#yeah I dunno this is just kinda dogshit

[a-drabble-a-dray]

(This is a warm-up.)

It was said to be the center of the world. The highest point in the spiritual realm. The nexus of all that is.

They all made the trek to the tower regardless.

“Heh,” the old sage coughed out, already lacking the strength to leave his bed, “such a crowd? For what?”

“...Master.” His first apprentice grimaced. The young man stood awkwardly, having barely spent a week in the robes of the new royal archmagus. “This… All of us…”

“Yes, yes–” The sage smiled, weakly. “It… I appreciate not being alone tonight.”

A figure stepped forth towards the bed.

The apprentice retreated, quickly.

“This is…” The man hesitated, golden crown held to his chest. “We are… Honor-bound to be here. After all you have done, this is only the respect you… You deserve…”

“Come now.” The sage sat up with a groan, waving off a pair of fretting apprentices and ignoring a healer’s glare at the stress. “You aren’t a boy anymore, you mustn’t be sobbing in front of your subjects.”

The king offered only a silent nod, steeling himself.

“I have seen more generations of your family than I care to count. And you are among the best. Be strong, and true to yourself. You are a noble king, through and through.”

The man let out a long sigh, steadying himself, before finally stepping back with nothing more than a bittersweet smile. The sage was left with the gift of a peaceful future.

“...And you.” His aggressive tone hid an ever-present playfulness. The apprentices, standing off to the side, still could not help but perk up at the accusatory voice. “What are you looking so sour for?”

“I…”

“Do you have to ask?” The young woman’s barb cut off her senior student. She’d been even less accepting of the sage’s impending circumstances, even if she took to the role of emissary between mages with fervor. “This– All of this, shouldn’t be happening! You can’t just…”

A silence hung over the room. The sage broke it with an extra degree of weakness in his voice. “...I’m sorry.”

The apprentice flinched, frustrations cut short by the apology.

“However, you must fly on your own from now on.” A smirk crept onto his lips. “Unless you’re going to say I didn’t train you right?”

“...Ugh.” She grimaced, at least getting some fight back from the teasing. “Well, you didn’t! You could’ve taught us so much more, but–”

“I’ve shared my wisdom,” he interrupted, “and conveyed my knowledge. My answers, however, I feel will do you no good. Find your own. Maybe then you’ll be good enough to take hold of mine.”

“...You could’ve been less difficult on your deathbed.” The first apprentice huffed, forcing a smile from his master.

“I’ll die as I’ve lived!” He proclaimed proudly. “And I would have you two live as well.”

“...We are doing our best.” The young man responded with a strained smile.

“That is not what I mean. I have, hopefully, taught you how to find magic in the world. And, preferably, lit a fire in your hearts for learning.” He paused, thoughtfully. “Now I would have you use that same passion and curiosity to find happiness in your lives. That is an order.”

The apprentices stepped away from the bed. Neither would be seen crying before half of the kingdom’s nobility. However, neither would ever disobey such an order. In their wake, they left the sage with the gift of a strong legacy.

“...I wonder. Would anyone know how the kingdom is doing?” He scanned his eyes over the crowd.

His gaze quickly fell to one of the figures by the side. A small woman, with bags under her eyes deeper than his own.

She reluctantly stepped forward. He had experienced first-hand her thoroughness over recent times, and her anxiety would surely mean she had recently double-checked the information he needed.

“...It, well, is about the wards, correct?” Her voice was as small as her figure, and her hesitation almost gave him reason to be worried for the state of his enchantments.

“Anything wrong with them?” He raised an eyebrow.

“N-No, of course not!” She shook her head. “Every barrier, enchantment, and device is fully functional and reinforced. I checked personally, it’s…” Her voice seemed to wind down just as it began picking up the pace. “Everything is well.”

“Good to know. It seems you won’t mind your promotion.”

“...Excuse me?”

“Did nobody tell you?” He asked, recalling his request not to tell her beforehand. “We will need people specialized in keeping track of magic now that I won’t be able to.”

“B-But… Surely there are others?” She blinked. “More qualified others?”

“Perhaps. But I’d like to see you not overwork yourself to death.” He narrowed his eyes. “Bookkeeping for an entire kingdom is not a job for a single person.”

She paused, before silently sighing in defeat.

“...And I must apologize about your child.” He sighed.

“Child…?” She blinked twice.

“Yes– Well, your nephew. I may not be able to fulfill my oath to lecture him in magic, at this rate.”

“I… No.” She shook her head. “No one would mind. Please, don’t worry.”

“...This goes for all of you, in fact.” He raised his voice. “I must ask all of you, brave, noble, and wise alike, to forgive the vows I may be unable to fulfill. As much as I–”

His speech was interrupted by a particularly painful cough, stirring the crowd into stress and the healers into action.

“Please, lay down.” The head physician helped him down, valiantly attempting not to sound too aggravated over the constant excessive action.

He couldn’t help but smile at the unfamiliar feeling of magic being used on him, though the effect was far less than he’d hoped. “...Come now. You know as well as I that it’s no use.”

“...I still have to try.” The healer shook his head. “You’ve got your pride as a mage, and I have my…”

The physician’s words trailed off. By the time the sage saw the reason, it had already been spoken out loud.

“...Dust…?”

“Heh.” The sage’s laugh quickly devolved into another cough. “Unfortunately, elongating my lifespan had… Consequences for my body. It’s hard to heal a crumbling edifice.”

“...It’s coming, then. Isn’t it?”

“Finally.”

The placidity in his smile said it all.

The dust flaked off his skin and robes alike. Beside the amulet around his neck, the crowd was left helpless to watch the Great Sage of the kingdom dissolve into nothing right before their eyes.

Historians would pass down that night as the end of a centuries-long era. Its catalyst, meanwhile, passed away seemingly without a care in the world.

Beneath the tower, a half-finished magical circle sat alone.

“Idiots.”

The sage stepped forward, levitating the nearby flask of arcane salt and beginning to work through the final stages of the spell’s preparation.

A part of him was disappointed no one noticed the teleportation spell. However, the pride of having developed an undetectable long-range teleport quickly overshadowed it.

He felt a twinge of pain on his back, bending down to finish one of the smaller sections of the circle. Age was catching up to him, even if not quite at the rate he publicly announced. Healing did still help, at least.

Finally, the bulk of the busywork was done. The features had been properly stabilized, physically and magically.

Reconstructing a human body was a difficult matter.

While he worked to fake his death– And prevent the nation from crumbling in his absence– he had begun to agonize over how to make himself less recognizable. It was easy at first, simply redesigning the muscles and organs to be more receptive to magic. The real issue came when having to reshape the body and face.

The youth he’d reacquire might make him unrecognizable. Or his personality might make him unmistakable.

He grimaced. The little he’d learned about etiquette from interacting with nobles left him aware of the frighteningly accurate powers of perception some few carry. Avoiding such eagle-eyed folk might prove too great a challenge.

...Etiquette?

He paused, approaching a certain segment of the circle. A grin crept onto his face.

It would be, in fact, rather easy to fully recontextualize his every mannerism. The gendered divide in expected behavior always struck him as odd– Some physical differences would nearly invert the way high society was encouraged to act. Other mages, sanely, also found it strange; however, those were few and far between.

It took less than a minute.

Biologically, it was that simple. Although the quickness itself only made him more aware of the time.

He was on a timer. The reserves of magic he had gathered at the tower over his life would discharge at midnight on the day of his “death”. The building itself wouldn’t be destroyed, though remaining inside would be predictably dangerous.

Or rather, it would be if you did not know where the energy would be discharged towards.

He had less than an hour. His preparations picked up the pace. The small details could be fixed later, after all. The circle’s integrity had been quintuple-checked. Everything was in place.

Despite how vocally he despised “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunities, he always found a strange excitement in it. The empty, silent, cavernous underground chamber echoed with his breaths. Measuring time in those last few minutes could distort the carefully balanced magical flow. He simply had to wait in silence.

The spark was blinding. The rush of magic wasn’t unlike the rumbling of thunder. A strange pride washed over him as the light followed the circle perfectly; the first spell of its kind ever performed, and it was a resounding success.

He sighed. His body felt warm, pressed against the cold of the polished stone floor.

Perhaps he’d eventually be the one to pioneer this field of magic as well, someday. The mental note was already fresh in his mind.

The first rule of bodily reconstruction: It is excruciatingly painful.

He tried to stand back up. His legs, unfortunately, disagreed.

“...New muscles.” He sighed– Only to flinch at the sound of a voice with all its rasp replaced by softness.

As he finally managed to sit up, he finally began considering that he might have not fully understood what being the body he made would entail.

He raised a hand. Wisps of light quickly gathered around and between his fingers. His soul was intact– And his spellcasting ability with it.

It was trivial to configure a magical barrier to reflect light.

He looked into the conjured mirror.

The capital, once, was a fraction of its current size.

Lifespan was a real concern for those who only were allowed to become mages after excruciating trials.

An experiment was proposed.

A child with potential would be immediately initiated into the order.

A child with potential would have decades more to learn and teach.

A child would have to work far more to keep up.

A child would fail. Mages do not fail.

A child tires, as mages don’t.

A child invents. Masters invent. Apprentices learn quietly.

A child falls.

And when a young noblewoman attempts to comfort a crying child, the child is forced to think of what to say.

A mage says “no” to rest.

A mage keeps studying.

A mage keeps studying.

The image on the mirror had been staring, perfectly still, for minutes now.

She didn’t know why it had tears in its eyes.

