#something needs to seriously change in my environment for this to end well but its out of my hands really

[corvidlemonade]

omg this looks so fun im going to answer all of them right now. Answers under the cut! (sorry its long :P)

Your linktypes are: Funlink Corvid (probably a crow), possibly also fictionlink Jevil (Deltarune), and objectlink lemons

How you chose your linktypes: Honestly, the lemon thing is because I've had lemon theming relating to my personality and online identity for so long, it's become part of it. I'm a system, and the first headmate I ever got was one of Jevil from Deltarune, so you can see how that connection formed. Then for crows/corvids, it just sorta made sense to me. Also I have something similar to phantom-shifts with wings, so there's that.

How you learned about otherlinking: I learned about funlinking, and realized "That's an option??" and it just works for me. I was researching types of otherlink, after being interested/fascinated in the alterhuman community, and it clicked.

Do you express your linktype(s), or are they fully internal: I express them somewhat. I've been thinking about getting a crow mask, and my online user is FatherLemonade just about everywhere. I also have quite a bit of whimsy from my Jevillink, so there's some behavioral expression through that.

linktype quirks/mannerisms: I don't know if I have any, other than some behavioral things I do incidentally at this point.

Preferred environment: I prefer city environments, more than anything. Many birds live in human cities (mainly pigeons where I'm from), but I'm also just very social and extroverted.

Social or Solitary: Highly social! Both the Jevillink and Crowlink are social. Lemons are, uh. N/A I guess lol.

Is your linktype fact or fiction: One is fiction, the other two are extant.

Fond memories while linking: I mean I don't really have shifts, other than my somewhat phantom-shift with wings.

Colors associated with linktype: Yellow is the biggest one for me, from Lemons. Then my second favorite color is purple, which incidentally connects to Jevil.

Shapes or Symbols associated with linktype: Ooo this one is tricky. Probably the corvid skull for crows, but idk if that matches me specifically or just crows in general. Then a lemon also for me.

Songs or Sounds associated with linktype: Jevil's themes in Deltarune, the phrase "I CAN DO ANYTHING", and a few others for Jevil.

Other things associated with Linktype: spinning things/carousels, lemons. idk man

How often are you your linktype: Idk, I mean. I think I'm always it, somewhere, just not always acting exactly like it? Like. The identity doesn't go away, I'm just not thinking about it as much.

Do you shift: Again, the weird phantom shift thing that I kind of have and kind of don't. More info on that here 🐦‍⬛

Have you ever had a dream as your linktype: I don't know! Maybe? Not that I remember well enough to document.

How it affects your daily life: It doesn't really, my day-to-day would be pretty unimpacted by my identities, especially since most people in my life don't know about them.

Have your linktype(s) changed: Nope! Started as a crow, ended as a crow. The Jevil and Lemon links are ones I've been somewhat considering for a while, but haven't been taking too seriously yet.

Unexpected discoveries about your linktype: None that I can think of. There's the post about the person peeing on a lemon tree and the tree growing monsterously big lemons, so there's that :P

Any physical items related to the linktype: I used to have a jevil cosplay, but I've lost a lot of the parts for it and outgrew the rest of them. I would buy some, but I'm moving soon, so I won't buy anything until I'm moved in.

Do you foster your linktype connection at all: Nope, not really. I feel a strong connection already, so I don't really need to do much to foster it, y'know?

Has your linking experience so far been positive or negative: I'd say positive! I've had no negative experiences linking, other than when someone else told me I couldn't be a crow because I was too bubbly and playful, and crows are dark mysterious omens (but that was someone else saying that, rather than anything internal)

How open are you about your linktype: I don't hide it, but I don't particularly talk about it either.

Would you dress as your linktype: Yes! As I said, previously had a cosplay of Jevil, and I feel like a fully black crow outfit would go hard.

Have you met another linker: In person, not that I know of. I've seen some people wearing alterhuman gear publically, but never said anything more than "I like your (gear)!" I'd love to meet more though!

Are you active in the wider Alterhuman community: I was a while ago, mildly, but I want to become more active in the community! That's why I made this blog :D

What does 'Linking mean to you: To me, any form of linking is taking on a voluntary identity to help yourself feel more comfortable as yourself. Or just taking on a voluntary identity, just because.

Favorite part about being your linktype: The playfulness! Crows are so playful and smart and loyal, and I love them.

Doodle your linktype: Uhhh I'll get back to you on that one.

Anything else: Excited to begin being more active in the alterhuman community again!

30 Days of Linktypes

What is/are your linktype(s)?

How did you choose your linktype?

What drew you to the concept of linking?

Do you express your linktype in the physical world in any way, or is linking a predominantly inner-self experience for you?

Does your linktype have a certain manner of speaking, moving, or other personal quirk?

What climate or environment does your linktype prefer?

Is your linktype social or solitary?

Is your linktype extant, extinct, or fictional?

Do you have any fond memories while linking?

Are there any colors you associate with your linktype?

Are there any shapes or symbols you associate with your linktype?

Are there any sounds or songs you associate with your linktype?

Is there anything else you associate with your linktype when you see, hear, smell, touch, taste, or otherwise percieve it?

How often are you your linktype? Is it all the time, or only sometimes?

Do you shift? If so, what is that experience like?

Have you ever had a dream as your linktype?

How has linking had an effect on your daily life?

Has your linktype(s) changed since you began linking?

Have you made any unexpected discoveries about your linktype?

Do you have any physical items (gear, clothing, etc) that help foster your linktype connection?

Do you engage in any meditation or other activites to foster your linktype connection?

How has your linking experience been so far? Positive? Negative? Mixed?

How open are you about your linktype?

Would you ever dress as your linktype?

Have you ever met another -linker?

Are you active in the wider alterhuman community?

What does linking mean to you, in a personal sense?

What's your favorite part of being your linktype?

Doodle your linktype!

Wildcard! Anything else you'd like to share?

Feel free to reblog or otherwise utilize these questions for yourself. I've amalgated them from other 30 day challenges I've seen as well as added my own questions. I tried to make these questions as broad in scope as possible, but feel free to ignore/skip/change a question that doesn't apply to you.

[ei-mugi]

something happened (socially) a couple days ago and im feeling really weird over it. this kind of thing hasnt happened to me before. and its such an unfamiliar situation that i feel like i cant just do normal things in my day

[mithosis]

Haven't posted in a good while, but seeing other folks enjoy talking and making content about their little blorbos inspired me to draw something i wanted to for a long time as well!

I've had this old man for almost a year, but i've never got to draw his true form as a mordrem aside from vague sketches, so he got kreature-fied. Blasts him with my kreature beam

Glow animation, some silly sketches and lore (warning: there is a lot, like seriously, even in vague terms, i probably should've made a separate post, but fuck it we ball) under the cut!

Tumblr scrunched it up, as always, but the gif was worse...

Even old men need to be silly sometimes. Also reworked his smaller "sylvari" form design a little to match the kreature one better

Onto the lore (which i reworked a little as well since his creation)

I am a sucker for characters that perceive themselves as monsters and learn to love themselves again, whether or not they're are actually a monster/cursed/etc (it does add points for sure), and i wanted a character like that, so this old man came along

As of now, Eamhrys is a mordrem minion, champion from the last Dragonrise 10 thousand years ago, though he remembers almost nothing about it now. He was intended as a specialized unit for highly efficient magic consumption both from the environment, magical items and living beings that it then returned to the Elder Dragon himself, much like Mouths of Zhaitan worked in that regard.

This resulted in a vampire-like physicality and abilities, including a nigh-immortality with extremely fast regeneration as long as the minion had enough magical essence. Shapeshifting into a smaller size to fit through vines and branches and plant manipulation was useful in traversing the jungle fast, so he was imbued with that as well. There probably were less successful versions of the same minion, but this one, charged with a huge amount of Mordremoth's magic, stuck around. Energy around the "tendrils" on his form is, in fact, magic — the swirls dull and disappear with its depletion.

As the dragons consumed all the excess magical energy of the world and returned to slumber, so did the minion, for there was no need for it anymore in the state the world was in, the other races safely concealed by Glint.

It rested for a long time, its memories eroding, until the tail end of the druids' residence in Maguuma as humans, some time before their approximate "disappearance" period of 970-1070 AE. Upon waking up because of the disturbances in the jungle, the minion resumed the task it was given, though the will and voice of the sleeping dragon was significantly more subdued this time.

The minion roamed around and consumed as much energy as it could for a number of years, meeting and snacking on different creatures until a fateful encounter with druids, their human forms now shredded to be one with nature. The champion was both curious and drawn in by the magical essence they exuded, and tried to absorb it, but ended up fighting the spirits — it quickly escalated into numerous hostile encounters with them, their primal essence slowly changing something in the minion over time. To this day Eamhrys doesn't know what happened exactly, as most of his memories that far back were mysteriously wiped out, but from that point onward he slowly started to become more self-aware, able to question and doubt the will of his master.

The minion's first venture out of the jungle didn't happen for at least another 10 years, but during that time it's curiosity with other races started to pique as it encountered centaurs, hylek and even some errant human adventurers who ventured too deep into the forest. Although their fate remained the same as other sources of magic, their presence spurred the champion to explore further — and one day it morphed itself into a smaller form of a centaur scout, whose patrol it recently wiped out in the Silverwoods (currently Silverwastes), though still plant-like. It took a couple unsuccessful tries before the disguise was enhanced first by an extremely uncanny, then — a believable illusion, the rudimentary ability to camouflage the minion possessed. Thankfully, the dragon's will waned the further it got from the jungle.

Thus began centuries of wandering Tyria, changing forms between races and creatures, curious to learn, to see, and starting to slowly recognize the role their existence played in the world. They witnessed many devastating and world-altering events along the way, the Sinking of Orr being one of the first — and it kickstarted the mordrem's understanding of the sheer devastation the dragons' presence brought, including their own. However, they were not very sympathetic at the time.

It was only through the very people they hid among, learned from, that their lack of morality began to develop into their calm, compassionate and kind attitude of today, having witnessed other creature's highs and lows, and horrors of losing someone dear.

Eamhrys lived among humans for the longest time among all other races, both from Central Tyria and as far as Elona, always in a disguise — he learned the craft and knowledge preservation from firebrands of old, but only incorporated their fighting style into his arsenal years later, after Mordremoth's inevitable defeat.

He joined the Durmand Priory a couple decades after it was established, driven by the allure of knowledge and longing for connection. He helped rebuild Lion's Arch, the first major city he visited long before, after it flooded as Orr rose again and Zhaitan awoke. He was first in line to visit the Grove once he heard of a mysterious new race of plant people — though he kept a substantial distance for the few weeks he spent observing the newcomers. He was afraid they were like him at the start of his journey, but was pleasantly surprised once he was proven wrong. Inexplicably different to them, mourning the life he might've had if the circumstances were different, he still abandoned his human visage for his "sylvari" one, and adopted his current name for good.

As a member of the Durmand Priory, though having repeated his enrollment a few times, Eamhrys participated in the Pact efforts to kill the Elder Dragon Zhaitan, both conflicted about and understanding of it — his own nature and eventual fate concerned him a little as well.

