#things that no one needed explaining

[batcavescolony]

Katniss is such an unreliable narrator. She says "Then something unexpected happens. At least, I don't expect it because I don't think of District 12 as a place that cares about me" girl you deliver strawberries to the Mayor, you hunt and trade for the district, when you fell at Prim being chosen someone caught you, when you went to Prim people parted for you, when you volunteered EVERYONE stopped. Idk how to tell you but I think you're a pillar of the community.

[thebrainrotsreal]

Eve, Kate, Mark and Rex! Nailing some ideas down on how I wanna draw them in the future, and enjoying messing with their designs like usual! Not a fix-it whatsoever just fun + ref for the future! I cannot do realistic styles so translating them into something I can do while still being recognizable is peak. I will mess with Rex's suit more. Trust. I Kate so much now. Look at her <333333

[arcade-confetti]

Being someone who read Under The Red Hood and came out with the firm belief that, for Jason, it's not about killing Joker, it's about Jason wanting proof Batman would choose him over the Joker (bc shelia chose the joker). Makes seeing any other media where it's all about just wanting the Joker dead is a teeny bit frustrating. to be honest

Jason could've killed the Joker himself, really, really easily. Jason kidnaps the Joker before the confrontation. I can't open my comic for a reference right now, but it felt like he had the Joker for quite a bit before the confrontation. He had him. He beat him up with a crowbar. He had every single opportunity to kill the Joker himself, but he didn't because that wasn't his goal. Make no mistake, he did plan for the Joker to be dead by the end of it, but do you see what im trying to say here

Edit: If I knew this post was gonna get 1000+ notes I would've tried to word it better or something, this was a rant I made on the way to the grocery store 😭

It's not about making Batman kill either. When Batman says he won't kill, Jason adjusts and goes, 'Let ME kill the Joker or kill me to stop me' instead. The test is all about Batman choosing him. The whole final confrontation is Jason's first death again. The parent, The Joker, and the explosives. It even ends with Jason unable to move as a bomb goes off right next to him again because the parent didn't choose Jason. And instead tried finding an option that'd benefit them and (consequencely) letting the Joker walk, again, lol, lmao <-in agony

[ninja-knox-ur-sox-off]

Aroace Sonic pt 14

If you know you know

[mumblesplash]

part 2!!!! [read part one here]

transcript below the cut arranged into stanzas to help show where the rhymes are:

“that’s why they brought gem in? as a failsafe?” as a pawn. we were told to point her at whoever we need gone

“gem won’t hurt her allies. …yet.” the curse she carries will it’s had its eye on her since she lost the other eye she was specially selected for her hunting skill it’s quite the high honor. “wow. how generous.” we try

think about it: why does almost no one fight the curse? “given how fast scott killed skizz last season, i can guess.” [“any pain you spare your friends, you’ll have to suffer worse”?] it’s designed to shut down higher reasoning with stress

[pillowenvelopchair]

Jiang Cheng makes me so sick. What do you mean his entire home was burnt down to the ground. What do you mean he had to rebuild it piece by piece with his own hands because his parents died to save him and his brother. What do you mean he had to watch as his whole family died one by one. What do you mean he had to raise his nephew alone while also juggling trauma and a whole sect to run. What do you mean he has haters who will absolutely ruin his character and write him up as someone who is JUST angry and hateful to Wei Wuxian and everyone who’s just unfortunate enough to be at the receiving end of it

[thevoidstaredback]

How To Balance Your Daytime and Nighttime Activities So That You Don't Burn Yourself Out More Than You Already Have

It had been a long few minutes since he'd opened the door and there were a lot of questions running through Dick's head. Most pressing of which was how this kid seems to have information he should not have.

"How did you..?" he asked, but the words wouldn't leave completely. There's so much he wants to know, so much he wants to ask.

"How do I what?" Danny tilted his head like the child he seems to be is.

"How do you know?" Dick knows he sounds weak. There's no hiding that, but there are a lot of implications in what the kid has said so far and none of it is painting a very happy picture for him.

"Oh!" Danny had the audacity to smile, "You want to know how I know you moonlight as a vigilante!" And of course he knows. Dick knows he knows, but he'd held a little bit of hope that the child Danny was mistaken. Danny's smile softened a bit as he explained, "Your hair and voice match up in both jobs almost perfectly. Not to mention your build and how you hold yourself. There's also the matter of your overall vibes, but that's not something living beings can normally pick up on." Excuse him? "Well, not living humans, at least, so no worries on that end!"

"Excuse me?" Dick was fairly sure his heart just stopped beating for a moment there.

"Anyway, I was a hero back home for a while, too. I know what it's like to have to walk the tightrope between maintaining a civilian cover and a hero persona. I know how it feels to have to keep secrets from everyone because anyone who knows will be in danger." he rambled, Though, admittedly, our circumstances are quite different. I was working as a hero all hours of the day as well as going to school. You only have to worry about properly balancing between day and night jobs. Either way, me having more to bounce between just makes me al the more qualified to help you!"

Oh. Oh he did not like that. He didn't like a single thing that just came out of the kid's mouth. Because that's what he is, a kid. "Are you...Are you alright?"

"Not in the slightest," Danny admitted with an even smaller smile. Then, it brightened, not quite to a grin, but to something similar, "But I'm here to make sure you are."

He gets points for being honest, but Dick felt his heart shatter. He knew for a fact that he'd never worked with this kid before. He also knew that the Justice League didn't know about him. If they did, he would've been picked up and dropped with either the Young Justice team or the Titans.

Dick wasn't going to ask why he became a hero because that's not his place. It's more of a 'third mission with the team' kind of questions, anyway. Most of the heroes didn't have many options when they took up the mantle. Asking what Danny can do is a more appropriate question, but he wasn't going to ask that, either.

"Now that that's out of the way," Danny turned a few pages from the table of contents to another one that was topped with 'Why Sleep Scheduling Is Important' in the blue glitter pen that Dick was starting to suspect he favored. "You're not getting enough sleep. Following you around - no one's been able to find me for a while, so don't worry about that - for the last two weeks has given me some really worrisome information on you."