[neko-loogi]

Hey y'all, sorry I'm late but I'm back with another one of these Helluva Boss opinion thingies-

Alright so the new episode, to be honest I enjoyed it more than the previous ones but I have to admit it still has its flaws. So let's discuss that.

So there's the whole Ozzie and Fizz being together, being all lovey-dovey. And honestly? It's the cutest shit I've ever seen. Stolas and Blitzo wish they could have that lmao

I also wanted to point out that I absolutely love the aesthetic of the Lust Ring (well mostly because it's purple and blue with neon pinks, which is different from the usual red that Viv is so obsessed with-). My only complaint however?

Is that the background should be slightly darker because characters like Ozzie blend a little too well with them. I mean, I can understand why the background is bright and all that, but Viv just loves to make her characters be barely noticeable in the shot-

Now, there's a few things I don't like about this episode, for starters, the pacing was absolute dogshit. Like, everything went by so fucking fast, I had to often pause the episode several times just to look at shit in the background or just the scene in general. It was a hard episode to digest, really.

Another thing I found stupid and unnecessary was the whole Ozzie signing contracts with Stolas- it was very out of place and like, it honestly felt like they just added that to pat the run time. Not only that but, why couldn't Ozzie just go to the Greed Ring and beat the crap out of Crimson and his goons for kidnapping Fizz? Like, I was legit expecting Ozzie to go in and do some crazy shit but he didn't- he just stood there, signing a bunch of papers and for what?? Fr that shit was anticlimactic.

Then there's the "accident" that caused Fizz to lose his limbs and horns. Honestly the scene was somewhat impactful for me but at the same time it went by too fast. And not only that, I hate that Blitzo admits that it was his fault, yet he makes everything about himself like- COULD YOU NOT DO THAT, YOU FUCKING DIPSHIT??? And you know what makes me even more mad about this scene? Is the fact that Blitzo had feelings for Fizz and was going to confess to him- WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK? Istg can Viv stop making Blitzo being this uwu pathetic sad baby of an OC who fucks everything that breathes? (no wonder she made him canonically pansexual, it just shows-).

I also think it was stupid to make Fizz apologize to Blitzo- like, I don't care if what he did was an accident, that shit was fucked up. And it just seems so off that Fizz was all like "yeah you fucked me up and ruined my life but y'know what? I forgive you because plot reasons". I dunno man, it just doesn't sit well with me.

*Edit: I personally would've much preferred if Fizz didn't apologize to Blitzo, kinda like how his sister Barbie did. Where she just told him to fuck off and that she never wanted to see him again.

There's also the song that Fizz randomly sings at the end- it's terrible. I legit cringed the whole time while watching the entire scene. And finally uhh, Striker and Crimson working together was really stupid, it felt like a desperate attempt to make something look cool but it failed miserably.

Anyway, that's all. Thanks for reading, uh bye-

[nomouthedscream]

PREFACE: I AM A JAIDEN ANIMATIONS FAN, THIS IS NOT MEANT TO BE A HATE POST OR ANYTHING OF THE SORT, ITS JUST MY SUBJECTIVE FEELINGS AND SORT OF MUSINGS

Watched jaidenanimation's new video earlier today, and Im torn. Cause on one hand I feel really happy for her for having made it to 10 years, and I understand the desire to do something else after having done a job for a while, to just relax and be yourself and possibly even rediscover yourself. But also the life she described after youtube is just not a realistic one, even for normal people. Part of the reason the job market is so utterly dogshit is because they work really hard to try and pidgeonhole you into certain positions and actively punish you for going against it. An increasing number of companies are requiring 2-3 years work experience for entry level positions (I wish I was kidding). They don't like it when your most recent job was in a different industry, even if it was for college. And any sort of gap in employment is blamed upon your laziness and lack of work ethic.

And colleges get increasingly pickier about your qualifications and if you should get money the older you are because they want that space youre taking up for some 18 year olds who don't know how to bargain or finacially plan well. My college has a secondary college specifically for "adults" (people over 22). Ive only met about 10 people over 22 in classes, and all of them were seeking masters, doctorates, or work certifications. I have only ever met 2 people over 30 who I took classes with, one seeking a masters while the other was working towards getting a work certification. There are people out there who get bachelors late or second ones after their first set, but they are a rare breed, and often times they either have to have a lot of money on hand or have to be willing to go into debt.

And if you go the self owned buisness route, you have the exact same problem that jaiden complained about with youtube, which is that it never actually leaves your mind, it is always there, a shadow at the edge of your vision.

I just, I dunno, I love Jaiden's content and I'm really happy for her, and I think its kinda sweet she idolizes the simple life. But I also think this video sort of epitomizes the fact that the people who got to make youtube a full time job sort of believe they live in a different world totally separate from ours, and they don't really know what normal is, at least not at the point jaiden's at. It felt like when cottagecore was really popular and people talked about the ideal of "the simple life" or when people were obsessed with van life and a bunch of people then had to come out and say "NO, ITS NOT ALL SUNSHINE AND ROSES". Youtube is a job that changes your lifestyle, but so is... any job. My friend whos gonna start student teaching next semester feels like they can't swear anymore or else theyre gonna slip up. My friend who works as an auctioneer basically has no time for his social life anymore. I constantly have work and college looming in my mind, and I've been repeatedly told to be prepared to dedicate all my time to my work since Im going into a stem field. Its all just sort of a part of growing up and taking on adult life. It's just all work in one form or another. It's incredibly difficult to genuinely retire at a young age now adays so if you want to no longer do a job you're going to have to switch instead. And there is no shame in wanting a job change, but it is always important to recognize what such a change will entail and if you're willing to undergo the hardship you will have to endure to get any sort of reward from it. So... yeah.

Tldr: Jaiden's new 10 year anniversary video reminded me that people really do think the grass is greener on the other side.

[teadrop-12]

heehee thank you for giving me hcs of my blorbo :))) can I ask hcs for your favourite hedgehog Rudy?????? I wanna hear abt em :)))))

Hiii bella omg yeah ofc!! i have a lot of them locked n loaded omg

so i said before like my main hc of ejen ali is that rudy is a trans girl. and that still stands. she/her rudy but only with a few people she knows wont give her shit for it

again i know i draw and depict rudy as being femme but in actuality nothing really changes. shes the same exact person with the same blunt personality and spiky hair shes just a girl now

has a bunch of skills like sewing and baking. absolute dogshit at cooking though

shes bi, i've always had the hc she's bi, even before the tgirl hc came along. like the reaction she had to kim was the same she had to Ali i rest my case

i think she's got a guy pref tho? like she thought she was straight until she had her first crush on a girl

ALSO!! shes on the aro spectrum, specifically demiromantic.

really good with animals and kids, babysits on weekends sometimes

Roza is genuinely like her sister, like her cool older sister thats basically rodrick from the live action diary of a wimpy kid movie

she's not in a band but to blow off steam she plays the drums sometimes

theres a boxing bag in her room she uses that too rudy knows boxing

her and bulat are the besties of the agency. they met each other when bulat came to the academy and they have been each others ride or die since

while she was in the infirmary and her arm completely healed she would sneak into the kitchen and bake for the remaining agents anonymously

she thrifts and gets a lot of grundge and trad goth clothes, but she cannot be bothered to dress up unless shes with a date or at an event then she wears formal Baju Malayu (im so sorry if i got it wrong i just searched for malay formal wear and the one i saw her wear is just like that so i dunno)

like think hot topic, or gothic lolita clothes.

kinda clingy with people? i dunno how else to describe it but its like if shes with a friend or something and they abruptly get taken away for something else she'd be a tiny bit jealous or something

moons like her little sister i think, like theyre always bickering and stuff n tease each other but if anything happened to her she would be mad

she can't really take compliments well. like from anyone.

very indulgent hc, shes got a crush on Alicia.

audhd

im sorry these hcs are so boring

an actual menace to society, she should be put down/j. but srsly, she is a known prankster in canon before ali and alicia came and she became so much more tough

i think she would have had rabies. at least twice. one as a kid once recently

as a kid she actually had really long hair but she got it cut rlly short bc she wanted to style it like Djins

accidently called one of the mentors "mom" once but that mentor said it was fine and flattered

despite having a huge crush on alicia, she is also her biggest rival. Like luz and amity except theyre both amity except alicia amity is luz does this make sense

calls ali and khai cringe for liking a card game like WAUriors but in actuality she has a whole collection for herself.

ok here are some heavy hitters (TW su1c1de mention)

Remember that thing with my dos hcs? with dos being unknowingly cloned? that clone was rudy, but because she was a child, they couldn't wait for her to grow up so when they tried to terminate her, rudy caught wind of this and ran away, which is how she got homeless until she was around 2 or 3?

if thats not the case, I do think something more sinister happened in which MATA was involved with the fact she has no family left.

given the fact they hid ali's mother dying from him for about a year or two after he joined MATA, i dont doubt that they hid something about Rudy's origin.

I like to think when she first joined MATA she did know Aliya but she doesn't remember her so she can't put her finger on why Ali's so familliar to her

When she was younger she was kinda the older sister to the other kids there, like she would pickpocket some extras for them or find some sort of shelter and stay outside if there wasn't enough room for everyone.

Agent Geetha is the one she considers a mother bc shes the one that would actually primarily take care of her when she was a baby

When she grows up she actually goes through such a terrible incident on a mission that makes her lose her arm, but she refused to get a prosthetic bc she didn't want to look anything more like djin

like moon, she had strenuous nightmares for months and didn't sleep an entire night once after the incident in s2, and when they finally subsided, after season 3 it all started again

when she's older she actually quits being an agent, but doesn't leave MATA until shes much older, like around 30, and till then she's a CSI for them and still tags along on certain missions but not as common now.