When the Call of Mordremoth first resounded across the world, all that effort to belong and understand crumbled as the will of the dragon overrode any miniscule resistance he had. He returned to the jungle as a servant, an enemy of the world again, devastating the populace there and, later, the Pact's forces. He was, indeed, not slain in the assault, and as soon as Mordremoth perished, he was free again, though part of the magical surge after the dragon's death was absorbed by him involuntarily.

Eamhrys remembered everything he did, and was mortified. He tried so hard to understand, to belong in such a fascinating world, and in the end his greatest fear was confirmed — he remained the same monster he always was. At least in his opinion.

He never really forgave himself, for he was not the one to do so, but, maybe compulsory or as a habit, he retreated back to his peaceful and compassionate self, now with an air of quiet grief around him, throwing himself at people that needed any help.

Though it didn't change the fact that he ran as far from the Heart of Maguuma as he could, winding back in Elona and finally remembering the ways of firebrands, lore keepers a tyrant tried to erase. He adapted it to fit his own style, fused his plant magic with righteous flames that purged any, who dared threaten the people of this world, and healed allies with a memory of those who fought for it.

He never came back to Durmand Priory, but eventually he met a team of people in the desert after Kralkatorrik's assault that were members of the Order of Whispers. They were professional and inspiring and in need of help, so he tagged along on their mission, familiar with the area. Perhaps they valued his insight or his help enough, but Eamhrys ended up joining their team and their Order, and carried out tasks with them for the foreseeable future, slowly becoming a part of something again.

Thankfully, after the Cycle ended, he had a good vacation.

Aaaand that's it, woah, this was a lot, sorry, and thank you anyone who read this far haha, i love you

[yeehanfrf]

Week 5 Recs: Golden Oldies

This week's Yeehan fic rec theme was "Golden Oldies," or those fics from Overwatch's early days that left a lasting impression. I asked for recs from 2016 and 2017, and boy, did folks have plenty! Check out the recs gathered from the Yeehan community below, organized by rating then alphabetically by title.

Not Rated

Fair Enough (5 Things McCree Can Do But Doesn't Let On + 1 He Simply Won't) by AsheRhyder [5,776 words] Reccer comment: "Everything AsheRyder wrote during this period is solid gold. Tasty, angsty gold."

“So what do you say? You interested?” McCree’s smile was as wide and inviting as an open door. Hanzo looked over the scruffy cowboy with a critical eye and a severe frown. “No,” he said and watched the door shut, quiet and easy. “Fair enough.” McCree tipped his hat and sauntered off.

In the months that followed, Hanzo learned many things about McCree that made him change his opinion on man; amazing, curious, and terrifying things. The most infuriating of them being this:

Jesse McCree never asked twice.

Lucid Dream by Somebody_Someone [WIP; 277,255 words] Reccer comment: "one of my two all time favourite, brain chemistry altering fics!"

Years ago he was a successful writer, and now he is struggling to get by every single day. Between art block, depression, insomnia and a comatose brother, Hanzo is constantly hanging on by his fingernails.

One day, he finds solace in the strangest shape; lucid dreams of a most unwelcoming land where he meets a terribly frustrating cowboy, gets in deep trouble and goes on a quest for a mysterious treasure. With the insufferable cowboy as his guide.

The journey will be long, scattered with obstacles and dangers, but may it be enlightened by the unexpected blooming of a friendship and perhaps something deeper.

Two Noons in their Moccasins by Scrumpadouchus [WIP; 89,675 words] Reccer comment: "This!! It's a Your name AU and it's still a work in progress but it's seriously gold! I suggest to watch the film before but for me this ff is a 10/10"

In which an archer and a cowboy start suddenly waking up in each others' bodies, and they attempt to make the most of being suddenly dropped into the life of a complete stranger.

In the process they make some mischief, make some mistakes and change each others' lives.

Teen and Up

A Comedy of Eros (A Tragedy of Communication in Five Acts) by AsheRhyder [9,886 words]

Hanzo wondered why they even made mission plans when they all went horrifically wrong. Take this last one: what was supposed to be a quiet artifact retrieval from Ilios turned into a brawl with Talon over an ancient quiver full of arrows.

Arrows that, apparently, had some Very Interesting Side Effects on enemy and friend alike.

Good Fences Make Good Neighbors by vandoodle [75,467 words]

Hanzo Shimada regrets ever joining Overwatch after he is paired with Jesse McCree, known cowboy enthusiast, and dropped off in the middle of American suburbia. Forced to blend in with the environment, endure neighborhood cookouts, and share his new living space with his so-called 'Husband', the two prepare to preform the ultimate sting operation: taking down the Vishkar corporation once and for all. He can't help but think this will all go horribly wrong.

Or, alternatively titled: the undercover fake-marriage fic that every fandom deserves.

Hanzo: Koi no Yokan by franklytriggering [WIP; 15,998] Reccer comment: "this one's not hyped up enough imo. should be a classic. (unfinished by honestly the ending still slaps!)"

Hanzo struggles to rein in his delinquent brother, Genji, as their father's health wanes and obligation demands their answer. While their fate speeds towards its inevitable breaking point, Hanzo wrestles between family tradition and his wayward emotions-- marrying well, or giving in to his own needs.

Heartless by AsheRhyder [6,504 words]

Once upon a time, a wicked sorcerer cut out his heart and sealed it away. He hid it in a needle, put the needle in an egg, put the egg in a duck, put the duck inside a rabbit, and put the rabbit in a box on an island at the end of the world. So long as his heart was safe, nothing could kill him. Or so the legends say, anyway. Nowadays, people know what a silly story that was. Nobody bothers with rabbits anymore.

Cole Cassidy has no heart.

Like the River by Goodluckdetective (scorpiontales) [5,847 words] Reccer comment: "I do love me some good ol 'dragons expose Hanzo's inner workings'"

Dragon Spirits don’t trust just anyone.

McCree never expected for them to ever trust him.

Or how McCree gained some trust, won a shootout, almost caught the flu, and proceeded to be the most handsome damsel in distress Overwatch has ever seen.

Lone Wolf by AsheRhyder [Series; 66,124 words]

After the fall of Overwatch, Jesse McCree survived for years like a lone wolf. But wolves weren't meant to live alone, and as the Recall draws heroes back to the forefront, he'll have to learn how to adapt or get left behind again.

Lotus-Eater by AsheRhyder [16,116 words]

Only Jesse McCree would have the ridiculously bad luck to be abducted by a mad scientist during a mission.

In the aftermath, the line between dreams and waking blurs and distorts. Which holds more weight; the flawed reality, or the perfect dream? Which is worth fighting for? Which will hurt him worse?

More Than True by AsheRhyder [Series; 34,346 words]

"Fairy tales are more than true..." -G.K. Chesterton.

In which there are dragons, and castles, and monsters of all sorts.

OR

That series of stories in which buildings repeatedly fall on Hanzo.

People Like Us by fishpoets [8,764 words]

Jesse's never much believed in 'happily ever after', but it turns out it might be possible after all, even for a man like him. That is, if life doesn't ruin it for him first.

Mature

Adaptation by CommonNonsense [13,315 words]

McCree always did like a challenge, and Hanzo Shimada is a bundle of challenges wrapped up in a handsome package and tied with a gold ribbon.

Body Heat by BatKatBrown [2,575 words]

Little oneshot inspired by this comic which is amazing. http://disteal.tumblr.com/image/158383507645

Crown of Horns by Anonymous [150,888 words] Reccer comment: "I've recently started Re-reading one of my fav old ones: Crown of Horns (mind the tags!)"

"But you know, I rather like the idea of you as one of those beasts. Wouldn't that look nice for the clan, Hanzo? A living, breathing dragon, chained to a post in the gardens."

four days by feyhound [23,869] Reccer 1 comment: "one of my all time favs Four Days"

Reccer 2 comment: "One of my first fav is this 🥰 I have a weak spot for fics like these 🥺"

“I have an embarrassin’ favor to ask of you,” Cole says.

Hanzo stares at him expectantly, a single brow arched. “And what is that?” he asks.

“Y’see, my family might currently be under the impression that I’m bringin’ home a date for a few days next week. And, the thing is, I don’t really have one. So, I’m currently S-O-L and would really, really appreciate it if you came home with me for a few days and, uh. Pretended. To be my boyfriend.���

He stares down at his plate and jabs a fry into the enormous puddle of ketchup gathered in the center of it. If only the fry could be his hypothetical four-day boyfriend, he thinks; it would save him an enormous amount of embarrassment. It would be tastier, too.

[ Or - Cassidy desperately needs a fake date to bring home to his family, and Hanzo never does anything half-assed. ]

Foxhole Dreaming by fishpoets [18,569]

After Hanzo and McCree are ambushed on an undercover mission and McCree is injured, they need to hide out in a secret bunker that McCree knows of while they wait to be rescued. The prospect of a few days in close-quarters alone with McCree wouldn't be a problem, except for one thing: Hanzo's feelings for the gunslinger don't stop at friendship.

Hang the Fool by AlmaMeDuele [231,922 words] Reccer comment: "i remember reading it in 2017 and its still my fav one in this fandom"

How the heroic organization Overwatch acquires the talents of one Hanzo Shimada, and how gunslinger Jesse McCree will probably suffer because of it for the rest of his days.

Love Bites and Liquid Courage by timehopper [4,633 words]

McCree should not show up at his door in a drunken haze this often; and yet every time he does, Hanzo lets him in.

May I by Ingridarcher [182,716 words] Reccer comment: "my rec is the first Yeehan fic I read that I remember making An Impression on me"

"We're nothing alike, Shimada. You? You fell down from the sky. And me? I clawed my way up, outta the dirt."

Jesse was there. He was on the Blackwatch team that dragged Genji Shimada's body away and brought it back to the Overwatch medical facility. He saw what Genji's brother, Hanzo, did to him. Now, Overwatch has been recalled, and when Genji comes back he brings along the last person McCree ever expected: his murdering brother. And while Hanzo seems oddly drawn to McCree, Jesse wants nothing to do with him.

Points on a Circle by AughtPunk [111,325 words] Reccer comment: "it's not exclusively yeehan but omg it's such a well-crafted piece"

It began when Cole Cassidy summoned one of Hanzo's dragons in the middle of battle.

It began a month ago when Hanzo looked at Cole and realized he's already in love.

It began an hour ago when Satya heard the word 'magic' and refused the believe.

It began six months ago when Genji introduced his his brother to Cole, not knowing the two of them have a past.

It begins.

Undercover by lyriumveins [14,749 words]

Hanzo is a new member of Overwatch, working undercover in a coffee shop with a few other agents. He’s adjusting to his new life – and making good progress on his missions – when he starts finding ridiculous messages scrawled on coffee cups… Messages that are, apparently, for him. While he’s convinced it’s all just a ridiculous prank, D.Va calls them “pick-up lines” and insists that he has a “secret admirer.”

