So, it's been like 3 months since my last post on the topic, but, after a break (honestly, going through the whole story a fourth time for the B ending - fifth if you count watching the anime - was rough), I came back and read through all the endings. So, I'mma give my thoughts, in more or less the order I had them.
(Before that, if you'd like to see my initial thoughts on Chaos;Head, here they are)
First of all, I'm going to come out swinging and say that the extra scenes in the reread are honestly, in general, kinda bad? The first one is sort of meh - we see Shogun deciding to send messages to Taku, and Rimi asking him if he wants to. It's a scene we haven't seen before, but it doesn't really add much. The same goes for the majority of extra stuff in the routes (before the branches). It's vaguely interesting to get some extra points of view at times, or an extra bit of information that'll be relevant in its own ending, but I'm pretty neutral on most of them.
The other one relates to a scene I complained about in my last post, where Suwa asks Hazuki for Taku's info and she complains. I was confused about why they were acting this way, but the scene is explained by a new one that follows it.
And the resolution? They were just acting, cos somebody was watching. Thrilling.
I mean, I suppose it's the first hint that Suwa and Hazuki are actually directly in kahoots in some way, but I can't help but feel it's such an inelegant resolution to this issue.
Still, moving on.
I'd already seen the B ending, but reading it again, it's pretty great. Something about expriencing the murders in the first person is just great, and the utter pessimism of the ending is fantastic. I do think it kind of kills the mood that the final murder was perpetrated by a movie monster (it just feels silly compared to, for example, a woman slicing a baby out of herself and stitching it into a guy), but it manages to pick itself back up. I somewhat miss Gladioul as an ending song, but Innocence works pretty well too. It's still FES singing, after all.
I've got some in-depth thoughts regarding Nanami's ending, which I'm working into another post. For this post, all I'll really say is that I think it's really fascinating how it fits into the overall themes of the story, and how it ties into the way Nanami is treated by the main plot, and yet, I can't say I enjoyed it all that much. Some great ideas, but I could honestly have done without the incest (even if it was depicted in a pretty negative light). The ending song is good fun, though.
I did Yua's ending next, and, overall, I came out fairly disappointed. I did like the feel of it quite a bit - Takumi being stuck in his home with Yua at her most unhinged - and I did like how it made Yua feel more relevant, but I wasn't a fan of the twist. Honestly, I thought Yua's "who am I" arc was thematically redundant - I realise identity is a big theme in this story (Taku vs Shogun, Rimi being only the most recent in a series of personalities in her body, Suwa and Hazuki acting one way and actually being another), but I thought this in particular trod a lot of similar ground that Kozue did, and in a much less nuanced way. I also question the need to bring back a narrative discussion we already had in the main plot, and resolved the other way. And, like, who cares that it's Mia and not Yua? It has next to no impact on the story, just on her own personal arc, and that arc is only really introduced in the last section of the main plot anyway. Maybe it's because I've seen the exact same plot point in another game very recently (I won't give away which one, but it's a very popular RPG/VN), and done much better, but in this story, it doesn't do much for me.
Ayase's ending was also a bit of a disappointment for me. Part of Ayase's charm (other than imagining her insulting me while grinding her boots into my ass until it feels like my eyes are going to fall out of their sockets etc. etc.) is, honestly, the mystery. The fact that she spouts a bunch of complete BS but it all sort of does make sense and lines up with how the world actually works. I feel like this ending explores that all just a little too concretely. It does avoid coming to an exact conclusion, but it does sort of come out and confirm that she's genuinely just a bit insane, which imo is a shame. Doesn't help that it's based on the worst PHANTASM song :P. I came out of this ending feeling a bit less interested in her. Uh, narratively-speaking.
(The ending song is still a banger, as with most of the stuff Sakakibara sings)
Kozue's ending, on the other hand, was pretty great. This one picks up on a genuine part of her character - her will to kill - and shows us what it's really about. As insane as this might sound, there's just something thrilling about watching her mind go, and watching her kill a bunch of people without being in control. It felt like they actually had something to add to Kozue through this - although I did feel like the addition of the phone straps was a little random. Even so, Kozue was my least favourite character before this, but this ending made me like her a fair bit more.
(As a side note, after two endings where Rimi wasn't even present, her appearance in this one made me genuinely feel relief. Even if it was undercut later - in a scene that was, probably unintentionally, hilarious - by her betrayal, I just wanted to mention that.)
Sena's ending... is fine. It's got some further-reaching existential implications on the overall world of the story (it sounds a little like the World Layers I've heard show up in Anonymous;Code, but I haven't read that - please don't spoil that for me either :P), and I find it hilarious that Issei found the Ir2 formula due to the random display of Takumi's essay (and somehow understood what all the symbols meant? Like, E=mc² - the formula they compare it to a couple times - is also complete nonsense unless you know what the letters refer to), but the story itself is just a bit random. Kind of nice to see more of Sena, but overall, I'm pretty neutral regarding this one - though (and I feel bad saying this) Sena's singing doesn't do it for me, at all.
Finally, Rimi's ending. First of all, there were a fair number of added scenes throughout the main plot, and, to be honest, in this case, they did mostly feel relevant. They give us insights into not only Rimi's state of mind at certain points (something I don't think we ever really got to see, as opposed to with most other characters), but her relationship with Shogun on a 'normal' day (something we basically never got to see). Just the fact that they lived together in that hospital room is some pretty interesting new information.
Again, it takes the character's trauma and shows it to us - Rimi produces yet another personality. Honestly, that was the first moment since I first read the B ending that this story genuinely thrilled me again. What a great moment.
And it just keeps going. As with the B ending, we experience some torture first-hand. We don't learn much new stuff here, but it's just really effective to see it play out directly. And it's genuinely touching when Rimi comes back. Just a great ending, all around. Might even be the only chapter in the whole VN I have no issues with.
(...although I do think the ending song is a bit high-energy for the sort of bittersweet feel of the ending. Though maybe it's optimistic. It's definitely not the worst fit :P)
The last ending is the same as what I've seen before, in the original game. Some added cutscenes, and a little more drama (the quiz is longer than last time, too, and I can't say I appreciated seeing Takumi and Nanami kiss again), but it's more or less the same. I did like the new CGs at the end, though. It all works really well.
​
So, yeah, did the endings fix all my issues?
...No. I'm still unconvinced by Suwa and Hazuki as villains, for example - they're not very interesting in that capacity, and no matter how good they are in the endings, it still doesn't retroactively make the reveals any better. Ban and Momose get no new scenes, either, so I still don't particularly care about them. I did come out with a better appreciation for Kozue, though.
Overall, the endings feel rather tacked-on. A couple of them have interesting thematic links to the rest of the story (Nanami's being the most interesting, but that's in my other post, and Rimi's being just all-round great), but they do generally feel sort of fanfiction-y, which is a shame in a series where alternate endings generally serve a narrative purpose outside their own existence (Steins;Gate's alternate endings, for the most part, answer questions of "why can't we just do [X]"; whereas Chaos;Child's give us important insights into the characters, as well as genuinely taking place, on some level, in the story). It's obvious why this is, of course - they genuinely were tacked on, and perhaps the writers hadn't gotten to the point of thinking as deeply about their alternate endings as they did when they wrote Steins;Gate - but explaining a problem doesn't solve it.
I'm also just slightly sad to lose the parallels in the endings. The original three endings are all variants on "Takumi's lying down, unable to move, and Rimi's there as he dies (or doesn't)", and that's some pretty great storytelling that's sort of lost here. But I can appreciate that nine different variants on that could be pretty challenging to write naturally. Just thought I'd point it out.
​
Chaos;Head Noah, just like the original story, is a mess. I can't express quite how impressive I find it that they followed this story up, a couple years later, with Steins;Gate, one of the most tightly constructed and emotionally charged stories I've ever read/seen. As I've said before, though, there's some really, really good stuff in here, it's just diluted by a lot of boring or messy writing. Overall, it's probably C-tier for me, among the SciAdv stories.
But it sticks the landing, and, as I'm writing this here, I'm feeling like I have to dredge back up my feelings of frustration or boredom or confusion at much of the story, because it ended really well.
Do I think Chaos;Head Noah is a good story? Not really. But there's enough novelty and genuine good writing in here, and it's connected to some of the best stories I've ever read, that I can genuinely say I'm glad I went through it again.
(EDIT: Just wanted to say that, for the first time in a while, I'm feeling some 'book hangover', regarding this story. I guess it must have done something right lol)

Ny next life as a villainess pirates that stir the waters is the game that I'm asking about, I'm trying to find out if it has English text.
I've looked at multiple websites and all it says is Japanese or Japanese voice. I understand that the voice acting is going to be Japanese which is completely fine but I can't read japanese. I just hate to purchase another game thinking that it has English text only to find out it doesn't. I've tried contacting a few of the stores as well as searching on my own but no one can tell me a yes or no.
Or if there is some kind of English patch program. I've done that to a few of my games but console games are a little harder to patch.
Also would anyone know good games to try as well? I would love some new variety or new suggestions.
I have already played Cinderella Phenomenon Amnesia memories Anicon animal complex- cat, rabbit and sheep path Most of the games from Dogenzaka Lab 1.Secrets of me 2. Forbidden Love 3.Destiny's princess: a war story, a love Obey me shall we date Twisted Wonderland Your dry Delight All the code realize Bad Apple Wars Collar X malice

