#somebody get game theory on this

[jessunderstands]

Cue megalovania

[thedreadvampy]

imo anti-intellectualism doesn't just mean reacting against academic language or "having enough of experts" it also means crucially reacting hostilely to attempts to learn or to make ideas and knowledge accessible.

what I mean is if somebody explains something in simple language and your response is to call them stupid for doing so, or, more commonly, to mock people for needing a common language explanation, you're not fucking helping.

part of tackling anti-intellectualism and wilful ignorance is making learning and understanding accessible and rewarding. widening the conceptual gap between Academia and The Regular Man just encourages the idea that academic thought is elitist, irrelevant or untrustworthy. the counter to anti-intellectualism is academic accessibility.

(that doesn't mean 'everything should be understandable to everyone' or 'nobody should be using technical language or highly complex ideas' bc things like technical language and specialist conversations and academic communication exist for a reason and help move things along with specificity and depth.

and yeah some people still just have no interest in learning and will get mad about not being invited to a conversation they have no interest in.

but. the minute you start sneering at people for not having heard of an idea or not yet having figured out how to understand it, or talking shit about attempts to make knowledge more broadly accessible and comprehensible, you are not on the side of knowledge. that's all bb thanks 😘)

[saexy]

we ll be vrying about the yandere ost of teh decade eveeyfay now.

[audliminal]

It's just a game, right? Pt 1

Masterpost

"I just don't see how sitting around is gonna do anything!" Dash argues, face to face with Sam.

"Well, if you have other ideas you're more than welcome to offer them, but we can't just take out the giw. They have more manpower than us, more equipment, and the new agents actually seem to be competent in fights! And we are a bunch of high school students!"

They are all, ostensibly in English Class right now, but even Mr. lancer has forgone the illusion of normal classwork. He assigns books and hands out reading assignments every week, but nobody really cares whether they get turned in or not. The city, after all, has a much bigger problem.

"I don't know! But sitting here-"

"He's not entirely wrong, the longer we wait the more likely they figure it out, just like we all did." As Valerie finishes speaking, the room temperature drops noticeably, and the kids all glance nervously over at Danny who's head hasn't moved from it's spot on his desk. He almost seems dead with how still he is. Beside him Tucker stares at his PDA, the only one who hasn't reacted to the temperature change.

"Should I even ask what you're messing with?" Sam asks, walking over while the others stare nervously at Danny.

"Actually, yeah." Tucker easily shifts so they can both see the webpage displayed on the handmade tech. "I got something through."

"I thought getting stuff through wasn't really the problem?"

"I mean, yeah, they're letting Everything Is Normal posts through, but this wasn't. That. I was, um, kind of fucking around with ciphers and shit? Not saying anything relevant, but just seeing whether they'd flag any old weird shit, you know? And um. I got a video out."

"Okay, but how does that help us?" Valerie asks.

"It helps because if they let a cipher through then means if I encode shit well enough, then it'll also get through."

"But if it's, like, that hard to figure out what it says, then won't it be useless on the outside?"

"The chances of it getting into the hands of someone who could crack it do seem, uh, improbable."

"Not if we stack the deck."

"Wes-"

"No, listen, I know you're all still mad at me, but like. If you can attract a community of codebreakers? Then eventually someone will crack the code on what you need them to!"

"If you have an idea then just fucking say it, Wes," Sam snaps.

"Make an ARG. We can even have like, the base level be completely United to anything real, just make up a story about, i dunno, space travel? And then bury the actual info beneath that. Eventually somebody will crack into the real stuff, and if it's popular enough by then, and the GIW tries to suppress it? That'll be even more suspicious-looking, and just make them dig harder."

"What the fuck is a ARG?" Dash asks, pulling his gaze away from their definitely-just-sleeping classmate.

"Augmented reality game. It's like an unfiction thing. Make a story but the story is interactive and people have to decode shit to figure out what's going on." Tucker glances over to Wes. "And actually not a bad idea. If we all work together, we could probably make something cool."

"You could treat it as a class-wide project." Mr. Lancer says, making everyone jump. "That way I can back you up if anyone starts asking questions."

"Make it about black holes," Danny says, finally pulling himself up from his desk. "We can base it in wormhole theory, and distract the GIW with all the theoretical science."

"What, so like we make videos that seem like they're being sent through a black hole?"

"Fuckin. Sure, why not? As if shit couldn't get any weirder around here."

"Star, please try to refrain from swearing in front of me. I know the situation is - difficult - but I am officially still your teacher."

"Sorry, Lancer."

[pinkpuffballdude]

it is 1230 am and I have a migraine. I'm gonna eat glass.

it's so so late which means this isn't a fully formed thought, but like. I absolutely adore how cool Kim Kitsuragi is, coupled with the fact that he's such a bad detective. I'm wandering around Revachol like "hey maybe we should investigate this car that busted a hole in the fence of our crime scene" and he's like "mmmmmm I don't think that's related but alright". that's the one I keep thinking back on cause at the time it was so glaringly obvious that it was Super Related, tho now in hindsight he could have been lying, but he just keeps doing this. "oh I don't think it's related but this is your case." like bro? yea the harbor is related, that's where our suspects came from, we need to investigate for a motive my dude? just. he's SO cool and sleek and polished and formal and so, so, so bad at this. shoutout to him picking the wrong stance for shooting down the body.

[eff-plays]

Veilguard's lamppost problem

So I was doing a quest in DATV, as one does in video games, when I stumbled upon this here conundrum.

It baffled, amused, and enraged me in equal measure, which is to say: enough to write a snarky post about it.

Gaze upon this lamppost. It is one of many in this area. Really think about the essence of a lamppost.

Why do we have those? Why did people invent lampposts? Well, to be able to see outside when it's dark, correct? To provide light to the general populace, to illuminate spaces without relying on people having their own sources of light or real flesh guys standing around holding lanterns. But why are the lights ... on top of the posts? 🤔 why not just put them on ze ground? Well, pilgrim, because when the light is high up, it can spread farther and cover more of the area, so you can put fewer lights over a greater distance! It also protects the light from people or other things snuffing it out, by keeping it out of reach!

So in summary, a lamppost must fulfill the following criteria:

spread light in the dark

support the light source

protect the light

And with this in mind, you might now wonder -- why is this lamppost floating?

What is the point of this lamppost floating? Someone, presumably, enchanted it, yes? Somebody enchanted the post to which the lamp is affixed. Somebody affixed a lamp to a wooden post, lit the lamp, then enchanted the post to hover, so as to fulfill the requirement of a lamppost, which is to hold the lamp aloft, upon the post. The magic exerts no power over the position of the lamp, only over the post, which is enchanted. Are we in agreement? Good. Now please draw your attention to the end of the post:

We can see that this post has been designed with the floating enchantment in mind. Should the magic fail for whatever reason, this lamp post will be incapable of standing upright and fulfilling its intended purpose. Of holding the light up and out of reach.

Based on this design and function, we can assume the process of creating this post: elaborately carve a large piece of wood (upon closer inspection it might be stone, which is even worse) > elaborately design and create a piece of metal (and glass??) > affix upon this a lantern > light the lantern > enchant the light post to float > enchant the lamp post to float firmly in one location.

So now we come to the big question: Why? Why is this designed this way? Why would they do this? If you have the power to make the lamppost float, why not just get rid of it entirely? Why not just make the lantern float separately? Why go through the trouble of gesturing at mundanity by using a post at all? Why waste time, money, and resources?

I can think of a few theories as to why people might think this works as a design.