Whiskey Lullaby by CaptainCorgi [WIP; 64,791 words] Reccer comment: "Unfinished! But classic"

The buzz of the communicator had him jumping, knee slammed against the metal desk and a string of curses followed. Not looking, Jesse palmed the device, opening its front screen and stopped cold. The message wasn't from any of his team mates. In fact it wasn't from Overwatch at all. There was no sent from address, no name, and it contained one sentence.

Recipient: 10.29M.76 Status: Urgent Subject: -

Message:

Welcome home.

Who Taught You How to Hate by Valpur [46,594 words]

He’d always known it was going to happen. There weren’t many ways to go for a rogue like him, but all in all he would have much preferred a clean hole in his skull rather than being hanged for robbery and murder. Especially because this one single, fucking time he was not guilty.

--

McCree is having the worst time of his life and an outlander happens to save his sorry ass. Things go awfully weird after that - and he enjoys it all too much.

Explicit

Afterdrop by ClaroQueQuiza [WIP; 638,116 words]

Overwatch can be forgiven for keeping Hanzo at arm's length despite the endorsement of his intended murder victim. Six months of provisional membership, spent in the field, is a reasonable compromise.

But not everyone is on board with giving Hanzo a chance.

Cassidy, least of all.

Backroom Deals by dragonspell [7,754 words]

“Oh.” Jesse shifts on the chair, rattling the cuffs again, as his eyes dart helplessly downward, drawn by a kind of gravitational force. “I was wondering if you might, uh, show me your ankles?”

(Or, Jesse gets himself captured while trying to infiltrate a Shimada safe house and he and Hanzo reach a deal; Blackwatch-era, slight-AU; the foot fetish McHanzo that no one asked for)

the best medicine by fishpoets [4,298 words] Reccer comment: "Happy smut"

Hanzo and Jesse, a successful mission, a night alone together. Bad jokes and lots of laughter.

The Dragon's Mate by kdwalbring [116,347 words] Reccer comment: "The dragons mate is one I will always recommend! I've reread this more times than I can count all the way through and love it more each time!"

Talon is too powerful for the newly formed Overwatch to handle head-on, so plans are made to infiltrate one of their strongest supporters. Jesse McCree hasn't found a home or family quite like what he had in Blackwatch, but he's determined to protect his new friends whatever it takes.

Turns out, mating to your best friends murderous brother is what it takes and he goes willingly. Something's not right in the Shimada clan though and he's going to figure it and Shimada Hanzo out.

Or: Arranged Marriage Yakuza ABO AU, because all the things! THIS WILL HAVE A HAPPY ENDING!!

Familiar Habits by Philosophics [8,176 words] Reccer 1 comment: "I really like this one"

Reccer 2 comment: "One of my first ever Yeehan bookmarks back in the day!"

After joining Overwatch, Hanzo finds it difficult to sleep some nights. It is nothing a hot cup of tea cannot fix, but he never expected that he would have company.

(or: hanzo is very thirsty, in more ways than one)

I got this fever, fever burning inside by CourtneyCourtney [11,300 words]

Hanzo has heard stories of this 'weapon', the most lurid tales courtesy of McCree, naturally. A libido accelerant Talon injects intravenously, giving its victims the option of mauling a stranger for sexual release, forcing themselves on a teammate and ruining any trust built between the two, or - to quote Jesse's turn of phrase - dying of "blue balls."

In other words, not a way for someone like Jesse McCree to go. Not if Hanzo is determined to help. It would be a shame to lose a colleague as altruistic and reliable as McCree to a weapon so primitive.

If he has to choke out the voice at the back of his mind questioning his own altruism in performing this act, then so be it.

(or, McCree gets sex pollened by Talon, and Hanzo helps him out the way any good friend would (Really. Stop gagging, Genji.))

Ichigo by morrezela [27,121 words] Reccer comment: "Ichigo will forever be my go to fic. 😭😭 even tho it’s so heartbreakingly good"

They break up on a Wednesday

It's All Your Fault by Cadeykat [25,100 words]

Hanzo Shimada joins the ranks of Overwatch and finds that he quite likes teasing the resident cowboy. That is, until a single compliment ruins his thought process, and he has to deal with feelings he's not exactly well versed in.

Magic McCree by Cadeykat [15,105 words]

Hanzo Shimada does not want to be here, he does not like strip clubs and never has. And Genji is wrong, he does not need to 'get laid', no matter how long this dry spell has lasted. He knows he'll regret being here tonight, and he needs a drink. And the tall glass of water clad in plaid that just bumped into him could be what cures his thirst.

More than Most by leoandlancer [7,103 words] Reccer comment: "Shooting at your loved ones always works to confess your love, right?"

Initially, McCree thinks he's the one chasing Hanzo for time alone. However, after Hanzo tips his hand slightly playing target practice, McCree's less certain. Then Hanzo accompanies him to a private island, where he neatly lays to rest all of McCree's assumptions about his reticence. McCree simply chased until Hanzo finally caught him. Short little thing because McHanzo smooches and smut are giving me so much joy.

Poker Face by Cadeykat [28,383 words]

“Shark, my ass. Man cleared out $60,000 at the first table he played at.”

Hanzo shrugs, silently delighting in how Daniel sucks in a bracing breath at his nonchalance. Oh, he loves riling him up. Serves him right for calling him in on his day off. “So? That’s not entirely uncommon. Perhaps he’s just good at poker.”

“He’s won almost $250 grand over the last four days.”

Oh.

This is going to be fun.

Scoundrels and Thieves 'verse by vaguely_concerned [WIP; Series; 127,655 words]

Canon AU where the Shimada family and the Deadlock gang used to do business, Hanzo and Cassidy had a thing… and then Cassidy gets the ‘offer’ from Overwatch.

stop me if you've heard this one by losebetter [WIP; 9,516 words] Reccer comment: "my oldest yeehan bookmark, a very old WIP, but I recommend it regardless and still occasionally reread it because it's so good"

love or death. grab an end, pull hard, and make a wish. richard siken.

--

“Mmm. And, here, here is the best part of this, Jesse,” Hanzo slurs, afterwards, about oh-two-hundred by Jesse’s estimation. He’s standing around nude in the en suite, and Hanzo looks downright decadent lounging in the wrecked sheets back on the bed, all dark eyes, dark hair that cuts down over one shoulder like spilled ink. His long fingers shift on the flask propped up next to him, and Jesse swears some part of his tattoo ripples with the movement, too eye-catching to have come from the dim ceiling light. Maybe he’s still a little tipsy, but he can’t pretend he’s never seen Hanzo in action before, either.

Target Panic by Philosophics [20,500 words] Reccer comment: "an old fav of mine, funny, sexy and a bit angsty"

McCree looks him steadily in the eyes. “I said, I’m in love with you,” he repeats. Hanzo stares some more as the words sink in. “You,” he states imperiously, “are mistaken.” Then he promptly turns on his heel and strides out the open carrier door. - In which McCree confesses his love, Hanzo has some difficulty believing him, and the team seems entirely unable to keep from sticking their noses into the whole affair.

We're all Blackwatch Now by firefly_quill [WIP; Series; 18,491 words]

“Blackwatch under scrutiny after complaint from Japanese government”.

How Jesse McCree gets in trouble *for* following orders, for once.

This wraps up the Week 5 recs! Thank you to everyone who sent in a recommendation! Keep an eye out for next week's theme: "Show & Tell," all about the love confessions.

In the meantime, you can also check out the Week 4 recs here or check the list of past and future themes here!

[twilightmalachite]

Raison d’être - Epilogue 1

Author: Akira

Characters: Shu, Mika

Translator: Mika Enstars

"Yes. My family who viewed the performance are satisfied as well. It is possible that our grandfather had someone he loved while he was in Paris, but…"

[Read on my blog for the best viewing experience with Oi~ssu ♪]

Season: Spring

Location: Apartment in France

Time has since passed since Raison d’être’s performance.

At the house Shu is boarding at in Paris…

Shu: —Hah?

As I’ve said, Raison d’être was a one-time, immensely personal opera, commissioned for a Funeral Contest.

It is for private use only and there are no plans to make it public.

Non! Nothing will change no matter what you say!

Telling us that there are rumors being spread around and that there is growing demand amongst Valkyrie fans for a release changes nothing!

While it is a beautiful performance we have created, it is an opera about internal shame within the family…

I have no intentions to publicize it and make a laughingstock out of my grandfather.

That is that. Concern yourself over how to conduct yourself as a new member of society, over things such as this.

I am always open to cooperating with you, as long as it is not about a release of Raison d’être—Little lady.

Yes. Take care of your health in your new environment.

Yes, yes… Now then, farewell.

…Goodness gracious. Does that little lady think she is my mother or something? Going out of her way to make an international call for something that doesn’t matter…

Mika: What’d Anzu-san need?

Shu: It appears that Raison d’être has caught the interest of philistines, and she suggested that we make adjustments to it to suit the world’s tastes for a public release.

Preposterous, isn’t it? It being a one-time performance is precisely what gave it merit.

If our more discerning fans think seriously in their interpretation, they may arrive at the “truth” that we have worked so hard to hide.

And as such, I am resolute in my decision to keep Raison d’être private.

Mika: Mhm. By winnin’ the Funeral Contest, ya were able to receive yer Grandfather’s inheritance.

We don’t need t’make any more profit. Unusual fer a Valkyrie performance.

Shu: Yes. My family who viewed the performance are satisfied as well. It is possible that our grandfather had someone he loved while he was in Paris, but…

That person was a man.

And there is no method possible for two men to have a child with each other, so there is no way this person named Raffaello, who claimed to be the son from an affair, could exist.

Even if that young dollmaker did have a son, there would be no blood relation to Grandfather. We can safely conclude he would have no right to his inheritance.

And thus, my family is satisfied and relieved, bringing this series of tumultuous events to an end.

The fact that Raffaello’s true identity was Grandfather was not made public. They believe he was simply just a fraud.

Mika: Well, looks like the speculation we came to prior to our conception of Raison d’être has become the “truth”!

Well, it was the safest thing t’do.

Grandfather never had an affair.

Maybe he had a couple “odd romances” with his youthful indiscretion, but there’s no pressin’ inheritance issues involved.

The matter’s settled, an’ everyone’s happy.

But… I was all hurried t’prepare for Raison d’etre that my head was in a jumble. What was its true meanin’ in the end?

Shu: You have forgotten already? Secure head shut with bolts so your brains do not fall out. I’m always telling you this.

Mika: Nnah~, then that’d make me Frakensteins’ Monster?

Shu: Fufu. I’m glad to see that even my sarcasm is met with an immediate and appropriate response.

Anyhow. While I submitted the proposal for Raison d’être to my grandfather, I confronted him directly and received the following “truth”.

I am honored to say, my grandfather and I truly were alike.

My grandfather too had so-called imaginary friends since he was a child.

This imaginary friend, created to be a beautiful girl, was named “MADEMOISELLE” by my grandfather.

What made her a beautiful girl? Was it a distortment of my grandfather’s youthful sexual desire, or was it a feminine side inside of him?—

I interpret it to be the latter, although he himself was quite vague about it.

