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cheesy09 · 3 months

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[CN] Kiro's Unbiased Mirroring Mind's Quest (Part 1)

🌸 Warning: This post contains detailed spoilers for a date that hasn't been released on the EN server yet! 🌸

[Note: This date was translated with the help of Google Translate :>]

Note: In order to better engage with this date, please read the main story (Season 1 at least), Clinic Date, and Unconditional Surrender Mind's Quest :>

——*:･ﾟ✧——*:･ﾟ✧——

[PART 1]

Kiro: Hiss--

I apply the ointment to the long and narrow wound on his arm. The brightly-colored cut looks particularly shocking against Kiro's fair skin.

Kiro frowns with an exaggerated expression, his blue eyes moist from being wronged.

Kiro: Be a little gentler.

MC: Cut the act. Hmph.

MC: The current pain is your punishment for secretly fighting the bad guys again!

I deliberately put on a cold front, but when I bring down the cotton swab again, I am still three points gentler.

Recently, it's been pretty rare for Kiro and I to get a few days off to relax at the same time. And just as we were about to spend a leisurely time together, the letter S with its sharp hook came to disturb us.

I had already been super depressed since our vacation had been interrupted by BS, but I never expected Kiro to come back with an injury!

It was so unfair! So infuriating!

Seeing my frown deepen further and further, Kiro quickly raises his other hand and gently strokes my cheek.

Kiro: This injury was really an accident. I promise, I won't use force to solve the problem next time!

MC: It's not a matter of force, it's...

I bite my lower lip, slightly distressed, and raise my eyes to look at him.

MC: I know that there a lot of troublesome things that you have to deal with at BS.

MC: But you're already their boss. Aren't there some things that you can assign to your subordinates?

MC: Kiro, I'm really worried about you.

Kiro: ......

Kiro slightly parts open his lips, then purses them again.

His hand slips from my chin and gently covers the back of my hand.

Kiro: I get what you mean. I promise I'll do that next time.

MC: There are too many things you "promise to do next time". I need to get you to swear it.

I purse my lips and stretch out my fingers towards him. Kiro laughs, hooks my finger, and gently presses the pad of his thumb against it.

By the time the last wound was taken care of, it was getting late.

I pat the fluffy quilt and pull Kiro onto the bed.

Kiro: Wait, are we going to sleep at this hour?

MC: Of course. The wounded must rest well so that the wound can heal quickly.

Kiro: That's fine, but...

Kiro's tone seems hesitant. He glances at the time.

Kiro: Can you wake me up in three hours?

MC: Huh? Is there something else you need to do?

Kiro: The time for the limited time event of that game we were recently playing is in three hours from now. I want to beat the event.

MC: Kiro.

I groan angrily and glare at him.

MC: Article 197 of the Kiro-Chips Code - The wounded are not allowed to play games!

Kiro: But I'm only missing the last five percent of my mission. I'm begging the best Miss Chips in the world...

Kiro: Don't you trust the efficiency of my skills? I'll complete it in no time, then lie down and get a good rest!

Here comes this trick again. As long as he uses that tone and the words "best Miss Chips", there's nothing I can do against him.

MC: ...Fine, then I'll supervise you.

Kiro cheers and quickly gets into bed, sleeping in a more elaborate posture than that of a prince in a fairy tale movie.

Perhaps it's because his tense nerves relaxed so completely after sustaining an injury. After he lays down and we don't say anything, his long eyelashes stop trembling and his breathing slows down.

MC: ...Looks like he was really tired.

I gently tuck him in, then sit on the sofa nearby and start doing my own thing.

The night gradually thickens and three hours fly by quickly. I press the vibrating reminder on my phone and turn my eyes to the bed.

MC: Kiro, please get up...

Kiro: ......

The response I receive is even, shallow breathing.

I move closer, lean against the pillow and lower my voice.

MC: Didn't you say you had to complete a task? It's time to wake up.

Kiro: Mm...

Kiro just frowns slightly and then stops responding.

MC: Anyway, I know your account and password, how about... I just help you complete the task?

MC: As for you, just sleep peacefully.

I poke Kiro's cheek, move the computer to his side and log into the game.

I had also wanted to participate in this event during the early stages, but I couldn't stand the high difficulty level. So I just got a few basic rewards and then called it a day.

Kiro, on the other had, has been soaring through the event rankings with great vigor, and now has a score that is beyond my reach.

MC: Hiss... why do I feel that the higher the points, the more difficult the monsters become to defeat...

MC: AHHHHHH, don't steal my mission items--

MC: Only 5 points? Why?

My tiny avatar was jumping around the screen like a newbie, not at all as gorgeous and elegant as when its being controlled my Kiro.

When I finally finish a wave of tasks, the points progress bar moves forward only a little.

The unsatisfactory progress of the mission makes me purse my lips tightly, and the noisy sound effects of the game leave me more and more frustrated.

I simply mute the game and take off my headphones.

Silence returns to my ears, only the sounds of Kiro and I breathing are intertwined in the square inch of space.

After operating the avatar to complete another task, I can't help but look down at him.

Perhaps it's because the new bandage on his arm made him uncomfortable, but Kiro's sleeping face isn't as peaceful as it usually is, and his brows are slightly wrinkled.

I reach out my hand, attempting to smooth out the wrinkles.

Kiro: MC...

With my fingertips still hovering in the air, a soft voice spills from Kiro's mouth.

Kiro: Stay with me...

In an instant, his whispers seem to melt my heart and turn it into mush.

I put away my fingers, lean over, and quietly replace the touch with a kiss.

MC: I'll quickly complete this task, and come to accompany you in your dreams.

——*:･ﾟ✧——*:･ﾟ✧——

[PART 2]

Kiro: [inhaling sharply] ...!

MC: Hm?

The sound of inhalation pulls me out of my sleep. I rub my eyes and look at the person next to me.

Kiro is already sitting up, but for some reason, he doesn't seem to be moving. He just stares ahead in a daze.

After a moment, he turns his head hesitantly.

Kiro: What time is it now?

MC: Huh? Let me see... it's half past eight.

Kiro: Eight thirty... you - you didn't wake me up yesterday?

I don't react until I sense him stammering a bit as he speaks.

MC: Oh, about that!

I sit up and point to the laptop on the bedside table.

MC: Don't worry, I helped you finish the mission.

MC: Don't say I didn't wake you up. I called you twice but you didn't respond--

Before I finish speaking, the corners of Kiro's mouth that were previously frozen in place, suddenly rise. He cheers and rushes towards me.

Kiro: Miss Chips, you're amazing! Mua! Ouch, my arm...

When an indulgent kiss falls on my face, Kiro's nose wrinkles again from the pain.

I burst out laughing, press my forehead against his and give him a soothing kiss on the tip of his nose.

Kiro: Was it tiring?

MC: Fortunately, it was just a bit difficult~

Kiro: But if you helped me with the task, wouldn't you have already discovered the surprise I wanted to give you?

MC: Surprise? What surprise?

Kiro's expression suddenly freezes and he lets out a sigh.

Kiro: Didn't you finish it? You should have discovered that the prize redeemed using the points from first place is the limited-edition skin you really wanted but couldn't get.

MC: .....

MC: Ki-Kiro...

Kiro: Wha-what is it...?

MC: If I tell you that I shut down the device directly after finishing the event, is there any way to retrieve it?

Kiro: Well...

Kiro's expression remains frozen for a long time before he stiffly straightens up.

Kiro: Let's go online and take a look.

We re-log into the game with one last glimmer of hope, but reality proves to be an icy bucket of water poured onto us.

MC: The redemption deadline was 5 a.m.

Looking at the closed grey game store, and a great feeling of depression invaded my heart.

MC: Sorry...

Kiro: Hm?

MC: I wanted to help you, but I didn't finish it to the end... I wasted so many points...

MC: If I had woken you up yesterday, this situation wouldn't have happened. It's all my fault for acting too smart.

Kiro: MC, don't say that.

Kiro interrupts my triad and stretches out his hand to cup my cheek.

Kiro: It's just a prop in the game, and it was meant for you.

Kiro: If you're sad because you missed it, wouldn't that be against my wishes?

MC: Do you really not blame me?

