#chaos is usually good chaos but the crashes can be pretty nasty sometimes

[molliemoo3]

Could you explain formula e to me please as Paul Aron is racing this weekend

OK so im not necessarily great at explaining things but a basic weekend run down is

Friday

-Shakedown

-FP1 (30 mins i think)

Saturday

-FP2 (30 mins i think)

-Qualifying

-Race 1 ~ 40 laps, 6 mins of attack (4-2, 3-3, or 2-4 splits)

Sunday

-FP3 (30 mins i think)

-Qualifying

-Race 2 ~ 38 laps, 4 mins of attack (3-1, 2-2, or 1-3 splits)

FP sessions are exactly as you'd expect (if they arent the 30mins theyre 45)

Quali is in 2 sections, first the group stages - 2, 12 (i think) min sessions with the drivers split into 2 groups based on championship position (basically odd is one, even is the other) with the top 4 of each group going through to the duels. And then the duels, which are 1 laps shootouts until the top drivers from group A and group B go against each other for pole.

The races are in a lot of ways just races, except with 1000% more chaos a good 95% of the time, the biggest differences are -

Attack Mode, which is the FE equivalent of drs/p2p, except drivers have to push a button to "activate" it, and then go off line to actually gain attack mode, this is where the main strategy comes into play. It is an increase in energy from 300kW to 350kW, and it has to be activated twice in the race, notably in Monaco Jehan failed to activate it at all, and received a 10 secind stop go penalty post race (48s added to his race time). It will cause drivers to lose postiins pretty frequently so its important to make sure you hit the button and go over the 3 loops on track the first time(s) you intended to in order to not lose positions unnecessarily.

No pit stops unless there is a problem hence why attack mode is the main strategy bit. Also front wings arent vital so if it completely comes off and isnt at risk of coming off under the car, theyll probs just keep going without it.

SC, under if the race is under safety car, and or full course yellow, for a certain amount of time (in relation to a reference lap time set based on each track, for Berlin its 2min45s) laps will be added for the first 80% of the race, any sc or fcy after that point will not result in added laps. There is a maximum of 5 added laps per race.

Energy management is a huge part of FE it can sometimes lead to peloton (i think that's the word i mean) style racing with drivers not wanting to lead for to long which can be a bit annoying, but we do get a good dose of chaos each weekend, especially in the last few laps which is always fun. And the mid pack will always be in some sort of fight.

In terms of where to watch your best bet is going to the FE website (or app) and checking for your country. FP sessions are free on youtube and show on the app/website too. There's a predictor game each race which is fun and on the app, as well as driver radios during the race.

Paul's making his debut with Envision, who are the reigning teams champions of formula e. Season 10 hasnt necessarily had the best start for them, but it hasnt been terrible, with best finishes of P2 at the opening round in Mexico and at Race 2 in Diriyah. Envision is a customer team of Jaguar TCS racing who supply their power train, and who the other Envision debut, Joel Eriksson, is the reserve driver for. There's definitely the possibility for points, with a car capable of podiums with its usual drivers, and a power train that can win races and is currently topping the teams standings, a good quali, and avoiding the chaos (much easier said than done) is vital, but definitely doable for him, especially given how his rookie f2 season is going (i say like these cars arent entirely different beasts). Envision clearly has faith in him, and chaos means literally anything is possible (like an abt almost got a podium the other week, truly anything is possible here)

We're also blessed in Formula E land that we have a bunch of lovely people who put a lot of time into creating guides and gathering info for people interested in FE, the mains ones im aware of are:

@formulawah 's bad guide to formula e season 10 - by bad it isnt bad its silly and funny and something to look forward to each season, they also post on twitter about fe and have a blog they post on

and

@robinfrinjs 's formula e, an intro to season 10 - this goes into more detail about the cars and how theyve changed through the gens and has more info on sessions and how a weekend is run. They have a discord full of wonderful people that love fe too.

@formulaesource doesnt really post much over here anymore, but theyre incredibly active on twitter, and are attending this weekend. Theyre pretty much always up to date on how long races and such are gonna be and a great source for updates on penalties and such, and just changes to the formula e world in general.

Hopefully this is somewhat helpful and anything i havent remembered to include can be explained elsewhere or just send another ask and i shall do my best to help you figure out this chaos child of a racing series. Fingers crossed for a decent weekend for Paul 💚💚💚

#anon <3 #asks #formula e #fe #paul aron #hopefully this is helpful #those guides are a life saver #even with this being my 3rd season watching they help you stay up to date and learn things you didnt know before #if you can watch some old races on youtube i would recommend doing that especially berlin ones just so you know what to expect #its fun times over here though #i will cry over 20/22 driver losing out on a win #tonio especially is getting bullied by the racing gods this year #chaos is usually good chaos but the crashes can be pretty nasty sometimes #and we have had quite a few hand injuries in the last 2ish years #but 99% of the time its good vibes

[cookiefonster666]

Thoughts on the Homestuck Epilogues (Tumblr Edition)

I predicted the future!

Might as well adapt this Blogspot post I made about a week ago into Tumblr form, why not. With a few minor changes. I don’t like using Tumblr but I figure it’s a good additional platform to share my surprisingly positive views on the Homestuck Epilogues.

The epilogues have a lot of controversial content, most of which I avoid talking about here.

BRIEF SUMMARY

4/20, read through Meat: epilogues pretty good

4/20, started Candy: what the fuck

4/21, stopped: aaaaaaaaughhhhh bluh i hate everything

4/24-ish, continued Candy: epilogues alright i guess also i am sad now

4/27-ish, finished: I LOVE HOMESTUCK

BRIEF-ISH SUMMARY

Meat was a wild ride that started as cool plot stuff and things that make you go "OH FUCK", continued as basically chapters 7-9 of Detective Pony (which I naturally enjoyed a lot), and ended as a mess of sheer chaos and destruction. My thought process ended as, "oh duh, this is the bad ending, candy must be the good ending". I was in for quite the nasty surprise.

I quit reading Candy just a few pages in. It didn't take long for it to suddenly become the weirdest fanfiction ever. Frustrated, I started skipping and searching through later parts and got rather salty when it turned out both sides were the "bad ending". I saw firsthand what vfromhomestuck meant by "clear your whole week": this is not something most people can just read in one sitting. Then I recovered a few days and read Candy in earnest, in a somewhat anachronous order and with many parts read multiple times. Slowly, I started to hope that the epilogues would be followed up with a true happy ending for real this time. I may or may not have written a snippet of some form of fanfiction paving the way for a happy ending.

Once I finally accomplished the equivalent of reading Candy as intended, I got hit HARD with feels. I accepted that the epilogues have many issues but as a whole (not just the sum of parts) are an absolute masterwork, sometimes because of those issues. It didn't take me long to realize the brilliant duality either. Meat is a side-splitting metafictional farce that (for me at least) is impossible to treat as anything resembling a story of people doing things. Candy is a tale of FEELS, and I don't use the word FEELS lightly. FEELS means I almost cried, like I did when I watched the Futurama episode Luck of the Fryrish.