But, of course, my grandfather was the legitimate son to a strict and old family.

As the eldest son to succeed the Itsuki family name, if there were a feminine side to him—He could never admit to it, at least not publicly.

That’s how it was back then.

And so, my grandfather repressed this femininity inside him. However, it then expressed itself as coming to be the fictional girl, “MADEMOISELLE”.

That is how I’ve interpreted it.

[ ☆ ]

← prev | story directory | next →

[risu5waffles]

Stabs of Ten

Here we are again. It's always such a pleasure. Remember when these levels tried to kill me dozens of times? Hrrmm... not sure if that fits the song's metre or whatever. Whatever.

i should have liked this one way more than i ended up doing. It has a very charming and chill vibe to it i usually get right behind, but it spends way too much time building an environment, and not nearly enough for plebeian things like signposting or making sure objects behave in a consistent manner. i spent half the time asking, "but, don't you want me to go over there? Everything in the scene says i should be able to go over there. Why can't i do that?" Weirdly, there is one bit of signposting way at the end of the level, and it's the most obvious, out of place, just put big actual arrows to the lever the players need to pull kind of thing imaginable. It's, like, pick a tone, creator? This level got Team Picked, and i might have some feelings about that.

We talked about Wheely last week, and it was amazing then, and it continues to be amazing now. Go play Wheely. Seriously.

This level is honestly more fun than it deserves to be considering how kludgy and clunky almost everything about it is. i actually kept going back in to see if i could get a better score, so, like, that's kind of high praise? i don't hardly have the time on hand to go do that.

This is... cute... i guess? Cute-adjacent? i never had the chance or self-loathing to sit down wiv I Want to Be the Guy, so Dr_Vab did their best to bring the experience to me. i honestly did have fun wiv it, but the gimmick was wearing pretty thin by the end.

This isn't a bad level really, and it does have a few charm points to it (i really did like the Thx For Playing reveal at the end, i do like when creators do a little something to acknowledge players as players like that), but it doesn't really do much to make itself stand out from a host of similarly themed levels in LBP2. Still, it's not a bad trip down memory lane by any means.

i ended up quite liking this one by the end. Sometimes it's nice to just have something straight-forward and gameplay focused, and it fits the bill. The intro by the creator was charming (tho', i'm not entirely sure what in the level was cranking the thermo so high like they said), the aesthetic is clean, and it manages to mostly keep up momentum throughout. Wasn't a big fan of the trap panels in the red section, tho'. There really wasn't anything to indicate to the player the third one was going to kill them, and the first two are really hard to notice. The only other fly in the ointment was the level link they provided seemed to be broken; i actually was kind of interested in what they were recommending.

One of the consistent problems i have in reviewing old levels, is it can be hard at times to tell if something is poorly designed, broken in its original form, or broken because of a change in physics between the older games and LBP3. Like, i don't want to slag off on a creator because of something that got changed well after they walked away from the game, and that they had no way to anticipate or control for. i feel like something is different about wall jumps now, because this is multiple times it's come up where they've made things way more difficult than it seemed like the creator would have intended (like, when you consider the average difficulty of the surrounding sections?). There was definitely something screwy going on, tho', wiv that bit where it seemed like all we could do was throw ourselves out of level for, like, five minutes.

This one and Wood-B-Good were what put it in my head to maybe try to put together that Ace flag level i talked about a week or two back; i really had a good time wiv the simpler, more focused play. This one is definitely the stronger of the two. A nice (if slightly over-bright) presentation, and just a bit more in the challenge department. Honestly, it plays a bit like Baby's First HARD Level, 'cause some of the obstacles use techniques i've seen in those levels, but in a much easier, and easier to engage wiv format. Having played one of Robot's actual Hard levels, i'm pretty sure this was purely for player benefit, and not lack in skill in designing that level of challenge.

We talked about this yesterday. Let us never speak of it again.

There are some interesting ideas here, and i really liked the presentation, but i feel like it never quite gelled right. The creator mentioned that it was an older level that they'd finally got around to finishing, and i wonder if they hadn't really updated any of the logic for LBP3 (for one thing, there was no real reason to put the player in a SackBot when you've got Broadcast Chips right there that will do the job far more smoothly). There's a bit halfway through (or round abouts?) where it seems like they forgot to electrify a bunch of the hazards, which was weird but helpful; and somehow, when i got myself killed on the last obstacle, it just spawned me at the checkpoint nearest the scoreboard? Which, i was fine wiv really. The level had long worn out its welcome by that point, and i was ready to be done wiv it.

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

So there's another 10 down, only 9+ million to go. Had a very nice stream last night, and @hirunda-maxpw dropped by to drop some great logic knowledge on us, and that was super cool. My deadfeesh are even better than before and you better believe it (at least they won't kill everyone when they're only supposed to kill one person from now on. Ope). We're only 20days off from my early deadline for my next level, and this is getting into put up or shut up territory. i would lay at least even odds that i do neither.

[spiders-notagain]

Okay I'm back, I've pondered this (simmering in my mental soup for months) and I've come away with some additions. I particularly really like the idea that vulcan structured their society around dealing with autism, so that many of the characteristics for a human with autism don't appear in vulcans. With the flip side being human neurotypical behaviors are considered disabling in their society.

So here's a list. Also I think you made a mistake with your first line. It makes more sense as Vulcan Neurotypicalism is just Human Autism.

vulcans only doing things the most efficient/ideal way possible and getting confused if you arent doing it that way; will point out to you the "correct" way to do it because they think thats helping

vulcans having no need to talk to others (esp strangers) unless you have a specific reason

vulcans get overstimulated but youll never tell because they hide it like they do whenever they're in pain

vulcans also conceal that they get meltdowns, more obvious as kids

build their cities to minimize sensory overstimulation; exception are places that cater to non-vulcans like Vulcana Regar which has a noisy and chaotic nightlife

stimming but focusing their stims into meditative like behaviors like zen sand gardens, hair care or hand care

rigidly sticking to schedules

society is structured around a strict degree of predictability so that the only surprising events are unforseen; deal with their panic over unforseen events + change the way they do any of their emotions

follow vulcan rules easily enough because they make sense but sometimes struggle with the rules of other societies

dont really have a "makeup culture" cuz thats illogical but do makeup for art

a little less weird about gender/gender roles

Every kind of social interaction has formal rules (slight exception to close family relationships because they often create their own rules)

Hyper empathy? Well they have literal empathy, does that count

Its impolite to read emotion into someones words and actions especially because even if it does exist, theyre probably trying to control the emotion

End up being seen as pretentious in part because they correct people when they're wrong about things and they interpret that as trying to start an argument

someone on reddit said this which I think is relevant:

I would assume they're sort of like Japanese craftsmen. Whether they’re building something or just sharpening tools, every single movement is done deliberately, thoughtfully, carefully, and with purpose. I would suspect that most low level jobs would be automated, but the Vulcans doing the rest would take them very seriously. Like, yes, my job is to maintain the shuttlecraft in this bay, and I will assure that every single one is in perfect order, checking engine readings and fluid levels at least twice per day.

and this from a fic I really like:

"You don't have a lot of the cognitive biases and shortcuts that most species develop alongside sapience," Deanna said, keeping her voice neutral. Most people would consider that a benefit, but most people weren't aware that those biases came out of underlying heuristics that allowed the brain to conserve processing energy. Being without them was a double-edged sword. Xhenat nodded. "Yes, and as a result we have to be taught to do things that come naturally to other species. We are bad at letting go of the details, worse at learning to ignore the unimportant parts of our environment. We have only exacerbated the situation with millennia of selective breeding with an eye toward developing our telepathy and focus and pattern recognition. As a result, we come into the world quite raw, and are only able to exist with comfort by being taught how to deal with the sensations and emotions and thoughts that otherwise overwhelm us."

After peer review ive decided that Vulcan Autism is just Human Neurotypicalism

“Poor Sosonn… his family just doesn’t know what to do with him :| He keeps making aggressive eye contact, doesn’t understand body mirroring when he plays, choosing to instead disrupt the activities of others; never developed an independent organization system… and most worrying… the poor boy never expressed any desire in a special interest”

“How illogical. How does he expect to find his niche in society that way. Why can he not be like T'puk? She has already made her interest know in trains and will make a fine addition to the public transportation sector one day.”

“He doesn’t even stim.”

[duckyfruitbat]

Drawn to Life

I remember playing this game as a kid. I borrowed it from my brother and I enjoyed it. Now sixteen years later I played it again and realized that I didn't appreciate it nearly enough. This game is so delightful from the characters, the story, even the art style. I could gush about this for an entire review, so I'll do just that.

The main plot follows two child hood friends named Mari and Jowee calling upon the god of their world to help revive their village that has fallen to a darkness that came about from a fellow villager deciding that he can do better than god and stole a powerful holy relic eventually destroying it causing the world to fall into ruin. By the time the game proper starts, the world is nearly done for being stuck in an eternal winter with the sun gone. All seems lost until the creator starts talking to Mari as she's having a crisis of faith. Yeah this game has some religious themes, but because of the setting, it is pretty easy to put aside and it doesn't really push one religion over another. If anything they're more allegorical to any real life religion.

In game you play as a hero created from a mannequin that you can draw on, but in reality you are the creator of this world. I am a god with the ability to doodle dicks all over the world.

Given the stakes at hand I decided I needed to take it very seriously, so I made a blue fox with read hair that I named Bingus. The drawing mechanic is more of a gimmick in this game, and is not really a focus of the game play. Really its more of a standard plat former, it's a pretty solid one though. Each level is simultaneously a rescue mission for three villagers and a hunt for pages of the book of life. You can't complete the level without those two missions complete. Each group of villagers has one named and the other two are more generic.

Art style wise, we have that classic pristine DS pixel art going on. The environments have a lot of detail, and I also noticed that with just a little bit of care, you can make your own creations fit in pretty well. Something fun about the named villagers is that they have their own unique animations that pretty well convey their personalities. For example there is a thief whose animation is constantly looking over his shoulder, there's a security guard who is clearly inspired by the secret service who is always on his phone, no doubt going over the security detail, there's an astronomer who's always looking up while shielding his eyes from the sun.

The enemies are also just wonderful on the eyes. The common enemies the Baki, this game's equivalent to goombas, are just so adorable and are so expressive, I love them and would end society for them. There are also the shadow enemies created by the main villain, they give the feeling of being simultaneously being made from ink and smoke. The animation and the designs of the enemies are just something I can't help but to just stop and look at. It's just so pleasant on the eyes. Which has also cost me a number of lives.

Story wise it really sticks in my head. It has a progression in how things get more serious. The mood is tied to the mayor and his office, at first he gives off more the feeling of just trying to provide sanctuary from a dying world, but eventually his mood changes to "by Ducky's balls we actually have a chance to end this nightmare!" There is a subplot running throughout of Mari being propped up as the next mayor after her dad steps down at some point in the near future. Apparently the office of the mayor is hereditary here. She goes through an arch of impostor syndrome believing that she's not good enough for the title that is never fully resolved in this game, in fact it carries over into the next. (Spoiler alert) This makes the scene where the Mayor is murdered a heart wrenching moment. A character who is always there at the end of every level and mission who becomes a point of stability in the village is suddenly gone.