Kiro: Why should I blame you?

The hand holding me exerts a little more force, as if to hold up my falling emotions.

Kiro: I know you wanted me to get a good rest. It's not in line with the "Kiro-Chips Code" to get up and play games after sleeping for three hours.

Kiro: If you're in a bad mood, let's not touch the computer for a day and go out and have some fun.

Kiro caresses my cheek again. Just as he is about to get up from the bed, I abruptly reach out and pull his sleeve again.

MC: What about you?

MC: Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?

Kiro: Me?

The corners of Kiro's mouth condense slightly and then rise up into a familiar arc.

Kiro: The Miss Chips I know wouldn't have such a conflicted look on her face

Kiro: Having said that, I don't care anymore.

Kiro: If you're upset, let's visit the most delightful amusement park in the world!

MC: ...Mm, okay.

Do you really not care?

I know how long Kiro had been saving those points for. If all of my hard work had been wasted like this, I would've probably been depressed for at least ten days and a half.

But now Kiro is acting like this. I feel like if I continue to aske questions, he'll just show-off his "indifference" even more.

Was there any way to resolve this?

I take in a long breath and open the quilt.

If he really intends to hide his frustration in his heart, then I'll try my best to make him happy all day long!

We stand at the entrance of the amusement park and the bustling crowd forms a noisy sea, almost drowning out the the sounds of the park rides.

MC: Which one do you want to go on?

Kiro pulls down his mask and answers without thinking.

Kiro: The Magic Flight of course!

I take a look at the queueing time for the Magic Flight shown on the map and take in a breath.

MC: Two hours...

I reluctantly search for fast passes, but because our trip was an impromptu one, and since we arrived late, all VIP tickets were sold out.

Kiro: ...Forget it, let's do what you want to first.

MC: No, no, no, you're the one who has been wronged today and I should make it up to you! As long as you don't mind waiting in line!

Kiro startles for a moment, then smiles and holds my hand.

Kiro: With you by my side, I won't mind anything.

We stand at the end of the line and begin to move forward slowly.

It isn't until I share almost all the interesting things that I'd found recently on the internet, that our turn for the Magic Flight finally arrives.

MC: Phew... it's time to be happy!

Kiro: Mm, it's time to be happy!

Please press the lever and stay seated, the Magic Flight is about to begin--

Woosh--

After two hours of queueing, we get a minute of excitement. We stumble out of our seats and Kiro takes a picture of the map.

Kiro: Now it's your turn. What do you want to ride?

MC: Me? I originally wanted to ride the Wonderful Journey, but it seems like we'd have to spend more than an hour in queue. Forget it...

Kiro: No forgetting it. You've satisfied me, so how can I not satisfy you? Let's go!

MC: Can...

I open my mouth but swallow the rest of my words.

After all, I owe Kiro today. I just have to make him 100% happy.

If going on an amazing ride with me is fun for him... then we'll do just that!

The queue for the Wonderful Journey is just as endless.

The crowded queue causes many couples to complain. Sometimes there are children crying, making one's ears throb and hurt.

Kiro pinches my palm and sighs softly.

Kiro: Are you tired?

MC: Nope!

I almost burst out my rebuttal and raise a big smile at him.

MC: Why do you think so? Chatting with you in line like this actually made time fly by really quickly.

Kiro: .....

Kiro purses his lips and a subtle emotion flashes in his eyes, hidden behind his glasses.

Kiro: All right.

After another wonderful ride, my legs begin to faintly protest. I grit my teeth.

MC: I remember you said before that you wanted to ride the Star Wheel? Let's go...

Kiro: Let's take a break.

He doesn't wait for me to finish speaking. Without any explanation he pulls me to the bench and sits down.

People come and go in front of us, everyone's faces filled with pure joy.

Kiro and I just sit quietly.

The atmosphere is a bit stiff and awkward.

What's the problem? I bite my lower lip.

Do you want to make the other person happy so much that it makes him unhappy instead?

Guilt wraps around my throat so tightly that I find myself unable to speak. In the end, all I can do is rub my face hard.

--You should at least be happy while you're here! If you have any questions, talk to him about it after you've thought it through.

I raise a big smile again and turn to Kiro.

MC: Seems like the float parade is about to start. I remember your favorite character's there. I've already rested. Let's go and get good seats!

——*:･ﾟ✧——*:･ﾟ✧——

[Memory Silhouette]

Clap your hands one by one and join me in rejoicing happiness; clap your hands and forget all your worries...

For the first time ever, Kiro finds the music in the amusement park a bit too loud. It's also his first time finding that the crowd watching the parade is very congested.

He calmly steps back, allowing the girl in front of him to wave her arms and sway to the music.

MC: Say hello to new friends and start a new day with you...

She was extra lively today, as if she was trying her best to monopolize all the happy cells in her body.

But Kiro can never seem to forget the girl's dazed profile as she was sitting on the bench to rest.

She wasn't as happy as she let on, he knows.

MC: Kiro, Pink Rabbit and Lazy Bear are coming soon!

The music gets louder again. His sleeves are being pulled on and the girl's bright smile hits Kiro's eyes.

As if it's a conditioned reflex, Kiro immediately smiles

Kiro: Mm! I've got to give them a high-five soon!

This is what I usually do at an amusement park - whether it's laughing and joking with her while waiting in line, or interacting with the mascots during the parade...

But for some reason, Kiro finds that there's a strange awkwardness in all of his actions.

I shouldn't be like this, he thinks.

In the morning, when he found out that his rewards weren't redeemed in time, he was indeed a little disappointed, but he quickly convinced himself to let it go.

After all, he didn't want to see the girl showing remorse. That would only make him feel worse.

However, he didn't expect MC to care about him far more than he imagined.

But he'd already told her not to bother about it, so why does she still show such a cautious expression?

Was there something I didn't get right enough to make her so hesitant?

Kiro's thoughts wander to a far away place, making his swaying movements a little absent-minded.

It isn't until Lazy Bear walks up to him and stretches out its thick plush paw towards him that Kiro reacts, as if waking up from a dream.

Dear friends, please smile; clap your hands and join me in rejoicing happiness--

The music gradually fades away, the crowd disperses, and pleasant sounds come again in front of the surrounding amusement park rides.

MC: Where do we go next...

The girls stands there with a confused expression again.

All Kiro feels is a string in his heart being tugged at. It isn't painful, but it's sharp and stinging.

I want to make her happy. I want to satisfy all of her emotions.

If she's not going to tell me, then I'll just directly respond to her with action.

Kiro: MC.

Kiro takes the girl's hand and speaks every word carefully.

Kiro: Go where you want to go. As long as you like it, I like it, really.

——*:･ﾟ✧——*:･ﾟ✧——

[PART 3]

So tired.

After coming back from the amusement park, Kiro and I say almost nothing to each other. As soon as we reach home, we collapse onto the bed and quickly fell asleep.

When I wake up again, his spot is empty.

I carelessly turn over, my body already waiting for Kiro to come back so I could curl up into my most familiar position.

However, even after napping for a while, he still hasn't come back.

At this point... is it insomnia?

The fine thread in my heart knots up again. I decide to get up and look for him.

The living room is dark and quiet, with Apple Box and Cello nestled together. When they hear my footsteps, their little heads attentively turn around.

Apple Box: Awoo...

MC: Shh.

I quickly shush twice and signal them to continue sleeping as I walk around their beds.

Faint light streams in from the door of the study. I quietly approach it--

Jingle--

The first thing that greets my ears is the sound of glass ringing.

The goldfish ornaments in Kiro's study collide with each other as they sway, producing a lovely sound.

Kiro sits beside the hanging ornaments with his hands folded, his eyes lowered, making me unable to distinguish his expression.

Only the downward cast of his slightly pursed lips makes me realize that he must have something on his mind.

Kiro: I don't know what to do anymore.

Hearing his words, I can't help but pause as I am about to push open the door.

In the room, Kiro mutters to himself and reaches out to pick up a small goldfish.

Kiro: I know she's been hiding what's on her mind today, and her happiness today was all to make me "happy".

Kiro: But I don't need her to be like this "for me".

Kiro: I just want her to be "happy" without having to worry about anything.

Kiro: ...Does it sound like a tongue-twister? I think so too.