Let's say the lampposts float, and are thus able to be manipulated to move where they're needed. This is fair, but makes no sense, because then any passing mage (and there are many in Tevinter) would be able to move them around at will, which rather defeats the purpose of illuminating one specific area for public use. Remember, one of the purposes of a lamppost is to keep it out of reach of bad actors or accidents in general. Controllable lampposts would be just as unreliable as everyone having their own lanterns.

Okay, then let's say there's a specific mage that can move these because of some personalized ritual or binding, so that keeps the lights safe. In that case, what happens if that mage isn't available? Are these lampposts stuck in one place now? This would defeat the purpose of them being movable, if you need to go through one fucking guy to get them where you need them to be.

But alright, let's assume this is the intended use, their flexibility. This still doesn't explain why they need the lampposts to begin with, and don't just use floating lanterns. Why is there a lamppost when a lamp would suffice? Well, you might think, if the enchantment fails, you'd want the lamp to still be up high and lit, so it doesn't shatter, right? But once again, I draw your attention to the design of the post: if the enchantment fails, that post will not be a crutch, and it will not be there to catch and save the lamp. It will fall, because it is designed only to float.

(This is a subjective note, but the lamps did not float or animate or move when I looked at them in-game. They were entirely static. Just like regular-ass lampposts.)

Now, if they could be moved, in theory, why are there so many, and why are they placed so evenly throughout the area? It's almost as though their placement and distance from each other was meant to maximize the light from each lantern to cover bigger ground. Which would be pointless to do if they could be moved.

Okay okay, fine, let's say the lampposts snap back after a certain time! That would explain why they can be in a certain spot and need to be placed out evenly, but also why they can float. Cool. But what if there's something in the way. This is a harbor with bighuge cargo boxes and fuck-off stone statues. What if you need it for a longer period than you have before it snaps back? What if somebody needs it back in its origin point? It's far more reliable to just use your own light, which defeats the purpose of it floating, and it's too unreliable to light up a specific area, which defeats the purpose of a lamppost.

This screenshot up here also illustrated the only other "defense" of these posts that I can think of: Well, it's Tevinter!! Those guys will enchant anything just to flex on people!

First of all, who are they flexing on? Fereldans? Orlesians? "Hey, we also have stupid mundane lampposts, but ours float, so fuck you?" Sure, I guess, but look where these particular ones are. A drab, dirty, empty-ass dock, where there was only a handful of enemies and one minor friendly NPC. There was NOBODY ELSE there. No workers, no traders, nothing. But the lights were lit. For whom? Who is meant to be impressed by this? If you have enough magic to waste it on frivolous shit, why is this the only way you can express it?

Do you see my fucking issue?

And yeah, I know. It's just a fucking lamppost in a video game. But I want you guys to understand that this lamppost went through at least one concept artist, one art director/lead artist, one 3D modeller, and a level designer. None of those people went "hey this is fucking stupid," or if they did, they were incomprehensibly vetoed by somebody higher up the ladder.

This fucking lamppost encompasses so many issues with Veilguard. Like hey, this sounds pretty cool, right? And it's plausible in the world, right? So just do it. Don't think of the implications or impact of these things at all. Just do it! It's cool, right? Floating lampposts? Those are unique and cool and show off how magic-y Tevinter is! That's all you need! It's Tevinter, so they do normal stuff but with magic! Yes they use very mundane ways of illuminating an area but!! It floats!! So it's magic! Like in Tevinter? With the mages?

Environmental storytelling isn't just putting skeletons on toilets and leaving bloody notes next to a pile of gore. It's shit like this, too. And Veilguard just went "well this could totally happen and if it's cool then it should be in there!" and just didn't bother thinking a single step ahead of that.

Blech.

[lilyslark]

so each of the mockingjays—lucy gray, haymitch, and katniss/peeta—will have a book centered around their games once sunrise on the reaping is released. however, my theory is that sotr won’t be told directly from haymitch’s pov. here’s why:

• lucy gray’s story is told through the capitol’s perspective. she is snow’s tribute, his girlfriend, his ghost. the only way that lucy gray gets to write her own story is through her music, which lives on through the other mockingjays long after she disappears. even sejanus, arguably another mockingjay of that era, is entirely at the mercy of snow’s capitol prejudices

• haymitch’s story might be told by someone questioning the games, someone in a position to see through the capitol’s propaganda (ex: plutarch, a career, etc.) it’s the sunrise, the start of a new story, one step closer to understanding the true mockingjay. haymitch doesn’t quite have his own voice yet, but his story isn’t limited to the capitol’s perspective of him.

• katniss gets to tell her own story as a first-person narrator. at last, the mockingjay has a voice of her own. and while peeta doesn’t quite have this same voice, his story is told through a fellow mockingjay, the person who knows him better than anybody in the world. and the other mockingjays of their time? rue? prim? their stories are all told through katniss’s perspective—an equal, a fellow member of the districts, somebody who truly sees them beyond the capitol’s propaganda.

each of their stories (tbosas, sotr, thg) is a progression towards the true story of the mockingjay, or the revolution of panem—from ashes to a spark to flames.

[strawberry-cowmilk]

how the brothers show their fondness towards you

mc's gender is not mentioned, not proof read

content warnings: some implied violence in asmo's part

-----

Lucifer

he doesn't mind having you in his office while he works, you may do your thing on the couch as long as you don't bother him too much

lucifer will never admit to it but having you there takes some of the stress away, so he actually prefers your presence

also he'll invite you to some random stuff, he could approach you after breakfast and go 'we have dinner with diavolo tonight, dress nicely'

Mammon

the more shy he reacts to you doing something nice for him, the more he likes you (same goes for how dumb his excuse for getting shy is)

one time you walked into his room and found a wallet labeled 'mc gift money'

mammon will also try to impress you, for example if he cooked a nice meal he will brag about it to you non-stop

Leviathan

he's more comfortable talking about his interests with you when you're close, like he'll go over fan theories he made up and show his fanmade characters

also levi for sure made an avatar for you in his life simulation games

if you have any pets he'd like to introduce them to his fish henry 2.0 and hopes they become good friends

Satan

it's hard for him to get mad at you, if one of his brothers accidentally knocks over his cup he will get angry, but if it's you his first concern is making sure you're not hurt

even if you don't like books satan will try to find some you might enjoy (and you're allowed to enter his room for books any time)

also if he notices you don't understand certain rad lessons he'll explain it to you

Asmodeus

you basically share your wardrobes, anything that's his, you're allowed to steal, from shirts to necklaces to hats

plus you are the only one allowed to use his bathroom other than himself, he even put bottles of your shampoo there

if asmo wants to go somewhere, you are the first person he asks to join him

also if asmo ever found out somebody hurt you or anything he will make sure they learn why he's considered high ranking demon

Beelzebub

he always orders something for you whenever he gets takeout and he lets you steal his food (he will get mad at anyone other than you for doing this)

if you ever get beel a bracelet or something he will never take it off, he'll even sleep with it

despite being a terrible artist he made you a painting one time because he wanted you to know he deeply appreciates you

Belphegor

he will do little things that show how much he thinks of you

for example, if your favorite color is blue he'll get a ddd case in that color

also he'll join you in any activity you'd like, anything is fun when it's with you (even if he'd rather take a nap)

speaking of naps, if you take one together he will hug you close and you will not he able to escape his grasp unless he wakes up

[sanzu-sanzu-sanzu]

sae being a complete math nerd endears me. that guy is into numbers!!! 😩

i know it’s not explicitly stated he’s a nerd / math enthusiast lol (i mean what else could those numbers mean?!?) but just him being like more math-oriented or more inclined towards logic and problem-solving is just fun to think about. he could be casually reading an article on game theory like it’s the morning paper just because, or he could express interest in geometry and probabilities not because he likes math explicitly, but because he sees parallels between it and football, or i imagine a small, funny moment of sae casually winning a strategic game (like poker) because of his probability skills, leaving his teammates frustrated. (he cannot be doing all that so detachedly!)

