#one is trying to be so normal hes killing people for it and the other is trying to live again and keeps dying for it

[pineconepie]

CHARACTERS: Vincent, fem!reader

WARNINGS/TAGS: Parental yandere, light infantilization, fem+afab reader, periods, period comfort, embarrassment from periods, non-sexual nudity, reader implied to be younger, cuddles, Vincent doting on Reader

WORD COUNT: 1.7k

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is the other part of a commission that was done with Octavian!

You're sure you've never felt as miserable as you do now; your cramps feel like they're going to kill you, you've been nauseous all morning and you just want to stay curled up in bed all day, hiding under your covers.

Unfortunately for you, however, today Vincent is off work. Normally you'd love that, because then you could spend more time together. But right now, it feels like a curse; because how else are you supposed to hide this from him?

You're not ready to deal with it, nor do you want to.

To seem as least suspicious as possible, you try not to clutch your stomach as you descend the stairs towards where he sits, drinking his morning coffee.

Vincent looks up at you with a warm smile. "Good morning, sweetie."

Despite everything going on inside of your body and mind, you force yourself to return his greeting. "Hi."

You walk past him and quickly gather some cereal for yourself. You can tell Vincent notices, because he watches you with curiosity. "What's wrong? No 'good morning, Dad'? Just 'hi'?" He chuckles, but you can tell he's going through a million different possibilities as to what's wrong.

Instead of answering verbally, you shrug, pour yourself a bowl and grab a spoon. Then you make your way over to where he sits, taking a seat beside him instead of across.

Maybe that way his gaze won't be fixated solely on you.

Unfortunately, your plan fails, because he's still staring at you when you glance over.

"I was gonna ask if you wanted pancakes or waffles," he says finally.

"Nah, its fine, I'm alright with cereal this morning," you reply.

Vincent raises a brow, raising a hand to feel your forehead. "Are you sick? Getting a fever?"

"No, no," you stutter. "Nothing like that. I just, um, didn't sleep well last night..."

"Really?" Vincent asks. "Did you have any nightmares? Anything you want to talk about?"

Great. Now you're cornering yourself and lying even further than before. You're pretty sure part of him can tell you're lying, because he's so used to working with other liars. He reads people better than most could, which is probably part of his profession.

Knowing that just makes you more anxious.

For all you know, he probably sees through your facade completely and is waiting to call you out on it.

"I dunno... maybe? I don't remember my dreams," you say quickly.

"Hm." His expression shows that he's not entirely convinced by your answer.

You try changing the topic to distract him, and hopefully yourself. "Do you have anything specific planned for the day?"

Vincent blinks, then smiles fondly at you. "I'm going to leave it up to you. If you want to go shopping or go out to eat, that'd be fine with me. Or we could have a lazy day watching movies together. Anything you like, princess."

You feel nervous at his choices of options, considering you'd prefer not leaving the house today if you can avoid it. Maybe watching films together sounds nice, though even that gives you anxiety.

"I guess some movies would be nice," you mutter.

Vincent smiles, much to your relief. "Sounds good to me. Why don't you pick one for us to start with?"

So you do.

You get settled down on the couch after turning off the lights in the living room and opening the curtains for maximum viewing experience, snuggled tightly beneath a large fleece blanket. Vincent joins you moments after setting things up.

He wraps a strong arm around you, pulling you closer to his side.

Throughout the movie, he glances down at you occasionally as if checking up on something. Which makes sense since he seems worried about you for whatever reason. You pretend to pay attention to the screen while your mind races on elsewhere.

Every now and then there's a painful twist in your lower abdomen causing you to flinch slightly, although you try hiding these reactions from Vincent.

About halfway through the film, you start getting fidgety, wanting to switch positions constantly.

When you decide to curl up into a ball and bury yourself deep within your blankets once again, Vincent shoots you another glance. "(Y/n)?" he asks quietly.

"Huh?"

"What are you doing, honey?"

"Oh..." You look down embarrassedly. "Just getting comfy."

Vincent pauses for a moment before continuing. "Are you sure nothing is wrong? Nothing you want to talk about with me?"

Your heart pounds faster than normal and butterflies swarm your stomach. Your fingers tighten their grip on your sleeves as you answer: "Positive."

"Okay."

The movie continues playing, but neither of you speak anymore during the remainder of it. At certain points you catch Vincent giving you concerned stares again, especially whenever your hands wander absentmindedly underneath the blanket to press against your belly. When the credits roll around, however, he breaks the silence.

"I don't buy that."

You laugh nervously. "You love buying things," you attempt to joke.

He usually always finds amusement in your jokes, even the bad ones, but now he just looks frustrated. Its a rare expression on him, and definitely not one you like. "I'm serious."

You shrink back. "Sorry..."

Vincent's expression goes from stern to guilt-ridden immediately at your scared reaction. "I'm not mad. I'm just worried about you. Please talk to me."

"There's nothing to worry about." Your voice shakes as you say those words.

"(Y/n)." His tone sends shivers throughout your body. "You're lying to me." A pause. "Please don't lie to Dad."

You chew on your bottom lip anxiously. "...I... I don't wanna talk about it... please." Your voice cracks. Tears build in the corners of your eyes.

Vincent coos at you, pulling you into his lap. You bury your face in his chest as you cry softly. He rocks you gently, kissing your head every few seconds.

"Its okay, it's okay, sweet girl. Shhh..." Vincent hushes you soothingly. He keeps rocking and swaying slowly. One hand rubs calming circles along your upper back. His other cradles the back of your neck tenderly.

After a couple minutes of crying like this in his arms, he leans away slightly to lift your chin. With a thumb, he wipes the tears streaming down your face away carefully.

Then he smiles brightly down at you. "Hey there, kiddo."

You hiccup and sniffle. "Hi." Your voice quavers. "I feel so gross."

Vincent grabs a tissue from the tissue box on the coffee table, using it to clean off your runny nose and damp cheeks. "Much better now, huh? Crying is healthy for the soul. Even if it breaks my heart to see you cry, I'd rather you cry than hold it in. Just means I get to comfort my baby." He teasingly squishes your cheeks, which manages to bring a smile to your face. "There it is," he chuckles fondly. "How's about I go draw you a nice bath?"

That sounds appealing, honestly. "Yeah... sure," you agree.

"Perfect. Up we go." He hoists you into his arms and carries you upstairs, setting you on the counter in the bathroom.

He rolls up his sleeves before leaning forward and switching the faucets to get the perfect temperature.

You watch as the water fills up the tub, making little splashing noises when it hits the ceramic.

Once he gets satisfied with how full the basin is, he turns the knobs off.

Vincent hums as he searches through various cabinets, grabbing some scented bubble bath bottles. "Orange mango or watermelon?" After you give your answer, he tosses the opposite bottle back into the drawer, pouring the other into the bath. He stirs it in, letting the suds rise. "Let me know if it should be warmer or colder, kiddo."

He turns to grab shampoo and conditioner, giving you the privacy to step in. It feels nice, easing your cramps ever-so-slightly.

"Feels great," you sigh dreamily. "Thanks, Dad."

"Anything for my favorite daughter," he sing-songs.

"Your only daughter," you snort.

He laughs at that, placing the shampoo and conditioner in convenient reach. "Still true." He grabs a cup. "Now tilt your head back so I can..." he trails off.

You're quick to realize why. The water is a brownish-red hue.

To your relief, Vincent doesn't freak out. A look of realization spreads across his face, only after the initial shock. He chuckles in relief. "Oh, thank God. It's just your period." His expression turns to serious again. "Right? You aren't injured, are you?"

"No," you squeak out. "It started this morning. I'm sorry."

He holds his hand to his chest in further relief. "I was just a few minutes away from calling a doctor, you know that?" His expression softens. "Why would you hide this?" His voice seeps with genuine confusion and worry.

"...'cause..." You pause. "Because its embarrassing." You hug yourself anxiously. "And gross."

Vincent looks heartbroken. "Princess... you know periods are natural, right?" When you shrug, he frowns deeper. "(Y/n), I promise its okay." He rubs your shoulder. "Its nothing to be ashamed of. I'd never judge you for anything, let alone this."

"Thank you," you murmur. "It just feels so awkward."

Vincent laughs softly. "I've been preparing for this conversation for a while. Not really a fan of how we ended up here, but I'm just glad you aren't hurt." He sighs fondly. "I'll order you some pads, and when bathtime's done, there'll be a heating pad with your name on it."

You smile gratefully. "Thanks."

"Of course. My little girl is not allowed to suffer," Vincent says lovingly. "No, sirree. None of that allowed under my roof. Got it?"

"Got it," you laugh back. "Um, can we continue our movie marathons after I'm done washing up?"

He smiles warmly. "Of course. Since I'm such a good dad, I'll even let you pick one extra movie."

"Only one?" You groan dramatically. "All your movies are boring."

"They are not."

"They absolutely are. They're either the same 80's comedies over and over again, or the same superhero action movies over and over again."

"You're just saying that because you're a baby with a baby brain, and I have good taste." He sticks his tongue out playfully, showing he isn't actually upset. "Real movies, made for people who know good cinema."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," you roll your eyes. Your face softens. "Thanks, Dad. For being not-awkward."

He beams proudly. "Anytime, kiddo. I'm just cool like that."

You roll your eyes.

[thewriteadviceforwriters]

Romantasy Book Tropes Ranked By How Easy They Are to Make Interesting Again

okay so hear me out: i love romantasy. i am romantasy. but also? a lot of the tropes feel like they've been in a blender set to “medium aesthetic” and we all just nod and go “yes this is fine” while our souls leave our bodies.

so i ranked some of the top romantasy tropes by how EASILY they can be made good again, not which ones are the best, not which ones are ✨dead✨, but which ones are like, 2 rewrites away from being god-tier if you’re willing to do violence to them.

⚠️ this list is subjective. take it up with your protagonist’s tragic backstory.

🥇 1. The Cursed Prince / Beast / Exiled Royalty Difficulty: ★☆☆☆☆ Listen. This one is so easy to make interesting again it’s embarrassing when it’s bad. Just add one (1) real consequence. Is he cursed? Cool. Show me how that curse is actively wrecking his life. Exiled? Give me the betrayal scene in detail. Raised by wolves? Show me him eating raw meat like a weirdo. Don’t just make him Hot and Sad. Make him feral and complicated. Bonus points if he doesn’t want to be uncursed. Bonus bonus if the heroine agrees.

🥈 2. The Marriage Trial / Forced Proximity Setup Difficulty: ★★☆☆☆ You can spin this SO MANY WAYS. Make the trial political. Make the contestants unhinged. Make it morally messed up. It stops being boring the moment you stop writing it like a CW love triangle and start writing it like a dark social game. ex: Squid Game but hot. Don’t just have them accidentally touch hands. Have them make alliances and betray each other in the hallway at 3am. Be weird with it.

🥉 3. The Warrior Girl Who Has Never Known Love Difficulty: ★★☆☆☆ The trick is: don’t make her secretly soft. Make her correct. Love should feel like a threat to her survival, not a makeover montage. She doesn’t need to be taught softness, she needs to be loved as is. Give her a love interest who isn’t trying to “fix” her but sees her sharp edges and says “yeah that’ll do.” Instant slay.

👀 4. Enemies to Lovers Difficulty: ★★★☆☆ Controversial take but: most of you are doing rivals to lovers. Or “mild professional disagreement” to lovers. True enemies to lovers is hard because it requires two people to want to ruin each other, and then have to live with that. There needs to be blood on the floor. There needs to be regret. It’s not banter if they wouldn’t kill each other in Act 1. Go full feral or go home.