Kiro: But this is a tormenting matter. I can't help it.

MC: Pfft...

I quickly suppress my laughter, wanting to hear what else Kiro would say to the little fish.

Kiro rests his head in the crook of his arms and the little glass goldfish shakes in his hand. Then, it suddenly swings it's tail and turns towards the door.

The eyes that had been lowered suddenly rise, a sly smile within them.

Kiro: So little fish, can you convey this tongue-twister to the girl standing outside the door?

MC: ...!

MC: So you knew I was outside!

Kiro lets go of the little goldfish and stretches his hand out to me.

Kiro: All I can do is blame my ears for being too sensitive. I suddenly heard Apple Box snorting happily when he saw you.

I open the door, walk over to Kiro and sit down.

MC: Now that the little fish has told me, I also have something to say to the little goldfish to convey to Kiro.

Kiro: What is it?

I too pick up a small goldfish and sway it close to Kiro's eyes.

MC: I want little fish to ask Kiro for me - Do you not like the MC who made Kiro happy today?

Kiro: It's not that I don't like you, it's just... I feel like I've failed in some way and am asking you to accommodate me.

MC: But this is an accommodation I'm willing to make. I'm very sorry about what happened this morning. You have to give me a chance to make amends.

MC: I want to make you happy, and you want to make me happy, which leads to awkwardness between both of us...

MC: Doesn't that violate our original intentions?

Kiro's eyes flash. He sighs and takes my hand.

Kiro: What you're saying makes sense. It feels you're much smarter than me when it comes to this. Just...

MC: Just what?

Kiro lowers his head and puts my finger to the corner of his lips.

Kiro: It's just that it's impossible for me not to care about how you feel. Wouldn't that make me a bad guy?

Seeing Kiro's expression get more and more troubled, I simply wave my hand generously and deliberately tease him.

MC: It doesn't matter. You don't have to be so conflicted, it's not like you haven't been a bad guy before.

Kiro: Huh? When did I become a bad guy?

MC: When you came to see me as Helios a long, long time ago.

For a moment, Kiro's throat rolls violently, and his expression suddenly becomes a little reserved.

Kiro: You... still remember.

It's over. I seem to have said the wrong thing.

Seeing that not only the tail of the person on the other side is drooping, but also that dark clouds have gathered above his head, I cough lightly, trying to mentally make up for my faux pas.

MC: Ahem, actually, looking back now, I just find it interesting that you were "bad" back then!

Kiro: Interesting?

Kiro: What's interesting?

His hand quietly exerts a bit of force and the temperature warms the glass goldfish we hold in our palms.

Even though it's clearly a memory from a very long time ago, for some reason, when I mention it, the entanglement with the person in front of me at that time is still clear, as if it were yesterday.

All that bitterness, the sorrows and joys are superimposed with more experiences, becoming memories that can be spoken of frankly.

MC: For example, you never let me follow you back then, and you often deliberately scared me...

MC: That time in the clinic, I clearly recognized you, but you still insisted on saying that you weren't Kiro, deliberately made excuses to not recover from your injuries and also...

Kiro: Also what?

MC: What else did you say, "Did you think I was going to kiss you?"?

MC: Now that I think about it, you really were a bad guy.

Kiro: .......

Kiro pauses for breath. There is a hint of emotion in his eyes that I can't fathom.

Supporting himself on the floor, he moves closer to me.

Kiro: Why do I feel... like you seem to relish me like that more?

MC: No way, aren't I reviewing your feelings from that time?

MC: I know you must have been conflicted like that; a hundred times more conflicted than you are now, right?

Kiro: You're wrong.

Kiro's answer is very straightforward. I can't keep myself from feeling a little stunned.

MC: It's not right?

Kiro: Of course not. You want to know what I think when I'm being a "bad guy"?

MC: Very much.

I nod honestly-- This is something we'd tacitly agreed not to talk about, but now that the topic was brought up, it was impossible for me not to get curious.

Kiro smiles.

The next instant, all I feel is my hand being emptied and the goldfish slipping from my palm.

Ding-a-ling--

The colored glaze makes a pleasant melody during the sudden and violent impact. I find myself half-kneeling, pressed into Kiro's arms.

Our posture now is just as it was back then - just as powerful and just as dangerous.

What comes into view is the brilliant blond of his hair and his bewitching smile.

Kiro: I wasn't troubled at that time at all.

Kiro: I just wanted to...

He responds to me with practical actions.

Like biting a raspberry, Kiro easily captures my lips.

Different from how gentle Kiro usually is, his kisses get more and more aggressive, leaving me almost struggling for air.

MC: Kiro...

Numbing currents spread throughout my limbs, down to my very bones, almost making me incapable of holding myself upright. In the end, all I can do is let him pick me up.

Kiro: [huskily] There is a price to pay for curiosity, MC.

The light diffused by the glass traces the ends of his hair, like bright gold or brilliant silver.

It dazzles me.

——*:･ﾟ✧——*:･ﾟ✧——

Part 2: Here

#THE DEVELOPMENT WE DESPERATELY YEARNED FOR 😭💕#IT JUST GETS BETTER FROM HERE ON OUT #THIS DATE MIGHT ACTUALLY BE A GAME CHANGER FOR FUTURE KIRO DATES ASDFGHJKL #mlqc #mlqc cn #mlqc spoilers #mlqc kiro

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nonotnolan · 4 months

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No Not Nolan's Year in Review

Apparently this is a tradition now, so-- here are the stories of 2023, ranked by the number of likes. It also helps keep me a bit grounded-- it feels rough when recent stories don't pick up stream, but the year as a whole has still gone quite well. It's also nice to see where all of my work falls, note-wise. And if you're feeling very nostalgic (or horny?) here is a link to 2021, and here is a link to 2022.

I'm leaving the eBook announcement posts out of my year end review, but I'm calling it out for myself so when I revisit this in December 2024, future-me will remember to grab those. I'm not planning to abandon this account anytime soon-- and I'm certainly not shifting to Patreon or PayPal or what have you. I'm not prolific or popular enough for any of that. The vast majority of my work will continue to remain free and open. I just wanted to prove to myself that I'm good enough of a writer to publish something that I can be proud of-- I have, and I am.

Do authors love notes and reblogs? Yes. But they often enjoy hearing direct feedback even more-- I know I sure do. Consider "messaging authors directly" as a New Year's Resolution. (Please note that begging for someone to write you a story is not feedback. Don't be that guy.)

12) Green Grass - 122 notes - December 2023 Two guys learn first hand that not everyone values the same things. Concise and straightforward. 11) Soul Stones: Long Distance - 192 notes - April 2023 A romantic story of two men using the power of body swapping to close the gap on a long distance relationship. Cell phones have nothing on being there in person. 10) Colony Freedom - 197 notes - September 2023 A slime alien attempts to rebuild its colony from the ground up after its overseers have completely vanished. Can it manage to find enough hosts for its family, or will its cover be ruined? 9) Cuerpo Inc: After Hours Perk - 249 notes - July 2023 Ethan tries to pretend to be Jake for the weekend, but he wasn't counting on Jake's nosy neighbor getting But if he can't be Jake, at least he can still have fun in Jake's body. 8) Summer Break Dullahans - 252 notes - June 2023 Eric was not expecting to find Ben's detached head in the dorms. I'm a big fan of detachable limb stories, so I decided to be a part of the change I want to see. (I'm also very rusty at GIMP / photoshop, but it gets the job done.) 7) The Great Gym Shift - 275 notes - August 2023 A version of The Great Shift, but with a limited radius. A gym instructor is stuck babysitting a bunch of grown men who suddenly find themselves in very muscular bodies. 6) Just Another Sunday - 279 notes - October 2023 A Chronovac story with unaware recipients and a retroactive reality shift that ripples through reality. I'm really happy with this one, though I will freely admit that I lucked out on the photos for this one. 5) An Excellent Choice - 291 notes - February 2023 My Valentine's Day story, dedicated to my boyfriend. As such, the emphasis is on a merging transformation sequence. Two men take advantage of new technology to become a new sum of themselves. 4) Group Project - 331 notes - November 2023 Another work set in the Swapper universe, where college students take advantage of body swapping technology for success or pleasure. This piece features Aiden, who has to hire a nerd to take over his body if he wants to pass his classes. 3) Cursing Fate - 337 notes - January 2023 It's an alien possession story with a dark twist. If you're going to align yourself with an extraterrestrial force, make sure you have something valuable to offer them. 2) Soul Stones: The Easy Life - 412 notes - March 2023 Alfie finds himself in the body of Jordan, one of the most popular athletes on the football team-- but he's not the one who plotted for the body swap to happen. It's one of my favorites for the year, and it's a series I could see myself returning to if the inspiration is right. 1) Rookie Mistake - 482 notes - May 2023 A novice magic user tries out an Astral Projection spell without reading all of the instructions. Things do not play out in his favor.