Dick was worrying. He was worrying a lot and even more questions were coming to the forefront of his mind.

"Your dayjob is as an officer on the Bludhaven Police Force, or BPD for short." He was looking over the page he'd turned to very aptly and Dick realized that the kid had notes written on him. "The average hours per week for police across the country is forty hours. Gotham and Bludhaven are the exceptions. As a member of the BPD, you work a solid two days and two hours. Six nights a week, you work as Nightwing from eight in the evening to three in the morning. The last day, you take off, which is good. No deserable pattern, so good on you for that. Regardless, that's seven hour nights and ten hour days, with one day off and one day on call as an officer. Seven hours are now left in your day for personal time, eating, and sleeping. That's not a healthy way to live."

Oh, god, the kid had honest to god notes on him! What the hell!

Danny didn't even skip a beat as he pulled Dick's attention back to him and his binder. "I've drawn up a schedule for you to follow." The back of the page had a meticulously drawn schedule, complete with blocks of time to eat, sleep, work both jobs, travel, personal time, and still have a bit extra left over. It was titled 'Ideal End Result' in green marker. "Drastic changes right away will only affect you negatively, so we're starting off smaller." The next page over had another schedule titled 'Where To Begin'. "I've only pulled one hour from your Nightwing hours because I know important that time is to you and the city. I am, however, going to be having you submit an appeal to your boss to cut back your hours from fifty a week to forty a week. That way, you'll only be working eight hours a day and not ten. You'll still be on call for one day, and you'll have that last day off. Altogether, you'll be going be going from working seventeen hours a day to fourteen hours a day. Nine in the morning to five in the afternoon, and eight in the evening to two in the morning. Not including breaks at work or travel time. It opens up a few more hours for you to sleep!"

"You really think the chief is going to pull back my hours?" Dick raised an eyebrow in question.

"He will if he knows what's good for him."

"You know I can arrest you for that threat, right?"

"Yeah, but you won't." And, damn it, he's right.

Although, there was now another thing he had to know. "How to you plan on enforcing this schedule of yours?"

Danny seemed to have been waiting for this. He got a gleam in his eye as he pulled a black folder from his bag, not breaking eye contact with Dick. He placed it on the table and pushed it across. "Congratulations, it's a boy."

Part 1 Part 3

[barfok]

i don't even begrudge almalexia her megalomania she has been a ruler from a very very young age i don't think she has once in her life been able to conceptualise herself-- her wants, her needs-- as separate from her duties to her people and the needs of her country. if you sat her down and asked her what she wanted or what she'd like she'd give you an expertly crafted political speech on how the prosperity of morrowind brings her more joy than anything and if you tried to push past that and ask what she, as a person, really wants, she'd stare at you blankly for thirty seconds and then have you hauled off by ordinators

[hannahbarberra162]

Fully Human (Sci Fi AU, Marco x Reader, dark, dead dove, non con, humans as pets)

18+ MDNI | on Ao3

Summary: Humans had been the best incubators ever found; their little bodies seemingly designed only for sexual reproduction. They had no horns, hooves, claws, scales, fangs, armor, or venom - only smooth skin, soft hair, and tight holes. Too bad their species went extinct many cycles ago.

You are a few credits away from being able to afford the medicine you need for your sister. Everything is going to work out just fine and you'll be able to get back to Lafftale.

Until Marco of the Whitebeard Pirates finds out you're fully human.

A/N: You might be thinking "Hannah, *another* work where someone gets kidnapped by the Whitebeard Pirates and taken to the Dick?"

I would answer "yes."

Lore heavy in this chapter, the sexy stuff really kicks off in the next. Just roll with the sci fi tropes, I'm not world building from scratch here.

Thank you to @tryingandfailingtowrite for beta-ing this for me <3

Marco walked down the dim hall of the dingy merchant ship, his eyes on his data pad. He was nearly done taking stock of the meager but helpful supplies they’d requisitioned from the ship. Thatch would be pleased, Marco thought, since the ship evidently dealt in trading spices and foodstuffs. The merchant ship had the misfortune to be within magnetic range of the Moby Dick , the Whitebeard Pirates’ main ship. It was their standard operating procedure to board all foreign vessels and raid their stores for anything useful. Since the little ship wasn’t aligned with Whitebeard’s territory, they were fair game for the taking. The Pirates would leave enough supplies for the ship to get to its next location but other than that they’d take whatever was deemed useful.

The 4th division had raided the merchant’s wares after putting the few crew members in containment cubes. The crew hadn’t put up a fight so no battle had taken place; the few beings that worked on the ship were merely being restrained to prevent any annoyance that might occur. Whitebeard wasn’t in the business of causing undue damage to ships or beings, especially not those on the periphery of his territory. All Marco had left to do was to scan all the beings on the foreign crew for their human DNA percentage and he could go back to his own division. 

Along with taking supplies, it was standard procedure to scan all foreign crew members for their human percentage. Humans as a species had been extinct long before Marco was born, but a few creatures in the galaxy had high percentages of human DNA. The higher the human DNA (hDNA), the better chances were for the being to be compatible for reproduction across species. Creatures with hDNA were in great demand but the availability was incredibly low.

Humans had been the best incubators ever found; their little bodies seemingly designed only for sexual reproduction. They had no horns, hooves, claws, scales, fangs, armor, or venom - only smooth skin, soft hair, and tight holes. It was like the universe had made them for fucking, every curve and line of their weak bodies enticing to all species across the galaxy. Once the first human had been found, their planet had been quickly raided for humans in their fertility window and sold across the galaxy as incubators and sex pets. 

Unfortunately many humans did not survive the transition from their planet to another. One of the issues was that humans were delicate, only able to tolerate a very small range of temperatures and conditions. Most had died quickly, unable to bear the harsh conditions into which they were sold or placed. As more humans were taken, other species learned what humans needed for survival through trial and error. 