DETECTIVE PONY AND METAFICTION

Before I move on and talk about the CHARACTERS, I'm going to discuss the meat epilogue's resemblance to sonnetstuck's Detective Pony. I love everything about Detective Pony, more than almost anything else in existence. My abnormal love for that godlike fanwork probably skewed my perception of Meat a bit. Starting from page 17, Dirk takes over the narration then fights over it with god tier Calliope; both do rather questionable deeds and Dirk was hit hard by fans as a result. Seeing other fans react towards that character with such hostility gave me a very distinct feeling of "what, am I missing something?" Dirk's takeover felt like a lengthy work of comedy to me; a story that never strips away from the fact that it's fiction, in a vein near identical to that of Detective Pony. I like to think I am in the right for perceiving that arc this way, because I think everyone who has read Homestuck should read Detective Pony. One of the epilogue authors read Detective Pony after writing the epilogues and was struck by it; I take this accidental mirroring of (post-)canon as proof that sonnetstuck understands Hussie's ways through and through. I like to think I have a solid understanding of Hussie's ways by now, but this guy is on a whole new level.

That said, the meat epilogue gets a bit carried away with metafiction to the point of making me think, "god when will things go back to normal". Towards the end of Detective Pony, Dirk goes through an existential crisis followed by a powerful revelation, and then resolves to do whatever it takes to erase his abominable creation. But the meat epilogue ends with (both figurative and literal) crashing and burning; no ultimate redemption for our poor Strider. Homestuck doesn't usually have much of a problem with getting carried away with stupid nonsense; maybe a few rare occasions in cases like Hussie's self-insert scenes. But getting carried away is a major criticism I have with cool and new web comic. I love that comic to death, but the parts that take a long time to dwell on the cool and new characters being creepy or weird are a chore to go through. o (the author of CaNWC) seems to have improved in that regard; the cool and new trolls' arc is much more to-the-point with such nonsense.

Meat getting carried away with metafiction is a major cause of my initial burnout shortly after starting Candy. I was sick of this mass dump of metafiction and expected Candy to be a refreshing change of pace. Haha, if only. My fault for reading Meat first. At night I sometimes ponder in envy of the parallel universe me that started with Candy. Actually I don't do that, I just thought it was a funny thing to say. Though I have on more than a few occasions sat in bed fantasizing about how awesome my life probably is in some parallel universe. What point was I making again? Oh whatever, it doesn't matter. I guess I should write a similar overview of Candy's narrative nature. Here goes:

LUCK OF THE FRYRISH AND SADSTUCK

Sad things are sad.

^ There, that's my candy overview. How hard was that?

With the two summaries out of the way, I figure the best way to dump out my residual thoughts on the epilogues is going character by character. I won't do every character, mostly just the ones who played large roles and were already characters in Homestuck proper. I'm sorting these characters in tiers of how well I think the epilogues handle them, mostly from worst to best.

N-TIER

N is not the lowest tier; it's the tier that cannot be ranked. N stands for two things here: "Not Applicable" and "Narrators". Naturally enough, two characters fit into that tier.

Dirk Strider: I've already talked about this guy quite a bit. I have a fondness for Dirk's character and I think his dialogue and narration in meat do a good job portraying some ascended, ultimate version of his character without straying from his voice, the tone that makes him Dirk. That said, I'm a bit peeved that "normal Dirk", the one iteration of Dirk Strider that isn't total bonkers and just wants his friends to be happy, doesn't exist in this story. In Candy, Rose suddenly loses the memories of her alternate selves, but for some reason Dirk keeps those memories and soon after commits suicide; he's left out of the picture until Candy's postscript, which I guess is a reasonable balance considering his indulgence throughout Meat. But why is only one of the succulently verbose Strilondes let off the hook? Some readers imagine Dave as the comic's protagonist and Dirk as the antagonist; I've toyed with that idea myself and can see it symbolized, but it just feels so wrong to me. Maybe the authors did too good a job writing Dirk for me to be complacent with such a shift in role. His conversations with Rose were just as delightful as I had hoped and they aren't weighed down too much in light of his shift in role, at least not for me.

Alt Calliope: The narrative rival to Dirk, as I mentioned previously. I'm not totally sure what to say about her, other than that one could see her as a counterpart to let's say Anna Harley; a necessary piece in the Detective Pony analogy. Alt Calliope's narrative arguments with Dirk were hilarious and that's all there is to say on the matter.

G-TIER

I'm lucky Gamzee's name starts with a G, because this means I can give him a tier of his own worse than F. As an individual arc that is; he'd get a much higher rating when taken as part of a whole.

Gamzee Makara: Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I despised reading every word that came out of this guy's mouth as soon as his """redemption arc""" started. But I can clearly tell that was the point and that the suffering that is reading his words has a much greater purpose. Before you deem me a masochist or the kind that insists everything is "bad on purpose", know that I am neither of those things but really do mean what I say here. Gamzee's role in Candy draws tension between individuality and the whole. Reading this guy's hogwash is suffering in and of itself, but ultimately it serves a role of showing us how fucked up the world of Candy is and helps the reader experience John's existential crisis with him.

F-TIER

As before, these tiers are strictly about character arcs in isolation and not the big picture. This tier is home to none other than the legendary...

Jane Crocker: Boy did I predict the future on that one. A bit like Dirk, I would've liked it more if in only one epilogue did sweet innocent little Jane become such a monster. No way in hell am I going to run through the asshole things she does; it's a load of sensitive topics I'm not comfortable discussing in any capacity. Instead, I'll say that if I had to choose only one epilogue where Jane ran through her crazy presidential campaign it would be Candy; as with Gamzee's arc, this campaign serves well as a part of John's existential crisis. What's weird here is that in Candy she originally cancelled all this, but later ended up basically doing it anyway with Dirk gone. I can imagine Jane going back to normal in Meat, maybe? Or in the hypothetical "true ending" I discussed prior.

D-TIER

Better known as "meh" tier. Mostly the characters that don't do much and I wished did more.

Meenah Peixes: Needed more screen time, god damn it. She survives the Furthest Ring apocalypse, nabs the Ring of Life, then makes her way to Candy Earth and joins Karkat in the rebellion. Maybe it makes sense that her and Karkat teaming up in war is relegated to the background, to show how far the shouty guy has come in comparison to everyone else. I'll come back to this point when I talked about Karkat.

Roxy Lalonde: Doesn't do too much in either side, but does go through some touchy topics I'm not sure what to think about; I'm most certainly not ready to talk about those topics now. And regardless, Roxy's role in the epilogues is better discussed when I talk about John and Terezi a few tiers up.

Calliope: Doesn't do all that much either, full circle to being the exposition alien with mysterious morality. I'm actually pretty OK with that. Certainly beats out the slog of endless "ur pretty" conversations. Calliope pretty much fades into the background on both sides, which is sad but fitting.

(About pronouns: I'll keep referring to Roxy and Calliope as "she" unless I find reason to talk about the little those two do in Meat. I just avoided using pronouns in those paragraphs above.)

C-TIER

Better known as "meh" tier, but with a more positive "meh" than before. It's the "meh" that indicates lukewarm satisfaction rather than annoyance at mediocrity.

Jade Harley: Really should be on a lower tier, because she did dick squat other than being horny and painfully oblivious to all the nonsense going on. But I'm a sucker for Jade being "Jade" and was happy to see even a trace of that early in Meat. As before, I'll avoid the controversial topics surrounding Jade in the epilogues, aside from pointing out that this post reads very different now.