Special Mentions-

Travis Cordin - 382 notes - February 2023 by @mergeman My boyfriend's Valentine's Day story that he dedicated to me. A raw and electric story about a magic user who gives the resident nerd too much magical power.

Stories I Love (Part 1) and Stories I Love (Part 2) I was not expecting so many people to react to these lists, but these have been getting reblogged like crazy. More importantly, a lot of authors have been reaching out to show thanks and start conversations, which I appreciate even more. Like I said-- I'm not always the best at participating in the community, so I really enjoy hearing from people.

Top 5 All Time-

5) Revenge, Reversed - 517 notes - August 2020 4) Overbearing - 538 notes - May 2022 3) Finals Week - 552 notes - May 2021 2) Gym Merchandise - 610 notes - September 2022 1) Soulmate Swap - 659 notes - August 2022

It's always fascinating to see which stories get a second life through reblogs and new discoveries. Soulmate Swap is one of my heavy hitters, but both Gym Merchandise and Overbearing have gained a lot of momentum this year. Finals Week is starting to slip, though I'm still quite fond of it. I'm quite surprised to see Revenge, Reversed on this list given its age, but it's another one of my personal favorites.

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thoughtfulstudentsalad · 1 year

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The reason why Su-Won chose to kill Il on Yona’s birthday

Dunno if I made a similar post before (I’ll check) but if we’re going by the whole notion that Su-Won wasn’t going to “put up Yona’s box” aka prioritize her, then I am guessing that he chose her birthday as it was the only day that guaranteed to kill Il for whatever reason. Like perhaps it was the most efficient way to go about it… and regardless of that day being Yona’s birthday, he didn’t prioritize that.

BECAUSE MY DUDE WAS BLOODTHIRSTY ABOVE ALL ELSE

Honestly this is still for vengeance over everything. Like in ch 197, if you recall, Su-Won tells Yon-Hi:

He could have literally made Il step down without killing him. Dude wanted to personally stab him that night and carelessly left the door open thinking Yona wouldn’t walk in, and he was wrong and then he had to chase her and Hak which risked his entire reign……..

His reasoning is so dumb tho too. He’s like “I cannot prioritize Yona, must make efficient decisions or else country ruined”

But what he really fails to realize is how his biases towards his dad were already coloring his view - he couldn’t fathom that NOT killing Il might have been a lot more efficient than getting revenge… seriously think about it. Killing Il antagonized his friends and allies, whereas forcing him to step down without making enemies (ex: Hak who wants him dead 💀 and the Wind Tribe that was willing to rebel) is literally more efficient.

I just don’t get it. Like if Soo-Won wanted revenge, just force the bastard off the throne and make him watch you marry his kid against his wishes with everyone else supporting it just to spite him. Like that is already more efficient enough and unites tribes.

But noooo, he had to chose the unnecessarily violent path that puts the nation in danger.

Even Judo is telling him to get off his bullshit because he is not acting for the country at all, he is a very hypocritical man:

Yeah, he was overcome with sentiment.

So hypocritical. To Su-Won, anything Yu-Hon does is right and efficient and good for the country and anything related Yona does is “inefficient and prioritizing one person over everything else” and it’s literally the opposite which he only started realizing slowly this arc which is fucking hilarious

like when he tried to kill Mei-Nyan cause “Il killed daddy” to the point of forgetting his mother’s pain:

(Note once again he is trying to separate Yona from the situation) but SHE had to remind him of HIS mom:

And for instance Geun-tae saving Yona:

He’s all “I have chosen” (we know he hasn’t) and it’s Geuntae this time who shows him that he’s being an idiotic daddy’s boy:

And he goes against Su-Won to help Yona out.

“As father taught me” - WHAT A DADDY'S BOY.

Your father taught you not only how to eliminate enemies, but HOW to make enemies dude…. like yes there are times when making enemies is inevitable but you just made enemies for the heck of it….. which is so dumb….

Again he realized this only this arc.

Seriously speaking too, I don’t even Yu-Hon even wanted his brother dead. Like even someone as twisted as Yu-Hon killed Kashi to protect Il, and he never raised his sword against him either. Which is why I wonder what his reaction would be if he knew Su-Won killed him…

You killed Il not because you had to, but because you wanted to. Let’s make that clear.

The story blurs the lines and people get confused all the time, but no one is changing my mind on this. He put his personal desire of revenge through stabbing over just making Il step down…. Taking that throne may have been for the country, but that stabbing was for personal revenge.

#yona of the dawn #akatsuki no yona #su-won #Thoughts #analysis #Guess #yona #I think it’s the same for the hairpin too #He gave it because he wanted to #But he never had to #It was about what he wanted #He was a daddy’s boy #He put up his dad’s box #He had human desires from the start and he can be selfish #this arc has really proved how dumb he can be tho #killing il the way he did and the aftermath of it was a waste of resources and time #violence for the sake of violence it was

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tonberry-yoda · 6 months

Note

Heyyyyyyyy berry u can already guess who ima request for the event (kakyoin) with the prompt "stop playing with the lights" idk I feel like he would mess with his s/o in a cute joking way lol , how is ur new library job btw bro

Stop Playing with the Lights - Kakyoin 🎃

notes - OMG HI! <3333 This idea is so so cute and I have missed you so much dude! My new library job is great and I am hoping to become a librarian as my career, so that's how that's going! I hope you're well and life has been chill! <3 Have a great fall! word count - 197

You were working as always. College was getting rough, but you were powering through it. You couldn't believe it was already almost Halloween and how fast the semester was flying by. Luckily, though, you had your boyfriend, Kakyoin, as not only a roommate, but your best supporter.

You yawned, squeezing your eyes shut. You really needed to get to bed.

When you opened your eyes, you saw the lights turning off and on. An unamused expression spread across your face and you saw Hierophant Green playing with the light switch.

"Kakyoin, stop playing with the lights. It's not funny anymore. And I can see your stand, idiot."

Kakyoin appeared at the door and frowned. "y/n, you've been working on homework all night, I just wanna watch a movie."

You laughed, stretched, and slammed your computer shut. "Fine, Kakyoin. I'll watch a movie with you."

"YES!" Kakyoin ran downstairs to get popcorn ready.

He had been flickering the lights since day one of October, thinking it would scare you and at first it did, but now it just pulled you out of your overworked mind and meant it was time to cuddle.

Thank god you had Noriaki.

~~~~~

jjba masterlist (2) (3) (4) | pinned post | ko-fi

2023 @tonberry-yoda – do not repost or claim ANY of my work as your own! likes, reblogs, and comments are not only welcome, but appreciated <3

~~~~~

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moral-terpitude · 2 years

Text

Truly Updated Master List - as of March 3, 2024

At the moment, I am updating The Dead Rabbit and Fourth Time's The Charm when I get to them. I am posting other pieces in between as I find time. Feel free to peruse all my writings below!

My requests are open.

Here is a link to click if you would like to be added to my taglist.

I got curious in the midst of some housekeeping, and as of Nov 9 there are 84,720 words contained in all my writings below, so please, enjoy!

If your here devouring my master list, please know I appreciate you! Also, please consider giving my page a follow!

With that being said, I don’t agree to any of my works being reposted or copied without my permission.

I made a playlist in case you want to see what goes on inside my brain.