And humans made for incredible incubators. Almost all races were compatible with humans, the females able to carry young from an incredible range of alien races. The birthing process was messy and complicated but many found the process worthwhile. Many alien races were saved from the brink of extinction by mating with human females, their children slightly weaker but able to carry on their genetic lineage. Human males were mostly kept as pets; they were less commonly used for mating but it did happen from time to time. 

Those who did not need humans for incubation found they made excellent pets if kept within narrow life supporting conditions. Humans were amusing, social, crafty, but ultimately foolish creatures. It had been determined that they did best when they had a singular master controlling their lives and issuing commands. Many aliens came to love their human pets, elevating them nearly to the status of a partner. Alas, full blooded humans did not last long in the universe.

The problem was that so many humans were taken and sold off to different races that no one thought to let the humans reproduce with one another to create more humans. Not only that but pure blooded human children took an incredibly long time to develop into adults, needing tending long after most species would be considered matured. No one wanted to spend the time or effort breeding humans with one another, everyone wanted humans for their own ends. 

Which meant that after only a few short galactic cycles, all the pure blooded humans were gone. It was said that the Galactic Government had a small cohort of humans that they kept for themselves but Marco had never heard of anyone actually seeing the humans. Those born of humans were later mated themselves, leaving each subsequent generation with a lower and lower hDNA percentage. Many beings had some hDNA in them, but not enough to make a significant difference. 

Even after humans themselves went extinct, their descendants still carried on some of their genetic capabilities, particularly around reproduction. So the higher the hDNA, the more desirable a partner would be for mating and reproduction. Anything above 20% was highly sought after, though exceedingly rare. It had been many galactic cycles since humans had gone extinct and the percentages dropped with each subsequent generation. Females would boast about their hDNA numbers as long as they weren’t too high. Beings with high hDNA percentages over 30% ended up getting trafficked into slavery and sold to the highest bidder unless they could find a mate who could protect them from such a fate. 

Marco didn’t have great hopes for high hDNA percentages given the crew members he saw in the individual cubes. Containment cubes were a useful tool used widely in the galaxy - able to be sized to almost any size of cargo, nearly unbreakable walls, able to be moved with a hover pad, and the walls could be made transparent or opaque. Most ships used them for their intended purpose of storing and moving supplies. The cubes weren’t initially designed to store living beings but the off label use was extremely helpful. 

Still, when ships would be raided, it was common to access everyone’s hDNA percentage. Whitebeard was firmly against the slave trade but he wasn’t above keeping beings for his own purposes if the need arose. Whitebeard was unique among the Emperors in that he specialized in collecting strays - most of the Commanders were the last of their kind of species, Marco included. Pops had always encouraged his crew to try and multiply their numbers, and humans were their best best. Unfortunately no crew Marco had ever scanned had anyone with a hDNA score over 20. 

In his youth, Marco viewed every scrap of information he had found on humans. He was completely fascinated by their kind and had thought through how he’d take care of one before many of his sleep cycles. It had been his dream to find a full blooded human and become their master, to have someone to take care of who would depend on him for everything. He also fantasized about mating a human female in order to continue his dying species. Marco spent hours pouring over documents, images, and videos of humans that had been taken before their untimely demise.

Oh, the videos. Marco had watched every human mating video he could find, fisting his cock and imagining he was the one plunging into the female humans. The females were diminutive and soft, their skin easily marred during a rough taking. Both sexes made incredible noises when aroused, the sounds never failing to make Marco hard. But what he really enjoyed watching were videos where the females were brought to orgasm themselves, their tight holes clenching around the partner they’d been given. It was not always a given that the female came in the vids. Most species did not care one way or another for the pleasure of female humans since it was not a requirement for successful breeding. But Marco searched video archive after archive, looking for vids where the female was lost in herself, completely succumbing to the sensations her partner brought to her. How he wanted to see a human's little face scrunch in pleasure as she milked his cock. It was one of his most enduring fantasies, lasting longer than any other. 

Alas as he got older, Marco realized the naivety of his quest but his heart still harbored a secret wish to find a human and mate them. It was why he personally scanned all foreign crews despite being the Commander of his own division and a physician besides. Sighing again, he looked at the small row of containment cubes stacked on top of one another.

Various common species were present but Marco still dutifully scanned them all. Marco pointed the device at the first cube, which seemed to contain a calm looking Kumate. It was also important to scan and determine what races every being was in case of an aggressive species, you couldn’t just tell by looks alone. 

“Two percent human. Kumate.” 

Marco had a knack for correctly guessing what most beings were after scanning and meeting so many for years. Moving on, Marco scanned the next cube with a bored looking Torino inside. Marco suspected they’d been raided before, it was all part and parcel of running merchandise outside of the Galactic Government’s system. 

“Five percent human. Torino.”

Marco was feeling bored himself as he scanned the next cube. It looked like there was a sweating Three Eye inside, laying on her stomach in the small rectangular prism. Marco considered the female, who was steadfastly avoiding eye contact with him. She was much more agitated than her counterparts, moving about as much as she could within the small container. It was too bad she was a Three Eye – they outwardly looked the most similar to humans but couldn’t be crossbred since the males had three pronged genitalia and the females had a matching vagina. They could only reproduce with each other and weren’t often found without another Three Eye since the race preferred telepathic communication. Curious.

“100 percent human. Human.”  The robotic voice chirped. Marco stopped in place and looked at the scanner. 100 percent? Not possible. After shaking the device, Marco scanned the cube again. The Three Eye inside had gone pale and wasn’t moving around anymore.

“ 100 percent human. Human. ” Now Marco was sure the scanner was broken. He pointed it at himself and activated it, waiting to see if it said he was 100% human too.

“ Eight point five percent human. Phoenix. ” the scanner read out loud. Now Marco’s brow furrowed even more. That was his correct percentage and species, so why was it malfunctioning on the Three Eye? Marco hummed and tapped the top of the containment cube with his finger. It was connected to the controller cuff around his wrist – they’d procured some shipments of the newest cuffs available and Marco hadn’t had time to look through all the features yet. Even so, he could use it for something as simple as containment cubes. The cube hovered and awaited his movements, programmed to follow behind him. Even though Marco had no doubt the issue was a simple scanner malfunction, his blood was pumping with the fantasy that he’d found a human.  

