#expect to see more drawings not just dr hehe

[le-agent-egg]

Gosh diddly darn it what did she do this time

#danganronpa #junko enoshima #trigger happy havoc #dr thh #kind of maybe spoilers #she stole a chocolate bar #a plain Hershey chocolate bar #gross man #nothin against Hershey I just think their chocolate tastes gross #because it does #i’m back from the dead #kind of #expect to see more drawings not just dr hehe #zachs art tag

[idyllic-affections]

employee benefits.

summary. baizhu remains constantly attuned to his chronically ill employee and their needs. it is no surprise that he knows when they are unwell.

trigger & content warnings. chronic illness flare-up.

tropes, pairings, fic length, & other notes. fluff. baizhu & reader, qiqi & reader. 0.5k words. they/them pronouns for reader. this post is an expansion of invisible disability? it's rather visible to me.

author's thoughts. in celebration of me getting baizhu within 30 pulls and me getting to soak up all of his lore like a dry sponge would to water, heres some more baizhu content!! we love him in this household <33 he and kaveh are literally the REALEST genshin characters ever with the most relatable trauma and ideals like what the fuck man..... /lh

baizhu knows that some days, his junior herbalist just can't work; it's far too much for their body. he's had many such days himself. it's unavoidable and unpredictable—some days, his body doesn't function well even if he was completely fine the day before. the same applies to his young hire. as such, he is often the one able to see the signs as soon as the day begins.

"good morning, dr. baizhu, qiqi, changsheng," they greet, a tired smile on their face. their smile widens a little bit when qiqi tugs their sleeve to draw their attention before handing them a pastry.

"[name] needs to eat."

"hehe... yes, you're absolutely right, qiqi. thank you."

she hums, content, as they pat her head. she remains glued to their leg.

the way their chest rises and falls is blatantly irregular, as if they're trying to catch their breath. there's a slight tremble in their limbs as well. baizhu briefly wonders if qiqi is supporting their weight, if she's somehow, subconsciously aware that something is off about them this morning in particular.

"oh my," baizhu muses, observing their tired disposition. "did you not rest well?"

"what he's trying to say is that you look awful."

"jeez, it's this early and you're already bullying me, changsheng? gui isn't even here yet. it's too early... what did i do to deserve this?" they huff. "to be honest, i woke up feeling unwell. i don't know why. i just feel very weak today."

"hmm..." he's thinking. if they are unwell, he absolutely will not permit them to work, given that they may faint or collapse at any point. he simply doesn't want to see them hurt themselves. "well, there's still quite some time until we officially open. come. i'll examine you."

"do i get an employee discount?" they joked, to which he smiled.

"i won't be charging you."

"wha— no. i was joking. i was kidding. you can't not charge me. that's hardly fair, given that i can afford it. i know we're supposed to make things as easy and affordable for patients as possible, but i don't need those accomodations. i work here. i already have easy access to everything i need."

"don't be stubborn, [name]."

"i am stubborn, dr. baizhu. you can't be hypocritical and expect me to allow that."

silence. then, the liyuean doctor chuckles fondly. the way he gazes at them is soft.

what a handful they are.

"fine, fine. i'll take the cost from next month's pay, alright? just let me look at you. we can't have you collapsing on us today, now can we?"

a month later, they find something... oddly normal about their pay. not a single mora has been deducted.

"dr. baizhu, i love and respect you and would never doubt the things you say, but... you said you would take my examination cost from my next paycheck. this is the same amount of mora i get every month."

"oh, did i say that? hm, i can't seem to recall that conversation."

"...with all due respect, you're insufferable sometimes."

please consider reblogging, it helps me out quite a lot!

#aphelion brainrots 🌸 #: [ the junior herbalist! 🌸 ] #favoniuslibrary #astronetwrk #platonic genshin impact x reader #platonic baizhu x reader #baizhu x reader #genshin impact x reader #platonic genshin x reader #platonic genshin impact #genshin x reader #genshin imagines

[ura-writes]

Trampolinist

Summary - You’re a player who jumps from server to server, often revisiting several and always trying to find access to new ones. When a victorious game of duos Skywars on Hypixel wins you an invitation to one of the most famous yet exclusive servers in the community, you find a world you never knew existed, allies you’re not certain you can trust, and enemies that may not be just that. Oh, yeah, and an anarchist piglin hybrid.

(c!technoblade/server jumper!reader)

Basic warnings: minor blood, swearing, light threats

A/N - hello! I decided to start this series as a result of a sporadic idea at midnight after quite an odd dream. Some information you might need:

A few select people can jump servers without using portals, and you (the reader) are one of them.

Some servers are public and some require invites. Hypixel and a lot of the other bigger servers are public, while SMPs such as the Dream SMP are private and require an invite.

Jumpers, as they are commonly referred to throughout the series, still require an invite to private servers, though some have figured out loopholes to this process and actively exploit it, earning the title of “Crashers”. You have figured it out but don’t use the ability.

The rating for this series is 14-15+, most likely including minor to graphic descriptions of blood/injuries, violence, swearing, minor manipulation and death.

There are select groups of people who hate Jumpers and actively try to perma-kill them or get them source-banned from servers, leaving them stuck in single player and isolation.

From the author:

This will be in second person.

There will be no use of Y/N or (Y/N) or anything along those lines. I understand some people use them as a descriptor, but in my opinion, it looks a bit messy/choppy.

Feel free to criticize, though don’t be super harsh.

Also gl free to point out spelling mistakes.

I love love LOVE feedback! Gimme it! Please! /lh /gen

Anyway, those are the basics that you need to know! For now, at least… hehe.

Enjoy the first part!

-ura

——

The familiar particles signalling a personal portal opening in the lobby sends a few people scattering, but most just move to the side, though there are a fair few that stay to watch the person step out of the rip in reality.

The person stumbles out, cursing the deities to high heaven, brushing dirt and sweat and even a bug off of their face, certainly looking a bit worse for wear.

This was certainly not what the audience was expecting. They were expecting a prim, proper or at least somewhat distinguished person to step out of the actively sparking spiral, as most Jumpers are that way, even just a bit.

Nope.

“What are you looking at?”

The people step back a bit, noticing the sword the person clutches in their hand.

That person is you.

“Fuck off, would you? You probably see Jumpers on the daily! Fuckin’ annoying.” you grumble, sheathing the sword at your side. “Fuck… is this Hypixel?”

With a cursory sweep of the attire of the people surrounding you and buildings towering over everyone, you determine that yes, it is, in fact, Hypixel.

Of course, that may have also been the big-ass sign in the sky with the server’s name on it. That too.

With a sigh and a wave of your hand, you pull your inventory up. The typical “please place your personal belongings in a safe place before playing a match, otherwise they may be wiped.” message pops up when you do. You huff, wave your fingers to dismiss the text. Not like you’ve been here a hundred thousand times or anything like that.

The Netherite blade at your side, your armor and any sentimental belongings you have on you go straight into your enderchest, categorized in one of the shulker boxes designated specifically for this purpose.

As you walk along, trying to sort your inventory out (fortunately the server provides a free repair and replace to anyone’s clothing, as yours are beaten pretty much beyond self-help), deciding what match you might want to play, the crowd that was surrounding you quickly scurries off with a few screams.

A quick glance upwards catches your gaze on a red and white nametag.

Huh. Don’t see those often.

Whispers of the name you can’t quite see from where you stand rapidly reach your ears, ringing with slight familiarity.

Dream.

Odd. The masked man doesn’t often come onto public servers, mainly sticking to his own private server, named after him. The Dream SMP. How egotistical.

Without another glance towards the fan-people, you select a game idly. The blue text pops up in front of you, confirming your want to play the match.

Skywars Duos.

Before you know it, you’re whisked off to the arena, a bit dizzy from your landing, but fine nonetheless. The timer for the start slowly counts down, ticking slowly as people pop into existence with increasing frequency.

A presence behind you alerts you to your teammate. You nod at them just as the beeping of the final ten seconds counts down.

After a few repeated sessions, most being losses, you decide on one more match before you head to a tavern for the night, preferably one with a view.

This time you’re the second one to arrive. And for once, you take a longer look at your teammate.

He’s the guy everyone was freaking out about a few hours earlier… what was his name again? Dr-something. Or was it a Tr-something? Ah, who knows. It doesn’t matter as long as he’s good. You don’t bother to look at his nametag; he’s probably just some hotshot who thinks he’s all that.

“Not going to freak out?” he asks you. You snort at the question, shaking your head with a glance at the timer.

“Just here to kick ass.”

“Fair enough,” he replies. “You any good?”

A laugh from you echoes as the beeping of the countdown starts.

“We’ll see.”

The barrier below you drops, sending you hurtling to the floating island below. You quickly hit the ground, rolling into a crouch while your teammate raids the chest beside you, tossing a few bits of armor and a stone axe as well as a golden apple, which you catch and nod gratefully.

The hood on his head drops when another player attempts to take him out of the game. He ducks, barely avoiding the glimmer of the enchanted sword, sweeping her legs out from under her. The enemy player narrowly rolls out of the way with her shield being knocked out of her hands into the dark blue void below the floating island.

She curses loudly as his axe lands beside her head, kicking it to the side.

In that moment, you shove her hard off of the crumbling stone, jabbing your axe in her shoulder for final measure. Her falling figure flashes red with the loss of hearts, and eventually, she disintegrates into dust, the announcement of her tag being eliminated in the chat making you smirk.

“Well, you are good.”

You send him a smirk and collect the spoils of your kill, mostly a few potions and the iron blade, tossing a few of the former to your teammate and splashing a speed potion on yourself.

With practiced movements you begin to build to the middle islands, your teammate throwing the occasional snowball at any approaching enemy players, even knocking one off their bridge. The message of their death rings in the chat, being the fifth elimination.

The chests there contain better loot, even a diamond sword and chestplate, a strength II potion and a Power I bow with fifteen arrows. You take the bow and chestplate (with permission from your teammate, who gladly takes the sword and potion) and book it to the center chests, almost laughing at the amount of snowballs and arrows lying there.

“Well, I’m not complaining,” you muse.

You hear a yell of your tag, quickly spinning around to block the swing of an enchanted axe, their teammate quickly turning to gang up on you after finishing off another person.

Great. You’re fighting two people now.

Swing, duck, dodge, swipe, duck, swipe, block—shit, you got stabbed! Two hearts disappear from your health bar, sending a flurry of curses flying from your lips.

But luckily, your teammate is fast enough to eliminate the weaker of the two.

The tables turn.

The clash of blades, splash of potions and grunts of pain quickly move to the edge of the center island. It’s two verses one now, and the three of you are the last competitors in the match.

Block the swing, return the blow, duck, block, dodge—

A sudden stab in your shoulder alerts you to an arrow stuck in the skin there, slowly depleting your health.

It’s merely a distraction.

The enemy player barrels into you, sending you stumbling backwards right at the edge of crumbling gravel.

Poison becomes your downfall.

The smack of another half heart.

As one last resort, you grip onto the block with one hand, the other dangling with your bow into the void. Gritting your teeth, you do your damndest to drag yourself up, the poison wreaking havoc through your body and strength.

Shit. I’m not going to survive this, am I?

The one-handed grip on your bow tightens, nocked arrow slipping between your dirt-covered fingers.

You make a decision.

Just as the enemy player comes over, smirking but low on health, you let go of the block, drawing your arrow back as you fall into the void.

The broadhead meets its mark just in time, signalling a victory with a dragon appearing underneath you right before you hit the death line. A sigh of relief escapes your lips; you direct the dragon upwards with a rush of gratefulness soaring through your body. Respawning isn’t a pleasant process.

