#where i then have to hunt down what date system this person was using by cross referencing with other specimens they submitted

[semleys-necklace]

okay now that the situation has mostly passed i have to say it is very frustrating to have a person misinterpret what i said and use me as an example of a position i explicitly disagree with while also changing what i said when quoting me (adding shit like "feels" into the middle of a sentence to make it seem more pithy) and doubling down when i try to elaborate and clear up any miscommunication.

my job is literally working with an archive (a herbarium to be more specific) where we have to organize and digitize specimens where date based information is important so i think it follows that i would possibly bring up how different organizations use yyyy/mm/dd or dd/mm/yyyy depending on what is most important while combing through a given database. for example when looking into flowering phenology in a plant species in response to climate change, the year and month are vitally important but the individual day is far less important. this means yyyy/mm/dd is the natural choice. on the other hand, if you're looking into forming a chronology having to do with something like the diary entries and correspondences of an important figure the database might be in dd/mm/yyyy.

like i genuinely do not understand why this was inflammatory.

[pieandflannel]

౨ৎ ₊˚⊹ bittersuite 🥃

₊⊹ ʚ ₊⊹｡ ⋆ ˚ ⋆ ｡˚ ₊⊹｡ ₊⊹ ୨♡୧ ⊹₊ ｡⊹₊ ⋆ ˚｡ ⋆ ˚ ⋆ ｡⊹₊ ɞ ⊹₊

pairing: dean winchester x sam’s gf!reader

summary: dean falls into depression due to being lovesick over you, who is dating his brother.

cw: angst, alcohol consumption, alcoholism, depression, lovesick dean, depressed dean, hopeless dean, no happy ending for dean, grammar not checked, somehow proofread.

word count: 781

julia yaps: i wrote this instead of going to sleep so apologies for any mistakes! 

inspo: bittersuite by billie eilish + this tiktok

────────── ୨ৎ ──────────

i’ve been having dreams.. about you and me..

at least one times a week.. i feel so empty when i wake up knowing i can only touch you in my dreams..

i can’t sleep.. properly because the only thing on my mind is you..

i see the way you want at me.. am i crazy? is it just my delusions? am i seeing what i want to see?

i want to be the one.. to hold you tight against me.. kiss your soft lips.. feel the warmth of your skin..

but i got to be careful.. lately he’s been suspicious as to why i haven’t been myself, that i’ve been turning down so many women.. not even checking anyone out.. but how can i when the only person on my mind is you..

i gotta watch what i say.. i can’t let you or him in on my true feelings.. it would ruin the whole dynamic between us..

god i hope it all goes away.. maybe the alcohol will help me forget..

cause i can’t fall in love with you.. i just can’t

no matter how bad that i want to.. it’s wrong, you’re my brother’s girlfriend

And i could never do that to sammy..

tears form in dean’s eyes

there is a knock on dean’s door, his brother’s voice is heard from behind the door “dean? you in here?”

dean clears his throat and wipes his eyes before he answers “yeah” his voice raspy from the alcohol he’s been drinking.

sam slowly opens the door, noticing dean sitting by the table behind the door, bottles of whiskey sitting on the table, some of them empty.

“dean you haven’t been out your room for a couple days, what’s going on?” sam asks with a worried look.

“have you been drinking all this time?” he asks, picking up one of the empty bottles, assessing it before putting it down.

dean says nothing. just takes another sip from his glass. sam sighs.

“talk to me man..” sam’s voice softening up knowing that his brother’s behaviour only means one thing and one thing only, dean is trying to run away from something. and that something usually being his own feelings and thoughts.

sam looks at dean with his well-known puppy eyes, “please..” he pleads.

“leave me alone sam” dean finally speaks, obviously shutting his brother out, but what else is he supposed to do when that’s all he knows thanks to john.

sam knows not to push his brother because it’s just no use, so all he does is sigh,

“alright.. i did find us a case though” he offers hoping dean will finally leave his room. get some fresh air. eat something. maybe even crack a half smile after the hunt is a success.

“you two can handle it” dean says in a monotone voice as he takes another sip. sam’s heart aches seeing his older brother like this, his jaw clenching slightly. the feeling of hopelessness flooding his system. he doesn’t remember the last time dean was in such a bad place. well at least to a point where he shuts himself in his room for days.

“so what now you’re just not going to talk to me and drink yourself to death? is that it?” sam tries very hard not to snap at him, but even he has his limit of patience.

“pretty much, yeah” dean shrugs, sounding more and more numb, like he actually doesn’t care what happens to him.

sam lets out a small scoff and shakes his head in disbelief, the dean he knows wasn’t a quitter, dean would never give up.

his brother is battling something very serious inside his head but he refuses to open up. wouldn’t be a first, but this time it seems as serious as ever.

“this isn’t like you dean, you have to talk me” sam attempts the soft approach again, he closes the door and sits down on the edge of the bed, his voice sympathetic yet pleading.

dean isn’t happy about sam pushing him, especially that he wasn’t going to tell him that he fell in love with his brother’s girlfriend, he wasn’t going to tell him how she makes his heart flutter whenever he hears her voice, or how he cannot keep his eyes off her when she smiles so beautifully, he cannot tell him that every time sam kisses her he wishes to be in sam’s spot, or even the fact that he can’t stop feeling guilty that he even fell for her in the first place,

i mean come on.

this ain’t a fairytale with a happy ending where they all hug it out and live happily ever after.

thank you so much for reading! feedback and reblogs are always deeply appreciated <3

tags: @jensino @emeraldcrs @soldiersgirl @jensenacklesballsack @missus-ackles @littlesoulshine @deanswifeyy @slut4jackles @h8aaz @figisonline @figthoughts @angelicjackles @losers-clvb @lyarr24 @cowboysandcigarettes @blossomingorchids

𑁥౿ check out my masterlist for other works!

♡ see this post to be added to the taglist!

© pieandflannel – do not plagiarise or repost any of my work!

© reserved for photo/gif owners!

[ryuseiired]

"wait, why does jackalope say mikoto is at the top of murders?"

I've seen a lot of people confused about this so I thought I'd make a post on why I personally think this comment makes sense and isn't, like I've seen a few people get worried about, implying anything new or even especially large about his murder count.

My take, heavily influenced by this post, is that Mikoto has killed three people. The post referenced points out that MeMe shows three murder scenes with discrepancies– using the images they do as reference we can see two clear and notable differences in location, and one scene where the outfit has changed and lacks the hoodie.

(As a side note, if we take that post's proposal as to who committed which murders– one by Mikoto and two afterwards by John– I wonder if this shot from Double with two mannequins next to him implies John's actual kill count? Not particularly relevant to the overall point but I thought it was interesting.)

So... three total murders would technically mean the Kayano system meets the criteria of "three or more" murders to be a serial killer. But I don't actually think it's as bad as a lot of people assumed from Jackalope's words. He's not a super prolific serial killer or anything, only just barely meeting the criteria. Three isn't that big a number in the grand scheme of things, it's just that it's large enough to put him at the top of MILGRAM.

Most other prisoners only have one victim. Haruka, excluding what's implied regarding animal death, appears to only have one human victim, that being the little girl who appears in his MVs. Meanwhile Fuuta, Muu, Mahiru, Kazui, and Amane all have made it pretty clear at this point that they have singular victims– Killcheroy, Rei, Mahiru's boyfriend, Hinako, and Amane's mother, respectively.

This leaves only a few others with unclear victim counts.

Yuno isn't clear on how many abortions she's had, only states that it's her crime and that it was the result of "lots of sugar-daddying". Whether or not she actually got pregnant and had an abortion more than once over the course of the compensated dating is left uncertain. She could be among the prisoners with one murder, or could have multiple.

Kotoko could either have one kill or two kills depending on what you believe about Deep Cover. If I remember right the guy she beats up in the alleyway during Harrow doesn't die, we only see a news article saying he's been hospitalized? I can't find the source on where I saw this though so take it with a grain of salt. The fact she did kill the guy in the hoodie, Kaneshiro, is indisputable.

The question becomes, if she was tried and found innocent for it already before being put in Milgram, was that really all she's in for? Most of Deep Cover takes place afterwards. Either believing the theory that she indirectly or accidentally got Lucky killed, or simply using the circumstantial evidence that it seemed like she was going to hunt down someone else towards the end of the MV and the prisoner card doesn't look like the warehouse she killed Kaneshiro in, I personally believe Kotoko has two victims.

Nobody seems to really know how many people Shidou killed, but it's also pretty heavily suggested that it's a lot, judging by how many people and/or organ donor cards we see in Throw Down and Triage. He is usually assumed to have the most murders out of anyone in Milgram, which I personally agree with.

This leaves us with a kill count ranking that looks something like:

Shidou (many, many victims)

Mikoto (three victims)

Kotoko/Yuno? (one or two victims?)

Everyone Else (one victim)

This puts Mikoto, assumedly with three kills, at the second-highest kill count in Milgram, but Jackalope isn't implying an unreasonably high number by pointing out how far up he is. Nothing more than what was already shown to us in MeMe, anyway.

And while I can't speak on this. the exact wording Jackalope uses in Japanese may not imply he has the most or is at the top anyway, just near it. Which would be consistent with him having second most!

[nellasbookplanet]

Book recs: robots and artificial intelligences

A note: I'm differentiating here between artificial intelligence and transhumanism (such as uploaded consciousnesses and cyborgs), which I intend to make a separate rec post for at a later date.

(Titles marked with * are my personal favorites)

Other book rec posts:

Really cool fantasy worldbuilding, really cool sci-fi worldbuilding, dark sapphic romances, mermaid books, vampire books, portal fantasies

Continue beneath the cut for details on the books!

The Outside by Ada Hoffman*

AKA the book the put me in an existenial crisis. Souls are real, and they are used to feed AI gods in this lovecraftian inspired scifi where reality is warped and artifical gods stand against real, unfathomable ones. Autistic scientist Yasira is accused of heresy and, to save her eternal soul, is recruited by post-human cybernetic 'angels’ to help hunt down her own former mentor, who is threatening to tear reality itself apart.

The Prey of Gods by Nicky Drayden

South African-set scifi featuring gods ancient and new, robots finding sentience, dik-diks, and a gay teen with mind control abilities. An ancient goddess seeks to return to her true power no matter how many humans she has to sacrifice to get there. A little bit all over the place but very creative and fresh.

