#still debating if i should make it the same length or shorter than the other chapters

[becca-alexa]

halfway through the next chapter and i am already running out of steam

[twisted-in-underland]

Morrigan Crowley alt. NRC outfits

Hello Hello! Here is the long awaited post with Morrigan’s alternate NRC outfits! There are a few event outfits I didn’t design for just yet so I’m not including them. Perhaps they’ll be added in a future posts

All credit for the sprites/cards I used as my references belongs to the Twisted Wonderland team and Yana Toboso!

Other Morrigan outfits: School uniform | Royal Sword Academy | Village of Miracles event

Groovy Candy & Coffin icon

I feel like it’s only fair that I actually make Morrigan a groovy candy and coffin icon design.

Raven feather and mirrors are the things I’ve been using as Morrigan’s icons/symbols so those are what I used for these designs.

Since Morrigan is in Diasomnia I used the Diasomnia group’s icons as my references.

The groovy candy was pretty easy, I just did a ravens feather

The coffin icon was a little harder because I wasn’t quite sure what design I wanted to make.

After looking at some of the other characters coffin cards and looking at the mirrors Crowley wears, I decided to combine the feather and mirror motifs.

My thought process was that it’s a more ornate mirror, so the feathers on the sides would be decor elements on the sides of the frame.

Dorm Uniform

So I completely forgot that Daisomnia (at least for the ENG server) doesn’t have sprites for their dorm uniforms. I still wanted to include it, so I used mainly Sebek’s “official design” art as a reference. His design happens to be facing the same way as the in-game sprites so it was easier to get the design right.

Morrigan’s dorm uniform has very minor changes. They aren’t a big fan of ties so, while they may button their shirts all the way, they don’t wear the tie. The same can be said about their school uniform. I also imagine their boots are heeled like Malleus’s, though are maybe a bit shorter.

The hat was a pain in the butt, imma just say it. Especially because I didn’t have a sprite to reference in terms of the size it should be. I will admit I was tempted to omit it completely, but felt it would have been too out of place if I did.

Ceremonial Robes & Birthday Boy

There isn’t much to mention about either of these outfits, I didn’t really change anything.

The detailing on the robes was pain though. It just took forever

The ribbon on the birthday suit outfit is purple as a call back to Morrigan’s purple colour scheme outside of their uniforms

I also included the VoM braid to the Birthday suit just for fun

PE uniform & Lab wear

These are another pair that I don’t have much to say on because of the general diversity in how the characters wear their PE and Lab gear

For Morrigan’s gym uniform I kind of did a cross of the turtleneck Malleus wears and the general crew neck T-shirts many of the other characters wear. Just for a little spice

I also debated on having them wear their magic pen like Silver, but I ended up not liking the sketch, so their pen is in the little pocket on the jumpsuit sleeve (hidden behind their hair lol)

For Morrigan’s lab wear I gave them an open lab coat like Lilia , I just made the length of the coat the same as everyone else’s. Other the. That, there isn’t much that’s super different.

For both outfits I put Morrigan’s hair up in a bun due to the nature of the classes. Would the longer bits still be cause for concern, particularly when doing alchemy? Yeah probably, but it’s easier to change the back of the hair than redo the bangs 🥲

This took forever to compile but here are a collection of alternative NRC outfits for Morrigan! I’m gonna try to stop myself from making any more outfit sprites for Morrigan so I can focus on some of my other OC’s. I may come back with some of the event outfits at a later time.

I’m debating on making a sprite list like this for either Yuri or Roma next. That, or I make work on sprites for my non student OC’s 🤔 idk we’ll see where I end up lol.

The other outfit posts I’ve made are linked at the top. I’m open to any questions y’all have!

[fjadwrites]

did i cheat on this?

Yes, I know. What a title for today's rading/book blog. I don't know, but I couldn't help feeling that way just for me to catch up with my reading challenge. I mentioned that on yesterday's blog entry, I know. But I couldn't help feeling frustrated about my reading journey as I keep on seeing the number of books that was behind schedule. So I did what I considered to be the weirdest thing ever ㅡ at least for me.

I read short stories and novellas. And thanks to that, I finally got back on track on my reading challenge. And maybe I went a little overboard on that one, now I'm 3 books ahead of schedule. Just so you know, almost half of them were novellas. Should I call that cheating? Maybe. But I think this is just helping me read more, regardless of the length of the book.

Don't worry, I'm still reading books that are more than 150 pages. But I'm actually choosing to read something that I'd consider a comfort read or books that really makes me happy. At the moment, light novels give that to me. I'll get to start reading a new book or continue reading the pending ones as soon as I can, without feeling the pressure for me to actually finish reading it.

I read these novellas yesterday as a way to "cheat" the challenge, as I'd like to say. Crazy, right? And yes, I also ended up reading some tropes and genres that I was so... uncomfortable in so many ways, despite being a 33-year-old woman. You might have guessed what that genre might be. But I won't dive in to that. As for the ratings I gave to each book, here they are:

Her Brother's Bestfriend (Flowering #0.5) - ⭐⭐⭐

Adrian's Lost Chapter (Bloodlines #0.5) - ⭐⭐⭐

A Longtime (And At One Point Illegal) Crush - ⭐⭐⭐

A Mermaid For Christmas - ⭐⭐⭐

Yumi (Flames In The Mist 0.75) - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Possibly the longest out of all these five novellas/short stories I read would be the third one. While the last two doesn't have any hints of romance on it. I mean, they're all alright. But I still couldn't fully understand why I also decided to read novellas or short stories tied to a series that I haven't read yet. Then again, more often than not, they could also serve as standalone stories tied to the universe where the stories originated. I might do the same on the other series that I have in my digital library. But I'm still debating on that.

While reading novellas, I also continued reading other longer books. In this case, light novels. I decided to re-read Volume 2 of "The Weakest Tamer Begins A Journey To Pick Up Trash" as soon as I saw an episode of the anime version on Youtube. You could say that this is one of the few instances in which I read the book versions first before an anime or movie adaptations were announced or even appeared. I'm only 27% of the reread, but this is a long book, so that's not a surprise. Along with that, I started reading Volume 3 of "By The Grace Of The Gods". To my surprise, this book is still Chapter 2. It's like continuing the events that happened in the second volume. Then again, this is still about Ryoma's laundry service store and its progress, so maybe that's the reason. I've read 23% of the book and I think this was slightly shorter than "The Weakest Tamer". I don't know, but I couldn't help thinking that way.

I might do some more novellas reading today ㅡ who knows. But I don't really mind doing that for now. I already started with this cheating, so let's continue doing it until I finished reading all of the novellas that I have in my digital library. 😁✌️

Oh, by the way, I changed the range of my page count quota on the random number generator. From 10-70, I changed it to 20-90. Yes, lesser than 100, but this is what I like. This is still doable for me. And here's my page count qouta for today:

It's bigger, I know. But still doable for me if it means reading more and adding them to my Goodreads Reading Challenge. It's weird, I know. In any case, let's continue reading more. Honestly, I didn't think I'd ever consider doing something like this just for me to complete my reading challenge.

What do you think of that? Let me know. For now, I'll end this entry here. See you tomorrow! Happy reading. 😊✌️💕📚📖

[ask-a-vetblr]

I saw a video with some type of animal professional saying that ferrets do better on a diet of only raw meat than anything else. What I look up seems uncertain. Should ferrets have raw meat?

vet-and-wild here.

Ah, now there is a subject of debate. Let me start out by saying that there is no universally agreed upon diet for ferrets, and no full diet trials to say which diet is "best". We do have some research and data collection, but there's definitely still disagreement.

Let's look at what a ferret needs. Ferrets are obligate carnivores (meaning they need animal protein) with a very simple and short GI tract. Their small intestines are about 5x the length of their body...compared to 8-10x in a cat! It's basically a simple tube from stomach to rectum.

They have high protein and moderate fat requirements, and actually don't tolerate carbohydrate levels as high as a cat (another domesticated obligate carnivore) can. Ferrets don't do well with cereal grains, and pea proteins have been linked to bladder stone formation. Even their dentition (which is super impressive for such a tiny animal) screams "predator" and is designed for shearing, not grinding.

High carb diets are also thought to contribute to the development of insulinomas, one of the most common diseases ferrets get. However, abnormal pancreatic tissue (where these tumors occur) has been found in ferrets as young as 2 weeks, so it is not likely a solely nutritional influence. Anecdotally, I have also discussed this with boarded small mammal vets and exotics vets in other countries, where raw diets are more common. None of them have felt that they've seen a significant difference in the incidence of insulinomas in raw fed vs commercially fed ferrets. But that is all anecdotal; we don't have any studies on that, unfortunately.

The best overview and discussion on ferret nutrition that I've found has been Johnson-Delaney, C. A. (2014). Ferret nutrition. Vet Clin North Am Exot Anim Pract, 17(3), 449-70. (If you want to read the full summary I did a post on it here) and here are the most important tidbits:

1. A raw diet may be the most biologically appropriate...but hold on to that for now.

2. Ferrets eat many small meals throughout the day and cache their food.

3. There are no reports of nutritional deficiencies in ferrets on an appropriate ferret or high quality cat diet, unless they were overfed supplements that unbalanced the diet.

4. We know that cats can tolerate carbohydrates up to 40% in their diets, and ferrets have an even shorter GI tract than them (meaning we think the number is lower but probably don't know exactly where the cut off is).

5. A ferret's physical condition will suffer if their dietary protein is <30%.

6. 15-30% fat is sufficient but up to 40% has shown to be tolerated well.

7. Cereal grains are not digestible and fruits/veggies have minimal nutritional value.

8. Kibble may reduce dental tartar, but it also may cause abnormal wear on the teeth.

So with all that in mind, some vets do recommend a raw diet. Even Oxbow, a trusted small mammal nutrition company, recommends raw diets for ferrets...

...but it's not that simple.

Here's where the problems come in:

1. Raw diets pose a health risk to immunocompromised humans or animals.

2. Nutrient deficiencies are seen only with home prepared diets, not commercial diets (unless excess supplementation occurs).

2b. Vitamin overdoses have also only been seen with home prepared diets.

3. A ferret's tendency to eat small meals and cache their food often makes feeding raw meat impractical at best, and a dangerous health risk at worse.

4. There is no studied or agreed upon protocol for balancing a home prepared ferret diet, meaning a lot of it is guess work.

5. Ferrets are not polecats in the same way that dogs are not wolves. They have been domesticated for thousands of years, and particularly in the US, bred and raised primarily on poor quality diets (Marshal Farms). So feeding a ferret like a polecat doesn't make any more sense than feeding a dog like a wolf...and we really don't know the impact of Marshal's inbreeding and mass production, at least in terms of changes in the GI tract.

So it comes down to raw is probably more biologically appropriate, but carries a lot of risks if you do it wrong. And on top of that, we don't have great data on how to do it right. I don't fault my colleagues for recommending raw diets for ferrets (at least compared to cats or dogs...), but I'm not personally at a point where I think it is preferable. We need diet trials and more regulation of who is formulating these diets, but I don't think the answer is to have every ferret owner in the country start tossing frozen/thawed c*hicks or r*odents into their ferret's cage. A lot of commercial ferret foods are garbage, but we have 0 actual evidence that a raw food diet is any better. Actually, we have 0 evidence of that in any species.

But as a ferret owner, I get it. I consulted with a veterinary nutritionist, multiple boarded small mammal vets, and multiple general exotics vets to decide what food to feed my ferrets. And here's what I found out: no one agrees. I got different answers from pretty much all of them. There is a frustrating lack of evidence-based information on ferret diets. So take all that information as you will, but I would strongly disagree that we have any actual evidence to say that ferrets "do better" on a raw diet as compared to a commercial kibble.

[smhalltheurlsaretaken]

THE BOX IS NABOO

That’s it, I’m doing it, I’m writing that stupid meta I’ve had in the works for two and a half years, I’m sharing it with the world. I promised it for last Thursday, my poll was forever ago, but whatever! I’m writing that freaking thing.

(super duper long post, press j to skip)

Enter my rabbit hole.

First thing to establish: the Box makes no sense whatsoever in-universe.

((EDIT: Something I forgot to mention. IRL, the premise of a giant murder cube and the aesthetic - wall patterns, light designs, etc - of the episode come from the 1997 horror movie Cube, (see the episode’s wookieepedia page). However, while the two are very closely linked visually, the Box does not follow the movie structurally or narratively, as you can verify by simply reading the movie’s summary.))

Recap of the context for the "Box" episode (s4e17): Palpatine is planning his own kidnapping. It was never meant to succeed, and while the plan would obviously benefit him (making the Jedi look bad, pushing Anakin closer to the Dark Side, making Republic citizens more afraid -> more docile, etc...) his actual goal is never explained, and it’s weird that he’d go to such extreme lengths for results so minimal that we’re never told what they are.

So Palpatine asks Dooku to kidnap him at the Festival of Lights on Naboo. Dooku hires Moralo Eval to design a giant box-thingy to test bounty hunters to hire the best of them to kidnap Palpatine. Moralo then gets arrested to alert the Republic that something is afoot, and hires Cad Bane to break him out. Obi-Wan - undercover to learn Moralo’s plan - goes with them. They evade capture and go to Serenno, and Bane and Obi-Wan have to pass the box-thingy test. The level of brainkarked logic here... Truly on par with Megamind, Gru and Heinz Doofenshmirtz.

Setting aside the insane plot holes and utterly nonsensical behavior of the villains, the Box itself is moronic from a plot perspective. It’s insanely complex, obviously incredibly expensive and would have taken months (more like years but it’s a short war) to make when it’s not even needed for the dastardly plot! Just hire some guys who have already proven themselves against Jedi! Throw cash at Bane and Embo and a few others! Maybe attack them with your saber and see how they do! 

And after all that, Dooku still ends up trying to kidnap Palpatine on his own. I can’t even... 

So why does the Box exist? Well, apart from being a nerdy callback to Cube, giving us a good thrill and being generally awesome to look at, it has actual narrative purpose within the SW universe.

The box is Naboo.

What the Box lacks in plot relevance, it makes up for with its heavily symbolic meaning. It very closely follows Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon’s experiences on Naboo - but only certain parts, which I’ll explain later.

We start with clean, sterile environments, SW’s favored way of showing villainy.

Then we have the protagonists locked in a room as dioxis, a poison gas, pours in.

And then they escape... this way.

(Okay, here the shaft is down, not up. And it’s not a ventilation shaft per say, it’s the designed escape route. Same difference).

We then skip most of TPM (namely, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon discovering the droid army, finding Padmé, leaving Naboo, landing on Tatooine, going to Coruscant, etc, etc) to come back to Naboo and go directly to the lightsabers and catwalks.

(Note: in both scenes, Obi-Wan has to propel himself from a catwalk.)