I like to think Geetha adopted her after some years when they got much closer. Sometimes rudy would ask to sleep in her room when shes having a nightmare or something like that.

speaking of which, She calls her Ama or Ami (since Geethas desi in canon I want to think she prefers being called mom in Urdu)

rudy did kind of. like still not completely trust geetha even after she adopted her, but it got much better later when rudy would get really sick and geetha wouldn't stop helping her and she like wouldn't leave her side like she slept in a chair next to her as she was sick.

I do adore the hc we have of Geetha and dos being rudys moms, but i am also loving the hc of like. rudy finds out shes techinically Dos's "daughter" (bc of the whole clone thing) and her kind of realizing that geetha is so much more of a mother to her than dos can ever be and thats also what strengthens their bond.

After she saw alicia crying after Zain died, they always kept an eye on each other. like alicia and geetha are really the only ppl she'd cry in front of.

when she found out dos almost killed alicia she kind of cried there too. because what if she did actually die she wouldn't have met either of them.

after djin died she did actually attempt, but it didn't work and had to see a MATA specialized therapist.

ok i think thats all for now behn!!! super sorry for the boring hcs i didn't know anything new!! but pleaseee send me more hc asks i love them so much!!

[heat--end]

pokemon is a series that discussion around it is always somewhat weird because youve got the people who will defend every aspect of this series with their dying breath, like some people are disney-adult tier with this shit, and then youve got people who act like everything related to pokemon is just dogshit awful and there is no redeeming quality to the series whatsoever, and you're actively scamming yourself by playing these games, you're actively just blinded by nostalgia and refuse to let go

like every time there's a new game the discourse around it fucking Sucks because people either severely underplay or make a way bigger deal than necessary out of certain things. obviously modern day pokemon has a lot of flaws (a lot of them likely not being the exact fault of the devs and more the fault of pokemon as a brand wanting to constantly push toys and shit onto store shelves so they need to have new games like every year or so) and it does directly affect the quality of those games a lot. but idk, pokemon's still got some charm to it.

theyve got fun characters and a fun world. i think that's a thing theyve always been solid at, but like, yeah the games themselves could be a Lot Better. they need more time to develop. scarlet/violet alone was like 3 years dev time because SWSH came out in 2019, and 3 years to create a JRPG with like 700+ unique creatures and everything else they did is. probably not enough time, id imagine. let alone the fact that teams were potentially getting split up to work on legends arceus/ SWSH DLC / other projects

pokemon discourse is just weird dude i dunno. i feel like i should say "people take it way too seriously" but its the single best performing video game franchise in the world so i feel like there's SOME merit to these discussions, it just kinda devolves into two sides having big fights to prove who's More Right

[wanderingaroundwithmysoul]

Rain barked out the barest-bones approximation of a laugh at Kaplan's twinge of sarcasm. "Yeah, I hear that. Kinda hard sometimes... Sure, I survived hell, but almost everybody I care about is fucking dead, and there was another level waiting for me the moment I woke up."

Almost. The knowledge that she wasn't the only person who made it out of the Hive did make things a bit less godawful. After a moment, she gave him a friendly one-handed shove. "I'm glad you made it too, dude."

Rain got an unexpected joy out of seeing Kaplan get all enthusiastic about tech. It sent her straight back to the past when they were part of Sanitation. To during missions when he'd be at computers or security panels and she'd be one of the people watching his back, or when she'd simply walk in on him fixing something. Rain didn't miss working for Umbrella, but she missed her teammates. Her friends. Little things like that made things feel weirdly normal, and she didn't expect to ever experience that again. Not for the first time during this encounter, she let her usually flinty countenance break slightly and some amusement seeped through. "Fuckin' nerd."

She respected what Kaplan was doing by fixing up stuff to give it away to those who needed it. "Nothin' wrong with that," she said in regard to his remark about about being prepared. The way she saw it, your chances of surviving were significantly lesser if you weren't.

She figured he was exaggerating about the amount of things in his vehicle, but when she followed him up the ladder and through the hatch, she realized that he was not. "...Ho-ly shit." She tried to take it all in, her gaze eventually landing on the camera feeds. "Not a coincidence that you stepped out when I was walkin' past then, huh? You were just lookin' to pump me full of lead." Then, it inevitably drifted over to the rack of firearms. "Damn, you've got some nice ones."

Slowly, Rain moved to stand beside where he was digging through the box, sliding the old light off her rail and replacing it with the new one when he held it out to her. "Appreciate it." She switched it on and off a couple of times, feeling satisfied when a harsh LED beam was cast onto the shelf. It wasn't that she thought Kaplan would hand her a busted light, she simply needed visual reassurance that an incident like that in the apartments wouldn't happen again.

Suddenly being unable to see would freak anybody out, but it filled Rain with a special kind of fear. While it had been her light and not her eyes to stop working correctly this time, it still brought her back to the later stages of her T-virus infection. It was the inability to confidently make a shot that got to her more than anything, and the fact that there was intermediate danger certainly didn't help. She had positively fumbled to locate her normal flashlight and unholster a gun that she could use while holding it.

"You're welcome to add this busted piece of shit to your list of projects if you want, but I ain't interested in trustin' it again." In response to Kaplan emphasizing that she was welcome to anything, she shook her head a little. "Doubt I've got room for anything. Got about... I dunno, seventy percent of my shit on me right now?" She felt around her various pouches. There were more empty mags than she'd prefer. "I mean, after the night I've been havin', I could probably do with more ammo." But it wasn't as if she couldn't get by on what she had. "Maybe you oughta save what you've got for the poor saps with dogshit aim, though. They'll need more rounds than I do."

"The hell is your problem, dude? Did you seriously forget about me? Or what, you think I'm a clone? Be for real."

It was getting dark, so Chad pulled his armored vehicle over to the side of the road and set about preparing to settling in for the night. Over the years, he'd accumulated a lot of tech to help him survive, from computers and GPS, to motion sensors, timers, and alarms. Generators and power storage units were essential, as were solar panels and other methods of harnessing power as electrical grids began to fail seemingly everywhere.

Some of the tech he built himself, having raided hardware stores for parts, and others he'd acquired from abandoned police stations and homes. It passed the time, to sit and occupy himself with building computers, or to set up surveillance systems, or to create spreadsheets to catalogue all of his supplies, and he liked to keep his skills sharp. Why? He didn't really know anymore. Maybe it just kept him sane. He had about a million flashlights, flares, weapons, and a multitude of ammunition types, complete with all the batteries, solar chargers, hardware enhancements, additional parts, and optional adjustments he could store.

Metal boxes, backpacks, and duffel bags were stacked in an almost hedge-maze-like fashion inside the armored vehicle he'd taken over after it had been abandoned by the military. His bed was little more than a shelf nestled into all this organized chaos, but he found it strangely comforting to be boxed in while he slept... especially since he was alone most of the time.

Occasionally he joined up with some survivors, but he found it difficult to remain with them. Their goals were vastly different, with civilians wanting to find somewhere safe to hunker down and barricade, and Chad wanting to keep on the move to see what he could do to screw Umbrella over or help other people.

He'd gotten his motion sensor perimeter up around his mobile home, as it were, and had just taken his nightly dose of painkillers so he'd have half a chance of sleeping. The deep scars from where the licker had grabbed him as well as the pain of a few broken bones that hadn't quite healed properly from being thrown off the train on the way out of the Hive had him pretty much in near-constant pain. He'd learned to live with it, and as long as he was busy and moving, he could ignore it. At night, though, he needed some extra help from good ol' pharmaceuticals. Just over-the-counter, though, nothing too heavy. He couldn't risk not being able to wake up if something significant went down. And absolutely nothing with an Umbrella logo on the bottle.

That was when one of his alarms went off, indicating that something was moving in the near vicinity of the vehicle. "Really?" he groaned, his head falling to the right as he lay in his bed to look at the screen across the way. Sure enough, it was blinking. Sighing, he sat up and typed away, looking at the camera feed indicating movement. To his severe disappointment, it wasn't one of the undead. It looked like a soldier of some kind. "Just perfect," he said cynically. Grabbing a couple guns, he went out to investigate. What he found was... startling, to say the least.

It... it was Rain. His heart began to pound. No, Rain's dead. Don't get fooled again by those stupid clones. Man, they were creepy... Clones of his now-deceased friends and comrades that often times acted nothing like the originals. The Rain ones... were always particularly nasty. He lifted his rifle, leveling it at her. "That's far enough," he said coldly, assuming this was a clone. How can it not be?

But then she spoke, and almost simultaneously he began to notice that she looked a bit older. The clones always looked young, pristine. Swallowing hard, Chad found it difficult to breathe with how vigorously his heart was now pounding, rattling his ribcage. Faltering a little in his resolve, the tip of his rifle slowly dipped a bit and he stared incredulously at her.

"N-no, I-... Of course I didn't forget about you, but..." But you're dead. You've gotta be. Forgetting Rain - or anyone else he'd lost in the Hive due to his incompetence, poor planning, and cracking under the pressure - was never an option. He saw their faces almost nightly in the twisted horrors of his guilt-fueled nightmares.

