ones who are right?

"Excuse me?!" Miles exclaims between annoyed and surprised.

"Since I'm sure you didn't read the top of the report, I'm going to do it for you." Gant says as he pulls out and points to the top of the report. "[Detective Bruce Goodman killed in Police Department evidence room.]"

Miles looks up, out of his hands where he had buried his face a few seconds ago. "Why didn't your officer tell me that?!"

"Honestly, I'm not sure if that officer could have been able to make the connection... Seemed... challenged." Ema comments.

"In any case," says Gant, "This is a serious mistake, a gross negligence of duty on your part, Worthy."

"B-but, sir!! I could have submitted that report this morning to the court as evidence! So I..." Edgeworth suggests.

"I certainly couldn't have, Unworthy!" interrupts Gant.

"Why not?!" Miles demands to know.

"Second rule of the law of evidence!" Gant answers simply.

Ema turns to Alexia. "Do you know about that?"

"Yes," Alexia says. "The second rule says: New evidence may only be presented if it is related to the case at trial."

"What is the importance of this?!" Miles snaps.

Alexia snorts. "Normally, a list of evidence is submitted to be used in court before the trial. What Agent Gant wants to imply is that that report was not on that list."

She crosses her arms, poses relaxed; "So he couldn't upload it as evidence until a connection was established." She pulls back a lock of hair and smiles triumphantly. "Which we already did."

"That's right!" Says Gant. "Seriously, Worthy. How is it that this young lady is more versed than you?"

Miles slides to the ground, disappearing behind the bench. "Nooooooooooooooooo!!"

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The judge sighs. "It seems that this trial has come to an end."

Gant stares at the prosecutor's bench. "Get up, will you, Worthy? Lately you're becoming a thorn in my side. There have been rumors... After all, you were in the defendant's chair last year!"

Hesitantly, Miles rises. "I apologize for this terrible lack of due diligence on my part..."

The judge smacks his lips. "Shame on you, Mr. Edgeworth."

"Please..." the prosecutor pleads. "Just give me a day. I'll get to the bottom of what happened... even if it's the last thing I do!"

"Miss Fey, he looks like he's about to cry!" says Ema.

"Yes," says Alexia. "This is no longer funny, it's sad..."

"You'd better get results this time. Really," says Gant.

Miles looks away. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"

Ema looks at him with pity. "Poor Mr. Edgeworth..."

The Judge sighs again. "I don't think there has ever been such a serious mistake in the history of this court. We will grant one more day as requested by the prosecution." He turns to Miles. "Will this be enough, Mr. Edgeworth?"

He shrinks slightly, but nods. "Yes, your honor. Thank you."

"Whatever your punishment is for this, for your sake I hope it's not ... decisive." The Judge says, before preparing his deck. "Very well! Court is adjourned!"

And with that last blow of the mallet, that day of trial was over...

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evita-shelby · 5 months

Text

They didn't know we were seeds

Chapter 9

A/N: Aveline Young belongs to @justrainandcoffee

Cw: injury, mentions of nightmares and mentjons of sex

Taglist: @justrainandcoffee @emotionalcadaver @peakyswritings @call-sign-shark

“Ever left the district, Nelson?” Lyme keeps a steady pace south, past the ruins of the city that once connected them to 10 and into the woods behind the fence. This fence is high, near a thicket of trees that hardly cover it but, unlike the one up north, is not charged.

He��s come close to the fence up north, ventured past it enough times to keep his mouth shut about it. He knows he can trust Lyme, but Jack doesn’t tell he’s made use of the broken part that doesn’t charge up near a pine tree.

Besides she hasn’t been clear about this camping trip, all she said is that they’ll meet up with a friend of theirs at their destination. Now that they’re here, he knows she means Eva.

“Why are we going there?” he needs to know what the fuck is this for.

“After the two of you came out of the attic covered in dust, I thought I would show you this place. I needed to know Eva would appreciate such a visit and she demanded I bring you next time.” Lyme’s never lied to him before, but he knows she’s not telling him everything.