17776: What Football Will Look Like in the Future by Jon Bois*

A multi-media web novel available to read freely online (which you should do!!). I don't want to give too much away as the initial punch of finding things out is part of the journey, but it's both hilarious and profound as it questions the meaning of humanity and life.

Illuminae (Illuminae Files) by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff*

Young adult told through the medium of transcripts, text messages and the like (this is one of few books where I highly recommend reading a physical copy over a digital as the visual aspect is much more enjoyable like that). After their colony is attacked, the surviving inhabitants flee on space ships, attempting to avoid the pursuing killers while also dealing with a deadly madening plague on board and a ruthless ship AI seemingly losing its mind.

A Closed and Common Orbit (Wayfarers series) by Becky Chambers*

Technically part two of a series, but stands well on its own as the installments are only losely connected (though I recommend reading the first book as well, it's very good). A former ship's AI recently moved into an illegal android body tries to make sense of life as she navigates her way through humans and aliens alike.

The Quiet at the End of the World by Lauren James*

Young adult. After the spread of a global virus causing infertility, teenagers Lowrie and Shen are now the youngest humans alive as the adults around them race to find a cure. As they investigate the ruins of the world, the two come across records from the past, of how grief stricken people turned to raising artificial children in apps and how these 'children' developed, and through these records the two learn of their history. Also has a bisexual main character!

A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk and Robot series) by Becky Chambers

Novella. Long ago, robots, upon gaining sentience, simply laid down their work and walked into the wilderness. Long after, a tea monk looking for purpose follows after them into the wilds, where they come across one of the robots seeking its own sort of answers. While not plotless, this story focuses more on character and vibes over plot. Also has a nonbinary main character and features conversations on gender between human and robot.

All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries) by Martha Wells*

After having hacked its own governor module, SecUnit uses its small amount of new freedom to secretly download and watch as much media as it can between doing its job guarding humans. But when the scientists it’s been charged with keeping safe come under attack, it must make a choice about whether to continue keeping its freedom secret or risk it all to save them. The series features both novellas and full length novels, and balances humor with scathing critique of capitalism.

Machinehood by S.B. Divya

Prudent in the rise of AI and machine learning, Machinehood shows a near future in which humans struggle to find a place on the workforce as more and more jobs are given to AI. Status quo is shaken as a dangerous terrorist group calling itself The Machinehood starts committing attacks. A close look both at the rights of humans in a technologically changing world, and at the rights of AI as their intelligence edges ever closer to full sentience.

The Company of Death by Elisa Hansen*

A wild mix of genres, where a zombie apocalypse has struck and vampires gather up humans to keep their food source from going extinct, a robot travels across America with a young man she's tasked to keep safe, and former-vampire-hunter-recent-zombie Emily teams up with Death himself to stop the apocalypse. Features bi and ace characters! Bonus rec: the author also runs the youtube channel Maven of the Eventide, where she talks about various vampire media. Check it out!

Railhead by Philip Reeve

Young adult. In a future where humanity travel between the stars using not spaceships but a portal-connected system of sentient trains, a young thief and street urchin is hired to steal something off of the Emperor's train.

Being by Kevin Brooks*

Young adult. Cards on the table, I think I was about 14 when I last read this, but it made a strong enough impression that I still think of it as one of my favorite books. After having gone in for a routine exam, doctors make a stunning discovery about Robert Smith: he isn't human. Suddenly hunted, Robert goes on the run as he tries to cope with the fact of his own existence. While I love this book, it gives very few answers to its many mysteries, so don’t go in expecting full explanations.

Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie*

A space opera in which sentient spaceships can walk the ground in stolen human bodies, so called ancillaries. One of these ancillaries, the sole survivor after the complete destruction of her ship and crew, is one the hunt for revenge. This series also does very cool things with gender!

Crier's War by Nina Varela

Who says sci-fi has monopoly on robots? In sapphic YA fantasy Crier's War, artificially created automae have defeated and subjugated humans, who live as second class citizens. Young Ayla goes undercover as a servant, meaning to assassinate automae girl and Sovereign's daughter Crier. This would be easier if the two weren't quick to develop feelings for each other.

My Heart is Human by Reese Hogan

Nine years ago, all complex technology was made illegal. This complicates life for Joel, young transgender single father, as a bionic just uploaded itself into his brain without consent. Scared of losing his daughter, Joel tries to keep the bionic secret while using it to fix his life, but things quickly get more complicated as the bionic gains more and more control of his body. Makes a lot of cool paralells of bodily autonomy to Joel's experiences as a transman. Bonus rec: if you like the general concept of struggling for physical control over one's body with an AI, may I also suggest the (much grittier and gory) movie Upgrade.

The Archive Undying (The Downworld Sequence) by Emma Mieko Candon

In a world where AI gods sometimes lose their minds and take entire populations down with them, Sunai was the only survivor when his god went down. In the 17 years since, he has wandered on his own, unable to either die or age, drowning his sorrows in drink and men. But his attempts to flee his past comes to a stop as he is forced back into the struggle between man and machine. Featuring some pretty wild world building and narrative techniques, this book will definitely confuse you, but it is worth the experience.

Activation Degradation by Marina J. Lostetter

Unit Four comes to life in the middle of a war. The mine it was created to care for is under attack, and as Unit Four is activated with the memories of its predecessors, it is thrown into the task of protecting it at any cost. When the battle leads to its capture, it is prepared to do anything to stop its captors, even as their very presence causes it to question all that it knows.

Sea of Rust by C. Robert Cargill*

Years after the death of the last human at the hands of a robot uprising, Brittle travels the desert searching for machines on the brink of breaking down whose parts she can scavenge. The world is quickly falling apart as a war between OWIs - One World Intelligences - struggle to absorb every robot, willing or not. Bleak and captivating, Sea of Rust features horrible people who you can’t help but root for anyway as they struggle for their lives while questioning the very nature of said lives.

Bonus AKA I haven't read these yet but they seem really cool

Hybrid Child by Mariko Ōhara

Japanese 1990s classic. Follows an escaped AI who can take on the form of the people it has consumed.

World Running Down by Al Hess

Follows a powerful AI that has been forced into an android body against its will.

The Thousand Year Beach by Hirotaka Tobi

Set in a virtual world populated by AIs, meant as a resort for human guests who stopped showing up over a thousand years ago, leaving the AIs on their own.

And Shall Machines Surrender by Benjanun Sriduangkaew

Novella. Machines are the gods and rulers of the Dyson sphere Shenzhen, where humans live in luxury and strive to become host bodies for future AIs.

After On by Rob Reid

Phluttr is a social media and a person, potential hero and potential villain, holder of the secrets of all her users.

Annie Bot by Sierra Greer

Annie Bot was designed to be a perfect girlfriend, but as she learns all the more about being human, perfection becomes all the more distant.

Honorary mentions AKA these didn't really work for me but maybe you guys will like them:

The Lives of Puppets by T.J. Klune, Machines Like Me by Ian McEwan, Barbary Station by R.E. Stearns, The A.I. Who Loved Me by Alyssa Cole, Medusa Uploaded by Emily Devenport

[caelanfrostfounder]

//I left all my old journals at home intentionally - but father saw fit to, so very kindly, send me them in a data mass last night. I don't doubt they're loaded with spyware so I managed to load it into college hardware first, not my personal devices. Got a couple entries I actually want to keep, the rest is the same garbage I've been leaving in my "private" college partition. Going to transcribe one optically onto this device, nice and airgapped. Father always said I can't forget this lesson so I won't.

//[WholeBlock]

- Date: Gneiss 3 7579 (10 Throne years ago)

- Source: Journal Caelan Frostfounder, audio recording transcript

I'm freezing.

I don't think that's a joke either this is the coldest I've ever felt, they said my augs would be pushed to the edge but I don't think they're keeping up.

Don't stop. They always say stopping is what gets you. Sleep during the day, stay up during the night. I can do this. Father did this, everyone else did this.

Recording my thoughts might help while this survival heater cycles up.

It's right after my 14th birthday, a few days after the solstice. Winter is properly started. Which is hard for me because I'm finally of the age where I have to take some responsibility and I need to survive my nights out here.

So, the solstice celebration - standard. Parties, everyone mingling, the first building of the year. Not the year the way Karrakis figures it but the year here. Ever since we've been nobles we've always done everything to show the people we lead them for good reasons. So, the first building. First new structure erected in the capital every year needs a half liter of Frostfounder blood. Sometimes used to quench steel, sometimes in the mortar. It's symbolic.

It could have been anyone in the family but father insisted - first year I was eligible, so I had to volunteer at the ceremony. Hardly got to enjoy the party I felt woozy and I'm not good at needles, and they said it should be replaced by the time the retrieval team comes for me.

I am. So cold.

I've got two days of rations, the heater, the tent and a survival kit - I'm out here for four days. I can either stay put and ration, "the path of preservation" or I can risk my calorie budget on a hunt, "the path of expansion".

Every bloody thing has to be a lesson I am so cold.

- system note: pause of 3 minutes 6 seconds -

Not everyone s-survives. Great uncle Ambrose died out here, and I think one of my cousins didn't make it last week. Family won't say anything.

- system note: pause of 1 minute 16 seconds -

Fucking thing isn't getting warmer - I think they broke it on purpose. If I shut it down I'll have to let it cool before I try to fix it. But if I leave it I'm only getting a trickle of warmth.

I've got four hours before my core temperature drops far enough to start causing trouble. Probably two and a half if I shut this thing down.

I... I think I can do that. Half an hour to cool, that gives me two hours to pull it apart and find the problem. Barely any time to slap it back together and actually get to a civil temperature. Going to save charge and record later.

- Recording paused for 00:03:40:21 -

Passions fucking below they sabotaged me. A full quarter of the converter coils are just busted. That's what was causing the slowdown and draining the core - I've got it as good as it's going to get but it's still only -25°C in the tent. I'm just barely below indefinite survival tolerances.

Fucking family. Always going on about how we have to suffer with our workers but we don't fucking make them do this.

Can't sit this one out - the calorie budget is too lean.

Fucking. Fuck. Another choice they made for me.

Fishing could work if I could break through the ice pack but I think that's a nonstarter - finding a fissure might work but by now everything is frozen solid. Okay, trapping. Declan taught that back home but I don't have much practice. I'll head north, should be a few smaller herbivores around the coast. They didn't tell me where the fuck they put me but the carrier was heading just about west, If I'm not lucky the shore is more than two days away - but if I follow the polar trio I should keep on a northern heading.

Of course they wouldn't give me a compass. Assholes.

