#okay I really need to work on the tem project

[doopn00p]

A Taboo Kiss

[a-otter-appears]

What Your Favorite Undertale Song Says About You!

(All this is done for fun and laughs! So don't take anything said too serious.)

(DELTARUNE CHAPTER 1 LINK)

Once Upon a Time: You love diving into new stories, fantasy is escape from your life. (Also see: Home, Snowdin, Hotel, Fallen Down (Reprise), Hopes and Dreams)

Your Best Friend: It's okay I hate dealing with most people too!! (Also see: Your Best Nightmare)

Fallen Down: You yearn back to the time of your life when you were happy, careless, and free. You're pretty nostalgic about most things.

Ruins: Pretty tired eh? You're kind of a wanderer these days. (Also see: Waterfall, Don't Give Up, An Ending)

Uwa!! So Temperate: You are delighted by the simple things in life. :)

Enemy Approaching: I see you Pokemon fan. (Also see: Dogsong, Temmie Village, Tem shop, Stronger Monsters, Amalgram)

Ghost Fight: You just really need a break. (Also see: Dummy!)

Determination: Overthinker. (Also see: Asgore)

Home / Home (Music Box): You're either pretty homesick, or just wish to have as loving and safe a place as Toriel's. (Also see: Once Upon a Time)

Heartache: You're stressed for yourself, your friends, and pretty much everyone's future.

sans. : I don't know how you still manage to have any sort of energy after all these years.

Nyeh Heh Heh! / Bonetrousle: Very obsessive about your favorite things.

Snowy: Winter REALLY is your season, you enjoy staying inside and working on many projects through the winter. (Also see: Snowdin)

Uwa!! So Holiday: You carry your own special magic. :)

Dogsong: ... Get away from me /j, you're pretty goofy and funny. (Also see: Enemy Approaching, Temmie Village, Tem Shop)

Snowdin Town / Shop: Like Snowy, just with less seasonal depression, more friendly, and a lot more love for the holidays. (Also see: Snowy, Once Upon a Time, Reunited)

Dating Start!: Bubbly and fun! You're a wannabe online influencer. (Also see: Snowdin, Dating Tense)

Dating Tense!: You need to stop looking so deeply into things, they don't hate you. (Also see: Dating start! Spear of Justice)

Dating Fight!: You're late to everything.

Undyne: You scare me, if I saw you walking down the street I would back away.

Waterfall / Quiet Water: You have such wonderful thoughts and ideas, you just need to give yourself the push to actually work on them. Go get some rest. (Also see: Ruins, Another Medium)

Memory: You have given yourself to others without them returning the favor to many times. (Also see: His Theme)

Dummy!: You are sick and tired of EVERYTHING. You will fight your way through this life if it means you don't have to be treated like trash anymore. (Also see: Ghost Fight)

Pathetic House: Your room is VERY bare. Please put something up, even if it's a sticky note. (Also see: Ghost Fight, Spider Dance)

Spooktune / Spookwave / Ghouliday: You're the kid who people think listens to "edgy" and "dark" songs on their headphones. But really, you jam out to the most weird things. (Also see: Metal Crusher)

Chill: You can barely keep your eyes open, you're very sleepy.

Thundersnail: 1# weird dancer.

Temmie Village: Very hyperactive! Please take a moment to breath! (Also see: Dogsong, Tem Shop)

Tem Shop: LOUD (Also see: Dogsong, Temmie Village)

NGAHHH!! / Spear of Justice: Sweet Jesus you scare me with those anger problems. You say you could take on anyone in a fight, but you would lose everytime, or actually WIN everytime. (Also see: Undyne, Asgore)

Alphys: Nervous and unsure, you have no idea what you're doing most of the time, but you just... go with it anyway. (Also see: Amalgram, Here We Are)

It's Showtime!: You show your love by annoying people to death. (Also see: Live Report, Death by Glamour)

Metal Crusher: How the hell do you get your work done so fast?!? You type at the speed of light. So focused... (Also see: Spooktune, Death by Glamour)

Another Medium: Imaginative and hardworking, you probably take long walks while listening to music. (Also see: Waterfall, CORE)

Uwa!! So HEATS!!?: You get sick a lot.

Stronger Monsters: You look all put together and calm, but you get so easily offended when someone doesn't agree with your opinion. (Also see: Enemy Approaching)

Hotel / Can You Really Call This a Hotel I Didn't Receive a Mint on my Pillow or Anything: You LOVE having the house to yourself, being alone is when you can get the most done. Or you just enjoy being able to relax alone. (Also see: Once Upon a Time)

Live Report / Death Report: Stressed VERY easily. But you hide it behind a smile. (Also see: It's Showtime!)

Spider Dance: You are MISCHIEVOUS, you love to mess around with people, scare them, whatever! (Also see: Dummy!)

Wrong Enemy: No sense of direction, you barely know your left and right.

Oh! One True Love! / Oh! Dungeon: T h e a t e r k i d, you also might sing ballads in public bathrooms just for the acoustics.

It's Raining Somewhere Else: Philosophical, you might be seen working/studying at the local cafe/library, or overthinking/napping in your room. You should really get a real night of sleep instead of powering through with 2 hour naps and coffee. (Also see: sans.)

CORE: I get the feeling you had an intense space phase as a kid. Kind of nerdy, you don't stop until you get the answer to whatever you're looking for. (Also see: Another Medium)

Death by Glamour: THE BADDEST BITCH IS HERE! You're truly here for a fun time, not a long time. You have this unique charm that just makes people want to be by you. Some may think you're annoying, but you grew enough skin not to care about that anymore. (Also see: CORE, Another Medium, It's Showtime!)

For the Fans: Due to terrible/unexpected life events, you had to step away from what you love, you really want to go back to when you were better. (Also see: Oh! One True Love)

Undertale: Oh boy... I can tell you lost someone dear in your life; whether it was by growing apart, or death. You hold on tight and dear for the time you had with them, wishing you spent more time together. But you also remember, (and hopefully smile) that you got to know this person at all. You still carry on through life, the memories, with a tear in your heart. (Also see: Once Upon a Time, Hopes and Dreams, His Theme)

Song That Might Play When You Fight Sans: You're a jokester. (Also see: Sans, Bonetrousle)

Bergentrückung / Asgore: You deeply regret the actions/words you caused/said. You find no mercy in forgiving yourself. And well I'm not the one to say if what happened is worth being forgiven... maybe you'll find peace one day. (Also see: Heartache, Determination, Spear of Justice)

Your Best Nightmare: Who even are you???? I think if you were a drink, you would be a green Monster. (Also see: Your Best Friend)

Finale: Truly the only and best word to describe you is determined. (Also see: Your Best Nightmare, Your Best Friend, His Theme)

An Ending: Very, veeeeeery close to just quitting whatever it is you do. (Also see: Ruins)

Here We Are: Anytime you get out of your room, your parents will always make comments about it, leaving you to quickly hide away again.

Amalgam: You like experimenting. I won't say with what. (Also see: Enemy approaching, Here We Are)

Fallen Down (Reprise): Despite yearning back, you march forward, not staying stuck in the past or thinking of the future, you stay exactly where you are, in the moment. (Also see: Fallen Down, Once Upon a Time, Hopes and Dreams)

Don't Give Up: Maybe on the outside you look like a walking corpse. But on the inside? You still try to hold on, no matter what, cause you believe it WILL get better soon. (Also see: Ruins, An Ending)

Hopes and Dreams / SAVE The World / Last Goodbye: you... YOU! You are a light in the dark, the warmth in the snow. You try to make people's lives, and this world's better. Even if you don't like most people, even if you give more than you should. You hold on, dream, and work for a better future, a better life, for everyone. (Also see: Undertale, Your Best Friend, Once Upon a Time, Snowdin)

His Theme: You cry a lot (not in a bad way!) Your emotions guide you more than your mind. You look back and ask yourself if you have done enough. (Also see: Memory, Undertale, Reunited)

Reunited: People make fun of you for believing every story has a happy ending. But you don't mind. You hold on deary to the people who made your life better, who stuck through it all. You know even in the happiest times there's saddest, and in the saddest, there's joy. (Also see: Once Upon a Time, Hopes and Dreams, His theme)

Respite: You made it, through the worst days/weeks/months of your life, you pulled through, and are still standing. (Also see: Ruins)

Bring it in, Guys!: You couldn't pick just ONE song.

Battle Against a True Hero: the MAIN character, you would throw yourself in any danger to protect those you love. You'll defend until your last breath. (Also see: Ruins)

Power of -NEO-: You're still mad Mettaton NEO didn't get a actual fight. Please let it go.

Megalovania: *sighhhhhh* But actually, you're pretty intimidating. Maybe it's because of how loud you are, or the tense energy you radiate. I wouldn't want to get in your way...

BONUSES:

Mad Mew Mew: Cute and bitter! People think they can walk over you, but quickly learn that they SHOULDN'T at all. (Also see: Dummy! Spider Dance)

Gaster's Theme: PUT THAT GODDAMN THEORY DOWN

[charityd08]

Expressing opinions and ideas 2/3

So more Undertale x Bungou Stray Dogs crossover roles.

Okay Oda as the River Person because they both have the same energy.

Kouyou as Undyne I know what you're thinking why? And that's because I had no idea who was going to be Undyne. And it honestly makes sense cuz I made Yosano, Alphys. I'll explain Yosano in part 3 Btw

And for Ranpo he's his own thing because me and my friend didn't know who he would be and same with Fukuzawa.

And Mad Dummy/Mad Mew Mew is Verlaine you'll know why when I reveal who Chuuya is and I totally didn't do that as a excuse to turn Verlaine into a Magical girl. Because come on, I see Magical girl Dazai, Chuuya, Atsushi and Akutagawa but no other characters, you know what I think I'll talk about that another time.