There was something else, something Eva was privy to. Eva would likely tell him; she hardly keeps any secrets from him in their strange whatever this is.

He really likes her, their stolen moments together were great, but they’ll only see each other half a month every year.

But he didn’t know about the trail before and that now changes things.

Jack wouldn’t mind seeing her often, preferably without Lyme. Maybe they could see where it goes instead of staking everything on how long the games last and that one of their tributes wins.

It would also be nice to pretend the world doesn’t exist for a moment, his times at his cabin are longer working. For fuck’s sake he printed out a photo of her at a lingerie shoot last July and kept it for lonely nights instead of seeking out the bartender that sort of looks like her if you’ve been drinking.

He’s still debating whether this was a good idea when he eats shit trying to walk over what used to be a road. It’s not enough to injure him, just leave his knee and shin hurting like a bitch as they walk to the farm he sees in the distance.

The fields are empty, the animals pay no attention to them, and the house sits on a small hill looking like something out of a dream.

It was plain white wood with a stone chimney and a porch wrapped around it, all surrounded by carefully marked gardens and flowerbeds marked by a simple dirt path outlined with pale stones.

Jack can’t help but smile when he sees her waiting for him. He doesn’t even mind the fact that he’s been limping for the past mile or so.

“Gonna have to stay the weekend, I wager.” He says even though he knows the aloe vera she’s wrapped around his lower leg to reduce the pain by morning.

Jack can’t help but think of ways to stay here longer without Lyme stuck here with them. Having Eva so near him was already making him wish they were alone.

“I wasn’t planning on staying here with you two lovebirds. Have some friends I’ll be staying with back home to give you an alibi.” The blonde admits as she helped herself to the lunch Eva had prepared just for them.

She’d dressed up, tried to make it look like she hadn’t, but the thought that she’d put an effort for him was rather sweet. She’d even remembered foods he had liked.

If he’d known he was coming here, he would’ve brought her something or at least packed some condoms. Jack supposed he could fix that next time he comes here, without Lyme preferably.

“My workers don’t work on weekends, and they come late on Monday since I wanted to be sure no one knows about this.” Eva supplies with a bit of embarrassment at Lyme’s words. “As far as everyone knows, I like coming here to get away from my auntie.”

The young man never gets around to asking Evie what she and Lyme are hiding from. Not that it matters, even without sex, he’s never had a Friday night he’s enjoyed like this these past six years.

“If I’d known I’d be seeing you this weekend, I would’ve brought you something. My mama raised me never to arrive empty-handed, especially with a hostess as lovely as you.” He is so different from the young man he is at the Capitol, she supposed she too was different from who she was over there.

He's hairy, his strange red beard coming in nicely and making a sharp contrast with his darker body hair. She’s never seen him like that, the Capitol hates body hair so much they suggested laser hair removal for his chest. He wears earrings, small ones because he thinks they were cool and little Gina refused to wear any unless he did.

Jack’s free with his words and doesn’t hide who he is, likes watching her as she goes about her day. He’s not as hurt as they’d thought he’d be, he’ll be back on his feet by tomorrow morning even if the bruising will take its time leaving.

“Maybe next time.” It’s evening, and after the aloe vera has dried up and become uncomfortable to wear, Eva helps him up to her bathroom upstairs.

He teases her, asks her to join him in the shower saying he wants to properly thank her for her hospitality.

The last person she’s been with has been him and while her line of work has made her immune to nudity and find no real pleasure in sex, the mere sight of watching him undress has her jumping his bones in her shower.

They have so much fun in just these couple of hours together, both forget this was all illegal.

“Wish I didn’t have to leave on Monday.” He admits when they wake up together in her simple bed on Sunday and the morning sun bringing out the contrast of the brown ring at the center of his eyes. Heterochromia, he'd called it, another thing the Capitol doesn’t like.

Laurie had been the one genetically engineered to be perfect, Jack was the one who came as nature wanted. And the Capitol hated what they couldn’t bend to their will.

But Eva doesn’t give a shit about what the Capitol like, she really likes Jack how he is with all these so-called imperfections that make him wonderful to her.