These are my beginner fanfictions! I tried to keep these as congruent with the portrayed personalities/actions of Overlord(tm).
The first is set sometime around the Re-Estize Kingdom destruction, while the second is set right after Pestonya and Nigredo get released from Ice Prison.
These feature Mare, Pestonya, and Cocytus mostly.
Please enjoy them!
---
The shadow demon whispered into Ainz' "ear" which was met with a heavy sigh. He had grown tired of this fight, his enthusiasm for the following battle was sapped- all due to a certain individuals' actions.
"I tire of this. Cocytus, do as you will."
Cocytus thumped his chest with the pride not only of being chosen by Ainz-Sama but at the incoming chance to prove his worth to his God.
"Yes! Ainz. Sama. Will. I. Be. Providing. Back. Up. For. Your. Commands?"
Ainz propped his chin on a knuckle, and with a regal wave of his hand stated his decree.
"This war is with truly worthless, as well as anything that might be here. Truly worthless creatures." A chill seeped over the ground as Cocytus and the other retainers within the splendorous tent realized- Ainz-sama was angered by the Individuals' previous actions. The chill spread through their feet and crawled up their backs, like a horrid ghost which wished to whisper sweet nothings of despair into your ear. Slowly, it retracted, yet all in the tent continued to shiver. Such was the wrath of a Supreme Being. "Except for "that individual" do as you must, this was a waste of time. Everyone you shall be placed under Cocytus' direct orders as needed- assist him as you must."
Ainz-sama leaned deeper into his fist, lost in thought and perhaps tired from having to deal with this skirmish- far beneath need to waste his time. Cocytus and the other retainers bowed and briskly left the room. Walking with pride- Cocytus was trailed by footsteps, one step of clicking heels behind him drew his notice.
"Cocytus."
Albedo, the Overseer of Nazarick gently but firmly gripped one of his arms causing him to stop in his tracks.
"I apologize for touching you, but I don't need to exp-"
Cocytus waved two of his opposite arms, opposite from Albedos' retreating grasp.
"It. Need. Not. Be. Said." Cocytus puffed out "To. Not. Only. Waste. Ainz. Samas'. Precious. Time. But. To. Also. Not. Even. Reach. The. Standards. To. Meet. His. Expectations. Is. Worthy. Of. Eradication."
The other retainers- the Floor Guardians nodded to his statement in agreement.
Shalltear piped up" Ahhh~ We don't even need to show them true despair, this will simply be an execution." With a shake of her head and an expression which read "It can't be helped."
With resolve tempered, Cocytus began his task.
---
The Hydra was a creature well known not only in Yggdrasil, but in the New World as well. Capable of casting not only magic of the 5th tier, but sometimes able to cast martial abilities. This was, however, entirely dependent on the luck of said hydra from birth. They could have anywhere from 7-9 heads and each could be skilled in magic or martial abilities, what it knew however was random- one could cast up to 2nd Tier but another on the same body could cast 5th tier. Its' heads would act in unison, with a "main head" being chosen by one which displayed their dominance by fighting the other heads and helped by slight telekinesis which allowed them to sense the leaders' whims.
Pelgraya-Nurm was proud of her shiny scales, which she frequently rehydrated to keep their glistening texture possibly to appear alluring to the humans. Their approval was below her, but who wouldn't appreciate praise no matter how insignificant. She shook her golden brown mane, large and fluffy she would easily be lauded by these humans as the softest cuddling partner if only she was nicer. She was not however.
Pelgraya-Nurm was different however, instead of heads it had been born with a plethora of arms. These arms, while not adept at martial kills, could cast 6th tier spells and along with improved dexterity, she could wield weapons if needed. This could be the reason she was cast out and viciously chased off by her kith and kin, probably not wanting the weakness a mutant would bring. She also had a talent, for mana, which increased her mana regen by absurd amounts the lower her mana. She was currently leading the contingent of her mercenary group which while called "The City Guard" were nothing more than thugs.
Pelgraya-Nurm had taken a name in part of jealousy of dragons (but partially from being shunned by her kin) but also to make her stand out among humans. While she easily towered over humans, however, the creatures she saw across from the battlefield shook her even now and made her feel insignifigant. She looked to her adjutant, Papaya, an elf she had bought to handle any affairs of human relations.
"Papaya" Pelgraya-Nurm muttered "What is that contingent of undead? Why have we not heard of such a thing before?"
Papaya rocked with her masters' obvious displeasure.
"I-i'm not sure. We haven't heard anything from scouts or even from the kingdom- they simply appeared P-Pelgraya-sama."
Papaya was consequently splattered across the floor, nearby soldiers, and part of the wall Pelgraya-Nurm was stationed on. Wicking off her claws with a flick of the wrist, she voiced her displeasure.
"You can all be replaced, you are nothing to me. I own you." Pelgraya-Nurm stated matter-of-factly. Simply put, this was how Hydras' and even most monsters behaved- rule of the strong. However, this was not usually the case for humanoids. They had "laws" and "good samaritism" they usually reacted negatively to being pasted onto their nearby surroundings.
Out of the corned of her eye, Pelgraya-Nurm saw a twisting of her humongous shadow- a small offshoot which seemed to sputter and slink off. Only for a second, she must have been seeing a trick of the light. She turned towards her opponents and grinned, they stood no chance.
Across the battlefield, after being reported to by that shadow demon, someone stamped the seal which would seal their fate.
---
Cocytus had prepared a map of the village they stood before, which had been prepared by the shadow demons beforehand. It was largely unremarkable, but being a ragtag mercenary group this could easily be all of their mustered forces. The shadow demons hadn't been scouting for long but they would more than likely bring forth confirmation to this point. Cocytus would not be swayed by this, already tempered by previous expectations.
"Shalltear. May. I. Leave. Mopping. Up. Escaping. Troops. Or. Those. Running. Away. To. You?"
With a dainty curtsy, Shalltear silently left with an expression of relish. Now, what to do about showing the true wrath towards someone who wasted the precious Supreme Ones' infinite mercy of a quick death?
"Do. We. Have. The. Troops. Ready?"
"Yes, Cocytus. I have a suggestion to showing off our Supreme Ones' beauty in rule." Demiurge responded with a slowly growing grin.
Then. I. Shall. Leave. That. To. You."
---
Pelgraya-Nurm was the first to hear it. A slow repeating stomp followed by a short break and then repeating. It quickly grew and inversely morale quickly shriveled.
STOMP STOMP STOMP. Silence.
STOMP STOMP STOMP. Silence.
This continued for a short while, as the undead which comprised the enemy forces- stomped in time, a truly jaw-dropping event. Undead could be coordinated so? In this number? Pelgraya-Nurm was growing uneasy, her surrounding contingent had long passed this.
STOMP STOMP STOMP. Silence.
The undead knelt and bowed, all centered on the tent in the distance. A chill was growing like a pillar of ice in the human army. No longer centered around Pelgraya-Nurm, but on this unknown force which had appeared.
STOMP STOMP STOMP. Silence.
The army split neatly in two as the undead smoothly, rised, slid away from the center, and resumed kneeling. A golden embroidered flag, with a black seal upon the purple midnight fabric. It slowly approached the middle grounds between the two armies and assumed a straight backed stance.
STOMP STOMP STOMP. Silence.
It began hoisting the flag straight up on every stomp, down in between. With a voice unnaturally loud for a sinle creature to have- and to be heard over such a distance. A voice which while holding a degree of self-importance rasped with the clear hatred for the living. It interrupted between the stomps.
STOMP "Ainz!" STOMP "Ooal!" STOMP "Gown!". Silence.
STOMP "Ainz!" STOMP "Ooal!" STOMP "Gown!". Silence.
STOMP "Ainz!" STOMP "Ooal!" STOMP "Gown!". Silence.
This continued until they saw creatures slowly walk from both sides of the army, chilling them to the bone even more somehow. Towering, black, and wielding swords in twisting patterns with paired great shields. Adorned with red veins which pulsated and seemed to draw the viewer into their grisly visage, a face which begged for them to approach and be rent. Death Knights.
These creatures lumbered in a roundabout number as the contingent shuddered in fear, no doubt a rout was being concocted simultaneously by these non-connected creatures. As the realization dawned on them for what was happening- they were being boxed in. Those horrid creatures had spaced themselves enough to easily be able to catch them if any tried to run.
It was a do-or-die situation. And if they got resurrected it might just be a die-or-die situation. Suddenly, gripping her superiority and strength- Pelgraya-Nurm commanded these rowdy people together.
"We have no chance of running, this is truly ride or die! Keep them at bay and I'll blast them to death!" she smirked despite her creeping fear.
The soldiers prepared themselves, maybe some of them would make it out alive if they fought to either their teeth or nails.
---
Shalltear skipped along the streets, a strong undead following in tow. It was called a Living Hunter, an undead of the 50s level. It hungered for the living as its' name foretold, it however was adequately skilled for this task. It grew stronger in proportion to the living around it, which increased the radius of those included which could swell to absurd ranges depending on deployment. As well as that, it grew faster movement speed and attack speed the longer it chased an individual living creature. It towered over its surroundings and it could be slowed by those running into or hiding in buildings. This was also tempered by the fact it was sometimes unable to control itself from brutally devouring victims alive in brutal and sadistic fashions. While it could be a dangerous foe for attackers, it could easily be countered by simply sending in weak merc. NPCs to distract it or, even simpler just having a tank which had any taunt skill to constantly reset their passive.
Shalltear had been dragging along several human corpses in one hand while her umbrella was twirled in the other, snacks- not for her of course. They had easily accomplished their task, Living Hunter chasing stragglers and scaring people while Shalltear threw rocks to smash them into pieces. While its disgusting nature could never be mistaken for cute, the growl it made was of pleading. Shalltear stopped in place, sighed in an exaggerated manner, and spun with a childish waggle of her finger said-
"I GUESS you receive a treat for your good work.."
-she smiled and tossed corpses up to the Undead Hunter not unlike how one would toss treats to their pet dog. It snapped them up and smashed them like balloons between its teeth, chewing them up as if relishing a delicious piece of bubblegum.
"Gruuuu..!" it rumbled, shaking the surroundings.
"Okay, you continue with the pincer attack while I watch over this city, arinsu~."
It lumbered off as Shalltear sauntered up a walls buttressed stairs, before shortly perching herself to watch the ensuing battle, kicking her feet, and cutely twirling her umbrella.
---
STOMP "Ainz!" STOMP "Ooal!" STOMP "Gown!". Silence.
STOMP "Ainz!" STOMP "Ooal!" STOMP "Gown!". Silence.
STOMP "Ainz!" STOMP "Ooal!" STOMP "Gown!". Silence.
Suddenly, it stopped. Jolting the mercenaries to attention. The undead chanter turned itself to the side and took steps back. A towering creature stepped forth from the tent and walked down the alley towards them.
As a slow frost gently billowed forth from the enemy side, the soldiers teeth began clacking. Pelgraya-Nurm, being cold-blooded, especially. The creature walked forth, eyes glinting in the dwindling sunlight and planted itself where the chanter had been. It slammed its weapons- a giant curved sword with a long hilt, a halberd, and an oddly small thin blade. The halberd and large sword had their hilts planted in the crackling, dry earth.
Silence. No one dared breath. The battlefield had shrunk and the contingent realized this. They were audibly shaking now, armor clinking over armor. Pelgraya-Nurm moved to say something was cut off by a shriek from behind them. A shriek which sounded like souls whining to be realsed from eternal torment.
Rubble came crashing down around them, slushing some of them and maiming others. Pelgraya-Nurm was struck by a huge chunk of wall directly in the face as she looked up, knocking her out cold. She was unable to witness the creature which had crumbled the walls from behind like a child might crush a graham cracker in their hands. It lurched over, so close it could look some of them face to face. It rasped a disgusting swathe of undead stench over them and seemingly chuckled. It- counter to its' size, grasped several soldiers with its armored mitts and tossed them into the air. The resulting crunch of the bone heralded the beginning to the skirmish.
As the undead began marching towards them, their attention was diverted between the encroaching mass of dead and the fact this creature summarily had grasped Pelgraya-Nurm and slowly dragged her with them. Their trump card removed, they were finished in barely ten minutes.
---
Pelgraya-Nurm awoke slowly, her vision blurry and ear-holes ringing.
"????? ??????? ?? ??? ????..." something murmured. She did not know or care whether this was directed at her, and she was focused on simply getting up and wreaking havoc among these filthy peasants. She toppled over, due to her weight and a force pushing her down.
"??! ??? ????? ? ??? ?????? ??? ? wonder ?? sama ??? ???????? ?? ?????" failed to breach her head and report anything communicable to her brain. She was slowly coming to and realized she was surrounded.
A silver haired thing, a creature in orange vestment, and the tall white thing from before.
"Waking ??? ?? ???? ?. Good. ??? ?? ?? begin."
The silver-hair and white- thing stood with smug(?) looks (she had never cared to learn human expressions) as the orange-suit walked forward.
"How would you ???? do this?" the orange-ones' movement was making her dizzy again, however she had the upper hand- quickly she cast a [Silent Magic: Ultra Fireball] in a deft motion. Before that she was struck across the head which sent her reeling and slightly rolling. The fuzziness returned-
"No." orange-suit said, muffled by her newly made brain fog.
"A bit gentler ???? ?????? Ainz-sama ???? ???? this one ??? all." the silver-hair piped up
"Indeed. It. Will ????. ?. ??????. Prize. For. ???. Ainz. Sama. ????. It. Would. Seem. ???. ?. ??????. Bauble." white-thing responded.
Her vision returning, she weakly lifted her head and was promptly struck again- she had been bitch-slapped. It wasn't as forceful as before, which allowed her to go all out and cast [Maximize Magic: Ultra Fireball], [Maximize Magic: Magic Arrow], and [Maximi-
She was bitch slapped once.
She was bitch slapped twice.
She was bitch slapped a third time.
Her head was whipped around comically with the applied beatings.
"????. ??. ????. ???. Awaits." the white-thing stated
"??????." the silver-hair responded
"??. ??? ????? ????." the orange-suit concurred.
Pelgraya-Nurm was gripped by her throat as she was recovering from this. The orange-thing gripped her throat with a single thing, threatening to crush her windpipe. Slowly she started being dragged along behind them, at a brisk pace. The cobblestone of the city around her and the subsequent rocky ground, for the first time hurt as she was roughly dragged along it.
She struggled, and was thrown onto the ground and bitch-slapped again, gripped by the throat, and dragged along again. This continued two more times, but Pelgraya-Nurm was exhausted, not only from her large size' energy need, the beatings, and an unknown exposure to the sunlight. She felt weak and the fight left her. She was dragged along the long, slow, path towards that tent.
---
They finally arrived in front of the tent and she was again slammed into the ground, this time in a much harder throw. The wind and tears were knocked from her, the ground cracking underneath this crushing blow. The white-thing, silver-hair, and orange-suit all prostrated themselves towards the tent. An encroaching fear was growing over Pelgraya-Nurm and she bowed her head to the ground (again, partly from exhaustion and the beatings).
"Ainz-sama! We have brought this disgusting specimen before you as you have asked!" the three spoke in unison. Pelgraya-Nurm understood. Ainz Ooal Gown was not a country or a simple fief but someone these things bowed before.
As the aforementioned one fluttered the tent flap open, a finely decorated skeleton thing- followed by a demi-angel(?). Fear pierced her through like a harpoon, and felt as if it was being pulled through her guts. She openly shook and hoped maybe since they had brought her forth, they might allow her to at least live. Undead were known to hate the living, but maybe since this one surrounded itself by the living it would be merciful.
---
Ainz flapped open the tent, and was greeted with Demiurge, Shalltear, and Cocytus. He received their gift of this prisoner-of-war, and consequently praised their efforts. This praise made them seemingly shiver with delight. But to Pelgraya-Nurm, it was unnoticed- she was too focused on this one called "Ainz."
"A-Ainz-sama?" She spat up as she pressed her head into the head indent she had made earlier. "I-"
Ainz sliced his hand horizontally as if to cut her in twain.
"Silence." it commanded.
She began tearing up, how could fate deny her strength. She had made herself a slowly growing land, full with servants, and glory to her. Why had this thing come here? Why her?
"To viciously murder ones followers, loyal beings- is a sin I cannot abide. To do so, is to be scum of the worst kind. I do not normally do this, but I shall relish this. Cocytus lift her."
Before she could run, white-thing grabbed her by the forehead and lifted her straight up. This painful grip denied her any chance to pull free, her large body squirming halfways upon the ground. Her arms pulled and scraped the ground and attempted to pull herself free by pushing against Cocytus. She was like a child being lifted by the leg, helpless against her coming doom.
Ainz flicked his wrist and a magic circle appeared before his bony hand. With that he made a faux-gripping motion and she could no longer move her body and some of her arms. It felt like she was truly being gripped within his grasp. Her arms now flailed uselessly and she screamed and cried as she too flailed. Her last thought was that she had never found a mate, maybe a human HAD been her only chance.
With that flick of the wrist, she was summarily twisted around, multiple times, in a quick clockwise turn. Cocytus' grip being the axis of this sickly pirouette, evoking the look of a ballroom dance. Cocytus subsequently dropped the head.
"Send it to be picked clean, and Living Hunter to patrol."
​
Much later, after confirming everything was razed and destroyed- the Living Hunter gleefully engorged itself among the feast of the battlefield.
​