Chad blinked, not knowing what to do. The rifle lowered just a bit more at the mention of clones. "Yeah, actually, that's exactly what I'm thinking. Wait, you're-... Are you telling me you're not a clone?" Oh, how he wanted to believe that, but he'd been fooled before, almost fatally. "Come on, don't fuck with me..." he said, more with a crestfallen type of exhaustion than with any sort of real intimidation attempt. "If you're not a clone... then prove it."

If this really was Rain, the real Rain, then he was about to feel like a huge jerk momentarily. But if it wasn't... he couldn't afford to let his guard down...

[abundanceofnots]

a little (just under 2k) playground scene with Lip and Ian as dads, as per @pink--and--white's request. i apologize to all actual parents in advance.

“How the fuck did we get here?” Lip asks through a huff of incredulous laughter.

Ian shades his eyes from the sun, turning to his older brother with a look of mock concern. “Your memory that bad already, old man? We drove here.”

It earns him a stinging smack on his thigh.

“Asshole,” Lip retorts back. “You know what I mean.”

Ian’s eyes flit back to the scene before them. “Yeah, I do,” he confirms a beat later, his voice more earnest this time.

This, by far, isn’t a new feeling. Lip’s had the exact same thought pass through his mind countless times in recent years, always in a momentary flash of warmth that filled up his whole chest. It happens all the more often now over the most mundane shit, though.

The first time was, probably, when Freddie was born. Then Ian got married, and Al came along, and Liam got to a good school—and after that followed every other quiet (not literally) evening when the whole family gathered up in the kitchen.

In those instants, Lip would stall himself for just a second, getting lost in the overwhelming sounds and visuals, and think, what the fuck.

He’s getting soft. That’s it, most likely. He’s getting soft and sentimental, going on with his extremely unexceptional life, wondering how in the hell did a piece of shit like himself get so lucky, and slowly becomes someone he’d gladly punch in the face not too long ago.

It hits him hard again, this strange sense of pride and wonder, as he sits next to his baby brother on a bench overlooking a kids’ playground.

This one’s the real deal. Everything here is child-proof and clean, with no syringe or dogshit in sight. Frank or some random homeless guy aren’t lying in a drunken coma by the swing sets. There’s not even one bullet hole in the slide. And maybe it’s not so hard to admit that this is actually pretty nice. That this is them now.

Still, the whole thing is, without a doubt, totally ridiculous. Here they are, Lip and Ian—the college dropout and the ex-con, the true sons of the South Side—sneakily munching on their kids’ packed afternoon snacks.

“Dumb luck, I guess,” Ian answers Lip’s question after some musing and takes a sip from Toe’s pink-colored juice box.

Lip hmms before he bites into a baby carrot. “For us, or them?”

“For us. Definitely.”

They’re just two regular dads who carry around lunchboxes and always have a wet wipe or a pack of tissues at hand, ready to blow noses and wipe off residue chocolate from chins and hands. There aren’t enough words in the English language that would describe how incredibly ridiculous this is, because once upon a time, not too long ago, still, Ian wore a jumpsuit with Dav on the nametag and believed this was it for him, and Lip thought the only way to get through life was by drinking himself through the ordeal.

How the fuck did they get here?

“Freddie! Hey, Freddie!” Lip calls out to his oldest, who hangs upside down from the monkey bars, effectively ignoring him. “Fred!” he tries again with an annoyed sigh, and the boy finally remembers how his ears work. “Can you help your cousin on the slide?”

“Okay!”

With a swift motion, Freddie pulls himself up again to grab hold of a bar, unhooking his knees in the process, and jumps down into the sand with practiced ease. He then immediately gets into a run, coming behind the red-headed girl in black overalls who’s been trying to climb the gentle ramp on her own.

“What was that about?” Ian inquires amusedly.

“Early puberty, I think. He doesn’t want us to call him Freddie anymore. It’s Fred. No Fredster, no Fredtastic, definitely no Fredosaurus. Just Fred. Apparently, I went to bed, and my son turned into a middle-aged man overnight.”

“Oof. That’s rough.”

“Yeah. The next thing I know, he’s gonna get a neck tattoo and his first STI. Al, buddy!” His younger son Alvin, at least, seems to have no trouble with hearing. “You need help? Want me to push you?”

“No, I’m good!” the blond kid shouts back from the swing, and to prove his point, he pushes himself harder off the ground to gain momentum.

Lip scratches his forehead. “They don’t need me anymore,” he comments darkly. “I am officially a bother.”

“You’ve always been a bother,” Ian notes before he stuffs his mouth full of grapes. “Come on, Lip. Freddie’s eight. He’s not exactly packing his bags to leave home. He’s still very much a daddy’s boy.”

“I don’t know, man. When I remember what I was already doing when I was his age….”

“Yeah, but that’s different. They’re not like us. They don’t need to be, and that’s a good thing.”

Ian’s right, but the concept of normal as something desirable, something he doesn’t necessarily need to rebel against, is something Lip may never fully come to grasps with. And neither does Ian, even if he says otherwise.

“We might be getting a dog,” Lip says after a while, pausing before he sinks his teeth into a cheese stick.

“No way!” Ian smirks at him. “Look at you, perfect American family and shit.”

Lip snorts at that. He and Tami are pretty damn far from perfect. “You not thinking about getting a pet? A friendly rottweiler for Mickey, perhaps?”

“No. First, I gotta talk him into having another kid.”

That takes Lip by surprise. He knows Ian absolutely adores his little girl, his mini ginger twin that everyone got to call Toe, short for Tomato, but he also knows the whole story behind how she came to be.

“Oh, yeah? You’d like another?”

“Yeah,” Ian admits, and as his eyes drop to his lap where his fingers fiddle with a paper straw, Lip realizes he sounds ashamed about it.

“Not as easy as poking holes in condoms with you guys, huh?” he jokes to release the sudden tension.

“Hah. No.”

“You told Mickey yet?”

Meeting his brother’s eyes again, Ian gives a noncommittal shrug. “I hinted.”

From experience, Lip knows that hinting in Ian’s case almost exclusively means Mickey is fully aware of his intentions and just chooses to ignore them before Ian confronts him head-on.

“Hopefully, you’ll have another girl,” he tells Ian after a quiet moment filled with children’s high-pitched screams and the steady screeching of a swing set. “It’s a lot more physical with boys. These two are already fighting like we used to.”

“Doesn’t really matter when you’re raising a Milkovich,” Ian remarks before yelling: “Hey, Toe? You wanna have a sip of your juice for me?”

The girl waves at them eagerly as she slides down the bendy chute. Getting to a run right as her feet touch the ground, she comes to a jolty halt in front of them, taking a good, hard look at the juice box as if only now realizing what’s expected of her.

“No, thank you,” Toe then peeps and skips off again.

“Polite,” Lip appraises.

Ian gives a low chuckle. “Fuckin’ weird, huh?”

“With Mickey as her dad? A little.”

They watch the kids play for a few minutes. Ian offers to exchange a cheese stick for three grapes, and Lip negotiates it up to five before agreeing.

“You think he’d be against it? Having another kid?” he asks Ian mid-chew.

“I mean, I wouldn’t blame him, after all the shit with Terry. Maybe with a second kid, he’d think there’d be twice the damage he could do. Dunno,” Ian surmises uncertainly. “I know how hard it was for him to even want a kid, and I get why he was scared. Don’t get me wrong, I’m shitting myself every day when I think of the ways I could fuck this up. But he’s a great dad. You saw him with Toe. She’s obsessed with him. The way she laughs at everything he says makes you think he invented comedy or something.”

Lip’s aware that their conversation turned sort of serious once again, but he can’t help not breaking into a smile. “Sounds like you’re kinda jealous of your husband there, Ian.”

“Oh, I hate his guts,” his brother confirms, only partially kidding. “I’m a fun dad, too, you know.” As if on cue, a figure coming their way catches his attention, and Ian nods to where his daughter’s playing, telling Lip: “Okay, watch this.”

Mickey gestures at Freddie with a finger to his lips, coming around the slide just in time to catch his daughter in his arms with a victorious roar.

“Daddy!” Toe announces the good news to everyone around with a loud squeal.

Ian gives his brother a pointed look.

“Fuck, man,” Lip huffs with mock seriousness. “You tellin’ me she loves her dad? What a nightmare.”

“Yo, lunch ladies.” Mickey suddenly approaches them with Toe at his hip. “How ’bout less chit-chatting and more kid-watching? Think I’d remember if I left my kid with a giant fuckin’ bruise on her forehead this morning.”

“Yeah. She’s had a bit of a scuffle with Alvin earlier,” Ian says, reaching out to soothingly rub Toe’s calf as if said scuffle and the tears it brought weren’t already long forgotten.

“The hell’s he doin’ fightin’ someone half his size?!”

“She started it!” Lip counters weakly.

“Okay.” Mickey’s mouth hangs open for a minute before he finds his figurative footing again. “I guess she had her reasons for that. And you should teach your kids to not fight dirty.”

“I go play now,” Toe informs him then, putting a stop to his rant and his bad mood in one go.

“Yeah! You do that!” Mickey replies as he puts her down, matching her level of enthusiasm. She heads for the extensive pirate-ship-like construction this time, watchful cousin Freddie already on her heels, and Mickey drops heavily next to his husband, letting out a prolonged groan into his hands.

“Tough day?” Ian asks needlessly.

“Igor’s a fuckin’ idiot.”

“Told you he was.”

“And I agree, so drop it, a’ight? Hey, by the way.”

“Hey,” Ian echoes before they exchange a quick kiss.