If Eva didn’t know any better, she’d think she’d fallen in love with him. Feels strange, to have fallen for him in the span of a handful of days scattered about maybe five months.

“You could always come visit; Lyme usually passes here once a month to see Aveline at 11. Shelby is a fan of impossible romances it seems.” Eva doesn’t mean to call them a romance, but the word slips either way.

“Beats having to wait a year come to think of it. Your birthday is in two weeks isn’t it?” he smiles softly as he pushed away her fringe from her face.

“Yeah, why do you ask?” the dark-haired girl wonders what he could be thinking.

“I owe you a gift for the hospitality.”

And she waits for him on the night of her 24th birthday in her best dress and thanks her lucky stars that Clemens never fails to send her birth control pills and that the weather was better than last year.

Jack brings a small radio older than they are that lets them hear the music from his district as they dance in her house as his gift, Eva bakes her favorite cake and buys a tiny bottle of white tequila for two.

He sings terribly, he likes this song. A romantic ballad his mom sang to him as a lullaby as a kid that he hummed to himself when he was in his games when the others weren’t paying attention.

The words come unbidden as she buries her face into his chest laughing from all the fun she has with him here, “I love you.”

Jack stumbles over the chorus he knows so well before growing still and then pretending it nothing changed. He doesn’t say it back, his body language telling her it was too soon, but he doesn’t leave, and both act as if she never said it.

That night Eva dreams she’s back in the arena only this time its not Laurie she kills, its Jack.

“I get them too.” Jack comforts her as if he’d seen what she saw. He holds her tightly as he soothes her unaware that she’s doomed them by joining the rebels.

Its spring when people begin to notice the change in him. Its summer when his mother finally asks him about it.

“You’re in love, aren’t you?” his mother asks when she notices how happy he is with his next gift for Eva.

He hadn’t meant to, but when he saw the puppy left last time he was in town Jack couldn’t help himself.

He likes dogs, she does too but keeps no pets because her cousin Ignacio is allergic and he lives with them in the Victor’s Village.

They could keep her at the farm, he’ll come visit them and they can continue to play house there as they’ve done since Lyme brought him there.

Eva had said the words first, when they were dancing in her kitchen to some old song he liked om her birthday. He hadn’t said it back, truth was, Jack wasn’t sure what he felt for her then.

Now that he’s thinking of ways to take the pup to her, he realizes that maybe he does love her too.

Who would’ve thought he’d fall in love with her?

“Yeah, I think so.”

“She lives in the south, this girl of yours. No wonder you never miss your hikes with Lyme.” his mom goes on with her assumption if this mystery girl and he doesn’t correct her.

As far as people know in Eva’s district, she is having an affair with a married man because he forgot his flannel there and her aunt was told they’d seen a man leave through the backdoor. He is Jacob the Carpenter who lives some farms away.

This was pretty tame in comparison.

Jack keeps it vague and hopes his mother forgives him one day.

Atia Nelson believes he is dating an apothecary’s apprentice named Evie in the outlying village down south who lives in a farm with her aunt and is painfully shy.

“I hope you’ll let me meet her one day.” She continues and he tries to hide his grimace remembering that Eva killed Laurie and lives in a different district.

His mother is open minded and progressive, but would she accept as a daughter-in-law the girl who killed her son?

Maybe one day, he thinks.

When he and Lyme meet up in their trail, he broaches the subject.

Lyme’s dad was still alive, knew she liked women and gave her the hunting knife she could be killed for if their district peacekeepers knew. He was once an officer, gotten discharged due to an injury in District 11 and hated the Capitol enough to teach his adopted daughter how to get in and out of the district undetected.

A great man, in short.

“Do you think we can trust my mom?” he asks as he leads the overeager pup walk in front of them for a short while.

“I don’t know yet. Even my dad doesn’t know where Aveline lives.” Not because he would betray them, but because these secrets get you killed or worse, turned into an Avox.