Your POV

You were so fucking screwed.

You’d joined Nacl’s crew precisely because he didn’t look too closely and didn’t ask you any questions beyond if you could lift 50 weight units. You thought you would work with him for a few galactic cycles, make a few credits, and move along to bigger and better things. Namely, getting more resources needed at the Outpost before heading back home. No one had told you to go on this mission, in fact they'd forbidden you from going. So you had commandeered one of the two working space vessels and taken off into the void before anyone could stop you. 

And things had been going great for a while - you learned some of the more recent technological advancements you hadn’t seen on the Outpost, you worked, and you’d even been able to taste something you’d been wanting since childhood - chocolate. You had a few credits to your name and you only had a few more to earn in order to afford the medicine you needed. Then you could head back to the outpost and put this whole stupid misadventure behind you. 

Until the fucking Whitebeard Pirates showed up out of nowhere. 

You weren’t completely unaware, you knew it was a possibility. But you thought it was a possibility in the way that a star exploding was a possibility, or like being sucked into a black hole was a possibility. The Whitebeard Pirates didn’t bother with small fry like Nacl’s ship, or so you thought. They fought the Galactic Government, other Pirates, and generally protected the planets under their control. You thought you would be safe, your identity hidden behind a shoddy Three Eye disguise.

You weren’t.

Not when you saw Marco the Phoenix personally scanning your crew members, the device reading out everyone’s species and hDNA score. He looked similar to his wanted posters but they didn’t do him justice. He was incredibly tall, his bird-like legs ending in sharp talons that clacked against the floor as he walked. He had a rather aquiline face, his mouth almost beak-like. His arms were normal but ended in taloned hands, unlike your own blunt fingers. But his most grabbing feature were his eyes - large teal eyes with a dark ring around them. Even though you didn’t want to attract his attention, you couldn’t stop yourself from staring at their beauty. Eventually you broke your stare and looked back down at your hands.

He was humanoid in this form, but he had others as you’d seen on various video feeds. Marco could also change his anatomy and turn into a full Phoenix, a deadly opponent on the battlefield. The Whitebeard Pirates were a favorite among your crew to watch on vids and you were glad that at least you knew who you were dealing with and how strong they were. 

You’d gone into the containment cube without protest, trying to copy the demeanor of your crew members. The Silk Road didn’t have the same kind of fancy equipment as the pirates did, they only had hover cubes that functioned as basic storage units. Fred the Torino said that they’d been raided before and if there was no fighting they’d be left in one piece. You thought that meant the Whitebeards would free you once they’d finished taking the spices and food the ship had been transporting. You hadn’t expected the First Division Commander Marco to personally be scanning the crew for hDNA percentages. You didn’t even know they had mobile hDNA scanners. 

Technology on Lafftale Outpost was old and outdated, transferred from person to person as the need arose. You weren’t up to date on the most recent technology and it had almost cost you your cover several times. The Silk Road, Nacl’s ship, was a technological wonderment to you and you had to fake understanding of many things before you got the hang of everything.

But now it was all for nothing. This stupid fucking pirate was going to scan you and take you and sell you and you’d have to be a sex pet or breeder for some disgusting jelly alien or a tentacle alien or they’d freeze you to death or serve you only raw food you couldn’t eat and your sister was right you should have listened you-

Ok, you needed to calm down before you hyperventilated. You took a deep breath and held it in your lungs, expelling it slowly. You weren’t completely out of options. You’d just have to wait and plan your escape before they sold you at the nearest slave auction. There were a few escape pods still on the Silk Road, you would need to get to one before they figured out exactly what you were.

Except it looked like he was taking you to their massive ship.

Fuck.

Marco POV

Marco had the containment cube trailing behind him to the next available transport beam, his mind mulling over the facts thus far. The Three Eyes was even more agitated than before, testing the containment unit for any faulty design that would open the hatch and release it. It wasn’t possible but he did give you credit for trying. You still hadn’t spoken to him, which was understandable. He had a fearsome reputation in the galaxy, his bounty in the billions. Many creatures were scared to be in his presence, even though he wasn’t particularly aggressive unless provoked. 

Your agitation steadily increased as he approached the transport beam in the next supply room, your three eyes wide and fearful as you watched cargo being beamed aboard. Thatch was overseeing the taking of the cargo and hailed Marco as he came up. Thatch himself had a high hDNA percentage, a fact he kept carefully hidden. Humans weren’t known for their fighting abilities and he didn’t want to appear weak, especially as a Whitebeard Commander. The rest of his DNA was comprised of a warrior species, complete with scales, forked tongue and muscled tail, but Marco understood why he was one of the few who knew Thatch’s secret. 

“Whatcha got there? A Three Eyes? Cute, but why are you taking her?” he asked, looking you over in the cube. You bristled and tried to hide your face from his perusal. You were cute, Marco thought to himself, but that didn’t have anything to do with it. 

“Abnormality on the scanner. I want to examine her more closely on the ship. Come by after you’ve completed your duties if you’d like,” he said, making sure his tone was casual. Marco did want to talk to Thatch but didn’t want to make his findings known in front of anyone else. Besides, the most likely outcome was that she turned out to be a Three Eyes and Marco sent her on her way with an apology and put in a ticket to have his scanner adjusted. 

The cube trailed behind Marco as he stepped into the beam. The being had all three of her eyes trained on the beam, crouching as far back in her cube as she could, which wasn’t very far. Her face drained of blood and she looked like she was going to scream, though she still hadn’t spoken to him. Strange , Marco thought, transport beams were invented by her race. She should have been well familiar with them. Just one more mystery to solve, he supposed. 

He had the two of you beamed to the port closest to the infirmary, walking briskly after the beaming was completed. You were panting heavily, as if relieved that you’d made it through without disintegrating. Marco’s gut was telling him there was something unusual about you, and he’d been on the Grand Line long enough to trust it. He was going to discover whatever secrets you were hiding.