Karkat Vantas: This guy's a bit of an odd spot. His leadership role is addressed in the absolute last way I expected. Could've gotten more attention from the story I suppose, but damn if his character arc didn't get the most triumphant return imaginable.

Kanaya Maryam: I touched upon Rose and Kanaya's relationship when I discussed the "buddy system" in my first epilogues post and I still stand by what I said there. Her strong attachment to Rose is integrated well into Meat without seeming like fluff or defining her entire character, because she actually does other things there too. In Candy they remain a stable happy relationship and I guess I'm cool with that.

Aradia Megido: Role is the same as ever and I'm fine with that. Death fangirl who works for predestination and has ambiguous morality. Her arc with alt Calliope ends with a cliffhanger that is easily the biggest reason to hope for a follow-up to the epilogues; if such a follow-up were to happen, I really look forward to hearing more from Aradia.

Sollux Captor: Sollux is by nature the other guy, that's an immutable fact of life. He doesn't do much other than snarking at whoever's nearby and I can't imagine it any other way.

Jake English: If not for a scene near the end of Candy, I'd put Jake at D-tier. Through all of Meat and most of Candy, Jake's role is one of the oddest spots of all and it's pretty hard to pinpoint what the authors were going for, lest I dabble in controversial topics some more. But Jake's scene with John near the end of Candy is uniquely touching and makes the most out of his role as a second John. He moves in with John, bringing his son Tavros with him, and encourages John to reconcile with his former wife and make amends of sorts, ultimately giving a small portion of the cast a pseudo-happy ending. That whole part of Candy made me tear up.

Talking about the really GOOD parts is a perfect point for me to move on to...

B-TIER

Stuff that didn't make it into A-Tier, which I've reserved for what struck me HARD.

Dave Strider: In both epilogues, Dave's behavior generally seems based on how he acted in Act 6 Act 6 Intermission 5, which is actually a LOT better than it sounds and hell if I know why that is. Dave's rants about politics and sexuality now have a charm I can't quite describe. His absurd fixation specifically on the economy matches shockingly well with the nature of Homestuck. The three-way romance between him, Karkat, and Jade goes in very different directions on either side, which I'll discuss a bit later. The epilogues even made Dave x Karkat an actually decent ship, how crazy is that??? The writers deserve a big badge of honor for doing that. Not sure what to say about specific things, but Dave was really well-written in an unexpected way.

Rose Lalonde: Again not sure what to say about anything in specific. Just really enjoyed reading Rose on both sides of the story. Shoutout to the heartwarming moment with John near the end.

A-TIER

Oh boy. Oh boy. Time for the big guns.

Vriska Serket: My mind hurts to process just how good Vriska's appearance in Candy was, after leaving the Furthest Ring and landing on Earth. First she talks with John rather aggravated, then she brutally murders Gamzee, then she sits down and has an honest talk with her ectobiological clone raised by Rose and Kanaya, and in the end gets in touch with Terezi which leads to a cliffhanger. The story somehow created the PERFECT balance of sincere reflections and typical Vriska flavor, which was deeply lacking in A6A6I5 with its horrific polar opposite versions of Vriska. Two Vriskas converse once again late in Candy and this time it's incredibly endearing and almost feels like an apology for the controversial Vriska/Vriska encounter back then. I accept the apology with open arms. Why is everything always so wonderful?

John Egbert: <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3. WHY IS EVERYTHING ALWAYS SO WONDERFUL? John gets a deep meaningful existential crisis arc in both epilogues; both cases I easily latched onto and found a bit of myself in. I absolutely loved seeing him and Terezi interact as a duo of people with some perception of canonicity; I'll get back to that point soon enough. John's marriage to Roxy not working out is a testament to both his issues with canon and Roxy's issues dealing with harsh situations. Roxy latches onto John and their son as a huge carefree pushover and he doesn't like that at all. And that's actually cool with me because John x Terezi is better in every way, as the epilogues made me realize. If that wasn't enough, the end of Candy spoils our little hearts by having John reconcile with Roxy anyway and give hope for a better future. Though a part of me does want to see a true happy ending where John and Roxy date with their delightful dynamic from their first interactions, I'm beyond pleased with the epilogues' handling of John either way. Swaying deep into some rather sad territory while remaining 100% faithful to his character that I've always loved so much.

Terezi Pyrope: FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES. Every scene with Terezi in the epilogues was so goddamn awesome. Her interactions with John were such a blast to read, with exactly the mix of humor and touching aspects that make both of the big John/girl ships what they are. How did the authors pull it off, making deeply emotional scenes without ever sacrificing that goofy Terezi flavor???

S-TIER

S in rating systems these days is way misused in my eyes. Normally A is meant to be the highest rating and S is used for the very rare absolutely exceptional case A doesn't do justice. But now you see shit like SS, SSS, SSSS everywhere like one S isn't the ultimate badge of honor? S is a rating I'd gladly give Detective Pony and may or may not give cool and new web comic. Same goes for my very favorite Futurama episodes. I'd give a few of Neil Cicierega's works that rating if I'm feeling up to it. In this post, I've reserved the S rating for:

Barack Obama: THE BEST PART OF THE EPILOGUES, HANDS DOWN. His conversation with Dave near the end of Candy is perfect in every way, it really transcends words. Humor, emotional touching, plot revelations, and straight up "Homestuck feel" are blended into the most delicious melting pot imaginable. When Dave confesses that he might be gay and explains troubles in his three-way romance, Obama responds with a truly inspiring speech about identity that raises an excellent point about the differences between the epilogues involving aspects of people that may seem immutable to some. I think Obama's speech leaves a powerful message I never expected Homestuck of all things to convey so well. I hope readers take that speech's message into account, though I know many will probably be a bit naive about it.

If you refuse to read the epilogues at all costs, then I implore you to read Dave and Obama's conversation anyway. You won't be disappointed.

CONCLUSION

epilogues good

that’s all there is to say on the matter

though if you don’t like them that’s also fine

#homestuck #homestuck epilogues #epilogues #epilogues spoilers #homestuck epilogues spoilers #i predicted the future #i love john egbert #i love terezi pyrope #i maybe love vriska serket??? #obama obama obama #johnrezi #yes good

[mundvngus]

“i pour alcohol into the gaping hole inside my chest. it does not heal. not today. maybe tomorrow.”

MUNDUNGUS FLETCHER is 26 years old and works as a THIEF/DRUG DEALER/ALL ROUND CRIMINAL and is loyal to THE OOTP they were an RAVENCLAW and are a HALFBLOODED. HE look like FRANK DILLANE.