Greetings, I'm Night. Basic rules of decency and respect apply. Do not interact if you feel otherwise.I'm looking for those willing to roleplay canon Yugioh 5Ds characters for a crossover with Twisted Wonderland. It'll be an AU for Twisted Wonderland (I'll be writing this fandom. The characters I'll write will be Lilia Vanrouge, Malleus, and Silver.)
For Yugioh, it'll be set in an AU!Signer Arc. I tend to write paragraphs so I would like a partner who does the same. As for possible romance, I usually write M/M but I'm a slow-burn writer anyway. Whoever's interested, I'll give more details on the plot. I'm 18+ and prefer partners at least 18+ as well. Discord only! Thanks!

Special thanks to u/SpacePaladin15 for allowing fanfiction and giving us Tilfish. The man gave us a canon art of the bugs, and they're rad!
Also, sorry for the wait. Work was murder. As always, if you see something funky or not canon with my work, let me know. I appreciate constructive criticism.
[First] [Prior] [Next]
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Memory Transcription Subject: Marullo, Tilfish agricultural practitioner.
Date: December 2, 2136
.~*~.
We did not talk about Muttart's deviant behavior to anyone else. Tugal had made it absolute that not a buzz would be ushered against him, and Holywood had agreed immediately. So had I. There was something in his eyes that spoke volumes over everything he stated. He was scared of the correctional facilities. I couldn't imagine why, but he feared them more so than the predators that had tainted our refuge. I trusted my brother. He'd endured several Arxur invasions, and if his judgment felt that something was amiss, then I would follow it even if I didn't understand it.
In order to keep Muttart away from Cleo and her friends' questions, Holywood had taken the brunt of the following blame and attention when the rest of our group emerged from the shadows. In between turns scrubbing walls and floors she accepted her berating in stride, and I firmly believed by the end of it that she understood her catastrophic mistake and just how close we'd come to being destroyed.
Despite the close call, there was some admiration among the group towards her. It took a certain level of bravery to resist the predators so openly, and she'd done it in a way that didn't put anybody under the ire of our hunters. Little reminders to the public to stay safe and remain aware against the threat was brilliant.
Remain unconquerable.
And naturally, since she was the only one to really go outside and see what the rest of the world looked like in person, questions were asked. Clusters of them, relentless and probing.
We found it hard to believe that the predators feared us, but Holywood hadn't conceded that point despite how laughable it sounded. Seeing the one that had been trampled was hard to dispute, and once Tugal asked his network similar, hesitant observations came back. How could predators feel fear? Especially of us? Nobody knew. Several scholarly members that had books on predators were just as clueless, despite looking through well respected Federation studies and even less public experiments on the matter. It would suggest that these predators were completely different than the Arxur.
Tugal had called the scholar an idiot openly over the entire network for that conclusion. Honestly, if that guy was who we were going to for advice, then we were going to have to rely on ourselves to figure this one out.
The predators had been saying from day one that they meant no harm, and after every piece of propaganda and video that emerged from the Cradle, the summit, and their world's destruction, it was the only pillar that they stood on. We're different. We want to be friends. We don't want to hurt you.
So many worlds and colonies, wiped out. It was baffling that so much harm could occur in so little time. More so that so many species believed them. While I had looked at the studies the Venlil and later Zurulians had produced, I had believed that it was fabricated or extorted out of them. These humans were protected by the Arxur, for Formi's sake! How could anyone see their rampant destruction and linked claws and see something other than efficient monsters?
But they can feel more than what the academic studies suggested in the past. They feel fear. They're emotional predators. Pack creatures. How much of those studies were true? Is that how they passed the tests? How they got to be space fairing without uplifting?
My antennae twitch in tired irritation. I can't be thinking like that. The predators occupying our planet and colonies were brutally invasive things. Manipulating at every second. Give them an inch, and they take a whole hill.
What if they're afraid of us because they see that we were fixed.
Nausea makes me cover my eyes. Cilany's broadcast had been... dreadful. That one wasn't propaganda, it had come out before the Harchen had surrendered. Before we surrendered. It was real. We were predators, once. Predators. If it was more propaganda, it had worked in isolating us. In days, our entire species was abandoned.
But, it wasn't propaganda. The Kolshians hadn't denied it, and it forced our hand. Predators had no place in this universe, and neither did we. Even if we'd been fixed. Even if we'd been contributing for centuries. We had been tainted all along. Our loyalty didn't matter anymore, and nobody knew what was going to happen to us now that our nature was known to the entire galaxy. We knew the humans were coming before the surrender came. Deep down I understood why. Without the Federation, we couldn't hold them off.
We're stuck under their rule now. Without them, we'd still be alone. An easy target for our trigger happy neighbors or the Arxur. Maybe they won't eat us after all, knowing we were the same once. Or maybe they're afraid the cure is contagious and still in our blood.
What's it matter? While they act better than the Arxur, they're still predators.
Like me?
I groaned and batted at my antennae in frustration. I was going to go insane before the day even began if I didn't get up now. Holywood had broke the news to me that part of the shipping district had gone up in smoke during the initial panic. The very part of the district that used to house several storage facilities worth of perishable goods. Why nobody had contacted me over a looming shortage of that magnitude was beyond me, and I was going to need to figure it out in short order or my people might just be forced to revert back to our monstrous past.
The thought alone gets me up out of bed, and I almost staggered right into Cleo as I leave.
"'Bout time you got up." She chittered slowly, and I realized she must have taken a double watch. Her whole body sags like her legs are barely keeping her up, and even her twitching antennae are muted. She was furious over her lighter being stolen, and had probably wanted to be the one to catch one of the predators sneaking back in after dark. Something we all were worried about, after Sunshine's observations. "Your predator was busy all night. I don't know how it does it."
"At least it kept you company."
The hiss that sounded from Cleo made me want to eat my own words, but she rubbed at her eyes instead of making me pay for it. "I can't wait to torch it. It was roaming the streets all night looking for people, going down underground and everything. It gave me something to look up though. Hey, do you know what a nood is?"
"...no?"
"Nobody in the network does either. Your predator wanted them from you, but took it back pretty fast. Claimed its pad was stolen by a brute. I'm going to look it up later, see if it was something important we're not allowed to know about."
"You're exhausted, Cleo. Please, rest a little first."
"It'll be a small search. Shouldn't take me long at all." Cleo stretched and flexed her mandibles, and they clacked loudly as she staggered by. I watched her go with some concern, hoping she didn't recall my snark when she woke up and that she heeded my advice. Who knows what dastardly thing she could uncover in her sleep deprived state.
I hesitated in front of Muttart's room before cracking it open a sliver, breathing a sigh of relief when I saw him still nested in his bed. I opened it some more and noticed Holywood sleeping in a chair nearby, and felt some warmth in my carapace despite my well founded anger with her. Quietly, I shut the door. I wanted those two to rest off what happened last night.
Swinging around to the kitchen, I grabbed a few peeled Amonine Roots from the fridge, then did a double take.
Right, Holywood didn't get the groceries. I'll have to do it after work- this kitchen wasn't meant to feed this many people.
The possible food shortage looming over my head made my feelers grip the roots a bit harder. I'd need to do more than get some short term groceries. I'd need to think harder on what could feed two dozen of us for a few weeks, and how to get it without any predators or onlookers noticing.
I bit into a root absently and chewed as I made my way back to my new office, preparing myself to bully some farm owners back into shape and get some shipping companies back on schedule. I recalled how my old boss would do that, and shuddered. I was going to have to try and be like that screaming menace. Maybe not as loud, but I would need to get the point across somehow. Money usually worked in spooking those stubborn sand spitters back to work.
I cracked open my door and found Tugal half asleep in my chair, tapping away at my pad. He looked even worse than Cleo did, and I felt my antennae drop as I made my way over to him.
He was the one that realized how much of a threat Sunshine was. Its controlled destruction of my old office- the talk about fire and purging, wasn't even half of it. Let alone that it had adapted to Federation culture and was weaponizing it against us, it had managed to do something even worse. It had revealed itself in such a way that only people like Tugal could pick up on. And it had done so to root out the ones that could pose a true threat to predators. Tugal saw it, and it noticed.
Sunshine walked like an Arxur.
I've never seen a grey in person, but Tugal had many times. I didn't even notice that it stalked differently than the other predators, but it was stooped forward all the time. It took wide, confident steps and put its weight into each pace, making it sway as it wandered around. It loomed wherever it stood, and dragged its claws along anything soft like our walls or decorations. It hissed at me, for Formi's sake. And evidently, it stalking around the room once it finished threatening me was another sign of a restless hunter he had seen many times before. The trembling hands were new. Tugal thought it might be because of the mask that it couldn't be licking its jowls, but Sunshine had a perpetual twitch and tremble whenever its paws were not moving or touching things.
Tugal swore it was watching him during the exchange, and he had set up the night watch for that reason. Sunshine and its fellow predators coming back was easy to believe, but they hadn't shown. Now everybody was tired, and a human with extremely violent capabilities was lurking somewhere in the capitol biding its time.
Humans have tried to distance themselves from the Arxur many times to save their reputation, and then we get one that acts just like them in our own home. We can't prove it yet, but we need to warn the rest of the galaxy that they're no different. Maybe they'll forgive us for our past long enough to honor our sacrifice.
"Tugal? I have some Amonine Root. Do you want to have some and lay down?"
"Hmm? Yeah... yeah, that'll do good. Hey, the human was pretty busy today. It tired out Cleo, Jair, and Zoil already."
"...Zoil? Does that thing ever tire of talking?" I asked incredulously. Looking at the time, it was barely the start of the day for most capitol dwellers. Zoil was the most social soldier I'd ever interacted with, and for him to be tired of talking... it must be because its a flesh eater, and not another herbivore.
Maybe he's tired of being a monster and pretending everything is okay around other predators.
I banished the thought. "And you?"
"...Yeah." Tugal yawned just like Cleo had, flicking his mandibles lightly as he handed over my pad. "Say, he found something at the road leading out of town. The one bordering the Wind-Reed farm. I can't figure it out, can you?"
"He?"
"...I'm going to bed. Be careful with it today. It's... energetic." I nodded and took the pad as Tugal wandered off, flipping it around and peering at the messaging app. I almost drop the pad when a full picture covers the screen. It's of an outstretched human arm- thankfully fully concealed in coverings- taken at an odd angle like the photographer is trying to get a better shot from an awkward position. There's a massive frond that stretches over the length of the limb, and I almost miss the legs holding the leaf to the predator's arm, and the two small eyes on the midrib nearing the apex.
"Hey Marullo, what is this thing? It's awfully friendly."
"I don't know exactly. Where did you find that?"
"It was in a bush in the outskirts. I was clearing a car wreck and it just scurried over to me. Didn't even see it until it climbed up onto the engine block."
"It's not used to predators. Be gentle with it."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence. It's nibbling on me but I think that's because I'm damp from a sprinkler system going off. Wait does this thing bite?"
I stared at the conversation in mute disbelief, then checked how long ago the predator sent that last text. I rapidly began to type out a response.
"It bites a lot. It is a Bark Saw, an ambush predator. It'll split you open if you don't get rid of it right away. It'll drink you." Not a moment passes before I see typing, letting me know that the predator I planned on catching hadn't been eaten alive in the last minute.
"Really?"