Mickey notices the juice in his hands then and perks up. “That raspberry?” he checks after he’s already snagged the box for himself, taking loud slurps from it to get every last drop. He finishes off with a belch. “Fuckin’ love raspberry.”

Lip finds that anything he’d say at that moment would only spoil the natural fucking beauty of it, so he just appreciates with a private snicker.

“Daddy! Daddy!” Toe yells from the top of one of the pirate ship’s smaller slides. “Come play!”

Mickey pats at Ian’s thigh. “That’s on you, man. I’m beat.”

Putting his fun-dad face on, Ian heaves himself up without a complaint. “Hey, jellybean! Do you think your dad can fit on the slide, too?”

Toe shakes her head vehemently, giggling as she watches Ian jog toward her. “No, daddy! No! No!”

“What, you don’t think I can?” Ian asks again, halfway through his climb up on the board. “Well, take off your socks now because they might get blown off! I’mma fit!”

“Daddy!” Toe howls with laughter as he bumps his head on one of the low railings.

Beside Lip, Mickey imitates the reaction, both his hand and the phone he’s holding with it to record a video visibly shaking. When he notices Lip staring, his grin falters a little.

“These two jokers,” Mickey complains after he ends the recording. “She always laughs at everything he does like he invented comedy or some shit.”

Lip answers with a knowing smile, his chest feeling full of warmth.

Seriously, how the fuck did they get here?

[despairofthefuture]

Nice to see you Chihiro! Gang, any idea what you’re going to say to Ryota? He’s pretty stubborn and weary of other people, and he’s gonna need a good explanation for how you know he’s the real Ryota

Chihiro giggles and gives a small wave. "Hi! It's nice to meet you all!" He the places a finger on his chin as the spirit continues. "Hm. That's a good point. We shouldnt show up to his room without a plan."

Leon nods in agreement. "Yeah, now that you mention it, if Hiro were to show up and say 'Hey if you talk to this girl named Junko the entire world will die!', he'd probably think he's crazy and slam the door in his face." He looks to his oldest friend. "So whaddya got, Hiro?"

Hiro looks at him blankly before chuckling awkwardly. "...Heh. Uh...Nothing now."

Leon gives him an unamused look. "....You were planning on doing exactly that, werent you."

The clairvoyant chuckles again and looks away, causing the redhead to sigh and facepalm.

"Um, what if we start by telling him how much we like his animations?" Chihiro suggests softly. "A-as for how we know he's the real one, if we see him in his room, it wouldnt really be weird to assume he's Ryota, would it?"

Leon nods. "Yeah, that's a good start!" He agrees. "Then after we gain his trust, maybe you could mention that you're the Ultimate Clairvoyant and you saw the end of the world? Itd still probably overwhelm him, but itd be better than throwing it at him all at once. Plus even if your accuracy is dogshit, you are an Ultimate."

Hiro shoots a glare at Leon before frowning. "I mean, yeah that could work. But I'm still worried about finding the real Ryota." He points out. "Like, if this Ultimate Imposter was able to take over Ryota's spot in his class, wouldnt it be hard for me to tell them apart?"

"Deal? What kinda deal?" Yasuhiro repeats. "You mean this is gonna be even more difficult?!" He groans and stops walking for a moment in order to face plant into a wall. "I hate this so much."

Chihiro looks to his friend worriedly. "H-hey, itll be ok, Hiro." He reassures the brunette with a soft smile. "This might be even easier! We just need to find Ryota while he's out of his room and talk to him now!"

Hiro still looks unconvinced. "I-I dunno..." He murmurs. "If this guy is as paranoid of people as these spirits say he is, I'm starting to think just feeding his ego and telling him I saw the future might not be enough. But...but what else can we do?!"

Leon looks concerned as well for a moment before shaking his head. "Hey, dont worry about it! I'm sure that wont be a problem! And if it is, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it!"

The fortune teller still looks unconvinced, but he nods. "Alright...if you say so." He takes a deep breath for continuing to walk. "I should probably find a directory of class 77-B to learn what Ryota looks, huh?"

Hiro's thought is interrupted by the musings of another spirit. The clairvoyant yet again stops in his tracks and slowly turns to look at the transparent figure. "....what? Mukuro is involved too?! But...but I saw her die!" Hiro exclaims. "If she was working with her why would Junko kill her?! And they're sisters! A-and who's this Izuru guy?!?!"

Chihiro frowns and fiddles with his hands. "I think we should slow down on how much information we give Hiro." He suggests softly. "He's still coming to terms with the fact he saw his friends die, and having the responsibility of the world on his shoulders cant be easy!" Yasuhiro winces as Chihiro mentions this, and Chihiro looks away guiltily. "S-sorry." He mutters.

"But Chihiro's right." Leon picks up where their timid friend left off. "I have no doubt everything you guys say is important, but we need to take one step at a time. I've never even heard of this Izuru dude, so we'd have to do some research."

Hiro runs his hand through his hair and takes a large breath. "Jeez, there just keeps getting more and more I need to do." He mutters. "Alright, so first I need to find something that shows me what Ryota looks like so I can keep an eye out for him. After I talk to him and hopefully convince him to stay away from Junko, I need to find some girl named Chiaki Nanami and make sure she doesnt die at all costs." He lets out a giant sigh. "Then I need to find out who the hell this Izuru Kamakura guy is and-"

"Izuru Kamakura? Why are you interested in Izuru?"

The group freezes as a new voice rings through the halls. Hiro quickly whirls around, and his heart sinks to the bottom of his stomach.

There, standing a few feet away, is Junko Enoshima.

[rosenrot234]

-sees how next WoW expansion looks

-sees Diablo 4

...Yeah okay Blizz let their metalheads out of their cages finally. A lot of folks working there are into metal and that kinda stuff. Considering how dogshit BfA was I do hope they can fix things.

*sigh* I’ll keep the protest going. I’ll wait and see how their new projects are similar to how I waited about halfway thru Legions runtime before I dusted off WoW. Rather than rush right off the bat. Then again I’m still not enthusiastic of Sylvanas being a big bad so eh.

I’m not even sure what to think of with Overwatch “2″. I dunno man it’s like I want to be excited but the guilt that follows that excitement follows shortly after.

Least I can enjoy fanart without Blizz getting money. Shame though. I’d like to support the people working the creative side of blizzard. Their higher ups just had to go and show their true colors.

[n30n-le0n]

[If he'd been a little more tuned into people's emotions, like Mikey was, maybe Leo would have noticed Egon becoming distinctly uncomfortable over being referred to as a "dad". Granted, the slider had expected that a man who was a complete stranger to him probably wouldn't be comfortable over such a term being applied to him period, but he had no way of knowing that it was conjuring up bad memories for the scientist the longer they sat there, the longer the panic ebbed and flowed in him like some kind of fucked up tidal cycle. But Leo was too far gone in his own emotions to pick up on another's, and so it was that any subtle clues to the other man's mental state flew completely over his head as he sat there, giving a shaky nod at Egon's words.]

Y-yeah. I do. I did. I mean, I don't really have time for that kid stuff anymore. I have to be the leader. I gotta...I gotta go out on patrol and make sure everyone's safe, 'cause if....if I....if I don't, it's--

[A failure. Just like you. Failure failure failure.

You worthless little pest. Wretched scum. You're not even FIT to be made into one of our soldiers. I will RELISH in finishing the job we started--

The Krang's claws snaked closer, trying to reach out to snag him. Leo twisted away, breath stuttering in his chest for a moment as he gazed at something that he thought was very much solid--and then he remembered what Egon had said earlier, trying his best to make his words come out clearly in spite of his panic as he narrowed his eyes towards the shadows.]

F-fuck off, you mutated gumball. You're in a literal prison dimension. You c-can't hurt me anymore. You can't. Nobody here is gonna let you. Just fucking get it over with if you wanna try!

[The Krang recoiled back into the shadows, hissing in anger as though it was a rattlesnake waiting to strike. Fighting down the urge to see where it was going--Leo couldn't help but think that he'd just managed to more thoroughly piss it off, as much as yelling at it actually had felt good for a split second--he turned back to Egon, no longer looking quite as frenzied.]

I....I dunno. You said yelling at it might work. I think I just pissed it off more, though.....

But....it probably would have come at me by now if it wanted to. M-maybe it's just trying to scare me? I can't s-see where it went--

[He peered into the shadows for a moment before relenting, fixing his gaze back on his company.]

Uh. Yeah. Guitar. I, uh....tried acoustic once? I guess? But I really like electric more. Something about the general feel of it. It's kinda class-ay, you know? It just gets down to your bones and....I don't even really know how to describe it, dude, it just...

[Leo gestured around vaguely for a moment before relenting.]

I guess I just heard the music enough or saw videos and decided it would be fun to try? I don't really know when it started, I just remember begging my dad for one. Of any kind. And he'd sneak up to the surface and get some song books for me and stuff, and then one day he brought back this, like, absolute dogshit guitar for me. I mean, not because he was being....you know. Or anything, he just....can't really let himself get seen by people, you know. So he'd have to root through a lot of sale bins to get stuff for us. But anyway, he brings back this shitty little guitar, like, I legit don't think that thing had been tuned in years. But I latched right onto it and started playing, and, uh....I'm pretty much entirely self-taught, I guess, April helped me a little with the chords and stuff but--

[Breathe. Breathe. Calm down, you fucking spazz.]