🔮 5. The Chosen One and the Dark Mentor Difficulty: ★★★★☆ this one is delicious BUT. the power imbalance. the age gap. the moral greyness. the betrayal baked into the bones. it needs to be handled with scary levels of intention. when it’s done right? peak feral epic gothic. when it’s not? feels like a Wattpad fic from 2012 where the teacher falls for the new girl in detention. tread wisely.

🪦 6. The Mysterious Assassin Love Interest Difficulty: ★★★★★ okay. i’m tired. i’ve seen this man too many times. he’s got a dark past, two daggers, and no personality. he exists only to appear at the edge of a ballroom and go “you shouldn’t be here.” if you want to make him interesting again, you need to get into his actual psyche. give him weird rituals. make him bad at normal things. give him a reason he’s choosing murder over healing. or better yet, retire him for a few years. we’ve earned a break.

💌 agree? disagree? reblog with YOUR favorite romantasy trope and how you’d resurrect it from the cliché graveyard. 🪦✨

[dawnstruck]

Love this post, so I want to tag on some additional thoughts I had while reading: In the context of Naruto's overall ostracization, it is shown or at least strongly implied that Naruto was frequently denied entry to eating establishments. Teuchi serving and even actively inviting him is therefore intrinsically linked to Naruto feeling accepted and recognized. This is very much highlighted in this anime ending as well. Ichiraku's is all about bonding, not just for Naruto, but across different generations. (However, it does also show Naruto on a potential date with Hinata, right before Minato and a pregnant Kushina).

Just look at this baby. He literally fliches and makes to run away when Teuchi merely raises his hand to wave him in.

The expired milk and general lack of food also shows that, (child) Naruto is mostly unable to provide for himself. He doesn't really know how to cook, nor is he likely able to afford much food. Instant ramen is a cheap, easy alternative to the real stuff (aka Ichiraku's and love).

In this scene, little Naruto is literally too poor to afford a meal, overhears a father talking to his son about food, while Sasuke in turn overhears someone claim that Naruto is the reason the Yondaime was killed. Naruto then lies in his bed and quietly cries. This is then followed by Naruto foraging mushrooms from the woods and catching some fish . He is more able to care for himself OUTSIDE of the village and away from other people, who deny him the most basic necessities (again, food and affection). And then Sarutobi shows up and asks to have some of his dinner, omfg, old man, this is really not a good look for you. Furthermore, eating at Ichiraku's together is one of the few instances where we see Team 7 having some normal team bonding and actually act like kids their age when they try to get a glimpse of Kakashi's face.

In the Land of Waves arc, we also have Zabuza who took in starving orphan Haku, essentially making him family. And then, when Naruto stays in the woods to train for longer, it is Sasuke who immediately notices his absence from mealtime and goes to check on him, pointedly leaving Sakura behind.

Several of those instances may be fillers or kind of extra-canonical material, but they nevertheless deepen the pre-existing themes that food = family.

And to finish, there is this great post that explores how food = family is especially relevant to Sasuke, which makes him offering Naruto his bento all the more meaningful.

Family, Food, and Gaiden

a lot of people have already talked at length about the bento scene in gaiden, but I wanted to do it too, and specifically how it, gaiden, and the rest of the manga posit (through naruto himself and outside observers) what family is, and that by that metric nh aren't a true family. namely, food and protection. long post warning i like to talk.

so first let's set the stage and go back to chapter 3, where it's observed by kakashi that naruto has been drinking expired milk:

chapter 3 is a huge chapter for establishing naruto the character, it's early on enough that any information we're presented about him is going to massively affect our perception of the character, where chapter 1 is the turning point in his life through iruka, this is the one that really sets the status quo; naruto has a rivalry with sasuke and a 'crush' on sakura, and we're shown sasuke understands naruto's loneliness. we're shown naruto lives alone and eats alone and the food he eats is expired. we get three panels at the end of this chapter of outsiders (kakashi and hiruzen) commenting on naruto's home, and two are dedicated to pointing out the milk, which makes it the most memorable detail and more likely to affect the readers understanding of naruto. while it's part of the comedic story of the chapter, it also symbolises his loneliness, his lack of a family.

so next is iruka. before iruka protects him, he offers to buy naruto food. while iruka's bodily protection is a very obvious bonding moment between the two, it's the offer of food that sets the stage for them actually bonding:

naruto also reflects specifically on them eating together, rather than physically saving him, when calling iruka his family at vote1:

this is connected later in chapter 536, where iruka reflects that he thinks of naruto as a brother (which also lightly refutes narutos vote1 misunderstanding of their relationship being fatherly, and that it further refutes the sns 'brothers' thing, but that's besides the point)

specifically, he thinks of himself as unable to protect naruto and that that means he's failing to live up to being family. but bee, an outside observer, recognises that they are family regardless:

and this page ends with naruto eating the letter iruka wrote him, emphasising that it's not just protection that makes a family but food.

so let's go to gaiden and talk more about outsiders. there are five people present in the first part of the bento scene, most importantly boruto, sarada, and shikamaru. boruto is the only one who could be considered a part of the nh dynamic, and he's visibly upset about what he sees in that relationship:

sarada's role in this scene is to tell us explicitly the meaning of the food, boruto's is to show his dissatisfaction with the state of his father's relationships to him and hinata, but shikamaru's is to take over what naruto isn't there to say (his apology), just as bee did above with iruka, and to watch the rest unfold, and we see him every three or so panels, reemphasising that his observation is a critical part of this scene. the big difference is he can't offer any true reassurance, he can't help them, he can only give instructions and relay messages, because unlike iruka and naruto's relationship, this one has no solid foundation

gaiden further emphasises the connection between food and family through cho cho. when we first see her and choji in a scene we understand she knows her father well through her observations on his chip habits (and serves to further show sarada's lack of a father). the chips are not just food but symbolic of cho cho's connection with her father

which is why she offers them to sasuke to make up with sarada, even bringing the same flavours as in the above panels. it may come across simplistic, even naive, but it also evokes the lack of connection between sasuke and sarada

speaking of offering food, let's quickly go back to the bento

speaks for itself really but it also parallels iruka as the first change and moment we, the readers, see of bonding between sasuke and naruto is not training together or the bodily protection of the land of waves, but once again the offer of food. he also goes on to eat lunch together with sarada and cho cho, but won't come home for dinner. also the favourite restaurant tidbit:

so it's not just the offering of food but the sharing of food too, we go back to chapter 152, where naruto observes a father and son sharing an icey pole, and even mentions food waiting at home.

it's another physical symbol of his loneliness, and the association of family, through jiraiya, and then connected again to iruka

furthermore, the minato one shot strengthens this connection by having minato and jiraiya share the same food in the same scenario of training the rasengan (which in turn was created for kushina)

kushina and minato are also associated with food in their relationship to naruto, firstly through his name

but more importantly through their few and last moments with him. the first thing kushina says with her last words is her wish for him to eat well, it's an extension of her wish for him to have connection and family.

and in his goodbye to minato, naruto begins by mirroring this speech, listing off the foods he likes; these moments are bookends so obviously they'd mirror each other but it shows an understanding on naruto's part of the role food plays in his relationships, and a deeper connection by him listing specifically foods he likes, letting his father know actual facts about him (something cho cho knew about her father)

he also assures his father he does now have connections:

so back to gaiden once more. when naruto talks about family he says what's most important is love:

when sarada reflects on her mother after this, she's specifically shown eating, because food is connection and family. this was about her yearning for a relationship to her father, while her mother was the one there for her, providing her food

in contrast, nh have never shared food. hinata's offer of food is delivered through boruto and sarada, not from her own hands, and the entire scenario is subject to criticism from the characters and readers. when naruto receives the food he thinks of sasuke instead, someone he has claimed as family over the course of the series, and who is shown through the series to meet the criteria of love and family as food and protection. ergo, nh are not truly family in the eyes of the narrative.

as an addition, ss do not actually share food either. in chapter 173 he physically rejects sakura's offer of food:

when they do end up 'sharing a meal' in gaiden, they're actually not. beyond the fact they both look miserable, this scene is about appeasing sarada, showing her in a naive contrast to boruto from earlier who accurately understands his parents lack of connection. it's the same as the previous scene where she thinks back on her mother, eating her mothers food and wanting a connection with her father. the table shown only seats two either side, in fact we don't even know that as we can't accurately see how wide it is, we see no place set up for sakura, she's not part of this meal beyond making it. and unlike sarada who is obviously ready to eat by the chopsticks in her hand, sasuke has made no move to touch the food. he is not an active participant in this meal, and therefore in this relationship

[germiyahu]

It's also a red flag that Zohran Mamdani said, on camera, that Palestine was a cornerstone of his political development, and it's a core part of his identity now. Because he of course sees it as emblematic of the ills of the world. This is left wing populism.

He has that one unattainable pet issue and everything else coalesces around it. The Rightists want the Ethnostate, most of the rest of their policy ideas are in service of that. Project 2025 is their Bible. The Leftists want the end of American hegemony, and they don't care about the consequences. They view Palestine as a microcosm of every group of people America has ever oppressed. And so it is that every other policy platform must bend the knee to Palestine.

I think they know that this "end the American Empire and destroy NATO and any other American ally" fantasy is completely incompatible with "end capitalism and transition to a socialist luxury abundance economy," or maybe they don't.

But to them, Israel is not just a state that has and is committing human rights abuses (like many other states but whatever). It's the apotheosis of American influence in the Middle East, possibly the whole world. Just like the Rightists think there's a cabal of Jews funneling money to Democrats, encouraging mass immigration, and forcing Woke Ideology down everyone's throats to weaken the White Race and desecrate America's status as a Christian Nation, Leftists think there's a cabal of Israelis who are the last hurtle to ridding the world of violence, war, segregation, colonialism, even capitalism.

In fact, a lot of Leftists think climate change is tied to Palestine's liberation at this point.

But that's the thing, that anyone with a brain could tell you. Freeing Palestine, and I mean from the river to the sea, purging "Zionists" everywhere... will do nothing to fix climate change (considering all the Israeli technology that would be lost in the chaos and the probable desertification of the land, it would be a detriment to climate action), will do nothing to stop global capitalism, will do nothing to quell the rising tide of fascism. Just like doing whatever the Rightists think should be down about George Soros won't fix any of their perceived problems.

So when a politician is very close to becoming the mayor of the largest city in America, and he thinks like this? No, it's not a cute look. Thankfully, he'll have to contend with the entire governmental apparatus of local and state politics. He'll have to compromise, he'll have to take his job seriously and not just wield power to pursue his ideological purity crusade. And the Leftists will turn on him just like they turn on every Leftist who acquires power and is then forced to use it responsibly to, you know... govern?

They don't want a competent mayor, even one with new ideas that probably wouldn't pass a vote. They want a revolution. They want the free stuff they were promised, including a Free Palestine. In actuality, those are all just words, and when it comes to Israel and Palestine, when they can't get what they wish for snapped into existence, one of two things happens:

The more normal supporters are content to just use this all as virtue signaling. They will "own" Israelis on Twitter, stick out their tongues and say "Hahaha New York City has a pro Palestinian mayor! You tried to silence us!" and they will turn a blind eye to antisemitism of course. They never cared. Their only interest is in being sore winners and "punishing" the Democratic Party.

