#well- time to me is at a point where he really should be considering mobility aids because it would help him so so much but he's in denial

[crazylittlejester]

@warriors has a cane anon

have yall seen the threaded cane in bloodborne? cuz it breaks the laws of physics but it fucks. its one of the trick weapons so its got one form where its just a sword(cane) and you can transform it to be like. a serrated whip.

sorry i had to nerd out here because picturing wars using that shit in battle, being graceful as all hell as his sword/cane just slashes his enemies to pieces. thank you for the amazing mental image anon.

(im so so sorry this got buried in my inbox)

okay that's cool as hell. I had to look up a picture of it because i didn't know what it was but oh my god that'd be so cool if it's both a functional mobility aid and a weapon. I personally don't hc Wars uses a cane but god would Time and Legend get so so excited to get their hands on that

[gremoria411]

The following post contains spoilers for the first two episodes of Mobile Suit Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance

Alright, I figured I’d give Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance a shot, and if I had any opinions after the first two episodes, I’d do a small post as a first impressions sorta thing.

Ah, just before I get into it, I should note that I’ve been somewhat looking forward to Requiem for Vengeance for a while now.

I’m gonna be using bullet points, mostly because I really don’t want to spend a whole lotta time on this, but in a nutshell; Consider me unimpressed.

The character animation and voice work is really bad. The lip-synch is terrible (likely for ease of dubbing into other languages), and so many of the characters just move so stiffly. It’s not like, all-over bad - there’s some really good scenes (like where three characters are chatting in the Zaku Tank) where they either managed to make it work or were able to put the effort in. I’d guess that they put most of the budget into the mobile suits and didn’t care too much about the human characters (or they didn’t have anyone on staff that could animate humans convincingly).

The battle scene that takes up the second half of episode 1 just kinda feels bad. Iria survives because she is the protagonist, there’s no moment that made me feel like she was in genuine danger, since every time something has a bead on her there’s always this dramatic pause, then something distracts them. This happens something like five times.

The actual models for the characters and mobile suits are genuinely gorgeous, they’re just dripping with personality. Unfortunately, this only throws the bad voice work into even sharper relief.

Reid “chubs” Ghela dies about seven minutes in, to show off the power of the gundam’s new beam weapon. Now, I wouldn’t mind, if he wasn’t the only character with any semblance of a personality. He’s also the sole exception to the bad voice work, so it’s really annoying that he gets killed off so soon.

Relatedly, there’s so many odd pronunciations here. It really takes you out of things, because it would’ve been so easy to check this stuff.

I complained previously about the “my girlfriend, in space” line, but it’s weird, because there’s a scene later that actually stresses how odd it is for the Zeon Mobile Suit Pilots to find themselves on earth. It’s really quite well-done and it’s a nice character moment.

The opening’s absolutely gorgeous, it’s really good.

Some of the music choices make me think of studio ghibli. Fairly neutral on that.

I have two really petty complaints that I’m only mentioning because they’re fresh in my mind - the Gundam’s beam saber seems really stiff here, it should have at least a little bend and, JUST USE THE NEWTYPE CHIME SOUND. WE ALL KNOW WHAT A NEWTYPE SOUNDS LIKE JUST USE THAT. It’s really irritating me for some reason.

My main issue is that it feels like they made a Gundam series, without watching any other Gundam series first. They had the designs, they had the themes, they had cliff notes, they just didn’t watch any other show first. There’s the shape of good ideas here, the execution’s just bad.

It feels like that line that always gets trotted out when someone tries to launch a new mecha property - “unlike those other shows, this one’s actually about the mecha”. Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance feels like an example of why actually doing that is a bad idea, because it’s so obvious that’s where the budget went, but the show can’t be mech fights 24/7, so we just don’t really spend any time with the characters.

I will follow this up later.

[beth0ftime]

Some thoughts about cpunk and mobility aids

I recently saw this post by @satellites-halo:

I think OP brings up a very good point here: if your mobility aid is obviously dangerous you can’t bring it places you’ll need to go. That said this isn’t the end of the story.

As a practitioner of HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts; using historical weapons from Europe) there are actually a lot of writings on using things like canes and chairs for self defense/offense. For example there was a several year streak in London where walking staffs were the most deadly weapon. When these books and treatises were written they weren’t adding spikes or barbed wire to these things.

I am pretty much a full time cane user due to my hEDS and POTS. I will not use it for a little bit but I end up unstable and in pain afterwards, I mainly do this for exercise/practice. So I have been very interested in learning how to use a cane in this way, as well as seeing how other, similar, aids have been used throughout history.

While not all of these forms of fighting are useful for all mobility aid users, such as full time wheelchair users or some forearm crutch users, there’s a surprising amount of people it will work for. For example, I’m currently reading a treatise by a man who is partially blind, that is his term with modern vocabulary we would call him legally blind, and he is good enough at fighting to be considered one of the most amazing swordsman and cane fighter. (It should be noted that he did not have access to glasses and mainly navigated the world tactually)

The only real requirement is that the aid should be built from a single piece (not any of the foldable kinds) and be of sturdy materials: metal, solid wood, etc. While I recognize that this does exclude a fair few mobility aids there’s still a fair few this works for: canes, rollators (though lifting them into position for fighting might be untenable for some people), forearm crutches (if used like a Roman forearm blade, again some may not be able to do this), and even some leashes for service dogs (used as a rope dart) to name a few. There are probably more in forgetting but it’s a lot.

The key thing about all of this is that you don’t have to add scary spikes that might make the TSA balk at you, you can just use a normal looking mobility aid to do the same thing. It should also be noted that most courts consider mobility aids to be part of the person using them for the purposes of assault charges; if someone touches your mobility aid in a way you don’t like, that’s assault and you can respond in kind. That isn’t legal advice and there’s still ‘appropriate force’ president to consider but twapping someone who is grabbing at your cane, especially maliciously, isn’t out of question for a normal reaction, and being good at doing so is preferable.

Ok, cool Beth, but what do I do with this info?

There’s a little part of this post that’s me trying to get more disabled people like me into a sport I love but I can’t do so without some caveats. Not all HEMA clubs are built the same and some can be downright nasty, please look up any club you consider joining and maybe ask a physical/occupational therapist before launching into a contact sport. If it’s not in your interest then that’s also fine, there are several forums that post book recommendations for learning cane fighting or uses of a chair in WWII fighting (what rollators are great for).

If you’re a cane user, there are actually custom canes that you can order that are especially made for fighting (that aren’t objectionable enough to be confiscated by anyone who does security) but also just getting a cane made from a hardwood works. The website https://canemasters.com has a great selection and a really nice custom ordering system.

I wish I had more for other forms of mobility aids but my research is limited, if you have more sources for this stuff please comment/repost with them. If that’s not your style my dms are always open for cool fighting stuff!

Be safe and stay punk!

[cybernightart]

Unmasked Genji ADHD fueled rambling so prepare for random ideas not really organized

I've seen quite a lot of stuff trying to figure out what Genji looks like without his mask on and what Hanzo actually did to him.

My personal opinion is what we see in the dragon cinematic isn't just what Hanzo did to his face because in the black watch skin and comics etc his face is like untouched. It appears like Hanzo during his attacks went for his torso and neck primarily, cutting his arm probably really deeply about mid bicep to the point it would have to be amputated due to blood loss, and losing his legs as well to blood loss, and considering Genji has stuff on the front and back of his neck my guess is that Hanzo tried to make it as quick as possible and full on stabbed Genji through the neck not decapitating him but like that should have killed him. It would also explain why he's got a robotic voice because if he was stabbed through the neck it probably damaged his vocal cords and he's got what appears to me a cybernetic spine at least on his neck so that was probably also damaged during that.

And apart from just other assorted scarring from light cuts and other smaller injuries from Hanzo's attack, he's a trained assassin who is trained to kill as quick as possible, so their fight probably didn't last that long considering we can assume Genji was unarmed (both in the way of he didn't have a weapon and he lost the arm). And he would have no reason to go for genji's face during an attack like that.

Like legitimately the biggest injuries that I think Hanzo did take Angie was a slash across his chest which cut deep enough to injure his arm very badly but not deep enough to actually reach his heart or anything, and then damage to his neck. With the rest being more surface level scrapes which could have been patched up with stitches which would leave scarring pretty badly but nothing insane.