There are also plenty of moments of levity in between missions, one example is near the beginning of the game while the village is coming out of winter, the mayor sees Mari and Jowee throwing snowballs at each other and decides to have a village wide snowball fight. It's one of those moments I keep remembering, because it was just the villagers trying to keep their spirits up after watching the world crumble around them. Another point is when Mari and Jowee start getting theological about how the creator watches over the world, and Jowee ends up describing a DS. They know too much, I must smite them, BINGUS GET THE BINGLAR!

I mentioned this in the review I did on the Wii sequel, but this game has great respect for its audience. This is an E rated game on the DS but it doesn't use that as an excuse to cut corners with writing. Sure its a simple story with a coloring book gimmick, but peppered in it are details and moments that just tell me this game really cares about what its putting out there. It doesn't talk down to you, it doesn't handhold you, it treats you with respect no matter your age. I absolutely recommend this game.

[historywillforgetme]

copy paste of my speech for school

Dear Society!

As you probably know, we live in a system called capitalism. And people often glorify it, because the opposite, communism, is also bad. We grow up getting to know just how “good” capitalism is, using the weeping of history to justify its actions, and drowning any other ideas, calling them communistic, naming them names of nightmares that happened in the past. We took systems which white people made, and turned them into reality. We do not seem to care about alternatives, because we are forced into it. Remember just how, as a kid, you wanted to become an astronaut? Or an archeologist? Or anyone big, or famous? Remember just how sad you probably were when you discovered that just getting the basis of school will be 13 years? After 8 years of forcefully learning almost all completely useless things, that we won’t use in real life anyways, after 8 years of spending hours at home learning and solving homework, while you could do something that is actually a part of your interests. After all the scolding from your parents for your grades, and from your teachers too, because what could possibly be more important in life than grades? Than these imaginary numbers? We were just kids, and the system failed us. They put us, kids, in imaginary roles, saying “you are a girl, you cannot sit like this!”, “you are a boy, and boys dont cry!’, “pink can only be worn by girls”, etc, etc. It failed us because it destroyed our childhood dreams, for the sake of 1% of the wealthiest people on earth. So I, as a person who’s really, really angry at the system, I come out to you, the reader, listener, to society, for a change. We should refrain from using kind language when protesting, because they, the government, that 1%, never will take us seriously otherwise. They won't use kind words to us, they will want to kill us with cold blood, and swipe us under the rug, so the rest will stay silent, waiting for someone who’ll do something! If you won't stand up, no one will! Just because we feel comfortable with the rules, or think that we do, just because we were conditioned to think so, just because we are scared, shouldn’t stop us from ending it all. Thats what they want, they want submission! We should comfort the poor, and make the one % feel completely and utterly threatened for their safety and lives. Boys, aren’t you tired of the fact that you are shamed for showing basic human emotions? For not being an imaginary, rich, strong, stoic man? Aren’t you tired for being shamed for showing basic human affection to other boys? Girls, aren’t you tired of constantly trying to live up to ridiculous beauty standards? For constantly being reminded that you need to be a “lady”? For being called a slut, a whore or worse just because you wore something comfortable? And I don't care that I'm being impolite. People call us women these words, never care about being impolite. Girls, aren’t you tired of people saying “you’ll never find a guy with this behaviour!”? Queer people, aren’t you tired of being demonised by conservative people? Are we not tired of conversion therapy? Of always being skipped when it comes to representation in the media? Of being told that you are “unnatural”? Well, if we want to see a change, we need to make it ourselves, because most of the people are so indoctrinated by capitalism, the government that they won't do it if they don't see a reason. So i am giving you quite a few reasons:

School system was made to teach the youth to wake up early for monotone work in a factory

You are literally forced to ask for going to bathroom

If you are LGBTQ+ you are hated by half or more of your government because their beliefs say so

You will probably work your whole life just so the rich people get higher salary

The world’s air pollution is in 80% caused by 100 megacorporations

Companies disregard morals and public safety in pursuit of profit

Capitalism exploits the environment and natural resources

It proposes little or no solutions to poverty, while any person who’s in that 1% of wealthiest could solve the world poverty and hunger without bankrupting

Fails to pay a living wage to billions of workers

You are supposed to be exhausted and worried you’ll lose your income to die penniless

If you like drawing, or crocheting, or fixing cars, you want to work. You just don’t want to be exploited.

If you believe in something else than christianity, you will probably have to go to school in your holidays, and will not be able to pray as much as you need in some cases (for example if you are muslim)

We made roles that are impossible to fit in. Who said that we need social classes? I’m pretty sure that the world wouldn’t collapse if we would throw them away. The economy would tho. But the economy is a code for the rich, if the economy is getting better, the wealthy are getting richer, if it’s collapsing, they are getting poorer. Of course it’ll be hard at first. I won’t lie, we will have to get used to our new lifestyle. But imagine that one day, you’ll wake up, and decide that you would like a shirt with a specific thing on it. And instead of thinking “hmmm, do i have enough money?”, you’ll ask yourself “hmmm, can i paint the design or i would need to learn how to make it first?”. Imagine that one day you would walk out of your house and breathe fresh air instead of polluted one, get some fresh tomatoes without any chemicals, and just make yourself some sandwiches. Or maybe more, for you and that person that agreed to help you with painting your walls. Imagine a world without electric bills, because you take power from the sun, the wind or the water. Imagine it. Imagine yourself doing your favourite thing, just because you like doing that, in clothes that you made too, or someone made for you, just in your style. Imagine not having to explain why you are not in a nine to five job today, because you wanted to take a day off. Are you tired? You can just take a nap, instead of waiting for the next few hours. Hungry? Your neighbour has some fresh strawberries, and you know how to make a dish from them. You can just work together to make some food and eat. Imagine this. But we cannot achieve this without getting rid of capitalism.

[roze-sloth]

[random excerpt #01: Dazai calls on Akutagawa to involve him in a certain team-up, but Akutagawa has something he wants to know first...]

* * *

Dazai: **leaning casually against the wall of a deserted, isolated warehouse** Ah, Akutagawa-kun --just the person I wanted to see. I have a job for you. It seems we're in need of that lethal grace of yours.

Akutagawa: **narrows his eyes** .... Another job with the weretiger, I presume?

Dazai: **smirking calmly** Ah, you catch on quickly! Well, you two make such a dynamic duo, don't you think?

Akutagawa: **clenching his fists at his sides** I do not need to hear your attempts at sarcasm right now. Instead, why don't you tell me, this: why should I have to cooperate with someone whom I can barely stomach?

Dazai: **takes a step forward and leans in** Well, besides the fact that you both make quite the formidable team on the battlefield? It's a good way to ensure a harmonious working environment between factions, don't you agree?

Akutagawa: **gritting his teeth** --I don't care about that; not about the Armed Detective Agency's peace, nor the weretiger's well-being. Now, I'll ask you once more: the benefit to any others' aside-- why should I team up with someone who's nothing more than an obstacle to me?

Dazai: **chuckles** You say that, Akutagawa-kun, but deep down, you must actually already realize the potential of your partnership, am I wrong? Two powerful abilities working together, pushing each other to grow, and complimenting your strengths, as well making up for your respective weaknesses?... Under my command?— Quite the force to be reckoned with-- just think about it.

Akutagawa: **his glare darkens** .... This isn't about strength, however. Nor is it about complimenting each other in battle; I'm not so blind that I can't see this is a matter of constant comparison.... You want to see whether I can measure up to the tiger, is that it? The one you continue to doubt... is me, isn't it?

Dazai: **smiling, his gaze unreadable** ... Observation skills as sharp as ever. But it's not only about comparison, Akutagawa-kun; its as I told you, it's about pushing you both to reach your fullest potential.

Akutagawa: **furrows his brow** I don't need you to lead me by the nose to achieve that, Dazai-san... I will prove my worth and strength to you on my own, without needing to rely on the weretiger.

Dazai: **leaning back, almost appraising** Hmm. Really? Suit yourself. But remember, Akutagawa-kun, sometimes the strongest move is the one made together; think it over when your head's more clear. **turns, getting ready to leave**

Akutagawa: …. You say that, but-- aren't you constantly going off alone and doing things on your own? Devising plans, orchestrating moves... alone. **a narrow-eyed glare** Or do you mean to suggest that your moving others around like chess pieces, is your idea of making moves 'together'…. So why is it different only for you, Dazai-san?

Dazai: **turning around again, a hint of seriousness in his eyes** Akutagawa-kun, my solo endeavors are merely a means to an end-- a chaotic dance to keep others on their toes. But when it comes to you and Atsushi-kun, the potential lies in combining your strengths, not conflicting them. It's about ensuring that chaos works in our favor, not against it. Consider it a strategic necessity, if you will.

Akutagawa: **raises a brow faintly** So, what... you're the maestro, and the rest of us are just the players you've deemed qualified to create the symphony of your desired orchestra? But if one falters, they can simply be thrown away and replaced-- just as long as the concerto ultimately unfolds as you planned, that's what matters to you - am I wrong? **a pause, and then, quietly** ...You may have abandoned the Port Mafia, but your methods haven't changed at all, Dazai-san.

Dazai: **leans in, a cryptic smile playing on his lips** You've become more perceptive since my departure from the Mafia, Akutagawa-kun. But remember, even a maestro needs a symphony worth conducting. Your talents and Atsushi-kun's happen to add the perfect crescendo to my arrangement, however... it's not about replacing, but enhancing. Think of it as a collaboration, not a solo act. Now-- what do you say? Will you play your part?

Akutagawa: **eyes narrow, but he hesitates** …. I … **a pause, before continuing more sternly** --I have a condition first. Just one. Answer me what I ask and I will -grudgingly- lend my full cooperation.

Dazai: **smirks** Oh? Very well, then... ask away, Akutagawa-kun. I'm feeling particularly generous today, too.

Akutagawa: **glaring, taking a small step forward** …. Back then… why-- why did you leave? Why didn't you say anything before you left? **his brow creases with agitation** You disappeared without a word…. ( 'without even a goodbye'… but he doesn't say it aloud) you brought me into the Port Mafia and then left me behind, discarded -- tell me why?! **his obvious fury masks the despair**

Dazai: **his expression grows serious** You're asking a difficult question, Akutagawa-kun. **pauses** .... I had my reasons, but they're complicated and deeply personal. Believe it or not, there are matters that even I struggle to put into words. **gazes into the distance thoughtfully** ... I left when I felt it was necessary, not on a simple whim. And sometimes, perhaps, leaving without a word is a strategy in itself.

Akutagawa: A... strategy... ? **a pause** …. Is that really the reason? **his tone is cold and hard**

Dazai: **nods** That's right, Akutagawa-kun. It might be hard for you to understand, but sometimes the less you know, the safer you are. **sighs** It wasn't a decision made lightly, nor without its share of internal conflicts. But now, we have a different mission to focus on-- are you able to put aside our personal matters for the task at hand?