The deranged supporters will go out and do antisemitism, because they're frustrated that politics are politics and Zohran Mamdani can't arrest Netanyahu through the ether, can't shoot his eye lasers at Israel and disintegrate the entire IDF at once. So they'll keep protesting, keep harassing Jews, keep threatening Jews, keep assaulting Jews, and keep killing Jews. Mamdani will give the most milquetoast condemnations and try to keep the focus on Palestinians, and in the process tacitly encourage the deranged supporters to keep up the good work.

The "normal" supporters will then demand that we all should focus on shielding Mamdani from Republican attacks and yellow journalism, all while they gaslight Jews. I mean, the Leftists are now saying that it's actually Israel holding the reins, and America is the puppet. So they don't even believe it's American hegemony anymore. They fully believe it's Zionist hegemony, and that's responsible for colonization, war, genocide, global economic systems that keep hundreds of millions of people poor and hungry... they're antisemites!

They think Jews control the world. I don't know Zohran Mamdani and I never will, but how could I not narrow my eyes in suspicion if he openly talks about having the same thought patterns? I would not be shocked if he also thinks Jews control the world.

[ready-to-read7]

Dp x Dc #19

I’m alive and back 

So I had an idea dead on Main but no dramatic killing a clown ghost instinct any of that stuff just Jason falling in love with this Twink teen Dad so yes toddler Ellie and baby Dan are there it can be switched I don’t care but currently I love the idea of a grumpy baby Dan, Danny is somewhere between 17 and 20 you can decide Jason is 19 or 20 doesn’t matter and he loves this Twink Dad that lives in crime all helps other people cares for his kids and it’s just them falling in love later on ghost BS and whatever the hell Jason is revenant, zombie doesn’t matter nonsense can pop up even the joker can pop up either too threaten Danny one of the kids or just mess with Jason obviously Jason hiding his new boyfriend and kids and hopefully step kids one day from his family but Damien and Tim find out about them because why not and I would love to believe Damien would be excited to be an uncle and would immediately try to get favourite uncle privileges and Tim I don’t know Tim overly caffeinated brain will either keep the secret try and keep the secret or fail eventually

I just want like a love story of these two just falling in love and their normal circumstances and all the BS comes later obviously they can be some former troubles like bad reveal from Danny or running away from the GIW and whatever de aged Ellie and Dan 

(You are free to use this idea )

[lovelysevvy]

The mentality some people have that Snape wasn't a victim of bullying because he wasn't "the perfect victim" is so dangerous. Yes, you may be talking about a fictional character, but it's a daily reality of how society refuses to take victims of abuse seriously just because they chose to fight back. People in this fandom feel so comfortable saying things like "Snape wasn't an innocent victim who has no possibility to defend himself, he's not innocent" or "Snape was not a helpless victim of bullying" without feeling the slightest bit of shame.

He was forcibly stripped naked against his will in front of a crowd. "But it's okay, because everyone was laughing, he clearly deserved it."

He was nearly killed by a prank from one of his bullies, "He deserves it, it's his fault for going there alone at night."

He was ridiculed with a mocking name for 7 years, his name replaced with a dehumanizing one: "Snivellus, he deserves it."

Severus Snape was 11 YEARS OLD when the bullying started. Severus Snape hadn't even arrived at Hogwarts when James and Sirius were already calling him "Snivellus" and making fun of him. Severus Snape had to endure the teasing, harassment, and dehumanization by the Marauders. to him for 7 YEARS

And not once, NOT EVEN ONCE, was there a responsible adult who stood up to him or put a stop to the bullying. The fact that so many people believe themselves worthy and better than him to come and judge him for being a scared, defensive teenager who had to learn to defend herself is outrageous.

Because it's easier to blame the victim, isn't it? It's easier to say it's his fault for causing a scene and disturbing the peace of others than to keep quiet and endure it like a "good victim" would, because it's easier to say he deserved it, because it's easier to condemn and judge one's future than to risk the bright and promising future of four others who were just boys being boys.

And I repeat, it's the fact that they feel so comfortable admitting and saying this kind of thing that bothers me the most, because all they do is NORMALIZE AND JUSTIFY abuse, create a victim prototype where if a person steps outside the parameters considered acceptable, then they no longer deserve justice or empathy. It's creating the idea that abusers are more deserving of empathy and a good future, while the victim is frowned upon for holding onto resentment and refusing to forgive someone who never offered an apology.

A victim doesn't become less deserved of empathy just because they fight back, and the bully isn't any less innocent because their victim resists.

So let's get this clear, Severus Snape IS/WAS a victim of bullying, this is a canon fact and you guys can tried to twist the narrative, try to paint him as the bad guy for standing up for himself, but that won't erase the truth.

[valerico]

Ornstein and Smough tactics don't work with Penn and Teller, they look similar on the face but their bound healing capabilities and their more support-buff-strike style means that you're fighting against a constantly rising opponent that's going to be stacking Dazzled on you with each strike or close-up ability till you get stun locked. The fact they have resistance or immunity to most spells is bad too if you lean caster.

If you're a strength build you have to bum rush, and carry along some pocket AOE anything (bombs, special weapons, etc) to make sure they go down in the same attack, and make sure you have backups too trust me, that timing can get weird depending on what buffs they have.

If you're Dex or a Caster-heavy build your goal is to make sure you're NEVER in melee and always attacking with either projectile or some of the few spells that get around their Skeptic's Aura. That Dazzle stacking is what will actually kill you and they actually don't have much in the way of long range (Penn has a long range charge to force you into melee if you can't dodge or reposition quick enough and it's so quick it outpaces even a few teleport options, Teller has a similar one but its a shadow teleport (bring lantern if you have slots he can use any shadow). Teller's Stare (the light beams) can apply dazzle long range but he only uses it when either of them get past half health so try and get past second stage quicker than first, stall the first if you need, and remember to use cover options like hiding in the chairs or up on a balcony seating area). Just make sure they die around the same time otherwise you're back here.

Bonus tip, if you do the "Light My Way" stage quest before their fight (talk to the stage tech by the elevator on the first floor of the hotel), the stage area doesn't reset like other areas, so during the free wander part of that quest you can set down a ton of bomb snares and then continue on the quest like normal and then during the fight all your snares will still be there and you can lead them into them. Some people consider it cheesing the fight, but straight up it was an intended option and built in that way, a couple later game fights have similar things too, it even gets you some bonus dialog and an achievement if you're achievement hunting.

Best of luck with the fight!

killed penn but then teller climbed on his back and resurrected him how the fuck do you deal with that. theyre teleporting and shooting light beams

[dumbkiri]

𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐊 𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐗 1

χα∂єη яισяѕση χ ƒ! мαιяι! яєα∂єя

𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐭: Sloane mistook Lenin as a hiding spot. Thoirt is allowed to bond with Sloane. [Name] is not the only one to suffer from ptsd. [Name] dreams of Xaden...a lot.

𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞: Bodhi has a lot to explain to his squad. Imogen is definitely blocking out Glane during those times....

“I love you. I love you so badly that I’ll kill anybody just for you.” 

His lips find themselves on your neck, slowly trailing to your collarbone. 

“I love you.” He declares again and gradually picks up his pace. “I love you so much.” 

And you can feel his love. You can tell he meant every word by how passionate his thrusts came to be. He held you with a yearning and protective hold, not wanting to remove your heat from him. 

……

You open your eyes and blink away the blur of your grogginess. In front of you, it’s not hard to spot the man who sits next to your bed. He has his legs wide open, arms crossed over his chest and head hanging forward as he dozes away in the afternoon light that bleeds through your curtains. 

Brennan sleeps away in a comfortable chair and you don’t have the heart to stir him from his slumber. You wonder if he catches any sleep outside of visiting you. 

Quietly, you rise in your bed and let the sheets fall off your body. You’re not surprised to find yourself clothed. After all, you don’t think Brennan would have let you wake naked again. 

Right. You passed out on him during the flight to Xaden’s home. Naked. Gods, could you be more shameless? Letting another man coddle you while you’re vulnerable? 

You move your eyes back to Brennan and call out his name. Suddenly you’re hungry. Starving. And you have a craving for soup. It’s something that would be relatively easy on your stomach. 

“Brennan.” 

He doesn’t wake the first time you call his name. So you lean over your bed and reach out to him. You balanced yourself with one hand on the arm rest while the other one reached for him. You poked his chest and called out his name again. 

“Brennan.” 

This time he shuffles a bit in his spot then slowly blinks his eyes open. You spot his amber eyes look at you then a smile graces his features, “Finally awake? It’s nice to see you up, Phoenix. Had me worry there for a bit.” 

You give him a smile in return and tell him, “I’m hungry for soup. Is there something I can make-“ 

“No, no,” He uncrosses his arms and stands up from his chair. “I can arrange for someone to make it for you. You need to focus on regulating your temperature.” 

You raise an eyebrow at this and he sighs, “It fluctuates when you sleep. Sometimes you burn up so badly, I have to cool you down with wet rags. Other times, you’re so cold I drown you in blankets.” 

You laugh at his expression which is overly dramatic, nonetheless you take his words seriously. Then you tell him, “Well I feel quite alright right now. Normal, I should say.” You remove the sheet off your body and slide your legs over to the edge of the bed. The nightgown reaches your knees when you stand in front of him. 

“There’s another thing I have to talk to you about.” Brennan states and moves his eyes to the door. A tense silence fills the room and you can tell Brennan doesn’t know how to put his thoughts into real words. So you try for him, “I’m assuming it’s something important. Does it have to do with my resurrection?” 

“Something like that,” He replies and the next sounds that come out of his mouth, warms up your heart. He’s speaking in your language and it’s like music to your ears. The language is so beautiful coming from someone else and maybe it’s because you can see Brennan struggle with it. You can tell he’s trying his best to speak to you and you smile at him, understanding every word he says although broken. 

“There are people who want to use you for your power, but I cannot let them. Part of me wants to send you to Basgaith and another part wants to keep you by my side. Both are dangerous options. If you go back to Basgaith, there’s no telling what the higher ups will do to you. If you stay with me, people will find out about you sooner or later.”

You nod your head and tell him, “I don’t know how to use my power in general, Brennan. No one will use me if I’m a ticking time bomb. And as much as I want to see Lenin, I don’t want to blow up the damn college. There’s so much I experienced at Basgaith, the good, the bad and the ugly. Who knows how I’ll react.” 

“So you’re staying?” Brennan can’t help the smile on his face, it's like he won the lottery for keeping you by his side. 

In response, you roll your eyes at his excitement and say, “You’re the only one who knows the real me. Why would I leave when we can learn so much together. It’s time we figure out what I can do.”

“Oh~ we will have plenty of time to figure this out together. But there’s one catch to all of this.” 

You don’t like that dimpled, mischievous grin on his face. 

……

SLOANE 

I find it hard to write to you these days. 

It’s just with everything going on, I can barely lift up my utensil to spill out my thoughts. I don’t know how to tell you that I’ve been abandoned by our family. 

I’m not sure how to tell you that Liam doesn’t visit me anymore. Or that Imogen barely has time for me. I can’t even have a proper conversation with Xaden. It’s like I’m actively using my signet, cloaking myself from them. At least it would be because of me that we can’t talk. Not them. Never them. 

They’re all preoccupied with Violet Sorrengail. To me, I think it’s ironic that they are tying their life to a girl whose mother killed our parents. But I know it’s for good reason. Don’t tell anyone that I’m telling you this, but if Violet dies (which is entirely possible), Xaden will die. Lenin and his parents don’t think her dragon will survive if Violet dies. And mated bonds between dragons are deadly too. So yeah. 