Modern Tommy Shelby

Misadventures (Masterlist) - Updated March 3, 2024

All We Have Is Now

Catwalk

The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed

Quiet Sunday Manic Monday Part Three Part Four

Part Five

Composition - 1058 Words • Repetition - 1626 Words

One Shots

Chiaroscuro - Tommy Shelby x Reader - Smut - 3,346 Words

Hell Above - 1,314 Words

Completed Works

The Woman in the Window - Tommy Shelby x OC - Smut

Part One - 2.613 Words

Part Two - 2,525 Words

Part Three - 1,727 Words

His Favorite - Tommy Shelby x OC - Smut

Part One - 1,139 Words

Part Two - 1,765 Words

Lost Letters

Part I - 1,577 Words

Part II - 3,315 Words

Hello, Operator

Part 1 - 1,569 Words

Part 2 - 2,334 Words

Tommy Shelby x male!reader

The Farrier’s Son

Part 1 - 1,354 Words

Part 2 - 1,466 Words

Piccadilly Circus - 517 Words

Long Series

The Dead Rabbit - 28,602 Words (Modern AU/ Reincarnation)

Fourth Time’s The Charm - 19,964 words

Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five Part Six

Headcannon (Naming their children)

On A Gathering Storm (in progress?) - 2,262 Words

Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five

SFW One Shots

The Devil Wears a Suit and Tie - 611 Words - Tommy Shelby is the devil, but has he always been?

Driving Lessons - 1158 Words -Tommy teaches Ruby to drive, with an unexpected conversation.

After All - 335 Words - Polly helps her 18-year-old nephew solve a problem.

January - 310 Words - Tommy and Charlie have a plan.

Pinky Swears - 582 Words - Tommy makes a promise to Ada while home on leave.

Battue - 501 Words - Boxing Day shenanigans.

Royal Ascot - 258 Words -Ruby has no interest in being a debutante.

November - Tommy's wife is sought out by long forgotten family- 1,187 Words

200 Follower Celebration Requests

Sleep Talking - 283 Words

Christmas Eve - 206 Words

Nightmares (x male!reader) - 197 Words

Tired Eyes (x Alfie Solomons) - 206 Words

Heart of a Dog (x Arthur Shelby) - 349 Words

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pokepollsters · 5 months

Text

Best Poké Ball Tournament- Stats Breakdown!

Thanks to all of your votes and continued enthusiasm for the blog, we finally reached the end of this tournament, and I have some stats to share with you all!

Before we get into the stats, this is the last chance to suggest ideas for the next tournament before I run a poll to decide it! You have a couple of days from when this is posted.

Click the read more for the breakdown!

In this tournament, I did less reblogs for each match, and that has led to a lower vote total than last time- but still an impressive 11,922 votes were cast across all 32 matches for an average of 373 votes per match.

When we get into specific Ball stats, things start to get interesting though- let's rank by average vote total per match shall we?

Luxury Ball- 240 (1202 votes across 5 matches)

Love Ball- 234 (701 votes across 3 matches)

Quick Ball- 225 (675 votes across 3 matches)

Heal Ball- 224 (224 votes in 1 match)

Premier Ball- 223 (223 votes in 1 match)

Dusk Ball- 219 (438 across 2 matches)

Strange Ball- 215 (215 votes in 1 match)

Moon Ball- 214 (1072 votes across 5 matches)

Great Ball- 200 (400 votes across 2 matches)

Dream Ball- 199 (996 votes across 5 matches)

Beast Ball- 197 (984 votes across 5 matches)

Cherish Ball- 196 (392 votes across 2 matches)

Ultra Ball- 195 (195 votes in 1 match)

Dive Ball- 194 (584 votes across 3 matches)

Friend Ball- 192 (575 votes across 3 matches)

Timer Ball- 190 (380 votes across 2 matches)

Lure Ball- 164 (164 votes in 1 match)

Master Ball- 162 (162 votes in 1 match)

Safari Ball- 158 (158 votes in 1 match) & Jet Ball- 158 (316 votes across 2 matches)

Poké Ball- 153 (153 votes in 1 match) & GS Ball- 153 (153 votes in 1 match)

Net Ball- 151 (151 votes in 1 match)

Fast Ball- 148 (295 votes across 2 matches)

Origin Ball- 139 (277 votes across 2 matches)

Heavy Ball- 130 (130 votes in 1 match)

Nest Ball- 129 (129 votes in 1 match)

Repeat Ball- 125 (250 votes across 2 matches)

Sport Ball- 91 (91 votes in 1 match)

Park Ball- 84 (84 votes in 1 match)

Level Ball- 78 (78 votes in 1 match) & Gigaton Ball- 78 (78 votes in 1 match)

While the Luxury Ball sits on top, as you'd expect, none of our other final four are higher than 8th! This could perhaps be seen as some Balls that didn't do so well may have had more enthusiastic support even if they didn't get as far?

Even more interesting is when we get to the average % vote share across the matches:

Quick Ball- 65%

Love Ball- 61.7%

Dive Ball- 60.6%

Moon Ball- 57.6%

Great Ball- 56.5%

Luxury Ball- 56.3%

Dream Ball- 56.1%

Beast Ball- 54.3%

Cherish Ball- 52.8%

Timer Ball- 50.8%

Lure Ball- 48.8%

Friend Ball- 48.3%

Dusk Ball- 48.1%

Jet Ball- 47.9%

Premier Ball- 46.6%

Ultra Ball- 45.5%

Strange Ball- 45.4%

Heal Ball- 45.2%

Safari Ball- 45%

Net Ball- 43.8%

Nest Ball- 42.4%

Fast Ball- 42.3%

Origin Ball- 40.7%

Poké Ball- 40.5%

Master Ball- 40.4%

Repeat Ball- 40.1%

GS Ball- 39.3%

Heavy Ball- 35.9%

Sport Ball- 25.3%

Level Ball- 24.1%

Park Ball- 23.4%

Gigaton Ball- 22.3%

This is probably more of an indicator of how close each Ball's matches were and how much they may have swept... or not! But still, it's surprising that none of the top three in the competition made it to the top three of this list! I think it's fair to say that many of these Balls are very popular, and any tournament to determine the favourite would have been close.

If you like charts, here's what each Ball's total votes compared to the total tournament votes looks like:

(Apologies if it's hard to read, Excel would not play ball with me... ironically.)

To wrap up, let's look at some individual match stats.

The most voted on match was Round 1, Match 3- Luxury Ball vs Heal Ball. It had 496 votes, and showed that the Luxury Ball was popular even from the start! This is closely followed by the Final Match with 490 votes, Luxury Ball vs Moon Ball. That means for the third time in a row, the Finals is the second most popular match- what a coincidence!

The least voted on match was Round 1, Match 11- Nest Ball vs Repeat Ball, at only 304 votes. The second least popular was Round 2, Match 7- Jet Ball vs Dive Ball with 4 more votes at 308.

The closest match this time round was Round 1, Match 2- Lure Ball vs Origin Ball. It had a margin of only 2.4%, or 8 votes! Congratulations to the Origin Ball for that one!

Let's cap off with the biggest sweep, a title that in previous tournaments went to Water Type and Grusha. In this tournament, the biggest sweep goes to... Round 1, Match 1! The match of Quick Ball vs Gigaton Ball ended in a huge 55.4% win margin, or 193 votes. The show started with a bang it seems! Shout out to the Love Ball, Dive Ball, and Moon Ball for all also achieving sweeps with over 50% margins. All of those Balls gain entry to the exclusive 50% sweeper club, joining Water Type, Flying Type, and Ghost Type.

And that's all! If there's any stat I missed that you'd like to see, just drop an ask and I'll fill you in!

Until next tournament, please keep suggesting theme ideas, and keep your eyes peeled for that poll in the next few days. I'm now going to go look at something completely different for several hours- the word Ball looks weird now.

#best ball tournament #stats breakdown #mod posts

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study-with-aura · 2 days

Text

Thursday, April 25, 2024

(Posting late) There was so much to do on Thursday that I did not have it in me to update my studyblr. Since I have also been taking breaks on the weekends from posting, this update is getting posted extremely late. It will happen.