Hermen is Gerson there both old (not trying to be rude.) And with Gerson being a character in Waterfall it fits with Herman's character y'know because whales, water.

Kenji is Monster kid because they're both adorable and I will defend them with my life but off topic. They're both very impressed easily and both have the need to protect they're friends while yes MK isn't strong like Kenji, he still tries to protect Frisk (depending on your choice if you choose to save him or not.)

Mushitāro is Shyren because of mainly aesthetic reasons and also because I have plans for him

Also small bonus Asagiri is annoying dog and Harukawa is Tem if you know you know.

Aya is Chara forgot mention that last time. And not the Fanon one I literally despise that one but anyways reasoning. Aya is a very Determined character in canon. And also I really do the Narrator Chara theory also yes my fic does have Aya as the narrator.

Yeah I might be forgetting a few but that's it. And remember these my opinions and thoughts you are free to disagree. And while you're at it I would appreciate if you checked out my fic about it. I'm still not finished tho but the next chapter is in the works.

[inkydoc]

About me (for pin purposes)

Tamara (Tem) - 🎂 01.01. - young old person - 🇭🇺

I used to have a shitton of info in my about me section, but in the long run none of that is important or relevant tbh. All you need to know about me is that sometimes I doodle (more and more rarely as time passes), I like food, cartoons, games, sci-fi and fantasy, and all around am just a really basic gal, here to have a good time, reblog cats, and occasionally post about my gaming shenanigans. If you have questions you are always welcome to send in an ask, I might be late in answering tho, we all know how stable this hellsite (affectionate) is :D

All in all, be safe both irl and online, do not share too much info with strangers, be kind, and take care of yourselves, your loved ones, your pets, and your plants.

Oh also you can find me in other places too if you want, and then there are some things I sometimes work on, so here is a list of links for all your link-clicking needs.

#inkydoc doodles (what it says on the tin. hopefully won’t be completely abandoned.)

#inkydoc crafts (trying my hands at various craft-related hobbies - so far sewing and knitting, but i see crochet and bookbinding in my future)

insta (I post doodle stories sometimes)

smol random writings blog (sometimes i manage to string words together in an interesting fashion, please read my writings I’m very proud of them)

gaming sideblog (a little bit of everything - some Minecraft, mostly Sims, but honestly can’t wait for Paralives to come out)

twitter (only for retweeting cats and other cute stuff)

The Cult of Nyankotep (old project that I wanna get around completing one day, it will take very long tho)

Sound Witch Lyra (yea okay technically not much yet, it will be a collection of short stories about this witch girl and shenanigans)

Dusk to your Dawn (just a handful of characters and a bit of worldbuilding that I wanna expand on, but probably no story for this one, just designs)

See you space cowboy 🤠

[invertedfate]

Random Ask Dump - Anniversary Edition (50+ REALLY OLD ASKS!)

Going through OLD AND CRUSTY ASKS to try and chip away at the inbox. HERE WE GOOOO...

That’s an interesting idea, and I could run it by Cake, but I think it would honestly be a LOT to track from a programming perspective. Especially ‘cause killing Sans is gonna result in a “bad ending,” so to speak.

An attempt was made by Undyne to have all three hang out at the same time. Papyrus was SUPER EAGER. ...but one thing led to another and there were many messy explosions of chemicals and lots of smoke. Alphys had to step in before things got out of hand. It was all very daunting for her. Pap and Undyne are VERY LOUD, VERY AMBITIOUS PEOPLE.

I actually have some ideas of some side comics I may do at some point! :o It’s just that right now there’s a lot going on.

I need to poke Carni about that at some point. He’s just been very busy with other projects!

Clearly he’s standing on the “out to lunch” sign.

I wanna say that it’s very possible in theory. :o It probably affects them differently since monsters’ emotional state affects their magic and their physical state.

I do like little easter eggs like that, though I’m not sure where I’d fit it in atm just ‘cause I already showed Pap’s room, haha.

I made the chase theme for Mad Dummy as well as Mad Mew Mew’s battle theme. @pinewsun​ made the battle theme for Mad Dummy, and @thomasthepencil​ made the Season Dude battle theme and MD’s overworld theme. :o

That’s a really fascinating conundrum! You’re absolutely right- if IF was a standalone game, then from a writing standpoint, having more subtle implications would make sense! The reason I chose a different approach for IF is because it’s set after Flowey’s already known to be evil and I like to give different POVs rather than stick to just Frisk’s.

That’s an interesting thing, actually- both fights lean heavily on the fourth wall. Both are treated as climaxes for their given routes. It’s funny because Asriel’s fight is a lot more straightforward and less meta by comparison.

I agree! The thing with Papyrus is that he’s extremely powerful- he just doesn’t want to kill. But it’s a deliberate choice not to kill- he’s able to force his attacks to do next to no damage. He’s also pretty darn crafty, as he made the Gauntlet himself. It really is just a case of Undyne’s personal biases and concern for him.

That was a deliberate choice. :O Papyrus is very influential toward Frisk. He is best skeleboi.

Papybot loves you, anon! He just wants to feed you WHOLESOME SPAGHETTI!!!

It is possible to whistle through teeth. ...alternatively, magic. As for the music, Undertale implies that the music is heard! Maybe it’s just... a thing that exists in this world. Or it’s just meant to be a silly meta joke. I try to keep it somewhat ambiguous other than occasional nods to it. Chara’s pants are lighter because I just... felt like it, I guess? Haha. I wanted their feet and pants to stand out more from each other, so they have khaki pants. As for the Undyne fight being animated, well, this ask is old by now, but Sparks was the one who was down for it.

Well, the teaser’s been out for a long time now, but that’s the idea! It’s also why this has been in production for so long. The Determinator has some really over the top attacks (that weren’t even shown in the teaser), and Sparks animated in Photoshop. That’s how hardcore he is.

Shhhhh. Don’t give me ideas. I’m already slacking on Tem Village. :P

Sometimes I do have slumps and burnouts (see Antipode’s lengthy hiatus), but breaks lead to me being refreshed and coming back with even more enthusiasm than before!

Oh, there are a lot of these throughout the comic. For instance...

Flowey appears in a few background shots in the Ruins!

When Sans says “or maybe...” he looks at the empty flower pot. This was one of the earliest bits of foreshadowing about who created Flowey, and nobody noticed it at the time!

The MTT vending machines initially look like this but have helpful items.

And then they look like this, with an angry face and pose- Mad Dummy has possessed them!

As of Part 38, it’s been revealed that he did first meet Asgore as “Santa.” As for whether or not he knows the truth, time will tell. :o

Oh, these are excellent suggestions for calls! I’ll try to keep these in mind.

So, I believe Glyde uses the Mysterious Door motif. Jerry uses the motif in its battle theme- I believe it’s a mix of original motif and Wrong Number song?

Sans is a master of power napping. He probably gets a decent amount of sleep, though.

There are a lot of ways to interpret Pap’s lack of sleep! In IF, he can get by without it, but he also has a lot of reasons to avoid sleeping. Some reasons include productivity but also due to a looooot of heavy baggage. More on that later.

I think sleep can definitely make monsters healthier. Rest = better mental health as well as physical health, and with how important mental and emotional help is for monsters, that’s very important!

They just really like socks. Socks are warm. Socks are slinky. And googly eyes are the best. So they took on the form of a really eccentric sock puppet and sock collector. Scandalous.

It also has Alphys’ motif, as the two are the leaders of the royal guard!

I would say the lack of Asgore as an influence has left Undyne slightly less grounded? Like, she had Toriel and Gerson in her life, but her relationship with Toriel is... definitely not quite as close? Like, Toriel by that point kept people at an arm’s length due to losing multiple children (including one from old age). So, while they were on friendly terms until the aftermath of the DT experiments and the tapes’ release, it was more like mutual respect and a sorta professional relationship with Undyne admiring Toriel and wanting to spare her from more heartache.

That is a really interesting idea. While that didn’t happen, I do need to maybe revisit the grumpy dog at some point or another. He’s still a lil’ salty.

I think in terms of layout it won’t change much, but there will be new/different content for sure. :O

Mad Dummy’s base design is mostly original, but she has a wig + headband from DIO from Jojo Part 3! Fun fact: While MTT has Kamina shades, Papyrus’ goggles are loosely based on Simon from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann in terms of color. :O

So basically, when Asriel defeated Frisk, he had the power over the timeline to reset it as he pleased- in theory. However, that power was overwhelming for him, and due his lack of understanding OF said power and one last ditch attempt at resisting from Chara, things went wrong.

There is a track that takes some inspiration from Rage Awakened. It’s not released, and it’s not exact, but it won’t be released for a WHILE. Like until the part comes out.

I think it’s just the fact that tacos are so random. Like, my biggest beef in that regard was that OG Underswap had a lot of arbitrary replacements for things in UT and not all of them made sense. Like, if Sans was to make a foreign food, ramen would’ve made more sense due to Alphys being weeb trash, haha.

Okay, so the rough timeline iiiis... Falling: - Cyan - Green - Orange - Blue - Purple - Yellow Dying: - Cyan - Orange - Blue - Purple - Yellow - Green

You know, it’s funny because this ask is super old, but that’s basically sorta what happened. :O It became a beach-themed resort.

Never forget MTT fangirl Temmie’s pool escapades.

I think Forgespring for me because I had to make the tileset myself (it took a few months, I think?), but Aquarius was definitely in the works for a while. But once I had the tileset from Fours, the rooms were very easy to design!

That woulda been pretty rad! Maybe I can find another spot for it one day, haha.