Violet dies? Tairn dies then Sgaeyl then Xaden. It’s a cycle of death. Honestly it terrifies me that Xaden could lose his life because of her. That Lenin could lose his parents if Violet Sorrengail isn’t careful in this college of death. Everyone wants her dead. 

She is General Sorrengail’s daughter. It’s not like the thought hasn’t crossed my own mind. To get revenge for our parents. Yet her life won’t bring back our parents. And I don’t want to lose Sgaeyl or Xaden. 

Anyways, I cannot wait to see you next year. I know you won’t leave me to my own devices. And I sure as hell won’t ignore you for this long either. I could use some sister talk. 

Fuck, what am I saying? 

I need to be honest with you. I just need someone this year because I’m changing, Sloane. My signet is progressing at a faster rate than I could have anticipated. I’m able to manipulate light and objects. I’m figuring this out all by myself - scratch that. Lenin just growled at me. But he’s in the same boat as me. We’re figuring it out together. 

See you soon. 

Your sister, [Name] 

Fun fact: Lenin calls Garrick an oaf. 

…

“Nervous?” 

Sloane picked her head up from the piece of parchment on her desk away from the pretty writing. Her blue eyes landed on her brother with a scar at the bridge of his nose absorbing all of her attention. He never talked about [Name]’s death. Only chalked it up to be an accident. 

Not much was said about [Name] in general. People rarely mention her and only the teachers will talk about her from time to time. Telling Sloane, Your sister was unstoppable. [Name] had a very unique signet. She loved to show off. You think you can beat our expectations? Your older siblings are a force to reckon with, what about you? 

“I’m not nervous.” Sloane finally answered Liam’s question and folded up the letter gently. Not at all happy about what she read. How could Liam abandon their sister? First year for [Name] was filled with fun, shenanigans, love and trust. Her second year was empty and cold. [Name]’s only friend being her dragon; Lenin. 

“It’s okay to feel-”

“Did you know she killed six people in her Threshing?” Sloane interrupted Liam, her eyes piercing through him. 

Liam straightened up at the door and looked away from her glaring blue eyes. It seemed he didn’t want to talk about their older sister right now. Not when her death was still fresh in his mind. It’s been months and no one wants to talk about her. 

“Yeah, I do. Deigh told me that she looked beautiful in a lethal way.” He answered truthfully, not a hint of emotion in his tone. No regret. No sadness. No anger. No sense of revenge. Liam talks about [Name] like she’s not dead. Sloane wants to know how [Name] died and no one is telling her how. 

“How,” Sloane looked back at the letter, keeping the topic on their older sister, “How am I supposed to compete with that? Or even know that I will bond to a dragon? [Name] says that the feeling was legit magical. That even when she killed her opponents and her dragon handled the last one, it was like they were destined for one another.”

Liam shifted uncomfortably and said, “No one can compare themselves to [Name]. She could have been stronger than General Sorrengail if she…if she hadn’t died. That much everyone knows and-”

“I feel bad for him, to know that our sister died and you won’t tell me anything about it.” The blonde woman grabbed the letter and placed it carefully back into her desk drawer with all the other opened letters. Stories and more stories of [Name]’s time at Basgaith filled that drawer. 

She knows more about [Name] and her dragon, Lenin, more than Liam. And he attended college while she was alive. How unfair is that? That Sloane has to learn about her sister through letters while Liam had the chance to get to know her in person…and he squandered that chance just so he could be best friends with a fucking Sorrengail? 

It pisses her off! 

“Are you saying you feel bad for Xaden?” 

Liam really thought she was talking about Xaden. Is he serious? 

“I’m talking about her dragon. The one who roars at the full moon like he’s cursing at it.” She stands up and slams her chair into her desk, “Everyone knows it's her dragon that roars out the same hour at the moon. And I’m not nervous about Threshing, if anything I am hoping to bond to Lenin so I can find out the truth!” 

Liam sighed and said, “Sloane, [Name]’s death was an accident. That’s all I can tell you for now. Anything more and I can put us in danger. I promised our sister that I would protect you, so let me.” He looked tired and worn. Like [Name]’s death weighed him down. 

Yeah, but not knowing is wearing Sloane down too. 

“Protect me? I don’t need protection. I need my brother to tell me what happened to our sister! She died and no one will tell me what happened. Imogen brushes me off, Bodhi gives me some pathetic look and Xaden is at some unreachable outpost!”

Sloane shut her drawer and glared at her chair. It’s all unfair to her. She’s waited years to be reunited with her family and this shit happens. 

“She said she would teach me her fighting technique, Liam. She said that she couldn’t wait to greet me on the other side of the parapet. And I couldn’t wait to just see her. All I want to know is what happened that night. How did she end up dying?”

“In an accident, Sloane,” Liam never let his words falter or stray away. He kept up his answer and shook his head, “I’m sorry you cannot accept that. Good luck tomorrow.” He turned his back on her and left her room shortly after. 

In her lonesome, Sloane stared at her door with an angry glare. She can’t imagine why Liam couldn’t tell her the truth. She deserved to know. And Sloane is going to find out one way or another. Her next step is to bond to Lenin and ask him how her sister died. 

……

This is not what she had in mind! 

Sloane finds herself running away from a blue swordtail, playing around with its food. Food being her and the three others that got roped into the feast. Some guy thought he bonded to the blue swordtail only for it to torch him.

Seemed like this dragon liked torching people alive because now it chased her and the others like it was all some kind of game to it. A sick and twisted game that she did not have time for. She has a goal today and now it changed to surviving threshing! Bonding to Lenin can wait!

Then a red blur soared past Sloane, but she didn’t stop to see what it was. Or what happens when a dragon makes a roar sound like that. While she ran with her life on the line, Sloane found a small cave. Quickly she ran over to the entrance of it and took a cautious peek inside. It was dark inside, but oddly warm. 

“Hey, Mairi!” 

Sloane abruptly turned around and saw some dude swinging his sword around. She doesn’t know who he was, doesn’t recall him in challenges or in classes. So how does he know her name? 

Then she sighed, being confronted by this man is way better than being chased by an enraged blue dragon. Sloane removed her hand from the edges of the cave and before she could question him, the sound of flapping wings caught her attention. 

A green swordtail landed on the peak of a mountain to her right and on top of it was Bodhi Durran. Great, now he’s here to witness the brawl. 

“You must think you’re special or something, huh?” The guy asked and walked over to her, his sword readied for an attack. Sloane is hot-headed, yeah. But she’s not going to jump into a fight with just a dagger. 

.

“She left these for you,” Liam dropped a huge stack of letters onto her desk. 

“Wow, she wrote a lot.” Sloane huffed with a smile. 

Liam returned it and pulled out a weapon from his leathers, “and this.” 

.

But [Name] did. She jumped into a long fight with six people of varying sizes. Killed them all with her dagger. It’s what earned her the endearing nickname. It’s what earned her a special bond with Lenin. 

If Sloane wants to capture Lenin’s attention, now is the time to prove her worth. “What makes you think that?” She questions back and pulls the dagger out, spinning it on her finger then flipping it into her palm. 

“The way you question your sister’s death,” the guy swings his sword, “acting like she’s not some sort of traitor. You think your sister died a hero’s death?” 

Sloane doesn’t know what to think. Because no one tells her anything about [Name]’s death. Yeah, she’s heard some rumors about [Name] being a traitor. That she helped out the enemies, supplying them with weapons. But her sister is not a traitor. They don’t know her. Not these people, not the Marked Ones, not Xaden and not Liam. 

Sloane knows [Name] and her deepest thoughts. 

“Keep mentioning my sister and I’ll cut your tongue out. You know nothing about her!” 

The man laughs and mocks her, “Oh, I’m sorry. Did I strike a chord? Cross a line of yours?” 

Sloane kept her stance, remembering [Name]’s threshing and what she wrote in the letter. 

When people wield a sword, you always want to shorten the distance between the two of you. But that’s the thing, obviously they have more room to strike. One swing and it’ll hurt like a bitch. So plant yourself and let the sword wielders make their move. 

Let them come to you. Then you strike. 

She planted her feet and focused on her breathing. [Name]’s fought people as big as this guy, she wouldn't be this scared. [Name] fought six people in a dense fog. Sloane is fighting one dude in the setting sun. She can do this. 

“[Name] Mairi is a traitor and I’m willing to bet you are too! So it is my duty to kill you now! Make sure you don’t bond to any dragon!” 

“Then come and do it already! I’m tired of hearing you talk!” Sloane shouted back and the man charged at her. His brown eyes dead set on her, his mouth forming into a scowl. Sloane sucked in a deep breath when something touched the very essence of her soul. 

Warm blood splattered on her face and the sound of crunching bones overwhelmed her senses. A deep rumble vibrated behind her and she could feel the sound reverberate in her chest. She wiped her eyes free from the blood and witnessed a gnarly mess in front of her. 

The guy didn’t even get to scream. He didn’t see the threat right behind her and neither did Sloane. She let out the breath she held and watched the dragon munching on the man swallow him whole. Then the dragon’s lilac eye stared into her soul. 

“You must be an idiot to approach him.” A voice rumbled inside her head and Sloane looked around for the source. It didn’t take long for a strawberry red dragon to make its presence known in the valley. It walked towards her with a bowed head, showing respect for the huge beast that just finished his snack. “But the male he just finished off is a bigger idiot. Talking about his previous rider like she was nothing, but a traitor.” 

“W-what…” Sloane raised her hands up to her head and tried to focus on another voice that spoke to her. His voice, demanding and agitated, drowned her thoughts. She stumbled over to the red dragon wanting to put distance between her and the white dragon. 

Wait, white dragon? Only one dragon existed with that coloring. 

“Don’t rush into it. The power he channels is a lot stronger than mine, so focus. He’s reaching out and you need to grab onto him.” The voice leads her and Sloane tries her best to pay attention to the thread leading her to the white dragon. 

Then she hears him, his voice coming at her in full force. 

“To think I would have the chance of meeting Dagger’s spitfire at a time like this.”

It’s Lenin! And he’s addressing her through a bond. She did it! She bonded to Lenin!

“And I, do not forget about me.” 

Sloane’s vision, free of the blood and blurriness, captures two dragons in her view. A red dragon and a white dragon, side by side. She bonded to two dragons…how could this be? It shouldn’t be possible. She can barely comprehend that she bonded to one in general. 

“Possible or not isn’t the problem here. It’s who we chose that has a say in the end. Although, I will say I am surprised Lenin is not threatening me like he did Deigh two years ago.” 

“I am in no mood to fight you over Sloane. I’m only doing what my Dagger wanted me to do.”

“Which is to bond to me?” Sloane asked and she couldn't help, but felt relieved. She survived threshing and bonded to two dragons. What more could she have asked for? 

Lenin chuffs and shakes his wings, little pieces of leaves and greenery come off of him. Then Sloane breathes out a laugh because she couldn’t believe it. The cave she was trying to enter was the freaking curve of his leg. He wasn’t a mountain although he literally is a size of one. 

“We should let her announce our names now. Time is almost up.” 

“Go. I’ll be there shortly.” 

Sloane looks at Thoirt and Lenin, still not able to process this. She has two dragons, both beautiful in color. Thoirt makes her way to Sloane and waits for Sloane to mount her. With shaky hands, filled from excitement, Sloane climbs up the strawberry red dragon with a triumphant grin. 