- System shutdown -

- Gneiss 4 7579 -

Still on the ice pack when I had to set the tent up. I'm on three quarters rations - fuck I do not want to die out here.

Declan always says conserving energy is important. Sun just came up so I'm going to get some rest.

- Recording paused for 00:07:02:55 -

Balls balls balls balls it is cold. Storm started some time in the afternoon - I've got to get mobile, going to try cranking the heater down - had it too hot yesterday and you can see where it singed fur.

- System Shutdown -

- Gneiss 4 7579 -

Okay. Fuck. Okay. Got a few traps set up around some burrows, watering holes, and some of the scrub brush the herbivores around here go for. Got enough food to get me moving tomorrow but that's it. Was so nice to see the forest - the trees aren't helping much but I'm out of the worst of the wind. Still had to set up in a clearing - off chance a snow drift fell on the tent that'd be it. Cutting into sleep time but I fucking need that food.

//Fuck this. Transcribing the rest later.

[rollie-pollie-ollie]

MegAnna Blurb #1

So, I learned recently that braids were a very important part of Russian history. They were used to represent honor and respect, but they also represented your relationship status. And that's where things get very interesting for Meganna. Cause in all of Anna's cosmetics she has either buzz cut hair or very short hair. Something that would be unheard of in Russia when she was alive. So, one of two possibilities happened with her story. Either dbd didn't bother looking into Russian history (the most likely option) or there is a lore reason. Thinking of a lore reason, what if her father was drafted into the war and passed causing her mother to move away from others and cut her hair? This would allow huntress to know about the hair system but also be comfortable around short hair.

But meeting Meg, someone whose base cosmetics are not one, not two, but three braids? Yeah, that would break her mind. Is that redhead like her mother and lost her spouse? Or does Meg not want a spouse in the first place? What in the world do three braids mean? I feel like that would be a question that would be on the back of huntress's mind but not something that would bother her enough to distract her from her hunt. At least the first time. But it would sit there and fester. What is the meaning of the three braids that this little fox wears?

It would finally boil over during a partially irritating match with Anna managing to kill all the other survivors except for the little runner who managed to escape her grasp each time. But with the entity on her side and spawning the hatch right in front of her. It was only a matter of time before Meg was cornered and downed. With her eyes shut, waiting for the axe to her head. Imagine Meg's surprise when instead a hand reaches over and gently grabs one of her braids. Her first instinct would be to freeze. To let the massive, axe-wielding woman do as she pleases. The louder part of her screamed to try to run away while she had a chance. So, gathering all of her energy Meg would book it, deciding there was no way to make it the door in time and wanting to go out on her own terms. Not realizing that in her chase one of her braids had fallen.

It wouldn't be until Meg was under the gentle glow of the campfire until the campfire and a friend's soft reminder that her hair was half down. Not having the energy to do it herself, She graciously took her friend's offer to braid it for her; even if it was just a simple two-style braid. It felt nice to have someone do her for her. Small tears welled up in her eyes thinking that the last person to her hair was her mother. But that's who she was fighting for and now was not the time to focus on that. After all, they could have another trail any minute now.

-------

Luck would have it that Meg wouldn't be pulled into a trail for a good long while. A well-deserved break for her. But it would be just her luck that the next trail she would get would be with the one killer that she was the most eager to avoid. And for some reason, this match would be especially brutal. The Huntress targeting her no matter how badly her teammates tried to take chase or how many distractions there were. The huntress only had eyes for Meg that round. Normally having the attention of a 7-foot-muscled woman doesn't sound that bad, but when you add the murderous ramage it gets a whole lot worse. It would be the most difficult match Meg would've had with the huntress to date. Every swing of the axe held so much more rage than Meg was used to.

And the only thing that Meg could think was what caused this sudden change, not realizing she was wearing the change. Huntress couldn't explain the weird feeling in her chest after seeing the little fox wear the two braids. A part of her couldn't care less. It wasn't the first time a survivor had a spouse before the entity took them. But there was something about seeing that the little fox was taken and having the answer about the three braids that made her feel like there was a pit in the middle of her stomach. And what better way to fix it than to get rid of the problem that was causing it in the first place? So yes, she targeted the redhead out of the game, but it was for a good reason. She thinks. So why does her stomach still hurt?

Huntress would finally get her answer one night when doing her nightly walks around the forest. Not expecting anything but managing to find an injured little fox. Humming to herself, she would be in a dilemma. Take the injured one home or put her out of her hurting now. Huntress's thinking would get interrupted by an unexpected shout from the fox and seeing the fight still in her, huntress figured it wouldn't hurt to take her in and tend to her wounds. After all, there is no point in a chase if it would be boring.

------

Over time the idea of chase would slowly leave Anna's mind as she grew closer to Meg. Living together with someone was something Anna missed. Being able to take care of someone without them fighting back was a dream of her's that she was finally able to fulfill. But even with the nice atmosphere between them, it didn't help ease the weird feeling Anna had whenever she looked at the braids on the other's head. It was a silly thing but why does she wish there was only one braid...

All good things must come to an end though and it would end with the most basic of questions. "Do you miss your husband?"

It would be a question to take Meg completely off guard. Taking care of her mother took all of her time, and she had no energy left for a partner at the end of the day. Much less energy for a man. So, she answered honestly. She never had a husband and doesn't have a partner, only a mother hopefully waiting for her at home. Judging by the way Anna slammed her hands down, that was probably the wrong answer. "Why Lie", would be shouted from the other side of the table.

If there was something that Meg couldn't stand, it was being called a liar. "Why would you think I'm lying?", would be her instant response.

The odd hand jester Anna made towards her wouldn't be enough to answer her question and Meg would be sure to let her know that. But by the way, Anna stormed out it was clear Meg wouldn't be getting her answer anytime soon. And maybe that was for the best. Cause soon enough, she was once again back in a trial and once again she was against a very angry Huntress. Except this time she knew there was more behind the mask and this time she was determined to not fall to her axe.

-------

Collapsing on a fallen log was one of the best feelings a survivor could have, it meant they lived. That they survived. But this victory was tainted with a sour taste in her mouth. And it wasn't just her missing huntress's cooking already. "Missing your girlfriend already?"

Snapping her head up to see Nea standing in front of her was a surprise but a welcome one. After all, it gave her someone to rant to, someone that wouldn't judge her. So with that one sentence Meg ranted and ranted. From the fact that the huntress could talk and was a lot kinder outside of a trial, to the fact she was also a great cook. All that ranting would eventually lead her back to the last conversation she had with the huntress.

"I just don't get it, why would she think I had a husband. I don't even have a ring!", barely audible from the way Meg had her head stuffed in between her hands.

A laugh from the other would have her peeking out from between them with a massive frown. Luckily her friend would respond before she could even open her mouth to scold her for laughing at a time like this.

"It's your hair dummy", Nea responded between laughs.

Only getting angrier at the comment, Meg was tempted to get up and strangle Nea herself. When Nea stood up and walked behind Meg slowly taking out her braids with care.

"She's Russian, right? Wearing your hair in two braids is something only married women do. You're supposed to wear it one braid if you're single"

And with that single sentence and small braiding session, it was like Nea casted a spell or something. No one could miss the way the huntress stopped mid-chase after taking a look a Meg, and this time Meg stood there as the giant woman reached a slow hand out to hold her braid. With a small huff, the huntress went back on her way and Meg couldn't wait for this trial to be over. After all, she was really hungry.

[akrh-legacy]

【SWTOR】Theron Shan / Vencenri - After Date Night

Warning: I wrote this story in my language by myself. GEMENI translated it to the English version and fixed it a little bit by me :P. Hope you don't mind it. If the translation is weird, please feel free to tell me. I'll try to fix it.

Relationships: Theron Shan / Vencenri (SWTOR OC)

Original Language

"Theron Shan." Raising a hand to use the Force to throw a lump of coal into the distance, Vencenri finally spoke after a long pause. "Is this also part of your planned romantic date?"

"Searching for past passions together in the pitch-black depths of the Mek-Sha Mining Facility." He imitated the narration of a common Galactic HoloNet travel advertisement, his tone as smooth and deceptive as a Devaronian trying to swindle someone. Vencenri leaned against a large rock nearby, somewhat tired after nearly two hours of fruitless "treasure hunting." "Hmm—I must say, it's a very impressive surprise."

"…Does your 'passion' refer to my datapad, or the state of our relationship?" Theron turned stiffly to look at Vencenri. He'd bet that the situation he was facing now was definitely worse than any crisis the Eternal Alliance had encountered. If their greatest challenge so far was the system-destroying threat of Valkorion, then now, he was facing a cosmic crisis that could annihilate even time and space.

"What do you think?" Vencenri pretended to ponder. He knew his idiot spy boyfriend was nervous, but as a small act of revenge—something a Jedi shouldn't do, yet as a boyfriend, his actions were perfectly justified—he unhesitatingly moved away from his resting spot, flicking his fingers to use the Force to toss away more small pieces of coal. To someone else, it might look like he was sulking, but he knew he was actually quite pleased.

In response, Theron Shan was screaming internally. He had to use all the agent skills he had honed throughout his life to try and break through the current impasse, only to find himself completely helpless. This was terrible, stars. When it came to relationships, he had only ever had acts in the missions. This kind of relationship, where he sincerely gave his heart and soul into another person's hands, this was his first and only time!

"Ven?"

Vencenri didn't respond, which was driving Theron almost crazy. He paced anxiously, unsure whether he should first let the other man cool down or step forward to comfort him. Seriously, why did they have to come down here to find the datapad he threw away? Oh, of course, they knew the reason. Because the Eternal Alliance's top agent's datapad was a treasure trove of secrets. Even if the chance of it falling into enemy hands was close to zero, they couldn't risk anything. He had even just sworn to protect his most important boyfriend in the universe.

Why didn't he just delete the data and access codes before throwing away the datapad! Theron Shan, you really are an idiot spy! The kind who doesn't deserve to be a boyfriend!

Theron continued to scream in his mind, his face now certainly very distorted. He watched the figure in front of him, who showed no sign of forgiving him, and contemplated a hundred and one possible breakup scenarios.

However, when he saw Vencenri's body trembling—a common reaction caused by crying—he panicked and rushed forward to hug his boyfriend tightly.

"I know you'll never forgive me, but—huh?"

After feeling the warmth from behind, Vencenri finally couldn't help but burst out laughing. In fact, the Force disturbances caused by Theron's series of internal dramas had prevented him from concentrating on his revenge from the very beginning.