In TPM and TCW, the catwalks are immediately followed by ray shields

And we finally end with the last scenes. Now, they don’t look the same but they are structurally identical. 

Obi-Wan is faced with a challenge unsuited for his abilities (facing Darth Maul // shooting three moving targets when he’s far more skilled with a blade than a blaster) on a narrow space above a melting pit/pit of fire. 

He first watches someone die failing to complete the task...

 ... and has to do it himself, faring much better than expected (holding his own against Maul // shooting all the targets easily). 

He then almost falls to his death and gets saved unexpectedly.

And then there’s the final showdown.

In both scenes, Obi-Wan is angry. And in TCW Dooku eggs him on, banking on his anger. (More on that later.) In both cases though, he centers himself and is able to overcome both his opponent and his own unbalance. But in TCW, he doesn’t go for the kill, because he doesn’t need to. 

The Box, as a literal character-explorator ex-machina, thus shows us Obi-Wan’s growth.  

In TPM, Obi-Wan follows Qui-Gon’s lead. In TCW, he is the leader. He identifies the gas, makes the plans. He doesn’t fall from catwalks anymore - he runs atop moving ones. He doesn’t stay stuck behind ray-shields, he finds the solution. (Btw, how did Moralo know what blood type Derrown the Exterminator was? There was a 50% chance of him dying - thus killing all of the bounty hunters. Was that an acceptable outcome? TCW I need answers!) He doesn’t slay his foes, because he’s become powerful enough, skilled enough and wise enough to survive (and win) without needing to kill.

He’s grown - and, even more interestingly, he’s also stayed the same. In the previous episodes, we see some of the dark aspects of Obi-Wan. How he - like all Force-wielders, all people - could lose himself if he stopped maintaining absolute control.

But in the Box, surrounded by the worst criminals of the Galaxy, the most ruthless, worthless people, he’s still kind and tries his best to keep them alive.

The Box is a reminder and a reassurance for the audience that Obi-Wan Kenobi is still there under Rako’s face. He hasn’t lost his compassion, his restrain. He’s still a Jedi. And he’s an awesome, badass one. 

And now, for what it tells us about Dooku! 

It’s much shorter, don’t worry. Basically, Dooku considers that the best way to pick “the best of the best” of the deadliest people in the Galaxy is making them go through what killed his Padawan. There, I’ve broken your hearts, you’re welcome. 

More seriously, Dooku is a manipulative ass. It’s pretty clear that he knows Rako is Obi-Wan, or at the very least suspects it. 

He has an interesting reaction upon learning Rako’s identity, he keeps praising him despite his usual distaste for low-lifes, he smirks secretively after Eval says “I’ll show you who’s weak” (not included there because it’s a close-up of Dooku’s lips and no one wants to see that) and he tells Rako he’s very disappointed when he doesn’t finish off Eval.

[Later]

(Look at this smug asshole - I can’t. YOUR GRANDSON IS THE BEST, WE KNOW, STOP ACTIVELY RUINING HIS LIFE ALREADY.)

(Dooku... why...)

Now obviously Dooku couldn’t have made the Box specifically for Obi-Wan, because it would have to have been designed months before the Council ever decided to send Obi-Wan undercover, but he has no qualms trying to use it to push Obi-Wan to the Dark Side. Ffs Dooku, making your spiritual grandson relive one of the most traumatic events of his life on the off chance that he’ll join you (and desecrate his Master’s memory in doing so) is not okay!

Final tidbits of analysis: I mentioned that not all of TPM is mirrored in the Box. What’s omitted is the droids (even though Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon fight B1′s and droidekas between the dioxis and the ventilation shafts) and anything pertaining to Sidious (all the political stuff on Coruscant). You’ll also note that the fake lightsabers are orange.

=> The Box distances itself from anything that connects Dooku to Naboo. Red lightsabers are the trademark of the Sith, so they’re not used. The bounty hunters will be facing Jedi, so logically the fake sabers should be green or blue - and yet they’re orange, the color closest to red without being red. It fits with Dooku’s special brand of dishonesty - he always tells bits of the real story but twists them just enough to absolve himself of any fault and to justify his choices. 

(”We can destroy the Sith” -> could maybe destroy Sidious with Obi-Wan, but fails to mention he’s a Sith Lord himself; “the Viceroy came to me for help, that’s why I’m attacking the Republic” -> political idealism is a small part of it, but fails to mention he’s Sidious’ underling and is playing the Viceroy like a fiddle; “Qui-Gon would have joined me” -> maybe, still fails to mention he’s working for the man who ordered Qui-Gon’s death; “I told you everything you needed to know” -> debatable, never said that Palps was Sidious; “Sifo-Dyas understood, that’s why he helped me” -> partly true, doesn’t admit to killing Sifo-Dyas right after getting his help)

So we have a twisted version of Naboo, droid-free (as droids are now irrevocably associated with Dooku, even if that wasn’t the case in TPM) and with sabers that aren’t quite red. Keep in mind that Dooku had already fallen by TPM. (We know this because he killed Sifo-Dyas and created the Clone Army - part of Sidious’ plan - when Valorum was still Chancellor, as per the episode The Lost One.) That means Dooku was (in)directly complicit in Qui-Gon’s death. And the Box doesn’t (=refuses to?) acknowledge that. 

(Also omitted in the Box are the Gungans and Tatooine. It makes sense, because Dooku probably wouldn’t have the full details regarding those parts of Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan’s missio as they weren’t as public, and would see them as irrelevant if he did. He utterly despises Anakin, and Gungans are the type of people he always dismisses out of hand). 

Anyway, that’s my two cents about the Box. To quote Lucas...

“It’s like poetry. It rhymes.”

Thanks to @lethebantroubadour @impossiblybluebox​ @nonbinarywithaknife @ytoz​ and @kaitie85386​ for voting for this one. Next up is a compilation of the Jedi being casually tactile with each other (because they’re a warm and affectionate culture, dammit).

Also thanks to @laciefuyu​ for giving me gifs I ended up not using ^^; you rock anyway!

[calxide]

calx’s experiments #1 plans for my upcoming smaus

aye, thanks for 400+ follows! consider this as a special hehe. i will add my thoughts, opinions, concepts, ideas, and outlines in this post.

the smaus that will be discussed in this post are MIXED SIGNALS (kazuha's), CHEMISTRY (albedo's), TWO WORLDS APART (ayato's), PROFESSORS OF LOVE (zhongli's), and another kazuha smau. spoilers ahead!

✧ー MIXED SIGNALS :: ft. kaedehara kazuha x GN!reader

since this won (tbh i'd still publish it sooner than the others if it didn't lol) i continued outlining it and... unfortunately, it didn't turn out to be as light-hearted as everyone might expect it to be so i decided to make two (2) kazuha smau.

before talking about the other smau, i'd like to discuss my plans for this one. (i will be talking about the other kazuha smau at the very end)

this will be a very short smau (i think) so i decided to make a Tagalog version of this one (currently suffering, i regret this decision but it is what it is). narratives/written chapters are going to be written in full English except for the dialogues. the dialogues and texts may be different from each other, but the context and meaning will still be the same as i will not try to translate them directly.

also, don't expect to see the group chat that you saw at calx's experiments #1 main post ー i'll be posting a teaser soon (slay 💅). i won't discuss it much so,, have these tags and warnings instead lol

‎

✧ー CHEMISTRY :: ft. albedo x FEM!reader

TW bullying

i haven't planned much as of now because i want to finish mixed signals first before anything else. i'm still not sure about the length of this smau; it might be longer than mixed signals but shorter (debatable) than abyssal love.

idk what to discuss so have this:

y/n, the reader - you, comes from a rich family. she doesn't really do well in her academics but still manages to get good grades — which her classmates really hate. they blindly assumed that she pays the prestigious school to let her stay and give her good grades. however, albedo knows that that is not the case, therefore, he decided to help. the synopsis is subject to change.

‎

✧ー TWO WORLDS APART :: ft. kamisato ayato x FEM!reader

my notes for this smau is... e m p t y. well, oops, anyways. i really want to work on this smau as soon as possible but i gotta be patient ! also, are you guys good with idol!ayato x photographer!reader? still thinking about what y/n's job should be. do tell if you guys have any suggestions <3 i may not have much for now but expect a shit ton of angst

ayato is a famous idol/actor in inazuma. during his travel in their neighboring country—liyue, he saw a young woman crying. he approached her and offered her a handkerchief and— ok nvm im not gonna spoil anymore kbye

anw, i won't be making a tagalog version of this bc i'm too lazy (🤡), and, expect this to be longer than abyssal love bc there will be so much pining.

⠀

✧ー PROFESSORS OF LOVE :: ft. zhongli x GN!reader

‎if my notes for the ayato smau is empty, well, i don't have notes for this one.. HAHAHAHA what i have in my mind rn is just a cute lighthearted story,, bc i need a break... 💪

y/n and zhongli are both famous professors for their intellect and strong passion for teaching. students would always see the two of them hanging out together, and they thought that they would make a good pair — leading to almost everyone to ship them.

venti is the #1 supporter of the yn x zhongli agenda and supports his students shenanigans when it comes to the two <3

‎⠀

✧ー ENIGMA [stc] :: ft. kaedehara kazuha x FEM!reader

TW death, car accident

this was supposed to be mixed signals but it will be very angsty so i was like NOOOO ok imma just make this into another smau. THUS, the birth of this smau. ALRIGHT!!!!!! get ready for angst AND i'm giving y'all some second lead <33

y/n once live a happy life with her loving parents alongside their blooming business — but all those were gone because of a mishap that occurred one rainy night. throughout the years of finding the truth about the tragic accident, y/n found herself falling for her childhood friend, kaedehara kazuha. kazuha had always been by her side since the day her parents passed away. never did he leave her side, he was always there to support her. but... why?

AAAAA i wanna shout bc i want to do this one SO BADDDD i want to finish every smau that i'm supposed to do so i can get started with this one. i might publish this alongside Professors of Love but i think i'd be able to start this during the summer vacation (april ?) of 2023? i hope i won't be busy by then so i can do this :'))

tags sneak peek!!!!!

[ginnympotter]

if you are still doing prompts can you do #50 with hinny pls! And if at all possible can u please do it with jily alive, imma sucker for those!:)

“Shh, stop fussing,” Harry said, trying to soothe her. “I’m just braiding your hair.”

“Don’t shush me,” she muttered, hugging the toilet. “When did you learn how to braid hair, anyway?”

“Mum taught me,” he told her, as he carefully wove her ginger locks together into a tight plait. “On Sirius.”

Despite her current disposition, Ginny let out a short chuckle. “What?”

“When I was seven, Sirius went through a long hair phase. He was trying to grow it longer than my mum’s,” he explained. “They can tell you about it at the table. You have a hair tie?”

Ginny stuck out a hand, and Harry gently pulled off the black tie from her wrist. He tied up the end of her plait and put his hands on her shoulders. “There. Now your hair won’t be in the way.”

She looked back at him, her face soft and pale. “Thank you.”

“You think you’ve finished?”

She nodded. “For now.”

Harry stood up, flushed the toilet one more time for good measure, and then offered his hand to Ginny and helped her up. “You think you’ll be able to get through the rest of lunch?”

“I’m hoping,” she said, attempting a smile. “You go back out there, I’m just gonna brush my teeth...again.”

He kissed her cheek and left the bathroom. When he returned to the dining room, James and Sirius were caught up in a heated debate about whether flying the motorbike or a broom was a more efficient way of travelling. Lily had a knowing look on her face as Harry sat back down, which made Harry want to avoid her eyes, afraid his own would confirm it.

She played along, anyway. “Is Ginny alright, love?”

“Yeah, she’s fine, she’ll be out in a moment,” he assured her, taking a sip of his pumpkin juice.

Sirius halted his argument with James to add, “I did think she seemed a bit off-color when we got here.”

Of course Sirius decided to become observant when they were trying to keep something private. He was glad to have an excuse to change the subject. “I was just telling her about your long hair phase when I was a kid, remember that?”

“My glory days, you mean?” Sirius reminisced wistfully. He looked at James and Lily. “You think I should grow it out again?”

“No,” said James at the same time as Lily said “yes.”

“What Evans says goes,” Sirius smiled.

Just then, Ginny emerged from the bathroom and joined them at the table. She sat down and muttered, “Sorry about that.”

“Nothing to be sorry about,” James waved off, pouring her a glass of water. “Are you alright?”

She nodded. “Yes, thank you.” She squeezed Harry’s thigh with one hand and took the water in the other. Harry took that as his cue to take lead of the conversation.

“Ginny wanted to hear about how I learned to braid hair,” Harry told them.

Sirius and Lily laughed as James dug into more food. “I had just cut my hair,” started Lily. “Shoulder-length. And Sirius’s hair was getting pretty long, he was about to cut it himself when we realized it was about the same length.”

“So we had a contest,” Sirius said. “Who could grow out their hair longer, faster.”

“It was a pretty close call,” James joined in.

“But eventually I got tired of only donning a man-bun. It was time to change up my style. So I asked my dear sister here to teach me how to braid my hair. Even though I could’ve just used my wand, now that I’m thinking about it.”

“So Sirius practiced on me,” Lily recalled. “And Harry watched, and then we got him to braid Sirius’s hair for him. I said, ‘my love, one day this is going to be a skill that will come in handy in one way or another,’ and any time spent with Sirius was time well spent for Harry.”

“Still feel that way, kid?” Sirius asked Harry, grinning.

Harry shrugged playfully and Ginny laughed, bringing some color back into her face. “Depends on the day.”

“I get it, you’re married now,” Sirius lamented as he ruffled his own hair, much shorter than it was back then. “But I guess Ginny has me to thank for that lovely plait, given all the hair you ripped out of my head practicing.”

“No hairs were ripped out in the making of this plait,” Ginny assured them, smiling. She reached for a roll and took a small bite. Harry could tell she was hungry but scared to eat anything more. She swallowed. “Thank you for teaching him, most helpful.”

“Remember how we used to have braid-offs?” said James, his arm around Lily. “To see if Harry or I could braid faster?”

“Oh yeah,” Harry laughed, recollecting it. “Whoever was braiding Mum’s hair always won,” he told Ginny, holding her hand on his thigh. “Because hers was much easier to work with than Sirius’s.”

As Sirius took great offense to this and started going on about how female conditioner is better than male conditioner and it took him a year to figure that out and make the switch, Harry looked over at his wife and saw her scrunching up her features. “You ok?” he asked, quiet but concerned.

“I thought I was done, but…” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath through her nose and out through her mouth. “I don’t think that’s the case.”

And then she stood up abruptly, mumbled, “excuse me,” and ran down the hall, slamming the bathroom door behind her.

They all went quiet, staring at the closed door.