CHARACTER PARALLELS: nick miller ( new girl ), creed bratton ( the office ), doug judy ( b99 ), jason mendoza ( the good place ), chris miles ( skins ), jesper fahey ( six of crows ), scott lang ( marvel ), lillian ( unbreakable kimmy schmidt ). AESTHETIC: scuffed knees, flicking a lighter over and over again, flowery shirts, walking in the middle of the street after midnight, a body covered in bruises and tattoos, naming stray cats, falling asleep on the subway, watching smoke curl against a starless, black nightsky, throwing empty beer bottles against a wall. LINKS: stats. pinboard. character tag. HEADS UP: there’s quite a bit of talk about drugs and stuff in here -- as well as shitty parenting. i trigger warned it before every bullet point tho!

history

ciannán o’donnell was a flighty man, one of many relationships and flings and little loyalty, and so his affair with kiyana fletcher did not last long. when she told him he was pregnant, he moved on to a different woman, and kiyana had her son alone, with her sister on her side. dung was born to a lonely and angry woman, who had fallen for the charms and winks of a crooked criminal who spoke empty promises and lied for a living.

he grew up with his mum – a halfblooded witch and by far his favourite person in the world – in cork, attending muggle school there. he knew who his dad was, but wasn’t quite sure how to feel about —- EVERYONE knew who his dad was, a well known muggle criminal and dealer, a name notorious among the older kids at his school, a father to many. he’s like the robert baratheon of ireland, to be honest, planting bastards on every corner. lol. knowing he was one of his many kids was hard; he’d never met any of them, but he knew they were there, from his mother, from his aunt.

he met his dad for the first time at age seven, and was nothing but impressed. his dad showered him with gifts, his mum watching with a furious look on her face but biting her tongue. that moment was a switch for dung; he felt the need to impress his dad. he stole some sweets from a store on his way home from school a week later, fished some pennies out of the pockets of his classmates a few months later. when he phoned his dad to tell him, his laugh was warm and filled with life.

his relationship with his dad got better as his behaviour got worse. the thrill of stealing, of doing stuff he wasn’t supposed to, lit him not only on fire because ti was exciting, but also because he knew his dad would adore it. his mother’s worried questions and look only drove him to his dad, who liked it when he did bad things, who didn’t try and ground him ( looking back, he knows that that was stupid, but back then he was blindsided, obsessed with the mystery that was his dad ).

abuse tw // his father was abusive. period. he’s a wicked man, who has blood on his hands of people who were in his way, and he doesn’t love anything but winning and money and the high of victory. he manipulated mundungus, pushed him towards bad behaviours, showed him his bad sides when he was disappointed. most of the abuse was mental and verbal, but sometimes it turned physical as well. it’s toxic. mundungus hasn’t allowed himself to admit that to himself yet, though. end of tw //

drugs, smoking, alcohol tw // attending hogwarts was good, at first. it forced him to focus on other stuff, for a while, but his summers and winter breaks forced him back into his old behaviours. his world was split; at hogwarts, he was a loud and lively, but still a pretty good student, while at home he fell deeper and deeper in crossing lines and boundaries. he lit his first cigarette at age ten, drank his first beer at age twelve, smoked his first spliff when he turned fourteen, as a present from his dad. end of tws //

hogwarts also meant friends --- the dick squad was founded here, consisting out of dorcas, doc, daisy and dung himself. these three people meant everything to mundungus, to be honest, let him see the ways people could love each other without conditions or out of obligation. they were chaotic and messy and wrecked havoc on the castle but --- damn it, they’re his family, and he’d die for them.

drugs tw // it was in his later years that these two worlds started overlapping. his dad trusted him with a bit of produce, gave him some weed to sell at hogwarts after his christmas break in his fifth year, and it was a success. ever since, dung became pretty well known for selling a little bit of this and that. a lively spirit, he always did so with a bit of a grin, but he was also pretty fond of the stuff he sold, indulging quite a lot when business was a little slow.

he also stole a lot from rich purebloods, because fuck them

i guess ... this is where the messiness really did ... explode? mundungus liked the taste of drugs. he liked the taste of doing illegal things. he liked the taste of earning money and feeling powerful and he loved it all. he grew more dependent on alcohol and drugs. he wanted to flee, too. the world was a nasty fucking place and he knew that all too well and, fucking hell, don’t blame him for wanting to escape every now and then. end of tw //

he graduated at one point which? is a miracle? i think they just wanted to get rid of him tbh!!! but yeah, dung did Try a little at hogwarts, as he respects the hell out of dumbledore and stuff, but he was still not a good student. after graduation, he kind of joined up with his dad and started doing some illegal stuff in the wizarding world too, because why the hell not? he was good at it.

dung had no plans to join either side of the war, tbh, even though he’ss v much against the de’s cause. he’s a self serving kid!! but then he kind of got in a nasty situation where both alastor and dumbledore got him out of trouble ( that might have sent him to fucking azkaban, what a fucking idiot ) and well, dung might be a shithead, but he felt indebted to them and kind of rolled into the order.

and well --- the order was a newfound family. messy, of course, and full of chaos and distrust, but --- heck, mundungus found a lot of people there that he did end up feeling loyal to. and while that was scary, as mundungus prefers being a lone wolf ( or raccoon ), it was a kind of wonderful, too?

and -- get this -- he was an asset. his ties to the criminal world, with his ability to steal and sneak around like less than a shadow. he was useful, and mundungus fletcher had never been useful in his life before. what a weird feeling that was --- oh boy, but it was good, too. mundungus likes it. he could build on that and improve greatly and he has fucking potential to become a better person. he really wants to, too, because he feels incredibly indebted to alastor and dumbledore akjfsdf.

dont hold your breath, tho, he’s probably not going to improve a lot

mundungus doesn’t technically have a home. his mother’s place is his home, i guess, but he’s not there a lot. he crashes on couches, breaks into muggle homes of people who are on vacation ( always leaving it the way it was, but with a bit of a smell ) or in a squatter’s home, which he thinks is an iconic scene.

drugs tw // besides his work for the order, mundungus does a bit of this and that. he still works for his dad a little, dealing some drugs for him, but he’s mostly focused on making his way through the wizarding world’s underground and making a name for himself there. he sees no reason to try and find another career, finds the things he does now thrilling and exciting and honestly, he doesn’t have much of a way out. 

abuse tw // his dad has a hold on him. sure, he can drop his criminal activities in the wizarding world, but when it comes to his dad's business, he’s stuck. his father isn’t going to allow him to walk away –  that much should be obvious. he knows too much. and then there’s mundungus’ wish to always please his father, and his father’s endless dissatisfaction. it’s messy and bad and toxic and we all hate mundungus’ dad. end of tws // 

addiction tw // what it all boils down to is that mundungus is chaotic. he never stays in one place too long, doesn’t have a consistent job, strays away from commitment and stability. he’s addicted, to drugs, alcohol, cigarettes and adrenaline. he’s self serving, in the end. he’s seeking for validation, deep down, and endlessly scared of all that’s happening around him. he’s alone, dreadfully so, but that’s the way he prefers it. end of tw //

personality & tidbits 

mundungus is a lowkey tortured artist. he writes awful poetry and draws a lot and he loves painting if he has time. he’s in love with the beat generation, mostly. he’s very private about this kind of stuff, though. it's his thing, and his alone. some of his tattoos he’s designed himself tho!! and we love and stan!!

his stance in the war is something that’s … pretty unknown, i imagine. mundungus benefits from appearing neutral, has connections in both the pureblood and muggle world. he likes to come across as that shady dude who will do whatever you ask of him for the right price.

can usually be spotted wearing The Coat, a rly expensive, vintage long coat that he once stole of a pureblood. he’s enlarged the pockets with some handy spellwork and pretty much carries everything he owes in there, like his produce and his money and his second pair of shoes and his art supplies and probably some random trash. 

is a bit smelly, so give him a shower

most likely to show up at your doorstep at 5am with some flowers and a shit eating grin, saying “can i sleep on yer couch?”

mundungus LOVES animals but doesn’t have any because of his lack of a home. his mother has a dog, though, and he loves that dog. he also feels v connected to stray dogs and cats and can be found petting and feeding them a lot.

hates himself deeply, doesn’t think he’s worth anyone’s time (despite constantly demanding it), has a low opinion of himself. he doesn’t get it if people care about him, to be honest? the only person he can properly accept it of is his mother, but even that’s complicated.

plots!