this to me checks with the image i have of sae being this guy who’s so used to controlling outcomes on the field but struggling with vulnerability in personal relationships.

but then, also:

there’s also this thing about probabilities and numbers and math that’s still left to chance, right? that’s why they are called “probabilities.” i’m not so good at even the concept of it haha but i know there’s also something profoundly… “allow for loss of control” going on in math at that level…. i hope you get me hahaha. that no matter how precise the calculations, uncertainty remains. you can calculate the odds, but outcomes are still, to some extent, left to ‘chance.’

in the same way, sae’s personal growth could mirror this realization. “letting go of complete control” could be a key theme in his arc. just as math has to allow for degrees of freedom, he must learn that relationships can’t be navigated with precision or cold logic. there are no “right” answers in emotions, after all, only possibilities.

he might initially approach emotions with the same mindset he uses in football: analyze, calculate risks, and wait for the best moment. however, in time, he can learn that emotions aren’t something to solve—they need to be lived through, with all the uncertainty and vulnerability they bring.

so yes, sae being a little math nerd is special to me.

(this was a long-winded way of me saying sae needs to have a good time iykwim somebody please give him a good time)

[thefoxtherapist]

Hehe... Now that I have my answer. Mortefi with an S/O that's obsessed with dragons and always fanboys over him. They would constantly be touching his more draconic parts. I can even imagine them rambling about how much they admire jinshi and jiyun because of their connections to dragons which would ultimately make mortefi jealous lol

That's my request if I may :3c

I hope you enjoy this! Have a lovely day :)

Mortefi knew when he got with you that you were a dragon aficionado. You even had a plush toy of a red dragon on your bed that he found sort of ironic and somewhat endearing. Even if you insisted it stayed on the bed when he slept by your side.

But this was ridiculous.

“Did you hear about General Jiyan's success in the field?” You leaned on your hand, sighing softly. “Not to mention how the Magistrate took control of the situation!” You sank in your chair across from your boyfriend who was trying to focus on his lunch.

“Yes, I heard.”

Mortefi bit the inside of his cheek, stabbing his fork onto his salad. “I really admire them so much.” He brought a fork of leaves to his mouth as he listened to you ramble about Jiyan. He was doing his absolute best to not get annoyed.

“And their connections to Jué are so cool… And Jiyan's dragon! I saw it up close while I was at the Riverside Games.” You were completely enthralled with their abilities and personalities and not to mention the connection to-

Mortefi clicked his lighter, the flame shooting upwards, he snapped the lighter closed again. Then he snapped it open. The action served to quell his anger. He knew his was jealous for no reason, but he hated having to sit here and listen to the praise.

Made worse by the fact Jiyan was somebody he considered closer to a friend than a stranger. The lighter clicked again then again. Your eyes lowered to the flame, watching as the man ignited it several times over.

“Are you okay?” 

He closed the lighter again.

“Can we discuss other matters?” He set the lighter down beside his plate. You raised an eyebrow at his annoyed expression, watching him push his glasses up further on his nose. Your eyes dropped down to his chest as if to confirm your theory, and he knew he couldn't hide that reaction from you.

His scales extended slightly over his chest, more than usual, but not an egregious amount like when he really got mad. It dawned on you in such a visible manner that Mortefi looked away in shame, picking his fork back up to casually poke at his salad once more.

Your expression of confusion melted into something else, but he still couldn't quite face you. You exhaled a small giggle, reaching your hand out, you covered his free hand still on the table. His scales pokes through his sleeve and glove and you gently rubbed your thumb over the crystalline matter. 

The scales were warm and bent only slightly under your touch, they weren't as rough as some animal scales, but they weren't soft or malleable either. Mortefi's fingers spread out, letting you touch the expanse of his hand with free reign. You brushed some of the scales downwards, careful not to hurt him by brushing them upwards against their direction.

“You're still my favourite dragon though.”

He muttered your name, pale cheeks slightly tinged pink while he continued to look somewhat annoyed. Mortefi knew if you weren't in a semi public place, your hands would be slipping into his shirt, massaging his skin and stroking his scales. The thought finally led to him meeting your eyes, returning your smile albeit smaller.

“You're so cute when you're jealous~”

“Jealousy is an unpleasant look on me.”

You laughed, opting to interlace your fingers with his. “You were soo important in saving our nation~” You cooed at him, watching him crumble under the sudden loving attention. “That smart head of yours~ The true dragon that's captured my heart.”

He set his fork in his empty plate, bringing his hand up to cover part of his face. “I'm at work..” But that didn't stop your cooing or the silly petnames you'd given him over the years. “Later…” He lowered his hand just enough to try and wave you off. But you squeezed the hand you were holding.

“I might admire them, but you're the one I love.”

“Love you too. Now eat before your food gets any colder.”

“Eh you'd probably just warm it up for me if I asked.” Mortefi made an annoyed face at you. It was true, but you didn't have to say it to his face.

[fiber-optic-alligator]

(Not a request dw)

Re: Knock Out's human managing to escape during the game of Hide and Shriek via an Autobot helping them out.

My first thought is that the Autobot who winds up helping them out is probably Bumblebee, Arcee, or Smokescreen. Somebody fast enough to not get caught in the rescue process, or leave a significant amount of evidence behind that it was them.

For the sake of further discussion, I'm just gonna say that it was Bumblebee. So, he's patrolling when a human in rough shape, that smells a Whole lot like a certain Decepticon trots up to the side of the road waving him down. Now, Optimus has told him, and the rest of his allies that they are to remain hidden from humanity lest the Decepticons track them down sooner. But it seems Knock Out has already threatened this one so not helping them out just isn't an option.

After listening to the shortened version of their story about what happened, he pans through the radio stations to cobble together a response. "Hop on in, Baby! I'll get you -somewhere safe!" And then he pops open the passenger seat door. The human doesn't seem thrilled about the prospect of being inside of Another unmanned, probably alien car, but can't find it in them to refuse the offered help. So they get seated inside, and buckle in. Apologizing for the mess they're making inside as it's been quite the night.

Bumblebee closes the door quietly, and drives off towards Jasper. His radio piping up once more to say; "You're fine. -It's all good. -Where's your stop anyhow?" The human pointedly doesn't comment on the shifting voices, hoping that if the stranger elements of the vehicle went unmentioned, the "Driver" won't turn hostile. "You can drop me off by the grocery store, I can walk home from there."

"Well alright! -Do you mind if I ask -What happened -to you -out there?" Bumblebee hopes that it wasn't the kind of encounter he been hearing about lately. The kind where humans go missing, and if they ever turn up again, they're covered in solvent. A Decepticon looking for a quick snack, and a sentient pet, no doubt just snatching any ole' human they can find. The human tilts their head, feigning confusion.

"But I thought I told you what happened already?" Bumblebee ex-vents quietly, and tries again. "I know you were -cuttin' pieces out -of your story. It's alright! -I won't snitch if you won't." It's the human's turn to sigh, but this one sounds tired. "Fine. But it's gonna sound weird, yeah?"

"Go right on ahead."

"I was walking home when a red Ashton Martin pulled up next to me, and apparently had a taser? Of some kind? It zapped me, and I passed out. Only to wake up in the car, far outside of town roughly around that old trainyard, you know? I did my best to crash the car, and after some mild success, I bolted into one of the train cars." They pause to collect themselves a little, in utter disbelief about the whole thing. Though, unbeknownst to them, Bumblebee is dreading the confirmation about his prior theories.