He couldn’t do that to his family, especially six-year-old Gina and his grandparents. Besides his mother worked inside the mountain, and one false move could have them all killed to protect Panem.

But when June rolls around and he comes back right before the Capitol decides to shoot some special about previous victors before the Games begin, his mother recognizes the puppy –now a half-grown dog— sitting at Eva’s feet in her home at the Victors’ Village.

“So this is your girlfriend, this wonderful Evie you love so much, the bitch who killed your brother?”

Jack has never seen his mother so angry and disappointed in him.

#jack x eva #they didn't know we were seeds #hunger games au #lyme x oc #aveline young #evacore #jack nelson

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cf8wrk4u-us · 9 months

Note

Ok idea, the district kids and their potentional Guardians.

District 1 kids(Marvel and Glimmer): Ultra Magnus or Kup, either by Ultra Magnus strict nature or Kups story will humble them.

District 2 kids(Cato and Clove): Jazz or Mirage heck maybe even Starscream, both came from upper class before Cybertron fell to war so they can help break the kids out of their mindset.

District 3 kids(Calling them Chip and Wire): Soundwave, Shockwave, or Wheeljack. Techies have to stuck together

District 4 kids: Either Rodimus since he bonded with one of them, or Seaspray or Nautica

District 5 kids(Calling them, Jules and Watts): Jolt, a lesser known autobot with Electric powers

District 6 kids: Cyclonus, he's an alien jet he'd be so cool to them.

District 7 kids:

District 8 Kids: Swindle or Knockout, with Swindle trying to get them to but "authentic" 21st century clothing and Knockout just telling them hot Goss or making fun of Capital people's clothes.

District 9 kids: Honestly hard pick

District 10 kids: The Predacons, they'd especially love Razorclaw or Headstrong

District 11(Rue and Thresh): The Dinobots, mainly because I love the idea of Rue riding Grimlocks T-Rex mode

Katniss and Peeta: Megatron or Optimus

I really love this idea! I think you made a lot if great pairings for the tributes and ideas of their personality and names👍

If I have to be honest though I sort of limited most of the potential tribute partners to members of the Lost Light Crew and the tributes I do know.

While your list is good I'm happy to show you what I had in mind.

District 1 and 2 are basically pariahs among the bots and their fellow tributes, especially Cato. Yes, the crew understands that these tributes are basically a bunch of brainwashed kids who have been manipulated to be killing machines by the start of the game but it still erks a lot of them that when Rodimus gave them a way out they still chose to attack the humans. A 12 year old even!

Not that the Career tributes mind since. their equally as hostil at first. They're scared and anxious, because in their minds they blew it. My headcanon for how the Career Tributes are that the mindset and mentality is that you "Come back a winner or you don't come back at all". They were expected to die in that arena or come out a victor. Nothing else. But there all still alive and the games are ruined. Yes, through no fault of their own but they doubt that it'll make a good explanation to their families or trainers. Even if they do make it home the only thing ready for them is disgrace.

But there are some bots that try to be friendly or at least cordial with them. Like you meantioned Ultra Magnus is a firm and strict character that will get them in line, his attitude may be reminiscent to their teachers. He keep an optic on them but also make sure their equally attended to. He may not approve of their mindset but refuses to discriminate against them.

Megatron would be a surprising presence around them, given that he did threaten to vaporize the group back at the arena. But it stems mostly from his own complicated feelings. Because to him, these Career Tributes were so much like his followers during the early stages of the war. How many young bright-eyed Cybertronians came to him looking to change the oppressed system and better their station in life only for him to turn them into ruthless war machines? How many did he indoctrinate into his cause and convince anyone who wasn't apart of it to be there enemies. To Megatron, he was the Districts, manipulating his own people to be machines of war instead of agents for change. There are actions he didn't regret when it came to the war, but robbing the futures of the next generation was something that will always weigh on him. So , he will check on the Career tributes to make sure there handling everything well for the most part. He's the one to notice how agitated and hostil they were and thought to bring Rung

Rung is the next and by far the most significant figure to the Career Tributes, he's the one to really sit down with them and try to help them sort their emotions and thoughts about their circumstances. He doesn't have any bias towards them or their Districts, and he does his best to let them vent and just listen to their thoughts.