I know how to play most of the Queen songs, I guess. Uh....and I'm working on a couple of other eighties songs, too. Some James Taylor, I think? Fleetwood Mac? I can play that song....who's it by again? I dunno their names, but I think it's called The Boxer or something like that? Dad really likes it. Said the, uh....guy who plays you in our universe liked it too. What were the words again? Oh, yeah. I am just a poor boy, though my story's seldom told--

[Leo's voice, soft though melodious, rang out through the empty space for a moment--and then he clapped a hand to his mouth, looking around as though the noise would attract unwanted attention.

But there....was none.

It was just the lab, and the darkness, and the red lights of....the experimental tech that Egon had told him was up here.

There wasn't a Krang. He wasn't in the prison dimension. It was just Egon, who....who now had the tiniest inkling of how fucked up he was. Who was probably feeling that dangerous emotion known as pity towards him now. And Leo couldn't have that. He couldn't have another person who had fucking enough on their plate worrying about some failure like him.

The realization dawned in his eyes for a moment. Only for a moment. And then he leaned back, pinning that cocky smile back onto his face despite the fact that it was wavering more than a bit at its edges.]

Hey, why don't you go get a guitar and I can back up my supposed rad skills, huh? We'll have a jam sesh together. It'll be totally awesome. And we can forget that I just had a stupid little nightmare, like. Pssh. Whatever. It's totally not an issue. I just thought the lights in the lab were something else, you know? Not like I'm scared of the dark or anything. Naaah. Everyone has bad dreams sometimes, right? It's fine. Not a problem. Don't need to worry about little ol' me. Let's just play guitar and stay up the rest of the night and it'll be absolutely fine. Who needs sleep, am I right?

[But it wasn't fine. Not even remotely. He had that frenzied look on his face like he did whenever he was trying desperately to get Mikey to stop obsessing over something and just go to sleep--like the time he'd been so convinced that Piebald had come back for revenge, which, okay, his little brother had been half right about that--and his cocky smile seemed stretched a bit too wide, and his voice kept wavering as his gaze practically pleaded with Egon to just drop the subject, to just leave well enough alone, to just believe that he was perfectly fine and dandy as the two of them sat there.

Knowing Leo's luck, however, it wasn't going to be that easy. Nothing in his life ever was, anymore.]

[It had to come to a head eventually. Leo just wouldn't have guessed it would be so soon.

He'd been lingering around the firehouse for several days--or maybe it was weeks, days had tended to blur together for him ever since the Krang situation--getting used to the "being trapped in another dimension" situation along with everyone else. He'd been introduced to the rest of the team (with some glares thrown in Peter's direction whenever he thought the man wasn't looking), and had even learned that he wasn't even the only person displaced from his home dimension residing within their headquarters. Apparently there was another Ray lingering around too, something which had made Leo's head spin trying to comprehend. How could there be two versions of a guy just....floating around? Eventually he'd just resolved to not think about it too hard--this situation was weird enough without adding extra layers to it.

Other than that, the days passed relatively normally. Or at least, what passed for normalcy in his current day-to-day life. He played pranks, he joked with the team, he pleaded to go out on busts. He ate substandard pizza from some carryout joint, he entertained them, he patiently tolerated Egon's poking and prodding and questioning about how his powers worked and how the portals knew where to send him and so on and so forth. He asked to drive the Ecto and only grew more and more petulant when he was denied. In a way, it felt like he was back home with his brothers. It felt normal. Organic, in a way. It felt safe.

But even safety had to come to an end.

Leo had already had a restless night, plagued by nightmares that left him startling awake and trying to regulate his breathing. Upon the third occurrence of this, he sat upright, groaning and pressing the palms of his hands into his eyelids in exasperation.]

Goddamn stupid night terrors. Ughhhhh. Why won't you just let me sleep--

[Go get Egon, you stubborn son of a bitch. He'll understand. He'll probably sit up with you and--]

Nope. Nuh-uh. Not happening. I've been annoying enough. He doesn't need me pulling him away from....important science work or whatever. It's fine. I'm fine.

[At least, he was fine until the small nightlight conveniently chose that moment to flicker and die, plunging the room into an inky blackness.

Fuck. FUCK.

Leo wasn't afraid of the dark. He wasn't. It was just that the dark reminded him too much of the prison dimension and how dark it had been, and how fetid the Krang's breath had been as it had snarled in his face, and---

And there were suddenly red lights shining in the darkness, too bright and too sinister to be of any comfort, and Leo found himself jolting backwards, breath stuttering in his throat as a shrill yelp escaped his mouth before he could help it. He couldn't help it. He knew he had to stay quiet, stay quiet doN'T LET IT SEE YOU, but it escaped his mouth almost instinctually, primally, before he could stop himself. How had the Krang come here, how had they managed to escape the prison dimension, they couldn't be--]

E-E-g-gi-UYS--

[He wanted it to be a yell. He was pleading for it to be a yell, but instead it came out as another strangled, panicked yelp as he flailed backwards, a loud and panicked hiss sounding from between his lips as his shell collided with something metallic, as he felt that chill again and heard the words slithering out of that toothed maw--

I've come for you, little PEST. You will not escape my grasp so easily THIS time.

Fuck, where were his swords, he had to....he had to teleport away, make a portal, something, anything, but he was tangled up in the stupid blankets and he couldn't move and he couldn't breathe and--]

NononononononononoNONONONONONONONO--

@dr-egonspengler

[lafortis]

26 and 44

26: a scenario that you’ve replayed multiple times?

this is the one that got so rudely interrupted by the mobile app being dogshit. i was gonna do a stupid joke about visual novel common routes being scenarios that get replayed multiple times but instead i'm just gonna dive right in cus it sucked anyway

this used to be (or at least i considered it to be) a particularly bad habit of mine, so i kinda trained it out of myself now. as such i don't really have a satisfactory answer for this question, honestly (besides a sexual one i guess [h e h]). i saw it as daydreaming/fantasizing, and believed it contributed to my ego problems and general childishness, so i got rid of it (or at least, mostly). i dunno if i was right or not; probably the bigger problem was the degree to which i engaged in it. all things in moderation etc.

anyway yeah sorry kinda a non-answer but i hope this is decent. if you want i can tell you the naughty answer instead but... y'know...

44. you get a free pass to kill anyone, who is it?

until he died, terry goodkind, for writing such fuckawful fantasy and then being inexplicably extremely smug about it. fucking pulp fantasy ayn rand lookin ass. anyway he's dead so now i can dance on his grave and choose someone else.

see i can't read this as, like, who should you assassinate. cus i mean, a. ultimately meaningless, history is about large-scale movements in collective consciousness rather than single people, etc etc, but also because like, b. so what right. like that's an answer, but it's not your answer. so i'm thinkin like. who's a public figure that i hold an outsized hatred for, possibly more than any other person hates that person. who's YOUR "if i had hitler, leopold II, and this person, and a gun with two bullets, i'd shoot them twice" person.

it's a tough one because tumblr hates a lot of people. and i have used tumblr for going on 10 years i imagine at this point. fuck. anyway yeah it'd be very easy to give an answer that came from tumblr's collective consciousness, but i need someone that gets me specifically really heated.

honestly, it really might be david cage. i've literally never played one of his games. but i just hate his stupid french face, his stupid arrogance, his fuckawful contrivances, his completely unnuanced worldbuilding. when those court records were coming out last fall or whenever i was so devilishly happy. i told people i know irl about it because the way he held himself up in court (i.e. crying, begging not to be indicting for treating his employees like shit) was so fucking funny. i think david cage is my easy answer until i get irrationally mad at someone three weeks from now and come back and reblog this and say "no actually"

[paradoxidolatry]

Brotherly Love

@birdhole , @beatconductor a lil bit

TG: hey TG: sup

TT: Hey. TT: Not much.  Lunch break at work. TT: Sup?

TG: oh thats sweet TG: sucks theres no free pizza in it when you work as a cop huh TG: i guess its overall kind of a step up from the pizza gig tho

TT: Right? Free donuts though. TT: But nah, yeah, not so bad. TT: Didn't get a chance to tell you about it but I figure Dave or whoever's already spilled those beans. TT: Kinda weird, right?

TG: yeah dave told me TG: donuts just like a real cop huh TG: still cant quite wrap my head around this cop thing tbh TG: i can see you working as a LOT of things but a cop? thats wild

TT: Yeah. TT: I mean, I figured.  Got all that military experience, right? TT: But I didn't want to go back to the military. TT: Plus, working as a cop is an equal mix of 'keeps me active' and 'allows me to work around certain roadblocks in regards to the acquisitions business', so it was a good compromise. TT: Better than fast food and skin flicks again, at any rate.

TG: i mean i guess that makes logical sense n all TG: still fucking wild as shit to me TG: guess you can still wear a uniform even its obviously not as sweet as the fast food ones

TT: Yeah, I really miss that old greasy apron. TT: But what can you do?

TG: the grease just made your eyes pop in that special way ykno TG: chicks love it

TT: They fuckin do, don't they? TT: But somethin tells me you didn't message me to talk about the chicks missing my pizza funk.

TG: you sure about that? its a pretty great topic you could write a book on it become rich quick with your pick up tips

TT: Hey, I'm already on chapter 7: the Sausage Party. TT: But really though. TT: What's up, boss?

TG: nothing TG: i was just TG: thinking about you is all

> Heart, squeeze. TT: That right? TT: Cool, cool. TT: Was thinking about you earlier too, actually.