I stared down at the pad in my paws in disbelief, then frustration. Bark Saws were not to be trifled with. Their continued existence was because of their uncanny speeds and camouflage. They could crack through a carapace with ease and suck out a victim's fluids while they still writhed and screamed, and somehow they used air pressure differences from propelled flames to avoid even the most trained Exterminators. Attempts to burn them out were only half successful in most recorded incidents, and it seemed the more the Federation tried to burn them out the more they appeared in populated areas. It was an honest nightmare knowing that when one was killed, three more would crop up in a farmer's field within days.
"It will punch through your garments easily. Those edges can slash through most fabrics and cut into wood. Get if off of you, and kill it."
There was a solid period of time with no response, and I found myself forgetting about work and focusing on what could be happening. I couldn't call it in to the exterminators because most of them had gone off and killed themselves, and I doubted what few remained at their post could do anything about it. The humans had left us exposed to everything, and predators were running amok!
A little bubble appeared and let me know that my predator had survived, and I sat down at my desk as it sent a new message.
"Yeah, that thing started giving me the heebie jeebies. It was pretty tame, but I don't feel like being drank today." I found myself chittering in amusement for the briefest moment and stopped myself as the icon popped up again. "Yeah, it got away. They're act chill when they're not threatened, so it just sort of scuttled off once it was done getting its H20 hit. I'm hole free. What wiki page did you read that garbage off of?"
Indignation filled my body. "I studied that in school. There are entire papers on that beast. They threaten farmers all the time."
"And you remember that now, and not when I first took a photo of it and asked if it was safe to pick up? Aren't you one of those farmers?"
Oh crap.
My mind scrambled for something to come up with. Having others talk to it was coming back around to bite me, literally. Soldiers didn't know half the things I did, and Exterminators lacked contextual information most the time.
"I forgot."
Oh that looks bad.
"I work in food distribution. I'm not out in the fields often." I sent immediately after, my feelers wrapped tight around my pad as the predator formulated a scathing response.
"I don't do massive bugs well. I know they leave you alone if you don't threaten them, but that's back home. I really can't tell the friendly ones from the dangerous ones out here, so please don't randomly forget that again. I'd like to keep my blood to myself and not get sucked on."
The edge in that text made me wince, and I had to salvage this somehow.
"I'm sorry."
It didn't respond, and I slowly set my pad on the table. I needed to work, and I couldn't let this thing get into my head before I started. I was grateful for a moment, but I knew better. It had stopped talking the moment I got my pad back. It was angry, and I couldn't lure it over if it was mad at me. I would have to try and win it back, and I probably had to stop pawning off the conversation to others or we'd blow our chance.
I adjusted a book on my desk before opening the work station before me. I hid most of the irreplaceable works Sunshine had tainted in this room so they wouldn't be torched or ruined by botched chemical treatments by Cleo's subordinates. I'd have to find someone more competent for the job, but I pushed the thought from my mind as I scowled at the slew of emails and critical rail disruptions plaguing the screen.
This is worse than construction traffic during Uplift Day celebrations. Idiots. Every single one of them.
.*~*.
I leaned back, my pharynx sore. I vividly understood why my old boss screamed so much at these cretins.
Money money money. We want money. We want extra time to do the same work for even more money. We want to hire other companies to do our work, so we want some deferrals and discounts and extra privileges as well. Oh, there's barely any drivers. Looks like we need more funding to get some extra feelers on deck. We need extra hazard pay because of the predator invasion. We're also updating our insurance policies: here's five hundred pages of ambiguously worded jargon. We need that signed before we can continue. Better hurry up. Oh, finding warehouses and securing our old drivers isn't our problem, that's someone else's job. Here's a number you can call, they should point you in the right direction. Say, are you paying for security for the meeting in a few days? We need extra security. We won't show up otherwise, and it would be outrageous if you think we're going into the city without security. We also need board and monetary compensation, preferably in whatever safe districts are left up there.
Every single one of you can catch fire and pop under the sun's cruel gaze. I'm sorry Formi, but it felt nice threatening to use the predators against them. It was fascinating how quickly their new demands went away.
Way too much screaming later, and I'd done it. Food distribution would be returning to a semi-normal state by tomorrow. I had called several storage companies and secured proper arrangements for the new warehouses under a tirade of threats, and things would be okay.
I rested my chin on the desk and sighed, eyeing the now empty plate and water with satisfaction.
I need to notify the Head of Agriculture about my new job title and hope he's still alive. I'm getting that old advisor's title and pay by tonight after this. I'd like to run for the department head but I don't know if that would put me on a plate or not. Oh who cares? The Predators won't eat the Tilfish keeping the masses fed.
As if on cue, my pad buzzed. I couldn't contain the groan that buzzed out of me as I lazily slapped at the device, reading the new text from the predator's social hunting app:
"I think you're full of shit about these scary leaf creatures."
A photo is attached of several Bark Saws in a single file line, leering at the camera. My brief moment of satisfaction evaporates into horror.
"Shoot them! Don't let them slip away!" I typed out frantically.
"Not happening. They're like really backward, ugly as all hell dogs. They've been following me around without eating anyone. Do you know what they even eat?"
"They eat us! They kill farmers and hatchlings!"
"What about fruit?"
I clench my mandibles tightly. "Are you stupid! They don't eat fruit!"
"How strange. I've been feeding them fruit for an hour now. I can't really see how they're so terrifying."
My claws scratched the screen as I typed out a response: "Then I hope they die. They're killers, and there's never been this many so close to a city! Tilfish are going to die because you predators destroyed our only way to handle them!"
"What type of a farmer doesn't even know their pests?"
"What kind of predator says they're trying to help us and then feeds our killers?"
There was a long pause.
"They're omnivores and you didn't even know it. You're a terrible farmer."
"That's the best you can do? Do you let your people be slaughtered on your filthy planet by other predators without retribution?"
There was an even longer pause.
"I don't. As much as I'd like to tell you off, I'm not allowed to. We have our own pests, and we deal with them respectfully."
"What, are you afraid your pad will be seized? Tell me why you think you're so noble and better than me!"
"Did you think that these messaging apps were unsupervised? That the UN was going to let us talk about whatever we wanted? You're an idiot, Muttart."
I paused, the information making me reconsider our plans. my fury was tempered by the revelation that we could be thwarted at any given time by the predators in charge, watching from the shadows. My predator continued typing.
"Now that you're aware of that, have you considered that we might react poorly to being preyed on as well?
Screw it, I don't care. You're not a nice person. If I'm kicked off of this program I might as well say that most your fruits are terrible. Everything grown on Sillis is bland and boring and tastes like dirt."
Spending two straight work shifts fighting to feed an entire city, only for this thing to insult me and everything relating to my craft made me see red for a moment. "A predator wouldn't know good taste unless it was still screaming in their grasp!"
"How original. I've definitely not heard that one before a dozen times. You remember that we got paired together over farming? What primitives still use wheeled drones for agriculture?"
"It's efficient! Are you really saying your predator methods are better? You're too primitive and bloodthirsty for our technology!"
"Cope harder, Marullo. A bunch of meat eaters can grow plants better than you can. Better, tastier plants! We use hydroponic facilities, which can grow crops without soil in a condensed space. The yields are massive, and for our fields we have repellents and pesticides that only affect harmful creatures, and leave everything else alone. What do you have?"
"The Kolshians have hydroponics, so that doesn't mean anything! We get enough rain storms that we didn't need to implement them, and our yields are great! And you poison your pests? That's barbaric!"
"So is setting them on fire, but you sure like doing that. Our methods don't ruin our fields, at least."
Why did it have to bring that up?
"How did you find that out?"
"For all the time we've been talking, you don't describe your agriculture. You did on day one and never picked it up again. I want to learn how your farming practices work in frequent hurricane conditions. I'd love to see a farm in operation. Study how your plants grow and thrive. Most of them are semi-aquatic and many are fully aquatic. It is cool. Since you backed out I had to do all of that alone. Tell me, how it is acceptable that exterminators were praised for burning down several square miles of farmland to kill one Bark Saw?"
I exhaled deeply, my feelers loosening on my pad. "It wasn't. I had to fight hard to get any form of a penalty against the office for that, and my boss let it get thrown out in court. That fire ruined the surrounding crop yields and is why food prices have been so high in the past year, at least before you all came here and destroyed the value of our credits."
"Check the list of the confirmed deceased. Maybe you'll get lucky and see one of their names up there."
I flinched at that text, and my anger simmered.
Why do I like that idea? They were exterminators, so they could be... is this thing manipulating me into wanting this? Of course it is. It's sick.
"You are a-" I deleted that before I could continue, and something crossed my mind. I'd been sinking down to this thing's level, and I leaned further back as I realized that something was wrong with my predator.
"We're fighting, and you've never acted like this before. What happened?"
The predator responded immediately. "You're supposed to represent your people. and so far you are doing a good job at that."
Were we? We're fighting right now, and I have no clue what insults or things would've been said by anyone else I've handed this off to. I let Cleo talk to a predator, of course it would think I'm hostile.
I rubbed at my face, feeling the plan slipping away.
"I'm sorry for upsetting you. I'll try and be better."
It didn't believe the lie. "You're full of shit. You talk like every other bug on this rock. You know how many bricks have been thrown at me? How many times I've been shot at?"
Oh. It's been working around the city during the demonstrations as well. That's a backhanded compliment. I didn't think it was capable of that, wow. It, uh, it's still typing. Oh dear.
"Your people are not easy to like. I've been trying. I really have. But every time I go down to fix something I need to worry that an access panel is rigged to explode when I walk by it, or an exterminator is waiting in the shadows with a match and a fifth of alcohol. People are destroying your own city for a chance to catch me alone. Two humans the city over got ambushed and torched doing my job, and everybody cheered . They're copying that now. They're wicked, twisted people. You all are. I'm out here in these fields right now because one of your own went into one of our integration tents and got found out. Do you know what your people did to him for being curious? For giving us a chance and listening to basic reason?"
I felt my pharynx tighten.
"They had PD. They don't represent us."
"F.U.C.K. You Marullo. They ripped his limbs off and left him in this field to die. I've found two so far, and we can't find the fucking rest. One of the perpetrators was a schoolteacher. A schoolteacher! He passed your PD screenings! Half of them were model citizens! Your predators are more merciful than your own people!"
I gagged. I couldn't help it.
"Did he live?"
"So far, yes. But nobody gives a shit. You'll just diagnose him with PD when he gets out of the hospital and euthanize him because he can't walk to treatments."
"We're better than that! We help our wounded!"
"I'm still scraping bodies off the concrete because your government workers won't come out here and do it themselves. I'm finding some of them still breathing. It's been days. Where is your people's mercy? Their compassion? Everywhere I look, I see a desert. There's no love here. No care. It's just us."
I swallowed thickly, looking at my work pad. At the recorded logs of countless farm operators taking advantage of our fallen stature to make some extra money. Were the other sectors similar? Or did the farmers out there care about feeding the people over their profits? I didn't know if the predator was lying about this or not.
"I need to go Marullo. Have fun being better than me."
Carefully, I sat my pad down. I needed to go outside. I needed some air in the garden. There was another knock on the front door as I reached for it, and I wanted to scream.