Twenty or so seconds later, you appear back in the lobby with your teammate at your side. The lobby is nearly empty, only a few people milling around, most having traveled elsewhere or checked into a tavern or hotel.

“You’re good. We could use you on our side.”

“ ‘We’?”

Two other figures appear out of seemingly nowhere, one wearing white-rimmed black sunglasses with a blue hoodie, the other a bandana and a white hoodie with flames on the front of it.

Your fingers twitch at your sides, calling up a portal in your mind, ready to dash through it at the slightest hint of a threat. Sparks form by your palms, their signature color drawing the leader’s attention.

“Calm down. I have no interest in killing you.”

“Doesn’t seem like it,” you retort. “Three versus one isn’t exactly fair y’know.” The sparks grow brighter; though they are primarily used to call up portals, they can deal quite a blow to anyone who forcefully comes into contact with them.

Dream (you now read off his nametag, getting sick of referring to him by random aliases) extends a hand in front of his body. Something hovers in it, glowing a soft white and reading something you can’t quite make out.

“It’s not going to kill you.”

Bandanna laughs at that.

“Reassuring,” you snap, taking a closer look at it.

Invitation: Dream SMP

Active?: Yes

Expires: Never

Taken aback, you sputter out a few jumbled sentences before asking why they’d invite you of all people. Sure, you may be okay at Skywars, but that doesn’t warrant an invitation to literally the most exclusive server in the network.

“Uh—what?”

You take a quick glance at the two others, noting their tags are red and white as well, reading Sapnap and Georgenotfound.

“You don’t have to accept.” Dream steps forward to set the glowing orb in your hands. “Just know that we picked you for a very good reason.

How… interesting.

“Is it ‘cause I’m an inactive Crasher?”

The three stiffen at the moniker used for the infamous Jumpers, the ones who figure out ways around the system, the lines of fate that make up the different servers, finding loopholes that not even the best Mender can. They exploit them, gaining almost god-like abilities on the server only to wreak absolute anarchy on the infrastructure until the admin can step in, if they haven’t been eliminated from the system or perma-killed already.

From what little you know about the Dream SMP, you know the admin is a god of sorts, mostly staying out of the way but occasionally fixing matters that need it. Otherwise they stay… wherever gods stay.

“No,” George pipes up. You note his accent, odd and slightly out of place, but not unpleasant. “You being a Jumper does help, however.”

You’ve heard of elusive servers where Jumpers have access to a lot of power and near-unlimited resources, though no one can quite figure out why. Those servers are typically entirely anarchy.

“Yeah, sure.” But you clutch the invitation closer to your person anyway. It glows a bit brighter at the increased contact.

“Think on it.”

Those words echo through your mind throughout the rest of the night, in your bed, subconsciously in your dreams and into the next morning.

It’s no easy decision. You know you’ll be dragged into all sorts of politics, conflict and battles unlike the Skywars ones you usually find yourself dealing with.

Your hand grips the glowing ball a bit tighter, reading the same three statements engraved on it repeatedly until the words are branded into your mind.

And then it disappears.

“Invitation accepted.”

#mcyt x reader #reader insert #xreader #x reader #mcyt x you #technoblade x reader #dreamwastaken x reader #Trampolinist: Series

[the-bat-collector]

SUPERBAT Rec List!! AU NO POWERS ish PART 1

I love NO POWERS NO CAPES AUs but its been so hard to find them!! so decided to make this list to help y’all in your search  :D

The length varies, but I prefer long fics so most of these are 10-20k up to 200k 

Heart and Soul by Pandamomochan

E - 150,044

Clark Kent used to be a renowned composer who was said to be able to write masterpieces that were designed uniquely for each individual player. Famous musicians around the world would flock to him in hopes that he would write for them because his pieces were always said to bring out any player's crowning performance. That is, until one day Clark loses his wife in a tragic accident and decides never to write again.

Years later, Clark's son, Jon, gets admitted to the famous "Gotham School of Performing Arts". It is there that Clark meets Bruce Wayne, a strict, uptight, by the book piano instructor who is said to be able to craft the best musicians around the world.

this is one of my favorites. I'm not really into Hurt/Comfort but this is so beautiful!! highly recommended I'm biased cause I play the piano

Seeing Bruce Wayne by Evilpixie

E - 15,089

Clark Kent is the only male midwife working in Metropolis General. Bruce Wayne the residential pediatric surgeon.

I'm so into medicine/doctor AUs this is also one of my favorite fics!if you have to pick one from this list, pick this one!!!

On The Cusp by vesper_house

E - 47,378

Clark's life isn't going so well. He's in his thirties, he works at a coffee shop run by his old crush, his journalism career is going nowhere, and he's broke. It takes only one tall, dark and handsome stranger to change everything.

COFFE SHOP AU COFFESHOP AU!! We need more of these, the dynamic between Bruce and Clark is Great!!!!

A Game You Can't Win by NightFoliage

T - 78,328

Injustice is the hottest MMORPGs available to play! Set in a world where superpowers exist, players can become civilians, heroes, villains, and anybody in-between. Designed by Hiro “Toyman” Okamura, and Timothy Drake-Wayne, Injustice was created with the best Wayne Industries technology available and has the most human NPCs. The game is beyond it's time and is planned to be at the top of the charts for a while.

By accident, Clark finds himself pushed into the spotlight and new found fame. To him, Let’s Plays are a means to stay in touch with friends and to make money. He never got into LPing to become famous.

Bruce, who funded the game after Jason’s accident, is irritated (not jealous) that a video game player is such a big topic among the kids. After the nth time they mention him, Bruce decides to take matters into his own hands and see what all the fuss is about.

link to art

ONE OF MY FAVORITE SUPERBAT FICS OUT THERE!!!!!! this is great and fun and Clark is the best!

As We Grow by butterflyslinky

E - 23,451

Clark Kent is a farmer deep in debt to Lex Luthor.

Bruce Wayne is a billionaire with seven children and no luck in love.

But their families have a scheme to get them together and hopefully make life a little bit better.

Modern Medicine by BuckinghamAlice

G - 5,208

Pediatrician Dr. Clark Kent becomes beloved to his patients, the Wayne boys... as well as to their doting father Bruce.

ABSOLUTELY lovely and adorable, you get the feels!

Hellooooo, nurse! by weirdraccoon INCOMPLETE WIP

T - ?????

Clark enjoys his job at the Free Clinic. He loves helping people and tending injuries. Saving lives. But this man... Bruce Wayne is going to kill him if he doesn't get killed first.

Bruce is still Batman on this one but HERE ME OUT, Clark is a nurse! is incomplete but looking forward to the following chapters!!

Two Cities by EllenD

E - 96,152

Clark Kent, is simply Clark Kent, junior reporter for the Daily Planet who moved to Metropolis from Smallville with big dreams. Bruce Wayne is a billionaire playboy from Gotham, who also happens to be Batman. They meet, date, and fall in love, though not without hurdles because mild-mannered Clark is also socially awkward as heck. But when the most dangerous criminals in Gotham are gunning for Batman, Clark gets caught in the middle of it all. (He's basically Batman's Lois Lane) Meant to be set in the Dawn of Justice movie universe, but also draws inspiration from video games, comics, and those awesome Batman cartoons.

This is part of a series, but this is the main fic of it. Love this trope of Clark is just a civilian and Bruce is Batman. Warning this fic does contain disturbing topics so read the tags.

Here Comes the Sun by batsy_rocks

T - 18,815

Clark Kent is a kind-hearted reporter working in the big city. Bruce Wayne is a stressed dad of four with no idea of what he's doing.

Then they meet.

Seasons of Love by littlechinesedoll

G - 4,603

Clark Kent took over that farm at the edge of the Town of Smallville. He likes Smallville's resident doctor, Bruce Wayne.

The best gifts for Bruce are ginger ale, salad, coffee, and any kind of flowers. He hates gems, and bars of copper, silver, and gold.

Petals and Ink by drunkraiinbow

T - 12,976

With a new kid joining the family, Bruce tries a new tattoo artist to continue the tradition of adding them to his sleeve, but he won't trust just any artist. Clark manages to win him over with his incredible talent and his farm-boy friendly demeanor, and he may even have begun to win Bruce's heart. However, Clark might have a few things to learn first.

FLOWER SHOP TATTOO PARLOUR AU! what else is there to say, this is extremely cute and a fast read! :D

Faceless Killer by Batsymomma11

E - 51,519

Detective Bruce Wayne from the GCPD and detective Clark Kent from the MPD have been asked to create a joint task force in an effort to catch the John Doe Killer that has been ravaging their sister-cities. Aside from their long-standing animosity towards one another, it should be a breeze to work together. Besides, lives depend on them getting along.

They never expected they'd trip headlong into a romantic entanglement that feels a lot more serious than even the killer they're chasing.

The Tailor by maderi

E - 16,026

When Clark is assigned to cover the Wayne gala, he finds himself in need of a professionally tailored suit. His tailor though is drop dead gorgeous, which brings up a lot of awkward situations during their appointments.

Heroes of the Squared Circle by Mithen

M - 226,687

They've gone by many names: Billionaire Brucie, Country Clark, the Kryptonian, the Dark Knight. But no matter what their stage names are, one thing has always been true: Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne are the world's finest wrestlers.

Six's a crowd by Untoward INCOMPLETE/ABANDONED

G - 10,133

When Alfred has to make an emergency trip back to England, Bruce soon finds out he can't manage running a business and taking care of six kids all alone.

He turns to a nanny agency for help, and is astonished when he finds Clark Kent, who seems like he can handle anything.

Clark not only can take care of the kids incredibly well but seems to be breaking Bruce's walls down rather well too.

After Hours by ????

E - 3,175

At the end of a long semester Clark can't hide his attraction to Professor Wayne any longer. Grad School AU.

This is practically a one-shot, not really my type of fic but worth adding!! Haven't come across this professor trope in Superbat so if you got any recs, send them my way!

Wings and Fangs by DanielleN3

E - 17,224

Clark thought he could never fall in love with anyone, especially not after being alone for such a long time… but all of that changes when he encounters a sexy vampire in Gotham.

TECHNICALLY they both have powers in this one but there are soooo different from cannon that I think this fic still qualifies for this list

thirteen by CapnWinghead

T - 22,890

Drowning in student loans, Clark Kent takes a summer job as the Wayne family nanny.

OKAY. so this is not entirely NO POWERS, but I mean Clark is a NANNY so this is great! TRUST ME

Kiss me, take my breath away by J_Jubilee

E - 37,934

There were legends about Gotham Reef. Legends that said it was haunted by a beast of foul temper. Stories told of a ravenous sea beast that feasted on the flesh of men, and was said to be more hideous than Satan himself. Others told of a woman with eyes that glowed like gold to lead sailors to their death. Some even spoke of a witch that cursed men and wreck their ships, taking all their treasures with it. When Clark’s catamaran is wrecked by a terrible storm, he learns that the stories were oh so far from true.

Baby Bats by AlmondRose

G - 4,003

this is a short series of adorable and simple domestic fluff

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Haven't read this one but heeey the art is sooo pretty soo decided to add it anyways

Dragon Heart by Hells Angel 921

T - 27,660

Kal wants to make up for his past.

Bruce tries to move on with his future.

They eventually meet in the middle.

link to art

I didn't know that Dragon/DragonSlayer was a thing but hey... apparently it is, so here it is.

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hehe and so my rant ends here! let me know if you know fics that fit any of these tropes! I’m all ears

#superbat #rec #rec list #recs list #batman #superman #clark kent #bruce wayne #kal el #superbat rec list #fanfiction #fanfic #worlds finest #world's finest #ao3 #archive of our own #dc #dc rec list #fic recs #fics #but seriously we need more superbat coffeshop AUs #batfam #superbat fic rec

[thinkingisadangerouspastime]

I just want to say, before I say anything, I'm not accusing you of saying this and I understand that you feel how you feel. I'm just asking this in a very general way and was wondering your thoughts. Why is it so verboten to think Zuko might have had a slight crush on Katara? There seems to be a rush to not just deny it but to treat it like it's some sort of horrible thing to even suggest it and I'm not sure why that is?