Akutagawa: **stares at him intently for a moment, then quickly averts his gaze again** …. I see. I think … I can understand it a little better, now. Yes… **a contemplative but softer tone** Very well. I'll fulfill this mission-- without fail, and with as little of that bumbling tiger's interference as possible! So, this time... watch me, Dazai-san. **his fists clench in determination**

Dazai: **smiles** That's the spirit, Akutagawa-kun. I believe in your abilities, but just remember that this mission is for the greater good, and sometimes we must endure the company of those we aren't particularly keen on, to protect the well-being of many others. **pauses** Now, let's go meet up with Atsushi-kun and get this show on the road.

[mistergoddess]

never should have smoked that shit now i am dead serious going to move to nyc if It All Works Out... fuck... this is going to be Thing I Am Scared About #1 for the foreseeable future. but it's good :) it's very scary and will be very challenging with my Issues surrounding moving and major life/environment change always being a big trigger for the autismdepressiontrauma megacombo but umm :'))

idk i'm not like particularly passionate about nyc itself which is definitely something people cite as something u need to Make It there but i think it's a cool and good place and end of the day it is just a place . and i like cities, about as much as i like countryside (and i hate cities about as much as i hate the country...) so it's like. the Most city ever (well in this country at least) isn't it. so that'll be interesting. but most importantly bruh idk i'm just. young and have never left my home town and am relatively untethered... no pets no career no partners no real friendgroup car's on its last legs anyway hell i really don't even have any major furniture i'm attached to and need or even find valuable (the one piece of furniture i do find valuable and am attached to is just way too fucking massive to ever work anywhere in ny period so... rip. at least selling that would help expenses, and literally everything else i own is trash) so like.

this is the time man. i cannot just spend my entire life in my hometown and i cannot spend my entire life in the south this is The Time to get out into the world and get some worldly experiences and like having a friend in Big Important Culturally Lush City who may have a roomie slot opening up, which can help me get my feet under me easier than if i just tried to do it solo, is an opportunity i'd regret turning down for the rest of my LIFE like this is it it is The Time Of My Life where i am Supposed To Do Things and Get Out There and here it is and i gotta do it and i want to do it and i CAN do it (and i can afford to do it!!!!! i have Toiled with a capital T for my savings and shit like this is exactly why) so i'm 100% gonna do it but omggg :'))))))))))) aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa......... i am but a lil ol southern boy... i am but a little fucking creature who does not know shit about shit...........

but the only way to ever change that is to Get The Fuck Out!!!!!! and big big city with literally anything you could imagine is such a good social and career prospect like. my city is truly very decently sized especially for the south we're one of the bigger/more major/noteworthy cities but also we're a pretty Crappy city compared to other big cities even in the south, like the social scenes and activities options here are a little meeehhhh and the career and economic opportunities here DEFINITELY mehhh so it'll be amazing to be somewhere with so MUCH where any culture or interest or subculture or hobby you can think of is represented and where any food or activity or manmade type of place to see you can think of is represented and where even a little fool like myself could find their way into some seriously cool work opportunities that could mean so much advancement in like skills and experiences and income...... and just like... god this is such a horrible term but literally networking!!! not in a BIG BUSINESS kinda way but just meeting interesting people who can help you and teach you and inform you and connect you to more interesting opportunities! wahh...

and i don't have to stay forever is the beautiful thing if it sucks i can hit da bricks and i think once i've made that initial breakaway to Leave Home like selling my car (genuinely even if i stayed here forever the car is on her way out so what better thing to do than move somewhere where car is not necessary... like if i stayed the car would fucking die anyway and then i'd be in the awful position of needing another one bc you can't not have one here so yeehaw selling her for moving/travel funds and being somewhere that's far less car dependent is the most auspicious move) and my furniture and putting my remaining possessions i can't bring with all at once in storage, then i'll be in a crazy good position to jump off from that point and go other places, maybe even the places i AM specifically personally passionate about and yearn for... so like... i'm GONNA do it...

but it's mad scary for real :) I Have Never Done This Before :)

[kyleledfordswriting]

It was two days before the one-year anniversary of the death of the guitarist of my old band, and I was feeling all kinds of emotions. I was still trying to process the loss of my friend when I heard the news of another death. This time, it was my high school buddy who had invited me into my first-ever band.

Working in the music scene can take a serious emotional toll on you, especially when you're surrounded by vulnerable souls and vice-filled environments. It's like a recipe for disaster. As I reflect on my own experiences, I realize just how lucky I am to have made it this far without meeting a similar fate. I mean, I could have easily been in their shoes if I hadn't been careful.

The thing is, it's not just about luck. I need to start taking my own mortality seriously and think about my safety as I continue to navigate this path. It's easy to get caught up in the music and the partying, but I can't forget that I'm not invincible. It's time to start making some changes before it's too late.

The feeling of loss and death is amplified by my recent separation. It was a conscious uncoupling, we said. As if that would somehow soften the blow. But let me tell you, there's no such thing as a pain-free breakup. No amount of mindfulness or self-reflection can fully prepare you for the feeling of loss that comes with the end of a relationship.

At first, I thought I was handling it well. I was calm, cool, and collected. But as the days turned into weeks, I started to feel the weight of it all. The joy, the love, the adventure - it was all gone. And in its place was an emptiness that seemed to seep into every corner of my life.

It wasn't until later that I realized what I was feeling was grief. The stages of denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance - I was experiencing them all. And it was no wonder, really. I had become addicted to the feelings that came with being in our relationship, and now that it was over, I didn't know how to cope.

To make matters worse, I had lost more than just a partner. I had lost a friend group too. The people we used to hang out with together were no longer interested in spending time with me.

It was hard to see my ex still hanging out with them, laughing and joking like nothing had changed.

So here I was, alone and adrift, trying to navigate this new reality. It was a scary and uncertain place to be, but I knew I had to find a way through it. Because in the end, as the saying goes, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. And I was determined to come out the other side of this breakup a better, stronger, more resilient person.

At first, I thought I’d try dating. I mean, isn’t that what you’re supposed to do after a breakup? But as I scrolled through dating apps, swiping left and right, I realized something. I wasn’t really interested in dating. I was just trying to distract myself from the pain of losing my relationship and my friends.

So I decided to take a different path. Instead of looking for a new romance, I started looking for new connections. I wanted to find people who I could talk to about what I was going through. People who wouldn’t judge me or try to fix me, but who would just listen and offer their own perspectives.

It hasn’t been easy. Making new friends as an adult is a weird and sometimes awkward experience. But slowly, I’ve started to build new relationships. I’ve met people through work, through hobbies, and through mutual friends. And you know what? It’s been good for my soul.

I’m not saying that I’m over my breakup or the loss of my old friend group. But I’m starting to see that there’s life beyond those things. That there are people out there who are worth getting to know. And who knows - maybe someday, I’ll even find someone worth swiping right for.

It's not every day you wake up and realize you're not as cool as you thought you were. I had one of those moments after having some deep and heartfelt conversations with new friends. I had to openly and honestly look at how difficult it was for me to process the trauma of having had a miscarriage.

You see, in my past relationships, the idea of having children was never seriously considered, or was completely off the table. So I had never even imagined what emotional space going down that path could exist within.

That all changed when my last partner said to me that they wanted to take out their birth control and have children with me. It was a bombshell. I was surprised at how I immediately knew I was 100% on board. The child that we could make together was such a beautiful expression of love and creation in my mind. The future of my life came into focus, and there seemed to be a true feeling of meaning and purpose to all of the experiences I had lived through up to that point.

When we started to tell our friends and family, I was so proud. I felt like I had accomplished something, even though I hadn't done anything yet. I remember sharing the news around my day job workplace, and the support of my co-workers was so empowering. It was like I had become part of an exclusive club, one that I never knew existed.

But then something happened. Something I never could have imagined.

We lost the baby. It was devastating. It was like someone had punched me in the gut, and I couldn't catch my breath. All of a sudden, my life had lost all meaning and purpose. I was lost in a sea of grief, and I didn't know how to get out.

I had to take a step back and reassess everything. I had to look at myself and my life in a way that I had never done before. It wasn't easy, but it was necessary. And it's still a work in progress. But I'm getting there. I'm slowly starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. And I know that one day, I'll be able to look back on this experience and see it as just another chapter in my life. But for now, it's a chapter that I'm still living, and one that I'm still trying to make sense of.

It was a crushing blow when our plans for a child were ripped away by the unfortunate miscarriage. The enthusiasm, love, and sense of purpose that we had felt just moments before were suddenly replaced with spiraling negative emotions. I struggled to cope with the loss of our potential future, but I can only imagine what my partner was going through. As a woman, the trauma of a miscarriage must run deeper than any man could understand.

At first, I tried to remain calm and rational when my partner brought up the idea of separating. But in reality, I was in a state of shock and denial. I hadn't fully processed the loss of our relationship in the context of losing our child. Our baby would have been seven months old at that point. It was hard to wrap my head around the fact that in such a short period of time, my partner went from being so enthusiastic about having a child to not wanting any children at all.

Was it the trauma of the loss that affected us in different ways? Or was it something I had done? As a partner and a potential husband, had I failed to be the best version of myself for them? These were the questions that plagued me as I tried to come to terms with our new reality.

It all started when I had a sudden realization, like a bolt of lightning striking my brain. I became fixated on every single criticism, argument, and difficulty that had ever arisen in my relationship. I wanted to identify any potential toxic traits and do everything in my power to combat them, to change my sense of self, and embark on a journey of self-improvement.

But why? Why did I feel the need to go down this path? My ex had made it abundantly clear that they were not interested in working on our issues, that therapy was not an option, and that there was no way forward. And yet, I couldn't shake this feeling of needing to better myself, to be the best version of myself possible. Was it to make up for past mistakes and be the father I never got to be? Was it for a future partner? Or was it just for myself?

These were difficult and perplexing questions that I found myself grappling with. It was like a hamster wheel in my brain that I couldn't escape from. Every criticism, every argument, every difficult moment in our relationship seemed to swirl around in my head, demanding my attention and focus.

As I delved deeper into this journey of self-improvement, I couldn't help but wonder if I was just fooling myself. Was this obsession with bettering myself just a misguided attempt to correct the mistakes of the past? Or was it something more, something that would truly benefit me in the long run?

These were the questions that haunted me, that kept me up at night. And yet, despite the uncertainty and the fear, I knew that I had to keep going. I had to keep pushing myself to be the best version of myself, to overcome my past mistakes and strive for a better future.

It wasn't going to be easy, that much I knew. But I was ready for the challenge. I was ready to face my demons head-on and emerge stronger and better than ever before.

It's like trying to untangle a knot of microphone cables - a frustrating, overwhelming mess that seems to grow with each passing moment. That's how I feel about my life right now. But amidst the chaos, I've found a glimmer of hope in the act of accountability.

It's not easy to admit when you're wrong. It's even harder to face the consequences of those wrongs. But I've come to realize that there's something liberating about owning up to my mistakes, flaws, and faults. It's like shedding a layer of heavy, suffocating guilt that's been weighing me down for years.