Like many others here, after I purchased my first nendoroid, I became obsessed. I love how cute and detailed they all are, and given some of my more niche interests (Twisted Wonderland, Tears of Themis), nendoroids have been great at allowing me to collect good quality merchandise of characters I otherwise can’t find much merch for.
However, I’m wondering if anyone has tips for how to decide when to prioritize certain nendos or when to decide if it’s worth it. I currently will have around 15 total once my preorders come in and while money or space isn’t an issue for me at the moment, I do want to try to be more selective when it comes to expanding my collection in the future so it doesn’t go overboard (which GoodSmile makes very difficult for me to do LOL).
Also, are there any tips for preserving them over time? I will most likely have to downsize at some point so I’m trying to keep everything in the best possible condition (out of sunlight, keeping all the boxes, dusting them, etc.) but was wondering if there was anything else I could do.
Advice from more experienced collectors would be super helpful! I know that the first question is relatively subjective and varies person to person, but I’m wondering how other people make these decisions too. Thank you!
EDIT: It seems my post was slightly misinterpreted aha, so quick clarification: I have no interest in buying nendoroids just for the sake of reselling. I only collect characters I enjoy but because I have so many fandoms I love and am a part of, I am wondering how people typically discern between which nendos they decide to get. The question on maintenance is just because with the rate my collection is growing, I may have to sell some one day and I want to make sure they’re in the best condition if it comes to that. Thanks!