"After a few minutes, I was found by a giant robot. An arrogant, 20-something foot tall bastard of a giant robot named-"

"Knockout!"

... ... ...

"You-uh, you wouldn't happen to be a friend of his, would you?"

"Nonono -He's an -aft -hat -and an enemy of mine. You're safe -with me. I'll get you -home safe." Bumblebee sighs again before explaining himself. "He's a real bad dude. -On the opposite side -from me, and my friends. -We're trying to protect -this -Planet Earth! -And the creatures that live -on it. Are you sure you don't -want to -lie low somewhere -safer? He may -know where you live." Bumblebee didn't want to scare them further, but if this is Knock Out they're talking about, he's probably looked into them enough to deduce that they're worth whisking away. It's better to be certain about things.

The human sits in silence for a moment, registering the idea that they might've been targeted in particular by the giant robot. They decide to derail the current conversation for a moment so they could think over his offer. "You, uh, are you the same... Species? As this Knock Out guy?" There's a notable pause before the self-driving car responds. "Yeeeeeaaahhh.... I'm sorry for -not mentioning it earlier. You already seemed -shaken -and I didn't want to -rock the boat -further"

The human sighs deeply, and throws their hands up a little. "Ey' you know what? At least You aren't forcing me into a game of Hide and Seek, or threatening to Eat me. ... I... I think I'll take you up on the offer to lie low somewhere safer if that's alright." They huff out a laugh before continuing. "As long as 'somewhere safer' isn't Your stomach. Haha" Somehow, Bumblebee doesn't find the idea of taking advantage of their awful situation very funny.

"I'm not that kinda guy -Honest! I just wanna make sure that you're okay!" The duo make it into town unfollowed, and they both seem to relax a little. "I can -hook you up -with a place -you can stay -where he -can't find you. After that, we can get -you -moved -outta town! -And far from -his -nastiness. Okay?" They sag in their seat a little, hoping he's telling the truth.

"Sure, that sounds great... Um-" "Bumblebee" "Yeah, that sounds great Bumblebee. Thank you."

"No problem!"

-Not a Request Anon

THIS IS SO CUTE!!! Bumblebee would definitely fit perfectly into his scenario!! Awww and the human gradually forming friendships with the Autobots while Knockout just seethes over the fact that he lost his human to Bumblebee of all mechs. It was supposed to be him! Don’t think you’ve seen the last of him, because even with the Autobots protecting you, he isn’t going to give up that easily.

[apocalypse-shuffle]

JASON TODD & CASSANDRA CAIN (generalized fanon | maybe wfa)

—

“Blind Spot” (Jason Todd x Fem!Reader) and (Cassandra Cain & Platonic!Reader)

| Reader is introduced (this time “formally”) to the second of their new boyfriend’s extended family.

| SFW, stalking(?), batfam shenanigans, worried!Jason

| The pictures used are just for aesthetics and have no contextual meaning to the story. (pic sources: beg.=batman:under the red hood, middle=dceaced, and end=batgirl#1 • all comics)

| part of the meet the bats series

| 3k+ words

Jason’s roof is bumpy. Not like asbestos bumpy or anything, though in Gotham you could never be too sure, but it certainly wasn’t smooth.

“Hey, baby, was your apartment built before or after 1989?”

Jason answers immediately.

“After. I needed a place without a sprinkler system though, so I wouldn’t bet anything special on this building being too up to code.”

“Mm,” you hum, letting your head drop to the side. That still didn’t rule out asbestos.

The new view that greets you is of the back of Jason’s head and the broad scarred expanse of his back.

You’ve decided you’re not going to worry about the possible poison in the walls yet. Hopefully Jason’s paranoia extends to that type of stuff and he’s checked it out already.

“Hey baby?”

In the beat it takes for Jason to let out an acknowledging grunt your eyes catch the black glint of yet another weapon being picked up. You snort.

“You got all those guns, any of ‘em actually do anything interesting?”

His shoulders shake as he laughs.

“Like what?”

You shrug. “I don’t know, just...” your brown fingers snap and you sit up, legs crisscrossed over the cushions, “…there was a rumor going around the other day ‘bout Harley and a beanbag shotgun. Got anything like that?”

Jason scoffs, “You have got to stop listening to whoever is spreading these rumors and giving you your theories.”

“Shut up.” You wait until he’s taken the last piece of the pistol in his hand apart to knock him in the head with one of his throw pillows. “Answer the question, Todd.”

For a good minute he can’t, keeled over laughing as he is, but you have no problem waiting him out, laughter of your own occupying you.

“Alright,” he gasps in air, talking through his giggles. His voice is a little higher than usual. “Short answer is no.”

When he’s done he lets his head fall back into the couch so he can look at you with raised brows.

“Satisfied?” He grins, voice back to normal.

“Believe it or not,” you wiggle around so you can bend over and smack a wet kiss onto his lips, feeling his smile widen, before sitting back up, “no. What’s the long answer?”

He shakes his head at you, muttering something that sounds a lot like ‘insatiable’ under his breath, before going back to his assigned task for the night. You shrug, but a shiver down your spine cuts off whatever response you might’ve given.

Brows furrowing, you lean back on the couch as an uneasy feeling settles in your gut, gaze moving to slide around the apartment until you settle on a familiar item on the small table near the window.

The aloe plant you’d gifted Jason a few weeks ago sits atop it. Surprisingly, it still looked healthy, which was nice. You’d gotten it for him because they were low maintenance, but you could never be too sure with the vigilante schedule he operated on. There’s a small bit of movement behind the plant though and - without your say so - your eye focuses on it instantly. Or at least tries to. For some reason what you’d thought was a bug ends up disappearing on you though.

The longer you look out at what amounts to nothing the more severe your frown gets, face morphing into a grimace.

The darkness feels like it’s watching you back and the prospect makes you queasy. The possibility of a potentially deadly game of hide and seek runs through your mind; somebody popping up from the darkness and smashing the window—

A particularly harsh clink from in front of you snaps your mind back to reality. Jason’s reaching for his briefly disregarded rag and gun oil, parts of a good sized rifle laid out before him, shoulders rising and falling in easy, tempered motions. Instantly you begin matching your breaths with his own, doing your best to shake the feeling of unease off.

Jason starts talking again with a low contemplative tone and you let his voice settle over you like a blanket, slumping back into the couch as you watch the back of his head.

“The barrel of a shotgun isn’t even big enough for a regular sized bean sack—”

“—Bean sack,” you parrot quietly and Jason flips you off without looking. You snicker.

“A bean sack gun,” he continues like you hadn’t interrupted, “just isn’t practical as a primary weapon. It’ll probably lock up and misfire then - look at that - you're dead.”

You huff, “Jason this is supposed to be a fun conversation.”

“This is fun,” he grunts, picking up a tiny brush to clean with.

Your eyes roll.

“Alright, whatever, what about glitter?”

“Please stop.”

You buss out laughing.

“I don’t think I want to. But- just hear me out,” you cut in when you see the furrow that takes over his face, “If Sam and Dean can shoot salt guns then I don’t see how much different glitter would be if you factor in the weight difference.”

The new expression that takes over his face is even worse than beforehand and he gives you this narrow look like he can’t believe you’re being serious.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Those guns aren’t designed for impact, just range, and,” he scoffs, “to look cool probably.”

“Ohhh—” you stop as the confusing patch of night outside the window catches your attention again before scooting farther away from the window. Why it’s even throwing you off you can’t tell, but you don’t want to stress over nothing. You clear your throat and go back to joking with him. “—You don’t think the salt shotgun is cool, Jay? Is the Red Hood too good for the Winchesters?”