Entering into his private lab in the infirmary, Marco turned to you as the doors locked behind him automatically with a tiny snick. You were scanning the room, likely looking for an escape route. Marco watched you for a few moments until you realized all his attention was on you. You stilled and licked your lips, watching him closely.

Marco leaned over and tapped the cube with his left hand. It turned vertical so your feet were now by the floor of the lab. A quick tap in succession and the cube’s hatch opened, dropping you to the floor with a small thud. The cube folded itself up until it was the size of his talon and placed itself within the inventory in his controller. You were watching the proceedings like they were magic instead of the commonplace technology available throughout the galaxy. The Three Eyes were technologically advanced, he was certain you would have seen this kind of thing before.

After the cube was gone, your eyes snapped to him, as if you finally realized you were trapped in a room alone with him. Marco nearly smiled, you telegraphed your thoughts and feelings so clearly he didn’t need to be from a telepathic race to understand your next move. Marco leaned against an examination table as you fidgeted in front of him. As a powerful Commander, he was used to making others uncomfortable with his presence alone. He was going to use that to his advantage.

“Why does my scanner show that you’re one hundred percent human?” Marco asked curiously, his eyes roving over your smaller form. 

“It’s broken,” was your quick reply, the sound of your true voice detectable even as your words were translated. Marco’s head tilted slightly – your universal translator was external? He hadn’t seen one of those since he was a child many cycles ago. They’d all been replaced by internal translation units for a long time. External translators were faulty and finicky and internal ones were cheap – why were you using one?

“It functions correctly on your crew mates and myself. So why not on you?” he continued. He stood up, his talons clacking against the metal floor. He advanced towards you, watching your every movement with his sharp eyes. You swallowed and took a step back for each of his steps forward until your back hit the wall. You were fairly short, the top of your head only reaching to the middle of his chest. Not uncommon across the galaxy, but further settling in a suspicion Marco was more seriously considering.

Marco reached for your arm, feeling your wildly racing pulse as he took your slim wrist in his hand. He removed a thin metal bracelet from his controller and Marco snapped it on your wrist before you could react. You licked your lips and stared at it, as if unsure what it was. 

“A few more tests and I’m sure I’ll be sending you back to your crew,” he said quietly, watching you squirm against the wall. He should really have backed up to give you space but something in him liked having you underneath his body, your body heat radiating onto his front. Your scent alone had his cock hardening, you bore a scent that he couldn’t quite place. He wanted to sniff you all over and find the source, lick it off you with his tongue. The smell was yet another abnormality since Three Eyes tended to smell like mold, especially the females. Whatever it was, you were making him harder than he'd been for many cycles.

“Is this mandatory?” you asked, your eyes looking anywhere but his face. Your translator gave your voice a metallic tinge, Marco wondered what you’d sound like without it.

“Yes.”

Your POV

You didn’t know what nearly anything in the room was for nor what any of the tests Marco was running were for. The Silk Road wasn’t very technologically advanced, which was why you were able to covertly learn along the way and fake your way through various tasks until you were proficient. Now you were trapped with Marco, in an examination room, and no closer to getting away from him or the ship. 

You startled as the thin bracelet around your hand chirped twice, a green light flashing. You watched it, trying to make sense of what it was detecting. Marco gently pushed you towards an examination table, needing to pick you up to set you on the high platform. You would have protested but your attention was drawn by the bracelet’s lights changing colors to red.

“Hey, what’s this-  ow!” you yelped a moment later. It had jabbed you quickly with a small needle. Not enough to hurt, but enough that it wasn’t a pleasant surprise. Marco barely gave you a glance as he looked down at his data pad. His was fancier than any you’d seen before but that didn’t mean much. His eyes were practically glued to the information it was spitting out even though his stance was still the same. You tried discreetly pushing the bracelet off your wrist but it tightened as you tried to get it over your thumb joint.

“It stays on. Measures your vitals, blood flow, oxygen saturation, things like that,” Marco explained absently, scrolling through the information with a taloned finger. He finished reading and looked at you, as if seeing you anew. 

“Lean back against the chair,” Marco ordered, placing his data pad on a nearby counter. You eyed the door but decided against making a break for it. He hadn’t directly said anything about you being a human or reacted in any way towards the test results. Maybe he didn’t know? Maybe the tests weren’t identifying you since humans were de facto extinct? Either way, he was much stronger than you and if all he wanted was you to lean back, it wasn’t so bad. You’d comply for now until you saw an opening to get away. 

The bench shifted before your eyes. Instead of being a bench it was now a stylized chair, almost like a dentist’s chair you’d seen once in an old human book. You put your arms on the armrests and settled your legs down, trying to calm your racing heart with a deep breath.

Until ionic cuffs bound you to the chair.

The red forcefields seemed to come out of the air itself, binding your wrists and ankles to the chair. You struggled, bowing your middle outwards in an effort to get away. Marco frowned and tapped the control panel on his data pad. Ionic bonds wrapped around your midsection, neck, elbows and knees, pulling you flush against the chair. You were completely trapped. 

“Let me go!” you yelled as the bottom half of the chair split. Your legs were now separated from one another, every part of your body immobilized by the bonds. Marco came closer to you, his taloned hand reaching for your head. You shrank back, you definitely knew what was coming next. You regretted yelling, and bit your lip to stop from crying out when he hit you. Marco’s frown deepened. 

Marco POV

Marco’s eyes kept rereading the reports as the data came from the creature’s blood. The results were conclusive.

You were human.

A fully, completely, one hundred percent human female.

Marco kept his features and body language the same as his mind raced with the information but he couldn’t keep his thoughts from straying with every errant thought that came to mind. There was so much he needed to do, so much he needed to prepare for you. The fact that he had a human, a female human in breeding range, was monumental. He’d have to tell Pops of course, right away. It would shake the New World galaxy once the news spread that Whitebeard had a human female. He’d keep it quiet for as long as he could but there was no way a finding of this magnitude would remain secret for long.