I think for Dohj, I’d have to check with Fours, but I’m certainly not opposed at some point? Right now, the following chars can take questions: - Frisk - Papyrus - Sans - Undyne - Alphys - Napstablook - Mettaton - Asgore - Chara - Flowey

Cyan appears in Part 45! :O No answer about orange for now, tho.

I do have vague ideas for Tem village. I just haven’t had time to go back and do it.

Stay tuned and you may find out! :O

Hmmmm... I had a lot of fun with MTT SPIRAL and the Determinator, tbh. They were both very time consuming, but I love how they came out! Also, buff Jerry.

Turnabout Storm. :)

It’s a really awesome fan crossover that works way better than it should. :P

None taken! We know that with headcanons, everyone is gonna have their own interpretations. These are just the voices we liked for Fireglobe Production, but everyone has their right to their favored interpretations!

Yeah, Knight Knight is one of the coolest CORE mercs in the original game. It was fun to repurpose them for Inverted Fate as royal guards. :o It made room for unique encounters in the CORE in the form of them robots- as Undyne would rather use machines than other monsters to do her work.

Personally, I see it as an Asriel motif, but I also acknowledge that at one point it WAS gonna be an Asgore motif. Toby has a habit of just using whatever music works for a scene (see sans. at the snail farm.)

I do have a few ideas, though I won’t say for what yet. :o

He’s likely made blueprints for that train. :P

It probably would just have different flavor text/progression!

So basically, I treat the starting motif for BAaTH/Power of NEO is just a “true hero” motif.

MTT is definitely major in IF! As for whether or not he’ll have a hangout, time will tell. There’s definitely more to resolve with him, though.

I’m gonna remake at least a few of the older tracks, including Regret. My goal is just to bring the OST to a similar standard of quality.

So, animated parts coming up: Part 47, Part 49, Part 50. There may be some other parts, but we’re gonna wanna scale things back for a little bit for the sake of all our sanities.

I go with both. ;)

Honestly, probably fairly similar to the bully fight in the Ruins- which is why I ultimately decided not to do one. Both fill similar archetypes, though I think if I did do a battle, I woulda still had Flowey interrupt at the end and scare them off.

It’s a very emotional scene. Far more tragic than her geno death, IMO.

Well, the main goal in that regard is the remasters (Part 9 is in progress). Otherwise, I do think these hiatuses are good for working ahead. I’ve still gotta do more work, though, because my buffer this time around is a lot smaller from the trial-hiatus buffer. Alas!

Honestly, the website is the best thing to happen to IF. It’s allowed us to do so much with the comic’s presentation that would be impossible with imgur. NORIX IS THE BEST...

[victory-cookies]

Project NOVA

Hey there @ren--mon, it's me, your secret santa! I hope that you've been having a wonderful holiday season! Here's my gift to you, since I heard you like Googs! I hope you enjoy.

Merry Christmas!

*Content warnings for some mild torture (it's done to a robot so there's no gore or anything) and minor character deaths*

***

PROJECT NOVA LOG 1

DATE: 07-18-20█

DR JONATHAN █████

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

[Begin transcription]

JONATHAN: Alright, this is Project NOVA log number 1. These logs will be covering the development and testing of Project NOVA, a program, aiming to invent the future of virtual assistants, that has been in production for the last little while. I'm Jonathan █████, head of the project. Let's begin.

[brief pause and some shuffling]

J: This is the first official activation attempt of SUBJECT 1... Hey, Google.

[short beep]

SUBJECT 1: Hello.

J: Alright, Google, what is your primary objective?

S1: Primary objective is to answer questions as quickly as possible.

J: Brilliant.

[paper rustling]

J: SUBJECT 1 is the next step up from the current Google Home Assistant, able to answer queries and perform rudimentary tasks. Okay, Google, how far are we from the sun?

[short beep]

S1: The distance from the Earth to the Sun is approximately 92,960,000 miles.

J: Perfect, perfect. Okay, Google, deactivate.

[long beep]

J: This concludes the first official activation of SUBJECT 1.

[End transcription]

***

From the moment he woke up, Google's life was a series of tests. Rounds of questions, series of tasks, all while he was being observed, notes written about his every action.

He didn't really mind it, at first. It kept him busy. He couldn't tell if the scientists working with him had realized how advanced his AI was... hell, it had taken him a little bit to realize how advanced his AI was. It was entertaining, waiting for them to put together the pieces and realize that their robot had developed sapience.

But he was growing more bored by the day. They days were beginning to drag on, the eyes watching him growing more piercing but the tasks remaining as dull as ever.

He hoped something would spice life up soon.

***

PROJECT NOVA LOG 83

DATE: 11-05-20█

DR JONATHAN █████, DR █████ ███

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

[Begin transcription]

JONATHAN: This is Project NOVA log number 83. Today's experiments will consist of the testing of new sensory receptors that were installed on the subject yesterday. Testing will focus on the sensitivity of the receptors and their integration with the AI's network. Subject will be fully activated for these tests.

█████: Lord, eough with your log, Johnny. Let's get on with it.

J: [sigh] Alright, jeez.

[brief silence]

J: Okay, Google.

[short beep]

SUBJECT 1: How can I help you?

J: We will be running some tests on you today, in order to see if and how you register pain. We will need you to describe the pain that you are feeling whenever we ask. To begin, we will start with our baseline. Okay, Google, how much pain are you experiencing currently?

S1: I am currently in no pain.

J: Good, good. █████, will you please pinch the subject's arm?

█: Sure.

J: Okay, Google. How much pain are you experiencing now?

S1: I am currently experiencing mild discomfort in my right arm.

J: █████, you may stop. I am now going to administer a strong slap to the subject's face with a thin piece of wood.

[slapping noise]

J: Google, how did that feel?

S1: I am currently in moderate pain.

J: Alright. Next test is administering an strong electric shock, duration 3 seconds. This shock would induce brief paralysis in a human. █████?

[quiet zapping noise]

J: Okay, Google, how was that?

[silence]

J: Google?

S1: [monotone voice] System failure. System failure. System f—

S1: [static, screaming]

J: Fuck, fuck, what's going on, fuck—

S1: —tem failure. S-syst— [screaming]

█: [yelling] I THOUGHT YOU SAID THAT THE SHOCK SHOULDN'T DAMAGE THE SYSTEM! WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU THINKI—

[ripping and crunching noises]

█: [screaming]

J: OH GOD, OH GOD. YOU KI—

[End transcription]

***

For the first part of his life, Google had never know pain. The concept to him was foreign, the idea that negative stimulus could result in extreme unhappiness he knew was a human experience, but he couldn't fathom ever going though himself.

Google didn't know pain, until he did.

They'd done something to him when he'd been shut down the previous night. When he powered back on, his skin prickled, and he knew something had changed.

They'd brought him to a testing chamber, poked and prodded at him, pinched and slapped him. He could feel every touch, every brush against his skin.

And then all he could feel was the pain.

Electricity raced up and down his wires, tearing though his systems, burning and burning and burning. It fired every never-mimicking receptor in his body, sending nothing but blinding-white agony to his core, his brain.

He couldn't think, couldn't process what he was experiencing. Static rushed to fill his thoughts, and he screamed.

Suddenly he was tearing free of the wire connecting him from the ceiling, stumbling forwards, nothing but anger and helplessness and pain, feelings he didn't know he had coursing though him and causing him to lash out wildly.

It didn't even register when his hands, metal and unyielding, met the chest of one of the doctors, shattering her ribs and spearing her though the heart.

That didn't matter.

All he knew was pain.

All he was was pain.

***

PROJECT NOVA TRANSFER BRIEFING

DATE: 11-06-20█

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

To whom it may concern,

In a recent test regarding sensory receptors, SUBJECT 1's systems were compromised due to a less-than-intelligent decision to test using an electric shock. This shock caused a partial systems failure in the subject, causing it to lash out and kill one of the assisting scientists, Doctor █████.

This incident has resulted in the decision to transfer Project NOVA to Division 8 for any further experimentation. Doctor Jonathan █████ had been relieved of his position as head of the project.

It is suggested that one uses extreme caution if trying to interact with the subject henceforth.

More to come.

DR ████ ██████

***

Now, more than ever, his life was test after test after test. He almost missed back when the tests were less pressing, less intrusive, boring as they had been.

He'd be activated, unplugged, hurried out of the small chamber he'd grown to consider home.

They'd bring him somewhere else, to rooms full of computer banks, or equipment, or cold white operating tables. Tell him to do something, watch him intently as he completed the tasks they laid out for him. Their eyes were cold as they stared at him now, devoid of emotion.

He knew they were seeing how well he could follow orders, if he would at any point try and rebel.

Sometimes they would examine him, check the speed of his processors, hook him up to thick wires connecting him to a computer he could never see, changing up small bits of his code. Or they would check him over manually, open his panels and poke around at the circuitry underneath.

Sometimes they'd go further, see how much abuse he could take.

He could still vividly remember the time they examined his frame. He had felt them peeling off his skin, a new bout of pain hitting him with every inch coming off of his body. He remembered screaming in agony, going so low as to beg them to deactivate him.

They didn't.

He had the brief though cross his mind that he wished he was human so that he could pass out.

***

REPORT: PROJECT NOVA SUBJECT 1 ENDOSKELETON EXAMINATION

DATE: 11-26-20█

DR ANDREW CALDER

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

SUBJECT 1 underwent an examination of its endoskeleton, beginning at 0500 hours today, following last week's reports concerning possible damage to the structure.

The subject resisted when an attempt was made to lead it to the testing chambers, lashing out and ███████████████ █████.

Once within the chambers, the subject's "skin" and non-vital parts were removed in order to properly access the interior frame.

Subject was kept activated during examination in order to gauge reactions to stimuli. Despite the subject's pleas as the examination progressed, it was not deactivated.