CUSTOMERS // a simple, easy connection! basically someone who buys drugs (also does like medicinal stuff? but also drugs-drugs) of mundungus or has paid him (good money) to nick something for them. he’s pretty down to do most things as long as it’s for the right price! 

PARTY FRIENDS // dung likes getting wasted / high / fucked up and having a good ol’ time with people. sure, he’s done it alone, but he prefers doing it with others. there’s a lot of room for diff options here?

YOU SAVED ME ONCE // ( alcohol tw ) a plot where someone got dung to a hospital when he got alcohol poisoning and basically saved his life?? meaning?? mundungus feels indebted and he hates that but!! he’s gonna pay your char back! he promises! 

UNDER PRESSURE // i imagine that dung has some ties to de’s as well bc of his less than legal work so? maybe some death eater could try and put some pressure on him? get him to do some dirty job bc it’d not matter if he died … etc etc 

UNDER PRESSURE 2.0 // on the other hand, i bet some order members are like 👀 at dung? this one’d be for order members who’re like … making sure that dung is still loyal and here?? making him feel a bit?? queasy?? 

ONE NIGHT STANDS // dung isnt rly good at romance but he’s good at no strings attached sex. this’d work in a lot of ways and w a lot of characters so imma keep this p open! dung is bi btw!!

THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY // your average angsty exes plot? mundungus is flighty, and while he does feel feelings for people, he’s not … good with commitment. this’d be a relationship that he broke off bc he got scared or ?? something else??

COUCHES // i need some couches that mundungus can crash on adkjfhsdf he needs a place ... to sleep. he will pay you back with drugs or ... stolen goods? money? something that he didnt acquire lawfully

#maraudrs:intro

[slapshot-to-the-heart]

Best Fake Smile

Hey friends! Here’s part X to our ongoing adventures with Alex and Harry, the Chaos and the Calm series, the rest of which can be found here. I don’t get too many people coming and telling me their thoughts or feelings on the series, and i love love LOVE hearing what you guys think, so don’t hesitate to drop by my box! And don’t forget to like and reblog, it lets me know you’re interested in what I’m putting out. 

She's working late and making eyes at the door/She sick of everybody up on her floor/She wants the sun in her eyes but all she gets is ignored

Glancing at her watch for what seemed like the tenth time that hour, Alex counted down the minutes until she could finally leave. Her day technically ended at six, but she often stayed later and picked up some overtime if there was a project or assignment she wanted to finish. This week, though, there was nothing more she wanted to do than get out of the building just as fast as she possibly could. Nothing seemed to be going her way. First her PowerPoint presentation malfunctioned in the meeting, then a new artist was hired who seemed to have a personal vendetta against Alex for no discernable reason, and today as the icing on the cake, a promotion that she really thought would be going to her was given to someone else. Someone who had been at the firm three months less than Alex and who, she thought bitterly, hadn’t handled projects half as important ot high-stakes as she had. So needless to say, the moment the clock struck six on that Friday, she was the first one out of the door. The office was mercifully only a block away from her subway line, so it was less than ten minutes from swiping out of the building to swiping her MetroCard and waiting on the subway platform. The first car that came was nearly full, so she had to wait another fifteen minutes for the next to arrive. She listened to a busker in the meantime, smiling slightly when the song changed from “Go Your Own Way” to “Ever Since New York.” How appropriate, she thought. Taking a brief video and jotting down the girl’s Instagram, she tossed a ten-dollar-bill into the open guitar case. I’ll pass it along to Harry, see if he can get her a meeting with someone.

Her few minutes of enjoyment were abruptly ended by a man shoving her aside to make it onto the subway that was just about to leave, causing her to knock her arm into a nearby concrete pillar roughly. Hissing in pain, Alex held the spot, which she could tell was going to shortly turn into a nasty-looking bruise. A few minutes later, she finally made it onto her train, hefting her backpack more securely onto her side and gripping a strap. Plugging her headphones in, she navigated to her Spotify playlists. Angry Music. As Joan Jett’s “Bad Reputation” filled her ears, she gave a slight smile. Good. Music was always something that she ran to whenever she couldn’t express her feelings or what was going on in her life; it was one of the first things that had brought her and Harry together all those years ago. As the songs passed, Alex tried to distract herself by people-watching, but abandoned it after a few minutes and seeing no less than three middle-aged men look her way in a none-too-friendly manner.

Occupying herself with heavy bass lines and cymbal crashes, the six stops before hers thankfully went by quickly. She tightened the belt of her raincoat, grimacing and looking up at the darkened clouds, praying she’d make it home before the rain began to fall. It was just under half a mile back to the apartment, and usually took her about ten minutes. It began to really come down just as she reached the lobby, and she noted with a tightly-controlled breath that her jeans would need to be thrown in the dryer. Pushing the elevator button, she dug her keys out of her backpack, not wanting to waste time at the door. Shoving the key unceremoniously into the lock, she opened the door to a relaxed-looking Harry on the couch.

She used to put it out and get it all back/But now she slipping trying to carry the act/She's sweating under the lights, now she's beginning to crack

He noticed the dejected look on her face almost immediately. He always did. Abandoning the bowl of pasta he had been eating, he angled his body towards her. “Bad day, love?” He asked gently. He didn’t want to push her; she could get easily overwhelmed at times like this.

“The worst.” Alex said, voice cracking. Harry hated seeing her like this. He always did. Whether it was his fault, God forbid, or not, knowing that the woman he loved was in pain brought his heart unbearable hurt.

“Want to talk about it?” Sometimes she did, sometimes she didn’t, but the last thing Harry would ever want to do would be to not be there for her when she needed him.

She shrugged, dropping her backpack by the couch. “Dunno if there’s much to tell, it just seems like everything’s falling to shit and nothing’s working out, so little stuff, y’know?” Humor was her coping mechanism.

“Like what?”

She huffed. “Well, there was a new designer hired last week, and she sits in the station next to mine. Seems to have it out for me, keeps making dodgy remarks and insinuating I didn’t work for my job because I’m dating you. Then the new campaign slides I was supposed to be presenting wouldn’t play, so I made a fool of myself in front of all the senior staff. Then,” she ran an exasperated hand through her rain-dampened hair, “today I got passed over for that promotion, and it just really hurt?” She questioned, venturing over to the couch and settling against Harry’s waiting arms, paying little mind to the water that was dripping onto the cloth. “I worked so hard for it, and I really thought I was going to get it? My interview went great, I’ve been producing good work, and Eric’s been there for three months less than I have. And then I was caught in the rain walking back from the subway just now. So it’s kind of been a shit week.” Getting it all of her chest felt better, but just sharing her problems with someone wouldn’t make them go away.