Here's a whimsical version of calculus, filled with playful rules and delightful complexity:

1. Rule of Silly Sums: When integrating, you must include at least one term that involves a nonsensical or whimsical element, such as unicorns, rainbows, or talking frogs.
   
2. Quantum Derivatives: Instead of simply finding the slope of a function, whimsical calculus allows you to teleport between multiple possible slopes simultaneously. This leads to delightful uncertainty and a touch of magic in the derivative calculations.
   
3. Imaginary Infinity: In whimsical calculus, infinity is a complex and imaginary concept that takes on various forms. You'll encounter whimsical infinity creatures, like the "Infinicat" and the "Infinity Dragon," each with its own peculiar properties.
   
4. Fanciful Limits: Instead of approaching a fixed value, whimsical calculus introduces the notion of "limitless limits." These limits can whimsically oscillate between different values, defying conventional mathematical expectations.
   
5. Peculiar Power Rule: The power rule in whimsical calculus is a quirky twist on the standard one. It states that when differentiating x to the power of n, the resulting derivative is n times x to the power of n-1, plus a secret magical coefficient that changes with every differentiable function.
   
6. Multidimensional Daydreams: Whimsical calculus expands into multidimensional daydreams, where you can imagine functions with whimsical variables like "dream time," "enchanted space," or "wonder coordinates." These whimsical dimensions add an extra layer of complexity to your calculations.
   
7. Mysterious Integrals: Integrals in whimsical calculus are filled with enchanting surprises. As you evaluate them, hidden magical properties of the functions may reveal themselves, altering the outcome and leading to unexpected results.
   
8. Paradoxical Pathways: Whimsical calculus allows you to explore paradoxical pathways that simultaneously follow and deviate from the traditional rules. These detours through the mathematical wonderland open up new perspectives and possibilities.
   

Disney To Remove Dozens Of Series, Including ‘Big Shot’, ‘Willow’, ‘Y’ & ‘Dollface’ – Deadline
Context: Due to extensive cost-cutting happening across the entire Walt Disney Company, including layoffs, and a desire to scale back their streaming efforts due to heavy losses, newly reinstated CEO Bob Iger has been reversing much of the decisions that his intended successor Bob Chapek has made to the company. As a result, Disney is making the move to remove content from their streaming services due to the massive money hole it's becoming for the company.
One of those other decisions that Bob Chapek made was the inclusion of acquired content, especially international content, for the sake of subscriber growth in order to catch up harder with Netflix. And of course, part of it included anime in order to drive growth in Japan. That's where we saw the Japanese Disney branch pick up shows like Summertime Rendering, Black Rock Shooter and Tatami Time Machine Blues last year, with seemingly no intention to bring them over to other countries outside of the country (at least until they got unceremoniously dumped on Western services many months later with no fanfare). Hell, we saw Disney Japan sign deals to ensure that Bleach can only be watched on Disney+ as well as several prominent Kodansha shows like Tokyo Revengers s2 (due to s1 being the most popular anime on D+ in Japan) and this season's Tengoku Daimakyo, and it was all approved by Chapek just mere weeks before he was ousted from his CEO position.
At the moment, Iger wants to cut back on streaming, focusing mainly on "core brands" (i.e. anything that's Disney-Pixar-Marvel-Star Wars-20th Century Fox), and possibly licensing content out to third-parties. He also wants to merge D+ and Hulu in the US (through buying Comcast's share in the service) so that all of the ABC and Fox content can share one roof, even at the expense of other licensed Hulu shows not made in-house. With the recent removals of content then, there's no doubt that all of the anime shows that they are merely licensing out are possibly going onto the chopping block inevitably. The question though is when? And will Disney share their shows with other services like Crunchyroll?
Currently, Disney has several shows they acquired that are still in production (Synduality, Phoenix, Bullet/Bullet, Murai in Love, Dragons of Wonderhatch, Ishura) and only one anime they are directly involved in (Twisted Wonderland). It's clear that anime is a huge driver of growth in the Japanese Disney+ version, but they hardly even get nary a whisper when dumped onto Hulu/D+ Star in the West, even though Disney is reluctantly doing simulcasts now. Your guess is as good as mine.