Don't get me wrong, it's not a quick fix. It's not like I can just say "I'm sorry" and expect everything to magically fall into place. But there's something empowering about taking responsibility for my actions and being proactive in finding a way forward.

Right now, my life feels like a jigsaw puzzle with too many missing pieces. I've lost friends, band mates, a relationship, and even a child. Each loss feels like a gaping hole in my heart, a reminder of all the things that could have been.

But amidst the pain, there's a glimmer of hope. By facing my faults and taking accountability, I'm slowly finding a path forward. It's not always clear, and it's definitely not easy, but it's a step in the right direction.

So here I am, trying to make sense of this messy, confusing world. I can't bring back the people I've lost, or undo the mistakes I've made. But I can hold onto their memories, process my grief, make new friends, and continue to work on myself. It's not a perfect solution, but it's a start. And sometimes, that's all we can hope for.

[unoriginalmess]

A Second Mask: Chapter 4

Did that just happen?

Hello guys! It's me. I'm finally writing again. Sorry about the delay. I'm going to explain more at the end of the chapter, but I'm just going to keep the beginning short. So here is chapter 4:

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

To say Adrien was concerned would be a huge understatement. He was downright disturbed. Its been weeks and still Marinette hadn't changed back to the happy, peppy, nice girl that he knew. AND SHE WOULDN'T EVEN TALK TO HIM ABOUT IT!

He tried to talk to her for a whole week after her original trasformation, but after the repeated firm rejections, he stopped altogether. He figured that maybe with some space, she might be able to work through whatever she was going through, but at this point, he's losing hope.

When he is feeling this distressed about something, he usually turns to his lady, but she has been acting weird too. Ever since she suggested they start sparring, she's started to show that she is going through kinda a rough time as well. She is the same ladybug when everyone is watching, but when it's just the two of them, she looks sad and tired. She has also started saying some concerning things while they are sparring. She has started talking about how she has started taking being Ladybug and the Guardian more seriously, and how she has less distractions now, which would be a good thing if she didn't say them so sadly.

The good thing is, the sparring has given him a chance to get out his aggression because of the whole Marinette-situation and his anger at his father in a safe environment. He didn't like the idea of hitting Ladybug at first (especially in the face) but with her not holding back on her hits, he felt more comfortable doing the same. It has helped them fight better too. He hopes that whatever Ladybug is going through in her civillian life will work itself out soon, but until then he will be there for her. He just needs to figure out how to be there for Marinette.

•••

Felix was making good progress with Marinette. After they first asked marinette about (insert fashion question of your choice here, I legit know nothing and I didn't have time to research anything for this chapter), she had started answering their questions on a daily basis. After a couple of days of that, she had started to rant to them about different things in the fashion world that were bothering her, exciting her, or confusing her that particular day. In response to that, they had started to respond to her rants with their own opinions on the subjects and even start their own rants.

It had gotten to the point where Felix would now consider them to be friends, though they know that Marinette would never call them as such, it was fine with them. They know she has trust issues, and they can understand why, so they are fine with being friends in everything but a name.

Felix was looking forward to their daily banter as they waited in their seat for Marinette to arrive. When she did, she was followed by a very pissed-looking Alya. Felix turned to look at her and noticed that she had what looked to be tears forming in her eyes. What they didn't notice was the little black butterfly that had entered through the window in the back of the room, and was making a beeline towards her.

•••

Marinette walked to school in yet another one of her newest fashion creations: a pair of oversized grey ripped jeans and a navy blue sweatshirt. She was actually really liking her new look, and the comfort that it offered was just an added plus.

She was actually feeling excited to talk to Felix about Gabriel Agreste's newest fashion flop. They were the only person that she had met that actually cared about fashion as much as her. It made her happy to talk to them. It kind of scared her how excited she was. Shouldn't she be distancing herself from everyone? she thought to herself. No. Felix isn't my friend, they aren't close to me, they are just someone I talk fashion with. Like a coworker, yeah. Totally. Felix is just a coworker. ("Liar" says the inner voice in her head)

She was shocked out of her thoughts when she was pulled to the side by someone as she entered the courtyard. Her mind immediately thought of an akuma, when the person spoke.

"Marinette! Girl," Oh it's just Alya. Wait Alya? "How long are you gonna keep up this cry for attention? Are you really THAT jealous of Lila? I know that Adrien likes her, but that doesn't give you the right to act like this! And you are hanging out with Felix, who accused her of sexually harrassing Adrien on their first day here-?" She looked absolutely furious at her, but Marinette had heard enough. She cut Alya off in the middle of her presumably long rant.

"ALYA!" Said girl jumped at both the inturruption and the tone of voice used, "First of all, this isn't a cry for attention, if anything its a cry for leaving me the fuck alone. Second of all, I'm not jealous of Lila. I'm not in love with Adrien anymore, and haven't been for a while. You knew that I was dating Luka right? Why would I care who Adrien likes? Lastly, I am allowed to hang out with whoever I choose, whether you like them or not. It's none of your fucking business Alya, and if you think that I'm just some jealous, attention-seeker why do you even care?" With that last question she stormed off to the classroom, leaving a speechless Alya behind her.

When marinette sat down in her seat, she just kept thinking about how Alya was just talking to her. How could she think that about her? They used to be best friends, and Alya wasn't even concerned about her not talking to her anymore, she was just concerned about her being "jealous of Lila". It made her so furious that she could feel tears trickling down her face. She sees the black butterfly out of the corner of her eye and without hesitation grabs it out of the air.

(Next part is taken from this post by @bigfatbreak)

"Go ahead and akumatize me- See what happens, Hawkmoth!" She screamed the words with a slight madness that the energy of the akuma was giving her, "Every leash has two ends! I just have to pull until I find where you're holding it!"

At this point, the entire class was frozen in place watching her and listening to her crazed-sounding voice threaten an actual terrorist. Marinette felt Hawkmoth's confusion and terror through the bond. What in the- She's sensing me through the Akuma?! The akuma then started to fly away, and when it couldn't it zapped her hand like it was made of lightning and fluttered through the same window it came from. Marinette felt like she had failed yet again and collapsed down on her desk, muttering, "Uuuuggghh. It escaped anyway... What a waste. I didn't realize that Hawkmoth was such a coward. He usually likes grandstand..."

She was startled when her hand was picked up by Felix's, "You likely scared him off by managing to locate him like that... A risky move, I should mention. I would ask that you not attempt that a second time. No one knows what his akuma is truly capable of. You'll want to keep off of this hand for a while, too."

"Oh, are those the doctor's orders? Why, Felix, it almost sounds like you care about meeee." Marinette was all too amused by Felix's concern for her. She also liked to tease them... AS COWORKERS DO.

"I have an investment in your presence. Now don't be cheeky and let's get you to the nurse's office," They said while holding her wrist and gently pulling her in that direction.

Marinette scoffed, "'An investment in my presence'??"

Felix chuckled while still semi-dragging her by the wrist towards the front of the room, being careful not to hurt her injury even worse, "What did I just say about being cheeky?"

On their way out of the door they passed a VERY distressed-looking Adrien. He seemed to be sharing the sentiment with the entire class of: Did that just happen?

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

And thats chapter 4. It is VERY LATE! I know. I've been swamped with work, and when I went to write it, I had zero ideas on how to write this chapter. I never ended up getting those ideas. I just went where my writing took me, so if it doesn't really match the characters that's why. I will try to be better at updating regularly, but it probably won't happen. Sorry to everyone with a normal sleep schedule, but this is the time that I write things. Also I didn't have my outline with me while writing this chapter, so it might not have everything I planned to write in it.

I would like to thank you all for all of the support I've been getting on this fic. Despite all of the chapter delays, you guys have stuck with me through all of it, so thank each and every one of you. I love seeing so many people loving this au as much as I do. Without you guys this story wouldn't exist, and I would've stopped writing it after the first chapter.

As always, constructive criticism is always accepted. I love being able to improve my writing whenever possible.

Thank you for reading. Have a nice day/night/whenever you are reading this. See ya next time guys, gals, and non-binary pals.

Taglist

@queer-illusion @apasponsor @heckinggremlin @1-ahiro-1 @hewantedbeefintheparkinglot @sassakitty @lennauts @rianoel @dorkus-minimus @khneltea @welp-that-was-unexpected @mlnchlymrshmllw @lovelyautumnsunflower @chariphrasis @lovesbooks @komatsuna-yuki @polyvirnl @innocentlyguiltyfrenchfry @qhobias @ive-tumbled-down-a-rabbit-hole @hammalammadamdam @cloudydaysomewhere @alcoholic-barney @basenikon @xxbehindthemaskxx @corporeal-terrestrial @shadowymemoirs @moonlight-densetsuu

[stuffiwannaseeformyslef]

Post game security breach true ending hc’s that i might never draw so i’m writing it here

also be aware I don’t really know fnaf lore all that much, i just wanted to share my hurt comfort hcs. dont take this too seriously please

-after escaping the pizzaplex, Gregory and Freddy went walking around finding somewhere to stay. freddy would walk in gas station stores and ask if he could get any comfortable items for gregory, keeping his fame as the pizza rockstar bear in mind. meanwhile gregory is waiting outside with a map he got from the front desk, figuring out where they should go next.

-long story short, they decide they want to hang around a small town off the map or something. somewhere far away from the pizzaplex where no one can recognise freddy.

-they just kinda walk there, stopping by a gas station every few hours to recharge freddy (he just sticks his claws in the socket, much to the staff’s shock).

-on their journey, gregory insists he doesn’t need sleep, but always ends up on the verge of collapsing. 

-freddy lets him sleep in his chest cavity, putting in a pillow he got from a store employee for extra comfort. 

-at some point they reach the little town, and try to rent a house. which luckily is fairly easy since its a small town, and rent is cheap (freddy gets a job, despite the initial hesitance from the shock of the whole robot thing)

-the house isn’t really much, but they fill it up slowly slowly, and eventually gregory gets a good quality bed.

-gregory really wanted to get a job too, but freddy insisted that he stay at home and work on getting a list on what should be in the house, since its mostly his human needs that have to be met. he also wanted to enrol gregory at school at some point.

-before the school year starts and in the period that gregory’s left alone at home a lot, he becomes a little bitter and upset. its mostly because he hasn’t confronted the trauma of what happened at the pizzaplex , and also a mixture of how lonely he feels at home when freddy isn’t here for most of the day, and how he’s trying to adapt to the abrupt new changes in his life.

-freddy gets his first dad test when he comes home one day to gregory looking really upset.

-when freddy asks if he’s okay, he shrugs him off a little harshly and insists he’s fine. when gregory is having dinner, freddy begins talking about how lonely he must be at home, which almost immediately sets gregory off.

-when gregory’s emotional, its mostly all bark and no bite. he shouts a lot, and gets extremely angry and bitter for most of the breakdown period, but soon after he just starts crying.

-he only got pissed about being left alone and being anxious about his changing environment, the pizzaplex problems show up only later.