Katara is presented as a beautiful, lively girl who is a powerful bender. Why wouldn’t Zuko be a little starry eyed over that? It doesn’t mean she likes him back. Idk, I’m not exactly sure where my point is, except that being shouted down for just advancing the idea that maybe Zuko had the hots for Katara is a little frustrating? I’m not saying he was wacking off in his bunk thinking about her or expected to get some while they were hunting Yon Rha.

Also, unrequited crushes happen in ATLA-verse? Toph/Sokka anyone? Why does that never get screeched on but saying “Hey, Zuko loved Mai but he was probably looking at Katara and thinking ‘noice!’ a couple of times” the worst thing in the world? Is it the Water Tribe/Fire Nation thing? I mean, if it’s that, I wish people would just say that and stop screaming at people for their headcanons and whatnot. [theend]

Lol do not worry anon I know this isn’t an accusation!! Not only have I myself never perpetuated this rhetoric, but I don’t think I’ve really heard it before! Maybe once or twice?? I might just keep to chill parts of fandom, lmao, and that’s why I’m not very familiar with it. But I’ll do my best to theorize what may spark conflict based on the info you provided me!

(I’ve talked very briefly here about Zuko having/not having a crush on Katara before, if you were wondering.)

My main guess is that it’s not the headcanon itself that makes people frustrated, but how some shippers probably treat the HEADcanon as canon-canon (not an issue exclusive to Zvtara, btw; all big fanon ships have this problem - Zvkka, anyone? lmao). I don’t think there’s anything inherently wrong with headcanoning that Zuko had a crush on Katara! But in that same vein, there’s nothing inherently wrong with others acknowledging that the headcanon has no basis in canon either, if that makes sense. And headcanons don’t need canon basis! Headcanons are fanon! That’s why they’re so much fun! I ship Kuzaang like there’s no tomorrow, but I can also acknowledge that there wasn’t anything in canon that demonstrated Aang having a crush on Kuzon. Kuzaang is strictly fanon, and I love that about the pairing! It means I have incredible free reign, hehe.

But yeah. I don’t think it has anything to do with their different nations! Like I said - it’s probably solely an issue of some shippers (and undoubtedly just a loud minority) treating the headcanon as canon.

I don’t think saying “Hey, Zuko loved Mai but he was probably looking at Katara and thinking ‘noice!’ a couple of times” is the worst thing in the world, lmao. I do want to make a distinction here, though; this example you provide is actually an example of aesthetic attraction, which is not the same as a crush (crushes are indicative of romantic attraction)! So saying/headcanoning that Zuko thought Katara was pretty (as anyone with a brain would say, let’s be real) does not actually equate to him having a crush on her.

But back to the crush headcanon. I mentioned that I (personally!) don’t think it has canon basis. I will admit that I am not alloromantic, so crushes in themselves are a little confusing to me (I mean,, people just randomly like someone?? based on their appearance?? without even knowing them?? hell nah), but even disregarding that, I don’t think it would make much sense within canon for Zuko to have had a crush on Katara.

Again, disclaimer: there’s nothing wrong with the headcanon! Fanon is meant to contradict canon! To expand canon! To rewrite canon! Fanon is transformative. That’s the entire purpose of fanon. Go wild with that headcanon!! Make art!! Produce fics!! Support content creators!! Hell yeah!!

So what do I mean when I say that I personally feel there’s no canon basis for Zuko having a crush on Katara? Well, for one, he joined the Gaang in episode 12 of Book 3. That’s episode 52 of 61 overall. So in everything prior to that, Zuko not only has no idea who Katara is but he is also neck-deep in imperialistic rhetoric (you know, racism, superiority complexes, all that jazz. not fun for anyone non-FN). No possible crush there. In “The Western Air Temple” episode itself, Katara (understandably) threatens Zuko. She means what she says, and I think Zuko recognizes that. A crush there wouldn’t make sense - they’ve only properly met this second time and Katara (understandably) hates Zuko’s guts for what he’s done to the Gaang and to her personally.

Episode 53 is “The Firebending Masters” - Zuko’s too hung up on his firebending not working to think about anything else (Katara obviously still does not trust him yet, either, meaning Zuko is pretty much on edge around her. again, she threatened him, and Zuko no doubt took her threat seriously).

54 and 55 are “The Boiling Rock” episodes; not only are these Maiko-heavy but also in general… I mean, Katara’s not really in them. At least not from Zuko’s POV. So nothing implies a crush there. And then after those episodes, it’s worth considering that Zuko probably thinks Mai is dead. That he left her, the girl he loves, to die at Azula’s hands. We know Zuko tends to hold guilt to his chest, so concluding he blamed himself for Mai’s “death” is not illogical. Why would he all of sudden switch his sights to Katara, even if it was just a simple crush? While he’s grieving? That doesn’t track to me.

And then, of course, “The Southern Raiders.” This episode has been talked about to death, so I’ll keep it brief, lmao. I will draw attention to only one line, spoken by Zuko:

This isn’t fair! Everyone else seems to trust me now! What is it with you?

As we all know, TSR was not a flattering episode for Zuko. He was a racist asshole to Aang and - as aforementioned - acted as if he was entitled to Katara’s trust. Obviously, Zuko grows through the episode, and we see by the end that he respects Aang’s wisdom and respects Katara’s decision to walk away from Yon Rha (which is awesome!! I adore this brief but incredibly crucial arc of his!!). But my point is that nothing demonstrates romantic interest from Zuko to Katara. If anything, his initial motives are pretty damn selfish (i.e. demanding her to trust him because he feels like he “deserves” it already).

Emphasis on “initial” motives, of course. Obviously he grows more sincere!! (Tis the point of the episode for Zuko.)

So they end TSR on new, peaceful terms. Personally, I don’t think their relationship would be magically sunshine and roses after that (Zuko did some fucked up shit to the Gaang, lmao), but I do think things are getting better between them! Still, there is nothing indicative of a canon crush.

Next episode, in EIP, they scoot away from each other at the possibility of being together, yk? That doesn’t mean they hate each other’s guts, lmfao, but EIP is meant to depict imperialist Fire Nation propaganda - who wouldn’t be uncomfortable with that? Like, the entire Gaang is demeaned in that play. There’s nothing romantic about it. It’s a similar situation later with June - this is a lady that doesn’t know anything remotely personal about Zuko or Katara. Of course they’d react in a horrified and flustered manner when this - for all intents and purposes - total stranger suggests that they’re together! That’s creepy as hell! Definitely not indicative of a crush, lmao. And considering that the Gaang never teases Zuko about having a crush on Katara (compared to how I think Toph teases Katara about Haru?), i.e. the people who know them the best, there’s no reason for the audience to think anything is going on between them.

For other references, here are a few addressing EIP, June, etc.

And after all that… Well, now we’re in the finale. What time is there for romance? There’s a reason the canon couples don’t reunite until after the war is won! (Minus Sukka, I guess, but they’re not professing their love on the battlefield, per se, lmao.) Zuko chooses Katara to go with him because she’s a powerful waterbender and the only person who’s been able to handle Azula in the past (besides Aang, arguably, who’s obviously occupied with Ozai), not because he “likes” her in a romantic sense.

All of this is to say that to me, Zuko having a crush on Katara is strictly fanon. Which is awesome! Fanon is fantastic, and I actually really like these types of headcanons (like, Teo having a crush on Aang? GOOD SHIT). Some people are just jerks about it. That said, I can still understand why people might get frustrated by those who preach this headcanon as if it’s pulled straight from the text itself. I absolutely think it’s ridiculous to harass others over a headcanon (which unfortunately you see on both sides of the ship war), but in that same vein - of course it’s frustrating when those loud few act like their fanon is canon and proceed to shove it down others’ throats, lmao. It’s an imperfect situation, basically.

TL;DR - The headcanon in itself is great, and no one should be getting freaking harassed over it. But it is strictly fanon, so when some shippers treat it like canon, that’s understandably going to frustrate the rest of the fandom. Headcanons are a double-edged sword, lmao.

So that’s my personal theory as to why people get pressed over this headcanon. If anyone else has a different idea, please feel free to rb/comment with it!

#also anon you 100% do not have to agree with any of this!! tis just my own thoughts and theory 🥰 #amy answers #anon #amy analyzes

[shinygoku]

Top 10 CSatM Episodes (2/2)

See part 1 here

As a few paragraphs and pictures for 10 episodes in a row makes a rather long, unruly beast of a post!

The second half of my personal preferred picks for a Top 10, though the order they’re being listed in doesn’t correspond to my favour, but the order how I watch them on my DVDs. I still suggest you read the first half of the list before this one, all the same~

Spoilers below the cut, be warned! ✂

Crater 101

So this ep is pretty much a sequel to Lunarville 7, and is followed up with Dangerous Rendezvous. Neither of those made the cut of my list though, and even isolated from those it makes a solid story. The most Space-y of all the episodes and a visual treat, cause while we mostly stuck to the stark accommodations of Lunarville 7 in that episode, here we see the grey grimy gloom of the outside of the Moon, and the sharp, delightful contrast of the Mysteron’s fantastic plastic Complex. Here, vivid marbled colours and flashing lights join inorganic shapes that suggest something of the Mysteron’s nature, but as always, nothing conclusive.

Moving away from the lovely Aesthetics, this is also a strong one for characterisation. We get some sweet interactions with The Lads and for this episode only, the Best Female Character in the whole show. Linda Nolan is the controller of Lunarville 6, a smart, capable woman who had her own cool space mission referenced and in fact critical to the plot. She is also relatable in that she catches feelings for Scarlet, so while she’s barking up the wrong tree I still have nothing but respect for her, hehee.

Eerie, tense, interesting and still somewhat funny, this is another episode that eeks into an even higher ranking list than 10, I could comfortably put it in 5 and mmmaybe 3. Though I’m not gonna be able to say definitively as the best episodes all bring something different to the table, and this may just be the strongest in the uniqueness regard.

Fire at Rig 15

I get the feeling this may be an unorthodox choice, somehow? But yeah, I just really enjoy it. It’s not a funny episode, but it is rather exciting, and contains some lovely new music and a sweet scene at the end. The Mysteron’s plot is pretty simple, but should it succeed, devastating as it would be crippling Spectrum’s operations by removing the unique type of fuel all the craft uses.

In a way, it’s kind of like a dark mirror to a typical Thunderbirds setup; whereas in that show the initial fire would be more likely to be accidental or just maybe some ne’er do well like the Hood, this time it’s as simple as the Mysterons reopening the master valve. When traditional firefighters would eventually retreat to make room for International Rescue, here Spectrum themselves have a rather passive role as a professional rolls in. And of course, said man finds himself very, very dead due to further Mysteron interference (see picture), with Black seemingly hypnotising the poor bloke into standing too close to the explosion.

From there his duplicate half buries his original corpse and later receives direct instructions from Black to suicide bomb the nearby refinery, and it’s en route to this is where the thrilling car chase takes place! Scarlet saves the refinery but the whole SPV he was driving is completely ablaze at the end of it. Like my thoughts on Point 783, I really appreciate the human touch to the last scene, with soft music as arrangements are made for Scarlet to recover from the horrible state we’re spared of seeing. Seeing how his ability to recover from death is one of the cornerstones of the whole premise, I love it when we’re allowed a bit more insight into what the other Spectrum personnel do in the situations, in this case White specifically instructing Dr Fawn to make sure Scarlet is comfortable as the process takes place.