TG: oh? any reason or

[Dave txt @ bro] im watching u [Dave txt @ bro] > that chicken image

TT: Just, y'know. TT: Was outside on a smoke break and I saw a couple of pigeons hanging out, eating some sandwich or some shit on the sidewalk and like. TT: Got me thinking about you, and like. TT: I spent the past 13 years thing you're dead or some shit, and now you're alive and it's. TT: Just fuckin buck wild. TT: Pardon me for sound fucking sappy but it's kind of like a dream come true.

[TT > Dave: I'm behaving, dad.]

TG: ...am i a pigeon now? tho i do admit i would eat that floor sandwich(edited) TG: yeah its...its fucking wild huh? TG: kinda thought id never see you again even after TG:  i got away and shit TG: idk why not like you up and died but? after looking for you and you werent there i dunno i guess TG: i thought you just TG: werent going to come back TG: ...you didnt even see my wings yet you dont get to relate me to birds just yet dude

TT: I mean, I saw them in a picture. TT: One of you and Dave and a bunch of trolls and some old dude in front of a candy cane dildo? TT: But also you post about birds and shit all the time, so I figured that was sort of your Thing now. TT: And ... well.  I dunno. TT: Almost didn't. TT: I was just gonna stay on Earth, maybe pop in to visit every so often. TT: But then all that shit happened and Dave wasn't answering my messages, so I thought he was dead too, and...well. TT: I guess I'm, uh... grateful to the apocalypse for.  I guess bringing you back to me? TT: Well, no. TT: But like, at least letting me know you're alive.

TG: oh...yeah thats TG: thats my sisters actually and uh..shit what even is grig? grandpa i guess TG: already know mr d after all TG: i mean... im not sure how i feel yet TG: i guess im sorta glad because TG: i mean it has been my embarrassing dream to play family with you again for a while TG: i want to be a family again TG: a lot TG: its just TG: hard

TT: Sisters, huh?  Well damn, you got the whole family package with these folks, huh? TT: Nice.  How long you been with them? TT: Yeah, I figured. TT: I didn't, and don't, make it easy. I know. TT: A lot easier when you were a baby, even if our folks were shit, just cuz, y'know. TT: Everything hadn'tt happened yet. TT: Hadn't started to completely fuckin lose my mind and treat you like dogshit. TT: But I mean.  I dunno. TT: I'm not gonna force you or nothin. TT: But if you ever wanted to come backto the apartment and chill for a day, see how you feel about it? TT: That'd be uh. TT: That'd be really nice.

TG: 3 years TG: as long as ive been TG: away from scratch... TG: i..yeah i guess maybe TG: can you even handle seeing me get gay with dave tho

TT: God.  You were with Scratch that whole fuckin time? TT: Fuckin sonnuvabitch refused to tell me what he did with you. TT: Anyway. TT: Handling y'all and your homogay is a small price to pay at the end of the day. TT: Even if it's still. TT: Kinda really weird from my perspective. TT: But I respect y'all and he takes good care of you, so I can't complain too much, right?

TG: ...yeah like ten years TG: kinda fucked up huh TG: ill..ill think about it TG: okay so im gonna be real with you here for a sec okay TG: i TG: messaged you because i was talking to dave and i realized i missed you and TG: that i TG: kindawantahugiguess

TT: ...Yeah? TT: I can do a hug, yeah. TT: Where are you?  I can meet you, if you wanna.

TG: ...workin TG: at [coords] TG: dont arrest me mr officer these drugs are prescription

TT: I'll leave the cuffs in the car. TT: What happens off-duty stays off-duty, though, so. TT: See you in five.

TG: kay > Try not to freak out. Freak out anyways.

> Pull up by the curb a short walk away and park. > Look, you even pay for the parking meter and everything. > Step out of the car in your full uniform and approach Sock, one hand in  your pocket, the other raised in a wave hello.

> Oh god, he really fucking is a god damn cop. That's so damn weird. God. > Not as weird as randomly meeting up with him for a hug though. Damn it that was the dumbest idea. > You wave back, trying hard to look cool and not like you are dying on the inside and failing miserably.

> You stride up alongside him and... ...well, now what, actually. > Neither of you are very good at this kind of planning, are you. > Damnit, Striders. "Hey." > Now just to... > ... > Open your arms up? > Yeah.  That's how hugs happen.

> Oh god, he's going right for it.Oh god. Not even small talk or anything really bro? > Maybe that's better anyways because god know you don't know what to say. "Hey." > You take a deep breath and you...Go for the fucking hug. Squeeze that big bro tight.

> Aww shit here it comes and here he is.  All up and hugging you. > Actually, that's uh. > That's real nice. > You wrap your arms around him and pull him in for a good, tight hug. > It's probably not the most comfortable thing, what with your radio strapped onto your chest and name plates aand shit, but. > At least for you?  This is a fucking good hug. > (Don't you dare tear up in public.)

> You don't really care about the cofort level of this, it's something you've been craving for 13 years now, a little radio isn't going to stop you from enjoying it. > It's nice. It's familiar, like all the good parts of Bro you've been missing wrapped up for you in one big huggable form. Easy to forget all the shit for a moment. > But the moment does end and when you pull away you have to wipe at you eyes like an idiot. "Uh...Th-thanks."

> Aww, shit goddamn.  He's teaaring up too under those glasses. > You swipe one knuckle under your shades, and you take a steaadying breath. "Hey, yeah, no problem." > Breathe easy, Strider.  You glance up for a moment as you see a fatass snowflake come drifting down, then you look to Sock again. "Hey, you wanna maybe grab some lunch with me?  Haven't eaten yet and it's still my break, so."

> Well at least you are both sappy motherfuckers now. > Oh. You didn't expect that. You think about what Dave told you earlier "Stay in control" and promptly decide to fuck that advice because shit. You are already here. You already went for it like an idiot. "Yeah sure. Gonna have Donuts like a proper cop?" > You make such a face at the snow. Ugh, you didn't really prepare for that kinda weather, fuck.

> You snort a laugh and give your flat stomach a pat. "Gotta work on that signature cop gut, don't I? C'mon." > You gesture behind you with a jerk of your thumb. "Hop in up front.  You can pick the place."

"Hell yeah you do. You look like a fake ass striper cop dude." > You get into the car and immediately get the seatbelt. Doesn't feel safe otherwise. You don't really like cars still but you can't pin point why. It's just a weird personality quirk yeah? But you are used to being in one at this point of your life. > Just drive carefully. Please.

> You hop in and buckle up too, both pleased and a litttle saddened that you didn't even need to remind Sock to put on his seatbelt. > Poor kid. > Luckily, you are an impeccably safe driver, and the drive to Wherever is smooth and uneventful.

> Old habits die hard. > You feel kind of awkward in the car with him, it's too silent for our tastes. > You get out of the car at whatever this amazing food place he's taking you is. Fingers crossed for fast food- "Y'know kinda funny. Always figured my first frive in a cop car would be because I'm getting arrested."

> You snort a laugh.  It's Sock's old favorite pizza place. > God you hope he still likes this shit. > Also this wasn't a Pizza Pimp before, was it?  It was Gino's-- > Wait. > Ugh, well, maybe Dave's not at work. "If you're planning on getting arrested, you're doing this pushing thing wrong, kid."(edited)

> Oh the Pizza Pimp. Fucking score. Maybe Dave is there, that would be rad. "I didn't say I was, I said I didn't think I'd ride a cop car otherwise. Your hearing getting bad?" > You immediately freeze after saying that. Oh man, actually sassing Bro though? Please don't hit me.

> Dave is unfortunately not there, but he sure would love to.

> You catch that freeze, and you... > You snort a little, before pointing to your ears. "Too many concerts and phat-ass beats.  Knew I shouldn't have gotten all up and personal with those speakers.  Who knew the grown-ups were right about that?" > You smile, and it's a little awkward cuz you sure as hell have never been the smiling type, before you hold open the door for him. "C'mon, before we freeze our asses off."

> Oh. Okay. It's cool. It's chill. In a quite literal sense even so you get your silly ass inside. > A smile though? You haven't seen your brother smile in...far longer than you haven't seen him for sure. > That little scare knocked the speech right out of you though so you just awkwardly sit down at the next best table, suddenly really not sure how good of an idea this was.

> You take a seat opposite him, and when the server approaches, you order yourself a water instead of a soda. > Who are you, even. > You glance over the menu, humming softly.  Some of these item names... fitting for a place called Pizza Pimp. "You wanna split one, or do individuals, or?"

> Who is he indeed. You order a black coffee instead of apple juice though, so maybe the traditional Strider beverages are just staying outside today. "Uhhh..Not super hungry honestly I don't mind sharing one." > You haven't been able to eat a whole pizza at once in a while but you don't say that.

"Alright.  We'll split a medium and you can take the rest home if you want." > You let him pick the toppings too.  This really is a strange Strider day.

> The strangest. Do they have nuggets as topping because you want that.

> They might have like, baked chicken, which is kinda like nuggets and also? Is Carro-approved.

> Do you think the pizza pimp doesn't have a nugget topping what kinda fool do you take Dave for.

> A big one. >:3

> LISTEN Nuggets have been added like at least two months ago. Cock Special.

> Goddamnit, Dave.

> Sock loves Dave and the Cock Special Pizza. Prepare ya taste buds Bro.(edited)

"One Cock Special with extra cock please" > Yes, this is exactly how you order.

> Oh your face. > You're so fucking proud.  Dave sure is your little brother, and so too is Sock. > Bless these fucking kids.

"Hope you like it, it's my fav." > Both the pizza and you know.

> Yeah.  Yeah, you know. "Sure I will." > Snort a laugh. "This sure isn't Gino's anymore, huh.  You remember that place?"