James spoke first. “Is she alright? If Ginny’s sick we can get going, you can take care of her.”

“No, it’s fine, it’s-” he stammered, unsure of how to finish his sentence.

“Harry,” said Lily, compassion in her voice. She knew. Harry knew she knew. She smiled at him. “Go check up on her, let her decide.”

He could tell she meant let her decide if she wants to tell them the news more than decide if they should leave. Harry nodded, getting up from his seat and apologizing. “Sorry, be right back.”

He walked quickly down the hall and knocked on the door. “It’s me,” he said. “Can I come in?”

Harry heard her clear her voice before responding, “Yes.”

There she was on the floor again, head hanging in defeat over the toilet, a sight that Harry has been saddened to become so familiar with over the past couple of weeks, despite the otherwise wonderful cause of it.

He shut the door behind him, and squatted down on the floor, gently placing a hand on her back.

“Your mum so knows,” she grumbled. “Doesn’t she?”

“I suspect so, yeah,” he replied as she flushed the toilet. “Gin, if you don’t want to tell them yet we don’t have to, we can tell them you’re sick and they can go home.”

She shook her head slowly and turned her gaze to her husband. “No, let’s tell them. I want them to know. It’s just...we haven’t told anyone, you know? Saying it out loud makes it feel more real.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“No, of course not,” she clarified. “I’m so happy, you know that. But it’s still scary.”

He smiled, moving closer to her as he continued to rub her back. “They’ll help us.”

“I know they will,” she smiled back.

Harry helped her up again, and she moved to wash her hands and face. As she was finishing up he asked, “Are you sure you’re done?”

“Yeah, that was the last of it,” Ginny stated in reassurance. She rinsed with mouthwash and spit it out. “This baby better be worth all the vomit.”

Harry laughed, pulling her in, enveloping her in a hug with gentle arms. “It will be.”

She sighed against him, leaning up and pressing a soft kiss to his jaw, which then prompted him to lean down and kiss her on the mouth. She pulled away laughing. “You do not want to kiss me after that.”

“I always want to kiss you,” he told her in earnest. “You used mouthwash, it’s fine.”

“Harry-”

He caught her lips with his own, kissing her passionately. And how could he not? She was going to be the mother of their child. He felt so grateful to her, so guilty that she had to be the one to bear the bodily burden of it all. He hoped he could translate it all into his kiss.

Ginny must’ve understood- she always did - as she kissed him back with equal enthusiasm for a minute before pulling away again. “Harry,” she repeated, this time with tenderness in her voice.

“Sorry,” he said. He moved a stray hair from her braid and tucked it behind her ear. His heart was swelling. He could hold her all day. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” she told him as her eyes softened. “Alright, let’s do this.”

They exited the bathroom together and approached the dining room table. Before they could even sit back down Sirius said, “Are you pregnant or something?”

James groaned and Lily smacked Sirius’s arm hard.

Sirius swore loudly, glaring at Lily. “What the hell, Evans?”

“That’s a rude question to ask, Pads,” James muttered.

“No tact,” Lily sighed in disappointment. “None, whatsoever!”

“I was just asking an innocent question! Her sprinting from the table just reminded me of you when you were pregnant with this one,” Sirius said, nudging his head towards his godson. Then he looked at them. “Sorry, didn’t mean to be rude.”

Before Harry could interject, Ginny said, “No, it’s ok. You’re right.”

The room fell quiet. James’s eyes widened. “Come again?”

“He’s right,” she repeated. “I am pregnant.”

“Surprise?” Harry offered.

There was a beat, and then Lily, James, and Sirius all started speaking at once, sharing their congratulations, shooting up out of their seats and moving to hug them. When Lily reached her son, she put both her hands on his face, and she had tears in her eyes.

Harry smiled. “You knew, right?”

“A mother always does,” she confirmed, giving him a kiss on the forehead. “You’ll learn that soon enough when Ginny suddenly becomes all-knowing.”

“She already is.”

[vanserraseris]

END OF PART VI - Lucien learned how to fish from his brother, idk, no one can convince me otherwise. Just a warning that there are mentions of abuse and it is also implied. The next few parts are a little shorter, so hopefully they’ll be edited a little faster. I hope you enjoy it!!!

ahhhh so excited legoo!

Prince of Ashes. Part VI. 

masterlist.

“I don’t like this,” Lucien mumbled as he stared into the waters of the river.

Rufus kicked water at him. 

“I don’t like you,” Lucien grumbled as he made to splash back, his hand in midair when Eris growled at them. 

Rufus kicked water at Eris. 

Eris closed his eyes, standing straight, droplets of water dripped along his face and back into the river. He let out a long-suffering sigh. Lucien’s laugh could be heard above the sound of the water.

“I’ll remind the both of you that I was not the one that suggested we spend our day doing this.” Eris made a vague hand gesture in front of him. He opened his eyes and raised a wet, auburn brow at Rufus. Rufus waved a hand dismissively, something he seemed to have picked up from Eris. How annoying, Eris thought, and considered that perhaps he should wave people off less often.

“You’ve been holed away in that study of yours for far too long, it can’t be healthy. Touch some grass, Eris, smell some roses. I’m sure it will do you much good.” 

Lucien smiled, his shoulder length hair tied back messily with a strap of leather, “Why don't we make it a game, then, that should make this exciting.” Now that Lucien had grown a bit, he looked a lot like Rufus. Eris supposed that meant Lucien looked like him as well, but there were more similarities to the two youngest brothers.

Both of them had easy grins and playful, russett eyes. The only small differences were their noses and the fact that Lucien’s skin was a light brown in comparison to the pale skin of the rest of his brothers. Eris couldn’t help but think they were all very fucking lucky that Lucien had the blood-red hair they’d all gotten from their mother. Sometimes, Eris wondered where in the fuck the Lady of Autumn had managed to find a secret lover from another court, but he wasn’t too keen on asking her.

“Hope you’re ready to lose, fox,” Rufus bared his teeth at Lucien, “Don’t expect me to go easy on you just because you’re little.” 

Lucien stuck out his tongue. “First one to catch a fish wins,” he said, getting into position. 

Eris smiled, something that was becoming quite rare, bending over with his hands hanging loosely in the water, “Prepare to learn from the best, I’m sure the couple centuries I have on you both should give me an advantage.”

“Doubtful,” Rufus snapped, “You’re shit at this kind of thing.” 

Not true, Eris thought, but didn’t bother responding. Eris had been the one to teach Rufus how to do this in the first place, having learned from Micah and Widge from his time in the war camps. Eris was pretty sure that as princes, he and his brothers were very much above wading around in rivers trying to catch fish, but it was nice to get outside.

“Are you sure there are fish in this river?” Lucien muttered. 

“There are fish in every river,” Rufus replied, moving closer to their youngest brother. 

Eris was no longer paying attention to the water, he merely glanced up to look at Lucien. Lucien was biting his lip, a look of determination on his face as he stared intently into the running water. Eris guessed that Lucien could probably do anything he set his mind to with that kind of perseverance.

Eris had been spending less and less time at the Forest House, not just because of his father’s many orders, but because he felt as though the less attention he gave Lucien, Beron did the same. Lucien didn’t really understand why Eris was avoiding him, but at least he still had Rufus. Eris hated to admit that he missed the little runt, and he couldn’t help feeling like he was missing out on Lucien’s life.

Cato had just been born when Eris was sent to the war camps that bordered the Autumn Court, Owain had been born right before the War, and Maddox right after it. Eris had been busy then. Worst was when Priam was born and Eris had been dutifully kicked out of The Forest House to rule over a territory far away from the capital city of Calchas. Not being there for his brothers was one of the few things he’d regretted when he’d been younger, but he didn’t spend too much time dwelling on that now.

He had been around much more for Rufus. His mother had had a difficult pregnancy and Eris had worried for her. He’d worried even more when Rufus was born such a small and sickly thing, but that had only meant that Beron paid him no mind. It was evident in the way Rufus acted, in his mannerisms and the patterns of his speech, that Eris had been a big part of his brother’s life. Eris supposed they differed a lot in personality, but he didn’t mind.

He’d rather Rufus be wild and playful than whatever the hells had happened to him. 

“Ha,” Rufus said, amusement glittering in his eyes, “Found one.” 

With a small yelp, Lucien crashed into the waters. 

“Cauldron, Rufus,” Eris snarled. Rufus had wrapped a hand around Lucien’s ankle, holding him so that he dangled upside down, water dripping into the river from Lucien’s soaked clothes and hair.

Lucien made a funny gasping sound, his mouth gaping as he sputtered water. Eris didn’t know why he had panicked so irrationally, he knew very well that nothing dangerous lurked in these rivers. Eris stood to his full height and watched as Rufus lifted Lucien so that they were almost facing each other. 

“The rare fox fish, quite the catch, brothers,” Rufus grinned, “I’m sure Old Sae will be thrilled with this remarkable find.”

“Eris,” his youngest brother whined, and Eris sighed, reaching for Lucien. 

“Honestly, Rufus,” he tried to send a reprimanding look to him, but Rufus just shrugged, a smile still gracing his face. Rufus liked this sort of thing - tricks and riddles and jokes. Lucien liked it as well, just when he wasn’t the one the tricks and jokes were directed at. Lucien wrapped his arms around Eris’s neck, leaning his head on Eris’s shoulder like he had done when he was much younger.

Eris could hardly believe that Lucien was already a decade old. Eris held onto Lucien with one hand, fixing the cuff of his pants so that it covered the gold tattoo on his ankle. His father still didn’t know he’d gotten one, probably would have cut off his foot if he ever found out, but it served as a reminder to Eris that Beron didn’t own him. 

“That’s why Eris is my favourite,” Lucien mumbled as Eris straightened.

Eris couldn’t help the triumphant smile he flashed in Rufus’s direction. Rufus scowled, “You hardly ever see Eris! He’s always gone, and you constantly come crying to me when father makes you upset, and Eris is your favourite?” 

“Yes.”

Eris spoke before they started arguing, something they had begun doing a lot. “I think we’re done enough fishing for today.” Eris took the leather strap out of Lucien’s hair and handed it to Rufus, warming his hands with some of his magic and raking his fingers through the wet strands of his brother’s damp hair. “I should be getting back.”

“Mother’s tits, next time you want something, Lucien, I’m going to tell you to bother Eris with it.” Rufus was smiling as he ruffled Lucien’s hair, so Eris guessed Rufus might not have been telling the truth. “If you can find him, that is.” 

“You never come home anymore.” Lucien observed, leaning back in Eris’s arms as he gently moved the hair that had fallen into Eris’s face. Eris frowned, thinking how Lucien’s softness was going to get him into a whole lot of trouble in a few years time.

“He’s gotten tired of us,” Rufus flicked water from his wet hands at Lucien. While Eris was pretty sure Rufus had meant that as a joke, he couldn’t help feeling as though perhaps Rufus was hiding some truth in his statement, some complaint he had of his oldest brother. 

Lucien looked to Rufus, scrunching his nose in annoyance, “I’m tired of you.” 

Rufus snorted, “I sincerely doubt that.” 

“I’m not tired of you,” Eris felt like he needed to reassure them both, “I’ve just been busy.”

Rufus seemed to recognize that Eris hadn’t liked what he’d said, so he threw his arm over Eris’s shoulders as they continued to walk along the cobblestone path. “I know, I know, you think we’re great fun.” Rufus grinned, “It’s everyone else you’re tired of.” Just as they walked up the stone steps of The Forest House, Owain threw open the large, carved doors. Eris wondered if he’d been sitting there the whole time, waiting for their return.

The guards stationed there didn’t flinch at the loud bang the doors made as they hit the walls. “Where the hells have you been?” He snarled, his teeth bared. The jewels in the hilt of his large sword glinted in the light of the setting sun. 

“Watch your tone, Owain, I’m not in the mood,” Eris snapped.

Owain stood in front of Eris so that he couldn’t walk any further, his broad hand grabbing Eris’s shoulder roughly. “Father has returned from his trip to Spring a little early and he’s looking for you.” 

“He’s not due back until next week.” Eris thought that he would have been able to spend time with Rufus and Lucien, and Beron wouldn’t have even gotten word that he’d been neglecting some of his duties for it.

“Well, there’s been a change of plans, and now he’s fucking pissed.” Owain ran his fingers through his short, messy hair, “He already beat Cato bloody, said it was for letting you leave the house when you have a million things to do.” Owain shook his head, “I told father I’d send you to him once you’d returned. Head to the throne room - immediately.” 

Eris was debating whether he should ask Owain where their mother was when Lucien was wrenched from his arms.

“Fucking hurry,” Owain spat, holding Lucien a bit awkwardly. 

Lucien shifted in Owain’s arms so that he was facing his oldest brother, “Eris, you said you’d read me a story, you promised.” Eris frowned. He’d gotten very good at breaking his promises lately. 

“I’ll read you a story,” Rufus finally spoke, saving Eris from having to respond, “Maybe we can get Owain to join us, too.”

Eris didn’t think Owain had ever read to a child, but he couldn’t help but feel grateful to Owain as he shot Lucien a small smile before he said, “I suppose I could join you for a bit.” The tone of his voice was much softer than what Eris was used to hearing from him. As captain of the Royal Guard, Owain usually sounded like he was giving an order, snappish and abrupt.

Eris remembered a time when Owain was all smiles, and he often wondered what Owain would have become had Beron not been their father. “I’ll read to you another time.” Eris tugged once on a strand of Lucien’s hair, “Goodnight, fox.” Lucien’s russett eyes were wide as he looked at Eris, tears threatening to fall from them. With one last look at Rufus, who wasn’t doing a very good job of keeping the fear he so obviously felt off his face, Eris jogged down the hall towards the throne room.

He would have to stop spoiling Lucien, Eris thought. He was making things worse than they had to be. By the time Eris finally made it to the doors of the throne room, he’d decided that he’d be spending even less time with Lucien, since that was what it meant to protect him. Eris took a deep breath, running a hand through his unbound hair. Eris regretted that he hadn’t thought to bring his boots when they’d gone fishing, and he muttered a low curse as he stared at his bare feet.

He felt a bit ridiculous, but there was no point in stalling, so Eris took another deep breath before he pushed the doors to the throne room open. Beron was already standing, the Lady of Autumn behind him and off to the side. She was gripping the skirts of her dress so tightly her knuckles had turned white. 

“How many times do I have to tell you, boy,” Beron growled, his voice thick with rage. “How many fucking times?”

The ash-tipped whip in his father’s hand was familiar and Eris nearly flinched just looking at it. Beron shook his head when Eris didn’t respond, “Insolent,” he snarled. “The disrespect you show your High Lord cannot go unpunished, you understand that?” 

Eris watched as his mother took one small step forward. 