Treble Cross

A notable and unique spin of an episode, where a rather routine Mysteron threat takes quite the turn when their assassinated target is brought back to life! It seems by the 2060′s we’ll have cool machinery to do CPR for a couple of hours as well as doctors ready to play god when they happen to drive by the car crash scene, heheh

Seriously though, this is a really fresh premise, that the villains who have been using doppelgangers for their devious schemes get the tables turned. This time the duplicate gets perma-killed while the original Major Gravener willingly participates in an undercover mission to help draw Captain Black into a trap at last... However, an easily overlooked factor in the driver who was also killed had been duplicated offscreen, so even with this amazing chance Spectrum can’t catch Black. But the World Capital, Futura City, is saved and Spectrum find the Mysterons themselves can’t tell their own copies from the original person, so it’s all in all a net gain!

Also this episode contains the World’s Happiest Clock, so that’s a neat plus.

Flight 104

We start this story on the incredible note of Captain Blue singing in the shower of the Hotel room he shares with Captain Scarlet. Scarlet then orders them both room service for some lunch. And if that sounds like the start of a fanfic plot, it may well be, but it’s also literally right there in the episode, baybee!

Charmingly domestic opening aside, I love this whole shebang. Again it’s the usual Mysterons threatening of an individual who Spectrum are bodyguarding, but the way both our heroes and villains go about this is different from the norm. Scarlet and Blue are trying to avoid drawing attention, so they spend the whole episode in normal clothes (Blue spending 1/3 of this in that comfy bathrobe!), and don’t have their comms. What’s more, they get a pair of reporters suspicious, and the two trail them looking for a Big Scoop.

When I was first watching this, I was expecting the journalists to get killed by Black to be the Mysteron Pawns, but no! They’re both fine from the start to the end! Then we find Black doing ....something.... to the Flight Crew of the titular Flight 104, but they aren’t killed either, just drugged. Instead, the Mysterons remotely pilot the plane on a slow collision course with the Alps, but are undone when an Electrical Plant interferes with their control.

As breaking into the pilot cabin had the side effect of jamming the landing gear, the plane has to crash land at the airport, but almost everyone being unharmed makes this one of the most gentle episodes of the lot... of course, Scarlet himself is still heavily implied to have been killed from the crash, but even his injuries seem pretty minor this time. And yet, it’s not lacking in excitement, as the tension of Spectrum trying to communicate with the two without their Comms and the inability to override the Mysteron’s control until that pre-established Electrical weakness kicks in holds for a while.

Inferno

Those who know of me from Thunderbirds are Go (the 2015 TV series) discussion are likely to know how much I love the episode from Season 1, Tunnels of Time. It heavily features my favourite ship in that show as they explore an ancient South American Temple which is full of peril. The temple is destroyed by the end of the episode.

So anyway, Inferno features my favourite ship in this show as they explore an ancient South American Temple which is full of peril, and tragically the temple is destroyed by the end of the episode! Heheeheheee~

Ok seriously though, eerie parallels aside this is another utterly beautiful instalment, with set design and lighting that really blows other episodes out of the proverbial water. And the pyrotechnic team clearly had fun with the seemingly unending explosions at the end of the adventure. An all-around visual feast!

Main plot is relatively simple, like in White as Snow, the Mysterons kill a Satellite and its crew and steer the reconstructed version towards their target of the week. Unlike WaS, they succeed in the end, a reminder that they’re still not to be underestimated. No human lives are lost, but the important complex and more tragically, the 800 year old temple that’s otherwise intact, get bombed to smithereens. Something something additional cost of warfare on Culture and History.

But while this is the end of my personal Top 10 list, it’s not all bad, because the Scarlet and Blue antics in the temple are utterly lovely and [chef finger kiss] splendid cinema~!

That about wraps up this Two-part post of mine! Picking 10 out of 32 is easier than 10 out of 100, but it’s still tricky as most of the episodes are very good, with only a few I’d promptly write off as a candidate for the list. And in some ways I wonder if I went about this the right way, some eps I only saw once and might feel strong enough to pip one’a the ones I did choose.

I have been rewatching each of the eps covered, and a few that didn’t make it, but my initial choice was made looking at the full list and letting my gut grab a few, having to think over more as the slots filled. Some fan favourites like Lunarville 7 came close, but I hope I’ve been able to clearly convey what it is about this selection that gave them the edge ;3

I will write further posts on Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons in the future, but after this mammoth and also the Notable Episodes list I’d quite like to enjoy it for a while without thinking about points to talk about, haha

#Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons #Captain Scarlet #Supermarionation #Gerry Anderson #CutCat Top Lists

[birdy-bat-writes]

I ALSO WANT LIKE THAT THINK YOU MADE FOR CAT CMON RIYA MY TURN

Hehe alrighty, Ris, your turn!

You're an employee and Wayne Enterprises. Science division. Bruce had noticed you were a project leader on majority of the tech and tools that happened to catch his eye for the new batplane he was working on and began to look into your records. Something seemed all too familiar about you. One night he was up in the batcave going through your resume.

"So who's this girl you're so dead set on?" Dick asked. He's really never seen bruce look into someone like this. "She's either a psycho-doctor we have to hunt down, or, and I think this one's it, you have a crush."

"I don't have a crush. A scientist in WE designed half the tech in the plane I'm building. I'm running a background on her." Y/N L/N, Y/N L/N... Why did that sound so familiar...? Then it struck him. Before he 'went missing' you were a classmate at his ivy league. If he remembers correctly, you were the Young-for-your-class robotics student that sat 3 seats down from him in chemistry. And checking your record confirmed his theory.

He started seeing you around the company. His eyes would wander off to you walking by his office. He had been meaning to talk to you but it dawned on him that he actually had nothing to say. That's a first. It wasn't until the winter gala that he had the opportunity to talk to you.

You entered alone in a stunning ice blue gown. You spent most of the evening by yourself. Bruce's eyes drifted over to wherever you were. You were on his mind while he was blabbering gibberish to random haughty attendees and for some reason he couldn't shift his focus away From you. It turned out to be a good thing though.

A man came up to you at your table and began to talking to you. The conversation wouldn't end and he wouldn't stop inching closer. Seeing the uncomfortable look on your face, Bruce came you your rescue. "Dr. L/N? Bruce wayne." He shook your hadn and you took this opportunity to get up. "Your work on the AI for our new drones is absolutely extraordinary." He continued. You noticed as he spoke, he was moving away from the table you sat at and drawing you away as well. Clever.

"Thank you, Mr. Wayne." You conversed a bit and found it hard to believe this was the same guy who sat behind you in Chem and fell asleep in class.

When the music started again he asked you to dance with him. You weren't one for dancing but accepted anyway. The night ended up being more pleasant than you thought it would. At the end of your dance, you decided it might be time to head home. "Thanks again, Mr. Wayne. For the dance and for the rescue." He chuckled under his breath.

"What else are colleagues and old classmates for?" So he remembers. "If you happen to need saving again, or maybe just a cup of coffee, I won't be too far." He took your hand and kissed it. When you drew back your hand, you noticed the small slip of paper that he had given you. It was his number. You didn't expect Bruce Wayne to actually give you his number. You were mildly internested and very surprised.

Meanwhile, Bruce was walking back to his car through the garden, thinking fondly over how your smile hadn't changed. If he thought about it, the only thing that had changed was your haircut. "I guess Dick was right, I do have a crush."

Yo tell me if you want me to continue this in an actual fic. Also don't hesitate to point out my spelling or grammatical errors so I can fix them. 💖👏🏼

#birdy bat asks

[broken-clover]

AU-gust Day 21- Professional Rivals (Very, very late)

...yeah. I am. Very behind. But I’m trying to work on it

I wasn’t entirely sure how to interpret this prompt. I ended up going with something a bit superhero-esque again, but a lot more lighthearted than the last one, sort of inspired by Dr. Doofenschmirtz and Perry the Playpus. Nothing too dark or serious, just kind of dumb.

Sin let the weight of his body more than anything else push the door open to his apartment as soon as he felt the lock click. He managed to avoid stumbling over and hitting the carpet face-first, but only barely. At least he didn’t have to worry about anyone seeing him in the state he was in. Though he did notice a pair of slip-ons by the door, which made his shoulders sag further with an emotion he didn’t have a word for.

“Hey, Mattie.” He called into the empty space, slumping against the door behind him. “I’m back.”

Soft footsteps echoed somewhere in the bathroom. “Sin? You’re home already?”

He managed to stand himself up again and take a few tentative steps, clinging onto the gash on his arm that had just barely begun to clot. “Yeah, ran out of tasks to do so they let me out early. Bridget on the night shift again?”

“No, he should be home in a few minutes, hence why I was so surprised it was you and not him.” Sin sat down on his bed and watched as the silhouette in the bathroom moved towards the doorframe. “He’s bringing pizza with him, though, so at least we have that to look forward-

The two of them paused in place, completely halted by the sight of each other’s state.

“...Wow.” They said, in perfect unison. “You look terrible.”

Sin ran a hand through his hair, immediately regretting it when he realized he was staining it with blood. “Hehe. Yeah, rough day at work today.”

“That looks remarkably painful.” Bedman limped over, a hand hovering over Sin’s cut arm. “You’re all scraped up...what happened?

++++++

Sin soared over the cityscape in a ball of lightning, sparks crackling off his skin in iridescent arcs. He wiped the blood running from his nose and tried to focus on the dark cloud hovering up ahead.

“You’re gonna have to hit harder than that to do me in, big guy!” He shouted over the rush of wind. With a few more sharp bursts, he was at eye-level with the peculiar contraption. “Brought a new toy today? Hope it’s sturdier than the one I trashed last week!”

His taunting was interrupted by a series of metallic clicks. A dozen or so little objects were ejected from the hovercraft, which unfolded into hovering metal discs that immediately began chasing after him.

“W-whoa- !” Sin shouted, barely managing to dodge their sharp blades.

“Don’t be getting cocky, dear Mr. Raiden!” A warped, mechanical voice resounded from the main machine. “You look so cute scared out of your mind!”

Sin grinned back at him. “Y’think I’m scared, Oneiroi?” He fired off another bolt, making one of them explode. “I’m just hoping these ones are an actual challenge this time!”

Heroics weren’t quite where he’d seen himself ending up, but he couldn’t have been happier. Saving the day, stopping the bad guy, and getting out a bit of extra energy. It wasn’t the most high-stakes hero town, he was the only one there, after all (and he couldn’t remember the last time Oneiroi had made a fully serious plan as far as he knew) but Sin was perfectly happy where he was.

Well, most of the time. In his distraction, a blade whizzed by, drawing blood and leaving a mark Sin didn’t even feel until a few moments later.

The remote drones immediately freezed in the air, bobbing harmlessly. “Oh- oh shit.” The electronic voice’s tone suddenly shifted, from aggrandizing and pompous to concerned. “That wasn’t supposed to do that. You okay?”

“Nggh- I’m fine.” He wasn’t done for the day, and he certainly wasn’t going to throw in the towel as soon as he’d gotten nicked! That was just pathetic, for both of them.

“Are you sure? I can give you a minute to sit down-”

Grinning under his mask, Sin grabbed the nearest drone and spun before hurling it right back at where it had come from, wreathed in electricity.

“Sit on this!”

++++++

“Bit of a funny story.” Replied Sin, grinning with a bit of cheek. “Was helping deliver another truckload of slate across the 4 & 15, and I guess they did a shitty job blowing up the tires or something, whole thing toppled right into some poor old lady’s backyard!”

His roommate seemed to find it much less funny, mouth opening in quiet shock before he uneasily sat down on the nearest bed.