“Absolutely.”

He grins at you over his shoulder and you scoff, kicking out to shove him with your foot. He barely rocks from the force of it.

After that an easy silence fills the space once more and you rest your head onto the back of the couch, breathing in deep in an attempt to quell the clench in your stomach.

When you look over again the image through the window is clearer. On the apartment across from Jay’s there’s a fire escape just slightly above his own and — you squint, crawling to the end of the couch to get a better look — and there! Right there! A short burst of breeze causes a heavy piece of fabric to flutter and what’s wrong finally becomes obvious.

You lean even further.

What should be the rest of the metal railing is blocked by a large patch of darkness that you do your best to follow with your eyes, only going a little cross-eyed and blurry in your efforts.

Passively, it occurs to you that maybe this was something you should bring to Jason’s attention. The night coming to life and inching closer wasn’t normal after all, but—

There! The fabric shifts again, another larger piece this time, and with your gaze now having something concrete to focus on more and more of the misplaced darkness starts to come into place.

Glinting stitches, a brief flash of yellow as another gust of wind displaces fabric. Then a light in the house across from you flicks on. Barely any of it leaks through their curtains, but it’s just enough to make the outline of a person perched on the railing, what you can now tell is the smear of a cape draped over the outside of the fire escape and catching the breeze every few seconds, come into staunch focus.

Your eyes go wide.

“Jason?”

His head whips around and he’s looking up at you from his disassembled cache of guns on the floor, gaze sharp. You don’t know what the hell he detected from your voice, but you can see the way his face crests once he gets a look at your expression and your stomach twists.

You didn’t think you looked that alarmed.

Jason’s gaze follows yours when you turn your head back for confirmation, and it’s brief but for a second still the same blotch of black is there before you take your next breath and it’s - the person’s - disappeared.

“Crap,” he curses and you go rigid, falling back as the sounds of him quickly reassembling a gun fill the room.

Next thing you know he’s up and walking over to open the window.

You scramble up from the couch, “Jay! Hold on, are you sure—?”

The window slides open with a small click and a few beats pass before - baffled - you watch Jason sigh and set his firearm down on the side table beside the aloe.

He sticks his head out the window.

“Cass,” he whisper-yells.

From behind Jason you watch nothing happen. It’s quiet except for the city’s usual ambiance and there's a cursory creak of old metal before—

“No, not you too, get out of here. Don’t you have a city to patrol?”

—a face appears in the window, right in front of Jason, and you take in such a harsh breath you stumble back a few steps.

So close to the window with the light from the living room as an aid you can make out the long pointed ears at the top of what you can now tell is the person’s — Batgirl’s, that was Batgirl’s — mask.

Right. Okay. You suppose if Robin popped in to visit and your boyfriend rocked a red helmet and killed people in his spare time then Batgirl also popping in wasn’t too far a stretch of the imagination. You suck in a breath until your lungs fill with enough air to make your chest twinge.

Batgirl’s low scratchy voice fills the quiet.

“The city.” Batgirl seems to fix Jason with a look but the mask makes it hard to tell, before finishing, “Will survive…five minutes.”

Then she pats the hand he still has on the window sill. “Kind of you,” you hear her say before she’s slipping in past the width of his bulk. Jason makes an exasperated noise and moves to let her in - not that she wasn’t already doing that perfectly fine on her own.

After the incident not even a full week ago Jason can’t seem to not throw you a panicked look from behind the woman. You only shrug, heartbeat steadily settling back down. At least you were awake this time. You look over the faceless vigilante, not an inch of skin - of the person underneath - showing. Though you were no less perturbed.

The only huge difference is that it was the blank mask of the Black Bat that’s staring at you from the darkness and you’re not at imminent risk of being beheaded. That was…something. You purse your lips, rocking back onto your heels with your heart in your throat.

The Bat doesn’t say a thing, just looking at you with indents that probably indicate eyes behind them and a face full of more of those glinting stitches.

Jason clears his throat, moving around so he can stand beside you.

“Is this some kind of trend now?”

His irritated grumble brings Batgirl’s attention back to him and you relax, leaning into the arm he presses into the dip of your back.

“Oh,” she breathes. You’d be pressed to think she was being sarcastic if it wasn’t for: “Heard about Robin. Seemed like…fun,” she proclaims.

You briefly wonder at the fact that you’re apparently an interesting enough deviation for Jason that you’re piquing the interest of vigilantes.

Then Batgirl’s attention shifts squarely back to you and you can’t remember how to breathe again, let alone what you were just thinking about.

“Um,” you choke out, “Hi.”

Jason’s tan hand snakes under your shirt to rub at the dark brown skin there. You focus on the warmth from the point of contact, breathing out slowly.

Batgirl’s head shifts, indicating the window behind her. “You noticed me.”

It’s not a question.

“I mean - barely,” you say. A half aborted chuckle falls past your plush lips. “I pretty much just thought I was losing it.”

“That’s good,” she says and you pause confused. She turns to Jason, tone brightening. “Robin was right. She’s impressive. For a civilian,” she concedes at the end.

When she walks up to you next she holds a hand out. After a moment of hesitation you reach out to take it, her grip is strong and when she shakes your hand you have to steady your arm or else risk her jerking you around.

“You have a good eye. Good instincts. Useful starting point…for learning.”

“She won’t be,” Jason grunts. You roll your eyes at him, you didn’t even want to be a vigilante but he didn’t have to shoot the idea down so hard.

Batgirl shrugs, “I know,” she dismisses. She squeezes softly at your hand. “Y/n. It was nice meeting you. Had to see. Who’d…put up with him,” she ends snidely.

Jason huffs and you laugh despite yourself, squeezing her hand back in turn. That seems to have been enough for her because you can just make out the smile underneath her cowl before she lets go.

She sends a parting nod Jason’s way and he scoffs quietly.

“Yeah, I know,” he says to Batgirl’s retreating form. "See you later, yeah?” he adds, voice dropping.

She stops part way through slipping out the window, half her body already lost to the darkness, before giving a curt nod. A jaunty wave is sent your way next and then…nothing.

You don’t even hear the fire escape creak before she’s melted into the shadows and disappeared back into the night.

─────

Jason doesn’t know how to conceptualize this, but he has to know. He needs that confirmation before he can truly rest easy.

There’s no one else who reads people as well as Cassandra. Maybe she’ll be able to finally get rid of the way he can’t help but jerk away from your closeness sometimes, from the natural pull you have over him. How much he can’t stay away even as reluctance and fear pulls at him.

Jason sighs.

Or help him figure out how comfortable you really were with the whole Red Hood thing. It’s not that he didn’t trust you to keep the secret, just that he wasn’t sure if you were saving face with him or not. The last thing he wants is for you to feel obligated to stay with him. Or intimidated.

Cass waits until he’s just settled beside her on the roof before speaking.

He’s silently grateful for it. For some reason verbally asking for her assessment seemed like more a betrayal than needing the read at all.

This way he can delude himself into thinking she offered the information up unprompted. Something tells him it won’t change anything; he ignores that voice.

“She’s good,” Cass nods. She pointedly doesn’t leave it at that though so Jason stays still, let’s the wind lap at his hoodie and whisp at his hair.

Cass sighs, so still her shoulders barely move, and then turns to him. There’s a low tuft in her voice like she knows exactly what he’s doing here, knows he’s looking to her for salvation.

“Good,” she stresses. Breathes in once. Exhales. “But hiding.”