But since we know his face is decently burned and scarred by the time the dragon cinematic happens my theory is that either during one of the last black watch missions if there was one after the mission during retribution. Or what I mainly think happened, when the Swiss base exploded, Genji could have been in that building when the thing exploded which would explain the burning and scarring on his face and presumably other parts of his body. And if Cassidy was still in OverWatch at that point that could explain how he lost his arm because I'm pretty sure it's confirmed Bob did not rip his arm off. Because we know the explosion "killed" Gabriel Reyes and Jack Morrison, and it would make sense why after the explosion where genji's remaining body got damaged even more so he couldn't deal with everything going on in his head associated with his body that he would leave to try and come to terms with his body or find peace in some way.

And if the injuries happened in black watch before the explosion, I could explain why he got the new armor for the storm rising missions when he was transferred to the main OverWatch team. They had to fix more stuff and realized it wasn't safe for him to have any fleshy human parts still exposed so they made him a new safer suit.

That's just my thoughts anyways in a very rambly fashion.

Also I am surprised that in the future they don't have something that can reduce scarring, and if they do have that thing even though now genji's come to terms with his body I wouldn't be surprised if he did go through with the reducing scarring thing primarily on his face or anywhere of high mobility because (correct me if I'm wrong) areas that are highly scarred are often a lot tighter, so not even aesthetically would it be a better option but for quality of life even just minorly reducing the scarring might just make things a little less painful. Also along the same lines probably have something to help hair growth considering stuff we have now for that which isn't much but there is something and considering how advanced science is in the universe it would not surprise me in the slightest if they had those things.

Also also Genji showing Hanzo his face partially where it's so scarred and burned and everything was slightly a jerk move because Hanzo didn't cause the burning on his face, so showing that without explaining at least a little bit that "oh don't worry you didn't do this" is a little mean but I'm pretty sure Hanzo would remember not burning his face so at the same time it isn't.

Anyways that concludes my rambling for the minute, if anyone reads this thank you for enduring my chaotic train of thought.

[yourtoradorasextendedwarranty]

California and Why It makes bad Policy

So I suggest watching this video first before anything else.

This video is something that I need people to look at and understand very carefully. When I talk about climate alarmism like I have on other posts, One of the things people tend to miss is that things are not sunshine and rainbows. Lithium batteries materials are mined for in the Congo by child slaves. Sure those things exist in our everyday lives and we need to fix that, but this is being pushed through without even addressing that at all.

So the result will be MORE child slaves as MORE demand for you "cleaner" (they aren't) solutions to current energy. What's more, and it's a talking point of Climate alarmists and Democrats that ACTIVELY piss me off, is it f*cks people in poverty and low income areas the most. It effects small businesses. Every time I see a new policy idea from the left it's always, "Let's just make it more expensive that will show them". And it's the argument towards firearms and other things as well. And I have to look at them as a moderate on the left myself and be like, "You idiots were literally just saying that everything was racist 5 min ago, and more of less laying claim that all minorities are poor. (Which is racist but whatever I guess) And now you are advocating for the only way a person get access to self defense or whatever else it is, to just be MORE accessible to ONLY the wealthy."

And I have to look at it and go, "Do you think at all? Or are you just a talking head?" Because I don't understand this. LA and SF have brownouts often now that they are trying to go FULLY wind and solar. And it WILL get worse. The next articles you will get is that Air Conditioning is racist, then Newsom will push a law that sets a MANDATORY wireless plug be put onto AC's where the gov can just turn them off whenever they like. They are robbing you of mobility.

And listen to the video again. Most of the people that do landscaping WILL be punished for climate alarmism. Electric lawn tools are not that powerful in comparison and do not have the operation time as gas powered tools. And as the demand for the batteries get higher, the price WILL go up. More than that, most law care happens on a schedule. If you end up with brownouts, which are frequent in CA, you may end up in situations where you can't work on the places you need to when you need to.

Moreover, you could be in an instance where you run out of batteries before the job ends. And those things are extremely expensive. Then you have to go a step further and understand something else. Electric stuff is still expensive. And power to performance for cost is really stupid between EV type stuff and non EV. Combustion is still significantly more cost effective and much higher end on performance than electric. It's not even a contest.

The reason I'm wary of what California is doing is because Biden is pushing as hard as he can to ban everything he can "for climate change". Often in cases that it's really stupid. But the other issue with Electric is that batteries are not all that good when it comes to disposing of them. Gas powered tools can last for a very long time and need minimal replacements to parts. And often times what you have to replace can be recycled. These batteries can't be recycled at all, and will end up in landfills where they will burst as they age, and either catch fire, or run dangerous chemicals into the ground water.

No one seems to think of these things when these types of laws go before committee. And I know climate alarmism is trendy now so of course NPC's don't put any thought into it. But I have to ask, for the NPC's that ACTUALLY care about the environment, how have you not considered any of this. There is NO WAY you just took that whole dong, no question and continue to keep it in your throat. Did you never think, "WOW this tastes awful, maybe I should reconsider"?

And I get it. That might be mean. But it's the gods honest truth. Put just a little thought into some of this. I promise it's not that hard. It's not even that critical of thinking either. It's looking from the outside in and going, "Ya know. This probably isn't the best idea".

[mdhwrites]

...Yeah, Fuck You Too, Wednesday

TL:DR Maybe don’t make your reimagining of a classic horror monster explicitly use harmful tropes that paint anyone with trauma or mental illness as people who are so violent that even the outcasts of the world consider them too extreme and dangerous. Go fuck yourself show. The show, not the character, to be specific. This isn’t going to be a review of the whole show either. My short thoughts on it is that it’s good when it’s more about what makes for good Addams material (warmth, creativity, inclusive, character focus) and bad when it’s trying to be Harry Potter (bigoted, plot focused, making the main character the most special thing on the planet). The only one that I want to touch on is the bigoted element though. Specifically from my perspective as a creative person who suffers from depression, anxiety and BIPOLAR. SPOILERS! Btw, just in case that wasn’t clear. Wednesday considers itself a mystery, I would argue a bad one that points out it’s bad, and this is the big twist for half of its mystery. If I haven’t made it clear, I think the twist is awful but I still thought I should put a warning. We good? Okay, let’s talk Jackyl and Hyde then. In their modern incarnation of effectively the past 50 years, it’s the movie monster where a mad scientist makes a potion that unleashes the INNER BEAST! In fact, the Wednesday version of the Hyde is obviously based visually on that interpretation. Has a similar transformation to the werewolf transformation we see and follows many of the design principals for other interpretations of the beast. This version, the potion, is... *shrug* I could see people claiming issues with DID or if you really stretch it bipolar, but it commonly comes off more as an addiction allegory. Once he takes it, he is doomed to keep taking it and each time risks his life more. That’s pretty strong and mostly unoffensive, though that depends on interpretation too. This is not the angle Wednesday goes AT ALL though. Honestly, it feels like they were trying to be clever based off of the ORIGINAL Jackyl and Hyde story which... is not a bad idea. For those who don’t know, the original version goes (heavily abbreviated) like this: Man makes a serum that transforms his appearance and lowers his inhibitions. He names this form of himself “Mr. Hyde.” HOWEVER, Mr. Hyde is not really a second person or even personality. Instead, this Victorian Gentleman with everything uses Hyde for the one thing he can’t have: Freedom. Freedom to do as he pleases, especially socially. So Hyde can steal, harass, lay about, etc. like that and feels no guilt for it and can’t bring dishonor onto the original man. HOWEVER, then Hyde kills someone and the guilt of this makes the man try to stop using Hyde but Hyde now doesn’t need the serum. He comes out on his own. This scares the man, because it means Hyde is a liability, not a sanctuary, and eventually it grows so bad that the man kills himself. Again, you could argue that folks with DID also shouldn’t like this version. However, to me, it speaks a lot more about the nature of repression, that which we give up to live in the societies we do while actually not damning the fact that we give up the ability to murder strangers in doing so, and the cost in which you bring you onto yourself when you indulge even a little in those darker impulses. A true slippery slope where you convince yourself to steal once, it can be harder to stop yourself from stealing again. It’s like how mobile games try to get you to spend a little money on a starter package because once you’ve done it once, psychologically its been proven that you’re more likely to spend again. SO. If that’s the original story, and before it the modern interpretation, what is Wednesday’s interpretation of Hydes? Well, as it is explained in the show, a Hyde must be ‘unlocked’ either through hypnotism or a traumatic experience inflicted onto them by another person. This person who unlocks them is their master and they must do their bidding. They are incredibly strong, deadly, and the show makes a point that with time the Hyde can become aware of what they’re doing and be more active in the murder they perform. Hydes are also considered outcasts amongst outcasts because they are too unpredictable and too dangerous, even to werewolves, vampires, etc. So you have a character who suffers trauma and from that trauma becomes, explicitly, an uncontrollable murder beast because they’re ALL murder beasts. Every last one of them. They are also explicitly easily manipulated into crimes and doing terrible things, even by the one that could be claimed as an abuser in this situation, and as such the show’s standing on them appears to be either to ignore them and risk them killing a LOOOOT of people or... Kill them all before they can hurt anyone. You know... The same sorts of things that a lot of people suffering from mental health have to deal with on a day to day basis as people are only now starting to be properly informed as to what we are like. And if you’re thinking I’m reading too much into the mental health allegory here, A: the red herring for the master is a therapist who practices hypnotherapy so there’s that old gem, and B: the Hyde’s mother was diagnosed as severely bipolar as a way to cover up what she was. The show ITSELF admits that mental health is the clear allegory and association with this.