“A car accident?? And you didn’t think to tell Bridget or I about this? Not even a text?!”

Sin threw up his hands, immediately wincing and going back to grabbing his arm. “Easy, man! I was fine, It wasn’t a big deal! Besides, you didn’t mention whatever happened to you.” He gestured to the other, a lot more carefully. “What’s with that ding on the back of your head? And why’s your wrist bandaged up?”

++++++

“DANGER. DANGER. SHIELD TAKING DAMAGE.”

“ -agh!” the projectile had managed to knock his ship’s gyroscope off a bit when it struck, throwing him into the far wall console. He winced at the sore, and not to mention wet spot on the back of his head when he went to touch it. He’d seen much worse, but it would definitely take a few days to heal.

He knew he was vulnerable, but a second hit didn’t come. “Uh, you okay in there?” A slightly muffled voice came through the speakers. “Too much?”

After making sure it hadn’t been damaged, Bedman patched through to the speaker system with his helmet. “Are you being facetious? That hardly scuffed my outer plating! You’re going to have to do better than that to damage- khh- ow-” He winced, immediately sitting back down as soon as he’d tried to prop himself up with his free hand. Had he twisted it? At least it wasn’t his writing arm…

“Seriously, need a breather?” The other said.

“N-no! I’m perfectly fine!” He managed to scrabble to his knees with one arm, clinging onto the control panel for support as he pulled himself up, panting with effort. He tried to grin wickedly. “But while you were distracted, Raiden, you have unwittingly lowered your guard! Take this!”

He slammed a fist down on one of the large, brightly-colored buttons (a bit cliche, but they were helpful for his astigmatism). The sound of rockets firing off was supposed to sound, but he found himself tilting his head at the silence.

“Uh...Oneiroi?” Raiden’s voice came through again. “Tech error?”

“No! No, I’m sure I just hit the wrong-” He smacked it again, but still nothing. “Um…”

A little sigh followed it. “Yeah, let’s- let’s take five, okay?”

++++++

“Well, erm, there was a bit of an incident down at the office.” He shrugged innocently. “Shiina asked me to refill the printer trays, and I thought it would be a good idea to bring the paper bundles up the stairs- you know, exercise and building muscle and all that- but I wasn’t as careful as I could have been, I suppose, and I...erm, fell down from the top step.”

Sin cringed. “Yikes. That’s gotta hurt. Definitely made a good call, wrapping it up.”

“And it looks like you should do the same.” Bedman walked off and came back with the first-aid kit and a wet washcloth, the latter of which he pressed against Sin’s arm. “Just sit still. So aside from that, was the rest of your day okay?”

“Yeah, totally, everything was fine. You?”

“I was having a bit of a rough patch, but I had a nice talk with one of the other coders, that was nice.”

“Oh, really?”

++++++

The front panel of the hovercraft had folded over into a neat little platform that now hosted a cooler and a foldout chair.

“You don’t drink, right? Lemon-Lime Fizz?” The villain asked, offering a can to his rival. Raiden continued to hover a few feet away, though in a perfectly comfortable lounge.

“Ooh, yeah, toss me that.” He cracked the can open as soon as it hit his fingers. “So what’s up? You seem out of it.”

Oneiroi tapped fingers on his helmet. “I guess I just feel a little off today. Didn’t expect you would notice.”

“Aww, don’t be like that, man! You’re my nemesis! I notice these things.”

He supposed that was true, and it was nice. He could remember nervously typing up a memo on Heroes4Villains.com (‘M25 evil engineer, coder and aspiring megalomaniac seeking monogamous hero rival, serious applicants only, please!) at a fellow villain’s behest. He’d never had a real nemesis, but he was happy having Raiden. A bit dense, but he was a skilled electromancer and he made for an excellent enemy to battle on a regular basis.

He thought a moment before speaking. “Am I not adequately menacing? I’m worried I’ve gotten...a bit out of practice, as it were.”

Raiden blinked in shock, before shaking his head and waving him down. “Nah, man! You’re totally menacing! Those new drones of yours were super scary!”

“You really thought so?”

“Yeah!”

“Maybe I should commit to the motif a bit more?” He pulled out a roll of blueprints and unfurled it. “I had a concept saved for an army of robotic sheep with laser eyes, but the outer casing was complicated and I wasn’t sure if it was too...what’s the word…’hokey?’ I’m no Terumi or anything but I’d like to avoid coming across as too silly, you know?”

“I get you, totally.” Raiden nodded. “I think a lot of villains aren’t into the whole ‘motif’ thing anymore, but I totally get wanting to have a theme. And those tend to be some of your most creative plots! Remember the time you flooded city hall with nightmare gas during the benefactor’s dinner? That was iconic!”

Oneiroi looked down at his blueprints again. “Perhaps I could give this model another go...I know I didn’t exactly have a whole plan thought out for next tuesday. Maybe I could use my laser sheep to kidnap the mayor…?"

The other man smiled in approval. “Sounds good to me! Mayor Whitefang sounded like he needed a break from desk work too, he could probably use another kidnapping-for-ransom. It’s been a while since you did that!”

As he went to say something, a light began to blink and beep on Oneiroi’s gauntlet. “I wasn’t expecting that to pop up so soon.”

“Got a call or something?”

“Promised I’d help another villain remodel their evil lair, I wanted to cancel but they couldn’t get anyone else to help out. Is it fine if I leave early?”

Raiden nodded again. “Sure, sure man, by all means. I get it. Uh, and this is why you never underestimate the power of the good guys?”

“Of course. Curse you, Raiden? I’ll beat you next time?”

++++++

“...Yeah. It was nice.”

“Well, guess it wasn’t that bad of a day after all!” Sin beamed, throwing his bandaged arm around his roommate’s shoulders as soon as he had finished. “And now, all we’ve gotta do is chillax and wait! Hopefully Bridget ‘ll be back soon with dinner.”

“I don’t suppose we would happen to be getting garlic knots, as well…?

“You know it!”

“Excellent.”

#AU-gust #writing #guilty gear #Sin Kiske #Bedman

[jinjojess]

DR Kirigiri Vol. 5 Summary Part IV

Back to our regularly-scheduled shenanigans.

< LAST PART | NEXT PART >

Chapter 1 The Mania of Existence: Libra Girls’ Academy - Samidare Yui

Now that we’ve checked in with everyone who didn’t get much screen time last book, let’s get back to seeing what Samidare is up to.

Turns out she, Tsukiyo, and Nazuna have been in the small circular room for...well, Samidare isn’t actually sure how long, since there aren’t any clocks around. It’s felt like hours, but it might have only been tens of minutes.

“I’m hungry... I’m thirsty...” Tsukiyo had been crouched in the corner of the room for some time now, deliriously mumbling about what she wanted. “I need to go to the bathroom... the bathroom...”

“If worst comes to worst, you can just go over there. We’ll forgive you,” I called in response. 

“No way! If it came to that I’d kill you and myself! Who do you think you are, looking down on me like this? You think you’re better than me because you’re a little better at holding it in? I don’t take orders from you!”

“That’s not what I meant...”

Feeling exhaustion on a spiritual level, I decided to ignore Tsukiyo’s angry outburst. Trying to engage her right now would just wear us both out.

Instead, Samidare sits down at the desk and uses a pencil and sheet of paper she found inside to draw a map. She’s going to figure out the mystery behind Libra Girls’ Academy, dammit.

Nazuna watches over her shoulder as she jots down everything they know so far and occasionally offers some input. Her observations are so astute and point out so many things that Samidare hasn’t even considered that she begins to worry that Nazuna is actually better suited to being a detective than her.

They discuss what transpired right when Samidare came to, going once again over how she woke up, found Takezaki’s body, and saw the caped suspect. Nazuna asks what the caped figure was doing, and Samidare reports that they were just kind of...standing there...menacingly...and holding a steel pipe (the murder weapon according to the challenge card). When Nazuna asks, she explains that the suspect didn’t attack her, but that makes sense since Samidare is the detective assigned to the case and cannot be harmed. She’s apparently filled in the other two girls about how Duel Noir work, and while they didn’t believe her at first, as they’ve all been sitting in this room together, both of them have come around.

Nazuna confirms once again with Samidare that Takezaki was actually dead, and Samidare says that yes, she’s sure. She didn’t just check her pulse using her wrist, she actually checked her neck, and there’s no drug to mask that pulse as far as she’s aware. Besides, Takezaki’s body was already cold, so there was no way she was still alive.

Nazuna tells her to hold up for a second, did she just say that the body was already cold? So in other words, she wasn’t freshly killed just before Samidare woke up?

Yeah, Samidare admits, that makes sense.

In that case, Nazuna continues, the suspect’s actions make even less sense. The killer standing over the body when Samidare woke up would make sense if Takezaki had just been murdered, but the actual killing must have taken place at least an hour beforehand for the body to already be cold. So what the hell was the culprit doing during all that time?

Samidare supposes that perhaps they were setting up the trick? If she woke up too early, they might not be able to prepare everything, so they’d have to hurry.

However, Nazuna points out that it would be silly to try and run around doing that while carrying an iron pipe, and even more importantly, to not try and impede Samidare in any fashion. If Nazuna were the caped culprit (which I’m not entirely sure she isn’t at this point), she’d have tired Samidare up, or blindfolded her, or something to reduce the risk of her seeing something she shouldn’t lest she wake up before the expected moment.

Yeah, sure, Samidare admits, she guesses that tracks.

Still on a roll, Nazuna posits the question of why the culprit wouldn’t restrain Samidare if they had such ample opportunity. Her hypothesis is that it’s because they didn’t need to. And under what circumstances would they not need to? If the trick had already been prepared. So then, the logical path to follow would be to assume that by the time Samidare even ended up in the room, the trick was already in place.

Nazuna’s just out here laying down the logic, and it’s very much hurting Samidare right in the ego.

She just keeps going, too, concluding that if the trick was already set up by the time Samidare even got there, then that wouldn’t explain why the culprit was hanging around for an hour or more at the scene of the crime. Samidare asks what they were doing then, but smarty-pants Nazuna hasn’t figured that out yet. She’s sure it’s an important clue, though.

Begrudgingly, Samidare puts on her thinking cap and reviews what happened when she woke up. That’s when it hits her: the first thing she remembers is the caped culprit staring at her!

...Though what that means exactly she isn’t sure, so she tells Nazuna to see if she has any ideas. Naz begins walking around the desk, looking at Samidare, suggesting that maybe the culprit had done something to her? She doesn’t see anything out of the ordinary...

“My glasses!” Samidare cries, and explains that when she first woke up, she had a short Velma episode where she couldn’t make out much while she fumbled around for her glasses. Nazuna asks where her glasses ultimately were, and Samidare answers that they were nearby on the floor. They agree it’s possible that the culprit may have removed them, but that doesn’t answer why they were staring at Samidare. It’s not like they would have needed to check to make sure her glasses were off.

“Maybe it’s because your face just looks that awful when you’re asleep?” Tsukiyo cuts in from the Peanut Gallery. 

She was still crouching in the corner, with a nasty smirk on her face. 

“True, I don’t have a lot of confidence in how I look when asleep, but that has nothing to do with this!”

I suddenly remembered that back in junior high, one of my classmates had secretly taken a photo of me sleeping while we were on a field trip. She’d showed it to me later, but I’d been shocked at my open jaw and fully exposed stomach...

“Or maybe they were wondering when your stupid face would wake up, hehe.”

“Ah!”

In a moment, all the puzzle pieces fall into place in Samidare’s head. Tsukiyo yells at her for yelling, but Samidare just tells her that she’s exactly right. 

“You’re admitting you’re a stupid face?”

“No, not that. Why the culprit was staring at me. They were waiting for me to wake up!”

