Draxum's hands were shaking. Badly, Raph noted, staring at the noticeable tremors in the yokai's hands.
[TW: self-destructive behaviors, eating issues/implied disordered eating]
He'd seen Draxum's hands shake before, back in his own time, when the Hidden City was first discovered by the Kraang and quickly overwhelmed with all the hounds and mechs and zombies they could throw at it, and the Resistance had to declare the ruins unsalvageable, not worth trying to win back.
He'd seen them shake when Casey had returned a month after being declared missing in action (declared dead in all but the use of that word; all M.I.A. meant anymore was that there was no body to bury), not only alive and minimally injured, but hauling a four-month-old baby in a makeshift sling.
He'd seen them shake when he'd woken up from an artificial, anesthesia-induced slumber, a grey, lonely night with no stars, to see the face of the man who'd had to amputate his hand and tell him, "you barely survived as it is, Raphael," a heavy guilt weighing down his shoulders and carving new lines into his face.
He didn't know why they were shaking now. He focused on the vials Draxum held, ingredients for some chemical or other he needed to synthesize, seemingly vibrating as a result of the trembling hands that held them. Was it exhaustion? When did Draxum start working today?
When was the last time he had a meal?
Raph voiced his thoughts.
"I'm not hungry," came the answer, not enough in and of itself to give Raph what he needed to know, if not for everything he knew about the person Draxum was. Is. Would one day be?
"Draxum. That's not what I asked you." Raph reached out hesitantly, ready to withdraw his hand if it was rejected. The scientist didn't respond, at least not immediately, his back to Raph even as his hands still shook.
Something in Draxum's shoulders relaxed--not truly relaxed, so much as lost the tension holding him stiff and upright--and he sighed. "I can't stop now. There's too much I still need to do." His hair lay limp and matted against his back, greasy from lack of washing.
How long had Draxum been doing this? Destroying himself? How long had Raph not noticed it?
"Just a quick break," Raph tried. "Get a small meal in and get back to work after that."
A sharp headshake. "I can't--I can't. If I stop now, I'll lose all momentum--I have so much I need to do tonight--and I've gotten behind over the last few weeks, I can't fall behind my schedule any further, and besides, I haven't earned it yet--"
Suddenly Draxum whirled around, the vials in his hands dangerously close to spilling. "All of yokai-kind is depending on me. I can't let them down. I can't let more lives be lost! Too much is at stake here to simply take a break!"
The picture was familiar, heart-achingly so. It only took a flicker of imagination to superimpose Raph's own brother, to replace Draxum's desperate, bloodshot eyes with Donnie's wide, worried ones. The concerns were practically identical: the certainty-laced fear that rest now would be paid for later in agony and blood.
"What's yokai-kind gonna do if you work yourself to death?" Raph replied, as gently as he could, reaching out for the vials Draxum gripped so tightly. "Whatever you're doing here, who's gonna do it if you can't? Me? You know I'm not a science guy, Drax."
There's so much weight on your shoulders, Dad, Raph thought. Let me help you carry it.
Raph took hold of one of the vials, tugging gently. At first, it seemed as though Draxum wouldn't let go, that he would hold on even tighter, chase Raph out of the room and return to killing himself slowly. But after a few seconds, the scientist's trembling hand loosened, allowing Raph to slide the glass from between his fingers and set it back in the holder. He took the second with no resistance, and did the same.
Raph allowed himself a small smile, a tiny flicker of the ever-present tension between his shoulders melting away. "Okay, Draxum. Let's get you some food, maybe a nap, and see how you're doing after that."
This mad scientist at least, he could help.
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The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe screengrabs
‼️ SPOILER WARNING ‼️
Alright so the first few are just from replaying all the stuff that was in the HD Remix, just to see some of the texture differences, but I also took some screengrabs just because they’re fun!
I’m so glad this one made it in lol (he is)
I got the paper office! :D
And the whiteboard ending!! Yes!!! Dog mode is terrible though haha ♪
Spamtoncore
This was new! I knew about the Bucket but I hadn’t met them yet so I was just like Hmmm Hmmm Interesting haha
Fall through the floor Part 2 - luckily this was the last one of the initial play session! Still though, load your rooms pls
Alright from here it’s all Ultra Deluxe so watch out!
I want this. Sadge that it’s sold out </3
I just got this one! :D
They!!! So tiny <3 It’s nice to see Mariella’s model as well, I’ve seen Stanley’s a few times but never Mariella from the front!
Just played with this one too, the grandfather <3
Who is this!!! They’re so cute what!!!