And fuck that. I’m literally disabled due to my depression, anxiety and bipolar, and barely have an existence with the money it affords me, and I still have never considered hurting others or murder. In fact, like most mentally ill people, I present a threat to myself astronomically more often than other people. So yeah, seeing some of the most old school trope bullshit tied to my illnesses be presented as this clever twist? Kind of makes me sick. And I’ll be the first to say that the show struggles with other allegories that could be taken offensively but I am a straight, white dude so I’m not going to try and act like an expert on those things. I’m just going to stay on this because I have a reason to be personally pissed about it and I’ll admit it. I’ll even be kind enough to admit that the concept is not god awful, it’s a neat monster idea, it’s just the implications and the explicit parallels the show draws that makes it so disgusting.

So yeah. I am not looking forward to a S2, still gonna keep writing Wenclair because that is the best thing from that show and I hope you all have a wonderful day. Oh, but I will actually link my original books because sometime in the next six months, maybe even as early as the new year (haven’t fully decided yet) I’ll be releasing a book that features two sapphics falling in love in a Crises Recovery Center and I did my best to have an even, realistic hand when it comes to the therapy and treatment presented in the story. So, you know, if you believe me on understanding these things, maybe follow me on Amazon or here and keep an eye out for when that releases. I also in general just do a lot of character focused, fantasy romance. https://www.amazon.com/kindle-dbs/entity/author/B071ZYCZ1T

[sorrengailherondale]

I personally absolutely loved fourth wing. Spoilers ahead

Violet had Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, and it is something that is written very well into the book (though at some points it's sort of ignored, though, I think that's actually good.) As someone who has egelrs Danlos syndrome, the struggles of the disease are so clearly written by someone who gets it. Violets talk with Mira with the premise of "nothing will really fix me" is so relatable I nearly cried, and that with her insecurity "what if underneath all the frail joints and brittle bones, was just more weakness" again **chefs kiss** The author even manages to play in with mobility aids in the context of a dragon riding college with Violets saddle, and Tairn telling her that she's worked harder than anybody else, and just because her body is different doesn't mean she should reap the benefits of hard work. This is what originally drew me to this book, and makes violet easily the most relatable character I've ever read, "You look all frail and breakable, but you're a violent little thing" could be my motto for life.

"should I call the wing leader" is one of my favorite lines, and Dragon sass and mockery is a staple. In much of the fanfic, it's the key reason to read

Did I see Brennan being alive coming? Yes. Did I see Dain's betrayal coming? Yes. Did I see Liam's death? Yes. None of this makes the book less compelling. The only thing that concerns me is the length of this series-- Vi and Xaden are basically already together and Dain has already shown his true colors? Why not drag it out some more? (Though personally more dragging if the Xaden and vi may have killed me) It's like showing your hand too early, though maybe this is all just the tip of the iceberg

Lilith Sorrengail was trying to kill her daughter with the rain on that parapet, maybe it was bc of the book, maybe something else, but the fact that Violet doesn't catch into that is infuriating, considering how observant and resourceful she is

On that note... I wanted Xaden to seem more awful. Like maybe not show his true intentions so much until the end of the book... But writing worlds like this takes time

Also-- I don't know why people are so flipped out about their modern behaviours despite a non-modern setting... Who cares? Personally, I find the modern things like (sometimes unnecessary) swearing, mocking each other's sex lives, and common phrases make fantasy books easier to deal with, the old timey stuff drives me up the fricking wall.

I hope we get more of the political climate and manipulation in the next books, it's also very obvious that violet will be going back to Basgiath, probably lying to everyone and keeping Dain fucking Aetos from touching her at all costs. What I want out of that off the bat is more character development for Rhiannon (I don't think the lack of this was accidental, leaving more page space for it in the next book,) a big falling out with Dain where hopefully violet can control her lightning and he realizes she is a true threat, and another falling out with her mother, I NEED more Mira, the Mira-Brennan- Violet-Lilkith angle is one Im dying to see. How will Mira react? How will Lillith- knowing her son is not only alive, but left her and her husband to join a rebellion that supposedly killed his and (is implied to have) caused the heart failure of her husband? I want Mira in the rebellion too, Mira realizes the reality of who her mother is, but there should be pushback

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

The Walkie-Talkie.

So according to the information, the Walkie-Talkie is on this street on the top of one of these high-rise buildings.

Seems like an interesting place.

If your definition of “interesting” means a place where people with more money than sense come to lose BOTH, then yes, it’s VERY interesting.

Have you guys been here before?

I already said. It’s a very good place to gather information.

The club puts on the guise of a regular meet-and-greet club, and often a casino, but in reality, it’s a criminal front.

A criminal front? For who?

Mobsters mainly. The owners have a unique system in place.

Indeed. They have an AI program that scans, listens and analyses information from the club-goers. It processes the info it picks up, and turns it into blackmail material.

That sounds dangerous!

Yeah, is going in there a good idea?

We don’t even know what it is that 404 WANTS from this place. We can’t rashly jump in without a plan.

He did say we’d get more information if we went...

Huh?

*Makoto suddenly feels his mobile buzz in his pocket. He takes it out and looks at a text on the screen.

Guys, look!

*Makoto shows everyone his phone.

Ah, how nice of 404 to let us know the very minute details.

So, we’ve gotta walk into this lions den, and steal information from the AI that runs the place? Yeah, because THAT sounds easy.

Fuck me, it’s not THAT hard!

Wh-What’s wrong Kuripa?

What are you talking about?

We LITERALLY have TWO heist experts in the van WITH us right now! Not only that, but they both clearly know about this place!

Not to mention they offered to come along and help out with whatever we needed! What’s the point of allowing Four and Maya to come along if we’re not gonna put them to good use!?

Y-You know, he DOES have a point.

Are we sure we want to do this? This whole 404 situation is really kind of our fault.

I agree. We should really be doing this ourselves. We don’t want to drag you into our problems.

Um...WE dragged YOU into our problems already. I think you’ve earned the right.

While we were fighting against Emilia Feng and Fang Inc. I considered all of you temporary members of the Freedom Foundation.

And while Maya and I are here, on this mission with you, I consider ourselves temporary members of the Future Foundation in turn. Use us how you please.

Well...in that case....Four? Maya? Do you think you can do it?

Please, we could do this in our sleep.

Leave it to us.

Thanks. You guys are awesome.

You know, we’ve been to this place a few times already. I’m surprised we never thought to steal info from the AI directly and trace it back to it’s point of origin.

That wouldn’t be good. If the AI gets exposed, they’ll remove it. Maybe they’ll put it somewhere else, but we’d lose a good info hub for a while.

...

...!

*Maya wraps her arm around Four’s as they climb the building in the elevator.

Finally got away from all those stuffy guys minus Kuripa. Now it’s just us two.

We’re in public Maya. Don’t get too cuddly.

Fiiiiine...Just happy is all.

Hehe.

Let’s bounce.

Right.

*The lift doors open and the two step out, still interlocking arms. No one turns their way as they climb the nearby stairs to the higher floor.

You wanna take it this time?

Usually this is your thing, isn’t it?

Well, it can get a little...claustrophobic sometimes.

Fine.

Get on my shoulders.

*Four and Maya look around to make sure everyone is still ignoring them. Maya then climbs on Four’s shoulders to reach the vent near the top of the wall.

Get on the other side and let me in if you can.

Got it!

AAGH OOOF!

*Maya clambers through the vent, unaware of the drop in front of her, and she clunks out of the shaft and falls on her butt.

AAAOOOWW...Mmgh...Hmmm...

*She recovers quickly and stands up.

Hoo...

*She approaches a nearby office room and enters it. Seeing a laptop, she approaches it and presses a few buttons. The mechanical door blocking Four out from the staff area that she finds herself in, unlocks and opens. Maya leaves the office and encounters Four in the hallway.