She goes on to explain that if they follow Naz-chan’s line of thinking, the trick was already set up before she arrived. However, it probably needed to be triggered, and Samidare herself was likely the catalyst. Nazuna seems a bit confused, so Samidare explains in more concrete terms: for the trick to activate, the culprit probably needed her to chase them. When she began to pursue, it was likely going all according to keikaku--Samidare wasn’t really chasing the caped culprit, she was being led.

That explained the part that she couldn’t figure out earlier too, about why all the doors were left open as the culprit was running away. It also means that the culprit vanishing into the thin air and the corpse disappearing were also intended to be seen, since the culprit would want Samidare to witness the elements of the trick. 

Not to mention it explains what Black Cape was doing in the room originally: they were waiting for Samidare to wake up.

She briefly wonders why the culprit would wait rather than tap her on the shoulder or something to wake her up sooner, but maybe it was to increase the chances that Samidare would give chase. If the culprit had roused her, she probably would have noticed and been a bit more skeptical of the scene.

“I unwittingly fell directly into the culprit’s trap,” Samidare concludes, to which Tsukiyo yells that yeah, they been knew! Who else but some weird pervert would trap a bunch of high school girls for their own pleasure?

Well, Junko for one... Actually, no. Checks out still.

Tsukiyo is less concerned with this nonsense and more focused on finding a way out. She’s progressed now to hugging her knees.

Samidare admits that they’re still not quite at that point yet, but Tsukiyo’s already busy having another breakdown. As far as she’s concerned, they’ve made zero progress. She cannot be in here a second longer, so she needs to know how to get out NOW. If she misses one day of violin practice, it might as well be three days’ worth of work down the drain. Does Samidare even understand that? Get her out of here!

“It’s okay, Tsukiyo-san.” Nazuna sat beside her, gently wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “I’m sure we’ll get out soon, okay?”

“Sniff... Naz... I’m scared... Do that thing you always do... please...”

Tsukiyo put her head between her knees and began to shake.

Nazuna reached up as if to pat Tsukiyo on the head, and began to comb through her hair with her fingers, parting the strands for her over and over. After a few minutes of it, Tsukiyo calmed down, and her trembling stopped. 

me, reading this and putting a hand over my gay little heart: Oh...?

Samidare admits mentally that if they’re stuck here without food and water for nearly a week, they’ll definitely die. That might actually be what Black Cape is trying to do, intending to win the Duel Noir by letting the clock run down.

She’s got to think.

If they want to survive, she needs to get her little gray cells in gear.

If Kirigiri-chan were in this situation, she’d just keep pressing forward. That’s the greatest weapon a detective has--her tenacity. 

Of course, if Kirigiri-chan were here, she’d probably have already figured out what was going on.

“If I tell you this much, you should get it, right Yui-oneesama?”

It’s just like she always said. If I thought over the evidence hard enough, I’d find some kind of clue.

Let’s review it again.

Samidare mentally tallies the facts: they aren’t trapped here by accident, they’re here because it’s where the culprit wants them. That means that the culprit had to know they were going to come into the room.

...You know, I’m just saying, I remember Nazuna insisting that we all come see Takezaki’s body.

Sadly, Samidare forgets about that. She does remember that they came back to investigate the body though, only to find it had vanished into thin air. Why did it disappear? And how? If they can figure that out, they should also stumble upon a way to escape.

The body vanished from this room, so there’s got to be some kind of clue here.

Isn’t that right, Kirigiri-chan?

Reaching further back, Samidare confirms that Takezaki Hana was indeed dead in this very room. She remembers the blood pouring out of her head staining the rug. Yet right now, there’s no sign of a corpse anywhere. And moving it out of the room would take a not-insignificant amount of time and effort. Samidare considers the wheeled trolley she used to escort the Virgin Mary statue--that’d be a way to easily move the body. You could cart it out and hide it somewhere in about ten minutes or so.

The other, more pressing issue, is the lack of any bloodstains. Cleaning a rug is not a quick fix, and how could you clean it so well that there was absolutely no evidence left behind? 

Samidare gets up to examine the rug, noting that she’s not finding any wet spots or discoloration. Though it’s a red rug, it’s not blood red, so you should be able to see if there’s any bloodstains on it. (Kitayama-sensei, are you making DanRon blood color jokes again?)

Confused, Samidare muses to herself out loud about her hypothesis so far: you’d need a lot of time, water, and detergent to clean up that much blood, but there’s no evidence of cleaning having even happened.

“If you had specialized tools, you could clean everything perfectly within about an hour,” Nazuna said, running her fingers through Tsukiyo’s hair. 

“An hour, huh...”

However, Samidare rules this out, since she’s pretty sure finding Nazuna and Tsukiyo and setting them free didn’t take an hour. Next they consider the possibility that the Committee could have provided a special cleaning machine that could have taken care of the bloodstains faster than they’d expect, but Nazuna points out that in that case the culprit would have to ensure that Samidare wouldn’t come back to the room in the meantime. (Also I’m pretty sure something like that would be listed on the Duel Noir Challenge Card?)

She’s got a point, Samidare admits. It’s pretty unlikely that the culprit would spend more than five minutes moving the body and ten minutes cleaning, max. Was that even realistically possible?

Nazuna, appropriately given that Celes has been indirectly mentioned in this book, suggests that maybe the culprit rolled up the rug with the body in it, moved it, and then laid out a new rug. Samidare is ready to go along with that until Nazuna herself points out that the trick likely would be something that wouldn’t be affected by whether or not the victim bled everywhere. They both agree that cleaning up a bloody corpse is not something that can be done in a matter of minutes.

Next Samidare muses that perhaps the trick is on a grander scale than they might have anticipated--what if the entire floor of this room could be flipped over like a coin? Something similar to how Norman’s Hotel was on a giant lazy susan? Then you could dump the body and have a nice clean floor for Samidare and the others to find.

Nazuna’s not so sure about this, asking about the other furniture in the room. If the desk and chair aren’t attached to the floor--which they aren’t--then that suggests that the floor didn’t just flip over. Samidare counters that you could wait outside with a different desk and chair to set up within a few minutes after the flip, which Nazuna agrees is possible.

Riding the high of having a working theory, Samidare goes to examine where the floor and walls meet to look for gaps. Those will give away that the floor can be flipped over!

Yay, Samidare!

...There aren’t any gaps.

There isn’t even any evidence of gaps that have been since filled.

Samidare’s pretty bummed that her idea didn’t work out, but she figures that it makes sense that the Committee wouldn’t recycle tricks she’s already seen. *cough*unlikeKodaka*cough*

Nazuna tries to console her by saying that she at least feels like they’ve made some progress. Now they have a better idea of what kinds of tricks to consider being in play. Samidare says that yeah, the Committee is pretty extra when it comes to their murder tricks, and she sits back down with a sigh.

She may not know what the trick is exactly, but there’s got to be some kind of clue hidden in what’s happened so far at Libra Girls’ Academy.

Samidare reviews the things she’s thought were weird since she woke up:

Black Cape was standing over her when she woke up. Solved: They were waiting for Samidare to wake up and witness the trick.

She wasn’t wearing her glasses when she woke up. Solved?: To slow her down and buy Black Cape some time to get a head start?

All of the doors were left open. Solved?: To make them easier to chase?

After Black Cape went into the coffin room, the door wouldn’t open when Samidare pulled on it. It did open after some time passed.

Black Cape disappeared from the coffin room.

Nazuna and Tsukiyo were tied up inside the coffins.

The key to unlock Nazuna and Tsukiyo’s restraints was around the neck of a Virgin Mary statue in the chapel.

When the three of them went back to the room to check on the corpse, it was gone.

They got locked into the room that used to have the body in it.

According to Samidare, the most relevant issue is probably #4. How did Black Cape manage to keep the door locked despite there being no lock? They couldn’t have been holding it closed since they were gone the second Samidare stepped into the room. That really was a mystery.

Maybe there was a set up in the room that made it so that the door couldn’t be opened while it was doing its thing?

For example, like how elevator doors can’t be opened when the elevator is in motion...

Hold on a tic, Samidare thinks, getting up to go examine the door.

Sure enough, it’s a sliding door on a track. It’s set up to close on its own unless you pull it all the way to the end of the track, in which case it will stay open. There’s no handle, only a divot to put your fingers in so you can pull the door. No sign of a lock or a keyhole.

So how the heck is the door being kept shut?

Since the track isn’t on the inside of the room, the logical assumption to make is that it’s out in the hallway. Black Cape could trap them inside if they put a pole or something in to stop the door from being able to slide on the track, but is that really what’s going on? The door to the coffin room was locked just like this one, and there was no evidence of anything blocking the door.

Is the track for this door even out in the hallway? The coffin room door didn’t have it on the hallway side, so it must have been in the room. If this room and the coffin room are identical in all other ways, why are the door tracks on opposite sides? And why bother to do that?

Is it possible that the door track isn’t in the hallway OR inside the room for both of them?

Where did the door go when it was opened?

Thinking about it like an elevator makes it pretty obvious: the doors go into the wall, or more accurately, into a space in the wall specifically for the doors. 

And if that’s the case...

“Are you okay, Samidare-san?”

“I feel like I just realized something important. But it’s usually not me who’s doing this sort of thing, so I’m a little light-headed to be honest...”

“Get it together! You’re a detective, aren’t you?” Tsukiyo said, looking up. “We’re counting on you...”

“S-Sure.”

I stepped away from the door and began to circle the room. I’d found a clue, but how to proceed from there? If I were Kirigiri-chan, I’d put it all together immediately. I felt a pang of frustration at my own stupidity. The nerve of some talent-less hack like me, pretending to be a detective...

I suddenly remembered what Kirigiri had said to me when we last saw each other. 

“Mind the Scales.”

Neither Nazuna nor Tsukiyo had the Scales as their zodiac sign, so I could probably rule them out as suspects. So where was the culprit who had that sign then?

The Scales...

Wait.

No way...

“Hey, do either of you know about horoscopes?”

“Huh? Do you mean like zodiac signs?” Nazuna asked.

“Yeah. The ones they put on the news in the morning and stuff.”

“What girl doesn’t like horoscopes?” Tsukiyo said. “Why, do you want to know your fortune?”

“No, not that. What’s the name of the Scales sign in English? Do you know?”

“Sure. It’s Libra.”

“Ah!”

“I knew it!” 

Nazuna and I cried out at the same time. 

“Right...that’s it! I get it! The secret of Libra Girls’ Academy. And the reason why both Black Cape and the body disappeared, and the reason we’re stuck in here!”

Sometimes, you translate a thing, and then more gets added later that paints you into a corner, but such is life, I suppose. Anyway, see you very soon for the next update!

P.S. Did you find my foreshadowing pun in this update? うぷぷぷ…

< LAST PART | NEXT PART >

#DR Kirigiri #DRK5 summary #DRK5 #translation #long post

[ryouverua]

A Certain Lab, Reprised

lab get lab get lab get lab get LAB GET

Everything around us is either exploding or on fire so Sweetcheeks and I are going to retreat to our space safe, investigating

am I talking about the school exploding or tumblr

we just don’t know

Speak of the devil!

“I AM HERE!!!”

“K1-B0 THeRE WAS AN OPEN WINDOW OH MY GOD, THERE’S GLASS EVERYWHERE, OH NO -”

“OH YEAH!”

Didn’t really wait at all tbh 8′D

Actually all jokes aside Sweetcheeks is right, it was hella cool - and also thank god he was in the hallway and far away from the window! K1-b0 keeps asking if Shuichi is okay but is being incredibly reckless at the same time - what if Shuichi had been showered with that glass? He wouldn’t come out of that unscathed. Was that just K1-b0 taking more of his uncorked anger out on the school?