She fucking did it. 

……

LIAM

“Sloane is seriously a thorn in my fucking side, Liam.” Imogen and the rest of the Marked Ones, including Violet, all sat at the edge of a cliff with some of their dragons right behind them.

They just finished doing some flight maneuvers to see the first years riding back from their Threshing. Browns, oranges, greens and reds flew over from the fields while doing some movements to see if their rider was worth it. 

“Yeah, I know,” Liam grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest, “She won’t leave me alone either.” 

Imogen plopped down next to the blonde and said while pinching her fingers, “I’m this close to telling her about [Name]. Just so she can leave me be.” 

Both Violet and Liam snapped their necks to look at Imogen with worried glares. Then Imogen rolled her eyes, “Don’t worry. I won’t, but at some point we have to tell her something. She’s going crazy and she’s about to read what happened in [Name]’s second year anyways.” Imogen returned the glare at Violet and said, “Sorry, Sorrengail, but I’m pretty sure [Name] had nothing good to say about you. Or Xaden. Or Liam. Hell, even me.” 

Liam shook his head and smiled grimly, “Yeah, we’re all screwed.” 

Another dragon landed behind them and a breathless, “We’re more than screwed.” caught their attention. Looking over their shoulders, Bodhi rolled off his dragon and addressed the trio with a shake of his head. 

The sunset glow made the sweat on Bodhi’s forehead gleam and he frustratedly paced in front of them. “It’s Sloane. Good news, she survived Threshing. Also extremely good news, she bonded to two dragons.” 

Everyone shot up from the ground and walked over to Bodhi. 

“Two dragons?” 

“No fucking way Sloane is capable of doing that.”

“Who did she bond to?” 

The last question stopped Bodhi from pacing and he looked at his friends with a nervous grin. Then it faltered when his gaze moved away from them and behind them. “Have a look for yourself.” 

Liam turned around, covering the setting sun with his hand to witness his little sister on the back of a red dragon. Her blonde hair and her light skin had been tainted by dried blood. Sloane looked like she came out of a bloodbath and he had so many questions running through his mind. 

“Great. She bonded to a red dragon.” Imogen spoke up then addressed Bodhi with more sarcasm in her tone, “Don’t tell me she bonded to a Blue too. Knowing Sgaeyl, I think I had my fair share of a Blue.” 

Bodhi shook his head and said, “You’re going to eat your words in a few minutes here.” 

Liam never removed his eyes away from Sloane and her contagious smile. After all these months, Sloane expressed happiness for the first time today. Although she looked like a psycho, Liam feels reassured by her sight. She is alive and bonded to a dragon. 

Then Deigh’s voice strikes him down. 

“Do not be alarmed when I tell you this, but Lenin has found a new rider.” 

Something behind Sloane and her dragon reflects the evening sun and his breath hitches in the back of his throat. Then Imogen’s guesses fall silent like Glane finally told her about the second dragon that chose Sloane. 

“Okay, the silence is killing me.” Violet chimes up then Imogen starts laughing. Her maniacal laughs fade into the background because all Liam can hear is the sound of Lenin’s whine. The evening sun darkens into a much darker sky and he feels like rain is pelting down on him. 

“They’re not after you now. They want me and if that’s what they really want, I’m taking them down with me.” 

He can see [Name] stand in front of him at the edge of the cliff. Her nose was bleeding with a determined look on her face. She held out a green dagger to him, her words crystal clear, “Give this to Sloane when she learns how to kick ass.” 

Liam can’t breathe. 

“Liam…” [Name]’s voice is overlapped by the others around him. He can see his friends surrounding him with worried faces and he doesn’t know what to do. [Name] keeps talking to him, he wants to say sorry. He wants to apologize to her for avoiding her. 

“Liam!” He blinks once then twice, silent tears falling down like a calm river. It’s Violet trying to catch his attention. “Liam, you’re having a panic attack! You need to-” 

“I know what I’m doing, Liam!” 

Liam can feel the tips of his fingers cramp up then numb over. He moves his eyes away from Violet and watches [Name] at the cliffside. Her nose is no longer bleeding. She actually looked real to him. She stood with a grin on her face watching Sloane hold onto her red dragon in the skies followed by a chuffing Lenin. 

Then [Name] looks over her shoulder, her grin turning upside down with worry. She looks at him and her frown deepens. But it’s not the frown that makes him question what the hell is going on. It’s the color of her eyes. They’re not blue. 

They’re red. 

“Liam, breathe! Damn it!” Violet shouts. All of a sudden, his vision goes black.

......

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[dark-lord-of-awesomeness]

What if in the PPBB universe where Stan is resurrected by Ford. Stan can only start to become more ‘human’ and fix his own soul by eating the emotions of others, and in some cases their whole souls.

Stan is only acting with self preservation right now cause he has nothing else, so after the shock of being alive wears off the kinda Erdrich horror part of him wakes up and he kinda just leaves the Ford’s and goes hunting for very emotional souls. So now the Ford’s have to hunt down Stan across the country in Fiddleford’s old car, like the OG road-trip, except more high stakes because they have to stop Stan from sucking out souls like they’re smoothies from random people.

Maybe Bills also along for the ride as well(he wants the portal built and is gonna pester Ford about it till he stops goofing off) and he makes everything so much more complicated as he eggs on Stan to eat more people.

Wait, wait, wait what if Bill is the Winged Lion/demon and Stan mirrors Laios and eats his soul, aka Bills hat and last dimensional speck. Which gives Stan enough energy to fix the rest of his soul and give him emotions back.

Lets just make this a three way au lol, GF into PPBB into DM.

This got long, but here it is!

Hmm. If we're following along a loose Dungeon Meshi story line (which, let me tell you, ever since i got that first ask I've been rotating the idea of a Dungeon Meshi au except Ford's just doing his regular adventuring, comes across and kills a dragon, pulls the corpse out, revives it for 'knowledge' and gets hit with Stan. Can you imagine if that happened? If Marcille revived Falin and didn't even know she was dead? How Stan could have stayed dead and Ford would have no idea? Anyway), then Ford revives Stan, gets hit with dead brother feelings, drags him home to wash off all the monster blood and put some clothes on him. Stan's.. mostly fine? Sure he's heart is dead and the most he can muster up is a slight ease of tension at seeing Ford and not being dead, but otherwise? he's hungry, thats about it.

Then that night, Stan wakes up, starving and with the need to find food. The meal in his stomach isn't doing anything for him, he needs something more filling. His human form that he got shoved to feels cramped and empty, he's gotta fill it up if he wants to feel like himself again. Phases out of existence, goes off to find something to eat, the Fords surviving by the pure luck of being asleep and thus not emotional enough to catch Stan's uncaring eye.

Good thing Ford stuffed his brother with all kinds of magical alarms! He hunts Stan down when he wakes up, dragging Fiddleford with him, just to find Stan crouching in front of someone bawling their eyes out, chewing something and muttering something under his breath (Stan's still not a giant phase out monster, he needs to improvise). He's fading in and out of Fords eyes, it hurts to look at him, like his human form is covering up something far worse under reality. Stan sees him coming, keeps chewing, only to disappear when Ford tries to grab him.

now its road trip time! Quickly bundle up the person (now confused and telling Ford about all their worst thoughts being real?), get in a car, and chase Stan down, desperately making sure all Stan can do is snack on people and doesn't actually eat a person like Stan was eaten. Bill pops in after a few days, annoyed by this side tracking his portal schemes, tells Ford Stan's soul was so scattered and the entity so freshly dead, Fords spell used it to piece Stan's together. Stan's soul is trying to repair itself with what it has (eldritch soul eating powers), he won't be back to being Stan until he eats enough souls to replace the eldritch bits keeping it together.

So just let his bro eat one, maybe a few hundred people and he'll be back to normal! Easy!

Well Fords not going to to that? He'll just find a way to contain Stan, maybe figure out how to siphon off soul energy from general misery worldwide? He'll figure it out after he captures Stan.

Seeing as that didn't work, Bill tries something else! Which is to get Stan to eat as fast as possible so Ford can stop wasting time on this. Stan, not caring enough about anything still and barely there, shrugs and says sure weird triangle on a plane of existence i wasn't able to interact with before, trying my best here.

Except Ford. Keeps. Interrupting. Him. He can't eat like this, not because he cares about Ford seeing him, he just struggles to stay on the plane of existence people are when they touch him. Stan warping onto a different layer, not frustrated but so, so hungry.

Gets a genius idea. He'll just eat Ford, then Ford won't interrupt him anymore.

Bill does not like this idea, but cannot give Stan enough of a reason not to do it. Bill wants him to eat doesn't he? Fords stopping that from happening, if he eats Ford then no one will stop him. Easy.

Bill pops in to warn Ford of Stan's brand new plan, warns him to keep an eye out and stick with Fiddleford. Shenanigans happen, and Stan gets interrupted again. by the skinny guy. He's so hungry and starving and the snacking isn't helping. He needs a full meal, no mater how it happens.

Hmmm. Extra angst incoming. Stan can't maintain a physical presence on the world if someone touches him, but he needs to interact with his target to eat them (parallel Falin being unable to eat enough with her tiny mouth, Stan can't fit a person in there, this is the best he can do). Comes up with a new idea! He needs his prey to be aware for max misery, needs to interact with them, needs to not be interrupted.

He'll wait for Bill to visit Fords dream again, he'll slip into the mindscape, then eat Ford there. No one to interrupt, no one to stop him. Finally get rid of one Ford, then he can eat the other when he's done.

More shenanigans, Stan's lying low, not on the physical plane, Ford falls asleep, Bill visits (doesn't know Stan's plan, why tell the only other guy who might interrupt after all), and Stan pounces. He looks even more brain breaking here in Fords dream, barely having a human shape to maintain. Ford runs, Bill tries to interfere, Stan shows off why things like him are so dangerous, twists around and almost gets Ford.

Bill manages to interfere, then explodes at Stan, about how stupid he is, how Bill made it clear to eat anyone but Ford, how if Stan could have done this the whole time, he should have told him so that Bill could have gotten some other extra human for him to eat and this could have been over ages ago!

Right in front of Ford.

Fight happens, Bill admits to being a demon, about the real reason he wanted to make the portal, they fight, and Stan is still there, still hungry, still looking for those delicious terrible emotions. Anger, sadness, desperation, misery, denial. And Fords feeling those things sure, he just learned his Muse was trying to get his brother to eat people and use him to end the world.

But Bill is also feeling those things. Bill miserable and hides it with his boastful personality, is desperate to party and shove his feelings aside, desperate to leave his crumbling dimension, angry at Ford for not being on his side, not seeing things his way, in so much denial about it all. He's a ball of self hate and emotions thats been marinating since before Earth existed.

Now that Stan's here, in the layer of the midnscape, he can smell it, can taste it, can see it.

Bill's looking pretty good actually. Better than any poor lost soul Stan's tried to dine on in the last however long it took to get to this point (months probably), and, key point here, Bill can change sizes and be changed in the dream.

Stan can fit him in his mouth.

Cue Ford getting a front row seat to Stan snatching his former muse and ripping into him. Its a horror show of two eldritch entities going at it, Bill struggling to get away and Stan reaching into him, tearing out pieces of his blackened heart, and shoving them into his mouth, squishing Bill smaller and biting down on him, shifting his size in Fords mind so he won't spill a single drop of Bill's mangled soul.

Eating the last piece of an entire dimension.