Jason’s heart doesn’t skip a beat but his gut does twist, caving in on itself in a bid to hide. He starts shaking his head.

The thing about Jason, he stopped trusting his heart a long time ago. Too late to save him from some other grievances in his life but good enough to keep him alive for this long. To protect this second chance, trusting his gut has been crucial. So why did it feel like he was being gutted?

“…hiding what?” When she takes too long to answer Jason finally turns. “Cass—”

She intercepts him easily, barely a rustle of fabric before her closed fist is pressed against his breastbone. It holds him in place more firmly than it has any right to.

“She’s hiding.” She manages somehow to make him feel the weight of her eyes meeting his own before tutting at him. “So are you.”

The plea Jason’s about to let out gets stuck in the base of his throat and he clears it.

“What do you mean?”

Even in the cowl the disbelieving look Cass throws his way is clear, fabric over her brow creasing.

“You are…leading her.” Her head canters barely a centimeter to the side. “She won’t…move. Not without…looking to you…first.”

All he can do for a moment is breathe deep and swallow back the argument bubbling up his throat. They both know Cass didn’t talk if she wasn’t sure, and Cass didn’t make mistakes about these things.

This wasn’t emotions; it was pure science, and body language for someone like Cass was near impossible to skew at the base intention level. And well…Jason can’t even lie to himself enough to believe he hadn’t expected her assessment to be anything other than confirmation for what he already knew.

He shakes his head, hands shoving into his pockets, “How am I supposed to fix that Cass?”

Cass gives a blithe little shrug, turning away from him again. Her cape billows out wide behind her, wingspan almost large enough to wrap the whole of Gotham in her protective embrace.

She snipes, unrepentant, “Why do I? Have to…know?”

Her voice carries on the wind with more leniency than the question suggests.

Jason sighs, rolling his shoulders back and shifting to look out over the stretch of rooftops laid out before them also.

“You don’t,” he grunts. “Sorry— thanks for this Cass. I owe you.”

She nods, shrugging.

“Cool,” she says. “I’ll call. If I…feel like it.”

He can almost hear the smile in her voice. He imagines it’s the little barely tolerate one she tends to give him. It’s not the smirk he knows she’s prone towards sporting with the others, but the fact he gets anything more than the blank look she gives when she’s mad but doesn’t have the energy or the words to say anything more to him is miraculous enough. He’s lucky to have any of her good will at all considering how heated some of their past conversations have gotten.

Cass never treats him like he’s a ghost, more so like she’s doing him a favor; looking past all the skeletons peeking over his shoulder to see Jason. Just Jason.

It’s not great. Even if he does know why.

It’s not the way you look at him; like he’s whole. Like the him that you want is exactly what’s in front of you, not some specter from the past or poor imitation you have to put up with.

One of Cass’s hands moves to rest against the holster on her belt and she raises one foot to prop up on the border surrounding the roof before leaning into his space.

She punches his shoulder, softly for her, and he takes it.

“You. Should keep her…a civilian. Jason,” she stresses. “An alive one.”

Jason hasn’t even begun to react before Cass is tilting forward, firing off her grappling gun and dropping off the roof in a second.

‘I’m trying,’ Jason thinks at the charcoal of her cape.

He takes another few minutes to look out over the city, let the sounds of a broken metropolis and its people wash over him - for his gut to settle back into stone - and then he climbs down the fire escape.

NOTES: Hope you enjoyed!!!

Alright, so, this is my first time really writing Cass so don’t hate me. I didn’t want to shove her into a ‘woman who soothes a man’s woes’ role, but I did still want to give her and Jason a more tolerant and supportive relationship than they’d ever have canonically (and this is a Jason-centric story so some centering is inevitable). Also, I tried to match her speech patterns from the 2000’s comics so don’t come for me, she usually only speaks in four word sentences at the longest and breaks her sentences up so she can presumably search for the word she needs, otherwise her grammar is totally fine so yeah, hopefully my portrayal of her wasn’t too too bad. I will be advancing her sentence structure and speech patterns when she shows up again in a later part in order to depict how her speech advances in the comics too, just because I want to practice with her some more. Also just believe that once Cass realized the Reader-Insert had sensed her she stayed in a more compromising position (in front of a potential light source) just to really test how well she’d be at actually finding her after sensing something was off.

Keep in mind that this is “wholesome” bat family fanon, but that I lean towards post-crisis when it comes to characterization and comics I read for reference (except for Duke obviously) because I largely like post-crisis canon more. Though, how I write Damian is definitely more based on the DCAMU version of him because that was my introduction to his character, but I am working on getting closer to his canon character voice for my own sake since he will be showing back up later in this series (& just in general I’ve slightly shifted how I write Jason as well since part one).

btw: if you’d like to leave a comment I’d very much appreciate it!

Slightly Rewritten - 6/30/24 (bc the way I reread this and was like “well, tell the woman thank you, goddamn” immediately told me I needed to rewrite some dialogue; like, even though I was trying not to I still ended up prioritizing Jason too much at the end)

Alt. Banner (scrapped) —

(source - Batman: Wayne Family Adventures)

Tagged: @bandshirts-andbooks

[puff0o0]

Self Aware AU: Arthur Morgan

A/N: Red Dead Redemption my beloved, Arthur morgan my beloved, Morgan Arthur my beloved, Sadie my beloved pls reblog if you want !! likes don't help push stuff out there :,(

♡ Learning that he wasn't real and was just in a video game was the hardest thing he's ever done and that's saying something. You're telling him that this whole time, every single interaction he had was scripted? 'coded' or whatever the hell that means

♡ To be honest, he only learned what a 'video game' was when he got out of your TV and ended up on your floor, which was completely on accident by the way

♡ He knew something was wrong

♡ The way he would die and come back with only a couple dollars missing and everyone acting like nothing happened, the way everything reset back to a certain point before he died

♡ All he knew really was there was some strange person staring at him and controlling him- not that he realized it at first. Before, this was just natural for him. He thought he was the one controlling himself like every other human

♡ Felt like a puppet when he decided to test it by moving to another place just for you to yell at the game

♡ Most of the stuff you say he doesn't understand by the way

♡ 'For real'? 'Tumblr'? 'Pinterest'? 'tiktok' 'red Dead Redemption'?

♡ And how the hell are you calling somebody through a box? And how are you taking photos with it? and 'recording'? And you can watch movies from the comfort of your own home? The hell is a TV?

♡ Doesn't learn any of these things even after getting to your reality- It confuses him too much and he's decided he does not need it

♡ But once he's come to terms with the fact he's stuck in some weird fever dream (his theory) he tries to communicate with the only real person around; you

♡ Whenever you successfully rob someone he's always praising you, telling you good job and we did good

♡ You never understood who 'we' was

♡ On days where you were upset and clung to the game to try and find some way of comforting yourself, Arthur made it his goal to make you smile at least once

♡ Whether it be poking fun at one of his fellows or making fun interactions for you with Uncle

♡ When he does manage to get out of the screen, you panick for sure. Some random man coming out of your TV screen and BREAKING IT? yeah, not the best moment.

♡ Especially when it was late at night

♡ You had just realized he was aware and yet you managed to know what was happening wayyyy quicker than he did. You had to explain everything to him- Video games, TV's, consoles, phones, anything technology wise

♡ He still didn't get it

♡ Thought you were trying to poison him when you offered him soda (he doesn't like it)

♡ Overall, he has accepted it. Not completely but for the most part. It's hard to accept that everyone and everything you've ever loved isn't real and you were never supposed to be aware of it

♡ Thank God he got you out of it though

[en-hazed]

collect my pages

PAIRING: slenderman!sunghoon x fem!reader

GENRE / CW: this is kinda like scary? reader is alone in the woods so you can def guess what’s going on

WARNING: sunghoon doesn’t have some kind of age, so let’s say he’s like 100 years olds lmao, reader is 19, psychological horror (?) kinda, smut, dub-con, sunghoon is fucking big like in all meanings, tentacles, creampie, kissing, angst (?), unprotected sex (wrap it before you tap it), petnames, praising, begging, dacriphilia, size kink, if i missed something i’ll edit this later. MINORS DNI.