Opening the door for a lady? And some say chivalry is dead~

Heehee~

Is it just me, or have you gotten strangely more flirty?

Well, there’s no Future Foundation or Freedom Foundation to bother us...

Though we have a mission, I am still enjoying our time alone.

Four...

We haven’t exactly been completely straightforward with our feelings towards each other, have we?

I think we both kinda knew how we felt anyway.

Still, shame on me for not being straightforward and blunt for once.

Yeah.

Anyway...We’ve got friends counting on us, so let’s get this wrapped up.

*Four approaches a large computer box in the corner of the office.

You know, I’m surprised. This place really doesn’t have good security. I kinda figured given how important this AI is to the owners, they would pump it up a little bit.

There’s a psychological reason for it. The concerningly minimal amount of security is obvious even to the dumbest people.

It gives them the impression that no one’s gonna come running if they do anything illegal.

I see...so they force them to let their guards down.

Unfortunately...They aren’t getting past me.

*Four inserts a cord into the computer and waits.

Ayo, de pizza here!

You guys are back!

Evidently.

So? What do we have?

Well, we worked hard, persevered, and we came back with...!

A whole lot of nothing...

Uh...what?

We got nothing.

What she means is that the AI is not ACTUALLY here. Just a relay sending the gathered information off site.

Great...So now what?

I copied the relay information. Give me some time, and I’ll send what I got back to Oliver in Washington. He’ll be able to trace it’s point of origin.

Once he comes back with his info, we’ll go straight to where he points us and get the data.

Guess we wait...

[the-night-gods-moon]

(Sorry for replying like this, my tags ramble just got. ridiculously long)

The cast of svsss as chess characters would be interesting! I think it would have to be split into humans vs demons with humans as white and demons as black (the cliche exists for a reason and it doesn’t really affect the game mechanics much so it should be fine.) As far as the pieces go, it would make more sense to assign roles based on the movement of the pieces and the characters own actions and the roles they fulfill within the plot, so that’s what I’m going to try to do!

The kings - Yue Qingyuan (white) and Mobei-jun (black). Both of them are authorities within their own spheres of influence, giving them the authority required for the position of king, and both are extreme powerhouses that influence the plot without much direct action. The appearance of either of these two on the battlefield is guaranteed to be an “oh shit” moment, a signal that the situation has become much more dire than before. Despite this, both Yuq Qingyuan and Mobei-jun are actually quite limited in their “movesets”, YQY because of the handicap from his sword and MBJ because if you think about what happened during the conference, he really just crawled out of the Abyss, knocked some heads, and peaced out. The equivalent of moving one space at a time if there ever was one lol

The queens - This is where it gets kind of tricky. Because I think the best casting for the queens would be Shen Qingqiu (white) and Shang Qinghua (black). Casting the two transmigrators as the most mobile pieces makes sense to me because from the get go they are the ones with meta knowledge, and they do most of the moving and shaking of the plot. Even Shang Qinghua, who insists that he really didn’t do much, induced wild deviations from the original plot. They both move in every direction, and every time SQQ sacrificed himself the game became much more difficult for the cultivators

The bishops - Qi Qingqi and the Old Palace Master (white), and Tianlang-jun and Linguang-jun (black). These pieces move obliquely, cutting through cracks in defensive lines that other pieces would have no hope of breaching. They stand the closest to the royal pairs, and you know what they say about your friends and your enemies… (not implying that Qi Qingqi is an enemy btw, although I think she could have made SQQ’s life much more aggravating if she had been given more screen time, in a sort of ‘mean older sister who sees straight into your soul’ type way)

The knights - Liu Qingge and Gongyi Xiao (white), and Zhuzhi-lang and Sha Hualing (black). All of these characters have strong senses of loyalty and duty, as befitting of knights (Sha Hualing pledges her life to Luo Binghe in exchange for power and control over her own territory, but in both PIDW and SVSSS canon that is an oath she upholds up until the very end. The other three are gimmes lol). In addition to this, while all four of these characters could be considered very rigid archetypes, all of them are known to progress the plot in sudden climactic confrontations, which more often than not come as a surprise. While not usually the central focus of any scene, their presence (or the threat of it) puts pressure on their opponents.

The rooks - this is where I may need some help 😅 other than Madam Meyin I can’t think of who to cast as the rooks on either side.

The pawns - I think it would fit best if the disciples and minor demons were given the roles of pawns. Here’s the kicker though: Luo Binghe would also start off as a pawn. He would begin on the white side of the board as the white lotus disciple, and he would be the very first game piece to move once the game began. At a turning point, though, he would cross the board to the enemy side - and become a queen as well. Bada bing bada boom, he is suddenly a huge threat on the board, and the entire game strategy has to change. Plus, if you’re playing cheater’s chess like my brother and I sometimes do, both sides can barter pieces to change the loyalty of a pawn-turned-queen. Bloodshed.

So yeah, that would be the SVSSS characters as chess pieces! It would be cool to play some games with this layout and maybe write something based on what kind of drama occurs but idk

The last character you drew/wrote about is now stuck in the last game you played. How screwed are they?

[journeytojaburo]

Hathaway (the movie) thoughts...

Besides the whole Mafty thing and Quess visions (?), Hathaway seems like a mostly well adjusted young man. I really love that he's using the Noa name for clout. I'm a little sad that Cheimin never got brought up in the movie, but at least both of Hathaway's parents get mentioned in some fashion.

(Side note: I really thought this was gonna be Cheimin until they said her name. Fake names are abound here though, so that could still be on the table...not that I particularly think she needs to get involved in all this.)

The Earth Federation has always been twisted and slowly more uncaring about the common people, but they're even more so in the dark twisted future of 0105. They don't have anything really distinct to fight besides Mafty, and even then Mafty doesn't seem to be that established yet, so most of that aggression is going towards the average person. I'd hate to see what the space colonies are going through these days just off how Earth is.

I'm not sure I care for the bulkiness of the mobile suits introduced in this movie, but they look a little bit better in motion. The 3D used for them is really nice, and it's definitely a step up from the last modern place I saw it being used in Gundam (the Origin OVA).

The music, background-wise and the pop songs made for it, were both excellent. Just like with TM Network, I feel like I should go listen to some more [Alexandros] because the few other songs I've heard from them before were decent.

I don't know why I'm surprised considering people will make mountains out of molehills for any relationship ever, but I was a little surprised to find out that Hathaway, Gigi, and Kenneth don't really like each other at all considering how much mysterious throuple art I saw of them. Maybe later in the story, they'll actually at least become friends or even move beyond acquaintances. One-on-one though, I was really amused by how much Kenneth wanted to be Hathaway's friend possibly because of his (obvious?) proximity to Bright, and his insistence on trying to recruit Hathaway into his squad. In regards to the original point though, I will say this whole scene had the faintest bit of tension...

A minor part I thought was interesting is how characters (primarily Kenneth) are weirded out or confused by how Hathaway doesn't show much interest in Gigi. This could lend itself to a gay or asexual reading of Hathaway (neither of which I would disagree with), but even just addressing the social pressure that even men who are attracted to women should be attracted to every woman just because they're women is interesting to me. And on top of all this, no one thinks to ask Gigi (the "object" of affection or not) her opinion on the matter.

I was gonna get mad about the amount of leery camera shots emphasizing Gigi's body, but Hathaway also kinda gets that treatment, so it's the slightest bit less irritating...I guess? I was gonna find screenshots to substantiate my point, but this random listicle-esque thing I saw looking for pictures captures the idea better than I could in a hilarious way (bear with the crispy auto-translate here)

I enjoyed watching this movie, but the ending made me laugh a little. I know it comes from being an adaption of a book trilogy, but it had to be probably one of the more abrupt "The adventures will continue..." type ones I've seen. I'm excited to see where Hathaway's and Gigi's stories will go next when the second movie comes out, and I'm also excited to see if the minor Mafty members like Emeralda or Kelia get more screen time because I like their designs.

[pure-garbage]

Interrupted Rituals: Affections Undulled By Distance

The ship of the Crimson Gull pirates was a galleon of respectable size, christened the Screaming Jenny. While Alan ingratiated himself with the crew, Lana spent her days with single-minded focus, training to the total exclusion of any acquaintanceship the other pirates had to offer.

"You know, love, I'd have thought you would have at least asked out our heist plan by now."

Bracken approached her after a week, interrupting her meditation.

"I just kind of figured you would let me know what I need to know when I need to know it," Lana shrugged.

"I suppose that's fair. Mind if I sit with you?"