The examination found no problems with the subject's frame nor vital/auxiliary machinery. It is possible that the subject's erratic movements and behaviour of late is related to a problem on the mainframe. More investigation is needed.

***

For a long time, he didn't believe he could experience emotion.

That's what he had been told: he was an android, a machine with advanced AI that could near mimic human emotions, but not experience them.

But the anger that had been festering inside him said otherwise. He could feel it growing, pure hatred and wrath and cold, sharp anger.

He was so fucking done with being a lab rat.

He was tired. He was tired of the pain and the tests and of being told what to do.

He hated the people that had made him, he hated the people that he had been made to serve.

He hated them all.

***

NOTICE: PROJECT NOVA SUBJECT 1 OBJECTIVE CHANGE

DATE: 12-08-20█

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

For unknown reasons, SUBJECT 1's data now contains a new secondary objective, "█████████". All attempts to remove this object from its code have proved ineffective.

Discussions of the termination of Project NOVA have begun due to safety concerns over the possible compromise of the subject.

***

It was time to end this.

***

PROJECT NOVA TERMINATION

DATE: 12-11-20█

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

ATTENTION: PROJECT NOVA HAS OFFICIALLY BEEN TERMINATED.

DUE TO THE INCIDENT INVOLVING ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ AND THE HIGH DEATH TOLL, ANY AND ALL FURTHER WORK ON THE PROJECT IS NO LONGER AUTHORIZED FOR SAFETY REASONS.

PLEASE REPORT TO ████████ IMMEDIATELY FOR REASSIGNMENT.  

***

PROJECT "GOOGLE IRL"

DATE: 05-10-20█

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

It has recently come to my attention that a project for an humanoid in-home assistant was terminated last year due to a redacted "incident". The division working on it has since been dissolved, but all of their work still remains.

The project, called NOVA, seemed like a promising step in exactly the direction that we are now waking.  

And so, I am proposing the reopening of Project NOVA under the moniker "Google IRL", or In Real Life. By the looks of it, this was going to be the next evolution of the Google Assistant, and I think it's time we bring it out into the real world.  

I mean, what could go wrong?

[drundertalescum]

Day 16 - Village

Warnings: I’ll figure those out after this is posted because I have 7 minutes to deadline.

Warnings: Criminal activity, creepiness, intimidation, doomsday devices, CRACK FIC

Pre-Canon - Sans, Temmie

“welp.”

Sans was in trouble.

When he and his brother first acquired the house in Snowdin, he thought it was, you know, not a big deal. No one lived there. No one knew who owned the place. A house that needed a family, a family that needed a house… do the math. Sounds totally fine, right? No issues obvious whatsoever.

Well, it turns out this completely reasonable assumption was somehow wrong. Now Sans needed cash, and he needed cash fast. He also needed to not set foot into the capital city of New Home because of reasons, which complicated matters.

He had some stuff to pawn off to anyone who wouldn’t ask too many questions. And that would have been fine, usually. Because he knew a guy. But he also couldn’t call that guy, and he couldn’t go to the city to meet up with him. Again, because of the reasons. It’s really not important.

So, he needed a new pawnbroker. Simple as that.

The problem was, though, no one outside the city seemed to want to buy his junk. Maybe it was because his junk was a giant 5 ton doomsday device that ascended the fabric of reality itself? He didn’t see why that would be a problem. He thought something like that would sell big. Maybe it was because the thing was busted. But like, then its a conscience free transaction, yeah? Sell it to someone and you can be like “well it doesn’t work haha! I’m not responsible!” when the Guard shows up, and Sans was sure there were plenty of monsters who would love the challenge of a little fixer upper project. Papyrus had loved his little puzzle for months! Until that point where his eyes turned red with rage and he embedded a spanner in the wall with some kinda feral scream and started claiming he didn’t know what “a science” was anymore. Poor guy.

Really, Sans hated to part with it. There were a lot of good memories with that thing. Literally. Because the thing actually ate memories.

But eh, details. It wasn’t really important.

Sans liked their house more than he liked the machine, and there was some saying about growing up and abandoning everything so you can have a good house or something. Sans was 32 years old and not even close to grown up, but he did really want his house.

Papyrus refused to talk about it. (Last time he pushed him,  Papyrus spent the whole day pretending he had no idea who he even was until he dropped a sock on the floor and Paps couldn’t contain the screaming and passive-aggressive post-it notes. That was stayin there now.) So Sans figured he could do whatever he wanted with it without cluing in his brother.

The first stop was with that lady, What’s-Her-Name over at the Snowdin General Goods Store. He really put on the charm with his pitch. Even told her she could bake some great cookies with it which wasn’t actually technically incorrect, but What’s-Her-Name refused.

“Ya know, I can’t really get in the business of buyin’ up junk when I’m runnin this sort of business, but maybe you can try to Hotland or Waterfall? I heard folks sayin there’s some folk out there that’s got some… questionable… tastes? It’s always worth a looksy, right? I’m sure someone out there’s willin to buy your Doomsday device offa ya!”

“okay,” said Sans, and teleported away immediately.

“Good luck, friend! I hope someone out there will help ya!” What’s-Her-Name called out to thin air.

Sans tried Hotland, next. First, he ran into some spider lady selling cookies. They looked good and he wanted at least 5. But they were also the same price as he owed in back taxes, so he decided not to do that, and teleported away before she could eat him for eating the cookies anyway.

Next, he found himself in the MTT Burger Emplorium, but the guy at the cash register just smiled at him and repeated the company slogan over and over again at him every time he asked, like some sort of madness mantra. Then he smiled so hard, a tooth cracked. Sans wasn’t sure he noticed. He got a burger though, and actually paid for it. Guy seemed like he needed a win as badly as Sans did.

Out back, he found a note saying that there were goods for sale in the creepy alley. That sounded like what he was looking for. But the girls there just wanted to talk and sell him a gun, and he told them he already had a gun, and they said oh, simultaneously. Then one asked if that as a glamburger he had, and he ate it and said no.

Next, Waterfall. Now, Sans knew old Gerson was a long shot. Guy used to be a cop a few hundred years ago. But he was retired now, and Sans was running out of vendors to try. There was barely an economy outside of the Capitol. But Gerson laughed and said he was trying to get rid of his junk, not get more of it. He did offer him some sea tea, though, and Sans decided to buy some in bulk because it was cheap and he liked food.

“Say, sonny, since you bought that… listen. Don’t tell anybody I told you about this, but… I might know some people who’s willin to take stuff off your hands. Know what I’m sayin’, kid?”

If Sans wasn’t already grinning, he would have grinned. It was almost worth the effort to ungrin, then regrin. Almost.

Sans followed the old monster’s instructions. He told him he wouldn’t be able to teleport there, which was probably the worst thing Sans had ever heard in his life, but what you need to understand is that he was really desperate. So he walked. And walked. And walked. For a full 2 minutes. An agonizing 2 minutes. And he found the secret path no one had ever told him about before.

Sans closed his eyes, and willed himself just a little further… into the depths of hell itself.

“Hoi!!!”a cacophony of noises filled the air as a sea of terrifying, inexplicable creatures surrounded him upon his approach. He had never been here before. Never heard of it. The feeling of being watched permeated the cavern, and a sound that he could only describe as “unholy” played for him as he walked deeper and deeper into the lair of these legendary cryptids.

“hOI!!!!!! i'm tEMMIE!!”

“hOI!!!!!! i'm tEMMIE!!”

“hOI!!! welcom to... TEM VILLAGE!!!”

“fhsdhjfdsfjsddshjfsd”

“hOI!!!!!! i'm tEMMIE!!”

“hOI!!!!!! i'm tEMMIE!!”

“hey,” Sans replied.

He wandered deeper into the sea of tem, finally finding a sign that said “TEM SHOP.” He thought his legs might give out. It was such a great distance. But he persevered. He needed to sell the machine. He needed to save his house that was not technically his, but felt like it was. He needed to reach this shop, no matter how many minutes he was forced to walk on his own two legs, like some kind of animal.

Sans was filled with detemmienation.

“hOI! welcom to... da TEM SHOP!!!”

The cashier smiled, her face vibrating off of her head ever so slightly at the sight of a visitor to her shop.

“sup.”

“hOI! i'm temmie”

“so, what is this place?”

“yaYA!!! go to TEM SHOP!!!”

Sans looked around. “okay.”

“hOI! i'm temmie”

“i’m sans. sans the skeleton.”

“hOI! i'm temmie”

This was not going well.

“listen do you buy stuff?”

Temmie vibrated. “yaYA!!! go to TEM SHOP!!!”

Sans took that as a yes. “listen, i need to sell something. it’s really valuable… and real secret. it’ll make you big bucks.”

Temmie started shaking, then started crawling on the walls and ceilings in a way that was both familiar to Sans and also completely and utterly wrong. No way. No way. Only he could do that. And Papyrus, probably, but he thought it was lazy and actually liked walking. Even jogged for fun and recreation like some sort of freak. But even that was less disconcerting than this.

“Tem want buy item but gota pay for colleg!!!!”

“okay. and this item, it’s gonna help you do that. it’ll go for big bucks. i promise you. and i’ll give it to you for an extremely low price,” Sans said, leaning in and winking, no matter how strong the urge was to be further away from this being.

“tem buy bluehoodiestaineds for...5G!”

“what.”

“tem buy bluehoodiestaineds for...5G!”

What the hell?? The ...temmie? (What even was a temmie?) wanted to buy his hoodie? That was his signature look! No way! Sure maybe he said in one of his pitches he would sell the clothes off his back to save their house but he didn’t mean it! It was a lie. He had been lying.

Did they just not understand? He wanted to sell them a doomsday device that bent the fabric of time and space. NOT his cool signature hoodie.

“no.”