But beyond telling his Captain, Marco's mind started to race with the amount of supplies you needed.  There were so many things that humans needed for survival, he’d have to get you new clothes, he’d have to get Thatch to make you special food, he’d have to have an enclosure made for you, get special lights,…Marco quickly tapped out a list of items he’d need and orders he would need to give after he talked to Pops.

You were still struggling against the bonds of the inspection chair, but Marco wasn’t worried. That chair had held Fire Fist when he first joined the Whitebeard Pirates and he had incredibly strong pyro-enhancements. You were weak, not able to break through the thin clinical cuff he put on you earlier, much less the inspection chair. You were trying desperately to get away like an animal in a trap. Marco felt so much pity for you and even reached over to pat your head, a gesture humans enjoyed.

He wanted to reassure you that you didn’t need to be worried anymore, you had him. And Marco knew exactly how to take care of you. He just had to acclimate you to your new circumstances and have you accept him as your Master. Humans needed one creature to listen to as an ultimate authority and they often clung to the first kind being they encountered. Humans needed someone to firmly guide them, to provide boundaries, rules, tender care, and sufficient sexual outlets. You would come to understand that he was going to help you, that you needed someone to watch over you. Humans weren’t the kind of creatures that could be left to their own devices. You were lost in the galaxy, a creature that needed tending and someone to care for them. 

It wasn’t purely selfish that Marco wanted to become your master. Humans were social creatures, they needed a master otherwise they became despondent and listless. In your case, that would be Marco, and he’d happily take on that role. You were lucky that Marco had been the one to find you. Marco was stern but fair, part of an incredibly strong crew, and most importantly, knew a lot about humans. 

Which raised another question - where had you come from? Why had you been pretending to be a Three Eyes on a small merchant vessel? Marco quickly tapped out a message to Thatch, asking him to grab all your belongings off the other ship. They might hold clues as to your origins or perhaps contain a comfort item or two. Humans were an emotional and sentimental species and often clung to various inanimate objects during times of duress. He didn't intend to upset you but based on your reaction, he surmised you might be unhappy with his treatment of you thus far.

“Let me go!” you squeaked at him, trying to escape your bonds. Oh right, the translator. The old one was likely causing you pain or headaches in addition to being outdated. That had to go, he’d replace it with a new model soon.

Your eyes were wild as Marco reached behind your head to turn off your translator. Poor little human, so frail and afraid. Your shoulders hiked and your eyes scrunched shut, as if awaiting a blow from him. Marco frowned, he didn’t like that you had a defensive response. Where had you learned that? Who had struck you before? Were you escaping from another master? The thought of someone hurting you, a defenseless and weak human, had him clenching his fist. Calming his mind, he reminded himself that you were now his, and you’d never have to deal with such things again. He’d keep you safe from anything in the universe.

Marco’s fingers bent your ear forward to see the external translator. The site it was implanted in was red and bothered, whoever had done it wasn’t a professional. He would have to ensure you weren’t getting some kind of infection from it; the very thought of you being in pain upset him. He hummed in thought as his fingers adjusted the external box. Now it was only receiving communications but wouldn’t be able to transmit them, so you’d be able to understand him even if he couldn’t understand you. 

He would replace it eventually but truthfully he also wanted to capture some of your human language. There hadn’t been many recordings made of humans speaking to one another in their own language, so recording the words you used might prove scientifically helpful at some point in the future. In his heart, he also wanted to hear what your little voice sounded like without being translated. His memory of the human mating vids was crystal clear. Would you make noises like that?

“Don’t worry, little human. I will take excellent care of you,” he said, trying to approximate a human smile with his mouth. His species was not in the habit of smiling but he tried his best to make you feel at ease. Apparently that was not the thing to do because he got an alert that your heart rate was spiking beyond normal range. 

“Calm down. I will not harm you,” Marco said decisively. Your heart rate did not change and in fact became faster. Marco belatedly remembered that humans were notoriously bad at controlling their body functions, not even being able to modulate their body temperature, heart rate, or blood flow. No wonder your species had died out. You were squeaking rapidly to him but he didn’t understand what you were saying. He was right to turn off your translator, your voice was melodic and sweet to his ear. He couldn’t wait to inspect you and see if humans really produced all the sounds he’d seen on videos.

“I will replace your translator soon. It is causing you pain and is outdated. In the meantime, I cannot understand you,” Marco said, gently grabbing your jaw. You tried quickly turning your head to knock off his hand, but your efforts were futile. He wanted to hold you, so he would. You would come to understand that his desires were commands, not suggestions. As he held your small face, he ran a thumb over your cheek. Your skin was so soft, he’d never felt anything so smooth in his life. He wanted to run his fingers over every part of you, see if the rumors about human epidermis were true. But for now he would touch you as much as possible to acclimate you to his touch. 

“I am going to examine you and determine your level of health and sexual compatibility. Afterwards, I will contact my Captain and inform him of your existence. He will let us know further steps. Be assured little pet, I will not let anyone take you from me,” he said, watching you with unblinking eyes. You shrank back as much as you could within the confines of the bonds.

“I am your new Master. My name is Marco and I am the physician and Commander of the First Division of the Whitebeard Pirates. You are mine.”

[ganondoodle]

wont have time to work on anything for a few days probably, so uh, since i love reading comments/tags of people sharing their experiences- as part of the preparation for the totk rant script i got another question to ask :3

if you dont like tears of the kingdom, was there a moment that "broke" you, as in, the moment you knew this game is worse than you thought/hoped, and if so what was it?

personally, while i was suspicious after seeing its last trailer, i told myself its just me again and i kept up my hopes for a long time into my playthrough- its hard to point to a specific point since it was a growing feeling of something being off, things didnt make sense and i ever so more wondered how they would pull this all together (they didnt)- i do think the moment i stopped being in denial about it was when i found the shrine of life, the beginning of botw, and found .. nothing, a dingy cave practically licked clean of any traces of the shiekah tech like it never existed, instead of the medical bed a pathetic puddle of water that healed you, no one caring at all, like it actually never happened- i felt like the game pointed and laughed at me for caring about botw, pretty sure i was struggeling to keep it together on stream bc it forced me to realize this game truly is everything i hoped it wouldnt be, even if that sounds a little weird, at that time zelda and especially botw was so much more important to me, a passion for the franchise this game really did end up killing.