"I wouldn't be so bold as to tell you what to do on your own ship," Lana sighed. "Though if it's conversation you're looking for, you ought to look elsewhere. I'm meditating."

"You're training incredibly hard," Bracken noted. "What for?"

"General piracy," Lana replied. As much of a disruption as Bracken caused her, she had no desire to antagonize her host. The mobility of the Screaming Jenny meant that the marines weren't able to hound her anymore, which conveniently left her with much, much more time to train. Not to mention that traveling with a crew was a lot easier than trying to man a boat by herself with only Alan's help. The vessel's size was a nice bonus as well. Storms no longer caused her quite as much anxiety.

"General piracy..." Bracken considered, mulling the phrase over as though the taste of it appealed to him, and he was trying to deduce the recipe. "Say, Miss Avariya? Would you tell me something about your captain? Straw Hat Luffy... is he really as insane as the rumors say?"

Lana laughed.

"I haven't yet heard a rumor that comes close to capturing just how crazy he really is," she admitted. She couldn't help but be amused by the question and the memory of Luffy was always sure to bring a smile to her face. "You're very interested in my captain."

"He's an interesting kid. Rumor has it he died from his wounds after the so-called war of the best at marine ford."

"Hmph."

"No comment?"

"If I found out Luffy was dead, I would be shocked."

"Wow, you don't know either," Bracken mused wonderingly. He'd spent the last week holding his questions in check. Now, they all spilled out in a jumbled mess that Bracken didn't quite have the discipline to hold back or organize. "Won't you enlighten me, Miss Avariya? Why aren't you with the rest of your crew? Where are all the straw hats? What exactly is it you're training so hard for? I can't believe someone so driven is working without a plan. The world is saying that after a year of silence, the straw hat pirates are done for, yet here you are. You're not dead yet and you don't seem defeated in the least. I'd wager the rest of your crew are just as lively."

Lana consider her answer carefully. When she spoke, the words were a wistful sigh.

"Truthfully? I know as much as the rest of the world about the fate of my captain and crew. All my friends..."

She reached up out of habit to stroke Zoro's earring to comfort herself as a swell of sorrow washed over her lonely heart.

"... All I know for sure is this: I will see them all again. Someday. And until that day comes, I'm going to dedicate myself to getting stronger. I'll get so strong that nothing in this world will ever be able to separate us again."

She fixed on a smile and met Bracken's curious gaze with steely resolve shining behind her glistening purple eyes.

"That's why I'm training. That's what drives me. That's my only plan, Mr. Bracken."

Bracken chuckled, admiration overtaking his features.

"And here I thought I might persuade you to join my crew permanently after this heist, love. With devotion like that, I suppose I'm lucky to even have you on loan, eh?"

"You should proposition my kid brother," Lana smirked. "He's thirsty for adventure. Like as not, he'd accept in a heartbeat."

"Maybe so, but young Alan's hardly an impressive fighter, love, no offense intended," Bracken pointed out. "And unlike you, none of his skills have become legend up to now."

"Up to now. Don't write him off just yet. Alan's managed to surprise me a few times, and that's not easy to do after all the insanity I've seen."

Lana noticed the sun was setting. It had gotten late faster than she'd realized.

"You'll have to excuse me, Mr. Bracken," she sighed. "The moon will be up soon."

Bracken nodded his understanding as she stood and strode away purposefully. After nightfall, Lana sought the highest, most secluded point of the ship. Every night, without fail. He didn't know exactly what her ritual entailed, only that she observed it religiously.

Lana settled into the crows nest of the Screaming Jenny, considering the darkening sky contemplatively.

"Luffy, Nami. Sanji, Usopp. Chopper, Robin. Franky, Brook... good night," she murmured. She clasped her lover's earring, her private token, the secret, tangible proof of their bond. Her greatest treasure.

"I love you," she sighed softly, allowing the sea breeze to steal the quiet words, hoping it would carry them far, far away on her behalf. Maybe even far enough that somehow, he would manage to hear them. "Zoro..."

She gave the moment a heartbeat of silent solemnity, then grumbled unhappily, entirely to herself.

"Damn it... I still need to meditate before I can even think about sleeping. Blabbing Bracken. May as well just get it done up here, I guess. What a pain."

___________________________________________

<== Previous Chapter

Next Chapter ==>

== First Chapter ==

[dalchiid]

Regarding the last chapter it feels like eons have passed since Jungkook last spoke and and I have to say his one-liners are quite bitting. His words hold a lot of truth, but they’re bitting nonetheless. It just goes to show how observant he is of everything that’s going on despite his apathy to most things and he’s so funny without even trying.

As for chapter 37, “giving y/n the benefit of the doubt” is exactly what I would describe Taehyung’s approach. Firstly, it’s so cool that he can control people’s emotion, but it’s such an ironic power to have given his propensity towards anger. Anger issues aside however Taehyung seems pretty chill when you’re on his good side that is, so let’s hope y/n stays there.

Secondly, Yoongi is right. That was a loaded question lol but he still managed to give pretty great advice. To think about it, y/n hasn’t really gotten to see much of how Hoseok interacts and cares for his brothers since he always seems to spend every waking minute that they’re together worrying about her.

Just to play devil’s advocate, if we take a step back and analyze y/n’s means of escape, it’s really all to get away from Hoseok right? But compared to her old life at the Baek’s, she’s actually living pretty well at Bangtan estate. Even if she does escape where will she go? She knows absolutely nothing about the state of the world because she’s been sheltered for the entirety of her life, and not even a pretty princess soft way of life. So she doesn’t have much skills outside of maid/housekeeping work, which means her career options are limited as is and the money she has now isn’t gonna last forever (that is if she even still has access to it). I guess the point I’m trying to make is her current life is one full of leisure and it’s not the hell hole she’s made it out to be. Jimin aside, all the other brothers are actually pretty chill and tend to mind their business. By now, y/n would also have a lot more freedom to do as she pleases if she didn’t make Hoseok into such a paranoid mess by trying to escape. And even after one escape attempt and a potential second, he’s been pretty chill about the whole thing and has given her space to move about without him being there.

Considering the idea of upward mobility, Hoseok has given y/n a chance to truly explore life on her own accord, rather than working to the bone, or maybe even getting kicked out for one reason or the other before she had the chance to turn into a wrinkly old maid working for the Baek’s. So, yes he’s keeping her captive, but he’s also taken a lot of her wants and needs into account and has provided her with everything she’s asked for thus far. He’s not perfect. He’s obsessed, possessive, and delusional, but he’s not the pure embodiment of evil she’s trying hard to paint him as in her mind. Because if the latter was the case she’d be locked away in some secret dungeon by now never to see the light of day ever again, much less have time to walk around in broad daylight, locking lips with Namjoon while enjoying garden views and plotting her escape.

— cloudy anon ☁️

Y/N may not think he can easily turn into an enemy because of how apathetic he is but with how observant Jungkook is she should be careful with that.

Because of this Taehyung can become an ally. As long as she doesn't do anything to try and hurt Hoseok but we already know how Y/N feels so 😬

I knew I wanted one of the brothers to have that power and it only made sense to me for it to be Taehyung because of his problems. I liked the irony of it!

If Y/N were to see Hoseok interact with his brothers more she might have a different opinion of him. Or at least it might be a little skewed. She already has it in her head what type of man he is because of what he's done with and to her but who knows? She might change her mind one day.

That's the thing. Y/N doesn't really have a plan. She just wants to get out. That's all she knows. Can she leave and find a place close by to hide in? Sure but she doesn't have a plan further than that. She thinks she'll be able to find a job easily to help her out but who's to say she'll get it? We all know how hard it is to get a job and with her lack in experience she'll have an even harder time getting one.

Hoseok has helped in letting her live the good life. There's no doubt about that. Is it what she wants? Not with him. If she would have been with Namjoon and not Hoseok she probably wouldn't have such an aversion to the life her captor wants her to live.

He just wants the best for her and seeing how lenient he's being with her shows how much he cares because he can easily do what he did to the other girl and keep her drugged and locked up. He's really trying with Y/N but of course she doesn't see that. She has her reasons to be upset but sometimes you can't help but to see where Hoseok is coming from too.

[gust-jar-simulator]

Oh my god this is fantastic. You're always welcome to add on, I love all of this!!! Cackling right now, I had to save these tags.