Because Theron looked so pitiful.

Even today, long after their relationship was established, Theron still couldn't let go of his responsibilities, always putting the mission first. That was one of the reasons why Theron Shan was the Eternal Alliance's top agent, and Vencenri knew it very well. He also knew that he, like Theron, couldn't give up everything for the other. Although he had broken a lot of Jedi Codes long ago, at his core, a Jedi was still a Jedi, and maintaining the peace of the galaxy was always his primary mission.

He stepped back from the dazed Theron's embrace and stood beside him instead.

"Where's the illumination probe?"

"Huh? Oh." Still recovering from his confusion, Theron touched the control on his wrist, directing the illumination probe to move in front of them. Then, he raised the probe's altitude, expanding the illuminated area.

Theron's datapad lay in the center of the illuminated area, severely damaged.

But what caught Theron's attention even more was the Aurebesh lettering formed by the coal pieces nearby. He pieced them together, recorded them in his mind, and tried to analyze the word "idiot" to predict whether he was about to face a brutal breakup. But no matter how he analyzed it, all his conclusions pointed to his imminent disappearance from the universe.

Seeing Theron's lack of reaction, Vencenri, once again understanding the other's thoughts, let out a light chuckle. He stepped forward, picked up the broken datapad, and placed it in Theron's arms.

"Has my idiot spy boyfriend malfunctioned like the datapad?" he said, looking into Theron's eyes. "That would be terrible. Theron Shan is one of a kind, irreplaceable."

He gave his usual smile again, waiting for Theron to come back to his senses.

"…So, you're not breaking up with me?" After a moment of silence, Theron finally asked his question.

"Stars." Vencenri sighed. He knew what Theron was thinking, but he didn't expect his idiot boyfriend to be this much of an idiot. Had his act of revenge been too much? Force, he really should just stick to the Jedi Code and never think about revenge. Who knew the Alliance's top agent wouldn't understand his little joke?

"Seriously, Theron? After everything we've been through, do you think I'd break up with you over this?"

"Yeah, no, I mean—"

"Theron Shan." He dropped his smile, his expression turning serious as he met Theron's gaze.

"I know, I know." Theron half-raised his hands, his rationality slowly returning. "I'm sorry, I'm just a little nervous."

He saw Vencenri cross his arms, waiting for his explanation. He knew he had to make things clear now; it was their agreement.

"Today is our first date." If you didn't count the times with laser guns or lightsabers nearby, or when enemies might suddenly pop out to say hello, this was indeed their first peaceful, undisturbed, and purely recreational date. "But I messed it up."

"It's hard for me not to think about your feelings. If I were you, I wouldn't be happy either." Theron exhaled, fiddling with the completely broken datapad in his hands, trying to speak calmly. "Of course, I know you wouldn't mind these things—I mean, you're always very tolerant, so these things rarely affect you."

"But I want to do better, you know? This is the only thing I can do for you." He raised his head, looking at Vencenri. His boyfriend was smiling back at him.

Vencenri reached out and touched Theron's shoulder, saying gently, "You've already done far better than I have, Theron."

-

After returning to Odessen from Mek-Sha, the two covered in coal dust drew a questioning look from the Sith advisor. She used her eyes to interrogate the spy behind the Commander, and the spy simply spread his hands, revealing the broken datapad. This gave the Sith advisor a preliminary understanding of the situation.

The Commander then stepped forward to fill in the details (omitting the agent's inner thoughts of course; he wouldn't do that), which widened the Sith advisor's golden eyes in surprise and greatly changed her impression of the spy.

"I never thought Theron would do something like this," Lana couldn't help but exclaim.

"Yeah, I also never thought my position could be higher than his datapad," Vencenri chimed in.

"Hey! The datapad was never more important than you!" Theron protested vehemently.

"Then, to commemorate this, let's hang it in the Commander's room." Although it was more like a warning or reminder, who knows? Lana suggested playfully, taking the broken datapad from Theron's hand.

By the time Theron started comparing his past glorious deeds to see if any were more worthy of commemoration than this incident, the broken datapad had already been framed and hung on the wall of Vencenri's room.

[whiskeyworen]

Secrets of the Obscure: Lost Commander

Playing through the first sections of Secrets of the Obscure, it got me thinking.

The Commander is lost.

Since the beginning of the game, when we take hold of them, they've had some kind of mission, some kind of goal. It started out small; help out in Shaemoor when things go bad. Or end a nasty Inquest prank/assault by destroying their cube golem. Or help put down Lord Barradine's ghost (again). Or literally defend the Dream from the psychic marring the Nightmare Court are trying to inflict on it in the hopes of spoiling the Dream into the Nightmare. Or taking part in a celebratory hunt and taking down the biggest Ice wurm to date.

From there it just snowballed for them with the Personal story, leading up to joining an Order, meeting their mentor… losing their mentor… Creating the pact and eventually bringing down Zhaitan.

And it kept going from there. One crisis after another. One war after another. Friends gained. Friends lost. Enemies found. Enemies ended. World saved, again, and again, and again.

Finally, things are falling into a nominal peace. Oh there's skirmishes and stuff. There will always be strife. But the big stuff? The world is starting to slowly move past it.

Human and Charr not only have a tenuous peace treaty; the heads behind the resistance to that treaty are GONE. Almost every main legion is headed by someone ameniable to peace, to a new way of life.

The Nightmare Court, while not gone, doesn't seem to have the violence they used to. Oh they still tempt the new sprouts to join them, to indulge in pain and decadence and rebellion… but with Faolain dead, the guiding source for their brutality is gone. Maybe they'll be trouble in the future, but not nearly to the degree Faolain turned them into.

The Inquest have lost base after base, including a Rata. It's unknown what their command structure is like now, or where other bases are, but they seem to at least be keeping their heads down. And with the Arcane Eye taken down, they don't have anyone on the inside anymore, to cover up their misdeeds.

The White Mantle are dead or badly scattered, with no real hope of reforming.

The Svanir have lost their totem beast, if not their lives. If they still linger on, they're no longer the power they tried to be.

Even Joko is finally dead. One of the biggest damned threats to the world, someone who would have killed and turned everyone if given a chance, is now Elder Dragon burps.

The Gods are gone, never to return. The one that tried to is dead.

Through all this, the Commander struggled, trying to save as many as they could. Eventually rising to become the Symbol of the desire for peace and stability.

And it finally happened.

But what do we find? The Commander is… lost. Everyone they knew is either dead, retired, has moved on to positions where they can no longer 'go on adventures'. The threats that brought them all together are gone. Now it's just the wind-down. Fix broken things, find the lives they left behind to fight their fight.

Except the Commander.

They don't have anything else. Their whole existence for the last 10 years has been nigh-constant fighting, threat, intrigue, near-dying, and ACTUAL dying.

Everyone else has moved on. But the Commander can't. What can they do?

It's so terribly sad. I listened to my Commander, Cyrus. My own self-insert. Walking around Salma district. He was relieved that things were peaceful, but you could tell he didn't feel at home. He didn't feel at home, at HOME. Because it wasn't home anymore. It was just a place he protected for a long time.

When he was trying out Taimi's new phone system (I just think of it as the smartphone system), with each call, it was clear that everyone had moved on but him. They'd all found lives to life, new purposes, new loves…. old loves…

And here you have him, standing alone in the street, unnoticed by everyone but a nosey reporter from Cantha. At a loss for what to do with himself.

Going back a step, even the triple-'date' Taimi set up to help Rama was awkward as hell. It wasn't the Commander's idea; they got hijacked into it. Even had their date pretty much picked out for them. As pleasant as it was, and as relaxed as it made them in the end, it was an oddity in their life. When was the last time they'd had a date? Before the Personal Story, somewhere? Maybe never? Was that the FIRST date the Commander had ever had?

It just kinda made me sad that, they knew they were basically going through the motions of 'normal life', because it wasn't normal to THEM. Trying to fit in to a world that no longer needed them.

If it wasn't for accidentally stumbling onto the Astral Ward, I don't think they would have been able to settle into a normal life.

But it still doesn't end there; accidentally brought into association with the Ward, they run into perhaps the ONE other person who might understand that sense of emptiness, that loss of the sense of home. Zojja.

And in her usual faintly self-centered way, you find out she blames the Commander partly for not being there when she needed someone. The one person who not only would have been there if contacted, but ALSO needed someone to confide in, to take some of the weight off them…

It hurt to hear Cyrus very slowly say "We would have come. I know I would've." There was pain there. Like 'You really thought we'd abandon you, so you immediately discounted us.'

So here's Zojja, the last of the people he knew from being the Commander who hasn't yet disappeared… and she's telling him that if she Ascends to Wizard, she'll lose memories, or they'll be come dull and unimportant. That the Zojja that comes out the other side might not even view him as a friend anymore.

And the Commander, already knowing he's probably going to lose his last friend, can only offer an understanding, painful smile and tell her that no matter what, he'll support her, even if she doesn't recognize him anymore.

They'll call him Wayfinder in the Ward… but it's just a new war front. A new rank. A new title. And he'll have to start over again.

At least he'll have R'tchikk to remind him of a past that's already starting to fade away in Tyria.

Everyone in the Ward knows of the Commander; they've been watching through their crystal balls, wondering if the Commander was a big enough threat that they'd need to quietly eliminate them. But now that the Commander is right there, the Ward is going to use them as a new weapon.

And we all know the Commander is just going to accept that this is what they're gonna have to do because… what's the alternative? At least they know how to fight.

[kalianos]

It is a little past midnight. Have brainworms.

god I remember when windows 8 came out, immediately bought and installed it to troubleshoot Intuit Pro-Series. I was a chaotic force for good in some weird ways back then. Also Ironically working for Intuit was the first time I stopped hanging out in online spaces. ANYWAY!

Higher level techs were spreading the word that neither program would work on it. ProSeries and Lacerte (Corpo Tax Software) weren't built to handle Mobile Tablets. Day 1 of tax season that year and I had to walk a tax preparer installing pro-series on a windows tablet.

The Higher tech was confused as hell how I did it....apparently they couldn't understand how windows would just interpret the finger touch press as a mouse click. Now to right click, that was moon magic to me back then. Though I think they just wanted a mobile way to make tax sheets and input data then just slam it over to their desktop in the office/at home. You would be amazed how many people had this tax preparer software on their home computers. Hell I remember someone who had this expensive stuff and bought it every year just to do their own taxes and some of their friends.