Tasks Completed:

Geometry - Properties of Quadrilaterals Review + honors review

Lit and Comp II - Reviewed Units 22-24 vocabulary + read a biography about Theodore Roosevelt + read the second part of Theodore Roosevelt’s First Annual Address + wrote, by hand, two short essays on study topics for Much Ado About Nothing

Spanish 2 - Wrote a few sentences about a pretend planned shopping trip in Spanish + read the sentences out loud to my dad

Bible I - Read Matthew 6-7

World History - Watched a video on the creation of Israel + watched a video on Indian independence + watched a video on Ghana's independence + read over the Chinese Communist Revolution notes + watched video on the Communist takeover of China

Biology with Lab - Completed protist survey lab

Foundations - Read more on truthfulness + read another article displaying media bias + read an article on effective speaking techniques + practiced my speech (presentation Friday)

Piano - Practiced for two hours in one hour split sessions

Khan Academy - None today

CLEP - None today

Streaming - Watched Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War episode 8

Duolingo - Studied for approximately 30 minutes (Spanish, French, Chinese) + completed daily quests

Reading - Read pages 197-231 of Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross

Chores - Put away the dishes + took the trash out

Activities of the Day:

Personal Bible Study (Proverbs 17)

Ballet

Pointe

Journal/Mindfulness

#study blog #study inspiration #study motivation #studyblr #studyblr community #study community #study-with-aura

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aclaywrites · 10 months

Text

Time to play a game!!!!!

Using this amazing book I’ve had on my shelf for many a year.

I read most of their romances when I worked at the women’s bookstore. They were never saucy enough for me, and had terrible cover illustrations. Nonetheless, keep this Copyright date in mind as we go forward.

That’s you, ladies!

Wonder what they’re doing now?

Hands up if you’d like to get to know the whole Boston Women’s Rugby Club!

There are 197 Queries in this book. I’m going to post one every day and let’s have the conversation these women envisioned.

Answer with your reblogs, or in the tags.

Spread the word and share the knowledge!!

#lesbian #lesbian history #herstory #history #lgbtq #gay history #butch #butch femme #sapphic #sapphism #sappho #dyke #dyke shit #women writers #women's history #lesbian queries #lesbian query of the day

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im-totally-not-an-alien-2 · 1 year

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I posted 541 times in 2022

That's 541 more posts than 2021!

317 posts created (59%)

224 posts reblogged (41%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@mikami1992

@im-totally-not-an-alien-2

@stealingyourbones

@ashoutinthedarkness

@maribatshipper

I tagged 443 of my posts in 2022

Only 18% of my posts had no tags

#danny phantom - 224 posts

#dp x dc - 209 posts

#fanfiction prompts - 197 posts

#prompts - 193 posts

#danny fenton - 190 posts

#batman - 104 posts

#the alien answers - 102 posts

#robin - 74 posts

#tim drake - 65 posts

#damian wayne - 65 posts

Longest Tag: 134 characters

#tim does not get coffee though and hes mad about it but he also really likes how the water in his tiny bird bath feels on his feathers

My Top Posts in 2022:

Au where Danny somehow managed to wipe any proof of his existence from the face of the planet, including the memories people had of him. He tells himself this was fine. Better than fine actually.

This just means that his loved ones were less likely to get hurt in the crossfire. Also Vlad is now clueless as to why he's in Amity in the first place and as Mayor no less. He resigns within a week to go back to Wisconsin after three days of nonstop blathering from Jack.

Danny basically starts living in a lake in the woods, its not like he needs to breath and he finds the water calming. Also the fish are friendly. Plus there's a cave nearby if he needed to stay in human form for whatever reason.

He had water and shelter, down now he just needed access to food unless he wanted to eat his new fish friends.

This is when Danny learned he could use the weird magical girl ring to shape-shift into other people.

So he got into the habit of transforming into one of the residents of a house and raiding the pantries.

This turned out to be a pretty open secret amongst the people of Amity Park. They knew it was Phantom, primarily because he's a terrible liar but also because people have cell phones and communicate.

This is never really an issue since no one tells the Fentons or the Feds. At least, it wasn't an issue until the Justice League came sniffing around. The people of Amity have only become more untrusting of the government as years passed and became equally as protective over thier local ghostboy. So everytime they came around no one but the Fentons would say anything to them other than, "Leave." Or "You're not wanted here." Before walking away.

It was a day like any other for Phantom. Some teens had rented out a house in town, likely to experience the most haunted town in America. Whatever. Teens always bring the best snacks.

So he transformed into the cute redheaded guy right after they left and walked past the living room towards the kitchen like he's done a dozen times before.

"Uh, Wally?" Dannys head whipped around to see the black haired teen sitting on the couch, his blue eyes wide with shock and worry. The one with a Superman t-shirt on. "Are you ok? Your heartbeat is really slow."

Danny could only think of one word to sum up this situation. Fuuuuuckk

3,268 notes - Posted June 13, 2022

Au where all the ghosts hide thier real names on instinct, not only because knowing a ghosts name gives you power over them but because you could use thier name to potentially find thier grave through magic or Google.

Once you find thier bones there's no shortage of what you could do.

Due to the nature of Embers obsession she isn't able to hide her name and during a fight she reveals to Phantom she lives in a constant state of anxiety fearing someone might find her body and use it against her

Phantom knocks on her door a week later with not only her body but her entire casket floating behind him. She's oddly touched. This is probably the nicest thing anyone has ever done for her. Word, of course, spreads of this and other spirits ask him to do the same for them and are willing to make deals

Another week later Batman is investigating all the robbed graves and trying to figure out wtf is going on

Edit: Yes the removal of the caskets cause the graves to sink in and thats how Batman is alerted to the issue. I had left this as an implication but felt the need to clarify due to people talking about it in the notes.

Edit 2: You could also have a grave keeper see Phantom stealing caskets and alert authorities. Whats more this is likely happening in more than just Gotham. You could also have another ghost/ a magic user see this super powerful spirit robbing graves and being like, "Well that seems ominous. I should tell someone about that."

Please forgive me for adding more, I have no control over myself

3,286 notes - Posted June 29, 2022

Au where Danny ends up in Gotham and gets saved by the birds while in human form. He starts pseudo haunting them before returning to Amity Park.

He frequently pops back in to Gotham to invisibility give gifts to the batfam.

Dick gets circus themed things that seem to move around the manor when no one is looking.

Stephanie and Tim both get comics, manga and movies from different dimensions and its only once they start looking up fandoms/ going on Twitter do they realize that these manga/movies apparently don't exist.

The same thing happens with Jason and books. The weird part is that after he finishes reading one of the books for the nth time, (the ones that he and Duke swears glow) and finally retires it to the shelf they disappear. This only happens with the glowey books though. He gets to keep the others

Damian keeps getting new swords, which everyone but him has a problem with.

Duke keeps getting things that activate his powers and he can't really make heads or tails from most of it.

Cass gets lots of soft things like stuffed animals that are nice for hugs and other sensory reasons and dance stuff. Her favorite so far is a gigantic bat in a tutu.

Barbara and Tim (he gets double i guess) both get tech stuff that they've never seen before and make a hobby of reverse engineering the new product of the week.

Alfred gets all sorts of gag gifts like an apron that says "I'm the real boss here" and a mug that has a fancy mustache on the bottom that matches his real one

Bruce gets almost exclusively much bat themed gifts.

No one is sure where the stuff is coming from (and in Jason's case where its going) but they all assume its someone else in the family doing it because its themed around both thier hero and thier personal interests. It finally comes to a head when the batfam are all out together when they come home to find a beautiful and ornate sword laying on the kitchen table for Damian and they all simultaneously realize no one had been home to put it there.

Alfred gets the shotgun while everyone else enters detectives mode.

Danny himself doesn't even realize the extent in which he's been messing with them and doesn't really think past the, "I hope they like their gifts" thing.

3,345 notes - Posted July 15, 2022

Au where Danny gets deaged by a magical artifact in the GZ and gets lost in a different dimension with Cujo. While exploring Gotham as Phantom he decides to play up the little kid routine and use his puppy friend to do it.

At this point Danny had finally trained the pup and he actually listened to him. Needless to say there's a certain flock of bats and birds who keep pestering him at night. All he's trying to do is explore the city and play with his dog. Is that so bad?

Danny doesnt usually bother hiding from them. Not much point considering he shines like a spotlight in Gothams gloom anytime he's in his phantom form. Plus Cujo is glowy and green, so that doesn't help matters.