“To those who fell in the Battle of Scarville,” the stone memorial read. “Your sacrifices were not in vain. October 24th, 1918- October 27th, 1918.” Above the base stood a statue of an American soldier with a round cap and a long rifle with a bayonet attached. His face had a perpetual scowl, his eyes slightly squinted as the statue looked at something far off in the distance. I heard a throat clearing. I looked around in confusion.
“Beautiful memorial, eh?” a voice said from behind me. I turned and saw an ancient-looking man in a suit. His face had so many wrinkles that it reminded me of a raisin. His ears and nose stood out massively on his shaking frame. I wondered just how old this man really was.
“Yes, it certainly is,” I admitted, glancing once more at the shining marble statue which seemed to glow under the bright summer sun. “But what is the Battle of Scarville? I’ve never even heard of it.” The ranger shook his head sadly at this.
“Most of you younger people haven’t,” he said gruffly. “But my family was involved in the Battle of Scarville. If you have a few minutes, I can tell you all about it.” He motioned to a bench next to the statue, one that I could have sworn wasn’t there just a few seconds earlier. I shrugged it off though, admitting to myself that I might have missed it due to the glare of the sun, which was slowly disappearing behind the trees. We both sat down. He told me his name was Franklin, and I told him mine was Ted. We shook after we had introduced ourselves, the small, bird-like bones of his fragile hand feeling almost weightless under my grasp. And then Franklin began to tell me a story that would change my life forever.
*****
I was just a kid when this happened. My father was a soldier in the area, but he never liked to talk about what he did. Then one day, he came running in the living room, his eyes all wide, telling me and my mom to get all our stuff, quick, it was time to go, and all this other nonsense. My mother asks why. He starts screaming gibberish about monsters and this and that. And my mother says the strangest goddamn thing- “Oh, is it that time again?”
Right then, the shaking starts outside.
“Oh, God, it’s too late,” my father says, and he puts his face in his hands, crying. Now, my father was not a man who ever cried. I didn’t even see him cry at my grandfather’s funeral. He was made of stone, one of the toughest men I will ever know. So when he started crying, I knew something bad was happening.
The sky started to go dark, as if there were a solar eclipse. My mom grabs a canvas bag and starts trying to go around the house, grabbing some food and drinks. But my dad yells, says we have no time for that. He tells her to grab his other gun, the 12-gauge in the closet upstairs. He runs downstairs and grabs his rifle, shoving a magazine in it and standing at the door, straight as a board and as pale as a sheet. The sky seemed to go dark, even though it was still over an hour until sunset.
Out of the darkness, I saw silhouettes, stumbling shapes with twisted legs, broken arms, long necks and strange eyes. They continued forward at a much faster pace than any walking man. Their eyes seemed to glow in the dark, and the closer they got, the more hypnotized I felt. There was a strange, pulsating light that came out of their faces, you see. If you stared at it too long, you would get carried away by that light…
My da, though, didn’t hesitate for a moment. He started shooting as soon as they were within range of the 30 odd 6. The nearest one’s head exploded in a shower of dark blood. The rest of them began hissing like snakes and running forwards. My da empties his whole magazine, taking down six of them, then slams and locks the door.
“Where’s that fucking gun?” he screamed. My ma came running down the hallway with the big black thing in one hand and a box full of slugs in the other. He grabs the gun from her hand and gives it to me.
“You know how to shoot, boy,” he says. “Now is the time for you to prove yourself. Protect your family and home.” By this point dozens of those things are slamming on the other side of the door, still hissing and gurgling in some strange language I’ve never heard before. I nodded at my da, and started slamming slugs into the shotgun.
They were practically breaking the door down by this point. The lock had started to bust and twist, and the door was separating from the threshold. A couple more good hits and it would have been all over the floor anyway. I know a good slug will shoot through doors, hell, they’ll shoot through walls, so I point the shotgun at the door, point blank, and begin shooting through the door. Some of those things start screaming and falling over, dead, exit wounds the size of grapefruit in their backs and chests. But the door is in a sorry state by this point, full of massive holes and splintering apart. I had to reload, and they started busting through, coming into the house.
Now that they were close, I could tell they were not human, though from a distance they almost looked human. But they had these strange, pulsating black veins going up their neck and stretching out across their face, and their eyes were all the same silver color, glowing as if they had some inner light. It wasn’t just a reflection, like you see with some animals at night who run in front of your headlights. This light was coming from within them, and it was bright.
Some of them had blood caked around their mouths, running down their clothes and the entire fronts of their bodies. Whose blood, I didn’t yet know, but when I saw the casualties in the town later on, I would figure it out.
Just when I thought we were going to be overwhelmed, my neighbor and some of his family members ran over. He starts screaming at me from the yard, firing his gun at the creatures in a frenzy of violence. He had his two sons with him, and they all had shotguns. They were whooping and hollering, blowing the creatures apart with buckshot. When one of them stopped to reload, the other two would cover them, so that they had a nearly constant rate of fire. My da and I ran out the door, shooting and reloading. I saw the skull of the nearest creature disintegrate as I fired into its head from less than five feet away, but its eyes seemed to hover in the air a moment after it was gone. It reminded me of the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland, how its face seemed to hang in the air after its body had gone.
By this point, we had finished off the entire group of them. A couple dozen bodies lay around us. My heart was beating and my blood was up. I could almost relate to the sons of my neighbor; part of me wanted to whoop and holler too. Part of it was fun and exciting, even though I knew that one wrong move would mean likely death.
I used the break in the action to move closer to one of the corpses and look at it. In its basic shape, it looked human, but up close, you could tell it was no such thing. For one thing, they all had six fingers on each hand, and they were twisted, long things. They almost looked vampiric- and, as I would find out later, that was right on the money, or at least as close to it as we could understand. Their skin had thin black veins running every which way, and they appeared to all be wearing some sort of coarse brown cloth, formed into shapeless pants and shirts. They even covered their feet with it, though they had some sort of leather on the bottom. It didn’t look like any leather I had ever seen, however. It shone and shimmered, and it looked inflexible and thick. It looked chitinous.
Out in the field, we heard a sound like a screaming woman. It broke the silence and caused us all to jump, spinning around and pointing our guns. But what we saw there was no scared lady. It was some sort of animal, standing over ten feet tall. It looked like some huge praying mantis, except its hide was shiny and black. Massive pinchers extended from the front of its face, big enough to chop a man in half down the middle I reckon. The eyes were huge and black, but as the light moved across them, they seemed to shimmer like rainbows.
“What in God’s name is that?” my da yelled, but the neighbors only shook their heads in amazement. Then one of the boys, a red-headed and skinny lad by the name of Wesley, said something that caught me off guard.
“I saw some of those things coming out of the caves,” he said. I looked at him, eyes wide. So did everyone else. “When I was fishing earlier at the stream. I thought it was just people exploring the tunnels at first, until I saw their eyes and those veins…” His father grabbed his shoulder and shook him.
“When was it?” his father asked him, looking scared and uncertain. “How long ago, son?” His son shook his head slowly, trying to remember.
“An hour ago, maybe,” Wesley said. “As soon as I saw them I started running home, and not five minutes after I got there, they started coming across the yard…”
People from town were running down the road now, screaming in terror and pain. I saw them driven on like herds of sheep, and our giant praying mantis friend also noticed. Its head went up, antennae flicking, head cocked to the side in a way that would have been comical in other circumstances. Its pinchers moved faster, opening and closing constantly, as if it were trying to taste the air. Then it started running. It was just a black blur in the dim light, flying across the yard at an impossible speed. I couldn’t even see its legs moving.
It grabbed the nearest person, a young woman with huge terrified eyes, and used its pincers to snap her head right off. The decapitated head rolled across the ground, an expression of mortal terror still etched into her expression. Then the mantis creature began to suck at the bleeding stump of her neck- drinking until it looked like the body was sucking in on itself, until the skin was pale and bloodless as a mannequin. The other people were stumbling and running around it, still praying and cursing and shrieking, but it took no notice of them. Once it was full, it looked bigger- more swelled up, like a tick. Its chitinous black shell seemed to expand, looking more rounded, and it even looked a little more red in the pale light- as if the blackness of its hide had lightened into a shade of darkest crimson.
“We’re being invaded by vampires!” I screamed. Everyone looked at me, but no one argued. They didn’t even have time to. At that moment, the next wave started.
Our home was on a road with houses every few hundred feet, a forest behind the houses and a grassy field on the other side. The road itself sat between the field and the homes. The trees pressed in on the houses, being only twenty or thirty feet behind them. The woods were old and thick with brush and prickers and endless ferns. It was hard enough to see in it at daytime, but it was now nearly night, and trying to see into it was a fool’s errand.
The enemy used our disadvantage to surprise us. We had all reloaded, of course, and we had five men with guns. I wished I had another one to give to my ma, who stood behind my da, both of them looked scared and far too pale.
I saw it was the mantis creatures that were approaching, though a few of the vampires walked through silently, their eyes glowing. The two apex predators didn’t seem inclined to attack each other. I wondered if maybe the vampires had even domesticated the giant mantis creatures somehow. It didn’t seem likely, but who knew?
We started shooting as soon as they broke the boundary of the woods. The mantis creatures shrieked like dying women, emitting deafening wails as their legs, chests and heads were blown apart by shotgun and rifle fire. But more and more kept coming, and some were now coming from the field and road as well. We were slowly being surrounded, and our ammo was not unlimited.
A vampire ran at my mother. I saw it in slow motion, the creature popping out from the grassy field and sprinting. My father was busy firing that rifle like a madman, trying to keep the mantis creatures from overtaking us. I knew it was a hopeless task. But I could at least save my ma. I raised the shotgun, the vampire only a few feet away from me now, and shot it point-blank in the face.
Its head disintegrated into a mask of gore, droplets of blood flying. My mouth had been open; I was breathing hard, terrified and in the middle of battle fever, you see. And a few droplets of that strange, dark blood splattered directly into my mouth. I hadn’t even realized what had happened until I tasted it. It tasted nothing at all like human blood, nothing like sucking on a cut thumb after a small injury, nothing like the taste of a bloody, rare steak. No, this blood was sweet and somehow cloying. It was an artificial sweetness, like some fake sugar you might put in coffee, combined with a vague metallic aftertaste. I started to spit after I realized what had happened, but by that point, we were being overrun.
My neighbor was ripped apart in front of me, his old, weather-beaten face showing a final expression of shock and horror as a mantis bit him across his body right where his heart lay. Blood spurted from the wound. The mantis gingerly pushed the body parts apart and began to suck at the blood from the spurting injuries. Another followed silently behind and started feeding on the other half. I watched it all in horror, until a hand grabbed my shoulder. I spun and saw Wesley.
“We need to go, now,” he said, pulling me.
“My da and ma and the others!” I screamed. He shook his head. He was closest to me. As we became overrun, the creatures had split us into smaller groups. Wesley’s brother and my ma and da were one of them. We had at least five mantis creatures and a few more vampires between us. As dozens more came running towards us, towards commotion and the prospect of a warm meal, I realized Wesley was right. But I fired all the same, taking down one of the mantis creatures with a slug to the torso. Its dark blood covered the dirt as it squealed and fell over, kicking its legs slowly and rhythmically like a flipped turtle as it died.
My da and Wesley’s brother were still shooting. I thanked God that we each had a sack of ammo. But mine was feeling light. I looked down and saw only a dozen more slugs, maybe. They must be getting low too. I knew I would have to come back for them when things had calmed down. But for now, I fled.
Wesley ran ahead of me, his coarse work clothes flapping in the wind. We sprinted across the yard. I looked back and saw one of the mantis creatures running us down, moving much faster than either of us could ever hope to run. I stopped, turning. It felt like I was facing down a charging train. I raised the gun, and with a shot to the head, I dropped it only ten feet away from me. It kept running for a second, a body without any brain to run it, then it began to fall forward, sliding, its legs kicking and trembling as it died.
He had a shelter behind his house, apparently. It was little more than a root cellar in the backyard of his house, but it was hidden and underground. He pulled the latch on the hatchway, opening it and motioning for me to go first. I ran forward, climbing down the short ladder. He followed, keeping the hatchway open for light while he started a gas lamp with some flint. Once we were situated, he closed the hatch. It was able to be locked from the inside, and was reinforced against tornados, with wood and concrete forming the walls. We also had some supplies down there, water and jars of pickled foods and jerky. Not much variety, but it would do.
We stayed down there for two days. When we came back up, the creatures were gone. They had even taken their dead with them. I didn’t know where they had gone, though I assumed it was back into the caves.
They had left our dead, however. Countless bodies lay all around the surrounding towns. I saw endless dead in the downtown area when I went down there. And I never saw my da or ma again. I never even found their bodies. Perhaps they had been dragged off into the woods, or perhaps the creatures took a few bodies back with them- maybe as souvenirs, or just for some fresh meat.
All of the people who died in the Battle of Scarville were reported as casualties from the Great War, or the Spanish Flu. But those of us who were there know what we saw, and these were no flu victims. Thousands of bodies around the town had all the blood drained from them.
I wonder why those creatures from underground didn’t keep going. After all, they had won the “Battle” of Scarville, which was really just more of a massacre. But then I thought about how deer hunters are only allowed to hunt so many per season, to allow their population to regrow every year. And I thought about those abominations under the earth. And I wondered if maybe, just maybe, they might not be doing the same to us- waiting for the human population to grow for a hundred years or so, then, when the population is fat and healthy and lazy, come back out to feed on the herd.
*****
The old man stopped, clearing his throat and looking over at me. His story had apparently come to an end. He smiled slightly at me, but I kept looking at him suspiciously, waiting for some sort of punchline.
“You realize how insane that whole story sounds?” I asked after a few moments. The old man with his withered face just grinned at me.
And in the dying light of the setting sun, I could have sworn his eyes were glowing.