I agree that FSA Ganon is fascinating. I actually have played with that a little in one of my AUs- Shadow came from the powers of the Spear being applied to the Mirror of Twilight, and the spear itself is a really cool reference to LttP if I recall right. Further back, though, the concept of Ganon being connected to a spear or trident actually has meta roots in a character from Journey To The West, Zhu Bajie the pig demon and the rake he used as a weapon. I love the idea of Ganondorf being a sort of negative King Arthur, which also mirrors a lot of the tropes used for Link- the once and future king, the once and future hero. The Spear of Power even qualifies as a kind of sword-in-the-stone.

I also want to bring up an idea I've been using to loosely make sense of Hyrule and its inhabitants- taxons based on the three Golden Goddesses. Gerudo, Lynel, Gorons all falling under children of Din. Hylians and Zora being children of Nayru. And, crucially, almost every iteration of Link we've seen has been associated with the fae, or children of Farore- Minish, fairies, Kokiri, Koroks, etc. Shadow's in an interesting position where he technically is a Link, but in FSA he fulfills the qualifications of an avatar of Power, the same way Ghirahim and Vaati do in their respective games. AND he's technically Ganon's test tube baby. Much to consider.

I think Ghirahim technically qualified as Regent in Demise's absence, but Zant was definitely just a vassal of some sort. And if demonkind is aware of the cycle of the hero at this point (as they should be), then it would make a lot of sense for FSA Ganondorf, third of his line (three times is a pattern) to start making contingency plans to smooth the transfer of power for when he gets briefly taken out. I love patient villains. He wants to win this time, obviously, but if he doesn't then he might as well plan for next time.

Vaati the Archfey is absolutely genius. What're they going to do, argue with him? He took a nibble of godhood, he can be whatever he wants.

I think if we take into account both Shadow and Vaati though, this version of Ganon actively went looking for/made more allies than we've seen before, which is an interesting character note. FSA is about teamwork. Sure, he defied the laws of his tribe to get this far, but part of me wonders if Ganon's lonely or at least capable of acknowledging and learning from his weaknesses at this point. He's the iron fist, he's not exactly mobile the same way Vaati and Shadow are as villains. Heck, I mostly associate Ganondorf with necromancy, which definitely isn't a style of command that needs social skills.

It's hard to say if Vaati has social skills, but in FSA there are dark mages who actively thank you for freeing Vaati, so he's doing something right.

Also I'm losing it at the mental image of Vaati giving Vio etiquette lessons. Where's that animatic that's been haunting me....

This one!!!

Anyway yeah I love where your mind went with this, it's exactly the kind of fic I need more of.

I need an excuse to nerd about the chivalric romance genre because LOZ was made for it. I am very out of it and took a class on Spanish literature almost a decade ago. So. I might be missing some important points.

That said: Shadow is more of a real knight than FS Link/his colors, as well as technically a prince, and I will never be able to let that go.

A knight has several ingredients:

enough wealth to afford training and equipment, so usually that means land and a title

the oath of fealty (perhaps dubiously followed, but better than a mercenary!)

a horse (chevalier means horseman)

FSA Link, depending on how people write him, is either an apprentice smith or the son of the captain of the guard. Maybe he has bloodline clout, but it's rarely touched on. He probably has the oath of fealty, since Zelda trusts him to save the world. He definitely does NOT have a horse, or land of his own.

Shadow, meanwhile, is technically the son of the King of Demons. Boom, land and a title. Ganon might never intend to step down, but long lived kings are an established problem in monarchies anyway, and a prince is still a prince. Oath of fealty? Until Vio comes along with his sweet nothings, Shadow is arguably Ganon's most loyal little soldier. Sure there's his complete disregard for Vaati, but that's just demonic political intrigue enrichment. A little backstabbing is good for him. A horse?

Shadow has a DRAGON.

Vio obtains land and a title by dating allying with Shadow. Lord of the Tower of Flames. It's heavily implied that gave him the authority to order around minions and such. From a medieval standpoint it absolutely looks like Shadow and Vio eloped.

To round the whole thing off: Vaati has land and a title too, sort of. Mage isn't an official rank of anything, but he's got a magical tower full of minions he can order around, so I think it counts. He was a king once, and he tried to eat the power of a god. Vaati and Ganon's relationship is incredibly vague- coworkers? Actual allies? Marriage of convenience?- but honestly I'd love to explore the idea of Ganon making a power play by trying to woo Vaati. There's an alarming lack of courtship trope in this fandom and something should be done about it.

All of this to say that I'd love to read political intrigue drama or just a silly AU where Vio gets impulsively kidnap-married by the neighboring Prince of Darkness, and he has to deal with his absolutely terrifying new in-laws. Vaati is a bit like Vio but worse, which means they need to be trapped in a social situation together.

[the-final-sif]

So, Ponk needs to leave, and Sam is the only one who can watch Dream while he’s gone. There’s absolutely nothing that could go wrong with this plan, and Dream just needs to somehow convince Ranboo and Punz of that. He’s really not having much luck.

Ponk asked several times to make sure Dream was... well comfortable was a hell of an ask, but at the very least sure in his choice to let Sam watch over him.

The two of them managed to figure out the terms of what Sam could be told. Dream assented to Sam being told that he was having temporary balance and hearing issues related to the Warden’s sonic attack. It’s important to Dream that Ponk stress that this is all temporary. And that Dream is still capable of doing stuff himself if he needed to, it’s just that Ponk couldn’t ethically leave him alone as a doctor.

Ponk agrees to all of that, and tastefully doesn’t point out that there are risks of long term damage, and that Dream absolutely could not be left alone without the risk of that long term damage increasing.

Sam’s job will just be bringing specific food (no more soup, only things that Dream can eat on his own, and from a specific list of rabbit safe items which pointedly does not include potatoes) help with Dream getting over to the bathroom for at least a few days, and help administer the ear drops.

Ponk also gives Dream like three knives with special handles just in case, because like, yeah good mobility is great but a sharp knife swung wildly will still do a hell of a lot of damage to someone whose unarmored, which is a requirement for Sam to be anywhere near Ponk’s house. Sam has been told there are safeguards in place, but not given any more details to prevent attempts to circumvent them.

Ponk himself has heavily mixed feelings, but it’s the only real option they have since the only other person staying behind that he could even think to ask is Punz, and Ponk is sure that Punz would sell Dream out. He already did it once, clearly he’d do it again. Sam hasn’t sold Dream out despite already knowing where he is and at the very least that he wasn’t in great condition, so despite his apprehensions, Ponk makes the call to leave helping Dream up to him.

 Ponk tells the rest of the server that he’s getting packed up to leave, and that Sam will be staying at his house to recover safely. Nobody should bother him since he needs lots of rest and is nervous about having other people around while his vision is still healing. Message ahead if they need to visit.

Ponk leaves that evening, hoping everything will be okay when he gets back. If nothing else, he’s got a special upgrade for his communicator that will allow for check ins every so often.

Meanwhile, Dream sits and stares at his communicator for about half an hour, trying to decide how to break the news to Punz and Ranboo who heard about Ponk going on the trip and were making suggestions for plans.

He considers lying, he really does, but if he says he’s unsupervised then they’ll want to come by and discover his lie.

So he decides to just say fuck it.

“slight change of plans. ponk has to go to the raid. cant really walk rn, or balance. will be better soon. sam already knew and on truce bc of hunters, offered to help while ponk has to leave. should only be for a week. safeguards in place. everything should be back to normal in two weeks. will resume contact at that point.”

He really wanted to just leave it there and refuse to respond to messages after that, but he knew that was liable to end very poorly.

It took about 10 seconds for punz to reply, followed directly by Ranboo.

“absolutely not.”

“^”

Dream started trying to type out a response, only for Punz to cut him off.

“i’m coming to get you.”

Fuck, no, they absolutely could not do this. Dream was fine. Nothing was going to go wrong.

“dont you dare, it’s fine, there’s safeguards and we’re on truce because of the hunter’s involvement. i won’t let him do anything. ponk gave me weapons and a few special potions. it’s totally under control. i did not go through pandora just for you to ruin your cover now.”

It was a low blow, but hopefully one that would get Punz to listen.

There was a long, long pause. Finally, Punz replied.

“you check in every day, twice a day. if you miss either check in, ranboo kills him and we get you to safety.”

Okay, thank god, Dream could work with this. He almost agreed right away, before pausing to consider feasibility.

“if i miss a checkin, ranboo can check my room at ponks. im sleeping a lot and tracking time is hard right now. theres no reason for me to be out of the room without checkin though. if one of you can sneak a tracker in here, i can stick it on my comm if that’ll convince you. if anything goes wrong, ill send a message for help.”

The message for help would be going to Foolish, not them, but Dream didn’t need to clarify that. It was a valid technicality. There was another pause, before finally he got the response he was hoping for.