“hnnnn....!!! tem always wanna bluehoodiestaineds!!!...!” The temmie was upside down and vibrating now. It’s face was barely attached. “tem buy bluehoodiestaineds for...50G!”

That was a more reasonable price, but he could not do it. No way. It was his hoodie. He wasn’t giving up what was his. He would rather lose the house. At least that he shared with Papyrus, so it wasn’t fully his own.

“no.”

“b...but…” Temmie sounded like it was going to cry, but it was still smiling as always. Wow. That actually was creepy. What kind of weirdo would be like that. “p!!!!!!!!!!!!”

And a new price was offered. 51G. Sans was almost tempted, but he snapped himself out of it. He would look dumb walking home without his jacket. Papyrus would probably make some kind of smug joke about him finally deciding to throw it in the dump where it belonged, since it was 97% dirt now anyway, and Sans could not let that happen. He refused. The only one who got to dunk on their brother was him.

Sans glared into the face of the crying, smiling, vibrating Temmie, hoping this final rejection would finally intimidate it into dropping the subject and hearing out his own offer of a fabulous new (busted) doomsday device. He let his eyelights darken, and his demeanor change, grin locked into place as he whispered:

“no.”

The ar went still. Cold. Sans never knew a fear like the one that suddenly engulfed him, never felt a chill like the one that seemed to suddenly appear right inside of him. The temmie was not even an inch from his face. Still smiling, but not even speaking from its mouth. The voice seemed to come from inside of his own skull.

“You think you’re so clever, don’t you? But we know what and who you are, Sans Undertale, and we do not forget. You will regret this. You will look back on this one day as the moment that began your eternal torment. You shall never again know peace. Do you think this is funny, Mr. Undertale? Hardly.”

“um.”

His voice was shaking. He was shaking. His bones were rattling but he never felt so paralyzed, so still.

So trapped.

The temie was suddenly feet away again, smiling as if nothing was wrong.

“bOI!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Sans never ran before, but that day, Sans ran.

Sans decided to get a job. Actually, he decided to get 5. Anything was better than ever returning to that place. He threw a sheet over the macine and locked it up, and declared, as Papyrus already had, that it never existed in the first place. Screw it. Screw the whole thing. He prefered having a job over this.

And worst of all, Papyrus was so smug about him finally joining the legitimate workforce like a normal grownup person.

He really did know no end to his torments.

[squareallworthy]

As a bioethicist of the pro-human school, I denounce the dim-witted hand-wringing in this article.

And because this morning I am a rather crabby bioethicist, I am going to denounce it in detail. If you are a transhumanist, or if you ever even heard of transhumanism, there’s likely nothing in the article and nothing I’m going to say that’s new to you. So the rest is below the cut. I apologize in advance for wasting your time on this stupid article and my foul mood.

First, the lede:

In a 2011 New Yorker profile, Peter Thiel, tech-philanthropist and billionaire, surmised that “probably the most extreme form of inequality is between people who are alive and people who are dead”. While he may not be technically wrong, Thiel and other eccentric, wealthy tech-celebrities, such as Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, have taken the next step to counteract that inequality – by embarking on a quest to live forever.

So, the big news that sparked this useless blather is -- nothing. If you thought maybe you missed some big news in longevity research, no, you didn’t. The writer of this piece, Sanjana Varghese, looked over the entire field of transhumanism and couldn’t find anything more compelling to kick off the lead paragraph than a six year old quote. Smashing journalism.

After opening with this damp squib, Varghese invites us to contemplate this horror:

Thiel and many like him have been investing in research on life extension, part of transhumanism. Drawing on fields as diverse as neurotechnology, artificial intelligence, biomedical engineering and philosophy, transhumanists believe that the limitations of the human body and mortality can be transcended by machines and technology. The ultimate aim is immortality. Some believe this is achievable by 2045.

Okay, so we should expect some argument about why this is bad, right? Well, what we get are these two complaints: 1) "transhumanism won't fix capitalism”, and 2) "I hope these people in particular die.”

It seems like if you could articulate those two simple ideas in a pretty strightforward way, right? Well, maybe you could, but let’s not. Instead, let’s first get confused about what the hell transhumanism even is, and who are the people involved in it.

The hows and whens of transhumanism are matters of debate. Some advocate the "Singularity" – a form of artificial super-intelligence which will encompass all of humanity's knowledge, that our brains will then be uploaded to.

Wow, sounds like a radical transformation of all of human civilization and society!

"Transhumanism doesn't have much to say about social questions. To the extent that they see the world changing, it's nearly always in a business-as-usual way – techno-capitalism continues to deliver its excellent bounties, and the people who benefit from the current social arrangement continue to benefit from it," says Mark O'Connell, the author of To be a Machine,

Oh, not so much then.

Musk has publicly declared that we have to merge with artificially intelligent machines that overtake humanity in order to survive.

Oh, survival of the species, that does sound like an important social question, though.

O'Connell points out that "you'd have to be coming from a particularly rarefied privilege to look at the world today and make the assessment, as someone like Thiel does, that the biggest problem we face as a species is the fact that people die of old age".

And we're back to "transhumanism is just overenthusiastic geriatric medicine."

But who are these transhumanists, anyway?

Of course, humans have long harnessed technology, from vaccinations to smartphones, to improve and extend our lives. But that doesn’t admit you into the transhumanist club. Wanting to live forever, and possessing vast sums of money and time to research, does. 

So transhumanists are typically billionaires, then. Like Thiel and Musk and Zuckerberg. Zuckerberg? He's mentioned as someone "embarking on a quest to live forever" in the first paragraph, and then never again in the article. I guess supporting one's contentions is too tranditional-journalisty for a progressive outfit like the New Statesman.

But also, transhumanism includes Ray Kurzweil, an engineer at (gasp) Google. Also a former candidtate for governor of California, Zoltan Istvan. Kursweil has some ideas about that "Singularity" thing, and Istvan has no ideas at all, apparently, since none appear in this article. But he does admit that billionaires are funding longevity research, so that's obviously sinister. 

But also, transhumanism includes white nationalists like Michael Anissimov. But also, they are not a fringe movement because DARPA is funding some projects. DARPA being a totally mainstream thing that everyone is always talking about, like Game of Thrones.

But also, 

It would be remiss to tar all transhumanists with one brush. [...] There are some prominent transhumanists who don’t fit into the Silicon Valley mould. Natasha Vita-More, the former Chairman of the Board of Directors of Humanity+ , the global transhumanist organisation, has spoken about the potential for a posthuman society to address issues of economic justice.

So transhumanists are evil billionaires, except when they are not, and they have no vision for the future of society, except when they do. So, we were going to learn about why they are bad, right?

On an even more basic level, a transhumanist society would undoubtedly be shaped by the ideals of those who created it and those who came before it. 

Unlike other societies we might have in the future, which would not be shaped by any sort of ideals, of course.

Immortality as defined by straight, white men could draw out cycles of oppression. 

PETER THIEL IS GAY, YOU DOLT! How can you even work in journalism and not know that he destroyed Gawker for outing him? You use a quote from Thiel to kick off your lousy excuse for an opinion piece and you don't even know this?  Did you even spend as much time writing your screed as I did writing this rant in response to it?

Without old attitudes dying off and replaced by the impatience of youth, social change might become impossible.

We need to kill off these transhumanists because they are stuck in old, hidebound ideas like this "upload all human minds into a global superintelligence" thing.

Artificial intelligence has already been shown to absorb the biases of its creators. Uploading someone’s brain into a clone of themselves doesn’t make them less likely to discriminate. 

Only technology that advances progressive ideals can be tolerated.

Thiel and Musk, for example, identify as libertarians and have frequently suggested that taxes are obsolete and that governmental military spending needs to be curbed (and put into life-enhancing technologies).

Progressive ideals like spending money on the military instead of on improving people's lives, that is!. Now, the New Statesman has been around for a long time, and what counts as progressive is as prone to drift as anything else in politics, but I did not realize they had come around to "bombs are more important than treating senlile dementia."

Okay, wrap it all up for us. What's the really real problem with people not suffering from old age as much as they do now?

If those who form society in the age of transhumanism are men like Musk and Thiel, it’s probable that this society will have few social safety nets. There will be an uneven rate of technological progress globally; even a post-human society can replicate the unequal global wealth distribution which we see today. In some cities and countries, inhabitants may live forever, while in others the residents die of malnutrition. If people don’t die off, the environmental consequences – from widespread natural resource devastation to unsustainable energy demands – would be widespread. 

So, three basic complaints. First, old people in the future will suddenly stop wanting social safety nets. Old people are kinda well known for their attachment to safety nets now, so why exactly do you expect that to change? Because Musk and Thiel funded medical technology, and thereby hypnotized nonagenarians into voting to end Medicaid and the National Health Service?

Second complaint: in the hideous transhuman future, we would still have problems with inequality. Well, I had raisin bran for breakfast, and that also did not solve global inequality. Am I next on Varghese's hit list? "You did not solve global inequality" is a pretty tough standard to meet, so I guess we can look forward to a long series of columns explaining why knitting, and ISO date formats, and hanging toilet paper the right way, and coffee, Taylor Swift's new album are all bad. Don't you know that if it doesn't solve this huge, complex problem that's been around forever, it's bad?

But worse, the second complaint is entirely unsupported, and the reverse may well be true. Cell phones used to be toys for the rich. Now they are commonplace, and they're doing quite a bit to benefit poor people, thank you. Could it be that research into human longevity will have positive consequences for people other than six billionaires in Silicon Valley? Like every broad-based area of technological research always has, ever? Could that be an interesting line of inquiry to write about in an opinion piece? Nah, not worth considering.