“That it?” Harry asked. He knew there was something else. Shit, he was good.

“I mean, people have been saying some crap things about me online, but that’s pretty normal. Gotten past going after my appearance, thank God, but now it’s pretty much revolving around flat-out questioning of our relationship. Why you’re with me, why I have a ‘normal’ job, why you’re even dating when you could just be sleeping with whoever...” She trailed off. “It just hurts when people who don’t even know either of us are deciding that they have the authority to decide how much we love or don’t love each other, what kinds of ‘issues’ we’re having, what goes on in our house and our bed. I love your fans, by and large they’re incredibly gracious to both of us, but they don’t get to know everything about our lives. They’re not here, they don’t know what you mean to me or what I mean to you, but they somehow decide they do and can pass judgement on it, and on us.” The words came tumbling out of her mouth, like a river of confessions whose dam kept breaking.

One of Harry’s hands rubbed up and down her shoulder as her head lay in the crook of his neck and he tried to think of what to say. Before he could, Alex spoke again.

“And because you’re in the public eye, I’m in the public eye. Which I accept and am fine with, but it makes everything so much harder, y’know?” She bent her neck to look at Harry, who nodded sympathetically. “It’s like I have to always be put together and have my issues in order, and anything less than that is unacceptable and reflects poorly on you. And the last thing I’d ever want to do is do something to put your career or your reputation in jeopardy. I always have to be dressed the right way, and say the right things and go to the right places, and everything I ever do or say is hyper-scrutinized. I have to figure out how to walk a line where I’m outspoken but not too political, have sophisticated taste but am still relatable, dress sexy but not trashy, and somehow in that mess still keep a tiny shred of who I am.”

“It’s an adjustment,” he started.

“You can say that again.”

The corner of his mouth twitched. “I’ve had years to try and get used to it, and I still find myself questioning things every day. Whatever you do never seems like enough, whatever you say is never the right thing, whatever you wear is either too crazy or not creative enough. It’s living life under a constant microscope.”

No you don't have to wear your best fake smile/Don't have to stand there and burn inside/Oh oh oh if you don't like it/And you don't have to care so don't pretend/Nobody needs a best fake friend/Oh oh oh don't hide it

“How do you do it? I’m barely dealing as it is, barely holding on, and this is only a fraction of the kind of pressure you’re under every day. I at least have a normal life— well,” she backtracked. “As normal as I could have, given the circumstances. You don’t even have that.”

“I think the most important thing is probably to know who you are.” Harry mused. “To know who yeh are so deeply and not let anyone take that away from you, not care what people who don’t know you have to say about your personal life. To know what yeh stand for and speak up about, know that it’s impossible to please everyone and there’s always going t’be people who say nasty things about you and don’t like what you have to say. And much as I might think otherwise about you, love,” Harry looked at Alex adoringly, “perfection’s a myth. You’re going to be held to a higher standard because you’re in the public eye, because you’re seen with me, and that’s not right. You’re going to be expected to be perfect, but nobody’s a saint. They don’t know us, they don’t know our relationship, you’re right about that. And I think once you accept that we’re not the sum of others’ opinions and don’t deserve to be reduced to that, it’s incredibly liberatin’.”

“Liberatin’” Alex said, giggling. “Interestin’ choice of words.” Her Cheshire accent always got thicker when she was tired.

“Shu’ up,” Harry said good-naturedly.

“It’s just hard to feel like you shouldn’t have to please everyone, because making people happy and proud of me is part of who I am, it’s literally in my job description,” Alex said softly. “Feeling like you’re somehow your own person and someone else’s all at the same time. Gets confusin’. Overwhelming.”

Harry kissed the top of her head, a move he was prone to do when he couldn’t really think of anything else. A comfort move. “And that’s a fine line to walk, love. Just know that the world’s not on your shoulders, okay? We’re in a relationship, I love you, and you’re not meant to bear your burdens alone. You shouldn’t have to. And it’s okay to not be okay sometimes, all right?”

Alex was used to putting on a brave face. She was used to keeping her problems bottled up, stoppered shut with a closed mouth and tight-lipped smile that never dropped. Being the oldest of three with two younger brothers and loving but overworked parents that were rarely home meant that she never really grew up with anyone to confide in. Anyone but Harry, that was. He got really good at telling when she was lying, knowing when she needed a push and was holding something back that needed to be let out. She always felt like she had to be strong for her brothers, even now when one was in sixth form and the other in university, and she hadn’t seen either since visiting last year. So while Harry knew her nearly as well as she knew herself, it was a strange paradox where he was one of the few people she could be honest around and the very reason she felt she couldn’t be honest with the world.

“As long as you’re being honest with yourself and focusing on the things and people you care about, nobody can or should ever ask you for anything more than that, do you hear me, Lex?” Lex was his most cherished, exclusive name for her. Used very sparingly, it was reserved for their most intimate moments when Harry needed to bring Alex back down to reality, back down to him.

If you don't bleed it you don't need it anymore/If you don't need it get up and leave it on the floor/No more believing like it’s a voice you can't ignore/If you don't need it you don't need it/ no

“I know sometimes it can seem like you’re waging some kind of mental battle you just can’t win, that feeling overwhelmed and sad and anxious all at once while muddled up with social media and the press can just make you feel incredibly confused. Can make yeh feel like your feelings make you somehow lesser. But love,” he said, looking at her like she had hung the moon, “they make you a person. They make you alive.” Alex offered a quiet murmur of agreement.

Harry continued to play with her hair, offering words of comfort when they came to him. “Jus’ try to remember that, love,” he said. Alex didn’t respond. “Love?”

` He looked down at his lap, where Alex was perched sleeping, giving soft snores every so often. “Jus’ remember that I love you.”

#harry styles fluff #Harry Styles #harry styles imagine #harry styles smut #harry styles writing #harry fanfic #harry fanfiction #harry writing #harry imagine #harry imagines #harry smut #harry flynn #harry styles fanfic #one direction #one direction fanfiction #fanfiction #one direction fanfic #one direction fluff #one direction writing

[michellerps]

five times kissed//Mason/Hani

1. 

As affectionate as Hani was known to be, it might come as a surprise to people to learn Mason kissed Hani first. Not their first real kiss. That was Hani. But the first ever brush of lips against skin was Mason's move. It was an early tag match, one of their first ever victories as a team, and adrenaline and happiness had taken over Mason. Hani was at Mason's side, arms thrown up in excitement, animated in his celebration. And all Mason could think about was how much nicer victory felt when he got to have Hani next to him, successful as well. He reached out to grab Hani's head with both hands, pulling him closer to smack a kiss right into his hair. He let him go, shoving him away with some aggression for show, but couldn't stop beaming in his direction.

2. 