Also obligatory, fuck Intuit. Never use Turbotax or H&R block to file what can be done for free. I gave away so much free stuff when I was in Turbotax even though I knew they were doing it on purpose to bait people to stay in their ecosystem before they "shut down" our ability to give out stuff for free. You can only word things in so many ways to avoid getting nabbed by the monitor police.

:V Call centers man, we had a department in one corner of this open office floor plan dedicated to monitoring us, recording our calls, and making notes on anything we did.

Randomly remembered this when someone was bringing up how Windows 11 wasn't the worst Windows OS and people were jumping on how Windows 8 was terrible and windows vista doesn't work on low powered systems. (Hey! Let's ship an OS that works best at minimum 2gb of ram! On systems that barely had 512mb! Because that was listed minimum spec. What Could Go Wrong?)

Double fun irony. That call center job was how I ended up making friends, learning more social skills, accidentally stealing someone else's girlfriend by being more outgoing and out there. Discovering the joy of dating someone who used to be a runway model and artist in new york who was more than a little obsessed with sucking dick. Older women man...definitely confirmed.

The downsides of having said person be your girlfriend when you are an immature little shit of a man and there was a good....seven year gap I think in our ages? Then again she was on Instagram constantly after me with a new guy on her shoulder every month after that...so minor gold star for being the longest relationship?

AAaaaaaaaaand figuring out the age old problem of "YOU SHOULD NEVER ROOM WITH SOMEONE YOU WERE FRIENDS WITH IN HIGH SCHOOL" due to the whole....situation that made my last year of freedom a descent into hell and depression that took almost a year and a half to escape. You know like, you friend is leaving the military...that he asked you to join up with him in....and you get dumped out leading to two year depression spiral where you took a call center job out of desperation to do SOMETHING with your life before you wasted away into a worthless pile of shit.

ONLY for him to show back up, joining the National Guard, and after apartment hunting for less than a week shooting down all your suggestions and saying we need to get this luxury 2 bedroom apartment that just opened up in this brand new apartment complex which..pricey, and doesn't include utilities. :D WHAT COULD GO WRONG!? Hey turns out....food costs money.

Walking in from work one day planning on changing to go out with friends to a bar only to walk into a big fat shirtless old guy sitting on your couch. Having to shoo said friends away from the door from the master bedroom. Only to find out hours later that it was your roomate/bestfriends dad who was now...crashing on your couch for a while?

Also not paying the bills. Getting a GI Bill to go to a mildly scammy tech school to learn HVAC and then...not...doing that....and basically flat out not getting a job. I can not stress how pissed off and stressed out I was for an entire year straight. My natural light brown/blonde streak in my hair got a few white hairs in it from that experience.

Though I am not going to lie it was a wonderful experience. KNOWING that yet again...as I was paying for half the rent, the electric, the internet, I THINK there was a gas bill as well? $100 easy a month on electric in 2012 was kinda hell for my area but oh well. KNOWING that he came to me saying he couldn't pay the water bill. So I needed to cover it. And me pulling a Luane from King of the Hill moment. I paid my fair share, I can live without water for a bit. (I was already having to drive to my parents house every week to do laundry sooooo....yeah we didn't have a washer and dryer for most of the year.)

THE HILARIOUS THRILL OF JOY I FELT WHEN I LEARNED ON MY DAY OFF AS MY ROOMMATE COMES IN HALF COVERED IN SOAP FROM HIS SHOWER TO TELL ME THE WATER WAS SHUT OFF! AHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Schadenfreude. Justified.

The amount of times I had to cover all the bills and the Rent...sometimes completely in a 12 month lease was hellish.

So hellish I somehow managed my money to not go into debt back then. Instead I almost to the Penny Zero'd out myself. Including renting the Uhaul to transport my stuff back into my parents house.

OH and him running to the office to grab the deposit money and just leaving with it to buy an engagement ring. That also sucked. Not like I didn't know where a lot of the money was dissapearing to. When you hear stories from friends about him going to a certain fake Australian restaurant and tipping the waitress personally over $100....in 2012. And constantly making us go back to that restaurant to specifically get her and tip her more money.

.....ah memories. Oh yeah and I got invited to a threesome around that time. Probably should have said yes since I knew them but oh well.

And to think I wondered when I was half my age if I would even survive up today. All the things I would have missed out on experiencing. Never was suicidal. Just genuine curiosity in some morbid fashion if I would someone how just be able to live as my crazy stunted self.

....We own a mower now. We have to fix a few more things on it and the tires definitely need to be replaced but it mows better. And now my girlfriend doesn't need to drive her parent's mower down the highway just so we can cut the lawn. It was worth it for piece of mind.

A handful of people I went to school with have apparently tried to reach out to me a few times. At least one of them died a month after doing so. Never opened that message to find out what they said and that was about a decade ago now. We didn't interact much but I am pretty sure he just thought I was annoying dumbass. Wonder if I should completely erase that.

Think I'll title this brainworms or something. I kinda just let my fingers typed whatever came to mind. This was fun.

:V May you not be bored to death if for some reason you read this. I should add a cut not to take up space. Yis yis.

[kickingitwithkirk]

Restless Man Pt II

Summary: Beau Arlen finds himself in the middle of a case with more twists than a country road.

Pairing: Beau Arlen x Reina Cetanwakuwa-Stanley

Word Count: 1681

Warnings: cursing, show level violence, derogatory remarks (some in native languages) poisoning, murder

A/N: The inklings for this started the first time I heard Jensen singing Restless Man. This work is partially from historical information and canon elements from the Big Sky series.

*Set after the series finally 3:13 That Old Feeling.

A/N II: All Native American words/sentences in this part are Lakota resourced from freelang.net and glosbe.com *some algorithmically generated on these sites.

*Translation:  lala -grandfather  Cetanwakuwa -attacking hawk or to hunt and chase

A/N III: Biology isn't my strong suit, so all references likely have errors.

*divider by @firefly-graphics

*no beta -all mistakes are mine

Pt I masterlist

5:30 AM

Arlen pulls into the bank's back park lot and spots Reina sitting on an old pickup’s hood. Parking next to it, he climbs out and with hands on hips snaps, “Why the hell are we here at this ungodly hour?”

“Look who’s running a quart low on civilized this morning.”

“What the hell does that even mean?” 

“It means you’re a grumpy asshole till you get some lead in your system.” Hopping off the hood, Reina hands him a to-go cup, “So fuel up Texas.”  Arlen catches a whiff of the fresh roast bouquet and a far more civilized thank you darling slips past his lips making her eyes roll. 

“And to answer your question being here at the ass-crack of dawn ensures what we're doing doesn’t get out any time soon. Oh, by the way, I flunked charm school so nothing stops me from being an asshole darling.”

***

The bank manager removed their key grumbling as they left. 

“Obviously, not a morning person either,” Arlen commented while pulling the large rectangular box from its cubby and placing it on the table opens its hinged lid revealing an assortment of documents. Picking up the top one he reads the contents. “This is a medical file dated almost eight months ago. Gerald started seeing a Dr. Johnson in Billings who ordered..wow, that’s a boatload of tests.”

Reina began reading over his shoulder, “This doesn’t make sense, Lala Gerald was healthy as a horse for a man his age and preferred the healer over western medicine.” Handing it to her he starts going through the others. “Found the test results. Great, it’s one of those percentages per whatever. Personally, I like the connect the dots ones.” She points to the first results. “These here are chemicals you’d normally find on a working ranch. They’re within the safe margins for exposure.” Arlen was surprised, “You know how to read this?” 

“What? You thought I was only a fabulous derrière?” 

Arlen tilted his head a certain way letting his expression say it all. “Man, you got that dad’s done with your shit look down pat!” He’s still unamused. “Okay, I worked for the mobile vet a few summers, taught me how to do work-ups on the livestock.” Reina goes back to explaining the results then pauses at the end. 

“Huh. These look like medicinals from the healer, but the lab could not identify all the plants used.” She gives Arlen a contemplative look, “You got anything on your plate this morning?”

“Nothing pressing Hoyt can’t handle. Why?” 

“I have an idea where to find out what these could be. Your truck or mine Texas?”

Montana State University

Bozeman 

“Remind me again why we drove all this way?” A tense Arlen dodges another Twalking student in the crowded corridor. “Because these people won’t know me or my family connections like in Helena. Here we are,” Reina opens the door under the Biotechnology Department sign. 

“Dr. Newsom?” The person writing on a whiteboard turns. “Hello, I’m Sheriff Beau Arlen. Dean Wilson said you might be able to help with some toxicology report results.” 

Arlen hands over the file and the doctor skims over the pages, “I take it’s the last one set marked inconclusive you’re inquiring about?” “Yes. My partner here believes they might be compounded from some types of plants?” 

Newsom seemed impressed and wrote out the information on the board then stepped back studying it. “Would you mind if I called in another colleague to consult on this?”

***

Sometime later 

“Everything all right?” Reina inquires when Arlen walks back into the room. “Hoyt was checking in.” Retaking his seat, he hears her mutter, “Some things never change.” 

“What the hell does that mean?”

“That your girlfriend can’t stand not knowing where you are, who you’re with, and when you’ll be back.” 

“Hoyt’s my undersheriff.…” “…from what I hear, under in the literal sense.” “She’s not my girlfriend or significant other so what's your problem with her?” “It’s always been her problem. Never mine.” Newsom's colleague interrupts their terse discussion. 

“Your assumptions were correct. These here,” circling a few abbreviations, “Are used in many medicinal compounds by the local native healers. Unfortunately, we cannot identify what species they come from because we can’t find any record of the source materials.”

“Hypothetical question,” Reina says, “Could their source be something the People purposely choose not to share but still retain knowledge of how to create?” Arlen shoots her a quizzical look.

“Yes, that is a possible hypothetical. We know from early expeditions writings and verbal stories passed on among native inhabitants that much of their knowledge has been lost due to time and habitats, or intentionally hidden due to subjugation and indoctrination.”

Arlen's thumbs' tapping became more intense and thirty miles down the road he suddenly detoured his vehicle, Pedro, onto a dirt track. “Umm, do you know whose road we’re on?”

“Not a damn clue! Call it Bob’s Road.”

“Hope Bob doesn’t take a shot for us trespassing.” Arlen slams on the brakes and cuts the engine before shifting in his seat to glare at her, “What with the wild goose chase?”

“Sorry, I don’t….”

 “Don’t bullshit me Reina! I want you to tell me the truth.”