Eris widened his eyes in silent warning, but she spoke despite it. “Beron—”

“Be quiet,” his father hissed. “I don’t want to hear your voice.” Addressing Eris, Beron asked, “Where were you?” 

Despite being quite a bit taller than the High Lord of the Autumn Court, Eris usually felt very small in his presence. Eris lifted his chin, “Out.” He often found he sounded very young when his father questioned him - like a defiant child. Beron looked closely at his eldest son, eyes stopping on Eris’s bare feet.

“5 for disobedience and 5 because you should have known better.” It could have been so much worse, and Eris knew he should have been counting his blessings for such a simple punishment, counting his blessings that Rufus and Lucien weren’t there in his place, but he couldn’t help the feeling of hate that swelled in his chest. 

“Beron, please,” his mother begged. Eris didn’t know why she bothered, at this point, Eris’s back was so scarred it hardly mattered.

Beron turned to face her, flames in his eyes as the temperature in the room raised. “Speak again, and I’ll add another five.” 

Since Eris could remember, Beron had always been a High Lord before a father. As Eris undid the laces of his shirt, he vowed that he would be a father before a High Lord if he lived long enough to do both.

[jazzywrites]

Mute but still family

Sbi fanfic

Warning: angst, mentions of death, selectively mute Techno.

————————————————————————————————————————

Technoblade has always been the quiet guy who had quick comebacks. His little remarks would cause the entire room to burst into a fit of laughter. They came so easily to Techno, like second nature.

Recently though, after Wilbur’s death, Techno had become quieter than normal. He wouldn't respond with his signature comeback. Even when Tommy made a stupid statement, or when he commented on Techno’s over-the-top dress wear. He would just stare, his face blank, no emotion evident on his face.

This caused multiple awkward moments when Tommy was trying to get a reaction out of him. Pushing all of the buttons he knows Techno had. In return, he'd receive a glare from the piglin.

No yelling, no snarls, or even an invite to a fight. Which Tommy enjoyed but would always end up on the ground, the tip of a sword to his throat.

Techno let out a sigh, he was working on another sword, just a backup. A precaution if you will.

He hasn't seen Tommy since the destruction of L’manburg.

Their fight.

The fight Techno wanted to resolve so badly. He wanted to explain his reasonings more in-depth to the boy. Wanted to have his little brother back, but he couldn't. Techno didn't want Tommy to know he misses him. He didn't want him to know he loathes the time without him. He most definitely didn’t want him to know he thinks about their adventures together all the time.

The laughter they had together. It brings a smile to the man’s face. That same smile dissolving as he remembered, Tommy hated him. Feels hostility toward his entire being. Loathes him practically.

The piglin sighed with distress. The voices were quiet too. The one time he wants them to talk they are quiet.

Techno stood up from his hunched position over the anvil. A few cracks came from his back, causing him to groan.

He walked across the bridge connecting his house to Phil’s.

Speaking about Phil, he hasn't been home in a while. He was going to get resources a week ago.

A week?

Techno knew for a fact getting resource didn't take a week. This caused a worrying sensation to itch the back of Techno’s brain.

He knows Phil can take care of himself. He knows Phil is strong. But that didn’t stop him from thinking Phil could be in danger. A danger that Phil couldn’t handle by himself.

Techno straightens his back, he’ll be fine. Phil can handle himself. He didn’t need him for a simple resource run.

He walked down the stairs looking around the snowy land, spotting Ranboo’s cabin in the mountainside. Having the sweet hybrid around was nice, refreshing even. Seeing someone so genuinely nice was something Techno hasn't been around much. Other than Phil.

He debated asking the hybrid if he's seen Phil but decided against it.

He walked to the crow’s wheat farm, all grown to full length, a week's worth of growth. That same worrying pain that began in his brain inched its way into his chest, causing him to start quickly walking to the hybrid house. All thought about Phil’s strength was lost.

He knocked harshly on the iron door. Waiting impatiently for him to open up.

He jumped when it opened up to see the taller hybrid, a confused look on his face.

“Oh hello, Techno. What's wrong?” Ranboo walked out of his house to stand straight and look at the distressed piglin.

Techno, who couldn’t speak, started to sign aggressively.

“Have you seen Phil?” Ranboo, who knew of Techno’s recent muteness, responded.

“No, I haven’t. You think somethings wrong?” Techno nods worryingly, this made Ranboo stand up straighter, he got the same chest pains Techno had felt moments ago.

“Would you like help to find him? I can help,” Ranboo asked desperately. Techno nodded, starting to quickly walk back to his house, Ranboo following right behind him.

Techno grabbed Orphan Obliterator and started his journey to the Nether portal. Ranboo trying to catch up to the piglin.

“Where are we going?” Ranboo asked, slouching his back so he can speak to Techno properly. Techno signed;

“I’m not sure,” and continued to stand in the purple portal. He honestly didn’t know where they were going. Phil didn’t tell him what resources he was getting. The fact that he had no general idea where his father was, was making Techno anxious.

Phil, besides Ranboo, was the only one that hasn’t left him. That hasn’t betrayed his trust. So him not telling him any piece of info wasn’t like him.

Thinking about Phil in danger made Techno’s legs move faster. Made him take shortcuts to...

To...

L’manburg’s portal. Tommy. He needs him. Ironically needs his voice. How he always knows how to make a sad situation light-hearted. He needs that. He yearns for Tommy’s comfort.

He walked down the stairs heading for where he knew Tommy would be. Tommy was chilling on his and Tubbo’s shared bench, looking at the beautiful scenery in front of him.

Techno pushed Ranboo to get his attention, once he got it, he point at Tommy. Ranboo understood what he asked and yelled for the blonde;

“Tommy!”

The blonde looked over, a smile on his face hearing his friend's voice but is soon disappeared seeing his brother. The same brother that betrayed him. That destroyed his home, the place he loved oh so dearly.

“What is he doing here?” The poison in the youngest voice caused pain in Techno’s heart. Pain, which caused him to let out a shaky breath.

“We are looking for Phil. You seen him?” Ranboo asked, even though he’s receiving disrespect, he still responds with such genuine kindness. It makes Techno's pain simmer down, but it was still evident.

“No, haven’t seen the old man. How long has he been gone?” He was looking at Ranboo, not giving Techno the bare minimum as eye contact. Unfortunately, Ranboo couldn’t respond, he didn’t know. So he glanced at the broad pig.

Techno, not speaking, responded with sign language;

“A week.”

The hand movements made Tommy roll his eyes.

“Just speak, bro.”

The sentence hurt Techno. Hurt him more than it should. He knew why Tommy was being sour but it’s been a long time.

He looked down in defeat. Why couldn’t he speak? Why was he like this? He used to speak all the time. It just wouldn’t come out, he couldn’t bring himself to open his mouth. Was it because of Wilbur’s death, or was he just pathetic?

“Tommy, we aren't here for arguing. We just want to know where Phil is, ” Ranboo explained sternly but still kind in his wording. Tommy took and deep breath and nodded.

“Okay, I haven’t seen him, but I’ll keep my eye out.” He gave Ranboo a reassuring smile. He didn't even look in Techno’s direction.

Fine.

If Tommy wanted to be that way, then so be it. He puffed out his chest and gave him a huff. His snout unleashing bits of smoke. He hasn't been in his human form in a while, all he understands why is that he doesn't want to be vulnerable. He's on edge all the time in that form.

He spun around, furious. Stomping away like a pathetic child. He couldn't even express his feelings to Tommy and that's what pisses him off. Tommy doesn't know he loves him still. Tommy doesn't know that he is sorry that he had to do what he did. Tommy didn't know he still cares for him so much.

He heard Ranboo call after him in his fit of self-doubt and anger. Running over, Ranboo’s hand landed on his shoulder to try and get his attention. Techno spun around, breath coming from his snout blowing into the enderman’s face.

“What’s up with you?” Ranboo asked with so much desperate concern. Techno huffed again and started to sign violently;

“Why can’t he just understand that I had to do it. Also, he thinks that I can just speak. I physically can’t. He’s such a fucking brat. We are family! He should act like family! Family doesn’t do what he’s doing!”

Techno’s facial expressions were showing his true emotion. He was the most upset Ranboo has ever seen. He swore he could see tears brimming his crimson eyes.

Ranboo’s heart shattered. Crumbling down to the endless pit that was his stomach. Techno had turned his head to the side to hide the tears that were streaming down his face. Techno wiped them off and stood up straighter puffing out his chest once again.

He strode to Tommy his stomps shaking the ground so much that Ranboo felt it in his feet. Techno taking a deep breath like he was about to speak but began to sign, already knowing that Tommy can read sign language.

Tommy was the one trying so hard to learn. He wanted to be able to speak to techno without using paper. He was so happy the first time Techno understood what he said. Techno was going quickly though. It took Tommy a second to process what his brother was saying;

“You are so unbelievably selfish! You were barely even bothered by Wilbur’s death. I don't know why I can't speak! That is known of your business anyways. We are trying to find OUR father and you just wanted to keep an eye out for him? Not even a little concerned that he might be in danger? We are your family! Family Tommy! I'm sorry for what I did to your home but I had to! To save you from the government! I love you, Tommy. You are family! Family! Family... Family..”

Techno was crying at this point as he aggressively signed ”Family” to Tommy, whose eyes were wide with the same tears that shed when Techno left. The night after l’manburg fell he cried to Tubbo all night and all of the next day.

“Techno... You... I'm sorry, ” Tommy lunged to hug Techno tightly. Techno’s large arms wrapped around the small boy. Techno was imagining that Tommy was a baby again. So small and cute, so much ambition in that small body of his.

“I’m sorry,” Tommy cried in Technos shoulder slowly lowering back down to the ground, only to realize it was Techno getting shorter. Tommy lifted his head to see Techno. Normal Techno.

People would always say they think Techno would have long pink hair due to his piglin gene. It was the opposite, though. He was Wilburs twin, after all. Wilbur’s signature short fluffy brown hair was his too.

He looked like Wilbur, every time he looked in the mirror, unwelcome tears would cascade down his face.

“Family, ” Techno signed with the emotion he wanted to express on his face. Tommy nodded, a smile spreading across his face.

“Family,” Tommy copied Techno’s hands.

Ranboo, still standing behind them, tears being quickly wiped away before hitting his cheeks.

“Need a tissue?”

Ranboo quickly twisted to see Phil, his wings tucked in tightly, and weirdly enough, he looked skinnier than when he last saw him.

“Phil?! Where were you? Techno was worrying me, man.”

Phil laughed, “I’m fine, I just got caught lacking food.”

Ranboo’s eyes widened. He couldn’t figure out why he didn’t ask any more questions. Their moment ended when Phil started to yell at them.

“Hey mate! I’m fine by the way!”

Techno’s face was shocked and confused at the same time.

“Where were you?!” Techno signed aggressively.

“I got stuck getting a fuck tone of cobblestone!”

“Oh!”

Phil laughed and smiled when Techno wrapped his arm around Tommy’s shoulder. He was listening with such genuine happiness as Tommy spoke about the new things happening in his life.

“They love each other,” Ranboo smiles and looks at Phil cheerfully. Phil laughed and nodded at him in agreement.

“Yep, anyways, I’m going to have much food I pass out.”

“Okay, Phil, have fun!”

They wave “bye” at each other as Ranboo makes his way back home.

————————————————————————————————————————

It was weeks after Tommy’s and Techno’s reunion. They were inseparable. They would be out practicing their fighting or just in front of the fireplace. Tommy passed out while Techno kept him warm as he read.

Techno had started speaking with only a few words in a sentence. His growth in his speech, though, was relieving to his father and his brother, his family.

They were all eating at Techno’s dinner table. Everyone was together.

Ranboo, Phil, Tommy, Tubbo, and Niki. Techno studdered for a second but managed to let out. He has the first genuine smile he'd had in a long time.

“M-my family.”

________________________________________

That was cool hoped you guys liked it.

:)

[awallofswords]

More on British infantry officer swords from the Georgian era:

Source: http://swordforum.com/articles/ams/1776-1815britishinfantry.php

The British Infantry Officer's Sword · 1776 to 1815 by David Critchley November 5, 2004

This article is an attempt to define the most common types of swords carried by British infantry Officers between the American Revolution and the introduction of the 1822 pattern.

Introduction

The British officer underwent a fundamental review of how he armed himself during both the Seven Years War and the War of Independence. The traditional (and official) arm of the Infantry officer during this period was not the sword but the spontoon, sometimes referred to as the espontoon or half pike and derived from the leading staff carried by (English)Civil War infantry officers. Although a weapon of sorts it was primarily a signalling device acting as a focal point for his troops on a smoke laden battlefield. This worked fine on the structured battlefields of Europe where the aftershocks of the Thirty Years War had given warfare an almost choreographed aspect, colonial conflicts proved to be a different matter all together.

Throughout this early period an officer had almost complete freedom in what sidearm he chose. Regimental colonels would dictate a pattern, but most often this was only expected to be adhered to when in dress or full dress, a sword for the field was very much an officer’s own affair. As a result enormous varieties exist.

1776 to 1786

The half and full basket hilted broadswords and backswords had always been popular with officers of both infantry and cavalry and this continued. So much so that a relatively shorter blade length (around 28” usually) is sometimes the only way of identifying infantry usage. However other hilts proliferated as well. The so called slotted hilt [Fig.1] is perhaps the most commonly found today, often fitted with a short hanger blade. The pairing of this with a fusil or light musket (usually privately produced) rather than his official spontoon brought the officer more in line with the armament of his men.

Figure 1.

Officer’s hanger circa 1775 Slot hilt with side scrolls

However other hilts also develop, the neo-classical so called “spadroon hilt” [Fig.2] emerges (although this is more accurately a blade description), as do hilts most closely resembling the later 1788 light cavalry sword with flat pommel and back strap, [Fig.3] and the heavy smallsword type that had been used by the Prussian infantry since the 1750s and would later be chosen as the 1796 pattern [Fig.4]. With all of these styles there are an infinite number of variants with or without sidebars, languets, grips in a variety of materials, hilts in gilt brass, steel and silver and fitted with both straight and curved hanger blades.

Figure 2.

Officer’s spadroon circa 1785

Figure3.

Officer’s spadroon circa 1780

The 1786 Blade Pattern

In 1786 Horseguards finally gave in and retired the spontoon as the official arm for officers. The 60th Foot or Royal Americans had ignored Horseguards and abandoned the spontoon as early as 1781. The sword description they issued as the regulation pattern to replace the spontoon has caused confusion ever since, for in effect it changed nothing.

The Regulation orders indeed do not describe a sword they describe a blade – a spadroon blade (1) and the choice of hilt was left to the Regiment. To the collector this is something of a nightmare as unless a particular sword has provenance or perhaps a silver hilt with hallmark there is no way of really telling a 1786 bladed sword from an earlier spadroon. In addition it would seem that in certain instances regiments simply ignored the new regulations. What is certain is that the most commonly found infantry hilt for the whole period, the 1796 pattern, was being used long before 1786.