A/N: this is purely based on the game and theories about slenderman (not on the movie), so i’m really sorry if there’s something that doesn’t really match the storyline :( also im not rlly good at writing smut

There was something that you found interesting and endearing about walking alone in the woods as a relief. You weren’t the kind of girl to spend much time with friends since you enjoyed more your alone time, even though you’ve heard some rumors about you in college that you were weird for such thing, but it’s not like you really cared, at all.

You never feared the dark as a little child, your mom did think there was something wrong with it since all of the kids usually are scared of it, but for you, it was different. You find comfort in it –somehow– but it wasn’t something to be ashamed of.

Today was one of those days where school ended a little late, and you decided to take a late walk to the woods that was near to where you lived. The feeling of the cold breeze hitting you felt like a kiss, even wearing your big puffy coat, you still could feel it.

Being by yourself had some advantages, such as spending as much time as you want to exploring the deep parts of the woods, looking at little details and also observing the pretty dark blue color in the sky. You always thought that there was something so beautiful about the woods, you didn’t know if it was the pretty trees, the fallen leaves on the ground or everything about it.

Roaming around, you found some weird looking note that was glued to the tree, as you were getting closer, you got goosebumps. You usually didn’t find things in the woods since no one really came here because it’s been kinda abandoned, so it made you feel really curious if somebody came before you and put things just for fun to scare people off.

But the note was really weird looking. Why did the note say “HELP ME” in such a creepy writing? Was there someone here following you all along pranking you?

You definitely felt followed, but that didn’t change the growing curiosity that you had wondering if there were more notes. Walking faster and careful looking through all the trees weren’t sufficient, you definitely needed some kind of flashlight, and lucky for you, you always carry one in your backpack.

Getting the flashlight, turning it on, you started looking for more information. You definitely thought that you looked kinda crazy running around the woods if somebody came by, but there was something so interesting about this that you just couldn’t let it go.

In the distance, you could see a new note attached to another tree, you rapidly went and took it, this one saying “CAN’T RUN”. Adrenaline was hell, you felt like you could explode, were all these notes some kind of puzzle that you needed to complete? How many of them are? Such thoughts were in your mind as you were trying to calm yourself while looking at the piece of paper with the word that has been written.

Taking both notes, you did not wanna lose them, so you put them both in your pocket, and resumed roaming around. You noticed there was some kind of strange road that led you to an ever bigger part of the woods, and also, to some new pages.

This time, there was some kind of tall, really tall man drawn on with some words, such as saying “NO” and “FOLLOWS”. Is this some kind of prank? You just couldn’t step out, you were kinda lost, you’ve never been this deep inside and now, it was kinda scaring you. Your phone didn’t have any kind of connection or signal around, so you were definitely fucked.

Taking this situation lightly wasn’t a great idea at all, you knew your mom was worried since you don’t last that much time outside that much. Anxiety was killing you at this point, what the hell was going on? Also, it was also getting really late, you took a little peak of you clock, and it was almost past midnight.

Running around was simply not helping, you felt like you were stuck in some fucked up maze that didn’t have any kind of exit. You wanted to scream, you really did, but you didn’t want people thinking that you were getting murdered or something. Starting to feel dizzy, everything was looping, feeling like you couldn’t get out was one of, if not, your biggest fear. Without noticing, you fell to the ground, your strength was gone, and your head was pounding.

More than 10 minutes passed since you were still in the ground, until you felt some kind of presence, the goosebumps coming back again. You were too far gone to even try to open your eyes, so if someone tried to kill right there, you didn’t care at that point.

The breeze was getting colder, creaking was louder, and there was something there with you, but you didn’t dare to look. Some steps were getting closer to you, and you almost started praying to God to help you out if he was even hearing your pleads.

Now you were crying, you were the one that started following all of those stupid notes going nowhere, and now you were stuck in the deep zone of the woods. After some minutes of thinking, you had the guts to speak up.

— Is somebody here? Anyone? Please, I swear I’m a good person, I won’t do anything to you, but please, I need a reply. — You stated, trying to look around in the dark, since you forgot where you put your flashlight and also, you lost your glasses.

Nothing, you did not receive some kind of reply, so now you were thinking if everything that’s happening is some kind of hallucination from your mind.

From the distance, you swear you saw something, like some big thing standing there, but you couldn’t even seem to confirm that since your poor eyesight wasn’t helping you at all. But that weird creature looking thing was getting closer this time, and you didn’t have that much space to move, so you had to act fast and start walking from there.

Looking back wasn’t something that you wanted to do, if you did that it was gonna be really scary knowing something was chasing you in the dark. But what you didn’t know, that tall white man could teleport if he wanted to, and now, he was right in front of you.

You froze, what was that? You starting looking up and down trying to figure out if it was human or not. He was wearing some kind of suit, his hands were so pale and white, his fingers were so long and his face, you couldn’t really recognize it. He did have some prominent facial features, such as his nose and eyebrows, and also his hair.

— Are you lost, little thing? Have you collected my pages? — He finally spoke, his voice was… something. Not really deep nor sharp, it was just unexplainable.

— I’m sorry, what? — You asked, pages? Why is that his first thought?

— My pages. They’re all attached to different trees. Have you collected them? — He added, getting a little more closer to you.

Oh, so the notes you were looking for, that now you know they aren’t pages, he was the one who attached them to the trees? Is he crazy or something?

— I lost them. I got lost here and when I ran, they kinda flew away from my pockets. I’m sorry, if you’re gonna kill me, go ahead. — You hung down your head, you were definitely cooked and also getting killed in the woods. How nice!

— Game over then. — He spoke lastly, you looked at him with now, more tears in your eyes. He gave you a smile, his fangs were now shown.

His cold hand went to your chin, making you look up to where his eyes were supposed to be, but you were looking at some faceless man. You got caught in his tentacles, putting you in the air and almost choking you by how tight he was taking you.

— Pl.. please don’t do a-anything.. I swear, I’ll do whatever you w..want! — You tried speaking, but your chest felt so heavy that it was almost impossible to.

— Well, actually I do want something from you, if you don’t wanna get killed. — He spoke, his voice was now kinda deeper than before and it was scarier. You could feel his gaze up and down around your body, as if it was scanning you.

— W-what is it? Please! Tell me! — You replied rapidly, gulping. You were in a situation that defined between you being alive or dead, so you were willing to do anything at this point.

You were feeling already anxious until you felt his could touch in your body, closing hard your eyes, you were psyching yourself up that everything that was happening it was all in your imagination. Tears were staining your face, your cheeks turning red and your makeup all messed up.

His cold tentacles were groping you, touching you everywhere while you were just crying. You couldn’t get out of his grip since he was way too strong and taller than you. He started undressing you, retiring your skirt and leaving your tights on. Was this some kind of kink he had?

— I wish you could see yourself through my eyes, looking like a scaredy cat, crying and without any kind of escape from me. — He said, smiling proudly, giggling. His big hands were taking your head, making you look at him. Somehow, he changed your position, using his tentacles to tie your feet, and also your hands together, that were now resting behind your back.