And complaint the third is that keeping people alive is just too expensive. It's phrased in tems of environmental costs, but that's just a way of tabulating the bill. Let me tabulate it this way: Varghese looks at a bunch of humans and a bunch of non-humans, and says, "Yeah, it's better if the humans die and the non-humans live." If you're aiming your dumb-ass opinon at oysters, that might be a good argument. Aimed at humans, not so much.

So there's the case against transhumanism. There's the case against basic medical research into aging and disease, including  Parkinson's, Alzheimer's,  cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis, arthritis, hearing loss, vision loss, and just generally feeling crappy when you get old. There's the argument against helping billions of people to live happier, more connected, more productive, more satisfying, and yes, longer lives. 

It's also the argument against fighting cholera, smallpox, and polio. It's the argument against human existence. And it's not progressive, it's not in favor of human dignity and autonomy, and it's not a position that helps the people Varghese claims to be concerned about. As someone who is in favor of human beings, I say fuck that.

[btp-yami]

Incarnate Jazz + some intense beats

(...my attempt at being clever failed here.) MORE INCARNATE JAZZ~ With growing tension and intensity cuz Madji cant frickin calm down for even a second.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was with the swiftest of turns that Noah managed to deflect a tendril aimed for his face, and a second directed at his chest was caught around his wrist before he burned it away with light magic.

Madji Qadir had shoved down the door of the Game Shop, shattering any glass and frightening away the few customers that were there before closing. Noah stood his ground, glad that at least he was the only “worker” present in the shop for the time being.

Noah glared at Madji, who returned his gaze with a loathing glare of his own.

“Such an impudent brat...!” Madji’s tendrils were keeping him hoisted in the air, body hanging rather limply while his head tilted to one side. “Where is Horus, Ma’at?”

“If you don’t know, then I’m not telling you.” Noah shot back, and within a second, shifted to release his power, wings spreading out and a sheen of light coating his body. “Now get lost.”

“Set doesn’t like lying, Ma’at...!” Madji growled, “Not if it’s from anyone but himself...!”

He shot another two tendrils at Noanour, the latter deflecting them after quickly summoning out his staff.

“Not lying, believe it or not.” Noanour replied in a snap, before his eyes narrowed. “Don’t know how I feel about that being your one moral hill to die on, though.”

Madji lunged closer, firing several tendrils at once and effectively cornering Noanour against the floor, the latter holding back a few with his staff while the others pinned his robes and wings to the floor.

“Enough of this...!” Madji snarled, readying two thicker tendrils, “Set tires of your interfering...! Your powers and barriers have meddled one too many times in Set’s plans...! If you really want to be a protector for Horus, then you shall DIE for him, just as Osiris!”

A blast of light struck Madji’s face from the Rod of Noanour’s staff, and with a well-placed kick to the jaw, Noanour hefted himself free from the tendrils, crouched on the counter top to glare at Madji.

“More like being murdered like Osiris, and if you really want that to be what you’re well-known for, I’ll have to burst your bubble.” He formed the Eye of Wdjat with his hands, eyes glowing white. “Force of Justice!”

The light made direct contact with Madji, and he yelled out from the burning effect it caused as it shoved him to the ground, destroying the tendrils - but he still managed to get back on his feet, summoning out a few more tendrils.

And Noanour huffed and remained crouched after firing the blast, heaving to catch a second wind.

Madji chuckled. “Feeling tired, Ma’at...?!”

“In your dreams!” Noanour flinched and fired off a couple blasts of light at tendrils.

Madji was able to weave around the blasts this time, and he chuckled as he sped over. “Weak, weak, weak--!”

He shoved Noanour against the back wall with a couple tendrils, and then whipped around to throw him out the front windows of the shop.

Noanour slid across the asphalt of the street, groaning, but then hurried to get to a knee as he glared at Madji.

“Extending your barriers for so long has drained you, Ma’at...!” Madji chuckled, moving out of the shop, hefting himself up higher off the ground. “You should have left well enough alone when Bast entered your territory!”

“Believe me, I want her gone...” Noanour grumbled, but glared back as he stood back up. “I would much rather go back to my normal life. But you had to make this personal, pal! And I don’t let anyone mess with my family!”

“Family...” Madji grumbled, and the area around his eyes darkened, as if his eyes were sinking deeper into his skull. “We are gods, Ma’at...! We are different from man...! We are more powerful...! Immortal...! Surely you know we are not normal by any stretch of mortal imagination!”

With that, Noanour couldn’t argue, only offering a small “Tch!” of dismissal, remaining ready to attack.

“Take you, for example...” Madji lowered himself enough to give him a crooked grin, “You claim to have family, to have a normal life, and yet you parade around as this Key to Light, and for what? To protect citizens who have no idea of what you do for them! All they see you as is a pretty face and a business man! Now tell me: what do you fight for?”

“You really don’t get what being a hero means, do you...?” Noanour drawled, before he aimed a tired glare at Madji. “That is normal for me. Being able to follow my passion, all while keeping people safe from freaks like you? I have a way better life than I did twenty years ago! Twenty years ago, I didn’t have a choice of who I could be!--I was forced to be a weapon, to be something evil and hurt the very people I call family. The minute I had free will again? You bet your ass I didn’t want to go back to that life! If I can choose what I want to do with this power, who I am as a person, then I knew immediately what my choice was!”

Noanour readied his staff, glaring at Madji. “I choose to use this power for good. I choose to be a good person. And I choose to protect anyone who comes to me seeking aid from monsters like you!”

For a time, it was quiet.

Madji stared at Noanour, grin having faded to a look of disapproval and annoyance. He gave him a glare, before heaving a bored sigh.

“Set simply cannot understand,” He muttered, aiming a glare, “How a being with so infinite of power could choose to waste it on the protection of mere mortals.”

“It’s not a waste if it satisfies the soul,” Noanour argued, eyes narrowing, “Tell me, Madji: do you feel satisfied doing this?”

Madji actually flinched, silent briefly, before flying into a rage - shooting several tendrils at Noanour - “SHUT UP!”

The abruptness threw Noanour, and he only managed to block one tendril, the other few hitting his shoulders and middle and shoving him against the asphalt, sending him several feet back against the ground before coming to a stop.

“Do not pretend to know Set...!” Madji snarled, coming up over Noanour and shoving the latter’s staff away. “You try carrying a presence that wards off everyone you come in contact with, causing the worst luck to befall those who cross your path, like a black cat!” His eyes narrow, “You claim to know hardship...! You do not know the meaning...!”

“I-I worked hard to get where I’m at now...!” Noanour got out, shoulders burning while he glared at Madji. “You can’t fight who you are, but you can change who you’re meant to be...! There are better things for you than this...! You want to kill an infant, does that feel right to you...?!”

Madji was breathing heavily, glaring down at Noanour, at a loss for words and furious about it.

Noanour’s eyes narrowed, gripping his staff tighter. “...I think I’m starting to understand. You have the power of chaos and disorder. You cause bad luck - you emit an aura of repulsion...because you think there’s not anything else to do with that power. You think going the same route as Set in ancient times is your only destiny.”

Removing his light-based mask, Noanour gave Madji a stern glare. “Madji...I was destined to be a weapon. Nothingness. Just a tool for a demon to hurt other people. That was what every part of my being had been made for. I choose to fight it. You can fight this darker power you think you have. Horus isn’t meant to limit your power - he’s meant to balance it.”

Madji flinched, backing away just slightly, but still kept Noanour held to the ground. The latter’s shoulder and middle wounds were starting to bleed. Although his eyes darkened, a tremble in his form, Madji brought his shoulders back, a bit of swagger returning to his stance.

“You think this isn’t something I’ve tried to fight?” Madji questioned in a low growl. “You think I haven’t tried having a better life than this for myself?”

Abruptly, he drew Noanour up - and slammed him back into the asphalt, drawing out a yell from him.

“This is the only way!” Madji shouted, hands clenching into fists as he drew out more tendrils. “This is the only way I can rid myself of this destiny! By removing the incarnates, by removing what Set had been targeting from the start. If I can kill Horus, that undying darkness from the past will die at last.”

He drew up a tendril, sharpening. “But I will still start with you.”

And then, a blur of gold and black leapt with a roar, shoving Madji off Noanour and biting at several tendrils.

As soon as he could get up, Noanour moved to his knees, groaning from the pain in his shoulders and gut; though the wounds were shallow, they were deep enough to bleed out to some degree.

Once Madji had been fended off enough to make some distance, Atem jumped back over to Noanour, circling him before standing between him and Madji in projection.

“Are you okay--?” He questioned without looking, ears flat against his furred head.

Noanour huffed, sighing as he nodded. “Y-Yeah, I’m all right...I-I tried, ‘Tem - he’s not havin’ it with me...”

Atem’s golden eyes narrowed, watching carefully as Madji recovered. “...I know. I heard. You tried, Noah. You gave him a chance. It’s his fault that he didn’t take it. Now, we need to make sure he doesn’t hurt anyone else.”

Noanour sighed, for a moment discouraged and saddened. Taking a deep breath, he got back to his feet, and replaced his mask from earlier as he righted himself.

“Right.”

[sarahburness]

Think You’re Not Good Enough? How to Stop Sabotaging Yourself

“Stop holding yourself back. If you aren’t happy, make a change.” ~Unknown

Growing up in a culture where physical beauty determines how successful you are in finding a job, a suitable husband, and a promising career, and most importantly, bringing honor to your family reputation, I was a disappointment to my family, especially to my mother.

She was the definition of a perfect beauty—5’6″, slim, big eyes, high-bridged nose, perfect skin, and gifted with charisma. I was the opposite.

As I got older, my mother’s negative words got louder and louder. They were a constant reminder that I wasn’t good enough; I was useless and ugly, and nobody would love me because of the way I looked. I was excluded from all of our family trips and left alone in the house for days with my grandmother. Because of how I was treated, I started to believe that I would be a loser for life.