The 1796 pattern - "That Perfect Encumbrance"

The pattern that followed 10 years later in 1796 did much to rectify the situation in terms of uniform but did little to improve the quality of the weapon. The regulations clearly describe the familiar brass, shell hilted sword that survived until 1822. It seems surprising then that a sword with such a long history should have such a poor reputation.

Figure 4.

1796 Pattern Infantry Officer’s sword (1801 to 1816 Royal Arms on the blade)

General Mercer, initially an artillery officer, would have us believe that the 1796 was the "perfect encumbrance" uncomfortable to wear and useless to fight with (2). The first was certainly true, many 1796's have the inner guard hinged (weakening the hilt) in an attempt to make it more comfortable and cause less wear to the uniform.

The blade was certainly less robust than many of the cavalry sabres of the period, but it had been the weapon of choice for a large number of officers for the previous 20 years, and the hilt gave better protection to the hand than many hilts coupled with the same blade in the 1780s. Prussia had used a similar sword from 1750 for its infantry officers, but by the late 1790s the sword was seen as old fashioned and undesirable. In France the straight sword and especially the smallsword was becoming (post revolution) seen as symbolizing the old royalist regime, the martial sword and especially eastern style sabres were en vogue. In a country where French fashion still held sway despite the conflict the 1796 pattern must have seemed very frumpish.

1796 Pattern Variants

The 1796 pattern had a long, if resented life, and despite it being a regulation pattern has a number of variants associated with it. Firstly the guard, designed fixed, was most commonly fashioned to fold down against the blade on the near side, although I have owned examples where the guard folds up against the grip. In most cases this folding section is held with a leaf spring placed next to the tang internal to the guard, but there are examples where the leaf spring is screwed to the upper side of the counter guard. Some have a clip forward of the rear quillon, designed to lock the guard in the up position and hold it rigid. One example I have seen (on a sword with the guard folding towards the grip), had a slide integrated within the ferrule, directly above the grip and below the guard, which served to lock the guard in the up position. These guards are often referred to as battle guards and more often than not are coupled with robust spadroon blades.

Versions are sometimes encountered with copper or brass wire, silver foil, Ivory or ebony grips. Copper or brass wire grips (instead of the official silver wire) are an indication of one of two things. If the blade is plain without engraving and the hilt is plain without the acanthus leaf moulding mainly on the quillon pommel and counter guard, then it is likely that the sword is the version ordered for sergeants and senior NCOs. If there is a decorated blade or a decorated hilt, or the quality of the work suggests private purchase then the sword may well be earlier than the regulations and be representative of that variety of swords used before 1796. Often encountered are grips that instead of silver wire have sheet silver laid over a wooden core and embossed with a bound wire pattern.

By far the rarest are those with ivory or ebony grips. Again these could date from before 1796, but in at least one case this hilt is coupled with a blade with the post 1801 royal arms engraved upon it (3). These could of course represent senior officer’s swords or militia officer’s swords, however the fact that the grips are either black or ivory may mean they are Royal Marine officer’s swords. The naval convention was for junior officers to wear dark hilts to their swords and senior officers to wear ivory, which makes this a credible theory.

With regard to blades, the lighter versions tend to have diamond cross section smallsword blades or on occasion trefoil blades, but more commonly the regulation spadroon type is found. It is worth noting however that the Royal Scots or 1st (Royal) Regiment of Foot Guards adopted a broadsword blade with a 1796 hilt variant that included the badge of the regiment on a fixed guard.

Infantry Dress Swords to 1796

Before 1796, dress swords are usually smallswords indistinguishable from civilian models in most cases, although regimental markings engraved on the hilt are sometimes found. I have seen at east 2 brass gilt hilted smallswords with Foot Guards regimental markings on the shells.

There are pattern 1796 swords with blades so delicate they can be nothing else but dress swords, however about the same time or perhaps a little earlier another sword appears that is obviously an alternative dress sword. Similar to the 1796 it has a flatter shell and forward quillon, usually highly decorated. These invariably have trefoil or slim diamond section smallsword blades. To the best of my knowledge there is no regulation covering this sword, but it seems to have been popular nonetheless, and may have been for use at Court.

The 1798 Highland Infantry Pattern

Unlike the Lowland infantry who traditionally used English patterns of sword, the Highland infantry had always carried basket hilted broadswords, but no particular pattern was specified until two years after the introduction of the 1796. In 1798 the Highland infantry officer was given a regulation basket hilted broadsword with a gilt brass basket. Blades vary but on average blades are 33 inches. Whether the Highland 1798 was widely adopted in practice is debatable, they are not a common sword to find. The Lowland infantry continued to follow the English regiments only adopting Scottish dress in the mid Victorian period.

The Infantry Sabre

As stated previously, for whatever reason the 1796 was never popular. This was particularly so in the grenadier and light infantry companies of regiments who thought of themselves as elites, and in the new “Experimental Rifle Corps”, (later to be the foundation for the Rifle Regiment). As a result a large number of infantry sabres come into existence about this time, many with classical, spadroon style hilts or hilts modeled on The 1796 Light Cavalry sabre, and bearing the flaming grenade device of the grenadiers or the hunting bugle of the light infantry.

As usual the 60th Foot (or Royal American Regiment) had gone their own way, as early as 1798 an inspection reports that the officers were in the habit of wearing brass hilted sabres. It seems the ERC followed suit adopting steel hilted sabres about the same time. It is likely that by 1800 most Light and Grenadier companies had also moved to wearing a sabre in contravention of regulations. Indeed there is evidence that suggests that the sword that was to form the basis for the 1803 pattern came into existence in one of the Foot Guard regiments even earlier as a silver hilted variant exists hallmarked to 1794 (4).

There are a number of unofficial patterns that are used at this time that are unique to single regiments such as those worn by the 23rd, 43rd,51st,52nd and 95th Foot. Details and illustrations of these can be found in “Robson” (5).

Figure 5.

Light Infantry Officer’s sabre circa 1800

From a collecting point of view telling an unmarked infantry sabre from a light cavalry sabre is difficult. However, they usually have lighter, shorter blades (typically 28 inches) and where a scabbard exists it is typically leather rather than steel.

1803 Pattern

In 1803 Horseguards bowed to pressure and issued the regulations that describe what is now known as the 1803 pattern. Opinion is divided as to whether this sword was intended for all infantry officers or not although generally it is thought that it applied only to the Light and Grenadier companies of regiments. An ivory gripped version was ordered for General Officers.

The take up is uncertain however because it seems clear that many regimental officers also wore this pattern unofficially and at least one regiment the 28th Foot (6) took the regulations as an excuse to re arm all their officers in this pattern.

The enthusiasm is perhaps understandable; it is by far the most elegant of all infantry patterns. Based on the slot hilt, it incorporates the crowned GR royal cipher in the knucklebow (8), sometimes surmounted by the bugle or grenade if worn by light or grenadier company officers. A variant one may see from time to time is that used by the 1st (Royal) Regiment of Foot Guards who, as they had with the 1796 pattern, personalized the sabre by additionally building their badge into the hilt.

Figure 6.

1803 Pattern Officer’s sabre with unfullered deeply curved blade

Figure 7.

1803 Officer’s sabre with blade styled on the 1796 Light Cavalry pattern sabre

Many of these swords have blades either modeled on the 1796 sabre blade or a deeply curved blade more reminiscent of the shamshir blades that were becoming so fashionable after Napoleon’s Egyptian campaign.

Figure 8.

Crowned G.R cipher on 1803 pattern hilt

Conclusion

The 1796 and 1803 patterns remained in service until 1822 (when the brass hilted “gothic hilt” replaced them), and were carried through the longest period of warfare in modern times. It is worth noting however that throughout the period (and after), whilst patterns were established, officers were expected to equip themselves for the field at their own expense. Regimental custom, the latitude officers were given, the relatively wide manufacturing tolerances of the age and the propensity to use family blades (if not the whole weapon) mean that there will always be infantry swords that do not fit into any pre defined category.

References

(1) From the 1786 regulations: "...The officers of the Infantry Corps shall be provided with a strong, substantial, Uniform sword, the Blade of which is to be straight and made to cut and thrust;- to be 1 inch at least broad at the shoulder and 32 inches in length”. Public Records Office HO 50/380 and WO 3/26 p166

(2) Swords of the British Army: The Regulation Patterns 1788 to 1914 (Revised Edition) by Brian Robson. Published by The National Army Museum 1996. Pages 153-155.

(3) Sold at Wallis& Wallis. September 1983. Sale no. 287

(4) A.V.B.Norman A sword with a G.R. or “Guards hilt” in “The “Buffs” Regimental Museum Canterbury. Journal of the Arms and Armour Society. September 1998. Pages 3 – 11.

(5) Robson ibid.

(6) Redcoat Officer 1740 to 1815. by Stuart Reid. Published by Osprey 2002. Page 57

Bibliography

Swords of the British Army: The Regulation Patterns 1788 to 1914 (Revised Edition). Brian Robson. The National Army Museum 1996.

Redcoat Officer 1740 to 1815. Stuart Reid. Osprey 2002.

Swords and Blades of the American Revolution. G.C. Neumann. Rebel 1991.

Blades of Glory: Swords of the Scottish Infantry 1756-1900. S Wood. American Society of Arms Collectors Bulletin 72 Spring 1995.

London Silver Hilted Swords. L Southwick. Royal Armouries. 2001

Journal of the Arms and Armour Society 1953 to present.

Lyle Arms and Armour 1976 -1982.

Wallis and Wallis Auctioneers. Lewes. East Sussex. Sale Catalogues

[fanfalc-616]

The Rights Of A Nindroid

This is Chapter Five

(Previous chapter found here)

Kai angrily throws the door open to the government building. Storming up to the counter, he’s sure that his smile is just as enraged as the rest of him.

“Hi, I have an appointment.” He grits out through clenched teeth.

He’s forced to wait in a waiting room for a while, and he forces himself to take deep breaths. If he burns the building down he’s never going to get answers.

Thankfully, it’s only a few minutes until he’s taken back to an office.

There’s no one on the other side of the desk, so Kai just throws himself into the chair opposite to it.

A few more minutes pass, and when the official returns, Kai is immediately on his feet.

“Where is my boyfriend?” He snarls the words out with as much malice he can muster- which is a lot, actually, because he’s pissed as hell.

The woman frowns. “Pardon?” While most of her expresses confusion, Kai’s had enough experience to see through even an experienced liar.

“Zane Julien. My boyfriend. Where is he?” He growls out, hands clenching into fists to prevent smoke from steaming off of him.

“I don’t know a Zane.” The woman seems rather unaffected, if not for the way she glances to the side- only for a second, but it’s enough to let Kai see right through her bullshit.

“Yeah. Yeah, you do. Where is he?” He steps forward, closer to her.

“If you don’t calm down, I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask security to escort you out.” The official gives a strained smile.

Kai sucks in a deep breath, trying to hang on to his last shred of control. “Alright, listen up you bitch-“

“Excuse me?”

“Sorry, was I not being clear enough? Here, lemme just-“ Kai lunges forward, pinning her against the wall. “Listen up you bitch-ass motherfucker. I’m not playing this fucked up game of yours. I want my boyfriend back.” He leans in a little more. “And you’re going to give him to me, or else I swear to the First Spinjitzu Master that no one will ever find your body.” He stares directly into her eyes as he speaks, throwing every single bit of rage he has into his voice.

He doesn’t get a response, however, as there are suddenly hands on him, dragging him away.

“Hey!” Kai struggles against them, but he can’t make any leeway- and if he uses his powers, he’s going to get in trouble.

Actually, he’s already kind of in trouble, so maybe-

Too late. He’s in handcuffs. And they’re probably made of vengestone.

Still, he keeps struggling, thrashing and kicking and screaming profanities.

He’s forcibly manhandled into the back of a police car, and in less than twenty minutes, he’s in a jail cell.

“I want my phone call.” Kai gets out from behind bars, nursing his bruised jaw. Maybe calling that one guard a ‘fuck-faced assmonkey’ wasn’t his best idea.

Reluctantly, a cop lets him go to the phone. Taking a deep breath, Kai braces himself for the lecture that he’s sure to receive.

The phone rings for a minute, and he mutters a quiet curse, hoping that Lloyd will actually pick up.

“Hey, Lloyd here! What’s going on?”

Grimacing, he pauses a moment before he answers. “It’s Kai-“

“Just kidding, this is a voicemail.” Lloyd’s cheeky voice taunts.

Kai feels his eyes widen as he processes that. Is Lloyd’s voicemail seriously a prank?! “It’s what-“

“Okay, kidding again.” Lloyd laughs a little, and Kai breathes a sigh of relief. “Why are you calling me from the police sta- Kai.”

Kai pauses a few moments, cringing. Lloyd’s figured it out. “... yeah?”

“Did you get arrested?”

Once again, he hesitates. “... maybe.” He admits, feeling himself flush red with embarrassment. He’s going to be in a lot of trouble when he gets back…

Lloyd sighs. “I’ll grab the others, we’ll be right there.”

“Is there any chance you can talk Nya out of murdering me?” Kai chuckles nervously, glancing out the precinct.

With a groan, Lloyd agrees. “I’ll try. But no promises.”

And that’s the best he’s going to get.

So they exchange goodbyes, and Kai is taken back to his cell, where he impatiently waits for his friends to show up.

“If patience is a virtue, then I am not virtuous.” He mutters to himself, bouncing his leg.

After what feels like an eternity, the others arrive- and judging by the withering look Nya gives him, he’s in a lot of trouble.

If Zane were here, he’d probably insist that Kai sleeps on the couch.

But he’s not here. And that’s the whole issue. Honestly, Kai doesn’t have any regrets- he’s willing to do anything to get Zane back, no matter what it takes.

Still, he winces at the look Nya gives him. “Alright, I get that you’re probably really mad at me right now-“

Nya ignores him, looking at a cop. “Legally, how long do we have to bail him out?” Her voice is sharp as she flashes Kai another glare.

Sucking in a deep breath, Kai feels slight panic overtake him. “You- you guys aren’t going to leave me here-“

The cop blinks a few times, seeming confused. “Uh, you legally have forty-two hours, but if you’re already here, wouldn’t you bail him out now?”

Nya shakes her head, crossing her arms. “We’ll be back in twenty-four.” She promises.

Jay taps at his watch, likely setting an alarm to go off then. He gives Kai a helpless look and shrugs, glancing between him and his sister.

Okay, he knows that Nya can be scary, but they can’t just leave him here!

Cole winces, and Lloyd looks away, shuffling his feet.