-freddy’s a bit shocked, but he manages to deal with gregory’s first breakdown really well. (mostly because he's equipped with dealing with child breakdowns from his experience at the pizzaplex, but he still has a lot to learn. he's also worse at it because its harder for him to deal with someone breaking down thats inherently close to him)

-speaking of cooking, freddy and gregory learn to cook together, starting of with simple recipes like omlettes or pasta. freddy gets extra easy to make snacks just in case the recipe doesnt work.

-after gregory broke down, freddy made an effort to do fulfilling activities with gregory when he gets back from work to make up for the loneliness.

-freddy continues to call gregory ‘superstar’, and collects more dad nicknames along the way like ‘champ’ and ‘bud’, from the other dad’s he sees around town.

-theres a mechanic in town that fixes freddy’s battery capacity so he doesn’t need to charge every second. not only that, but they fix his efficiency so it doesn’t have to take so long and take so much electricity.

-when the first day of school starts, gregory shows a more aloof and reserved side to him, much to freddy’s suprise.

-gregory most definitely comes back from school with bruises. 

-some kid had seen freddy drop gregory off and had decided it was a good idea to come up to the new weird kid and insult his robot dad. 

-after a record minute of attempting to be patient, gregory decides that he’s had enough and gives the kid a hard punch in the face, (the kid was being a real dick. it wasnt just light teasing). which then of course caused the first fight of the school year, and also painted gregory a not so ideal reputation.

-if you’re counting who escaped with the most hits and least damage, gregory definitely won, but its not like he ended up unharmed or anything by the end of it.

-he did not explain what happened at school to freddy. later freddy had a chat to him about trusting him enough to confide things to him.

-gregory is a really bright kid, but doesn’t really fit well in the school system, and thus struggles a lot and argues with a lot of the teachers.

-the bullies try to stir him up, and everyone else is kinda scared of him.

-he’s a little lonely and aloof, but he’s introverted, so he’s quite okay with being alone at recess for a number of days.

-he most definitely thinks everyone in the school hates him, but he doesnt let himself get down about it.

-he often gets into physical fights with the school bullies, surprise surprise. he loses most of the altercations he gets into, but only because its 4-5 against one (they learned to get backup from the first time they fought him). gregory may be feisty, but he’s not superhuman. at the very least he gets a lot of really good hits in.

-gregory is not at all a violent or aggressive person, he's just still in the survival mind frame of: fight, run or think your way out. and in his head these kids are threatening his robo dad. i also think gregory just inst used to people his age, so he doesnt exactly know how hes supposed to react either way.

-when parent teacher interviews rolled in, parents were really curious to see who gregory’s guardian was. some of the bullies’ parent’s wanted to give him a piece of their mind, but immediately decided not to when a giant mild mannered robot bear walked in, claiming he was responsible for gregory, and asking if he was in the right place. 

-the kids who came with their parents are now slightly more scared of gregory than before. the bullies however are only scared of freddy specifically, and all silently agreed not to mess with greg while freddy was around. 

-the parents don’t even get a chance to be afraid or sceptical of freddy, because he sits next to them and asks them parenting advice in the most polite way possible, immediately earning a budding friendship with about every parent there.

-the parents don’t dare ask about gregory.

-ironically they don’t even need to, because freddy surprisingly goes off about his reserved traumatised child like theres nothing inherently wrong or suspicious about him.

-gregory gets friends eventually when they were doing group projects and discovered that gregory was really cool albeit a little unaware of how to act around people his age.

-just when things were starting to calm down for the two, gregory began to get constant nightmares about what happened in the plex. y'know, murderous animatronic stuff, plus maybe occasionally a nightmare about freddy not being in his life (surprisingly, those hurt the most for him)

-the first time it happened, gregory's immediate instinct was to go over to freddy and hide in his chest cavity, which has just become his projection of ultimate safety at this point.

-when freddy had noticed, Gregory was already asleep, though breathing a bit heavily.

-freddy goes into rest mode at night just to make gregory feel as if he's more human, since he technically doesnt need to sleep

thats it for now idk if ill add more later

[looseratinthegarage]

First thoughts of Prey

⚠️SPOILERS AHEAD⚠️

I liked it. The premise is good. CGI is okay at times, better at others. But wtf did they do to my boy? They fucking did him dirty. I didn’t like the design in Predators from 2010 either. It feels like directors who know nothing about the franchise keep strolling in and changing shit up. You don’t mess with perfection. The original design is perfection. I was rather disappointed to see that they significantly slimmed down the yautja and made his head “more proportionate to his body” quoted from the director. Director Dan Trachtenberg stated he wanted to make him more “animalistic” I believe is how he phrased it, but correct me if I’m wrong. The fact that this Yautja was “slimmed down” doesn’t make a lick of sense if you look at what happens in the movie and the sort of fighting he engages with. He willingly wrestled a bear and got fairly wounded. He took on one of earths many tanks without weapon aid, why? Because he was fighting on its level. As we’ve seen them do in countless other movies. But why would they make him smaller, therefore weaker, and put him up against such a deadly creature?

Something that peaked my interest was the fact that Dan said this is a more “primitive yautja”, one from 300 years ago. But that just doesn’t make sense. The Yautja can live hundreds of years and evolution takes far longer to happen then in that short time. Try millions of years. If you look at humans you see we haven’t changed almost at all in 300 years, now If we take a look at some long living life forms on earth we see that they don’t really change either, in the millions of years of the species existing. Example, take a tortoise for instance or a crocodile, they live an extremely long time, have they changed very much throughout history? No. Evolution never stops, Darwinism and the theory of natural selection will always be around, but these specific creatures kept adapting efficiently to their environments, making a “near perfect” life form from the combination of helpful mutations. All of this leads me to believe the Yautja have been around far longer then humans if they have such a long life span, as if that wasn’t already obvious with their advanced technology, but I digress.

Now, another problem I have with the movie is a couple scenes.

1). It’s when the Yautja has Naru in between the rocks and was going to decapitate her with his advanced shield-like weapon. Granted I’ve only watched the movie once through, and will have to rewatch it many more times to give a thorough and more accurate analysis; Why didn’t he kill her? He had the perfect opportunity, so why? Was something stopping him? Did his weapon get stuck on the large stones? or did he seriously still not see her as a threat still at that point?

2). He blocked almost zero attacks. I’ll reiterate once more, they made this Yautja weaker, so why did he get so many hits on him? He’s smaller to be more agile, but he really didn’t show that off. When jumping from tree to tree he did not display it either, we’ve seen the larger Yaujta fight as he did from the trees. He is no tank, powerful yes, but he is unlike his beefier yautja brethren who can take more hits.

—(ADDED CONTENT)—

I feel the need to discuss the predators design further. They elongated his head and reduced its width as well. He looks far too bug like or perhaps resembles an odd fish. The colors are muted and bland unlike the other yautja we’ve seen in movies, comics, and games. I also noticed his “dreads” are much finer, less thick. I’m not opposed to the change of the dreads, I actually like the update, as well as the og thick dreads.

—(END OF ADDED CONTENT)—

But despite my nitpicking I must give credit where credit is due. This is possibly the best film we’ve ever seen come out of the franchise. While the original from 1987 will always be my favorite, this is a very close second. The visuals were absolutely stunning, the camera work was well done, and the casting was awe-inspiring. I would like to thank Director Dan Trachtenberg and screenplay writer and producer Patrick Aison for their wonderful job. As well as the cast and crew who worked on this fantastic piece of cinema.

⚠️This is all my opinion, I am not claiming to be an expert on the subject nor know everything about Yautja canon and lore. Please take this with a grain of salt.⚠️

If you have thoughts on this please share them, I’d love to hear everyone’s opinions. <3

[tomwambsmilk]

k so my work put on a conference last week and I only went to the saturday morning sessions but I ended up in a seminar discussion about climate activism. not really my wheelhouse so I just listened for the most part but - I was sitting next to this university prof who was an ex-politician and at one point he was talking about how if pro-environment policies are going to be a priority people need to push their political representatives. and at first I was like yeah totally!! I am big on contacting my political representatives about the things that matter To Me. but then he kind of dismissively said 'recent polling has shown that most canadians care far more about cost-of-living than the environment. and they don't want environmental progress if it'll cost them anything' and everyone sort of ruefully shook there heads and I was just sitting there like.... I think that's extremely valid actually. cost of living has SKYROCKETED and many people are really, really struggling to put food on the table and pay rent. and yeah climate change is terrible and will have potentially catastrophic impacts tomorrow if not stopped but. those impacts are coming tomorrow and people need to eat today. and its all well and good for a bunch of uni profs on tenured salaries to shake their heads because for them 'increased cost of living' means their summer vacation is in canada instead of europe, whereas for a lot of people I know its the difference between living in an apartment and a car. and if you're in that boat, and an environmental policy is being proposed which will negatively impact you financially (either directly or indirectly) I think its actually pretty understandable to be opposed to it

speaking of cars - a really excellent example is the carbon tax on gasoline in canada. the carbon tax is one thing for people who live in toronto, which has moderately effective and affordable public transit. if you live in toronto the choice to drive is, in fact, a choice - so a program which attempts to discourage driving makes sense. but geographically speaking, most of the country is pretty rural. I grew up in a pretty rural area. In those parts of the country, driving is not optional. There's no public transit and odds are most people have a 30-minute drive to work or school or the grocery store. In these areas, being too poor for a car is like being too poor to buy groceries or pay rent - its going to seriously hamper your ability to continue living. So for these people, the carbon tax is a penalty for something which simply cannot be helped, and there's 0 effort on the government's part to provide them with the resources which would give them other options, like affordable public transit. It's just fuck you - your gas bill is going up. And when people are struggling to pay bills, that's no small thing; but politicians consistently paint people opposed to the carbon tax as anti-environment greedy conservatives. And I look at that whole situation and go, honestly? Some of the people complaining do in fact have a point

There are broader examples too.... Canada's national economy is inextricably linked with Alberta's oil industry. If we all stopped using oil tomorrow, not only would hundreds of thousands of people be without work, but there would be millions of dollars in lost tax revenue, plus the shuttering of businesses in alberta due to lost revenue and the ripple effect this would have on jobs and income. That doesn't mean we just keep using oil forever, but it means that any sustainable plan for Canada to move away from oil NEEDS to have a significant economic component which addresses all of those lost jobs and revenue so we don't impoverish an entire province in the process. And yet for whatever reasons government policy always seems to be one or the other, and so of course nobody in alberta is going to support it because you haven't explained what they're supposed to do for work once the oil jobs disappear.

I'm sort of just rambling I guess - I'm just a little frustrated with watching all of this discourse from comfortably middle-class politicians and academics who think that anyone who raises an economic concern is a money grubbing conservative. A lot of them are in fact working-class people who are fearful of the financial implications of these policies and I do in fact think we owe it to them to make sure the poor are not disproportionately shouldering the burden of environmental progress

this is just me thinking out loud but. I do think perhaps maybe there is a problem with politically-focussed environmental activism that doesn't address the economic impact of pro-environment policies. if that makes sense