District 3 and 5 would definitely be great friends with Brainstorm and Preceptor, given that both those districts have a background in technology and engineering. The tributes would love observing some of their projects and inventions. Learning how they work.

Though Preceptor and Brainstorm are careful of what they show them and what information is given. Since the last time advance technology and knowledge was left to the humans it caused a whole mess of problems.

Obviously, the District 4 tributes would get along with Rodimus with how friendly he was to the male tribute, who I named Luca Alberts.

With Rodimus being a fishing enthusiasts they swap more stories and advice on the topic. Not to meantion to Luca, Rodimus is the coolest person ever! Rex and orange and captain of his own ship he's definitely someone the 12 year old looks up too!

But Nautica, too, could be someone they like, especially with her interest in marine biology. She had always heard Earth had an interesting ecosystem within her sea. But she be disappointed to know that the tributes haven't been past the coast because the Capital doesn't allow them away too far from the mainland unless it's for specialty catches. A far cry from when humans sailed along the sea for decades. Not to meantion because of the past war and pollution a lot of species are now extinct.

The Rodimus make a promise to Luca that when things get better he let the human take him to all his favorite fishing spots. Nautica says that she wants to explore the ocean with their help.

Members of District 6 aren't the biggest fans of travel, but when it comes to the bots vehicle modes and watching them transform they are immediately interested.

To be honest I don't know what pairs to make up for 7-10, I think overall most of the Lost Light Crew are friendly to the remains tributes and try to make them as comfortable as they can. While there are some who might not be comfortable with organics, there are some who are generally interested in humans and their culture. Swerve has a huge collection of human movies and thinks it's a tragedy that none of the tributes have seen them! He schedules a daily movie night and ask Rewind to project the films for him which he doesn't too. The tributes were never really exposed to media and entertainment like movies and TV shows, things like animation are like magic to them. Most things like that were reserved for the Capital people and for most of them, they didn't have the luxury of media given their poverish backgrounds and how most had to join their Districts industry to support their families. Being with Rodimus and their crew brought a break to there mostly labor focused life. Though they still worry about their families and friends and what their rescue from the arena means for them. Rung is brought in to help them process their concerns and overall trauma concerning the Reaping and their experience before the games.

As for District 8, I've thought of them a lot! Rue would be the apple of most of the crews optics! Especially that of Tailgate and Cyclonus.

Tailgate has never seen humans outside of Swerves films and can't get over how tiny and cute they are. He doesn't make the greatest impression after the humans are allowed out of the tank and he tries to hold one, marveling how much smaller they are to him. Most of the tributes ran from him but Rue stayed and badly said how cute she thought he was!

"I'm not cute! I'm fierce! " Tailgate objected, but from then on he always hung around Rue. He showed her different parts of the ship and carried her with on his hoverboard, the halls often filled with Tailgate and Rues excited cheers.

And when you have Tailgate you get Cyclonus. While the purple mech adores Rue too, he makes sure to remind Tailgate to please be careful with her as humans are fragile creature. Though Rue often test those boundaries.

Once Cyclonus was having a conversation with Tailgate only for the minibot to burst out laughing, confused Cyclonus realized that Rue had climbed all the way to his shoulder blade without him noticing. He immediately startled and snatched Rue in his shoulders scolding her and Tailgate how dangerous that was, that Rue could have fallen or got caught in one of the jabs in his armor and crushed.

Cyclonus and Tailgate are both taken aback at how Rue gushes over what a cute couple they are!

Despite her mischievous nature, Cyclonus genuinely does like Rue and is protective of her. This even extends to her fellow tribute Thresh, these two share a stoic nature and protective streak that comes with the understanding that their strength is what keeps those close to them safe.