“Oh come on!” Kai stands up, throwing his hands in the air. “I’m an impulsive brat, that’s not new. But you guys can’t just leave me in jail-“

“See you later, Kai.”

Nya walks out, and Jay mouths an apology before he and the others follow, leaving him alone.

Kai crosses his arms with a pout. “This is bullshit.” He grumbles to himself, sitting back down on the seat.

Looks like there’s nothing to do but wait.

{ { { { { { { { { { ~ } } } } } } } } } }

Zane watches Cryptor, disbelieving, as his fellow nindroid willingly goes into his own locker beside Zane’s.

Even though the end result is the same, Zane, at the very least, tries to resist them.

After the door is once again slammed shut in his face, a quiet sigh escapes him as he shakes his head.

A few minutes pass in darkness, and he debates activating his sleep mode. Perhaps it would be beneficial for him to-

A tapping noise sounds on the side of the locker, and it takes only a moment for Zane to decipher it as Morse Code.

.- .-. . / -.-- --- ..- / --- -.- .- -.-- ..--..

The sound is emitting from the locker to his side- the locker where Cryptor is.

The taps translate to ‘ARE YOU OKAY?’, a question that seems rather odd considering how he had been acting previous.

With a small frown, Zane taps back, ‘-.-- . …’, or what translates to ‘YES’. After a moment of consideration, he adds on, ‘ARE YOU?’.

There is quite the long pause before Cryptor answers, and Zane’s breath hitches at the reply he’s given.

I AM INTACT

That was not his question, but it most certainly is an answer. Cryptor is not okay, which is to be expected- or rather, not expected. From the way he was acting, it had appeared that he had fallen under their beliefs. Yet this communication seems to prove otherwise.

HOW LONG?

While Zane does not specify that he’s asking the length of time that Cryptor has been held captive, he trusts that the other will understand his meaning.

There’s once again a hesitant pause before he receives a reply.

A YEAR AND A HALF

Sucking in a deep breath, Zane takes a moment to fully process his message. Cryptor has been trapped here for eighteen months? That would most certainly explain his behaviors, he is most likely torn between who he was and who they want him to be.

Given the circumstances, it seems miraculous that he lasted this long… perhaps he should voice that question.

HOW DID YOU LAST?

The pause is much shorter this time.

I FAKED IT

While the message isn’t very descriptive, Zane can infer what he is attempting to get across by his previous actions. He had been pretending to believe their lies in order to gain more freedom- a risky move considering the method of mental manipulation. Even pretending, if done incorrectly, could lead to true belief in their lies.

WE NEED A PLAN

The two of them working together have a much higher chance of escape, especially if they truly do believe that Cryptor is under their control.

NO

Zane frowns, confused by the reply. Why would Cryptor not want to escape?

WHY NOT?

Cryptor’s response comes quickly, enough to show that he is confident in his belief on the matter.

IT HURTS

Another wave of confusion strikes him, and he pauses a moment, trying to decipher his point. When he does, the realization makes something inside of him ache heavily.

THEY CAUGHT YOU?

There’s a longer pause, long enough that Zane starts to think that Cryptor had chosen not to reply.

FOUR TIMES

Zane winces. If Cryptor has been trapped here for a year and a half and has only made four escape attempts, the punishments they enact for a failed attempt must be agonizing.

WITH TWO OF US WE

NO

A frown forms on his face as he tries to understand why Cryptor would be adamant about it enough to interrupt him.

He doesn’t get the chance to ask, however, as the door to his locker is abruptly slammed open, and he’s dragged out into the open.

Once again, Zane struggles in their grasp, but just like always, his attempts still do not change the end result, and he is taken back to the training room.

Again? He has already been here once today, why would they bring him back so soon?

After he is once again chained down, the woman from before enters, seeming quite annoyed. There’s an aura of anger around her that expresses that something is upsetting her.

Zane opens his mouth to ask about it- learning more about his captors could prove to be useful- but she speaks first, voice showcasing her annoyance even more.

“Kai visited me today.” She comments, staring Zane dead in the eyes as she speaks.

A spark of hope lights inside of him. “They will rescue me.” He proclaims, a relieved smile forming on his face.

“Uh, no. Nice try though.” A new voice enters the conversation, and Zane feels his power source heating up to produce more processing power for how fast his mind is racing.

“Kai?” He breathes out, eyes wide.

Because it’s none other than his boyfriend standing there, standing there with that same cocky smirk that would always adorn his face when they completed a mission.

“Heya, Snowflake.” He greets, giving a small wave. Then he turns to the woman, putting his hands in the pockets of his ripped jeans. Zane had given him that particular pair as a present one birthday, he remembers them, what-

“Yeah, this is really it.” Kai confirms with a nod. “Kinda surprised it took you so long to contact me though.”

“We were more busy with training it to behave.” The official admits.

Kai nods. “A fair point. Frosty here has always been kinda stubborn. But I’m sure you can teach it eventually.”

Zane manages to get out a sentence, simply staring at his teammate, at his friend, at his love.

“You- Kai, what- Kai?” He runs every scan he can think of, examines every possible detail, but nothing reveals a flaw. This really is… it really is Kai?

That- that can’t be true! Kai would never- he wouldn’t- they’re dating, he wouldn’t…

His words are ignored. “Anyway, I should get back to the others. Call me if it gets too difficult, okay? I’m sure I can make it listen.”

That same cocky smirk that he used to find endearing mocks him as Kai leaves, walks away, leaves him alone in the hands of the ones who want to hurt him.

“Kai…” He breathes out, a helpless feeling taking over him. “Kai, don’t- wait!” He cries out the word desperately, and much to his surprise, Kai listens, pausing and turning around.

“You’re not seriously going to try and lecture me right now. When you’re like this? Really?” He scoffs, making his way back over.

Zane tries to shrink back a little, but the chains hold him firmly in place, leaving him helpless as Kai comes closer, his hand lighting ablaze.

When he’s right next to him, he pauses, crouching down. The fire from his hand is close enough to heat up his metallic plating, but Zane doesn’t look at it, he can’t look at anything but into the eyes of his love.

“For once in your miserable life…” Kai leans in, pressing his flaming hand against him, making it burn, making it ache and almost start to melt.

“... why don’t you take a damn hint?”

The world around him goes fuzzy, and Zane can barely choke out his name before everything fades to blackness.

“Kai…”

[ellemcu]

I don’t wanna hurt you ( bucky x reader)

Part 1 \\ Part 2 \\ Part 4

Part 3: And he is there.again.

Word count: 889 words

warnings: swearing

You were being kept inside the van for half an hour until one of the soldiers next to you stood up and looked you deep in the eyes. It was your signal to get out and do your job. You stared at him blankly for a few seconds, studying his facial expression and then for up and reloaded your gun. You raised your shirt and your shot wound had stopped bleeding after you had taken out the bullet with your bare hands.

The serum mixed with your abilities made your wounds close up incredibly quickly but that wasn't such a good thing at hydra. It was seen more of an invitation: if the pain they inflict on you doesn't stay for long then it wasn't enough so every single time the pain would be harsher and more unbearable.

You rolled your shirt back down and moved in front of the sliding door, ready to attack any moment now. You waited for the soldier to nod and then she opened the door and hopped out of the van easily. You scanned your surroundings until you saw it. The same damn man. Only this time he was shooting grenades with a RPG at some people at a short distance: two men and a red headed woman.

The man in the black suit made a blonde guy fall from the bridge on top of a bus and that's when you realized those were the people you were sent to kill. "(This dude has just crossed the line) Этот чувак перешел черту'' you mumbled yourself. You started running towards the bridge where they were fighting, debating wether you should kill the man first and then finish your mission or complete your mission and then take your time to torture and eventually kill this asshole who keeps getting on your way. The second option sounded way better.

You were exactly under the bridge when the woman fell down one side of the bridge and then started running towards your direction. You were so ready for this.

You grabbed your gun and reloaded it,raised it towards her and started shooting at her. She rolls on the floor and then throws a small metal ball towards you and before you know it you are being electrified. Energy running through your veins, once again, you looked in her eyes while shaking from the electricity. She kept on running under the bridge until she reached the side where her blonde friend had fallen. She raised her guns and started shooting at the all-in-black dude.

 That was your man to kill, not hers.

You grabbed the small ball and smashed it with your hands, the energy dying instantly. You stood up slowly from the ground and started running towards the bridge. Change of plan, first you're gonna kill the dude who looks just like you and then you'll get over with your mission.

You get to a light post and climb it with ease as it brought you high enough for you to jump on the bridge where your first target was shooting, fortunately he hadn’t noticed you, well, you weren’t called shadow for nothing. You stood up straight on the pole and lifted yourself up on the bridge. You pulled yourself up easily and crouched down on your knees. 

You lift your head and look at his actions, the way he held his gun, the way he placed his feet on the ground to keep a steady posture, his shoulder- length brown hair moving swiftly thanks to the slight wind blowing, his robust and powerful muscles showing underneath the suit he was wearing, you could’ve sworn you’d seen him somewhere and those swift moves aren’t easily seen around, not that you were out in public, enjoying yourself much. 

You let out a deep breath and grabbed your AK47 from your back, reloading it making an old bullet fall to the ground. You look inside your viewfinder, aiming for his internal jugular vein on his neck. You had a clear shot on it because while he was shooting tilted his head slightly, maybe to have a more precise aim. You tightened your grip on your pistol grip and moved your index finger on the trigger.

You were still looking in the viewfinder when you pulled the trigger. 

You wanted to see your mission die, at your feet. You wanted to see his blood oozing out of his neck. You didn’t care who he was. You didn’t care if he suffered and you obviously didn’t care if you had to kill another. It was your duty right?

You were waiting for the bullet to hit him until you felt a throbbing pain in your lower abdomen followed by another excruciating feeling on your chest. Damn my chest is really getting killed lol.

 Then something hit your upper nape and everything went black.

*******************************

Part 4

Fuck, im into this story too lol. This may be worse than my other parts but I swear to god i can really write so much better but my power is gone and I didn't have much time but I still wanted to go on with the story so here it is. Ik it's shorter too, really sorry guys. I promise the next part is gonna be way better. Hope you still like it,

Elle

[happi-tree]

On The Style and Effectiveness of 1-A Hero Costumes - Part 2/5

Part 2 of this post!

NAVIGATION

Part 1 2 3 4 5

INGENIUM / IIDA TENYA

It’s armor time!!! Behold a man. 

What I don’t like:

The costume seems too bulky for a Quirk and fighting style that optimize speed. And while it’s true that cars are pretty bulky but still go fast, it’s equally true that certain types of cars are designed to go faster. The current design reminds me most of a semi or a big SUV, but if the costume was more streamlined along the lines of racecars or sports cars, it would help take off the extra weight that the bulk provides, leaving Iida lighter and more streamlined - therefore, faster. 

Some examples of slimmer armor include Go Go Tomago’s from Big Hero 6 and Jim Lake Jr.’s from Trollhunters. And while I get that his body type inherently lends itself to being tank-like, lightening up on the bulk would probably be great for him.

The exhaust pipes out of his back confuse me. They bring some car energy, which is entirely welcome, but they likely hinder balance and motion, which is bad. They leave him looking a little unbalanced, and since so much of his strength and his fighting ability focuses on his lower body, having excess superficial material protruding out of the sides like that doesn’t seem to lend him any favors. And even while it looks cool, it just seems like it would be uncomfortable? Especially since a lot of runners - Iida included - like having full range of their arms to help propel them forward. The pipes might get in the way of that.

Here’s what I like:

The overall aesthetic. I love how this look both makes sense with Iida’s Quirk and personality and plays with elements of his older brother’s costume. It simultaneously puts across some knightly vibes - which is genius, considering how chivalrous and rule-following Iida typically is - and also calls to mind Transformers and cars with the emphasis on the engines and some of the more mecha elements.

The support! Armor is such an easy way to protect yourself while also getting some serious style points. His most essential areas are covered - neck, chest, arms, and legs - which is especially important considering that Iida’s legs are integral to his Quirk and his fighting style. The helmet is also a really good choice, considering this boy is essentially a human car. He looks a bit intimidating wearing it, which is good for fighting Villains, I suppose. Class dad is protected.

And a misc. note:

You know how after Iida’s special Recipro Burst move, he has to wait awhile while his engines cool back down? I think it would be really neat if he implemented some cooling technology into his Hero suit (similarly to Todoroki’s temperature-regulating gear). Theoretically, if he could find something that worked a bit like coolant for his engines, he would have a much quicker reaction time - and speed is the main facet of his Quirk, so it would probably help a lot!

Overall: Very good at providing protection while having a bomb-ass aesthetic. Not quite so good at being built for speed.

I CANNOT STOP TWINKLING / AOYAMA YUUGA 

On the other side of the armored spectrum… we have this kid!

What I don’t like:

*Edna Mode voice* NO CAPE! Why do I not like the cape? Capes can snag on stuff very easily and it would be an easy thing for Villains to target and use to unbalance Aoyama. Longer capes are especially susceptible to getting trapped under rubble, torn up, or covered in gunk from the environment (which is not the Look he seems to like). I feel like a shorter cape would get a similar message across while minimizing the potential dangers that a long cape poses. Of course, Aoyama can be trained via experience to utilize his costume effectively with the full-length cape, but when his life and the lives of others are on the line, I’d rather not take that chance.

The shades. I get that they’re iconic, but they’re taking rose colored glasses a bit too seriously. 110% will fall off his face and also messes with the princely Vibe the rest of his costume provides. I do like their Elton John energy, though.

Not a bad thing, but I just want to know how his belt works.

Here’s what I like:

The overall aesthetic. I love how the costume’s obvious “princely knight” vibe reflects so much of Aoyama’s character. 

The support here is also really good! Working the belt into the theme of his costume so seamlessly is very innovative and I love that for him. Getting the knee pads and shoulder pauldrons to match his central laser both adds to the uniqueness of the outfit and also pushes that royalty theme since they look very similar to inset gems. 

The color scheme. Purple, silver, gold, and black look very classy and regal together, and I appreciate how the royal purple ties back into the concept of European royalty, which is very in-character for this boy. His pantaloon-looking things??? Neato.

Overall: Eh, okay. Ditch the glasses and shorten the cape. Superb, you funky lil knight light.

CREATI / YAOYOROZU MOMO

Here we are! I’m finally taking a crack at one of the most highly debated hero costumes in the entire show, and like a good portion of people, I’m gonna be extremely salty about it. Yaomomo doesn’t deserve this - none of the girls deserve this. These are my thoughts:

What I don’t like:

The absolute lack of support. For any aspect of her. Nothing about this costume is protective (other than maybe the partial high collar). Her most vulnerable areas are exposed, and while it makes sense for easy Quirk usage, it does not make sense for a girl who’s fighting homicidal maniacs on the front lines. The most glaring area in need of support is obviously her chest, as nothing substantial is holding her bust in place. However, so much could be done to work with the benefits of Creation and against its weaknesses that is not being done in this costume. I’ve seen quite a few redesigns that include a sports bra with a front zip closure, which is worlds better. With the show being set in the future, having a slightly mechanized costume with the ability to retract certain pieces at the press of a button would be useful and likely doable considering Yuuei’s own Support department. Gloves would probably be a good idea to give Yaoyorozu a better grip on harder-to-handle Created objects, such as heavy metal machinery. 