Danny usually runs them on a wild goose chase in the name of "Tag" before disappearing. He stole Batmans cape by phasing it off of him and he now uses it as a blanket at night (its surprisingly warm), he stole another one at Red Hoods request and gave it to him, he's set up play dates between Cujo and Harleys hyenas, he's pied Joker in the face, he's pet Penguins pet penguins right in front of him, he's been trapped in an elevator with Brucie Wayne for two hours, he's had a tea party with Catwomans cats and may have broken into her apartment to do it, he's kidnapped Red Robin and made him go to the park and play on the swings with him, he's gotten into actual fights with Robin and last but not least, he came up with the Puppy Paw of Approval.

---

Nightwing stared at the kid they had been chasing every other night for the last three months now, confused. "Whats the Puppy Paw of Approval?"

The kid moved the puppy, Cujo (which Jason finds hilarious) up in front of his face, holding him there by his armpits.

The dog was making the "no thoughts head empty" face with his tongue sticking out just a smidge. Dick was tempted to coo. "The Puppy Paw of Approval is an award! Arf!" The kid said in a higher pitched pretend voice.

"Its awarded to people we really really like! Arf!"

Nightwing gasped dramatically, playing along with the boy, "You really like me that much?"

"Of course!" The boy floated over to Dick and places one of the dogs paws on the man's chest. "Da da da daaa!" The kid sang, "You now have the Puppy Paw of Approval!"

The vigilante sniffled, "I will always cherish this! Thank you!"

The kid giggled and Cujo barked at him. The little green rottweiler panted up at him with a giants smile and his little nub tail wagging a mile and minute.

God, Nightwing couldn't wait for his newest little brother to join the family.

Dick was dismayed to learn he was actually the second person to get the PPA. The first being Tim, the third being Harley and the forth being Catwoman. Ivy was apparently salty about not getting one but the kid was scared of her for some reason.

Danny makes friends with lots of people throughout the city. Scarecrow learns of the bats recruitment attempts on this boy and decides to use the fear toxin on him. This has the unexpected outcome of making the child cry.

And then the whole city was out for his head.

3,508 notes - Posted August 11, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Theres a new mom and pop coffee shop in Gotham that's doing pretty well. The place has a casual playful vibe but it only ever has one employee, which has lead to it having a bit of a urban myth status.

He's there through all the opening hours and no one ever sees him come or go, only the lights switching off and the teen disappearing.

It probably doesn't help that the shop has a ghost themed name.

His name tag reads, "Nightingale" and he always has a polite smile, but the few who dare to act out in his shop notice his eyes flash a particular shade of green and are suddenly overcome with the feeling that they're being stared down by a large apex predator and a sickening sense of dread.

Needless to say people behave in his shop.

Whats more is that his store shows up on county records just fine, but if you try to look into anything your computer glitches out and you can't find anything. Obviously "Nightingale" can't be the owner, he looks only 15. Some say he's a vampire, others say he's a zombie like Red Hood.

Tim doesn't care what he is because the first time he entered at night as Red Robin the guy immediately started making a coffee were he could see, made it exactly how he liked it and gave it to him before he even had the chance to order. Then he refused his money, saying it was on the house.

None of the people waiting in line argued or were upset and Tim was unsure if that was because he was a well known Gotham vigilante or it Nightingales reputation protected him.

Either way the coffee was delicious.

Tim didn't know how to feel when he found out his family was investigating the "possible runaway" who worked at the coffee shop.

3,554 notes - Posted November 10, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

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paperanddice · 8 months

Text

The powerful witch Baba Yaga fortunately rarely turns her attention upon the world, but where she does her influence is mighty. Her agents herald her arrival, in particular the three horsemen that she has bound to different times of day. The riders tend to change each time she appears, either because the previous ones finished their term of service to the witch, or because of their destruction. In either case, the witch always has new beings she can appoint into her service, taken from one of a hundred worlds she has influence upon.

Each rider is bound to a certain time of day, vanishing when the time ticks over past their appointed hours. Whether they travel to another plane, to another place upon the world where the time is correct for their presence, or even if they cease to exist entirely until brought forth again is unknown, and no one seems keen to answer the question. Bright Day is the rider for the morning, active from dawn to mid-day, Red Sun rules mid-day to sunset, and Black Night rules from sunset to sunrise.

These stats represent the weakest the riders may be; if a creature below this level agrees to become the witch's rider, they are granted these abilities. More powerful creatures may make the agreement, in which case they would gain the rider's Temporal Strike and Peerless Rider abilities, the ability to conjure phantom steeds, and any of a specific rider's traits. Even a PC may theoretically make this deal, though doing so likely removes them from the game unless the rest of the party is fine with working around their temporal restrictions and duties to Baba Yaga.

Originally from the Tome of Beasts 1. This post came out a week ago on my Patreon. If you want to get access to all my monster conversions early, as well as access to my premade adventures and other material I’m working on, consider backing me there!

Pathfinder 2e

Baba Yaga's Horsemen Creature 11 Unique Medium Fey Perception +21 Languages Aklo, Common, Sylvan; telepathy 100 feet Skills Arcana +18, Athletics +23, Intimidation +21, Nature +19, Occultism +18, Society +18 Str +6, Dex +3, Con +5, Int +3, Wis +4, Cha +4 Items +1 striking lance, +1 striking longsword, +1 full plate, composite longbow (20 arrows) AC 33; Fort +22, Ref +18, Will +21; +1 status to all saves vs. magic HP 197; Immunities fatigued, lightning, paralyzed, poison; Weaknesses cold iron 10 Peerless Rider Any attacks directed at the horseman's mount target the horseman instead. Its mount gains the benefits of any resistances and immunities the horseman has, and if the horseman and mount must both save against the same area effect, the mount's save is treated as one better than the horseman's. Speed 25 feet Melee lance +24 (deadly d8, jousting d6, reach 10 feet), Damage 2d8+13 piercing Melee longsword +24 (versatile P), Damage 2d8+13 slashing Ranged composite longbow +20 (deadly d10, propulsive, range increment 100 feet, reload 0, volley 30 feet), Damage 1d8+7 piercing Primal Innate Spells DC 27, attack +19 ; 7th ethereal jaunt, plane shift (horseman and steed only); 6th fire shield, phantom steed (×3); 5th dimension door; 3rd haste, slow; Quick Draw [one action] The horseman draws a weapon and Strikes with it. Temporal Strike [free action] (primal, necromancy) When the horseman hits a target with a melee attack, it can choose to force the target to attempt a Fortitude saving throw. Creatures that don't get weaker with age or don't age are immune (GM's discretion). If a creature becomes clumsy 4, drained 4, and enfeebled 4 due to Temporal Strikes, it dies of old age. The horseman can't use Temporal Strike for 1d4 rounds. Critical Success The creature becomes temporarily immune for 1 hour. Success The creature is unaffected. Failure The creature becomes clumsy 1, drained 1, and enfeebled 1, or increases each of those conditions by 1. These conditions remain for 24 hours. This effect is cumulative to other Temporal Strikes. Critical Failure As failure, but the creature becomes clumsy 2, drained 2, and enfeebled 2, or increases those conditions by 2.

The Three Horsemen Each horseman has unique senses, defenses, and special abilities. Add the appropriate traits to the base horseman for each of the horsemen as follows. Bright Day The horseman gains darkvision, resist 10 cold and fire, and gains the following innate spells: 5th searing light; cantrip (6th) light Red Sun The horseman gains immunity to blinded, fear, fire, and gains the following innate spells: 5th scorching ray; 2nd continual flame (×2) Black Night The horseman gains greater darkvision, immunity to cold, and gains the following innate spells: 4th darkness (×2); cantrip (6th) ray of frost

13th Age

Baba Yaga may not be an Icon in your particular setting, but she's a being with the power to rival and even dwarf many Icons. Her attention is simply spread so far that she may have no presence in your setting, aside from the occasional visit. She simply doesn't spend enough time around to develop the connections and influence that an Icon has, but when she does appear all the Icons respect her power and act accordingly. Some may oppose her, others attempt to placate her, but she has no innate respect for any Icons and so will do as she pleases unless forced to back down. Her agents act the same, as the horsemen will ignore the laws and expectations of the world to fulfill their Mistress' demands, no matter who it puts them at odds with.