Thresh also finds a surprising friend in Whirl. The cyclops bot thinking that Thresh was impressive with his strength for a human is and that silent attitude of his made him extra cool. Basically, Whirl saw it as a challenge to break through Thresh shell. It started with just gruff replies to the helicopters' questions, to warning against certain actions Whirl thought would be "fun," to finally being the reluctant voice of reason to Whirls shenigans. Given Thresh's background, he probably worked hard every day from an early age to help support his sister and grandmother. His district not giving him the option to have fun or just experience his youth. Whirl is chaos incarnent, and while that can be exhausting it brings out a side of Thresh he didn't know to how much he enjoyed participating in Whirls games.

Now we get to District 12! With Katniss and Peeta!

Because of Peeta's injury he and Katniss spent some time in the medbay with Ratchet. The medical comes off as gruff and stern but Katniss can't help but respect him. He reminded her of her own mother in his quiet concentration when it came to healing others. Ratchet does his best to assist Katniss in addressing Peeta's wound and in intent at making sure the teen is well treated.

Peeta often likes to joke or try to make friendly conversation with Ratchet though he's often met with a dry rely and orders to rest instead of chattering on. Not that Peeta is detered and keeps a bright smile while under Ratchets care.

Drift is another bit that Oeeta surprisingly gets close with, given the former visits Ratchets medbay to check up on the bot and interact with the two humans who have joined him there. He likes talking with Peeta and wishes him a speedy recovery, knowing Peeta got his injury while defending a younger tribute Drift sees Peeta as honorable.

Though things get awkward when Drift mentions how sweet it was that Katniss was treating Peeta and says that they have a beautiful story. Believing that the pair were getting closer romantically because of seeing Peeta's confession on the interviews. This gets a frown from Katniss and a sheepish look from Peeta.

After his recovery, Peeta is allowed out of the medbay he makes another friend in Ten. While Ten can't voice much Peeta sees a fellow creative spirit in him when shown the mechs collection of hand made figures and the flowers he's drawn on himself.

Peeta impresses Ten by drawing items on his armor skillfully, with the enthusiasm he never had when decorating his shops cakes and cookies. Tens more than happy to share his paints with the tiny human.

Going back to Katniss, there's another bot she gets close to and that's Megatron.

At the beginning Katniss believed Megatron was the same as his past self that attempted to take over Earth. Brutal and bloodthirsty but over time her expectations of him were dismissed.

Yes, he came off as cold and standoffish, but more than anything, he was respectful to all the tributes and was observant of their needs, even the Careers who again he had threatened to vaporize.

Seeing this Katniss finally asked him why he even tried with them, his response "Because there as much victims to this system as you and the rest are"

Slowly but surely, Katniss begins to hang out in the side lines with the former tyrant. She was never one for socializing and eventually just ended up spending time with Megatron more often then not. Just silently staying in each others presence.

To her surprise one day Megatron ask her about her district, that he understands that they came from a mining background and he admits that he came from a similar industry.

This takes Katniss by surprise, she could never imagine the "Emperor of Destruction" working in dusty mine shaft. They share their lifestyle experiences, comparing the disparaging life and workload of the miners, eventually the topic drifts to Katnisses father who died in a collapse.

"It probably didn't take them long to move you all to a new hole to dig." he chuckled dryly, but at Katniss silence, he backtracks. "Apologies.... I understand your grief, I too have lost many a friend to accidents in the mines"

Megatron admits to Katniss that even before the arrival to the arena, he and the crew had observed them through their network. He saw her volunteer for her sister so she wouldn't have been taken. And despite Rodimus's intervention, she very well could have saved her from death. He tells her she's an admirable human and sister.

Katniss might tear up and ask if she'll ever see her family or Earth again.

"I promise to do everything in my power to help you and the rest of the humans return safely home one day"

There's another bit on board that also seems to gravitate to Katniss, with how close she's getting to Megatron its no wonder that Ravage takes an interest in her.

Ravage at first makes Katniss and the other tributes nervous, being seen as a large wild animal at first. Startling them as he actually speaks.

But as he starts to wander near Katniss more Peeta starts to joke that Ravage is possibly mistaking her for "catnip" instead of Katniss, the girl is not amused.

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