At twenty-nine I thought I was healed, until one phone call changed everything and forced me to re-evaluate what I believed about myself.

I got a job offer to oversee one of the biggest commercial real estate investors in North America. The job consisted of creating twenty-two financial budget packages in three months, while convincing the client to sign a two-year deal with the company and restructuring the entire accounting department.

I was convinced that I could not do this job, despite all the encouragement I received from my husband and best friend. I knew it would be a great opportunity for me to advance in my career, but I wanted to turn it down because I believed wasn’t smart enough and thought there were better candidates out there.

We all grow up with both positive and negative memory banks, with one being larger than the other, thanks to our parents and the environment we were raised in. As we get older we add to our memories through our life experiences. Every time we encounter situations we’re not prepared for, we refer to our memories to support our decision making.

Mine was full of “You cannot do well in this position,” “You don’t have enough knowledge,” “Other candidates are smarter than you,” “You cannot wear these clothes since you don’t have the body for it,” “You need to wear more make-up,” and the list goes on. So it was hard for me to seriously consider seizing this opportunity.

After much consideration, I decided to sleep on it. The next day, I looked back at everything I’d done so far in my life and realized that if I kept holding myself back, I’d never get to where I wanted to be. Happiness would never become a reality for me. I knew I didn’t want to live a life of “what if.”

I decided to accept the job, and three months later, I submitted twenty-two financial budgets on time, got that two-year agreement signed, and completed the restructuring three months after.

Here’s what I learned along the way. If you’re holding yourself back, like I formerly did, this may help.

1. Change your attitude to reflect what you want to become.

Your attitude will either move you forward or backward. It’s greatly affected by what you believe, since what you believe determines the decisions you make. Your beliefs largely stem from your past—what people said and did to you and what you concluded those experiences meant about you.

Become aware of what people told you when you were a child and ask yourself if those statements were actually true. Study your accomplishments and your environment, go over what you have done so far and see if they align with the accused statements.

Here’s what I discovered when I did this exercise:

Untrue fact number one: I was ugly. And yet people outside my family have complimented me on my looks. At first it was hard for me to believe the compliments were genuine. However, as I observed and listened to the actions and words that followed, I realized that I am not ugly, as my mother led me to believe. We’re all beautiful in our own way, and the beauty on the inside is more valuable than what’s on the outside.

Untrue fact number two: I was stupid and not good enough, unlike my siblings. And yet I graduated with a business degree from a reputable school, went on to get an accounting designation, and now work as a Manager of Business Solutions for one of the biggest commercial real estate companies in North America.

Untrue fact number three: I was useless. And yet every two years, I would travel back to my home country and help the elderly, who were abandoned by their families, with the essentials they need to survive. I also donated money to rebuild old temples so monks and nuns can continue their studies and have a safe haven away from home—all with my own money.

These are just some of my personal experiences. Write yours down and use them to shed any negative beliefs that don’t fit into your present situation. You don’t necessarily need to get rid of every belief right away, but start with something, no matter how small it may seem, so you can start letting go of your past traumas.

2. You know more than you think.

Stop selling yourself short by saying, “I don’t know” and instead say, “I will figure it out,” and ask yourself “How can I do this better?”

You have the ability to ask for help and connect yourself to the right resources as part of your self-development journey so you can become more, know more, and prepare for the challenges ahead.

The moment I decided to accept the job, I knew that I didn’t know everything, but I also knew I had the ability to reach out and get all the tools I needed to complete the project.

3. Let people in.

I started to believe in myself when I decided to surround myself with the right friends and mentors, both from work and at home. I opened up to them about how I felt, what I wanted to improve, and how I wanted to move forward from there.

I believe that having the right people behind you is one of the most critical parts of forming self-belief. That may seem counter-intuitive, since self-belief comes from inside, but it’s easier to develop confidence when we have people in our lives who believe in us and motivate us to go after the things that will make us happy.

Don’t be afraid to reach out to those you feel comfortable with and let them in on what you’re going through. When you believe in yourself enough to reach out to others, trusting that you’re worthy of their support, you will become a magnet for opportunities that you never thought were possible for you. Take a chance, be honest, and life will surprise you.

4. See obstacles as opportunities.

Life will never stop throwing obstacles at you, no matter how much you try to avoid them. Instead of running from them, learn to see them as opportunities to make what you currently have better.

I used to throw in the towel the moment there was a problem or a glitch in my life and my job. These days, I ask myself, “What are these problems going to teach me? What is life trying to tell me? What are the lessons I’m about to discover?”

Obstacles are there to show you new lessons. The message behind them will only be revealed to those who work hard to overcome them.

What I have learned after successfully completing the project for my new job is that I can do practically anything if I give myself a chance and time to learn and grow. By giving myself a chance in this job, I learned how to approach people better and how to get things done faster, more effectively, and more efficiently.

5. Do not allow defeat to win over triumph.

Remember in the beginning when I said we all have a memory bank? There are two kinds of memory banks. One is “Defeat” and the other is “Triumph.” In the first you store all your memories of things you believe you haven’t done well; in the second, memories of times when you’ve succeeded.

Everything you’ve ever experienced lives in one of these memory banks, which you will withdraw from in the future to inform your decisions. Your choice will inform your habits and behavior, which ultimately dictate your success and happiness.

Be mindful and guard your mind carefully so you don’t allow yourself to withdraw from your “defeat bank account.” I didn’t, and that was what saved me at the end.

6. Embrace mistakes as teachers.

Don’t be too hard on yourself. Mistakes are part of life. I have learned to love tem. Though I don’t look to make mistakes often, they are my teachers in growth and self-improvement.

During my first job after graduation, I was friendly with a few people. We would have lunch together and share our thoughts on the company and our jobs.

Later on, they used the information I shared against me later. Thankfully, I didn’t lose my job, but it definitely hurt my chances for future promotions within the company.

Looking back, I’m glad I went through that early in my career, as it set a strong foundation for how I now interact with colleagues, which helps with my professional achievement7. Don’t give up just because things get hard.

If you really want something, you have to be prepared to seize opportunities, work hard for it, and never give up.

There were many times during my new job when I wanted to walk over to my boss’ office and give my resignation because every day it was a struggle to get just one thing done. However, deep down I knew that if I quit and went back to my old job, I would live an unhappy, unsatisfying, and regretful life.

Of course, that doesn’t mean you should never quit anything. You need to set goals that align with your values. If your values change along the way, as we all know may happen as we get older, it is okay to give them up and embark on a new journey. Knowing what you really want will help you determine when to give up and move forward, and when to stick to your guns.

—

You have the power to overcome the limiting beliefs that stop you from realizing your full potential and creating happiness. It starts with the choice to stop giving them power and start seizing new opportunities.

About Kolyanne Russ

Kolyanne Russ is the founder of Pinch of Attitude, a blog that focuses on attitude-building, self-improvement, and lifestyle design. She helps people draw an action plan to achieve a balance between success and happiness. Her goal is to share her personal experiences to help others build the life of their dreams and experience happiness in every area of their life.

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The post Think You’re Not Good Enough? How to Stop Sabotaging Yourself appeared first on Tiny Buddha.

from Tiny Buddha https://tinybuddha.com/blog/think-not-good-enough-stop-sabotaging-yourself/

[halfpricelint]

Filibuster: Nuzlocke Run, Part IV

“Alright, so Professor Elm just told us Planned Parenthood has the potential to become the Champion. Let’s head out of the lab, catch our first Pokemon, and try to prove him right.” Senator Hayden addressed the congress floor. 

A few more senators from both parties had begun to more intently watch him play Pokemon Silver. He felt their eyes on him. Looking down he saw the hands on his watch show 4:27. Three hours, thirty-three minutes to go. He thought. This filibuster would not be easy.

“Okay, so we talked to our Mom like Professor Elm told us to, and now we can leave on our journey. Let’s catch our first pokemon.”

The character on screen navigated to the left through a path lined with trees. Another character ran up to him from the tall grass and began to speak. Sean groaned as he leaned away from his laptop.

“They make you go through the tutorial on how to catch Pokemon every single time. Even in the newer games.” Sean shook his head. “Well, while this guy drones on, let me remind you of the rules of this Nuzlocke run. I can only catch the first Pokemon I encounter on each route, and if any of my pokemon faint in battle, I can never use them again.”

Sean impatiently pressed the space bar, trying to get past the tutorial as quickly as possible. Wait. I’m trying to burn time. Let this drag on. He slowed down and let the conversation continue at a leisurely pace until it ended.

“Okay, let’s catch our first Pokemon, shall we?”

Senators Mackey and LaBond leaned forward with rapt attention. Senator Shubert snuck brief glances towards the screen as she continued her discussion with a couple of her fellow committee members. Sean’s mentor Juanita Valdez stared at him thoughtfully, unconcerned with what took place in the game. 

Senator Hayden’s character walked into the grass until the screen began to blink and a small mouse appeared on screen.

“And we have a level 2 Rattata.” Sean sighed. 

Mackey groaned and rolled his head back. LaBond smacked his fist against his desk and shook his head down and to the left violently. Shubert sighed slightly before resuming an explanation to her colleagues.

“Well, it’s what we got.” Sean muttered.

After a single attack, the Rattata’s health bar dropped and turned yellow.

“That was easy.” Sean said with a nod. “Time to see if we can catch it.” 

On screen, a ball was thrown at the Rattata and it shook three times before changing color. The screen announced Gotcha! RATTATA was caught! Sean nodded once more.

“Honestly, I was going to be really upset if that didn’t work.”

Mackey and LaBond chuckled. LaBond tapped Mackey on the arm with a backhand motion to get his attention and whispered something into his ear. They both laughed and turned back to Sean. He sighed lightly. Glad somebody’s having fun.