“I needed confirmation.”

“Conformation of what?”

“That you weren’t in on it!” Arlen was taken aback by her insinuation. “You think I had a hand in Gerald’s death?”

“No, in its cover-up!” She climbs out slamming the door shut emphasizing how pissed she was.  “I don't know if you can be trusted AssButt!” A now equally pissed Arlen copies her.  “That why you pulled a subterfuge ‘bout being a Texas Ranger?” His question makes Reina whirl around as he continues. “I know a lotta Montanans still have this old west mentality regarding the law."

“Don’t turn this to be about me!” Reina yells stalking towards him, not stopping till she invades his personal space. "I know about your partner in Houston so let me ask you something. How'd drowning your guilt and shame in booze and other avenues work out for ya?” Arlen's eyes narrow. “Seems you ended up in the same place as every other motherfucker who takes that route. Leaving a trail of collateral damage in your wake including your family.” Arlen's low growl of Leave them outta this only makes her double down. 

“Your ex remarried some guy and moved three states away with your kid to escape the humiliation! And what did you do? You followed them up here like a dog with its tail,” Arlen surges forward, slamming his hands flat on either side of her head, pinning her against the truck's door. His heart hadn’t pounded this hard since trying his damnedest not to kill Buck Barnes for kidnapping his daughter when Reina did something most would consider not only insane but confused the hell outta him by leaning forward so close he could feel her breath caress his lips as she spoke. 

“I bet you’re weighing your options on whether to sock me or kiss me.” Arlen jerks back with such an incredulous expression it makes her chuckle, “I have that effect on people.” 

“No more bullshit Reina! Did you know what that report would say?”

“Had an inkling you helped confirm.” Reina sagged back against the door. “After I left Montana, Lala and I talked practically every day. I knew something was wrong around six months ago when he suddenly stopped video chatting.” She looked up towards the clear blue sky, “I couldn’t get leave. DPS had just sent me to the Del Rio sector to help track down cartel smugglers. You can’t fathom the shit they’re doing, what’s being covered up by the mainstream media and those fuckers in D.C.”  Reina swiped at her eyes.

“I had a few run-ins with cartel elements which was bad enough.” Arlen placed his hand on her shoulder, “I’m truly sorry you didn’t have the chance to say goodbye.” Reina nodded in gratitude, and he asked in a gentler tone, “Do you have any idea why someone would want to do away with Gerald?”

“Have you heard of the new housing development proposed north of the city?” Arlen acknowledged he has. “Did you know the day lala died, the developers submitted an impact study on expanding that small airport in Silver City?” Arlen looked confused. “Helena already has a good-sized airport...what a minute. Why would a suburb need its own airport? It wouldn’t unless it’s a guise for something bigger.”

“Like something that’ll eventually run from outside Helena’s city limits up to the foothills of the Flathead and Lewis and Clark national forests?” Arlen's brow furrowed, “Okay. Excuse me, I need a map,” he opened the passenger door and glove box retrieved one and moves to the hood. “I’m not really familiar with that area,” Reina reaches over, pointing to a smaller valley snug between the mountain ranges.

“Phase one is here. It’s proposed to expand the airport to accommodate more traffic and have its own charter service catering to the financially privileged.”

“Darling, if there’s one thing I know about people with money, they don’t like to be too far from their modern conveniences.” Reina raised an eyebrow, “Well Darling, the deal includes building a luxury resort which will increase the tax base so much it’ll price the current residents living there out so they’ll end up doing what?”

“Sell to the developers who’ll eventually build residences tailored for their clientele.” Arlen shakes his head in disbelief. “Wait, what’s in Phase Two?” Reina’s voice took on a serious note, “I need you to swear on whatever you hold sacred, you’ll keep this under wraps because I could go to jail for possessing this information.” Arlen holds out his hand, “I give you my word.” She takes his offered hand before pulling out her phone and showing him a picture of a scale model representing the future Helena Valley.

“How far would you go if one man was standing in your way of building the next metropolis?”

tbc

SPN TAGS: @donnaintx  @lyarr24  @flamencodiva  @lassie-bird @nancymcl  @spnbaby-67  @leigh70

Dean/Jensen:  @thoughts-and-funnies  @stoneyggirl2  @akshi8278  @beabutterfly987 @smoothdogsgirl

@deans-spinster-witch

[serenenecrosis-twt]

While I appreciate the sentiment, I need you to understand that this is inherently wrong.

It's very difficult to even physically get to libraries in cities underserved by public transit when you are poor. Public transit costs money and time and energy that a person with three jobs who already has to take the bus to and from work doesn't usually have. It's a situation of having one day out of seven off work that you'd rather sleep through than spend on the bus just to go get books. Libraries that are chronically underfunded also close down frequently, don't always have the digital services of larger ones, and have political controversies around book bans and rightist administrators who deface and disappear materials by queer and black creators. It's all well and good to talk about the ease of access from a completely online experience where digital copies of books are removed automatically from your account on the due date, but that completely ignores the major issue of those same poor communities being disproportionately impacted by late fees on in person materials and services.

A big city library may have supportive queer and black staff, a huge selection of books, no late fees, robust digital services, free interlibrary loans, and be directly near a major transit hub, while a library in a rural area may be physically hard to access, have pay-to-play interlibrary loans, little to no digital services, charge 50¢ per day per late item, a tiny selection of heavily censored and restricted materials, and an openly hostile staff. And rural areas are disproportionately poor. Add all that on top of the fact that the number of people who are even aware and appreciative of libraries and other public services is dwindling and explicitly discouraged by the American school system, and all libraries are systematically underfunded by the government.

Imagine you are poor and disabled, nobody in your school even likes the library, your teachers don't value it, it's a struggle to access it, it's only open from 9am-3pm Monday through Wednesday and no weekends because they don't have a budget for any more staff, the materials are censored, the staff they do have is politically hostile, it's dirty and smells weird because they don't have money for a full time janitor, it's jam-packed with underserved homeless people for the short hours it's open, materials from other libraries cost money, they don't offer digital services (you can't even afford home wifi to use them if they did), and you can't check out any new items until you find the book you lost and pay your late fees.

The capitalist system in the US Regime systematically seeks to make libraries obsolete, shut them down, and replace them with for-profit services. Every good thing about libraries that exists, exists under conditions of extreme adversity, and are unequally distributed in an openly classist and politically biased manner.

There is no 'good will hunting' solution to extreme poverty. It's actually not possible to fly over a fence by pulling on your bootstraps. There are no degrees or job offers for what you can learn at a library. Even if you can leverage the reading comprehension of a dogshit public school to teach yourself advanced maths or science with library books, you're not going to solve a problem on a college whiteboard as the overnight janitor and get talent scouted into a six figure job. All that you can achieve by going to the library as a poor person is becoming a well-read poor person who is hyperaware of how utterly fucked you are.

There are millions of hood scholars and ex-con chess grandmasters who work at McDonald's with no prospects of life improvement. Many just flat out kill themselves because they know that there's no escape.

I hate anti-intellectualism as much as the next person, and yes, people who espouse it are obnoxious and outspokenly wrong about most things. But at the end of the day, this phenomenon is a direct result of the internal material conditions of the US Regime, and people who choose to be willfully ignorant are doing so because it's a better survival mechanism than being educated and helpless in the face of the crushing weight of a reality that most people cannot psychologically handle.

To endorse bootstrap exceptionalism as a solution to a problem that requires violent mass revolution, the complete upheaval of the status quo, and a top to bottom restructuring of the state to fix, is possibly even more ethically bankrupt than enjoying marvel movies or having broke opinions about women's makeup.

ever since i got access to american library cards thanks to tumblr user anneemay (pbuh) 2 weeks ago ive lost even the 3% sympathy i had for americans crying ofc we’re stupid and illiterate our schools suck!!! because you assholes have had FREE ACCESS to THOUSANDS of books and audiobooks and classic films this ENTIRE TIME you’ve been blaming your schools for your elected ignorance!!! from my home in India I’ve listened to eight audiobooks and watched half of cronenberg’s oevre and I’m watching nosferatu (1922) today and I can’t even go to a library in person and you people have had these things your entire life yet you come on tumblr at 18 19 20 and say you don’t know who james baldwin is and if you expect me to you’re classist and 18 year old Americans are too stupid to know bombing foreign countries kills people so it’s okay if they choose to do that rather than work at McDonald’s and of course I have no idea what stocks are or what colonialism is and MCU is the height of cinema and it’s feminist to wear makeup like. my god. you people are going to go through the rest of your life being incoherently stupid and it’s not because you’re poor and it’s not because your schools suck but its because you’re so ensconced in your American privilege that you will never be forced to confront the realities of life and you can go on living your Disney adult fantasies because you’ve destroyed your innate human curiosity and potential at the altar of hyper consumption.

[lovelyxhorrors]

📔Matt + Ryunosuke (First meeting and after)

@the-silver-peahen-residence Hello Diary,

---- 5/15/20XX -----

I came to Yokohama, Japan, because apparently I found out Cobin is doing something behind our backs. I never take Cobin for someone to betray us so something's gotta be up. Sid said it isn't like him. Cobin left without a word and made his way to Japan.

I wasn't following the news but I did manage to see Ink's face on TV, calling some guy out on TV. What's his face? Metal Titan, blah blah blah. Yeah, he wasn't worth it. Ink managed to beat him where he can't even stand up right. So I had to finish it because from the looks of it, the fight isn't over and Ink is too injured. So I did her a favor and killed Iron Titan. She really needs to stop holding back. Ink is a good person, but when it comes to people who are so done and don't see that they're finished, better to finish them off.

Besides there is someone who gave me a way better fight! Ryunosuke Akutagawa.

He's so strong despite being slim and nimble. Out of everyone, I have to say that he is going to be one of my favoritesThe way he calls forth his power, Rashmon gave me the tingles.

I want to learn all about him!

Hello Diary,

----- 5/17/20XX -----

This whole Iron Titan incident got everyone up in arms. Who knew killing the guy would make a lot of noise? From what Sid told me, a lot of people around my age are starting to form their fractions after the rouge pro-hero wasn't found guilty.

It's everyone wants to overthrow the system.

But for me...I didn't care that much. Who cares? The only thing I care. The only person I care about is Ryunosuke Akutagawa. That's it. Nobody else.

Once I have eyes on someone, I don't let them go until I am satisfied.

Akutagawa is one of those people.