The over-sexualization is, obviously, disgusting. Nothing about this costume says “Hero.” What it does say, in-universe, is that someone had the absolute gall to approve and send this outfit to a 15-year-old girl about to be thrown headfirst into training for an extremely dangerous profession. It says that giving a person in their freshman year of high school an overly sexualized outfit meant for combat training is okay (it isn’t, for reasons I can’t even begin to explain). This more closely resembles an outfit for a lingerie or swimsuit model than it does for any type of superhero, which alone should be enough to warrant some serious changes - especially, as I have stated, since the girl is only 15!

The overall aesthetic. There is no aesthetic reading for this costume other than “sexy”, which, as I explained above, is very problematic. Sure, the exposed skin makes sense for her Quirk, since she needs access to skin in order to produce items with Creation, but nothing about this outfit denotes anything about her personality. Yaoyorozu Momo is a gentle girl who has been shown to have self-esteem issues from early on in the show, and just knowing that makes me wonder if she feels uncomfortable wearing this. If she’s totally comfortable in this look, good for her! But comfort in our clothing factors so much into our mental states, which translates directly to our physical performance - it’s the same reason why having clothes that fit you and your style well make you feel more confident and more content. And especially if Yaoyorozu wasn’t quite expecting the amount of skin revealed when her costume was given to her, it could likely have added on to her self-esteem issues as seen early in the school year.

The skintight fit of what amounts to a glorified bathing suit is not conducive or acceptable whatsoever. With such a powerful Quirk, Yaoyorozu needs all the protective material she can get - which, as I said in Uraraka’s analysis, is quite simply not possible to fit under that bodycon fabric. Some padding at the very least would work wonders, and bulletproof material would serve her even better. 

Once again, heels are not good for any kind of running or fighting! At least it’s a block heel, which is marginally more stable than, say, a stiletto, but still.

The literal bookshelf on her ass. It makes no sense to put it there - it’s an inconvenient place (what if she needs to sit down?) and it looks incredibly awkward to move around with. Besides, there’s absolutely nothing stopping that book from falling at the slightest jostle. At least give her a proper holster or implement it into a toolbelt like some of the boys have. 

What’s with the belt? Can it hold emergency supplies? Or is it just there to make it seem like she’s wearing more than a deep v one-piece? I’m at a loss here.

Here’s what I like:

The color scheme. Deep red, white, and pale yellow look good on her! The color ratios are also pretty good in my opinion. Unfortunately, this is the only good thing I can say about her getup.

And to round us out, some misc. notes:

I feel like the book could be done away with entirely and replaced with something digital. This universe is set multiple centuries into the future, and I think something like a holographic data set would look slick, enable for faster search time for whatever info Yaoyorozu would need, and eliminate the bulk problem completely. At the very least, there could be a smartwatch-type gauntlet to pull up info with a larger screen to enable easy reading. Really, the lack of support for Yaoyorozu’s look is devastating because she could go so many directions in creating an outfit that works with her Quirk’s strengths and against its weaknesses.

Overall: Awful, a disgrace, and a disservice to one of the coolest, kindest characters in the class. I would kill for her to get the outfit she deserves.

INVISIBLE GIRL / HAGAKURE TOORU

Wow, look! Two travesties in a row! One more and I get a bingo!

Hagakure, I love you so much, and I am so, so sorry that the yahoos over at the Support company thought that this was a good idea.

What I don’t like:

Uh. The fact that there isn’t a costume. There is literally no in-universe rationalization for this. Surely, they have the technology. Just look at Lemillion! Togata Mirio’s Quirk is literally phasing through materials (including his own clothing) and they made him his own non-phaseable costume by weaving his own DNA into the fabric! Even if they don’t have the technology (they do), I know that Hatsume and probably the rest of the Support students would immediately jump on the chance of creating a fabric with the ability to switch between visible and invisible modes. 

Once again, the sexualization of minor Hero students continues to disturb me. Who in their right mind thinks it’s okay to send a naked teenager out into a live battlefield just because she’s less likely to be noticed that way? This line of thought surely doesn’t account for stray bullets or falling debris, nor does it account for this poor girl’s peace of mind. She should be focused on getting the job done and saving people, not worrying about how it’s too cold for her to work properly or how there’s nothing between her body and a loaded gun except for the air between them.

The gloves and shoes seem like they’re kinda. Missing the point of contributing to a stealth Hero costume? Yes, they’re good so that Hagakure can be easily recognized among her allies, but does she just have to stow them wherever when she needs to go fully invisible and hope she can find them once the mission’s over? Plus, Hagakure will always, at the very bare minimum, need something to protect the soles of her feet. Walking barefoot just for everyday civilian stuff would cause a lot of problems, but Heroes likely have a lot of broken glass, broken nails, debris, and other nasty things on the streets where they fight. Tetanus is not fun to have. 

Here’s what I like:

The gloves are a nice color, I guess?

Some misc. notes:

I gotta say, I’ve seen SO many good takes on outfit redesigns for Hagakure (same with Yaoyorozu) and the fandom collectively has some wonderful ideas on how to go about creating a costume for her. Personally, I think it would be cool if she had a full-body suit that could change between visible and invisible modes - that way, she would be easy to identify in head counts and it would likely be easier to see places where she could be injured after a fight. At the very, very least they could pull a Lemillion and have her outfit infused with something from her own DNA so it can disappear as she does while leaving her at least covered.

Overall: So, so bad. Please give this girl a suit. I’m tired. 

TLDR Part 2:

Great Costumes: 

Good: Iida

Okay: Aoyama

Questionable: 

Bad: 

The Absolute Worst: Yaoyorozu, Hagakure

[murasaki-murasame]

Thoughts on Higurashi Gou Ep24 [Final]

Technically this is the final episode of Gou, but we’re getting a sequel later this year, so what I said last week about pretending to be surprised about this not being the end of the whole story still applies, lol.

Thoughts under the cut.

Even though this is the season finale, there honestly isn’t a whole lot to talk about with this episode, and it doesn’t even necessarily feel like a conclusion to the current arc. I wonder if it’s like Re:Zero’s second season, which was originally planned to be two consecutive cours, but got made into a split-cour because of production delays, which lead to the end of ‘part one’ feeling anti-climactic because it was only meant to be the middle episode of the season.

But on the note of the sequel, we now know it’ll start airing in July, which is kinda interesting since several different TV stations had already leaked the existence of at least one more cour of episodes immediately after this one, so I get the feeling that it was originally meant to start in April, but got pushed very recently to July. Considering that Gou already got delayed a season because of production delays, it’d make sense if Sotsu was originally meant to air in April after a one season break, but now it’s getting delayed as a consequence of Gou also being delayed.

I wasn’t 100% convinced about the rumors and leaks related to Sotsu, but it’s been pretty obvious for a while now that we were getting some sort of sequel, so this isn’t really a surprise. I’m curious to see if Sotsu will be one cour or two cours long, though. Usually split cour anime have both ‘halves’ be the same length, but I’m not really sure if there’s another two cours worth of material left in the story, now that so much has been revealed. But this whole arc has been way slower than I thought it’d be, so for all I know they might spend two whole cours just on explaining how the question arcs worked, and wrapping things up.

On the one hand it’s almost funny to think that we might get multiple arcs in Sotsu dedicated to explaining the Gou question arcs before we even return to the cliffhanger from Nekodamashi, but on the other hand it’d be nice to get a lot of time dedicated to those arcs, if it at least means that characters like Rena, Mion, and Shion get more screen-time and development. The trailer that’s been posted for Sotsu already hints at more Rena content, so that’s exciting.

I’m not entirely sure what to expect from the answer arcs, though, since unlike with the original VN it kinda feels like we can already piece together exactly what happened in each arc just from what we’ve learned in this one. It seems like basically every arc just boils down to ‘Satoko steals a syringe of H-173 and sets up a new ‘culprit’ in each arc to make Rika feel like she’s trapped in her loop of tragedy again’. So I feel like there just isn’t a whole lot to explain about that, especially since all of the arcs should have basically the same ‘solution’.

I know that at this point this is just a full on sequel, but I kinda hope they go back over material from Tsumihoroboshi and Meakashi in order to do more with Rena and Shion, even if it wouldn’t be new info for people who’ve read the VN. Unless things go in some really wild and unexpected directions, I think that’d be the only real way to do a whole set of answer arcs.

Realistically, the thing that will probably add some spice to the answer arcs is the whole plot point being introduced recently of Satoko’s loops causing permanent character development in everyone around her. So on top of probably going over a lot of existing material from the VN answer arcs, there should be new stuff that goes into the effects of having characters like Rena, Mion, and Shion remember more and more about previous loops, and how that influenced their actions in the question arcs. I don’t really know how much that’d impact the actual mechanisms of how each arc played out and how the murders and stuff worked, but from a narrative standpoint it’d be fun to see how this whole thing plays out.

And to be honest, even though this is a sequel that doesn’t really work properly for new fans, I could totally see them spending a lot of time more or less rehashing stuff from the VN that we already know about. It kinda feels like from day one they’ve been making genuine attempts to include enough info from the VN to make this accessible for new fans, but it doesn’t really work out properly.

On the whole topic of the permanent character development thing, I think it’s actually a really neat plot point, although it does feel like it answers enough of the mysteries that there isn’t really anything left to explain about how the question arcs worked. But I think the whole concept of people’s development piling up and persisting across time like some kind of supernatural entropy is really interesting, and it’s already something that was established in the VN. Basically the whole reason Rika even managed to win originally was because everyone was slowly remembering old loops. Gou just took that idea and decided to take it to it’s logical extreme.

I also like how it plays into the whole idea that Rika and Satoko’s goals are completely incompatible with each other, and only one of them is going to be able to ‘win’. Satoko’s looping is causing the people creating Rika’s tragedy to change their minds and back off, which is exactly what Rika would want, but it’s not what Satoko wants. She wants to keep Rika stuck in this loop until she gives up on leaving the village, and having characters like Teppei and Takano grow up and abandon their evil deeds is a hindrance to her plans.

It also helps clarify that Satoko started taking a more active role in causing the tragedies in each loop because the other people who would otherwise trigger those things aren’t involved anymore, so she has to step in and do it herself. Which is kinda morbidly funny in a way, but it does help explain why she wasn’t just sitting back and letting the ‘original’ tragedy play out each time.

This episode also more or less explains why Takano apparently had a change of heart and abandoned her goals, and I’m not entirely sure how I feel about it, but I think I like how they handled it. It’s probably something that would have worked better in a VN format that could dedicate more time to her thought process, but I liked how it was triggered by her reading her grandfather’s letter. The whole concept of the scrapbook and the letter kinda feels like something Ryukishi came up with when writing Gou to make things work, but the important part is just that the final straw to changing her mind was to do with her grandfather not wanting his research to become a burden for her. I was kinda worried that they’d just have Satoko give some kind of lecture to Takano that would somehow change her mind, but it makes a lot more sense that it didn’t even really have to do with Satoko. And ironically, Satoko probably didn’t even want her to change her mind, since now she has to do everything herself, lol.

I think they probably should have done a bit more to hammer in the idea that Takano was slowly pushed towards a place of uncertainty and doubt over the course of the loops, though. At least with Teppei we got a whole montage of him having memories of violently dying as a result of his own awfulness, but we only saw Takano have one memory of Matsuribayashi, which she didn’t even seem all that fazed by, and then she has one sentimental moment that totally changes her mind about her entire goal in life. That feels more like a pacing problem than a fundamental issue with the idea of Takano being able to change her mind about things, but there’s only so much they can do in the time-frame of an anime. I do kinda feel like this whole arc in particular could have been more efficiently paced, though. At least in hindsight, I think the whole St. Lucia’s section should have been shorter [but also more intensely depressing for Satoko, to really drive home how she felt after it all], and more time should have been spent on the second half of the arc.

Anyway, this episode also gives us even more increasingly blunt hints that Satoko is literally just Lambdadelta, so that’s fun. I know there’s a lot of debate about it, but at this point it feels like Ryukishi is going out of his way to make it happen, so I don’t really think it’s some kind of elaborate misdirection. I don’t really expect the connection to get much more explicit than it is right now, but who knows. Things might get really weird in Sotsu.

[rinari7]

@slytherintothedragonsden​ and @ciara-jane​ Many many thanks for the topic suggestion! And I have other reports I’ll have to do, so I’m saving the other topics away as well for those! :3

All right, buckle up folks! By popular demand, we're talking about bicycle gears!

This will probably be more information than any average consumer wants or needs to know, but I had to make it report length, so my apologies! But I'll try to be concise, and I'll do my best to keep the maths to a minimum for those of you sensitive to such things. ;)

The term "gear" or “speed” in this particular context refers to a particular arrangement of toothed wheels, disks, or shafts that translates torque generated by either a motor, someone’s pedaling, or a combination of both, into the physical speed of the bike on the path. Put more simply, a “gear” is a particular “translation” of turns of the crank arms to turns of the back wheel.

So people have more of an idea of precisely what I’m referring to, here on a modern utility/mountain bike chain drivetrain and gear setup:

1. crank arm

2. chainrings

3. front derailleur

4. chain

5. rear sprockets (together also called a cassette, that are attached to the hub of the rear wheel and drive it)

6. rear derailleur

The first bikes only had one “gear” — the pedals and crank arms were affixed directly to the wheel hub. One crank arm revolution equals one wheel turn, one wheel circumference traveled. Incidentally, this is also why penny farthings became a Thing, as ridiculous as they looked and as dangerous as they were — people wanted to get farther with one crank arm revolution, and they were only really limited by the length of their legs and from what height they were willing to risk falling.

Still, gear-less bikes were less than ideal. Issues getting up a hill? Too bad, get stronk. Want to go faster? Pedal faster, lazybones. :P

For the people with a little more common sense or a healthy fear of heights, the “Safety” bicycle (coming to stores near? you in 1886!) got rid of such stupid things as an enormous front wheel, and sat the rider much closer to the ground. More importantly for the development of our modern bicycle transmission, it sat the rider in between the two wheels and used a chain to transfer torque from the pedals to the rear drive wheel.

(For the less physically gifted… physics-ly gifted? torque is force applied over a distance that makes something turn. However, distinguishing between torque and force is more an issue of pedantry and math-ish nerdery than any real key to understanding.)