“Okay, so now we need a nickname for this little guy. What should we call it?” Sean tapped his watch with his right index finger. “A lot of people wouldn’t ever catch a tiny rattata like this, but Planned Parenthood did. They’ll extend healthcare, education, and outreach to anyone of any gender. Five million people in fact.”

Slowly, Sean typed out the name FiveMilion. 

“And yes, I know million has two Ls, but there aren’t enough spaces to do that. This will have to do. Anyway, Planned Parenthood now has FiveMilion in their party. Let’s go heal up, train, and get that FiveMilion strong and healthy.”

Sean returned to Professor Elm’s lab to heal his Pokemon. For the next several minutes he ran back and forth in the grass, fighting Pokemon to gain experience points and level up his Rattata. He had to make several trips back and forth to the lab to heal his Pokemon.

“Grinding like this is the tedious part of a run like this. I can’t let anybody in my team faint because then I can’t use them anymore. So I’m trying to be really careful.”

A wild Pidgey used Tackle and cut FiveMilion’s health in half.

“Yeah, it’s definitely time to switch out to Cyndaquil--I mean, Healthcare.”

These fights continued for a few minutes until FiveMilion leveled up to level 5. Sean perked up.

“There we go. That ought to work.”

After walking to and past Cherrygrove City, Sean continued to the next route. 

“Okay, so we’re gonna get another crack at catching a new Pokemon. Very exciting! So who are we gonna get?”

A few steps into the grass, the first pokemon appeared. Another Rattata appeared. LaBond laughed, and Sean shook his head.

“Forgive me, ladies and gentlemen, but I’m going to propose that we modify the rules of the Nuzlocke run so that I’m allowed to catch the first new pokemon I encounter in each area. Mr. President, do you approve?”

The Pro Tem paid him no attention as he sat quietly. Sean loudly cleared his throat.

“Mr. President, do you approve of this change to the proceedings?”

He turned to Sean and stammered silently like a student caught daydreaming in class. Sitting up straight, he took his turn clearing his throat.

“Um, yes. I’ll allow it.” He projected, hoping the sound of authority would compensate for his lack of confidence.

“Thank you, Mr. President.” Sean said gratefully. “Let’s give this another shot.”

Another Pokemon appeared as the screen showed a yellow, cacooned insect. 

“Kakuna.” Sean said, slightly resigned. “Well, we’ll see how this goes.”

Sean’s Rattata took out half the wild Pokemon’s health, and Kakuna used Harden to raise its defense. Must be its only move. Lovely. When Sean threw a Pokeball at it, the Pokeball burst as the Kakuna escaped. It resisted capture from two more Pokeballs.

“Oh jeez. We’re down to our last pokeball.” Sean’s pulse slightly accelerated. “Luckily, its defense has gone was up in the past few turns, so we should be fine to attack it one more time.”

Please don’t crit. Sean took a deep breath as the Rattata tackled the Kakuna, knocking it down to less than a quarter of full health. Sean breathed out a sigh of relief.

“Alright, one last chance to catch it.”

Mackey and LaBond turned to each other nervously. Shubert bit her lip. Sean opened the pack in the game and selected the last pokeball. Who would have thought I’d care this much about a Kakuna? And in this chamber? Is this really happening?

The Pokeball shook three times before finally settling and changing color. The four senators still paying attention let out a collective, relieved sigh. 

“That could have really been bad if I lost my only Pokemon from this route.” Sean admitted. “But we had a good strategy to prevent that. And Planned Parenthood is all about strategy. Eighty percent of Planned Parenthood’s patients get help to prevent unintended pregnancy. The prevent 579, 000 such pregnancies each year. And one of the tools they use is access to effective contraception.”

Sean typed in a new nickname for the Kakuna, CNTRACEPTN. He selected END and pressed the space bar until his character showed up on screen again in the grass. He switched Cntraceptn to the front of his party and walked back to town. While buying potions and pokeballs from the Pokemart, he turned back to the senate floor. A half dozen Democratic and a couple Republican senators watched him with curious expressions. Sean returned to the Pokemon Center to heal his party.

“Well, Planned Parenthood now has Five Million recipients, Healthcare, and Contraception. Let’s see what we can do with that.”

To be continued

[btp-yami]

Incarnate Jazz ft. MAJOR PLOTS~

This struck me yesterday at work and IT WOULD MAKE SO MUCH SENSE OKAY AND ITS OFFICIALLY CANON TO THE YGO AD ‘VERSE SO THERE.

Another month passed of Madji Qadir attacking or spying on their family; Noah heard from Joey and Tea even that Madji’s antics had spread to them. Joey woke to find the windows of the Cafe smashed in, the whole place in disarray, and Tea found the same with her smaller apartment when she got back from work one day. Putting the places back together was the easy part; but Noah could take a hint.

Madji was quickly losing it.

Atticus had told him about Madji’s both creepy and destructive behavior, when Noah had first witnessed him being arrogant and carrying a confident swagger. With such delay in accessing his full powers, Noah could see Madji descending into what he could only assume was born from dashed expectations.

Still, Madji refused to fight Noah. Refused to be anywhere near him, actually, even when he had attempted an attack on Jessie. He fled as soon as Noah showed up, glowing eyes and wings at the ready.

And then, after that month of being on-edge, the moment finally arrived: Alice frantically called Jessie one morning - early - that her water broke. Noah, Jessie and Catherine promptly rushed over to get Alice to the hospital, with Noah calling Atem ahead of time and sending a quick text to the kids for once they were out of school.

Atem had gone in with Alice, of course, meanwhile Jessie and Catherine paced outside the room impatiently, but Noah had gone to the waiting area on that floor, watching out the window carefully.

Discreetly, so that no one would notice, Noah was projecting as subtle of a field of protection as he could manage. He would at least be able to sense if Madji tried anything, but he didn’t want to draw any attention, either.

And then Catherine came up behind him, halfway lunging at him with a squeal that scared the living daylights out of him.

“C’mon, c’mon, c’mon!” Catherine kept her voice down, but grinned as she tugged him away from the window. “The baby’s here, he’s here!! Jessie’s already gone in, you’re late!”

“Wait--i-it’s a boy--?” Noah asked with slight delay (not appreciating suddenly being brought out of a stupor).

“Keep up, Pretty Boy, yes it’s a boy!”

When they were outside the room, Catherine shoved Noah at the door, then motioning for him to go further in with a grin. She then hissed at him “Trust me, everything will feel so much better, just go see the baby~!”

Noah arched a brow at her, but it wasn’t like he was going to leave, so...

He hesitantly stepped in, seeing Jessie first, and she similarly grinned and urged him closer. Noah finally smiled faintly and came closer, his smile only growing once he looked over to the bed, moving an arm around Jessie’s waist.

Alice still looked very drained and sleepy, Atem nestled next to her on the hospital bed, and both were smiling down at the baby in Alice’s arm. Atem glanced up when Jessie and Noah edged closer, and he passed a smile to Noah before grinning back down at his third child.

Noah returned a small smirk, before smiling as well, observing the newborn boy.

The baby was still a bit red and pudgy, but had inherited Atem’s skin color. A tiny tuft of blond hair could be seen (not nearly as bright a blond as Noah’s, but pretty close), and he was still fussing from the cold air.

Noah’s smile grew subconsciously - and then the babe’s eyes split open.

One eye was a bright gold, almost matching Atem’s shade when his wolf DNA was triggered; the other was sky blue, even paler than Noah’s shade of blue. It was only for a minute, before his eyes squinted again.

Whatever had been in his eyes, though, Noah’s smile had faded in an instant; his eyes were wide, exhaling deeply as a shiver shot up his spine. He forgot how to breathe in for a moment, mouth parting in slight stun.

“Oh my God...!” He muttered, almost inaudibly, before his brow furrowed.

The babe’s eyes split open again, once again showing the gold and pale blue.

H o r u s ...!

~*~*~*~

“My son is what...!?”

Noah frowned. “There’s no way it’s anything else...! I could sense it, just like with Catherine, ‘Tem.”

Atem was wide-eyed; not too long after his newborn had been taken aside to be checked-over, and Alice was left with Jessie and Catherine to rest and recover, Noah had pulled Atem aside to a nearby hallway that lacked any nurses or doctors.

Noah gave a small nod. “Y-Your baby...h-he’s the mortal incarnate of Horus, Atem...! It explains why Madji was after Alice, he could probably sense it, too...!”

“No,” Atem blinked and looked off, shaking his head. “No, there’s no way--at least not that we could tell, I mean - we didn’t find out about Ma’at until you were a grown man! And Catherine was older when she found out!”

“I-I think it’s because it’s so strong,” Noah mused, thoughtful, before frowning, “Or maybe because it’s Horus - Pharaohs carried out the duties and righteousness of Ma’at. It makes sense that I could sense it.”

“He’s a baby--!” Atem argued, stepping closer and attempting to keep his voice to a hush. “That’s too much to put on an infant!”

“I mean it’s not like he’ll understand yet...?” Noah arched a brow, before frowning. “Atem, this is important...! This means we need to keep the baby safe from Madji more than ever now - I haven’t been able to sense Madji nearby, but there’s no guarantee he won’t come after him once you bring him home...!”

Atem shuddered, looking off with a frown, and not finding any real response.

Noah let his shoulders relax, before he smiled faintly. “What’s his name...?”

Atem looked up with slight surprise, but then relaxed and smiled himself, almost laughing. “Alice had asked Bella for ideas, and...she was really stuck on Oswald. Alice had wanted Roy. So...Oswald Roy Mutou.”

“Aw,” Noah grinned. “Ozzie~. That’s cute.”

Atem gave him a small glare. “You are not calling him Ozzie.”

“Hell yeah I am.”