And then Ford wakes up in a cold sweat, the last moments of his dream nothing but the feeling of watching two higher energy beings like he was watching a nature documentary. His brain turned off his eyes so he wouldn't go mad from the experience. No idea if Bill survived, but that doesn't matter.

What matters is that Stan's right next to him, arm thrown across Fords chest, mouth open and drooling, snoring away, head squished against Fords neck. Curled on top of him and still smacking his lips a little. Ford can still see fragments of Bill's soul in his teeth, and its as horrifying as it is fascinating. He looks just like he did that first night, if a little... off. Skin too perfect, teeth too sharp, something about him thats just not quite as human as he used to be, but more here then he's been since he ran off.

And yeah, Stan ate Fords muse, but it was that or let Stan eat probably thousands of people. How much human souls equals the power Bill had after all? How much power did Stan's soul need to fix itself, if it took more than one bite of Bill's own to do it. And Bill betrayed him after all, planned to use Fords own creation to destroy the world. Fitting that he should instead fix Fords brother, Fords world.

So Ford goes back to sleep, squeezing Stan and only slightly unnerved by the fact that he can sort of feel Stan squishing into him on another plane of existence somehow. No way to explain it other than 'physically we are touching but i'm pretty sure Stan's soul is cuddling mine inside my body'

Then Stan wakes up even more confused. Everything was one big blur to him. Pretty sure he went on a drug trip and it was cured by the power of a bowl of corn chips. Very happy to get all the Ford hugs and also weirded out by the knowledge he is now huggning Fords soul on a parallel plane of existence. No he has no idea how to explain it either other than 'Physically i'm right here, but i'm also doing this' and then Ford smacks him and tells him to stop doing that, even though they weren't touching.

[mylovewasbulletproof]

Catalyst pt 3

Jack Abbot x amputee attending reader!

See pt 2 here

Set several months after Pittfest, reader has become an attending. We actually get somewhere in terms of their relationship on this one lol

Warnings: injuries, blood, angst, hurt/comfort (let me know if I missed something!)

——————————————————————

The Pittfest mass casualty incident had fundamentally changed the people who had worked that day. For one, Jack had convinced you to start seeing a therapist. It’s hard to say whether or not it’s doing something. Therapy often left you feeling more drained and emotional than when you arrived. You had also finished residency and officially took an attending position at the Pitt. You were honestly surprised that you were able to stay on nights. Apparently Shen had been wanting to switch to days for a while (he didn’t want to switch — someone pulled some strings and had him moved).

Another thing that had changed was your relationship with Jack. His hands lingered just a fraction longer than before whenever they happened to brush yours. He had started bringing you coffee for your shift and you had started keeping his favorite granola bars in your locker so that you could make sure he was eating something. The two of you have convinced yourselves that these changes meant nothing. None of these new routines were out of the ordinary for friends. But anyone that knew you or Jack had noticed the changes.

At this point there were several different bets running about when and how you and Jack would finally confess your feelings and begin a relationship. Even people who don’t normally partake in the betting (Michael, Dana, etc.) were in on it. Jack had never paid any mind to the bets to begin with. After everything he had been through, he didn’t like to challenge his odds on anything. Unfortunately for you, you are all too aware of the bets and how other people are feeling. You insist that there is nothing going on and that you have absolutely no feelings for Jack but you aren’t fooling anyone. Not even yourself anymore.

——————————————————————

The night shift went on like any other night shift: overdoses, drunks, car crashes — the usual cases. You’re charting at the nurses station when the next ambulance pulls up.

“This is Carson. 18 year old male, suspected psychotic episode, picked him up after he fell off the top of one of the subway cars. No LOC witnessed, vitals stable, we splinted a suspected forearm fracture on scene. He’s been combative on scene and during transport with male staff, hence the soft restraints” the EMT rattles, following your directions to put him in trauma 1

“These men have been trying to kill me. They strapped me down and started poking me. I think they’re working with them. Please help me” Carson grabs onto your forearm that is helping push the gurney

“Hi Carson, my name is Dr. L/N and I’m here to help you. We’re going to get you settled in and help you feel better”

Thankfully that seems to settle him for the moment, although you can still see the lingering distrust in his eyes. You continue with your assessment, ultimately deciding to send him for an x-ray to confirm the break in his arm and call for a psych consult. He seemed to be having delusions and paranoia which was consistent with a psychotic episode.

“Bridgit, can you let me know when radiology is ready for Carson? I’m going to bring him up myself. He’s extra jumpy and I don’t want any nurses caught on the wrong side of him” you ask as you step out of his bay

“Do you want security to come with you?” She asks, raising an eyebrow

“No, I think it’ll be okay. I was able to talk him down pretty easily”

Jack couldn’t help but overhear your conversation, “Dr. L/N, its protocol to have security accompany violent patients throughout the hospital”

“I’m aware of protocol. But this patient was only violent with males. It doesn’t make sense for me to have Ahmad, a male, escort us to radiology. It would probably make the situation worse” you drag your eyes up to meet his, silently challenging him to keep going

Thankfully, Jack just nods, reminding you to be careful and call for help if you need it before turning to work on the next incoming patient.

It isn’t long until Bridgit lets you know that radiology is ready to scan Carson. Thankfully you’re able to get him up to radiology and through the duration of his scan without any issues.

“Ok Carson. I’m going to take you back down to the ER while we wait for the radiologist to read your x-ray. I can give you some pain medication in the meantime if your arm is bothering you” you narrate as you push Carson

You pause in the hallway and move around to the front of the wheelchair to check in on Carson. He had been awfully quiet this entire time and it was starting to put you on edge. What you didn’t realize until you were in front of him was that he was muttering something. Suddenly it was like a switch went off

He was out of the wheelchair in seconds, his hands coming up to shove you backwards. You thankfully are only knocked slightly off balance. You take a step back, finding your back meeting the cool metal of a stairwell door.

“Carson, I’m not here to hurt you. Why don’t you sit back—“

Carson cuts you off with a harsh shove with enough force to push open the door behind you. One more push was all it took. You were falling, your feet left the landing of the stairs and it felt like things were moving in slow motion. You could see the panic in Carson’s face, the way his hands shook against the door.

Things started to move back in full speed when you hit the ground with a sickening crack and things went dark.

——————————————————————

Jack was on edge and he couldn’t quite figure out why. Maybe it was the lack of patients, the ‘q’ word lingering in the atmosphere. He decided to catch up on some charting, given the lull in patients. He had just sat down when his eyes found the empty trauma bay sitting in front of him. That was odd — he knew your psych patient was supposed to be back in that bay after his x-ray.

“Bridgit, did Y/N bring back that psych patient from radiology?” He asked, glancing over at the charge nurse

“No. They aren’t back yet. But now that you say that it’s been 30 minutes” her brows crinkle as she reaches for the phone

One call to radiology sets off a panic throughout the hospital. Somewhere between radiology and the Pitt you went missing with a patient who has a history of violence.

Bridgit is barely off the phone and Jack is moving across the Pitt in the direction of the security office. He has to physically restrain himself when he walks into the office and sees the three security guards playing cards.

“Did you miss the part where we said there’s a missing doctor who was last seen with a violent patient?!” He snaps, “You need to pull all of the hallway cameras between here and radiology for the last 20 minutes”

It didn’t take them long to find out exactly where you had stopped the wheelchair. Jack didn’t bother sticking around to watch what happened. He was absolutely terrified and under that terror was rage.

If those security guards had been doing their jobs they would’ve caught the altercation. He was already crafting the scathing letter to Gloria in his head. If he had just insisted that you took someone with you, it might not have stopped someone from getting hurt but at least you wouldn’t be alone.

He arrives at the spot where you had stopped the wheelchair and he’s surprised to find the hallway looking empty. The discarded wheelchair was towards the side of the wall. He glanced around several times before realizing the stairwell was in front of him. He pushed open the door and it felt like his world was collapsing around him.

There you were, at the bottom of the stairs, lying incredibly still, with a puddle of blood surrounding your head. He sprints down those stairs, slamming down on his knees next to you. He was relieved to find a thready carotid pulse as he whipped out his phone, blood smearing on the screen as he called down to the Pitt, screaming for help. After he knew help was on the way he begun trying to inventory your injuries.

Careful fingers prodded down the sides of your skull, trying to find the source of the bleed without moving you at all. He cringes when his finger meets a soft spot that absolutely should not be there. You barely stir. The only indication that you’re even still there is the slow rise and fall of your chest and a slight twitch of your fingers.

The door slams open behind him and he’s calling out orders without even blinking. C-Collar, back board, gurney transfer, page neuro, see if Robby can come in early. He’s checking your pupils, cursing under his breath as they were slow to constrict.

The team works well despite working on one of their own. Monitors are strapped on, someone is doing eFast ultrasound to check for bleeding, checks for breath sounds, reflexes and doppler pulses.

Jack is in the middle of prepping for a chest tube when you start seizing.

“Shit. Push mannitol and prep kepra in case it doesn’t stop. Where is Neuro?!” He calls, trying not to panic as he watches your vitals drop

Thankfully, the mannitol seems to do the trick and your body stills. The team is quick the intubate to protect your airway and the chest tube is inserted. Neurosurgery arrives as your vitals begin to come back up. They quickly determine a need for surgery to relieve some of the pressure on your brain. You are prepped and ready to move up to the OR when Jack gives your hand a squeeze and leans down close, “Don’t you dare give up on me”

——————————————————————

Robby isn’t surprised to find Jack on the roof. He had arrived about ten minutes after you had gone in for surgery. He checked in on the OR on his way up.

“I stopped by the OR on my way up. She’s doing okay, vitals holding strong.” Robby says, approaching the edge

“She never should’ve been alone with him. I told her to take security and she didn’t.” Jack mutters

“You did the best you could. We both know she stubborn to a fault” Robby settles in next to Jack

“And yet she’s still laying on that operating table, three inches from death” Jack grinds his teeth

“When did you know?” Robby asks softly

“Know what?”

“Oh don’t do that. We’ve known each other for a long time. You’ve only ever cared about one other person like this” Robby scoffs

“If I’m being honest, her intern year, but I was still too fucked up to admit it to myself” Jack sighs, rubbing his face

“Don’t you think it’s time to tell her?” Robby probes

“She’s too good for me. Deserves better, someone younger. Besides, there might not even be an opportunity even if I wanted to”

“Don’t you think that’s for her to decide?” Robby asks

“Since when did you become so wise?” Jack grumbles, stepping back under the bar to stand next to Robby

“You aren’t the only one who sees a therapist” Robby chuckles

——————————————————————

3 weeks later

Surgery had gone well. Dr Shamsi was optimistic about your outcome. Your skull was beginning to heal, the chest tube had come out 2 weeks ago, and they had lightened sedation. Now they were playing the waiting game. As doctors they all knew it was now up to you to wake up.

Jack had taken several (mandatory) days off after the accident. He had spent the majority of those days in a brutally uncomfortable chair in your ICU room. When he went back to work, his routine shifted. He came an hour early for his shift and stayed an hour after his shift to spend time with you. Sometimes he talked to you, going on about different patients or the latest drama from the Pitt. Other times he read from a book that you had told him you wanted to read.

It was one of those times he was rambling about the latest updates from the Pitt when he noticed it. He wasn’t paying attention he probably would’ve missed it. Your fingers twitched and curled ever so slightly around Jack’s.

“Y/N, honey, I’m right here. You’re okay.”