In the early days, some people came up with the bright idea of putting two different sized cogs or sprockets on the opposite sides of the wheel. Two gears! Too bad you had to stop, get off, remove the rear wheel to flip it around, secure it again, and then get going again in your new gear. This only really became a Thing in racing, where the difference in speed mattered enough to justify that whole song-and-dance.

How does a different-sized rear sprocket make a difference in speed? I’m so glad you asked! (Warning: maths ahead, but I’ll try to make it painless.)

Y’all remember levers, right? (Excuse the terrible Microsoft Paint drawings I made at 11 at night, please.)

You can apply less force at the end of a longer “lever” and have the same effect as if you’d applied more force to a shorter lever. Mathematically, the equation is: F1 x l1 = F2 x l2.

(In the diagrams, F1 is the force of gravity pulling the box down, and F2 is the force exerted by the person, l1 the blue length and l2 the red length. They were originally color-coded like most of the bolded stuff but tumblr didn’t feel like working with me there.)

Now let’s take a look at the rear (driving) wheel of a bicycle. (Proportions exaggerated.)

Y’all see it too, right? Like, uh, either way the torque the chain applies to the sprocket (the blue side of the lever) is on the less advantageous side of the equation (smaller than red), but the larger gear offers a less-bad ratio.

So, why would anyone use a smaller gear? More force actually applied to the wheel on the road is better, right?

Not necessarily. If you’re moving forwards at a good clip, you’re good. If you apply too much force, there’s also the risk of the wheel slipping and losing traction on the road.

Also, I picked the icons I did for a reason. Notice how the larger gear has more teeth? That means it takes a longer length of chain to tug the larger gear around one complete revolution.

What if your chainring has only half as many teeth as your rear sprocket? The teeth are the same distance apart, same chain. That means you have to complete two revolutions of the crank arm to move one rear-wheel-circumference forwards.

There’s an equation for this, too: transmission ratio i = teeth of chainring ÷ teeth of rear sprocket = radius of chainring ÷ radius of rear sprocket = rotations of rear sprocket ÷ rotations of chainring. Any of those three possibilities will get you the same answer.

Note here that the lever principle applies to the pedal and chainrings as well.

In this case, a smaller chainring works in our favor, transferring more torque to the chain and thus to the rear wheel, but less speed.

If we put both of these aspects together, we have the combination small chainring + large rear sprocket giving us the maximum transmission of force from pedals to the rear wheel, but not much forwards speed. Conversely, the combination large chainring + small rear sprocket gives us a lot of forwards speed, but not much force — if we hit a hill we’re going to have a hard time.

Practically speaking: most bikes have two or three chainrings (controlled by the left gear shifter) and between 6 and 10 rear sprockets, though the trend is shifting back to one chainring and many rear sprockets in the super-high-end systems. (Also, with the advent of pedelecs and electric auxiliary motors, most people are now just switching the motor’s boost level instead of shifting chainrings).

To make things more concrete: my bicycle has 8 rear sprockets and 3 chainrings, in bike lingo 3 x 8 gears or speeds. I could say 24-speed, technically, but realistically there’s some overlap in there between different sprocket-chainring combinations, and some combinations I would realistically never use, like small chainring + small rear sprocket, or large chainring + large rear sprocket (not to mention that those kinds of extreme gear combinations can exacerbate chain wear).

On your gear shifters, the thing to remember is: if pedaling is difficult, shift down, to the lower numbers on the left and right displays. The indexing (assigned numbers to cogs) is nicely uncomplicated that way.

I’ve sprung forwards a bit historically, but hopefully that answers the questions of “what even are bike speeds and what do these wizard numbers mean?”

I’ll cut the history and rambling a bit short at this point: in 1930 the predecessor of modern chain-driven gearing systems, the Vittoria Margherita, was invented, and in the 1950s the basic design of modern derailleurs and chain gearing systems popped up, and has stuck around ever since. Shimano did a thing in the 1980s, designing hubs, cassette, pedals, chainrings, front and rear derailleurs, and most components of the drivetrain to specifically work best with the whole set of their parts, which… uh. Like, good that they offer a well-performing, smoothly-designed system, but locking you into buying only their stuff if you want your thing to work right? Not a huge fan. (The corporate side of bikes is. Uh. A whole thing. A whole-ass other ramble.) And now there’s electronic and wirelessly controlled gear shifters, but that’s most of the major developments in gear shifting.

The first widely available transmission system that could be operated without, uhhh, stopping and taking your bike partially apart, was actually an internal gear hub, invented by William Reilly in 1898. It had two (2) different settings. Eventually someone invented the luxury of three-speed hubs!

Internal gear hubs have a different construction, but the principle of the gears are the same: different-sized cogs translate the torque of the chain into more wheel rotations or more applied force to help you get up that damn hill. Nowadays there’s even 14-speed internal hub gears, and an interesting gearbox concept (Pinion is the company) that does the whole translating-through-gears at the bottom bracket and crank arm, entirely between the pedal and chain, instead of between chain and drive wheel.

There’s actually an interesting debate to be had on chain gears versus internal hub gears — they’re both good for different things. Vaguely, internal hub gears are less maintenance-intensive, since most of the mechanism is protected from the elements, but they’re heavier (not the choice of racers). Though you can shift gears at a standstill, you can’t shift if you’re putting much force in the pedals and getting the rear wheel out is a bit more complicated with a hub gear system, if you have a flat. Chain gearing systems are the choice of competitive bikers, generally more efficient at transferring power and offering a broader range of gears.

Hopefully I haven’t offered too much information, or an overwhelming amount. If y’all want clarification on anything, just poke me. :3

Sources:

- I have a 500+ page textbook on all things bicycles. “Fachkunde Fahrradtechnik,” 7th Edition, from the publisher Europa-Lehrmittel if y’all wanna look it up

- Seriously, I’ve been learning this stuff for like 9 months at this point. Theoretically and practically. And I’ll be taking a whole-ass apprenticeship midterm next month. At some point your own education should count for something.

- Also, simple physics.

- A few Wikipedia pages for random references, in particular pertaining to the history of hub gears (and “oh shit what is the thing called in English” moments).

- https://evelo.com/pages/history-of-the-bicycle for a few historical tidbits

- https://bikeradar.com/features/when-were-bicycle-gears-invented/ for more histoical tidbits

- Pictures and icons from Wikimedia, specifically (x) (x) (x) (x), commentary and colorful drawings by me

[middleofnowhere92]

Jetka for @the-messenger-hawk for my ATLA Valentine’s Day Oneshots

Conversation Hearts

Chapters: 1/1 Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Jet/Sokka (Avatar), Jet & Sokka (Avatar) Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - College/University, College, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Modern Era Summary: It's Valentine's day, not that Jet gives a fuck. He almost gives a fuck about his midterm tomorrow, so he sits waiting for his new tutor.

Read on ao3 or below the cut 

Jet leaned back precariously in his chair in the athlete student center. He grabbed his pencil and flicked it at Longshot who was across the room with his tutor, some girl in engineering named Smellerbee. Pipsqueak and his tutor, Aang, laughed at Jet’s shenanigans as they packed up their things and left the study area. Jet huffed some of his unruly hair out of his face.  

He wished Aang was still his tutor, but the advisor for student athletes had switched around schedules with the spring semester. Now Jet was getting someone new. He chewed on the chalky heart candy in his mouth. It wasn’t the best taste, but it satisfied his incessant need to chew on something.

Longshot and Smellerbee packed up too and soon Jet was left alone, waiting for some tutor that probably wasn’t even gonna show up. He glanced at the clock. He really should just leave. Tutoring hours were done. Jet guessed whoever it was had a Valentine’s date that was more important than tutoring him.

He should just leave, but he had a midterm tomorrow in his agriculture econ class. He needed at least a C to play on Saturday. He glanced down at his blank study guide that he should have been filling out throughout the semester. The stress gnawed at him, so he gnawed on more conversation hearts.

The door was calling him, telling him to just leave and sleep through tomorrow’s exam like he typically would, but finally someone walked into the room.

Jet immediately recognized Sokka.

He also immediately recognized that he was fucked for tomorrow’s exam.

Sokka barely looked at him, “Look, I’m not in the mood to deal with your fucking bullshit. Let’s just go over your study guide so I can get paid and we can both go home.”  Jet continued balancing in his chair, “It’s good to see you too, Sokka.”

The other boy didn’t even look at him. He unceremoniously dropped his backpack, plopped down in the chair and pulled Jet’s empty study guide towards him. Jet tossed up a few hearts and caught them in his mouth. Sokka’s gaze never left his unimpressively blank study guide.

Jet, always uncomfortable with silence, shifted the discomfort to Sokka, “I’m surprised Zuko isn’t taking you out tonight, or are you doing something later?” Jet wasn’t college smart, but he was people smart. He knew exactly how to push people’s buttons. He took a perverse joy in riling up Sokka, only because he made it so easy.

“I explicitly said I’m not in the mood for your fucking brand of bullshit,” Sokka gritted out. His hands were grasping the meaningless study guide, causing almost enough tension in it for it to rip. Jet hadn’t calculated on Sokka getting this worked up over a simple question about his boyfriend.

Jet wasn’t one to apologize. He liked Sokka enough to almost want to, but he popped another candy heart in his mouth instead. The chalky taste seemed more unpleasant, but he swirled the candy around his mouth anyway, lodging it in the back corner of his jaw right above his molar.

Sokka shoved the paper back in front of Jet. He looked exasperated as he said, “You should try to fill it out. See what you know.” Jet scoffed, “I’m at tutoring because I don’t know jack shit.” Sokka’s cheeks sucked in like he had bitten something sour . He hissed venomously, “Two hours of tutoring isn’t going to make you pass an exam.” “Woulda helped if you had shown up on time,” Jet drawled as he leaned back in his chair, tossing up another heart to catch in his mouth.

Sokka barely moved, but his knee twisted just so, knocking Jet’s off balance. He sat up on the floor and glared at Sokka. He got up, thankful that he had just swallowed a heart and didn’t choke. He stood leaning on the chair, “What the fuck?”

Sokka pushed away from the table, turning on Jet, his eyes glassy and red, “I told you I couldn’t take your bullshit today. I fucking walked from the other side of campus, because the buses aren’t running, because there’s a little fucking snow on the ground. Why can’t people handle a few inches of fucking snow? But then I get here and I have to fucking tutor you and I tell you I can’t deal with your bullshit, but you serve it up steaming hot, because you are the king of all the assholes in the world and you can't help but be a douche canoe. No, not today, let’s just press all of Sokka’s buttons-”

Jet climbed over his chair and sat in the one Sokka had previously been occupying. He squeezed the other boy’s smaller hand just once as tears started to fall down Sokka’s cheeks. Jet fumbled for maybe the first time ever, “Shit, Sokka I’m sorry. I didn’t mean-” Sokka hiccupped loudly, his one tear morphing into a full on ugly cry.

“Zuko-" He wailed as he cried. “Broke up with me today.” His body shuddered in an effort to breathe through the sobs, “He was supposed to drive me here,” the last part came out as a broken off wail, “but we’re not together anymore.” Jet still held his hand drawing circles with his thumb.

“Shit, I’m sorry,” the word and the genuine feeling behind it were foreign to Jet.  Sokka looked at him, his blue eyes still glassy and pink. He pulled his hand away from Jet’s and wiped his eyes, “S’not your fault. Sorry, we should really do your study guide.”

Jet cocked his head to the side, like an overgrown confused puppy. He chewed on a candy heart and asked, "You sure? I can say we did tutoring. You'll get paid and you can go home." Sokka shook his head, his chin length hair shifting with the movement, "No, that's okay." Jet rolled his eyes at Sokka's decency, but scooted back into his own chair.

As they worked through the study guide Jet couldn’t help but focus more on Sokka than the material. He was an engineering and business major, not an Ag major like Jet. But the material came easily to Sokka as he glanced over the textbook that Jet had never even cracked open.

At the end of the two hours, Jet shoved his completed study guide in his book and crammed both in his backpack. He didn’t miss the wince from Sokka at the sound of the paper crumpling. Jet smirked and slung his backpack over his shoulders.

He stilted his steps to be more in line with Sokka's smaller ones. He dumped a few candy hearts into his large palm. He glanced at the pastel candies, holding out one to Sokka that read Let's get busy .

Sokka glared at him as they pushed the doors and the cold February air greeted them. He pelted the heart back at Jet, who caught it in his big mouth. Jet raised his hands up in triumph.

Sokka just shook his head as they walked. Jet bumped his side into Sokka's shorter shoulder. The shorter guy looking over at the taller athlete, "Thanks." Jet tossed up another candy and caught it in his mouth, "For what?"

Sokka shrugged shuffling in the snow, "I don't feel as shitty as I did." Jet grinned, his teeth not perfectly straight, "See, you do need my bullshit."

Jet skidded with chaotic glee across the icy sidewalk in his slides, his socks soaking in bits of snow. He thought about offering Sokka a night to forget Zuko, taking the pretty boy back to his apartment. This could be Jet’s only shot at making Sokka his. But something in him made him keep his thought to himself.

He knew how in love Sokka had been with Zuko. They did seem dam near perfect for each other. Jet calculated as he tossed a snowball that purposefully just missed Sokka's hair.

He didn't want Sokka just for a night. If he got him he couldn't just let go. Tonight, Jet had actually gotten through the wall that always seemed to be between the two of them.

He jogged, not using his full speed as Sokka scooped up snow and flung it, hitting Jet on the back of his neck. Sokka's eyes were back to their normal clear blue. His laugh was enough to warm Jet, who was just wearing a hoodie as he brushed off the snow.

He put his hands up, "I surrender! There's a pizza place open up here. Wanna stop?"

Jet's heart seemed to stop as Sokka chewed on his lip, debating his answer. He nodded, "Sure. Can't turn down pizza." Jet followed him in the small dive. They ordered and sat. Surrounded by other couples, as they debated over whether pineapple was a viable pizza topping.

Their legs or elbows would inevitably brush as Jet swung on the stool he was perched on. He kept throwing out new topics for debate, getting a thrill over seeing Sokka's eyes get fiery over whether Pepsi or Coke was better.

As Jet finished off his fifth slice of pizza, Sokka glanced in disgust at the small pink box on the counter between them, "I don't know how you can eat those things."

Jet shrugged as he stuffed the last of the chalky candies in his mouth, "I'll put just about anything in my mouth." "Noted," Sokka quipped. The two of them burst out in laughter.

As they stepped back outside, Jet looked at Sokka through his shaggy hair. His slides scraped against the salted side walk, "Same thing next week?" The cold was making Sokka's cheeks tint a pretty shade of pink. He rolled his blue eyes, "You wouldn't need tutoring if you just paid attention."

Their bickering continued as they walked, lost in conversation.