Then I found him again. I knew it was him from the moment I saw his aura. Dark and dangerous. Even wearing his glasses, I knew it was him. However... there's another problem. Someone is gunning for his life.

Now I don't appericate someone going after what's mine. I killed those guys and left a present for Ryu. The so-called leader is hired by the actual who kidnaps the woman who is with Ryu. I found out that's his sister! I killed them all and had Jason take her back to the Port Mafia.

Sid told me that they were appericate but they're on guard. I even got a date with Ryunosuke. A date to the death! I'm so happy! I will take a break from writing. I might come back...or maybe not. Who knows! :3 Hello Diary, Weather is pretty nice. Not too hot.

------ 9/30/20XX ----

It's been a while since I wrote. I was so busy hanging out with Ryunosuke and going on hunts with him.

The death match we had. It ended in a draw. I couldn't tell you who won. Maybe we both won. We both kept going at it with each other. Me and Ryunosuke fought at the abandoned building at a park where nobody will butt in or interfere. Sid makes sure of that.

I pinned him down and I marked his neck. I left a big bite on his neck. I have never done that before. I only did it when my arms were broken or such. But my arms aren't broken. I just feel like it. But guess what I got in return, he bit me back. He even licked my blood. There is a feeling I never

Then along the way, I use my Nyx Armor against him. He deserves that because I never had someone push me against the ropes like that. Ryunosuke has armor of his own! He looks so pretty in that. He calls it Rashomon:  Tenma Tengai.

It makes me want to tear the black wrappings off him, rip the pieces of his armor, and want to see his pale skin. I never had these feelings before. It's like an urge to take someone and make them yours. It's not Ryunosuke's head I want. No, I want his everything. His body, his voice, his eyes, his hair, his power, his ego. I want him. All of it that makes him.

Something got over me when I pressed him against the table, I...I never thought of doing it during a fight. I wasn't myself. I remember drooling. I heard his moans when I mess around him. I left bites, making sure he knows that there's someone who can take him.

After that, we got a date. An actual date. It's my date. Shrika and Charlie gave me advice on how to dress properly and how to do things. Charlie help me pick out a light hoodie. It's hot but not too hot. The night was pretty chilly so it's good to spend time at the stalls.

There were a few bumps here and there. But I made a reservation booking a hotel. Just two nights. Just for us! That is where we made our night really special.

I can't describe but it felt so amazing. I never had someone who made me feel good. Not sure if good is the best description, but...it's something that feels really special. I felt adored. I also adore Ryu to the point where I held him close to me at all times.

Akutagawa. Ryu is special. He is very important.

Now we go on hunts after me and the fraction made my first alliance with Port Mafia. This is all for the sake of tracking Cobin down.

Oh! We find out Cobin was mind-controlled! So he isn't a traitor!

[deerblossoms]

met a cute guy at buffalo exchange today! i think he was into me maybe or perhaps just really friendly. what world are we in where a guy being nice to me and asking questions about my life while (NOT) buying (MOST OF) my old clothes turns me into a crush-y mess. I HAVE A GIRLFRIEND. but i’m like teehee he has my number in the work system.. what if he calls… an offense he could get reported and fired for….. i think more than anything this is a sign i need to talk to my girlfriend about where we both stand re: polyamory. because like. this was NOTTTT addressed when we officially started dating lol. and it should’ve been! so now it needs to be. i read the ethical slut recently and they talked about polyamorous people with monogamous partners, and the tldr; was basically that there needs to be an understanding on both sides that you love each other but have different needs, and that neither party should expect to change the other but instead should focus on enjoying the time shared together in the present. WITH the knowledge that everyone’s needs will need to be addressed and fulfilled later on! and i sometimes fear kayla hopes to change me. which is perhaps not the case! but either way, we need to talk. i had a dream about non-monogamy recently. tbh! my dreams have been vivid and AWFUL recently. not nightmares just legitimately bad, memorable dreams. last night was the first dream in weeks where i woke up with no recollection of whatever i’d dreamed about. my therapist is leaving her current practice, which will most likely end our sessions. i have two weeks left with her, and then i have to go back on the hunt for another therapist. which is super frustrating and really disappointing, in all honesty. and i’m trying to not brush off or push down my feelings on the matter — it really sucks! i’m absolutely dreading both finding and then starting up with a new therapist. actually i think my therapist feels a little bad too because she knows i have abandonment issues. LOL. i’m obviously not taking it personally i just AM so bummed out. but today is beautiful and i finally sold all my clothes that were sitting in the corner, minus a few more expensive pieces (by sold i mean i sold like 6 things and donated the rest. oh well! at least they’re gone) and i’ve been soaking up the sun and drinking an arnold palmer with mint tea. <- written and then drafted.

update from a few days later: my girlfriend and i had the non-monogamy talk! i feel as though it wasn’t incredibly productive but it did clear up a few things. 1) she says she’s not hoping i’ll change my mind or expecting me to convert to monogamy 2) she promised that if down the line she wasn’t okay with being with me & a potential open relationship made her uncomfortable, she would tell me. i read her cards last night and it sparked a long discussion about her not knowing how to make changes in her life and in her habits, and something about the conversation really bothered me. i think i feel like she maybe made a promise to me about her own self-work that she isn’t actively trying to keep. i sort of said that to her, too. that if she always represses her feelings and avoids her negative emotions and everything in her life she doesn’t like, she’ll end up making promises she won’t be able to keep. i’m not worried about her like i used to be when she was drinking, but i think i feel stuck when she feels stuck. and when she represses her emotions and stops thinking about things, it stresses me out. like she said she was struggling with her anxieties and her bad habits and etc etc, but that she was “working on it,” and i immediately knew that wasn’t true. so i asked how she was working on it, and the answer ended up being that she wasn’t. i feel like i’m going to get hurt here. there’s a lot i love about her but there’s a lot of emotional and mental blocks she has that frustrate me, because they make it hard for me to see a future together. i feel like this is how it must’ve been to date me last year. and i care so deeply about her and when it’s good it’s really good! but for some reason there’s a warning light in my brain all the time and i’ve never felt that before with someone in a romantic capacity, so i don’t know what it means. i don’t think it’s as black-and-white as “relationship DOOMED” but it obviously means something. and of course my feelings aren’t fact! but i see myself slipping into a guiding, mentoring role from my childhood that i don’t miss. i have an instinctive need to fix people and i need to work on ridding myself of that. but like. what do i do when it’s my girlfriend? i crave emotional stability, apparently. i think on some primal level i’m afraid of kayla. i feel it in my nerves when i’m around her, i feel it in my heart when i try and fail to open up to her. i don’t know if it’s her or if it’s me, or if it’s both or something else entirely. somewhere down the line it comes down to not feeling seen, and not being truly known, and not wanting to receive a love not founded on knowledge. it’s all so murky for me, and i’m not used to this level of turmoil in the beginning of a relationship. if only i had more time with my therapist…….

(written thursday 03.14.24)

[m39]

Doom WADs’ Roulette (2008): Urban Brawl

Here I was, a stupid chubby bastard pretending to narrate like “Max Payne” in a world that looks like Frank Miller’s “Sin City”, sitting on my overpriced gamer chair, thinking if I need one or two playthroughs of “Urban Brawl” for my review...

...

That’s all of the narration you're gonna get.

G3: Action Doom 2: Urban Brawl

Main author(s): Stephen Browning (Scuba Steve)

Release date: September 8th, 2008 (original version/database upload)/September 8th, 2021 (Reloaded version)

Version(s) played: Remaster

Required port compatibility: (G)ZDoom

Levels: 10

Urban Brawl is a prequel to the 2004’s Action Doom, where instead of a first-person Contra homage, it’s a first-person Double Dragon homage. And if you read the intro... Yes... It’s going to be another one of those unorthodox reviews I made... without any screenshots.

scare chord

Changing the subject, let’s talk about this WAD.

The making of Urban Brawl began months after the release of its predecessor. However, instead of taking a route of Action Doom with promotional stuff, contest events, etc. it was created under the nose of the Doom community, and revealed the same day it was released. It can be downloaded like any other WAD (although this is more like a ZDoom-based game than a typical Doom WAD), but in the past, you could buy the special edition for 10 bucks until May 20th, 2010. Aside from having a CD case, the special edition also included the survival mode (with zombies FYI).

The plot of this game (mostly written by Darknation and voice acted by Mike Lightner in cutscenes) takes place a decade before the events of the original Action Doom. You are still playing as the same guy but as a drunk, single father ex-cop (who has PTSD due to an event that he describes as Saigon). One day you return to your home to find out that your child has been kidnapped. I don’t think I have to explain to you what happens next.

Now, before we start, let me tell you that I thought I would play the original version from 2008 since I downloaded the game from the archives thinking it was that version. Turns out it’s a remaster from 2021 which is more compatible with modern source ports and PCs, adds additional moves, and tweaks the visuals among other things.

So, fuck it; sticking with this version; I’m not interested in scouring the Internet for the original version of this game. And besides that, I can immediately scratch remaster from my bonus WADs list.

Now, without wasting any more time, let’s find out if this game is better than its predecessor.

Urban Brawl has a completely different style compared to Action Doom. Gone are the Doom sprites sprinkled with some Contra-looking stuff in between; now everything looks like a comic book. Not gonna lie, I kind of like the direction this game went to. It’s pretty colorful without counting the cutscenes (which are black and white), and most of the sprites look distinct for the lack of better words.

Music was also rather enjoyable to listen to. It was created by Ralph Vickers (Ralphis) who would later co-create Double Impact in 2011. My favorite track might be Pump’d from MAP04.

As I mentioned earlier, this game is more or less an homage to beat 'em-up games. You go around beating people up until you are allowed to go further. No switch hunting, no finding keys, no shitty hitscanners; you just ravage the leaving shit out of your neighborhood to find your kidnapped child. You don’t really need anything deeper than that.

...

Okay, there is some deepness to this game.

In the case of more noticeable additions to this game, there are multiple endings. It mostly comes down to what will you do after defeating the first boss, but there are other factors as well.

No-context spoiler for the good ending ==> wreck the car.

There is also a score system that feels pretty useless aside from the casino section in the main bad guy’s skyscraper where you can use the points on slot machines.

Now this might be a small problem, but I wish the subtitles in cutscenes could be synchronized better with spoken dialogue.

Now changing the subject, Urban Brawl can be kind of challenging on the normal skill level, especially at the beginning when you don’t exactly know what to do and how to utilize your attacks but after a while, you will be uppercutting fools who will go right unto your fist; but that ain’t mean the game will suddenly become easy, okay?