... Hm, though I guess calling it ‘anger’ isn’t quite right. Or, at least, K1-b0’s fluctuating between ‘anger’ and sort of... more... ‘grim determination’.

Yeah, he didn’t even flinch at being complimented. He’s got serious tunnel vision right now.

Damn.

LMAO SHUICHI’S SCREEN -

There’s only one other place I can think of that qualifies...

DON’T YOU DARE SHUICHI WE FINALLY GOT HERE AND I HAVE QUESTIONS

Oh thank god I want to satisfy my curiosity about the library as much as you do but RANTARO’S TALENT FIRST

Again - damn, K1-b0.

Whoa -

..... This has a very YGO Season 0 vibe. Sorry, that’s a weird comment. Maybe the better way to describe it is that the words ‘punishment game’ immediately come to mind? Some sorta wheel/puzzle thing in the back, cards hanging from the ceiling, some sort of... table...? Kinda reminds me of a poker table, though there’s no center to it... Maybe he... really did specialize in death games...?

Actually, if Celeste had an Ultimate Lab, I feel like it would have a similar aesthetic ~

IT’S HIS SOUL ROOM WE’RE IN RANTARO’S SOUL ROOM

“Yeah so I never shared with you all, but part of the Ultimate Detective status includes the ability to shoot spirit energy from your finger like a gun -”

I don’t think that’s completely wrong but I feel like the actual talent name is going to be x100 times more ominous. 8′D

MAN end-game Himiko is so different than early-game Himiko! Nice to have you onboard - wait, I just realized we’ve got a magician sidekick helping us in an investigation. Is this the right time to make an Ace Attorney reference, or -

Okay, huh. There’s actually way less to click on than I thought there would be. WHAT IS WITH THE MOST CRYPTIC PEOPLE HAVING THE LEAST INTERACTIVE ROOMS, COME ON DRV3 -

Okay, that laptop first:

Empty laptop.... okay, let’s set that aside for now.

Here’s the real question - what came first? The K1-b0 we knew for the first five chapters or this K1-b0? Which one should we consider to be the ‘true’ K1-b0? I think the game is implying that this is the real K1-b0, and the one who we knew up until now was a ‘controlled’ version of him - but at the same time, if the antenna was built in with him, could it be considered part of the original design and therefore part-and-parcel of K1-b0?

omfg I just realized the implications of a white-haired boy hearing a voice (that he literally calls ‘voice’) in his head who may or may not be controlling him behind the scenes be still my heart you’re getting distracted

WHELP THERE’S REALLY ONLY ONE OTHER THING TO CLICK HERE SO -

Like a safe?

......... Omfg it says ‘B’ and ‘A’ on them and it has pictograms on them. Is... this going where I think this is going...

Okay Himiko is being our in-game tutorial and noting that the zodiac is on one side and astrological signs are on the other but honestly I’m fine to skip all past it tbh because there it is, there’s our fucking ‘horse a’ and ‘twin b’ is gemini, Kokichi himself was a gemini, this was where we were going with those hints??? Rantaro’s lab?! idk I just don’t find puzzles like this hard I kinda thrive off of symbolism and mythology in general 8′D

Wait.... doesn’t that mean Kokichi couldn’t have been the one to leave those messages behind?!

Okay this was pretty cute so I left this in ~ but straight up two minutes later it was just a string of KACHUNK KACHUNK KACHUNK until I got it open immediately -

.... the symbols are weirdly cute though, hehe ~

Don’t worry Sweetcheeks, the only life-threatening time-waster we’ll spend all of our time on is fluff text!

Aaaaaaand done. Thanks Kokichi!

MAN I LOVE THESE TWO SPRITES TOGETHER FOR SOME REASON

Ah, so they’re talking about the stone with ‘horse a’ written on it - which... does make me curious, honestly. I think the existence of this safe pretty much confirms that he didn’t write the original message... right?

When did the letters start appearing aside from ‘horse a’? Chapter 3? Was that around the time he concocted that particular plan, then?

H-Hey now, he’s also the reason we found the second clue. 8′D I mean, it wouldn’t have been terrible to go through 12 different combinations with ‘horse a’ determined, but it wouldn’t have been ideal.

i bet you can buy that, that is literally perfect DR merch

IT’S

THE VIDEO

THE VIDEO!!!!

yeah I’m totally going to pull up my old post to see what matches and what doesn’t

“Oh god I forgot how absolutely stunning he was.”

OH I thought that was an abstract red background, silly me - 8′D well, that was probably the point. It might give away the game if we saw something more concrete behind him way back in... what, Chapter 4?

Anyway, more importantly, Rantaro shouldn’t have had access to this place... except he clearly did. So... he... must have been here before. And he knew more about the killing game, or seemed to intuitively know more, than anyone else. He... must have done this before. Except he had made it all the way here last time??? So there is a loop of some sort? Though it can’t be an outright time loop because otherwise there would be no need to record a video (unless like I considered it’s a ‘simulated’ time loop, aka VR-style like last game)...

This makes me wonder how we saw the video the first time. Was it just another flashback/tease like the meteorites were, before we saw the flashback lights?

I mean, I guess it’s kinda hard for recording!Rantaro to prove, but we’ll have to take him at his word here I suppose. 8′D

OH

OKAY

WE’RE JUST GOING STRAIGHT INTO IT THEN

are you telling me you were the protagonist in the last killing game

DIDN’T YOU HAVE LIKE, TWO AHOGES TOO

Man, what an asshole move??? Like, okay, Monokuma’s creating the puzzle of the safe which would unlock this video. Fine. But almost half of the class would have to be dead in order for him to get to it! There’s no way for him to even start the puzzle at this point, because he wouldn’t know it existed! What a huge handicap!

......... Something.... he had.... since the beginning............. Hm. I’m drawing a blank. I don’t remember anything in particular that stands out....

My dead boy, that is an understatement.

AHAHAHA ABOUT THAT....

Now this makes me wonder if he is the only one repeating it or if anyone else is? Well, maybe the mastermind - but like, maybe everyone is repeating it, but only those who ‘won’ were able to have better memories, or were just able to retain the memories of the last game better than the others?

Or, hell, if I want to go along with my previous theory about downloading the memories of students, maybe... Rantaro can remember more about his real self? Or something? But everyone else can’t?

And if he’s really someone who won the previous one (along with one other person, I suppose), then he knows that for a fact.

???!?! Aaaah this part got cut off last time too - so it was actually cut off in the video, and not just in our flashback?!

“You’re also dead, which may make things a little bit more difficult, but I still believe in you!”

That at least I expected -

WHAT

OH GOD THERE ARE SO MANY LAYERS TO THIS

like the dramatic irony I’m sure the fandom has done to death, for example

What about the second person??? Is there a second Ultimate Survivor???? I guess there can’t be since everyone else knows their talents but -

wait, if you’re the Ultimate Survivor because you won a killing game, who were you in the last game????

Does this really give him an advantage though??? I guess the information would have been nice but I mean, it obviously didn’t do him much good because he got taken out so quickly!

Man this makes me wonder if Kokichi had any inkling of this...

jsyk since I have the screenshots side to side, his expression is different in this video compared to the last one

~ fun facts ~

Yeah, see, the ‘he wanted’ part is throwing me off. He participated, sure, and he didn’t say he wanted the original one, but he came back for round two and said he wanted it.... but why???? That implies there’s a purpose to it, and he was okay to gamble his own life - but also, as a person without his memories of this, he wanted to stop the game. If the chip he bet is his own life, the reward must be huge, right? He won these supposed perks for this game, but what did he win for his life outside the game? .... Assuming there is anything outside the game? Is there anything for him outside the game?

HIMIKO DON’T BE RUDE

Yeah, she didn’t know the identity of her target. 8′\ Also I’d be sad if it was Kaede in the end. Second also! I know that she ended up being the first chapter killer and I’m one of the people got taken by surprise by that, but we were in her head for that whole chapter! Her motive made sense - but for her to end up being the mastermind now? That wouldn’t make sense, based on what we know of her, memory shenanigans aside!

That would require the mastermind to have knowledge of Shuichi and Kaede’s plan then, right? So they would have had to draw Rantaro to the library somehow, so he would get caught in Kaede’s trap...

It... should be one of a kind, considering the circumstances...

Yeah I’m still wracking my brain and not coming up with anything there. Could it have to do with his necklace? It did make me think of that ‘soldier tag’ present, about remembering someone who they lost. That would be an incredibly appropriate, if not cruel, ‘survivor’s perk’ present for someone who survived a killing game.

Man are we going to get a new flashback for every place we investigate???

OH SHIT IT’S BACK

FLASHBACK LIGHT!!!

you can pry the flashback light animation from my cold dead hands

?!?!?!

Immediate thoughts - generic students. But, are they? Is there any chance that they look generic on the face of it, but are actually representative of people in the class? I don’t see anything that could be an immediate match (Korekiyo = masked guy, Kokichi = small guy with similarly shaped hair/short stature/face, Kaito = tall guy, maybe), and they seem to have different VAs - hell, is that Jounouchi (or for the proper DR character, Munakata)’s seiyuu?

...... or the guy with the sick mask could just be sick lmao

Ah, so this is from when the virus began to ravage the population...

That seems like an understatement 8′D But at least we know for sure when in the timeline this takes place! Shuichi doesn’t seem to know they’re going to be the only survivors yet, but they’ve already been presumably screened for the Gopher Project which means it is well under way.

Calm down Sigma Klim -

Shuichi hasn’t told them he swings both ways, huh.

OH GOD RIGHT IN THE KAITO

DO YOU GET IT YET SHUICHI, YOU ARE THEIR HOPE

Don’t mind me, just wanted to make sure Shuichi didn’t miss the cryptic message left for him in these memories -

Not only that, but these aren’t memories meant to act as a reward for completing a stage like the other ones or even one they found - this was literally forced on them. It’s supposed to be Monokuma’s weapon against them. So... similar to the motive from the last trial, it’s trying to make them take action...?

And it’s clearly working!

... Maybe it isn’t the necklace then. I mean, he was wearing it when he died right??? And his body is gone...

Oh man unless just like everyone else there were copies of it along with the rest of it in his room - except there are 15, one for all the participants for the last game or something -

It might be 50/50 right now??? There’s something screwy going on, I just don’t know what.