[codacheetah]

Tell me your opinions on the stuff. Any stuff.

Grins. Smiles, even

I'm using you as an excuse to infodump my theory about the Island because I've had no in to do that, and my theory is pure opinion. Anyways:

THE ISLAND IS STUCK IN THE FUCKING FUTURE

(SCARE CHORD)

Hi so you might ask me. What the fuck do you mean by that. Well. Let's start with what we know about the Island, the King, and Wish Craft. (long ass post under cut. sorry)

The Island was redacted from the perception of outside world, via Wish Craft.

Wish Craft has the power to enable Time Craft. We see this primarily through Siffrin's timeloops, but also through the King's powers.

One of the King's powers is to show the saviors a "vision of the future."

...And this same attack is deflected back at the King by Mirabelle in ACT 5, in which the King is able to see the Island before being frozen in time.

...So. The King's "vision of the future." We're never told explicitly what this vision is. All we know is that it's apparently powerful enough to wipe the party in one hit, hearing it from a distance hurts your head, and that whatever Siffrin (and Loop) saw, they don't seem to actually be able to describe it. Even the King himself doesn't know what his vision entails.

We don't know whether the party all sees the same thing when struck by the vision, and Adrienne's answer to the question about it in the Reddit AMA is. vague? It's not a "no," and the specific wording makes me think the answer might be yes. But that's me reading into it.

Now. What do we know about the Island's redaction? The Island was affected by the wish recently, as in "like a decade ago" recently. We know that nobody in Vaugarde or the rest of the world is capable of thinking about the Island, anything closely tied to the Island's culture, or people on the Island for very long. When they do recall these things, they slip right out of reach. Particularly, the consequence for trying to think about the Island (or, more specifically, break the wish that forces the Island out of perception) is significant pain, localized in the head.

And that said pain is enough to become lethal, if pressed hard enough.

From here forward I'm running with the assumption that the King's "vision of the future" is not personalized to any individual, and is unchanging throughout the course of the whole story. Now. Remember the end of ACT 5, where the King gets hit with the deflected "vision of the future", and instead of dying, he recalls the Island and gets frozen in time? Very odd, yeah? Why wouldn't the King just die like everyone else does? He even does take 9999 damage when trying to say its name, like Siffrin does, and like the party does when they're hit by the attack.

Well. We know that he has a "true wish" that the ability to freeze Vaugarde in time grants. I don't think it's at all a stretch to guess that the King's "true wish" is to be able to remember the Island. My personal guess is that the King (and Siffrin) brought this "true wish" into effect via the "SAY ITS NAME" sequence- he even tries three times, a significant number in wishing.

The King (and Siffrin's) wish breaks, because it can't be fulfilled in this moment without breaking the wish to prevent the Island from being thought about. However. Consider the conditions at the end of ACT 5- the King sees the vision of the future reflected back to him, and what he sees is the Island. He remembers the Island, fulfilling his own wish, and is frozen in time. I consider this a compromise between his wish and the one binding the Island- the King gets to remember the Island, but nobody alive is able to think about it, because he's frozen in time; it's like the Universe is correcting itself (I WILL GET BACK TO THIS). The wish of all of Vaugarde to defeat the King is fulfilled, since he is no longer a threat, and Siffrin's wish wraps itself up soon after.

MY POINT BEING. The King's attack is a vision of the future. This "future" is of the Island, in some uncorrupted state. The saviors see it when he attacks them, and he sees it when it is deflected back to him.

The logical next question is "okay, so the Island exists in the future, but how do you know time shenanigans are even related to the Island?"

Recall a very odd series of interactions throughout the game, in which you try to interact with a piece of equipment that you already own.

The game rewinds slightly, before the item disappears, as the Universe corrects itself.

This is awfully similar to two particular events: looping back without seeing the death screen, and talking to the Daydreaming One about her sister. The latter is more interesting to me for the purposes of this theory.

In both instances, something is misaligned within the Universe (an item existing in two places, someone remembering something they're not supposed to) and it is corrected through some sort of rewind. Also compare the dialogue above to when you try to give Mirabelle the Stylish Bow when you already own it.

The world glitches, but Siffrin defuses the situation before the Universe has to intervene. Omitted from the screenshot is the fact that Mirabelle's portraits switch to happy from "catastrophically anxious" with no transition after Siffrin shows her where the bow is. Important to note is that when Mirabelle tries to recall receiving the bow, her head hurts, much like how trying to break the Island wish causes a headache.

The Universe leads you away from perception, and you can only follow.

My theory that I keep circling around is that through Wish Craft, the Island has been displaced temporally. The denizens of the Island, as well as the Island itself, still exist, but they are in the future. The Island is still loaded into the world, like how equipment is before you try to interact with it, and the Island cannot leave this quantum state, because it never actually went anywhere. The magnitude of the redaction event is so severe with the Island, because it is so much larger as an entity than a sword or a bow. There are of course things I don't really have pieced together, like why somebody would wish the Island into the future, how far into the future it is, or why equipment behaves this way. But it's the only Island theory I've seen that I have some level of confidence in, so I might as well lay out my cards for it.

[turrondeluxe]

always happy about the fact that in 2012, mikey often asked donnie questions if he didn't understand something and donnie always answered no matter what

this can be seen in a bunch of episodes but my favorite example of it it's the one in half shell heroes where mikey is extremely excited to be in the museums and is the one actively asking donnie questions about the exhibits they saw and also actively listening to donnie's explanation (before raph got silly lmao). he was very excited to learn!!!