Your fighting skills include regular and strong punches, the aforementioned uppercut (dual pressing alt fire), grabbing and throwing the enemies, and ground pound that takes part of your health, along with being able to carry one melee, ranged, and special weapon.

When it comes to enemies, the roster includes a huge amount of baldies, black guys with shivs (yellow ones can throw it), fatasses, prostitute-looking twats, guards in suits (most of them have a gun), and, people’s favorites, Goth babes (chuckling).

And as for the weapon roster, when it comes to more unique stuff, there is a bottle of whiskey that functions as a liquid armor before using it or someone’s head, and we even have a taser that stunlocks probably almost every enemy that is mid-tier at most. Also, the melee weapons have limited durability, so try saving these for tougher bastards.

Fellas, I’m going to be honest with you – while Urban Brawl isn’t entirely my cup of tea because it’s kind of awkward to fight in it, I think it might be better than Action Doom, both as a standalone game and as a successor to it. I might give it another shot in the future. After all, it’s just a blind playthrough. I will probably find it better next time.

And as for the next WAD to check out, it’s Eternal Doom Fo-

...

E-Eternal Do-

...

Eternal...

Eternal...

Eternal...

The truth was a burning green crack through my brain. Memories of beautiful locations ruined by the switch-hunting puzzles only the biggest 90s adventure games nutjob would’ve come out with. Demons teleporting behind you after they spot you making you waste your precious ammunition. Questioning why many people enjoy this MegaWAD despite how terrible its cons are. I was about to play the sequel to “Eternal Doom” from 1997. Funny as hell, it was the most horrible thing I could think of.

[danganronpa96]

what was your inspiration behind monotora?

Since Rexx was the one to create Monotora, I've asked him to answer this question (everything below is what she's written):

When it came to replacing Monokuma for DR96 it took a lot of thought and planning on how we could have a character that can stand out to be a threat rather than something that's passive aggressive like Monokuma himself. Throughout the months of production they went through so many design ideas it was tough to find one where it wasn't too complex or it didn't fit in with the setting DR96 was taking place.

First one was done in around the end of September 2021, and originally they were going to be blue/dark grey - but I did not want to get any comparisons to Sans so I immediately changed them to a very desaturated orange/dark grey with blue eyes. It didn't really last long though since their colours felt like they weren't really popping out enough and were bland. I also went overboard with their markings so they needed to be simplified. (I would've shown what they'd be if they were blue but unfortunately it's been lost </3)

Second concept was a little after in around early October 2021 for a reference sheet, they were still going to be bipedal and had a lot more scars on their body (except those were done as a deliberate design choice rather than something you'll receive in a fight.) They were more scruffy with an ear notch included and had an overbite, but this didn't really last long until I did another concept design for them. Around this period I struggled a lot when it came to designing them without stepping into the complex design boundaries.

Third concept was originally going to be used for their splash art but I wasn't really fond of that pose and the yellow scars were so icky to me so then they were edited to be more fleshy coloured (as in a shade of red you'd get from freshly opened wounds) which leads to their splash art we used to reveal Monotora to the discord server during the announcement (which was drawn in November 2021 time) I was going through the period of learning to draw a lot of sharp teeth so the anatomy looked really rough.

A lot of these are really old and outdated but the most up to date version is what they currently look up to chapter 3, they have a more animalistic look and they're no longer bipedal. Generally they're really fun to draw and goof around with and it's been fun using them for DR96 :)

I do have a list of characters/creatures that are main inspirations to fleshing out Monotora's personality and traits here:

Monokuma + Monokid; these two were mainly a guideline to starting off with designing a mascot for the killing game.

Doraemon; at the very beginning his design was Monotora's main inspiration but overtime things would've been changed or scrapped, however a few traits are still there such as Monotora being able to hid things in their stomach like how Doraemon can hide things in his little pocket on his stomach.

Nightmare Fredbear + Montgomery (FNAF); these two characters helped flesh out that 'threatening robot' kind of thing (Fredbears off-putting dialogue in UCN and Montgomery's temperament and determination to hunt you down in SB). A fun fact is that Monty's voice is my personal HC voice for Monotora lol

The indoraptor (Jurassic World); a pretty obvious thing from the indoraptor is it being built to be used as a weapon, Monotora has the capability of killing just like the indoraptor (only differences is that Monotora doesn't have the laser targeting system and they're smaller than the indoraptor). But generally Monotora gets their animalistic behaviour from this dinosaur. I've also seen a few people mention how Monotora looks similar to Mapleshade from Warrior Cats but she was never ever used for inspiration (which is surprising considering I have the books) LMAOOOO

[bi-bard]

Small Moments With... Jack Kline (Supernatural)

Small Moments With...

Pairing: Jack Kline X Reader

Requested: nope

Word Count: 1,099 words

Warning(s): mentions of self-doubt

Author's Note: Alt. title - Kyli watched Heartstopper and wrote this to cope with feelings of loneliness and the desire to be loved.

Genuinely though, I would like to get back into this "small moments" series, so if you have any suggestions, let me know.

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

Jack Listening to You Ramble...

"So, Allport's theory can actually be kind of McCrae and Costa's theory," I explained as I pointed at different parts of my book. "Both of them rely on some kind of sorting system. Like putting things in boxes."

Jack was just listening to me. Well, half-listening. I don't actually know how much of it actually registered in their head.

They were leaning their chin on their fist and resting their elbow on my desk.

"However, Allport works in dispositions while McCrae and Costa work in the five-trait theory," I continued. "Allport recognized three levels of personal dispositions: cardinal, central, and secondary. Cardinal dispositions aren't always present, but when they are, they really can't be hidden. They'll be noticed by everybody. Central dispositions are present... in... everyone..."

I trailed off when I saw the grin on their face as they watched me. I suddenly felt nervous and awkward.

"Sorry, I'm rambling," I muttered, shaking my head and looking down at the desk. I tried to ignore how much my face heated up.

"It's okay," they reached over and grabbed my hand. "I like listening to you talk. Even if I don't understand what you're talking about."

"Really?"

"I just like spending time with you," Jack said.

I smiled before leaning over to kiss their cheek, "Thank you."

"For what," their eyebrows furrowed.

"Being you," I reached over and grabbed their hand.

They grinned, "You're welcome."

I chuckled.

"Now, what were you saying about central dimensions."

"Dispositions."

"Yeah... that."

Jack Trying to Take Dating Advice from Dean...

We had just started dating.

Jack had been nervous and awkward at times. I didn't mind. I was happy to go through the awkward moments because we were happy. That's all that mattered to me.

I was in the middle of making some lunch when I heard someone walk in. I turned around to see Jack walking in.

"Hey," I greeted with a smile.

"Hi," Jack replied.

There was a long pause where I just went back to what I was doing.

They leaned on the counter next to me. They awkwardly adjusted, trying to pose. They smiled at me when they were finally comfortable.

"Hi," I said, holding back a chuckle.

"Do you know what I have in common with the Little Mermaid," Jack asked.

"What?"

"We both want to be part of your world."

I scoffed lightly, furrowing my eyebrows. Jack just smiled at me, clearly proud of themself. I just nodded before turning back to the food.

"Can I take a picture of you," they asked.

"Why?"

"To prove to my friends that angels exist."

"Okay," I chuckled, looking at them. "What are you doing?"

Jack stood up, eyebrows now furrowed with a frown on their face, "I'm flirting."

"Why," I asked. "I appreciate it, believe me. But I'm curious why you're suddenly flirting so much."

"I... I asked Dean for advice," Jack looked down, messing with their hands.

I grinned, "Jack."

They looked up again. I stepped forward and kissed their cheek.

"That's really sweet," I explained. "But please don't take dating advice from Dean."

Jack grinned and nodded, "Okay."

Jack Making You Homemade Gifts...

I hadn't been planning anything for my birthday.

I was used to hunting not allowing a lot of time for things like that. It had become normal at this point. I was never expecting much beyond some sweet words and my choice of dinner (which only got better when Dean started cooking more).

I was stunned when Jack ran into my room with an excited look on their face. I smiled at them. Their hands were hidden behind their back.

"Hi," I said, chuckling at their excitement. "What's up?"

"I have a birthday present for you," they replied.

"Really," I asked, eyebrows furrowing.

Jack nodded before holding out their hand. Resting in their palm was a bracelet made of a few different colors of thread with a few beads on it.

I smiled at it, completely stunned. I never got real birthday gifts. We never had the time and I never really cared.

"I know it's not a lot, but I wanted you to have something-"

I cut them off by quickly standing up and hugging them tightly.

I stepped back a few moments later, wiping any tears from my eyes.

"Thank you," I muttered.

Jack grinned before grabbing my hand. I smiled as they slid the bracelet onto my wrist and adjusted it.

"I looked up a video on how to make it adjustable," they explained. "I don't want you to lose it on a hunt."

"Thank you, Jack," I said as I pulled my arm back, admiring the bracelet. I hugged them again. "Thank you."

They slowly hugged me back.

It was the best birthday surprise I could've ever asked for.

Nights Spent Watching Movies...

We had plans to have an entire movie marathon that night. We were going to relax and have a great night. It was going to be great.

There was one very important factor that we didn't take into consideration: how busy we had been.

We only got through one movie before Jack had fallen asleep and I was ready to call it a night.

Their head was on my chest with their arms wrapped around me. I had one arm wrapped around them and the other hand playing with their hair.

I looked up when the door creaked open. Dean was standing there.

"Exciting movie night," he teased.

"Wake them and I'll kill you," I replied.

"Noted," he held his hands up for a moment before leaving the room.

We spent the rest of the night on the couch. Even without the movies, we were happy to spend the night together.

Buying Jack Clothes that They Actually Like...

I took the bags from Jack as we walked in from the garage.

"Oh my god," Dean said, exasperated. "Did you get the whole store?"

"It's not my fault your flannels and jeans are too big," I replied. "It's all from the thrift store. And only what's necessary. I promise."

"I doubt that," he called out to Jack and me as we made our way down the hall.

I set the bags down in Jack's room. I smiled to myself before turning around.

"Woah," I said as I was pulled into a tight hug.

"Thank you," they mumbled into my ear. "For everything."

"You're welcome," I replied. "You deserve this, Jack. You deserve good things."

I felt them hug me a little bit tighter.

I would give anything to know if they truly believed me.

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Masterlist (Includes links to All Writing Challenges)

What I Write For

Some Original Characters