"Oh yeah. Man..That's been a while. Clover gifted the place to Dave what? 2 years ago?" > Back when you were on a no homo basis. Memories.

> [Clover: nya face]

"Used to be your favorite, but maybe that's because it was free when I worked here. ...Clover?"

"I'm always a slut for free food but I still digged their shit later. Oh uh..Yeah. Little green guy? 4 of the Felt?" > Should..You now have mentioned that?

> [Dave] Oh no.

> There's this shift in your face.  It's not a frown, but a certain tightening of your lips as you're hit with the full brunt of what Sock just said. "...Dave's...doing business with the Felt?"

> WHOOPSIES >Oh. Oh, oh, oh shit. You fucked up. You didn't really think about that when you said it. At all. Shit. Fuck. Damn. "Hahaha whaaaat? Noooo. Of course not! He'd never uh...Clover is just y'know his uh... Sugar daddy yeah. Cash money man, can't say no to that even from a greenie right?" > Well it's not entirely a lie. You are sweating though.

> You paw at your face and you sit back in your seat, eyebrows knit together tightly. > Looks like you're going to have to have a little talk with Dave when you get home. "...No, guess not.  Desperate times and all that, right?"

"Yeah exactly! Haha..." > God this is uncomfortable. You are going to warn Dave but you already feel like shit. Fuck. "Don't...Don't hurt him okay?" > There's fear in your eyes now. Not for you but for your boyfriend, which is so much worse in your eyes.

> That snaps you Right out of your bad thought spiral and you quickly wave your hand. "Hey, no, no.  Not gonna hurt him.  It's chill." > There's that smile again, even if it's uneasy and a bit green around the gills.  Your brother and the Felt... "Really.  Just surprised he hadn't mentioned it before now."

> [Dave] GUESS WHY.

" 'kay..." > He probably hadn't mentioned it for a reason. You couldn't have known Dave wasn't supposed to do business with the Felt but you still feel like shit. It makes sense in hindsight and considering your history of course but...You just plain didn't know. > The Pizza arrives but you suddenly don't feel very hungry at all, sipping on you coffee awkwardly instead.

> You're, similarly, not hungry, but you've got to salvage this.  Not telling when or if Sock will agree to see you again after this. "Sorry, I just... Y'know, getting offered a gift by those guys.  If they had snatched Dave too..." > You shake your head, and sigh it off.  Out with the bad. "But they didn't, and that's that.  So." > You take up a slice of the pizza and you point is casually at Sock, an eyebrow quirked. "What're you out there peddling?"

> Oh. You'd really rather not follow that line of thought, yeah.  Smooth topic change. "Dude, don't think I should be discussing that with a cop in a pizzeria. Mr D would murder me man."

"Hey." > You make a show of taking off your badge and laying it upside down on the table. "Off-duty, not a cop.  So is it the good shit, or is it like, oregano in a dimebag being passed off as weed."

"We're still in public man." > And you don't want to piss off your Dad on top of the shit you just pulled.

"Yeah, yeah.  Weren't you in public anyway?" > You chuckle a little and you point toward the kitchen area. "Your big bro used to sell shitty dimebags out of there, way back.  Dealt to all the line cooks."

" Course you did." > You roll your eyes behind your shades. "What you want an inventory list? Okay I'll just tell you my favorite product aight? Kinder Überraschungseier......The surprise is Cocaine." > Huh, sure did slip into your mother tongue there. Welp..

> Okay.  You actually laugh then. "You're selling Kinder Überraschungseier full of Cocaine.  Shut the fuck up, seriously?" > You're nodding approvingly now. "That's a fucking great idea.  Where the fuck'd you get the chocolates, though? Make them yourself?"

> That makes you feel..really proud? Huh. You can't stop the big dorky grin from spreading on your face. "Best idea I ever had, honestly. I'm importing them from earth, duh. Along with a bunch of other banned sweets and shit. Who the fuck thought peeps are illegal anyways?"

> You balk at that and you laugh again. "Peeps are illegal here-- wait, shit, right." > Smack your forehead. "That's my job to know that now.  Wow, fuckin fire me now."

"Maybe I should show you my stock, just as a reminder. A fucking lot of dumb shit is. Fucking Lattes were banned man. Until the King unbanned them just for Jude which is honestly so fucking stupid. Way to play favorite, just like royalty should am I right? Not that I'm complaining, love me a big fat Latte." > Man it's...Nice to be able to make that kind of shit tier level german dick joke and to know you're gonna be understood just fine.

> You snort your water and you pull a face,but you're clearly goofing around a loving it. "Fucking nasty, dude.  I don't need to hear about your love of big hot fuckin Lattes."

"Aren't you glad the prospitian monarchy digs a steaming hot Latte too? What a life that would be otherwise." > You snort yourself.

"Jesus christ.  Fuckin whities, dude." > You stuff some pizza in your mouth and you talk withyour mouth full like the fat nasty trash you are. "Can you believe I have to work with them?  Like what the fuck."

"The Queen gives me the creeps with her I love everyone bull. And the King seems like a huge fucking idiot so...Congrats man. Jackpot."

"Not had the chance to meet either, but this is the closest I've gotten to infiltrating the corrupt government yet.  Maybe if I keep my shit up, I can finally overthrow them from the inside." > You are entirely dead seriouus.

"What's the masterplan? Shoot them in public?" > You aren't but you also don't mind the topic. Not a fan of these guys.

"Nah, nah, nothing like that.  Too messy.  Besides." > You gesture at the scar that runs oveer your eyes. "Never been a fan of guns."

"I know." > Hell maybe you should be grateful he ain't. Swords fucked you over bad enough. "Seems like a popular approach is all. Like historically or whatever. But I guess you gotta go for something less stale huh?"

"Of course.  Flashy's the only way to be when you're taking out a corrupt system of government."

"Looking forwards to the show Bro." > Except you hope he's fucking joking.

> You totally fucking aren't. > You toss him a wink, which of course he can't see all that well behind your shades. "Hope it's a good one.  You gonna eat any pizza, lil bro?"

"Oh, right." > You finally grab a piece too. "How's the Cock Special?"

> Stuff the rest of your piece into your mouth and brush the crumbs off of your fingers. "It's not big hot Latte, but it's nice and tasty all up in my mouth, so it'll do."

"I mean we can grab a Latte next time-" > Did you just say next time. Did you just imply you want to meet up like this again? Shit. > Stuff your mouth with Pizza real quick.

> Oh. > Oh... That makes yourr heart do the smiley emote. > You grin a liittle bit about that and you say, voice kinda soft, "Yeah... alright.  I'd like that."

"Me too...I think." > If you don't hurt my boyfriend tonight that is, is what you think.

> Don't you worry, Sock.  Not gonna hurt your boyfriend tonight. > You're not gonna be home, so Dave gets to go unhurt for another night.

> Or any other night Bro.(edited) > Or day, or ever:

> Well, at least you'll try to keep your cool when you talk to Dave about it later.

> That's a good start.

> Fuck yeah.  Before you all finish up here, you nod back to the streets now lightly coat with snow. "You going back to your corner, right?  You need a jacket?"

"I mean, I'll live..." > But it's pretty obvious that you don't have any especially warm clothes on you, you know like an idiot.

"Yeah, and you'll get sick, doofus." > You shrug off your jacket--it's a plain black windbreaker, while you wait for your city issue polcie jacket to come in--and you ball it up, handing it over to him. "Here."

> You open your mouth to respond but the Jacket is already in your hands. Oh. That's..Oh. > Is that what it's like to have a caring older brother? "Thanks..." > The Jacket is far too big for you and smells like Bro. It's a weird feeling to put it on. Like a hug you can wear. > Your heart is doing several emotions.

"Hey, no sweat. No good to go out there to work if you're just gonna freeze to death, yeah?" > You have the server bring you all a box for the leftovers, and you give those to him, too. > You stand from the stand and stretch. "Alright, my lunch is about over.  You ready to go?

"Uh, yeah." > You are still trying to sort your feelings over all of this. It's weird. It's nice. > It's what you wanted all along. > Except for the part where you are scared about Dave. > You get up too feeling like a huge fool.

> You, very very carefully, put your hand on his back and lead him out back into the cold. > Look to him, then to your car. "Back to tthe same corner? Or you got anywhere else you need to be?"

> You tense up just a little at the touch but let it happen anyways. "Y-yeah same place." > You just get into the car quickly to cut off the awkward moment. Not without putting on your seatbelt of course.

> Always seatbelt first, kid! > You buckle in and drive him back to the street corner you found him on, putting the car into park but not getting out. "Alright.  Don't get into any trouble, alright?  Oh, and patrol comes past here in about 30 minutes, so be cool when they pass, yeah?"

"Oh uh..Okay. See you, I guess." > You wave an awkward goodbye, overwhelmed by a lot of conflicting emotions.

> You're about to drive off, but then you open the door and, hanging halfway out, you call to him, "Hey! Love you, Sock."

> That just leaves you starring for a moment. Did he just-? Does he? What. Can not compute. "L-Love you too Bro..." > You are not sure if he heard that with the way you mumbled that. You are not sure if you want him to or not. > It's only getting weirder. > But it also warms your birdy little heart.

> You heard it--you've actually got pretty good hearing still, despite all tthatt music and shit. > You smile and wave again before ducking back into your car and driving off.

> The patrol driving by half an hour later doesn't find a drug dealer, just a crying kid in some back alley. > This absolutely kills the bird.