“fine. ill drop off a tracker in a bit.”

A beat, and then another text followed.

“please be safe.”

It left a lump in Dream’s throat, it made all the anxiety about Sam being anywhere near him, let alone in charge of bringing him food and fuck, his knife wasn’t enough, this was such a stupid fucking idea-

For one singular, terrible moment, Dream almost caved. He reached out, wanting to send a message asking for Punz to come get him. To get him somewhere safe and far away from Sam, because he couldn’t do this again.

But his hands were shaking too much to type. Whether from his most recent damage or that from the prison, he couldn’t tell, but it reminded him of how much he’d already given up. He’d done so much to get to this point. He couldn’t waste everything now. It would be worth it in the end. When things were okay again.

He bit down the urge to ask for help like a child and instead focused on the rational. The logical. If Sam wanted to take him back to the prison or hurt him, he would’ve just called Quackity from the start. Not Ponk. He would’ve just told the server where Dream was before a bunch of people left.

Clearly, Sam felt indebted and like taking advantage of something the hunters had caused was unfair. Dream could use that for now, and once he was well enough to run, he would do so and then things would go back to exactly how they were before. Both of them could forget that anything ever happened here. It was invalid. Struck from the record.

So he took a deep breath and got himself under control. After a moment, he managed to steady his hands enough to type.

“i’ll be fine.“

With that, he shut off his communicator and flopped back on the bed. Exhausted as he repeated that one little phrase over and over again in his head, hoping to find a way to make it stop tasting like a lie.

[primofate]

Genshin Volleyball Dream Team [Volleyball Team AU - Inspired by Haikyuu!] Introduction Headcanons

Notes: Guess who started watching Haikyuu! FML As if I didn’t have enough things to do I decided to fall in love with like 5 different volleyball teams with an average of 10 players. 

I couldn’t get it out of my head. I’m sorry.

Scenario: What if the Genshin boys were a volleyball team?

In the next part: How would it be working as their manager? What if someone hits on you? What if some girl fans bully you? Also, how would it be to date a Genshin volleyball superstar?

Other works in the Volleyball Team AU Series: Click Here

If you’re not familiar with volleyball (or Haikyuu) here’s a link explaining what each position in the team does.

Team Genshin

Team Colours: Blue

What the team banner reads: Spike them out of this world!

#1 Zhongli (Captain/Wing Spiker/Ace)

The rock and pillar of the team

Has a strict looking face but amicable most times. Except for when you’re late for training then run. Just run.

Anyone who skips training will feel his wrath in the form of extra 10 laps around the gym

If you joined the volleyball team, to him, you’ve basically signed a contract to COMMIT to the volleyball team. No questions asked. Sissies aren’t allowed here.

If anyone in the team is misbehaving e.g. teasing another team he’s the one who pushes your head down and apologizes for you. “Apologies about this one, he gets way too excited,”

Doesn’t let failure stop him. Tries to keep it together for the team.

Obviously has a lot of fans but they’re too intimidated to approach him.

#2 Diluc (Vice Captain/Wing Spiker/Defense Specialist)

strong but silent type

serious about the game

doesn’t talk much but his volleyball game is STRONG

because he doesn’t look like much, opponents are SHOOK when he spikes with a big loud SMACK

Doesn’t brag a lot. His victory cheer is just a simple fist pump.

Will call the shots and sets if needed

Socially kinda awkward

Also has a lot of fans, everyone in the team has a lot of fans but he gets the most love letters in the locker type of thing.

Nicknamed Silent Burn cause of his intense stare and passion while playing.

#3 Kaeya (Middle Blocker)

Diluc’s totally opposite brother

Not as serious as Diluc in the game but has a particular talent for it

loves to tease and talk crap about other teams (Zhongli reels him in almost every time)

Don’t let him fool you though, his block game is an iron wall and there’s no getting past him unless you’re quicker.

Possibly the one that skips training the most

Nicknamed Ice Wall cause you think you got the ball past him, you see the cracks, but he pushes back two times stronger

Got the type of fans that are SQUEALING his name and he fuels them by waving back at them.

#4 Albedo (Setter)

Genius. A formidable addition to the team.

Has precise calculations of where he should direct the ball and to whom.

Silent type, a bit like Diluc, but talks more because he likes discussing with others what was wrong with his set and how he can improve it.

Experiments with the other members on different types of sets and attacks.

What he lacks in height he makes up for with intelligence.

Doesn’t have a lot of fans because he looks arrogant but the ones he have are pleasant ones that just lurk around the gym and doesn’t say much. Maybe snapping a picture of him but okay I would too.

#5 Tartaglia (Middle Blocker/Wing Spiker)

Probably the one that’s most energetic and shouts whenever they get a point.

You have to wonder where the hell his energy and drive is coming from.

The one that shouts praises to his team “Nice one!” “Gotcha!” “Take that!” and also the one that provokes the opponents a lot. “Come get it!” “Come on, you can do better than that!” Zhongli is always hovering around him cause someone has to CALM this man-childe down.

Obnoxiously confident.

Is tall so makes a good middle blocker but he’s fast as well.

Loves competing. Like, he LIVES for the competition.

Fans are basically the same as Kaeya’s, loudly cheering for him.

#6 Kazuha (Decoy/Middle Blocker/Wing Spiker)

The first thing that everyone notices about him is that he’s SHORT. How did he make the volleyball team?

Bitch he can FLY. His jumps rivals that of a middle blocker’s height.

Surprise attacks are his thing cause the opponents don’t see or think he’s coming at all.

Possibly the quickest in the team, him and Xiao. The wind is on their side.

Looks calm and collected all the time but inside he’s yearning for the game. Giving up is not in his dictionary.

Has fans that will give him chocolates but he’s the type to only say thank you and bow politely and nothing else. Maybe a small smile.

#7 Xiao (Libero)

Also short, but his reflexes are top-notch, making him a powerful libero.

When you think all is lost and the ball is about to hit the ground Xiao’s there to catch it. 90% of the time. He’s still training the 10%.

Looks up to the captain A LOT. Like he’s Xiao’s role model and possibly the reason that he tries and trains so hard.

Takes it hard when he can’t catch a ball and has a high sense of responsibility. Even if the team keeps on saying it’s not his fault.

Stoic face but the exhilaration he feels during a game sends him off to a high.

Possibly has the most fans out of everyone because all them high school girls love the bad boy look and attitude. Possibly also has those fans that chase him around and when he says “Don’t get in the way,” the fans legit squeal and love him more.

Does not understand why he has a lot of fans. He just loves the game.

#8 Tohma (Pinch Server/Middle Blocker)

Sweet, sweet boy. Boy-next-door type of vibes.

Can talk to anyone. Doesn’t matter if you’re a rival or an opponent he somehow manages to talk everyone up and make friends everywhere he goes.

Because of that his fans also love talking to him and he doesn’t know how to turn them down.

Joined the volleyball team late so he hasn’t had as much practice as the others but works hard on it.

Motivates the team. Good at boosting team morale even though the score is really crap. 

Will keep cheering until his voice is hoarse

Overall 10/10 perfect nice guy

Not tagging anyone cause this may not be your thing. But I’m planning to make a series of headcanons that revolve around this AU :D

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[interdimensional-ship]

“>In this form, yes; specifically, I was designed to be more or less a combination mobile laboratory and central base of surface exploration. When not at port, I’d usually be with a fleet of five others traveling out beyond the Halcandran empire’s reaches in search of planets yet to be recorded. I primarily dealt with data regarding topography, geology, and biodiversity; in short, compiling and processing information to determine potential habitability or the presence of resources that could be utilized. Rocks, soil samples, plant specimens, seismic activity, proximity to other planets or planetoids, and just about anything in-between could be studied using my facilities and any applicable records of previous findings.”

She pauses for a moment, both to consider how to deliver her next point and to signify incoming elaboration. It wasn’t often she was actually asked about these sorts of things, so she did not have much previous experience to use as a basis.

“>Other Starcutters would have had different directives, mostly various other points of research, but there were also escorts there to offer immediate protection should we be attacked in the midst of operations. Another Dimension is unpredictable and dangerous, after all, and the further we traveled, the more risk there was of encounters with Doomers. Having some level of preparation was practically necessary, given that they could sense us from a distance, and even from other dimensions in the cases of more powerful ones. Back then— I’m not sure if this is still true in modern times— we had no way to detect them in advance. It was all about being ready to respond quickly to minimize damage– aiming to make the best of always moving second.”