Jack tried to manage his expectations. He knew this could very well be an involuntary motor spasm but up until this point, you hadn’t moved at all. He watched as your eyelashes fluttered and you started pushing against the vent with your tongue

“Ok. That’s ok, it’s helping you breathe. We can take that out in a bit but you have to open those eyes” Jack spoke softly, pressing the button above your head to call in a nurse

Your eyelids lazily peeled open, your gaze slow and rolling as you tried to focus. You could feel Jack’s hand in yours, the cool metal of his ring. You could smell his body wash and the sterile hospital smell. It took a couple seconds for your eyes to land and stay on Jack, some of the tension in your shoulders releasing

“Hi” he smiled, reaching up to wipe the tear streaming down your cheek

“Welcome back, Dr. L/N” the nurse spoke as she entered the room “I’ve paged Dr. Shamsi and she is on her way to see if you’re ready to get that tube out. Just try and relax, let it do the work for a little bit longer”

Dr. Shamsi arrived minutes later and proceeded to walk you through extubation. It didn’t feel great but you were happy to be breathing on your own again. She quickly ran through some basic neuro tests before expressing that so far you weren’t exhibiting any symptoms of long term neurological damage. She urged you to continue resting, before promising to come back and check on you later.

After Dr. Shamsi left, you rolled your head back over to look at Jack.

“You scared the shit out of me” Jack speaks, rubbing circles on the back of your hand

“Scared the shit out of myself too” you speak roughly, prompting Jack to offer you some water

“I thought I was going to lose you” Jack looked away, clenching his jaw

“‘M right here” you say, tugging on his hand to get his attention

“I don’t ever want to be away from you again” he whispers, searching your eyes

“Ok. So come here and hold me” you pull on his hand again

“Soon, honey. I don’t want to hurt you right now” he sighs, leaning in to press a kiss to your forehead

“Stay?” you murmur, eyelids starting to droop again

“Always”

[cloroxcasser0le]

Fashion show (of emotions) (Get it cuz show of emotion. Fuck you)

Summary: You and Jax were trying on his dumb outfits when you made a dumb outfit of him. You accidentally tell him to kill himself kinda.

Word count: 767

It feels wrong not having any trigger warnings here. Except for really mean y/n I guess

 “Come on, just show me!” You called to Jax from the other side of his closet door. He was trying on outfits he found spawned in his closet after someone complained to Caine about wanting more. Not off his own volition, though. You told him he should because it’d be funny seeing what Caine thought he’d like. The two of you could’ve just looked at them, but this is better.

   He didn’t agree with that though.

”No! I’m changing, I look ridiculous!” 

You chuckled at how upset he sounded over clothes “I bet you look great, Jax. Show me!” 

 He huffed loud enough for you to hear through the door “Fine, but if you laugh I’m gonna kill you.”

  The door slammed open, and standing in the middle of the frame was Jax. You couldn’t help but snicker at what he’d semi-willingly put on his body.

It was a grey shirt, cropped in the middle of his torso and with the sleeves ripped off. It does look like something he would wear, minus the american flag over the chest.

 The jorts need no description, they are jorts. Bermuda jorts. 

“Not what I was expecting…”

He grumbled and scrunched the shirt so you couldn’t see the flag “ What were you expecting then? A dress? Why would I wear a dress?”

 “Well maybe a dress would do you some good.”

He turned back into the closet and slammed the door, beginning to change while he talked to you “What does that even mean?” 

 You shrugged “Could humble you a bit.”  

“I don’t need any humbling. I know my worth.”

“Sure dude..”

 He came out of the closet wearing his usual outfit, grabbing you when he got close enough to and pushing you into it “Now it’s your turn to look stupid.” He shut the door behind you before you could protest. 

 “Fine but these are yours, so I’m still laughing at you.” You picked up a dress that was just like his overalls but… a dress. You didn’t mind dresses so you decided to see if there was a purple shirt to put under it. You know, to mock him.

  …

You emerged from his closet with the dress, a purple turtleneck and yellow gloves. His face went from surprised to smug “Aw, you like me that much, well I-“

 You forced your eyes in two different directions (cartoon physics I guess) and practically yelled in a dumb voice “I’m Jax, and I’m a big stupid rabbit!” you took a looong step towards him “are youu Gango? I think I’m gunna bully your self!”

You slapped him across the face, wiping off an offended face and turning it into a pained one “Y/N what the hell!?” 

 You put a hand on your hip and rested the other on his shoulder “Boy gangl you sure ure a meanie today!” you pretended to tear up “I don deserve thid! I just wanna hurt people and waste space! I know eveyone would be happier if was dead wbut thats why i cant die! theyd be haoppy for once!”

 He stared at you in disbelief “I’m not a waste of space..”

You got in his face and strained your voice more annoying “Never said yooou were gans! I said i jax the unlovable-“ 

 You stopped talking when you saw he was actually hurt… nah, you can keep going. He deserves it anyway! 

 “-sensitive piece of S%$& am stoopid!”

“I’m not any of those things..” 

 You focused both of your eyes on him and returned to your normal stance and voice “well you said it’s my turn to look stupid, and those are your clothes, so…”

 The look he gave you seemed genuinely upset, maybe you went too far?

 “Look, Jax I’m sorry, I was just joking…

 His voice sounded small “So you don’t really think I’d be better off dead?”

 “No, obviously I don’t. You might be rude but we care about you.”

“K…”

  “Jax I’m serious. If you died I.. I think I might too. You’re the best friend I have here.”

You may have been exaggerating that a little bit, but it was mostly true. You also didn’t like to see him actually upset. Why did this evening have to turn south so quick..?

 “So you don’t mean any of that?”

Hah, wow this was really out of character for him, he hates being normal “Obviously! Like I said, you’re my friend. I would never think so lowly of you.”

 He stood up, stretched and made his way into the closet “Well where were we?

 Oh, that makes more sense

[k0mmari]

Hello so i saw this post about an au idea where without a cure being more deadly and i humbly request if you could draw jinlin arc binghe and others(gongi-xiao, lpm, opm) reaction to peak lord shen (who looks like Kagaya Ubuyashiki from demon slayer because of without a cure)

This has entered my brain in ways I cannot describe, so I had to cook something up. First and foremost, the reactions:

Basically, Without a Cure here is quite deadly, but only if a person has Heart Demons. Shen Qingqiu doesn't remember exactly the explantion Airplane had bullshited - something something the poison eats away at your body and then your soul, and Heart Demons only aggravate it - but it didn't really concern him. In fact, he was quite satisfied with life when he was poisoned anyways, and he could deal with sitting with Liu-shidi every so often for qi transfers.

That is, until the Immortal Alliance Conference happened, and he had to...

Anyways, suddenly Without a Cure got a bit more... violent. A week after the whole Conference thing, Shen Qingqiu's hand started to show some weird bruises where he'd been poisoned, and no matter how much qi transfer Liu Qingge, or Mu Qingfang (or even Yue Qingyuan) tried, it wouldn't go away, and no medicine or herb would help him either.

A few months later and the bruising had swalowed up his whole forearm, now dry and brittle, and whatever muscle he had there seemed to begin to atrophy. So. That's not good.

Well, whatever! Shen Qingqiu wasn't about to let Mu Qingfang waste any more herbs on him, and it's not like he has any Heart Demons to figure out; and anyways, Binghe was going to come back from the Abyss and kill him anyways, so who cares! He'd just started to wear a golden metal gauntlet over his messed up hand and called it a day, and when Yue Qingyuan mentioned Jin Lang City, he was more than happy to get out of the Peak for a little bit.

Things went mostly the same as you know, up until when Shen Qingqiu got infected: this time he just... didn't. Whoever tried to infect him touched the gauntlet instead of his skin, and when Binghe cornered him, he obviously noticed the new addition of the gauntlet.

Once again, the story continues normally until the accusations started to get thrown Shen Qingqiu's way, though this time, a Huan Hua disciple accuses him of siding with a demon because he was unnafected when one of demons touched him, they saw it all! And when Shen Qingqiu explains it was because of the gauntlet, people get even more suspecious. Why does he need to use it in the first place? Is he trying to hide some demonic marks or something?

Mu Qingfang tries to step in and say it's for medical reasons, because of Without a Cure, but when the Old Palace Master says he'd seen Shen Qingqiu after he was poisoned in the Immortal Alliance Conference, his hand had been normal then.

It becomes chaos, weirder and weirder accusations start to sprout (and Qiu Haitang hasn't even said anything yet), and Shen Qingqiu takes it upon himself to at least try to free himself from one accusation he isn't guilty of. So, he takes everything off, the gauntlet, his outer layers, and shows everyone the state of Without a Cure.

Silence falls for one long minute. All eyes are on Shen Qingqiu's rotten body, and he kinda wants to cry.

And then Qiu Haitang steps forward, and it all goes back to normal. Maybe. When the Old Palace Master says that Shen Qingqiu should be locked in the Water Prison, Mu Qingfang steps forward: they all saw him, he is in no condition to stay in a harsh environment! It takes a bit more back and forth, but eventually, finally, Luo Binghe steps forward and agrees with Mu Qingfang's accessment.

Shizun should not be locked in the Water Prison while his health is in such a fragile state. Instead, Shizun shall stay with him.

[boiledprawn99]

Did you know I'm also a writer? Sort of. Anyway here's some more Pressure thoughts:

I saw some new dialogue between Painter (P) and Sebastian (S) today. P mentions that it's been two days since the lockdown started, and that S hasn't gotten any sleep at all during it. There's more to it but I want to focus on the "two days" thing.

It makes me think about the amount of time the game actually takes place in, and the game's story itself.

(Warning: long and probably very incoherent thoughts about Pressure's in-game timeline, mechanics and lore implications.)

Pre-WTW, we knew P and S were trying to slow the EXR-P down so that they didn't get the Crystal, because S needed more time to negotiate/find a way out for both of them. But, post-WTW, as soon as we reach S's shop, we have the option to tune the radio and find out that Innovation Inc is already confirming that they're going to collect the two. I'm assuming this radio change isn't something that happens after you play for a few times, and it's a part of the story that's existed before the player first steps into the Blacksite (more or less).

Then, during the Ridge, we find P at the dock mentioned in the radio broadcast, waiting for pickup. It seems that when the Blacksite loses power and everything goes offline, that's when "skies are clear"...? I'm sure, in any other circumstance, Urbanshade would notice a foreign vessel docking at the Blacksite and grow suspicious of it, especially if they're out for S and P.

So, if S needs the optimal time to escape being in the short time when the Crystal is obtained to when the backup power comes back online, why bother trying to stop the EXR-P from getting to it in the first place? If that's when the skies are clear, why still bother trying to halt the EXR-P?

This made more sense pre-WTW, when we (the player and S) had no confirmation if Innovation Inc had picked up on S's negotiations. But, post-WTW, the timeline's been changed so that Innv has already confirmed this deal before the player even reaches S's shop (again, the radio).

But it couldn't all happen that quickly, right? S still has to gather data, negotiate, set traps and scavenge. He didn't kill one guy, set a bunch of anomalies free, and then just go right to contacting other companies.

The player is in a time loop of sorts, we know. The question is: does time progress outside of that loop? When the player dies, does everything rewind back to how it was, minus Seb's and the player's memories? Evidence: grand encounters being reset, player spawning back at the docks. Contradictory evidence: Navi remembering if you've been to the Firewall or Abomination grand encounter. Or does the player respawn without everything being reset, and time still runs normally (like, a respawning immortal being type of situation). Evidence: S mentioning he found your corpse, Navi remembering you. Contradictory evidence: dying with the Crystal sets it back to where it was (wouldn't it just be on the ground with your corpse?), data respawns back.