#Shuichi Saihara #spoilers #drv3 spoilers #Himiko Yumeno #Rantaro Amami #K1-b0 #Kiibo #Keebo #Ryou plays drv3

[gokubrain]

eowheisbf same anon as be4 and thisll be my last ask cause I dont wanna be too big a bother but yes I agree with your points about vegeta learning about how to redeem himself by looking at how goku lives and learning how to better himself from that. I guess after the excellent redemption arcs that were tien and piccolo, I just thought with how much people praise it I really expect more out of what people claim inspired most anti-heroes and redeemed characters. I still love Vegeta but gosh this is like bringing him down a peg in my mind but in a good way I think. Also I see the kakavege too it's like not even subtle how do people say these two arent at least a lil canon gay lol. (On a side note that's related to this, I saw a vid about v's redemption and the guy says goku is morally gray?? I feel like thats not correct like at all hes a bit selfish but not morally gray txbablrieh)

NOO JKSG LIKE I SAID UR TOTALLY FINE LOL, feel free to mssg me to talk abt dbz anytime btw <3 ! i have lots of dbz worms in my brain so LOL it's not uncommon knowledge that i have a very complicated relationship with vegeta in general LOL like he makes me really mad sometimes and i do have a lot of complaints with his writing but. i mean i do be kinning him tho and i also think about him and draw him pretty much constantly LOL but like. yeah again i think its totally fair and valid and also should be encouraged to have criticisms about characters. it really shows that u understand the media hehe.

which ties into what i'm about to say about goku LOL

i love son goku with my entire heart but i definitely don't think he's perfect by any means. i don't necessarily think he's morally gray or anything, i think it's more an issue of,, him being kind of unaware of the people around him and not paying much thought to them KJDSHGK NOT TO SAY HE DOESN'T LOVE HIS FRIENDS AND FAMILY, LIKE OBVIOUSLY HE DOES VERY MUCH AND HE CARES ABOUT THEM BUT...

i think like. i mean, he spent how many years of his childhood either completely alone or with only ONE other person?? like, twelve entire years LOL, children develop important social skills and emotional awareness during this time but i think goku may have been a bit stunted in that regard seeing as how,,, he had little to no social interaction for his entire childhood lol.

i do kind of think goku is a little selfish and i do think he's a ,, bit of a manipulator LOL BUT LIKE. obviously nothing severe and i don't really think he always realizes he's doing it either, if that makes sense

he really has his heart set on fighting, like that's his favorite thing and his constant goal and while it's a bit troubling that he's willing to put his life (etc.) at risk for fights, i don't really think it's all that bad tbh SGKJH LIKE i think a lot of people think that it's extremely selfish of him and that he's morally ambiguous or even like. a bad person for it but idk,, i just disagree?? LOL I MEAN. he's a saiyan,, that's what saiyans do. vegeta has done the exact same shit but everyone loooooves vegeta 🙄

i could go on and on about how i feel like goku's selfishness doesn't really hurt anyone in the end and i could ramble for DAYS about the gohan cell arc fight and how it lead to everyone hating goku and saying he's a bad guy DESPITE THIS NOT BEING THE CASE, PEOPLE FUCKING MAKE MISTAKES SOMETIMES, but i'll just cut it off here LOL

tl;dr, vegeta deserved a better redemption arc // goku isn't perfect but that makes him well written and also i still love him dearly no matter what he's never done anything wrong in my eyes <3

#hehe #answered

[miss-aligned]

Coming to Terms

Ugh. I’ve been battling with this one for too long. I’ve rewritten it more times than a really care to admit. I’m just going to put it here and hope it isn’t terrible. Hehe.

(On AO3, if you prefer!)

The Normandy was oddly calm for the moment. A majority of Kaidan’s most vivid memories of this ship, including its predecessor, involved almost unfathomable levels of activity. It was typically organized chaos in response to enemy activity, stealthy strike missions, or straight up fleeing danger. Everyone had a place, everybody knew their job, and they executed those activities with practiced accuracy. Now, all was quiet. They were mid-flight to the next destination and he couldn’t help but remember the more peaceful side of being here that he’d nearly forgotten… of being home.

The door to the med bay slid open to allow him access and he was surprised to see a familiar figure leaning against one of the examination tables, arms crossed, engaged in a conversation with the doctor.

“I don’t know why you insisted on wearing that battered armor all the time, either. Thank goodness you’ve found something new,” Dr. Chakwas commented with a chuckle.

“That was good armor,” Garrus replied, his mandibles flaring playfully. “I kind of wish I had it with me now. Sort of a good luck charm, you know? I survived multiple assassination attempts, a rocket to the face, fights with thresher maws and reapers, and even a trip through the Omega 4 Relay. I’d say it did pretty well.”

Dr. Chakwas sighed heavily, shaking her head and waving Kaidan to come in. “I suppose. I wish you’d at least gotten it repaired, then. I’m sure Cerberus would have coughed up a few credits so you could look presentable. Besides, is it wise to travel alongside Commander Shepard with broken gear?”

Kaidan followed Karin’s gesture, taking a seat on the examination table beside Garrus. As much as he tried to convince himself that everything had happened for a reason, even hearing the name ‘Cerberus’ sent an unpleasant chill down his spine.

“Maybe my intention was to look like some turian hobo just to annoy Cerberus,” Garrus joked. “And I’ll have you know it’s perfectly fine to travel with Shepard while wearing damaged armor. She draws the majority of the enemy fire.”

Kaidan opened his mouth to argue that last point, but closed it again with a shrug of his shoulders when he realized it was true.

“Well I’m glad to see you here with better armor, and I’m very impressed with the way your wound has healed,” Dr. Chakwas offered with a grin as she tapped on her omni-tool in preparation for her next patient.

“Aww, thanks, doctor.” Garrus turned his attention on the new arrival. “How are you feeling these days, Kaidan?”

“Fine, actually,” Kaidan was as surprised by the outcome of the Mars fiasco as anyone else. “Dr. Chakwas just asked me to stop in every once in a while to make sure I don’t rattle my implant again.”

Karin snickered. “Rattle. Your use of that term never fails to amuse me, Major.”

A little half-smile rose to his lips. He knew things had been far more complicated than that, but somehow it was easier to face his own mortality by toning down the severity just a little. Plus, it helped other people to brush it off and treat him like a normal human being. That’s what he was, after all. He didn’t want anyone to forget.

“Hey,” Kaidan began, looking to change the subject if he could. “Mind if I ask you two something?”

“Shoot,” came a quick reply from Garrus. Karin simply nodded.

“Did you like working for Cerberus?”

“We never worked for Cerberus, Major,” The doctor quickly answered.

“We worked with them… sort of… but really we were working for Shepard. I don’t think Cerberus was too interested in formally employing a turian, a krogan, a quarian, a drell, or an asari, anyway. They put up with it because Shepard called the shots.” Garrus seemed rather amused with the memory of it all.

Kaidan nodded. He wasn’t sure what to say in response because he honestly wasn’t sure how he felt about it. He’d heard Shepard’s exasperated explanations and chatted a bit about it with the other crew without getting too deep into anyone’s motivations, but he was still having trouble understanding why anyone who might have been aboard the Normandy back in the days of chasing Saren across the galaxy might have thrown their lot in with Cerberus. Even if Shepard was the driving force, it made him sick to his stomach.

“You met some of the scientists recently, right? And Jacob?” Garrus asked. He seemed to read the discomfort written in Kaidan’s body language. The Major straightened up and tried to mask it once more, though he was mindful not to obstruct Dr. Chakwas’ readings.

“Yeah. I’m glad we were able to get them out and away from Cerberus.”

“They were normal people, right? I mean, Jacob probably doesn’t count, since he up and dove into a suicide mission with us, but overall, they were just people doing their jobs.”

“They... seemed okay. I admit that I was expecting them to be far more… extremist… than they were.”

Garrus chuckled. “Not everyone is the Illusive Man, Kaidan. Some of them were psychotic, don’t get me wrong, but a vast majority of them were good people who didn’t have a better option at the time.”

“Joker, for example,” Dr. Chakwas interjected. “He’s a great pilot who was immediately grounded by the Alliance after the SR-1 went down. You and I both know he was born to fly. Cerberus gave him that ability and a rather fine frigate to go with it.”

“I was holed up on Omega, counting the minutes before I was bound to be overrun by mercenaries. I’ve never been so happy to see that damned N7 logo as I was that day when I was lining up my shots. All things considered, Shepard and Cerberus were a much better alternative than being shot, beaten, killed, and shoved out a station airlock,” Garrus stared up at the ceiling of the med bay for a long moment as though lost in memory. Kaidan was inclined to believe the severity of the tale.

“I joined the new Normandy because Commander Shepard asked it of me,” Karin added as she recorded the results of her scans on his implant. “A far less exciting story, I suppose, but it’s true. There were times when I questioned my decision, and, perhaps, the decisions of Shepard and of Cerberus, but I can safely say now that I don’t truly regret it. It solidified the gravity of our current situation in my mind and, well, without Cerberus, Shepard wouldn’t be here today and we’d be in a far bigger mess than this.”

Kaidan didn’t want to imagine the state of things without Shepard in the picture. It had always brought him pain. Living the reality of it was worse. At one point, he’d thought it would get better after he met her on Horizon and saw her with his own two eyes. Knowing she was alive and well should have brought him some relief, but it didn’t. He thought often of her. He worried for her. He missed her. He was scared of her… or rather, of the power she still held over his poor, broken heart.

But then it came to light, in a hospital room on the Citadel, that the feelings were mutual.

Now Kaidan was left to try sorting through all his thoughts and feelings. He tried to make sense of Cerberus and Project Lazarus and collectors and reapers and Shepard and decide for himself where to go from here. His heart knew, of course, but his mind needed some convincing.

“That’s true,” he quietly responded at last, a subtle bitterness tinging his words.

“Trust me, I get more frustrated than anyone when things aren’t black and white,” Garrus commented. “But there’s a hell of a lot of gray here. As much as I’d like to say that Cerberus is worthless and that all the people working for them are monsters, I know that they’re not.”

“Let’s be frank, here,” Dr. Chakwas began as she turned her attention away from the results skirting across her omni-tool to study the two comrades before her. “Few appreciate the Systems Alliance. Not many like the Council, either. No one enjoys having Cerberus around and Cerberus itself hates everyone else. It is we lucky individuals who are caught in the middle and have to deal with it all because we have no other choice.”

“Yay,” Garrus dryly responded with a shrug of his shoulders.

“If I may be so bold as to make a suggestion, Major,” the doctor continued, shutting down her omni-tool and patting him on the shoulder. “Remember the real enemy out there and be understanding of the difficult choices people have to make when they feel they’ve been backed into a corner. You and Shepard were close once. Don’t judge her too harshly for what she had to do when things were spiraling out of her control.”

Kaidan could feel the heat rising to his cheeks. He wasn’t sure why, but he suddenly felt like a shy teenager who just realized that someone knew about his crush. It was a strange sensation that he hadn’t experienced in years. Oddly enough, it had been over the same person the last time as it was now.

“That was more than one suggestion, Doc,” Garrus noted with a chuckle. He didn’t seem the least bit surprised by her forwardness.

“My apologies,” she responded with a coy smile. “I’ve never been terribly shy about speaking my mind.”

Had the bold words come from anyone else, Kaidan might have reacted defensively. Angrily, even. But now, he sat in stunned silence, unsure of what to do or say.

Garrus uncrossed his arms and placed a reassuring hand on Kaidan’s opposite shoulder. “For what it’s worth, Alenko, I agree. And good luck with that.” He turned with a slight chuckle and vanished through the doorway.

“I don’t… I mean… Shepard and I…” Kaidan began, not sure where he was going with his fumbling words. Nowhere, apparently.

“Need I remind you that there’s a physiological response when you’re thinking about someone in particular, Major?” Karin asked, her eyes filled with unexpected sympathy. She turned her gaze to her omni-tool for a moment as she continued, “I can show you your results here if you don’t--”

“No,” Kaidan answered with a small sigh. “No, that’s alright. I get it.”

“If I recall correctly, you were confused once when you were watching the same reaction occur with Shepard while checking her over after a mission, years ago.”

A wistful grin crept across his lips. He’d nearly forgotten about that. A question rose to mind just then, but he pressed his lips together suddenly to keep it from escaping. It would have been a breach of confidentiality to know if Shepard still exhibited those signs after all this time. Given that conversation they’d had at the hospital, he knew  that she probably did. All in a moment, he felt a bit more comfortable letting his heart speak louder than his mind.

“Physically, everything looks good, Major,” Dr. Chakwas announced. Kaidan understood the rest of the statement that she hadn’t said aloud. Mentally and emotionally, he needed to sort things out for himself.

Wary of Cerberus though he was, he’d heard and seen enough to understand at last that nothing was so clear-cut. Suffering in regret, resentment, and misery hadn’t done him or Shepard any favors.

He could fix this.

He was finally ready to try.

#Mass Effect #me3 #shenko #shenkofic #Shepard x Kaidan #shenko implied #Kaidan Alenko #Karin Chakwas #Garrus Vakarian #i tried #writing