This image is probably especially funny to me because it reminds me of a meme I made lol
Hi Stanley, Hi Stanley, haha ♪
There he is. The Narrator turned him into a marketable figure
Very cursed Stanley smile :) He deserves it
Me
See, this dark, infinite abyss makes sense! It all ties together! Brilliance in writing! Lol
My previous point (also implying that Stanley is normal, really, Narrator, you should know better by now)
I appreciate the serial code(?) nameplate lol - this whole section was too strange haha
*heavy breathing* I mean literally what more could I ask for (I did also like the Stanley Parable concept art though haha, and the pause button stuff)
I gotta be honest, I was not sold on this bucket at first, but after this-
EEE, even better!! Yes, I’m onboard on the bucket now, I love Bucket
There is an awful lot of Bucket death in this game huh. Like, Stanley dies a lot too, but we don’t get to see that usually, so it’s oddly visceral
Employee 416 you say 👀 So there was somebody in there initially, until they were moved...? (I like to imagine they also drew the little Stanlurine doodle on the whiteboard lol)
I forgot that this was flagged by the phone call lol, I wonder if anybody has actually counted them
That’s all for this playthrough! If I fall through the floor again, I’ll try to catch it!
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Feel free to elaborate more on the family magic, I’m very interested in your thoughts and opinions on it
hskgahagsgje!!!!!!! anon!!!
*coughs* moving on.
man, family magic is—such a handwavey, nebulous fanon term. it can mean so much & depends heavily on ur world building, imo.
here’s a few of my fav interpretations of it tho:
- magic gets compounded across generations, slowly becoming more like a communal well that people can dip into instead of individual reserves. it’s why family & blood is so sacred/imp in the WW, because not only can u trace ur lineage, but it can often correlate to power levels/skills as well. (for eg: metamorphmagus being a black family trait)
- family magic as sentient. i think,,,a marauders plan had this but it it could basically be weilded defensively/offensively by the person deemed worthy of it by the family magic. so it takes the shape of whichever animal is the family’s motif/traditional protector.
- perhaps one of my favs—family magic evolving to have certain skills that the members excel in. familial affinities, if u will. some examples are battle magic, illusion magic, potions ability, heightened defensive skills, alchemical magic, fertility magic etc etc. it’s. a bit,,,essentialist ngl but it’s also just really fun?
- family magic as something you achieve through ritual and worthiness, and it gives u a general boost magically & physically. (and in one particular fic, tattoos of animals w a connection to u)
i also just love like—the concept of lordships/headships and family/blood having more than just symbolic weight ykno? so when u combine family magic w this, it’s like—the head has a lot of power over the other members. casting them away takes on a whole other meaning; u can limit their magical abilities, punish them harshly, take control of family wards creatively etc etc the list is never ending ykno?
i think what i really like about it is like, this element of otherworldliness about it? like, at it’s core, the WW is a completely separate, isolated society ykno? it stands to reason that their cultural/magical practices would be distinct from muggle ones. and it’s just…fun to imagine how. i’m also a huge fan of sentient magic so i feel like that’ll also play a role in how their society has evolved. and if blood is really such a big deal, if that’s the one variable they structure their entire population around—well, stands to reason there would be some reason for it, perceived or otherwise.
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So I’ve seen styling criticism of New Jeans floating around Stan twitter of late, and was curious what your thoughts are since I don’t particularly trust twitter 😅
Essentially, the internet seems to not love their outfits from Kcon japan and from I believe the fact music awards? Whatever recent awards show they went to.
To be fair, the outfits are a statement, and aren’t in line with what anyone else is currently wearing so I can see why people have feelings on them. But personally, while I wouldn’t wear them myself, I kind of love them? I think young people today who didn’t live through the so called Y2K era don’t realize just how insane and unflattering so much of the fashion was. It was like kitsch threw up everywhere sometimes, and bigger and more obvious was always better. So honestly, I kind of think that, among kpop styling, these outfits are truer to the early 00s than most of the other popular stuff. But I recognize that the trend these days is to be “aesthetic”, probably since everything ends up online for immediate and widespread consumption in a way that wasn’t possible 20 years ago, so real 00s stuff is never gonna fit that aesthetic mold.
That’s my theory at least, but I’m curious what your thoughts are!
..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................why are people mad at these. this is literally just what teenagers wore in 2005. well i know why people are mad at these and that's because they're all young adults who have never known a world where things were imperfect and weird because we weren't living under the panopticon of social media watching our every move. i was literally just talking to someone about how i used to cut thumbholes in all of my sweater sleeves in middle school and for like probably three or four years i wore like ten non-matching necklaces at all times. the real y2k was ugly as hell and we should be going back to that! everything now is so aestheticized and optimized for being the most attractive and it all has to be packaged perfectly for getting the most likes on these apps bc that's how young kids are getting their validation. things can't be ugly in their world because the parameters of what 'beautiful' is have closed in around them without them even knowing any different, so they won't accept anything even a little bit ''''experimental'''' from people they see as the pinnacles of that perfect manicured aesthetic because they don't know how to.
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