And while it's true that mikey would lose interest quite fast if the explanation got too lengthy with too many technical terms, it doesn't change the fact that he does retain the info donnie is always rambling on about different things!!! (even if mikey himself doesn't notice he's doing it lol) and also i find it very sweet that no matter if donnie himself got annoyed, donnie would always answer the questions. no matter what. he would always try to explain if he didn't understand something

This is prob because mikey is the one brother who is often seeking out donnie to pass time around him Meaning that donnie might have used mikey as his rubber ducky whenever mikey hangs out with him while he's working (explained him a lot of his experiments and theories while trying to solve them himself and in this way mikey also learnt in the process WHILE spending time with his brother! win win!)

it also helps donnie because accompanies him while not letting him get lonely in his lab 24/7, sometimes explaining things to someone makes it better to understand it yourself AND it's shown in the comics that donnie is quite used to his brothers just Living as background noise and literally cannot function without it lmao

They are literally the two smart kids in the family even if none of them notice it and it's all because mikey looks up to his brother and is like an sponge with donnie around. donnie is actively teaching mikey and mikey is learning! even if they have no idea they are doing it

[starflungwaddledee]

Hi there, Starstruck! I've heard you're a very very super normal totally average Waddle Dee.

You don't remember much of your life before arriving on Popstar, correct? And I think that's pretty alright- it seems like you've created a wonderful life for yourself! But if you had the choice to decide what sort of past you had, what sort of history do you think you'd choose?

we were all a little cringe in our younger years. ‼️ new mechanic: vote carefully! ‼️ starstruck wants to run!! you'll have to work together on one option if you want her to approach.

<< prev || [masterpost] || next >>

[unicornpopcorn14]

Dazai has another ability and it's called: claiming sm bullshit to the point where the universe just goes along with your tomfoolery

Either that, or he's a real wizard

[s0fter-sin]

one of my favourite aspects of supernatural that you very rarely see in paranormal shows is that sam and dean are already versed in the world they live in. there’s no sudden discovery of ghosts and demons and now they have to learn about them along with the audience; they are born into it and already know all about it. it allows the audience to follow their personal story instead of also trying to figure out this new world and its rules

the first season is full of knowledge we never see them learn; “w*ndigoes are in the minnesota woods or- or northern michigan. i’ve never even heard of one this far west.” […] “great. well then this [his gun] is useless.” (1x02), “you don’t break a curse. you get the hell out of its way.” (1x08), d: “it’s a god. a pagan god, anyway.” […] “the annual cycle of its killings? and the fact that the victims are always a man and a woman. like some kind of fertility right.” […] s: “the last meal. given to sacrificial victims. d: “yeah, i’m thinking a ritual sacrifice to appease some pagan god.” (1x11)

almost every episode in the first season is a monster they’ve faced before that they then explain to the audience in a way that should feel patronising; like it’s the same speech given over and over again but instead, the audience almost feels included in the knowledge. it’s stated with such an innate confidence and comfort in said knowledge that it feels like we already knew it too; “spirits and demons don't have to unlock doors. if they want inside, they just go through the walls.” […] “the claws, the speed that it moves; could be a skinwalker, maybe a black dog.” (1x02), “it's biblical numerology. you know noah's ark, it rained for forty days. the number means death.” (1x04), “no no no, not the reaper, a reaper. there's reaper lore in pretty much every culture on earth, it goes by 100 different names.” […] “you said it yourself that the clock stopped, right? reapers stop time. and you can only see 'em when they're coming at you which is why i could see it and you couldn't.” (1x12)

they already know and, at least in the first season, already have what they need to kill whatever they’re hunting; already know to salt and burn bones for spirits, fire for a w*ndigo, exorcisms for demons, a silver bullet to the heart for shapeshifters. there’s only three times in the entire first season that they run into something new to them; 1x14 when sam gets his first vision that leads him to another psychic, 1x16 when dean calls caleb for help on the sigil he put together and he tells him about daevas, and 1x20 when they find out vampires are real- and they only don’t know that bc john thought they were hunted to extinction and not worth mentioning

(there’s also technically two half instances if you count one of them knowing something the other doesn’t - sam figuring out the tulpa in 1x17 and dean already knowing about the shtriga in 1x18 - but those still rely on sam and dean having prior knowledge)

even when they’re uncertain about facing something, it’s not bc they don’t know what it is; it’s precisely bc they know what it is and acknowledge that it’ll be a difficult hunt (“i don't know, man. this isn't our normal gig. i mean, demons, they don't want anything, just death and destruction for its own sake. this is big. and i wish dad was here.” 1x04)

so much of the tension in paranormal shows typically comes from the main character(s) not knowing what is happening to them/the people around them and having to find out how to resolve it. supernatural is unique in that it operates more like a police procedural. the tension comes from solving the clues and identifying patterns to figure out who (what) the killer is and intercepting before they can take another victim

it’s such a different tone to go for when compared to other shows that came both before, during, and after its run. it sets sam and dean on even footing with each other since they both have the same knowledge going in, and it puts them in a place of authority usually reserved for an outside character

the shows i compare spn to most is charmed, buffy and teen wolf; every main character in those shows are brought into the paranormal world knowing nothing, putting them on the same level as the audience, and they have their mc interact with others already knowledgeable about that world in order to overcome their problem/monster of the week. the audience organically learns about this new world as the characters learn about it. it’s a sound writing strategy that prevents “as we already know”-style exposition but something that complicates it is if your world building isn’t unique or intriguing enough, this slow introduction can become boring

we’ve seen shows like these before; sitting through the same tropes of characters learning to use their powers, struggling with no longer feeling normal/relating to the regular world around them, and not knowing how much they can trust the people already involved in this new world gets repetitive. all three shows eventually reach the same level of comfort with their new world that spn starts with but if the characters aren’t enough to draw you in, you can end up dropping it before they reach that point (and often, before the overarching plot can really kick in and evolve the show beyond the villain of the week format)

it’s the superhero origin movie in tv format; dragged out and overplayed. dropping the audience into an established world of course comes with its own problems but you also have the benefit of pre-existing established character dynamics that let the audience slot in like they’ve always been there instead of just getting to know all the characters while the characters also get to know each other

sam and dean already knowing about the supernatural lets the audience immediately get to the core of the story; the conflict between sam and dean, the search for their father, and the mystery of what killed their mother

[smolthealmighty]