Of course there's things that are just for gameplay reasons. Nobody can hold that much data (all those CDs, USBs, files, tapes... where do they go?). The player spends all this time trying to win, and it's only canonically been two days, allegedly. The timeline's still fuzzy, a lot of things are based on RNG, so you could get certain dialogue in places where it may not make a lot of sense? And, of course, it is a game.

The secret third option is that it is, canonically, a game. Of some sort. Lopee has crazy amounts of control over the narritive of Pressure (seen mostly in the bad ending), and we can assume he's the one that "resets" everything when the player dies. I see some people are linking it to Deltarune, with the player and Gaster, and like, yeah, that's basically what's going on here if we take everything at face value. Pressure is literally a game, we're not pretending we're a character in some fantasy universe like SCP: CB or Control, we are a Player piloting an expendable and there is an entity in this game making sure everything goes to plan for its own amusement, or in Urbanshade's favour. There's obviously a universe outside of the "game", but right now, everything inside the Blacksite has been literally gamified. Pressure is not a story, it is a game.

So anyway even before Worth the Wait I've been wondering what Pressure would be like if it was told as an actual story with a coherent narritive and timeline. What if the protagonist (which was the player) wasn't some vessel for something else? What if they were just a person, randomly selected by Lopee to play in his game and ensure Urbanshade wins? What if they could talk and react to everything happening to them?

Anyway yeah I'm making an AU and writing a fanfic, but whatever.

[lovelyxhorrors]

"I know it's hard to believe. But we have a reputation for being crazies..or guess you already knew that." He chuckles a little, swirling a little in his bowl, fishing for any leftover noodles. "People wonder why a bunch of killers would have three pages of the book, right? None of us has the imagination to write a story or the guts to write without messing it up. The book itself has rules in place, don't it? As for the three pages? Think about it, people will kill each other before they try to kill us." He said. "That's how normal humans think. Once they think three pages aren't enough, along the way, with rules in place. They have to trample over each other. It's a trap in itself. Making our job easier. It's like...you have to make them think that they have a chance before snatching it away."

"Now..your last problem. Fyodor. Sure, I can leave him.. As much as I find him interesting, he kinda smells." He said. "He smells like he's rotting." He said with a shrug. "But at the same time, if you want, I can help keep track of his movements and update you. He's more dangerous alone because he will seek out and manipulate people who are easy to fall for him."

"So here's the thing. You're right but that's the point. You don't know about me and my group, I prefer people want to find out, but not from you." He chuckles, "It's better that way, so nobody goes to you about us. You only know me and Shrika, but the info you have so far is a little." He said. "And the chances of the page falling through anyone's hands. It won't happen. Not like in...10 years or 50 give or take." He said it with full confidence. "It might give you enough time to come up with a plan on how to seal the book away, making it impossible to find. But first thing you need to figure it out why the book exists in the first place." He said, now slurping the bowl. He goes to the second one, Dazai's bowl.

"But besides that..you should appericate your life a little more. You might not care about your life, but the people around you do care about you."

"As mentioned, no one is sure if that would happen or not. It is more of something you don't wanna chance. I don't want to tamper with something that can change reality and be the end of the world. While I do not value my life, I value other people's lives, and I do not wish for them to die.." Dazai pointed out.

Sure it could do nothing if destroyed, but what if it did something if destroyed? The Book is a huge mystery and Dazai did not wish to toy with such things like that. He thought it was best to leave hidden away, never found again...

Dazai closed his eyes, resting his chin on his palm, sighing softly. "You want the pages, but what if you fail and they fall into someone else's hands and it's used? I don't want to chance that either. I know very little of your group. I don't trust ANYONE with ANY pages, even if they do not want to do anything with it. Have it one's hands, it can go to someone else's hand. I do not even trust anyone in the Agency to have a page. Not that I don't trust they'd misuse it-- I don't trust they can keep it safe from other's hands..." Dazai said and opened his eyes to look at Matt.

"Do you understand what I mean? Even if a page is in capable hands, ones that won't use the pages itself, it can fall into the wrong hands, no matter how good of fighters your group is. I refuse to chance it..."

Dazai sighed as Matt spoke of problems on his side. "Honestly the only problem I have is for one thing-- being alive. And two-- Fyodor is the only thorn in my side. Has been for quite some time. I'll be more at peace when he's out of the picture. I came to you to try to get you out from under his thumb so you wouldn't fall victim to his games-- but I also did it since less people he has control of, the better..."

[krotiation]

one thing about katagawa redemption arc aus that i dont see anyone talking about is the fact that if he left maliwan he would be dirt broke. no inherited wealth. no cash whatsoever. and i think it would be very poetic if rhys REFUSES to hire him

[iangitax]

The genocide run being intended as this creepypasta-esque thing is super important. Undertale, unlike Deltarune, was designed without the understanding that the game would become immensely popular. Discussions of Undertale’s themes tend to take on this birds-eye view where we can see the consequences of every decision mapped out before us; it’s a very different experience through the lens of someone who doesn’t know how the game works.

Undertale is designed to be as reactive to the player as possible. Generally, if you think of something stupid to try, it will be rewarded with a bit of narrative or a hidden gag. The spare/kill dichotomy is at the core of this; the tree of unique neutral endings for every possible variation of bosses spared versus killed demonstrate it nicely. The various metafictional elements of the narrative similarly allow the game to fold every aspect of your interactions with it into the magic circle.

What makes the game stand out so much though is the way it plays with the signals it sends to the player in order to make said reactions feel unexpected. The very first NPC the player encounters is Flowey, who delivers a deliberately misleading tutorial, followed shortly by Toriel’s own faulty guidance. That cumulates in the Toriel fight. Up until now, attempting to spare enemies has resulted in immediate and obvious feedback. Toriel does not respond to any attempts to spare her, and it takes a significant number of turns before her patterns change at all. Thus, it’s very likely for a blind player to assume they have no choice but to attack her, especially since lowering a normal monster’s HP also allows you to spare them. (Asshole neutral route where you beat everyone up but then spare them afterwards is a very funny way to play that more people should do.)

I see people complain about this type of thing a lot, as the game judging you for engaging with it on its own terms. I don’t think that’s really the point here though - the shock of the death scene is meant to make the game feel like it can react in ways you can’t anticipate. There are two other possible outcomes to the fight, and they both do so in their own ways. If the player is doing badly, Toriel attempts to avoid hitting them, and should the player get curious and deliberately get killed to see what happens she reacts with shock in the brief moment before the game over screen. Should the player persist in trying to spare Toriel, despite their own actions having little effect she will eventually wear out, her attack patterns weakening, and give up on stopping the player. Regardless of the player’s decisions, they are shown that the game will react in ways not only outside of what one would normally expect from an RPG but outside of its own internal language.

With that in mind, consider what the pacifist route asks of the player. Normal enemies can be spared by solving some sort of puzzle using ACT options. Boss fights, on the other hand, largely lack that puzzle element. They rarely if ever provide indicators as to your progress, and rather than providing hints as to how to spare them the game often builds up how dangerous and merciless your next foe will be. All of this cumulates with Asgore, a gruelingly long fight against a man who has, six times before, rejected the possibility of mercy. A man who every other character tells you will not surrender until you’re dead. A man who literally blows up the button on your UI that says “mercy” to indicate how unwilling to accept mercy he is. Consider how that looks to our blind player, who has no foreknowledge that there must be a pacifistic solution to the fight. It is probably not going to dissuade them, but it’s certainly enough to make them doubt themselves during turn after turn of no visible progress.

The thing Undertale asks of a blind player to complete the pacifist route isn’t being more skilled, or smarter, or to pick the morally correct option from a list. The thing it asks for is determination. It asks for the willingness to press on in spite of the whole world telling you to give up. It asks for you to have faith in the goodness of others, for you to believe in their ability to make the right decision if you give them a chance.

The genocide route, similarly, looks very different to a blind player. It’s easy to look at the genocide route from above, see the cool boss fights and exclusive content, and ask “why is the game punishing me for engaging with it?” For our hypothetical player though, the game has done nothing to telegraph that this route exists! They could easily replay the game many times over without ever encountering it. It takes an exhaustive degree of curiosity to try grinding for levels until every single enemy is dead. It’s designed under the assumption that the player has already ceased to engage with the game under its own terms. It’s a straightforward horror setup: you thought you were “safe,” that you were operating outside the boundaries of the narrative, but really you never escaped it. The game is still reacting to you, still alive. When you push it to its outermost limits, it fights back.

If the pacifist route requires you to believe in its characters, the genocide route assumes you don’t. That, through attempting to map out the possibilities of the game, you see them as fully within your control. That assumption doesn’t work a lot of the time, and you can certainly argue that’s a major flaw in the game’s structure, but I still find the end result compelling. (Deltarune, being designed with the knowledge of how popular it would be, is a lot more robust in the structure of its equivalent route.)

You've written extensively on Homestuck and its various progeny, I was wondering what your thoughts are on Undertale and Deltarune? In terms of exposure and cultural grip they seem to have eclipsed their forebears while retaining some of its DNA. Both works seem to, while eschewing some core Hussie-isms, retain an experimental mindset to their respective media as well as an interest in grappling with metanarrative topics.

I've only played Undertale, not Deltarune. On top of that, the last time I played Undertale was shortly after it came out, in 2015 or 2016. On top of THAT, I only played Undertale once, doing a pacifist run.

When I played Undertale in 2015, I loved it. It definitely "feels" Homestuck; it's as much as a spiritual successor to Homestuck you could ever get, created by Andrew Hussie's direct acolyte. You have the same humor, the same metafictional style, and the same music (sometimes literally the same music, in the case of Megalovania). There was a time where I would have counted it among my top 10 video games, a very prestigious list that otherwise consists of Final Fantasy 6, Cave Story, and 7 Nintendo games. (Actually Elden Ring is probably in that top 10 now, so I'm slightly more diversified.)

My interest in it has cooled significantly since then, though. Undertale has the same issue nearly all games with a moral choice element have, which is that they are only really interesting to play at the extremes (i.e., full good or full evil), and on top of that, by all accounts a Genocide run is a tedious, boring, and grindy slog that mandates you systematically root out and kill every generic enemy, with the only reward being two good and challenging boss fights. By playing the game only one, and only as a pacifist, I played the game the "correct" way, as any deviation from that route will openly accuse the player of being a piece of shit, but I also played the game in a way that most directly leads to a less complex, less fulfilling, and ultimately more forgettable experience. The game really does expect you to play it both ways, genocide and pacifist, which makes all its smarmy fourth-wall accusatory statements in genocide seem pretty hollow and pathetic in the end, no? It calls into question the whole thematic premise of the story, the whole metafictional element, and once that's gone all that really remains is some cute characters, memorable iconography, and banger music, which is all fine in its own right but not really something I'd consider a titan of the medium. It winds up feeling like a pale shadow of both Homestuck -- less expansive, less ambitious, less complex -- and its more oblique moral choice metacommentary forefather, Spec Ops The Line, which tied its question of the player's ability to choose good or evil within the rigid confines of a game to a real world soldier's ability to choose good or evil within the rigid confines of the military structures that guide them. (Spec Ops The Line is very Ender's Game in that regard.)

Again, though, it's been 10 years since I played it, so I might have forgotten some key component of what impressed me so much back then.