Baba Yaga’s Horsemen Double-strength 6th level troop [humanoid] Initiative: +10 Lance +12 vs. AC - 30 damage. Charge: This attack instead deals 55 damage and the target pops free from the horseman if the horseman first moves before attacking an enemy it wasn’t engaged with at the start of its turn. Limited Use: Can only be used if the horseman is mounted. Longsword +11 vs. AC (2 attacks) - 22 damage. Natural 18+: The target ages several years, taking a -1 penalty to attacks and all defenses until the end of the battle. This effect is cumulative. If the target reaches a total penalty of -4, it must start making last gasp saves. On the fourth failure, the target dies of old age. Ray of Energy +11 vs. PD (one nearby enemy) - 30 damage (see the three horsemen). Natural Even Hit: Special (see the three horsemen). Peerless Rider: The horseman gains a +6 AC bonus against opportunity attacks while mounted. The horseman’s mount cannot be targeted by attacks while the horseman is mounted, and the horseman cannot be dismounted by any effect. The mount can still take damage from effects that don’t target it with an attack. Phantom Steed: If the horseman doesn’t have a special mount, it rides a phantom steed. The phantom steed has 23 hp, can fly and walk on water, has no attacks or actions it can take besides move, always acts during the horseman’s turn, and vanishes if the horseman is defeated. The Three Horsemen: Each horseman has unique defenses and special abilities. Add the appropriate traits to the base horseman as follows: Bright Day gains resist cold and fire 14+, deals holy damage with ray of energy, and on a natural even hit the target is dazed (save ends). Red Sun gains resist fire 18+, deals fire damage with ray of energy, and on a natural even hit the target takes 10 ongoing fire damage. Black Night gains resist cold 18+, deals cold damage with ray of energy, and on a natural even hit the target is stuck (save ends). AC 21 PD 19 MD 18 HP 182

#pathfinder 2e #13th age #homebrew #my homebrew #monster #NPC #fey #humanoid #long post #pathfinder level 11 #13th age level 6

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wanderingnork · 6 months

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wanderingnork's Top Ten Horror Movies

At the time of this posting, I've seen 197 horror movies (that I can remember), ranging from The Haunted Hotel in 1907 to Five Nights at Freddy's in 2023. I've watched horror movies filmed on every continent except Antarctica, and I've seen a couple horror movies that were at least set there. Out of all of those, I'm finally choosing my ten favorite movies. Subjective, of course; you might think differently.

It's a tough list to make. I could list SO MANY movies as favorites for many reasons. For effects, for monsters, for acting, for music! In the end, though, I decided to go with the movies that I remember best, moved me most deeply, or call me back again and again. So, in ascending order: here's the list.

10. Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum A brilliant piece of found footage that has me climbing up the walls every time. The use of various camera angles allows us to get up close and personal with terror in a very intimate way. At one point, we the viewers are literally face to face with a monster as if we're the one holding the camera. With some big twists, it's fun to follow. And, while it's heavy on the jumpscares, the timing of them and the relentlessness of the escalation makes them incredibly effective. When I'm really in the mood for a SCARE, this is the one I go to.

9. It Follows One of the prettiest horror movies I've ever seen, It Follows creates a liminal and uncertain atmosphere like nothing else. What season is it? What year is it? How old are the protagonists? We just don't know. It's not the most original plot, but it's so breathtakingly lovely that doesn't matter. The colors are vibrant, the textures are wide and varied, the props are unique and beautiful. Composition of shots is incredible, I swear every other frame could be a poster or framed image on its own. It also encourages personal interpretation. What's the monster? The looming specter of adulthood? An STD? Childhood trauma revisited? It's up to the viewer to decide. I love that.

8. Carnival of Souls This one's beautiful in a different way. In black and white, it incorporates unexpected landscapes and angles to create a surreal, dreamlike atmosphere throughout. The background music is limited if there at all, and often is only the echoing music of an organ. This one's pretty liminal too, and with good reason. I also love it for a meta reason: one of its scenes was a direct inspiration of Night of the Living Dead, so Carnival of Souls has an impact that resonates all the way to the present day. We can still see it in our modern zombie movies. And that's just such a fitting legacy for this movie.

7. The Bay My favorite piece of found footage, The Bay effectively splices together DOZENS of sources of found footage to create its narrative. Security cameras. Home videos. Investigators' records. Recordings of video conferences and calls. Police dashcam videos. News broadcasts. We see the unfolding ecological disaster through so many points of view that we can get a comprehensive view of how it's affecting individual children all the way to a national crisis. Plus, it contains one of the most disturbing scenes I've ever seen: a running still shot through a police dashcam, where enhanced audio gives us a horrifying window into what's happening inside a house.

6. The Void Top-tier cosmic horror. What are the weird pyramids? What's the motive? What in the fresh fuck is through the portal? Why is everything so OOZY? Some reviewers say that the movie is nonsensical--well, welcome to good cosmic horror. We're given a glimpse into a vast, hostile, incomprehensible universe which snaps shut at the end...and we're left to wonder. Most of the monster effects are practical, and they're done so beautifully and fluidly. Utterly gorgeous. Between axe-dragging cultists, zombies, howling mutant beasts, and giant space pyramids, it's a wonderfully wild ride.

5. Nightbreed A movie lower on the "scary" side of things, this movie holds a special place in my heart. It's a tale of embracing your own monstrousness and finding a home where you belong, no matter how strange you are. Full of gorgeously monstrous characters, who embrace their desires no matter how taboo, it's easy to believe why someone struggling with their identity would want to join the hidden society of the Nightbreed. "Everything's true. God's an astronaut. Oz is over the rainbow. And Midian is where the monsters live."

4. Martyrs (2008) A TRULY unexpected addition to this list, Martyrs is often classed as torture porn. The director, and I, disagree. I read it more as an exploration of the power of women in horror, the scream queen or final girl who suffers to grant the audience catharsis. It's certainly a challenging watch, because the violence is unflinchingly shown on screen in all its details. But I came out of the movie feeling cleaned out and oddly healed. The protagonist, the martyr, shouldered my burden of hurt and fear...and I got to be free of it thanks to her.

3. Alien Aside from having one of the greatest of horror creatures and greatest of final girls, Alien is just a goddamn good movie. The tension is so well-handled. The grandiose scenes of a ship in space, the explosions, the vast alien planet, those are a glorious backdrop for the intimate horror happening within the ship. I can never look away, from the beautiful and strangely sensual awakening sequence to the peaceful hypersleep at the end. I find myself shrieking at the characters to LOOK UP, to get OUT of the vents, to HURRY with shutting down the self-destruct, and on the edge of my seat the whole time. No matter how many times I watch this movie, I always flinch at the chestburster scene. And every time I see Alien, I feel like I'm seeing it again for the first time.

2. The Thing As close to perfect a horror movie as is possible, I think. The Thing itself is slimy, toothy, tentacle-y perfection. The bleak, alien landscape of Antarctica, with its stark beauty, creates such a sense of inescapable tension that there's never relief once things begin. From the pounding heartbeat of the opening soundtrack as the dog flees over the snowfields to the final scene as the camp burns to frozen ashes in the finale, it's relentless. The lighting is gorgeous (as we expect from a John Carpenter movie). It keeps you guessing all the way through, suspecting anyone and everyone of being The Thing in disguise. One of my impossible bucket list items is to view this at McMurdo Station after the last flight has left for the winter.

1.The Ritual Truly my comfort horror movie. With a beautiful, beautiful creature who uses a combination of CGI and practical effects to perfection, this is a story of human determination overcoming even the worst suffering. The claustrophobic yet beautiful wilderness, the monster who is herself an integral piece of the landscape, and the soundtrack work together to create an immersive atmosphere. I could go on and on about how this movie handles grief, guilt, ecology, relationships between men, the weight of history, the power of the human spirit--but instead I'll just recommend you watch the movie and interpret it for yourself. I certainly will be.

(If you've enjoyed this rec list, check out my other horror movie recs here.)

#nork rants #the horror tag #horror #horror recs #halloween

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