Hani was fast asleep in bed, Mason's arm stuck underneath him. He had lost feeling in it long ago but hadn't considered moving it. Hani looked comfortable, and peaceful. They had only gotten back home that night after a week of travel, and they'd both fallen into Mason's bed and crashed almost immediately after dropping their bags. Well, Hani had crashed immediately, using Mason as his own personal pillow - which he didn't mind, of course. Mason had dozed off for a few minutes, but never fell into a deep sleep, and instead laid there, watching Hani. Mason had accepted long ago that he was in love with him and that, whatever this was between them, he liked it and wanted it for as long as Hani did. There were other feelings involved, too, scarier ones he didn't want to think about and was glad Hani never brought them up either - but most of the time, his feelings for Hani were more comforting and calming than anything. As peaceful as Hani looked when he slept, that was how Mason felt on the inside whenever he was with him. He could have laid there for much longer, just watching Hani breathe, but his arm was starting to hurt a little and he had to use the bathroom on top of that. He had no choice but to get up. As slowly as he could, he pulled his arm out from underneath Hani, trying not to jostle him. He thought he'd been sucessful until he stood up, shaking the bed a little, and he saw Hani stir, his eyes fluttering open a little. He reached out for him weakly, as if trying to pull him back into the bed, and then mumbled something Mason couldn't understand, he didn't think it was even English or French, and Mason replied with, "Shhh. Sorry. Go back to sleep. I gotta piss. I'll be right back." He grabbed the hand that was reaching for him and kissed Hani's knuckles before letting it go, letting it drop back to the bed. 

3. 

"Can you shut the fuck up? His nose is fine." Mason was shoved away by Dalton, and Mason rolled his eyes before shoving Dalton's shoulder back in retaliation. Hani might have broken his nose. That was what half the guys backstage speculated. But Mason was 90% sure he was fine. Some idiot had elbowed him way too aggressively and it had bled a lot, and yeah it didn't look good, but it wasn't that serious. Mason had tried to tell Hani that, but Dalton was making things a million times worse. He'd broken his nose a couple years prior and was insisting Hani's nose looked just like his did. He was going into the gory details and making the whole thing seem more intense than it was, probably scaring the hell out of Hani by making it seem worse than it was. "Don't shove me, dick," Mason told Dalton. "Leave Hani alone. You aren't helping. His nose is fine. Just fucking nasty looking." It wasn't as nasty looking anymore. The blood had been wiped off, and his nose looked pretty much normal. It wasn't crooked or fucked up or anything. Dalton left, but only because his match was next on the card. Mason glared at him as he walked off, then took his place in front of Hani, his face softening noticeably. His voice did, too. "You're fine," he repeated, clasping a hand on his shoulder. "Don't let him freak you out. Even if it is broken, you can just wear one of those weird mask things. Trish wore one, remember? She still looked hot. You would, too. I mean, there might be issues with that and your actual mask..." Mason shook his head, ending his ramble. "It doesn't matter. You won't need it. You're fine." He gave a quick glance around the backstage area. They'd gone off to the side of the chaos to clean Hani up earlier, so there was little crowd around them to begin with, and still no one was paying attention to them. Turning back to Hani, Mason leaned in, and brushed his lips against the tip of his nose in the gentlest kiss he could manage. His grip on Hani's shoulder tightened and he gave him a little shake and a reassuring half smile. "I promise you're alright," he whispered. "Now come on, no one will care if we dip out early. Let's get you checked out."

4. 

Mason was always kind of surprised when people blatantly hit on him. He'd never seen himself as the kinda guy someone would try to pick up and take home at a party or club or something, but he wasn't oblivious to it when it did happen. Sometimes he let himself be flirted with, because he was only human and attention was nice and sometimes the girls were pretty hot. But even though things with Hani weren't official, and they had no label, Mason simply had no desire to get with anyone else. Of course, he had kissed one or two other people in those early years, before kissing Hani became a regular thing. But that was it. He still didn't know if it'd be considered cheating if he kissed or hooked up with someone now, but it didn't matter enough for him to really ponder. He wouldn't do it anyway - even when someone was very persistent. One of the girls they frequently were on shows with and who Mason had wrestled a handful of times was a little drunk at this post-show gathering in someone's hotel room, and had decided to hang all over Mason. She kept dropping hints that she wanted him to leave with her back to one of their rooms, but Mason was politely declining. She tried to kiss him a few times, but he backed away each time. But in her drunken state, she wasn't getting the hint. 

Mason looked around the room, trying to lock eyes with one of her friends to come collect her, but all he found was Hani. Hani, who was half talking to Chris and half not-so-subtly watching this girl hang on Mason. His puppy dog eyes were out in full and Mason sighed. He hated those damn eyes. "I, uh, gotta..." he said to the girl, awkwardly pulling himself away from her despite her asking him to hang out a little longer. He was a little bolder and less careful than usual, having had a few drinks but not enough to be drunk, so he walked right up to Hani and wrapped his hand around his wrist. "Come here for a sec," he said, tugging him away into the bathroom as casually as he could. 

Once they were both in and the door was locked, Mason backed Hani against the sink, grabbed him by the back of the neck and pulled him closer so they were face to face. "Don't look at me that way," he said simply, knowing Hani was fully aware of how sad his puppy eyes were, and the affect they had on Mason. As soon as the words left his lips, he was kissing Hani. And not much else needed to be said. He said it all with the kiss. He told him, you don't need to be jealous. You don't need to worry about me going off with anyone else. I am yours, I am yours, I am yours. 

5. 

Parenting was fucking hard sometimes. Mason had had Arielle for seven hours and was already exhausted. Thankfully, she was still young enough to require naps, so Mason and Hani got a chance to rest as well. Mason had his head on Hani's shoulder, his face buried against his neck and was snoozing happily until Hani shook him awake, telling him it was time to go wake Arielle up. "Nooooo," Mason whined in response. "Five more minutes, babe. If you love either of us, you'll give us just... ten more minutes." Hani tried to move to get up, but Mason wasn't having it. He rolled from his side to his stomach, laying half on top of Hani now, tangling their legs together and effectively tapping his boyfriend underneath him. When Hani tried to protest, Mason tilted his head upwards a little to nip at his neck, then kiss over the same spot. "Just fifteen more minutes," he tried again, kissing at a different spot on his neck. "Hani... please... Let me stay in bed for another twenty minutes and I'll make it worth your while."

Mason didn't go back to sleep, but Arielle got an extra half hour of nap time.

#underdogfromtheundergroundrps #c: mason leblanc #otp: the world is so pale next to you

[forgottenbrxther-blog]

Good thing that the hospital was so close. Being one of the 7 people in critical condition isn’t very fun when it is a long ambulance ride to the emergency room.

Although Takumi wouldn’t really know, as he was unconscious for all of it.

He woke up in a hospital bed, staring up at a white ceiling, dazed and confused. The various machines beeped around him. He was sore. Very sore.

He knew it would be of no use to try to get up with the way things were, so he closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep. He didn’t dream, though. He just floated through the darkness, unaware of how his family heard his name on the news and was scrambling to confirm his safety. But they did before they had to fly over, and he was unaware of that too.

The next time he woke up he was in a different bed, staring at a different ceiling, but both were still the same stark white from before. There were still beeping machines, but there were no IVs in his arms nor a clunky mask on his face to make sure he gets enough oxygen. He was still sore, but with the stiffness came a dull, throbbing pain from his right shoulder all the way down his back.

He tried to prop himself up to get a better look, but his entire right side refused with a sharp, stabbing pain running all the way down his body. He cried out, and a nurse swiftly came in and helped him back down, telling him that moving that much is a bad idea. She gave him a small remote, telling him that it can adjust the bed so he doesn't have to strain himself. His wound was pretty severe, so too much motion risks reopening it, even with everything they did to close it.