You felt how something cold was poking your now dampened panties, you were definitely scared but your body wasn’t feeling like that. You closed your eyes harshly, not wanting to see what was about to happen. The cold breeze was now feeling like if death was coming near you, not feeling like something safe.

With no further preparation, he pushed himself inside of you, feeling like your guts and tight cunt were being rearranged by his big member. You couldn’t stop yourself from whining and screaming out loud, you weren’t a virgin sure, but his cock felt like dying.

— Don’t be t-too harsh! P-please! — Trying to speak while he was pounding deeper and deeper inside you was tough and more like a challenge.

He tsked his long tongue in response, not really caring about you and going harder on you. One of his tentacles groping your boobs mercilessly, while the other ones were simply roaming around your body.

Changing your position, now in doggy style, he was going harshly and harder, your body was hurting and your were being treated like nothing but a sex doll. You felt your vision going blurry, your hearing going off and feeling extremely numb. You closed your eyes and that’s where you forgot about everything.

Waking up felt like a nightmare, your whole body felt sore, you were covered in cum and definitely felt how the hot liquid was slipping from your thighs. Trying to look for your glasses or any kind of clothing (since you were naked) looking around. That’s when you saw some random guy, weirdly dressed with a suit and also using some glasses, he was tall and pale.

— Are you okay? Do you need help? — That anonymous guy spoke, looking at you and then your whole body, smirking.

You couldn’t even speak at all, so you just nodded. He helped you get up, he somehow carried things in his pockets such as tissues, that he used on you, trying to get you clean.

Finishing by putting on your clothes, you patted all of your body, as if there were some kind of dirt (there was, everything was all covered in it). You looked again at that weird guy that happened to find you in such condition, what was he doing here?

— I’m Sunghoon, and I definitely can read your mind, I just happened to be here when I found you here all alone, covered in… Whatever that was, no need to thank me. — He finished saying, still smirking and looking at you as if he was scanning your whole body.

As a blink, he disappeared, nowhere to be found. There was some weird vibe coming from that guy that you couldn’t explain, but you felt like you already knew him.

What the fuck just happened to you? You for sure were having some kind of fucking overdose of some fucked up vivid dream, you will never be the same after this.

[jadeazora]

I dunno if this is an unpopular opinion or not, but I hope they never bring Ash back. At least for the main anime, there's still the AU Ash in the movies they could use if they ever bring those back. I wouldn't mind that.

Generally, because he's world champion now, I feel that it could be boring if he just won all the time, or if he lost to somebody, you'd hear all these fan complaints like, "There's no way so-or-so is stronger than Leon!" or whatever. And even if they use the AU Ash to get around this, we might get complaints it's not the Ash. (At best, I think Ash would be more in a supporting/mentor role in some other character's journey rather than being the main character.)

This isn't coming from a place of dislike or anything, I started watching the anime when it first came to the US, and he was my introduction to anime, to a series I still love decades later. I've been an on-and-off viewer before I started this blog, but I wouldn't have continued watching if I disliked him.

It's mostly that other Pokemon media have been allowed to change main characters over the years, and it was high time for the anime to as well. I appreciate the variety of goals and story structure, rather than how formulaic the series had become with Ash at points. (SM and Journeys did shake things up a bit more tho.) Horizons has been a blast, and I like the lead characters (it was hype having a girl protagonist!) and overarching mystery has given me a lot of ideas for theories.

It's also nice not knowing to some degree how things will end up. (Like, with Ash, there was always some kind of League to go thru at the end, but that isn't Liko's goal. I imagine the end of the series will revolve around the final battle with Gibeon, but there's a lot of other factors like how the six heroes, Terapagos, and Amethio and the other Explorers will play into it.)

I hope they keep changing casts and storylines in the future. Yeah, it's a bit sad saying goodbye to characters you are fond of, but it's nice to see more of the characters that make up the Pokemon World and seeing their stories unfold, especially if they take it like Liko's did and don't stick to a loose adaptation of the game's story.

[theshslpumpkinghost]

My predictions for the rest of DRDT!

(mostly my general thoughts after this ep)

(Spoilers for Ch2 Ep16!)

Okay so- First off, Levi’s fate!

If he doesn’t die from this, then he’s almost certainly going to die from trying to assists somebody else. As mentioned in the voice trailer, he’s willing to do anything to help his classmates, even if it involves him getting hurt. I can see him dying without anyone specifically targeting him, or someone being targeted because they know Levi will save them. Although that might not be so reliable depending on the recovery time needed…

Okay, next up Arturo- He’ll probably finally leave J alone, busy with making sure Levi doesn’t, y’know, die- Plus the whole breakdown he had in the trial, and his secret being revealed.. He’s gonna need some time, I think-

Teruko! Ohhhh my god where do I even start with her- She won’t die, obviously. She’s told us that multiple times, we’ve seen the proof, there isn’t a way that she can die. And that’s her curse, more than the bad luck is. So she could hypothetically get away with murder, although I don’t think she will actually kill somebody. She could get away with it, since she’s like- one of the only competent people in trials, and all it takes for Charles is for him to either be murdered or witness a murder, and he’s unable to assist. So Teruko is the only one the people here are relying on, which leaves them vulnerable if she is the blackened. Also- Teruko finally broke down and cried! It makes sense, after what she’s seen, and what she’s ended up inadvertently causing- The voice actors for Teruko and Ace (and levi) this ep >>> The new Teruko sprites were so cool, and I’m pretty sure I saw one that mirrored Min-

And now- MonoTV!! I don’t know if my theory about there being no mastermind is accurate, but after this episode- It could be! And so I’ll take that- Wasn’t expecting it to sound like Mai, at all, but that’s really interesting- Pretty sure XF caused this killing game, or at least created MonoTV-

Whit! His new sprite is fascinating considering he has no other serious sprites- And his concern for Charles, too! (..also, more fuel for the time loop theorists?) If Charles dies next chapter.. Whit will either completely break, giving up the happy persona he has, or, he ends up going so far into coping that he ends up going manic in the trial- Either way, fun development for a guy who’s only really made jokes or known a concerning amount of things about hanging-

Charles! He- isn’t doing well right now, since he saw Levi’s injury- Whit did attempt to shield him from that at least, so points towards the Charwhit (platonic or romantic, whatever you prefer) dynamic developing further! If someone like Teruko was going to commit murder, she’d probably go for Charles first. Since he is the only one besides her that really helped in the trial, and if he hadn’t gotten involved after ep11, everyone would have been executed by now. Definitely the biggest threat if Teruko is the blackened. But she might not even want to take him out if she commits a murder, because after all, she won’t die from an execution-

And finally- Ace Markey! The blackened himself! hhhh oh my god where can i start with this- Ace still cares about Levi! He knows that it’s pointless, he was searching for any reason to be mad at him, even if it made him a hypocrite for condemning another murderer. But, even after that was revealed- He was willing to get executed so Levi wouldn’t die. He yelled at Arturo for saying that he couldn’t save Levi, for being a coward, and isn’t that ironic- Also! His friend’s name gets (re)revealed! After the QnA where his name was first revealed was deleted, Taylor’s name makes an appearance on one of the gravestones in Ace’s execution! I loved the fact that his execution was themed around his fears, since he was established as a guy who had, well- a lot of fears, since the first episode he appeared in. Definitely more interesting than the cliche of ‘horses’ (not that there’s anything wrong with that idea at all-) Uh- I have a lot of thoughts about Ace rn but I’m way too tired rn to type them all out- I’ll probably add it to my p2 of this!

Okay so- I’ll probably put the rest of my thoughts in another post, since it’s 2am for me right now-

(i will be so surprised if anyone reads all this im so sorry it’s long-)