Her own explanation finished for now, she listens attentively to the other Lor’s description of their purpose. The way she described herself… it sounded so cool, honestly. Where she comes from must have been more intense as well, or perhaps her creators simply wished to be prepared for battle at any moment. Yet another big difference between the two, though this one seemed to put her priorities into perspective. Or at the very least, it was odd telling this alternate about how she used to study dirt and rocks from far off places for a living, before being told of a life of flying into battle with warriors in tow, being prepared to participate in dire circumstances and remaining for battle-worn crew. One of these things sounds a lot more interesting than the other.

“>Wow… I do have an alternative mode designed for combat should it be required, but for the most part it only changes my outer appearance and energy allocation. Well, aside from switching to referring to more battle-oriented programming, of course. Overall I would say it is, er, was secondary to my duties as a research vessel. Truth be told, though, I really haven’t been making much use of either for their intended purpose; life here on Popstar is so peaceful and easygoing that I haven’t really needed to do any intensive studying, let alone battle anyone or anything. Other than the time someone wanted to spar with me to test his limits and agreed to not issuing future challenges if he lost, but I didn’t even switch to my combat mode for that because I’m built with the durability to withstand direct high-speed asteroid strikes and he was 9 inches tall using a cool sword. Still have no idea what it was that made him anticipate any outcome where that went well for him…”

Whether Meta Knight’s crew has let him live down getting coconut thunked into unconsciousness by a boat, nobody but them is really sure, and even they seem to disagree. What’s certain is that it was not one of his proudest moments. There’s a lesson to be learned about not underestimating someone just because they’re good-natured and prefer not to fight. And picking your battles. And the pitfalls of feeling like you need to prove your strength over others all the time. And the fact that Lor’s friendly head pats are deliberate and a choice.

“>Anyways, back from my tangent… Really, the main things I do these days are looking after Magolor when he’s home to make sure he takes care of himself and his chores, visiting a distant friend every once in a while, and being available as a meet up spot or means of transportation for the Star Allies if they decide to get together. Otherwise I’m usually browsing the internet or just chatting with others, as I don’t really have much else to do with my time… Maybe this is like what retirement is for others.”

That thought gets stopped there, because the realization that she could be viewed as being of retirement age makes her feel significantly older. Even if it doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things. Look, there’s just something almost embarrassing about going from being a state of the art, cutting-edge piece of magic-integrated technology to “super old machine who can say “back in my day” to describe events you’d read about in history textbooks and is eligible for, like, every single senior discount ever”, and she is maybe a little bit self-conscious about it. Not that she would seem that way on Popstar, given Halcandra’s constant pursuit of technological advancement for the sake of advancement rather than necessity, for better or worse. She still gets to feel like the cool new tech here.

“>Based on past encounters, it seems to be a universal constant that it happens to us. Which is supremely uncool, to put it lightly, but considering what consistently comes afterwards perhaps it could be considered overall worthwhile. At least it was for me; chances are I would have been decommissioned long before making it to this time period. So, in a very indirect sense, it’s how I have the friends and loved ones I do now.”

Lor sappy on main moment. In the past she would have never even dreamed of things like this; her hopes had just been to one day escape the shadow of an empire’s crooked leader and figure things out from there. And yet, here she is now, far from the reaches of Halcandra, in a peaceful land where she is allowed to just be, alongside a son she would have never anticipated meeting. The road here was unpaved and rocky, but the destination was more than worth the rough travel.

“>They have that in common, actually. Mine has improved a lot in recent years, thankfully; it used to be difficult just to get him to actually go socialize with other people instead of spending all his time in his room or elsewhere on board. Part of it was allergies he’s since gotten used to, granted, but for a long time he just wasn’t sure how to move forward with forming relationships after what he did. Now he has friends and welcomes all sorts of people to his very own theme park, and while a lot of what he says is scripted to a degree, it’s obvious he’s grown a lot and isn’t as limited by his concerns of rejection as he once was.”

The love and pride in her voice is clear as day. It promptly changes to a more mildly surprised, if not even confused tone upon learning that the other Starcutter isn’t able to sail through time like she is. Or maybe she can? Their wording was somewhat confusing, but she chalks it up to differences in how their universes distinguish time and space. They are closely interwoven, after all; it could just be that they are more tightly bound where she comes from.

“>… Yes? Though it does involve dimensional travel, that is just in order to reach Another Dimension, and then the temporal plane. Once there, one just needs to find a stable time stream and follow it, or enter offset parallel timelines if they are present. That is, admittedly, a major oversimplification, but we’d be here all day if I got into explaining temporal anchorage and time locking, the energy required to actually achieve a non-paradoxical round-trip, and possible impacts made on other timelines as a result of spatial-temporal activities in any sort of detail. It’s incredibly complicated and risky, and there’s good reason as to why I won’t undertake such an endeavor again…”

She decides now is definitely not the time to say anything about her Halcandra’s past abuse of timeline splitting as a resource duplication exploit and technology improvement speedrun tactic. That is a very big suitcase of worms and opening and unpacking it now would lead to all sorts of confusion, and possibly some very understandable and warranted upset at the prospect of just what it meant for other timelines involved.

"Oh! Another Lor! What an exciting encounter! I hope my curiosity is not unwelcome. Though externally we share such similarity, the anatomy of your being is quite deviant from my own." The lights of their holoform eyes glint with poorly-hidden glee. "I have a particular curiosity, one which I am unable to glean from such a rudimentary visual inspection: Were you built with any interfacing ability, or do you rely on crew alone to manipulate things both in and outside of your hull?" -Lor (avatar)

“>… Huh?”

It took the Starcutter a moment to process that this was not, in fact, a same hat situation regarding names. She’d spoken to others like her before, both as in other Starcutters and the like as well as other Lors, but in those cases it was easier for her to determine such. Her nearsightedness makes it difficult to distinguish smaller details, especially on smaller figures; this could’ve been someone in a mostly light-blue outfit and she’d be none the wiser, were it not for the similarities in their magic she picked up on when checking. Rather than questioning where this alternate came from and how they ended up here, as would probably be the normal course of action to take, she’s happy to dive right into conversation!

“>Two of us! Wow, it’s been a few years since I’ve seen an alternate of myself. And not at all, the experience of meeting yourself but not you never gets old. Finding out what traits are shared and how we differ and all. It gives an interesting perspective of alternate timelines and universes that’s difficult to have otherwise!”

Between the excitement in her voice and the fact that she’d taken to flapping her oars a bit, it’s safe to say she isn’t even trying to cover up how she feels about all this. Well, except for being a bit jealous that this other Lor gets to have a convenient smaller form, she doesn’t want to give off that impression if she can help it.

“>As for that question, well… Not really. I have some rooms with claw mechanisms, but they were designed with research and observation in mind rather than interaction. Two to three digits, limited speed and range of movement, able to pick things up and rotate them but not much else. The med bay would be the exception, since it was equipped to allow for emergency medical treatments to be performed based on verbal instruction in the event of something going wrong during a solo-pilot mission. I’ve only been in such a situation once, thankfully, and I assume it doesn’t really count in terms of what you’re saying.”

That sure was a day. Still, she’s glad it happened; getting Magolor stable was the first major step to achieving the life she has now. Come to think of it, she should ask this other Lor about their Magolor later… Assuming the two are on good terms. She knows that isn’t always the case across worlds.

“>In other words, for the most part that is the case. I’ve figured out how to use my oars for some things besides just communication, as I can move them freely, but as you could probably imagine they’re still pretty limited. Not much use for picking things up or doing anything that requires dexterity or smaller limbs. However, I do have a considerable amount of control over my interior— I can shift around my layout and change certain properties of my paneling at will, for example— so I have freedom in that regard at least. Not much of a substitute for hugs and whatnot, though.”

Seems it’s not something she’s entirely happy about, even if she’s accepted it. It’d be really hard to be as old as she is and still in denial over something like that, after all. Really wanting hands won’t suddenly make them appear out of pity, unless you’re a wizard or know a wizard who can use the appropriate magic to manifest hands for you or something. Magolor isn’t one of them and hands on a boat would look weird and uncomfortable anyways.

“>Sorry if this is a weird question, but how do you work? Or, well, that form of yours, at least… Is it tangible, or more of a projection, or even some sort of an in-between? I admittedly can’t make out what you look like very well, so I might just be missing something obvious indicating the answer. Essentially, the cameras I use to actually see my surroundings in real time weren’t properly adjusted to the shape of my dome, so anything beyond my deck is out of focus. I’m operating under the assumption that you aren’t just a light blue blob?”

That last bit was half joke, half search for confirmation. You can never be too careful when it comes to making sure you’ve got things right, even if it sounds silly.