Takumi blinked, when suddenly all the events from the cause came rushing back. He felt numb. But only one thing mattered.

“Is Mettaton okay?”

She nodded. “He’s going to be okay. What you did saved his life.”

Relief washed over him, and he relaxed in his bed. Out of everything that happened that night, that was the worst by a long shot. But he is so glad he managed to do something for once. He wasn’t useless after all.

He wanted to ask more, but he wasn’t sure how comfortable that would be when he was laying down for the entire conversation. He adjusted the bed, and even though the shifting was painful, it wasn’t nearly as painful as trying to do it himself.

But what had hurt him so bad? All he had done was tackle Mettaton out of the way, why did he bleed so much? “Wait, what happened to me after I tackled him?”

The nurse didn’t know how to answer, so she called in a doctor to answer for her.

“When the chandelier came crashing down, part of one of the metal rings broke off. It surely would have killed both of you if you had not pushed Mettaton out of the way, taking a pretty nasty hit yourself. A large laceration on your back, running all the way from your shoulder to your hip.”

Takumi was confused, the rings were solid? How could it hurt him so badly he nearly bled out?

The doctor could see the confusion on his face. “When it broke off, it snapped, so it had a sharp and serrated edge. Which is why the damage was fairly extensive… but you got lucky. It was a fairly clean slice, with only a few really bad tears.”

A pause. “If you really want to see, it was recorded. You know, because they were recording the speech, and so there were a few different cameras focused on the stage when everything came crashing down. Of course ADAMAS hasn’t released the footage or any knowledge of any footage, so you have to ask us if you want to see it.”

“No, I’d rather not watch myself nearly get killed.”

“Suit yourself. But not many people know about what you did since everything was obscured by the chandelier, and the footage has only been seen by select few.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Just thought you’d like to know since the press will ultimately try to interview you since you were found on top of Mettaton, heavily bleeding with a severe laceration to your right back. It’s also pretty remarkable how well you’re recovering, considering your state when you were brought in…”

“Okay, okay, I should have died, I get it. Can I just know more about Mettaton’s state? I want to know just what my valiant sacrifice did.”

Another pause, the doctor was clearly hesitating. “Your shove managed to prevent any serious injury to his actual body… but the ring landed on his prosthetic arm. It was completely crushed and it was easier and more cost efficient to remove it and replace it with a newer model than to try to salvage and repair it. And needless to say… he is not very happy about it.”

“So basically what I’m hearing is that because I tackled Mettaton, I prevented our ultimate deaths. But in order to cheat death, I took a really big hit to my back and he lost his arm again.”

“...Basically.”

“Great, thanks for letting me know.” Takumi was tired, so he was probably taking this a lot better than he normally would have. But near death experiences do that to some people. Especially when you don’t know how long you’ve been asleep for. “...What day is it…?”

“Don’t worry, you haven’t missed much. But you did sleep for quite a bit, it’s been about 20 hours since you were taken in.”

“So it’s the 5th…? Or the 6th…?” It was pretty late when everything happened, so he had no idea if that was past midnight or not.

“The 6th. It’s about 8 right now, so don’t worry about a sleep schedule or anything. You’re in a closed off section of the hospital that is currently taking care of idols and other ADAMAS affiliates where were also injured during the chaos, so you don’t need to worry about the press either. If they do come in, we will tell you way in advance after we gain your permission to let them in.” The doctor smiled, a kind, caring smile that doctors are supposed to have. “You’re safe here, just focus on recovering. With that injury, it’ll probably take a few months in the earliest for you to be back at your prime.”

Takumi nodded, but he still wondered about what happened with his possessions like his phone and his mask. Luckily, his phone was unharmed, and completely functional. His mask, on the other hand, took a nasty hit from a large shard of glass, and the glass refused to come out. Otherwise it was intact, and he requested for it to be brought to his room, along with his phone and everything else he had on him.

Everything to be going well, until he tried to use his right arm to use his phone. He was able to, but only if he brought the phone to his hand.

He quickly learned about how hard it is to use a phone with one hand.

The nurse told him about the table his bed had, and how he could either manually move it (which was not recommended, but it’s good for him to know anyway) or how he could press a button on the remote to make it move over or back to it’s stored area.

It is a lot easier to use a phone with one hand when it is on a table than when you also have to hold it with said hand.

So, with his connection with the outside world somewhat restored, he reassured his family that he is doing okay, he read some of the many thousands of articles already written about the fiasco, and even dabbled in this new social chatroom app ADAMAS had just released for the people of Aelton to use to just talk. It was… certainly interesting, if the first few conversations had anything to say about it.

Even though he was able to talk to people through it, it was still lonely being stuck in his bed, and it definitely was not fun when he had to get up to pee and his entire right side felt like it was burning and being stabbed all at once. Being wheeled to the bathroom by someone and having them almost watch to make sure he didn’t fall or anything was even less fun than the excruciating pain he felt the entire time.

They offered him painkillers, prescriptions on top of what they were giving him in the hospital. He denied them. He was unstable, even if he didn’t admit it to anyone but himself, and gods knew what he would do with them if he went through a rough patch after this all settled. They didn’t pry. He was glad they didn’t.

He got used to it, ranging from the dull, throbbing pain it was when he first woke up after what he presumed to be surgery to the sharp, stabbing pain it was when he tried standing up for the first time. It really only got that bad if he strained that part, trying to reach out too far or trying to lift something too heavy or trying to bed the wrong way. If he didn’t get used to it now, he wouldn’t be able to get used to it later.

He slept a lot. When the news feeds repeat the same thing over and over and the chat room slows, he can’t really do much else. The doctors said it was good that he did, his body heals faster when it sleeps.

He dreamt of that night every time he would dream. It started out happy, carefree, him dancing with Mettaton without a care in the world. But then everything would pop, the world would crack, and the chandelier would crash, but they would always be right under the center with nowhere to run. The first time he had it he woke up screaming, and the nurse who was tending to him nearly screamed too. The more he had it, the more his waking would turn to a single shout, then to a gasp, then to a jolt. Sometimes his reaction would be violent again, thrashing out at people who held his arms down to try to calm him, usually causing his right side to burst with pain, a rough but effective way to get him to stop moving almost immediately. But usually he just woke with a startle.

In worst cases that would combine with dreams about the gala. He would go into an absolute panic when that would happen, and not even the pain could stop him then. The doctors and nurses would have to keep him from worsening his injury while they waited for him to come out of it. Without Mettaton there to help, it usually would take an hour or two for him to calm down on his own. Sometimes even longer in the particularly bad cases. Those were not fun at all.

He was told he would have to stay in the hospital for a while, for both health concerns and for his own privacy. He didn’t mind. It just meant that he wouldn’t have to worry about taking care of himself.

The only thing he was really upset about was that he wouldn’t be able to make crafts for a while. Cranes always made him feel better.

#[aftermath] #tw: blood #tw: flashbacks #tw: gore #tw: death mention #tw: trauma #(i think i got all the warnings but if anything else needs to be tagged let me know #(hoo boy takumi always gets p fucked at these events sorry boy