Hello! My name is Gabi/Quill and I’m looking for roleplay partners!!
-Style: preferably semi-lit to lit. I only do ** for jokes and short scenarios. I don’t mind how many lines you do, just as long it’s semi-lit! (Note: my lines varies from how much I type though I’ll try to mirror. I’m willing to try advanced and novella if needed.)
-I mostly do fandom based roleplays.
•Fandoms: creepypasta, madness combat, happy tree friends, fnaf, Sally face, Team fortress 2, JJBA, twisted wonderland, obey me, stardew valley, Demon slayer, Lego monkie kid, the game John Doe, Chainsaw man and many more (tell me what you’re into also but it depends if I know it or not.)
•Fandoms I’d mostly wanna rp: madness combat, team fortress 2, Sally face, John Doe, call of duty (modern warfare 2), happy tree friends (it can be anything besides these!)
-Oc x Canon only!! (I have nothing against canon x canon but I’m more comfortable doing oc x canon. Plus I only do oc x oc with close friends and mutuals. double ups are allowed!!)
-No irl celebrities.
-I’d like to add that I am 20yrs old and I highly prefer if you’re 18+.
-OOC chats is allowed!! As much as I’d love to rp, I would love to talk to you! :]
-Id also like to add… please don’t spam me. I’m not always gonna be online 24/7. I’ll reply to you with the best of my ability and whenever I can!
-Don’t be a creep. Just… don’t be a creep. I’m not asking for a hookup.
-I ONLY rp in 3rd person and as characters and ocs. I don’t do self roleplays for MANY reasons.
-Discord only!!!
-If anyone is interested, comment down or shoot me a message in dms!

Greetings, I'm Night. Basic rules of decency and respect apply. Do not interact if you feel otherwise.I'm looking for those willing to roleplay canon Yugioh 5Ds characters for a crossover with Twisted Wonderland. It'll be an AU for Twisted Wonderland (I'll be writing this fandom. The characters I'll write will be Lilia Vanrouge, Malleus, and Silver.)
For Yugioh, it'll be set in an AU!Signer Arc. I tend to write paragraphs so I would like a partner who does the same. As for possible romance, I usually write M/M but I'm a slow-burn writer anyway. Whoever's interested, I'll give more details on the plot. I'm 18+ and prefer partners at least 18+ as well. Discord only! Thanks!

you know when you discover something by seeing a random image/fanart ?
then you see some things related and you form an idea of what the story is ? but sometimes what you imagined is completelly wrong ?
my first contact with twisted wonderland was riddle, i was searching alice in wonderland related manga and i saw the image of dorm riddle card, then i searched in youtube and saw the heartslabyul trailer
before i played the game i tought riddle was a king/prince, and the story would follow him(or at least he would be an important main character) and his difficulties ruling his kingdom that was really crazy and wonderland like and the other boys were part of his court/close friends and helped him,i tought he was pretty serious but determined to protect his kindom and be a good ruller,and his main conflit would be how much pressure he had to deal with
imagine my surprise when i discovered not only this was actually a magic schoo gamel, but that riddle also isn't a royal?

I was trying to come back to one of my favorite recent Harry Potter fanfictions. Harry Potter time travels, kills Apolline Delacour's husband, slays a Nundu, and saves Durmstrang. Along the way, he makes an agreement with Apolline to essentially be her sugar daddy in exchange for her help with his future plans and performs a ritual with her which is a twisted blood ritual that also kick starts puberty. Can someone please find this fic for me and provide the link? Thanks!

so, apologies about how this is being posted several days late, but there were some … complications. We lost our backlog of Jade's chapters and had to do a few plot adjustments, and then I had a camping trip and couldn't post this chapter.
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[main story line of Insertion (formerly titled Now Boarding)] - [first part of prologue arc] - [previous] - [next]
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Primary memory transcription subject: Zeleveya of Tarn, unemployed.
Date [standardized human time]: July 14, 2136
Location: Venlil Prime capitol city, outside of VP Exterminator office 17
​
Zeleveya found herself outside of the Exterminators office with a bouquet of flowers, waiting for Kalne to appear. Most of the blossoms weren’t edible, but to her they possessed a taste-scent that was particularly pleasant, and her perusal of human records suggested that the presentation of such things was common on… dates. Her lip twitched as the word passed through her mind. It was always hard to take such things seriously for her, but Kalne wasn’t quite like the others, she was possessing of a greater purity of intent, had somehow managed to drag her out from behind her walls with a sunny disposition and that lovably flustered flirting. There were higher stakes at play as both of them would be seeking stability as the galaxy changed around them thanks to the arrival of the humans.
What have I gotten myself into?
No, that line of contemplation could only end in tragedy, and the venlil roughly shook her head to clear away the thought.
Eventually, the door of the Exterminators’ office swung open, and Zeleveya caught sight of Kalne in the vision band of her right eye as the exterminator walked out. For once, she wasn’t wearing the standard Exterminator uniform, instead just a simple sash that hung an empty flare holster. The unencumbered venlil slowly headed towards Zeleveya, and the former security officer found herself tracing the stripes that ran along Kalne’s fur.
The stripes varied in thickness, with many narrow ones that followed the contours of her face and appeared along her joints, and they appeared along a few broader strokes of darker fur that ran over her body from the lower edge of her jaw. Each one of the major stripes was unique, and they ranged from a jagged path that twisted around the longer fur of Kalne’s scruff - which oddly wasn’t clipped short in the standard Exterminator’s cut - to a swirling shape the branched and coiled into blotches as it wound it’s way down one of her toned arms…
And that was the point at which Zeleveya realized that she was staring. The venlil shuffled awkwardly, trying to figure out a way to look away from Kalne while still keeping the Exterminator in her sight, and eventually she angled her snout to face directly towards the other venlil.
“Hey Zeleveya!!” Kalne exclaimed as she drew close. “May I ask why you’re looking at me like that?”
The venlil’s mind immediately blanked in panic. She couldn’t very well say that she was trying to avoid looking at Kalne because the Exterminator’s attractiveness was making her flustered, now could she? After a moment of muffled stammering though, she finally found an excuse. “I-I’m … ah, practicing𝄽”
Kalne tilted her head in confusion, before understanding flitted across her features. “Ah, human greetings. Honestly they also got a data dump on us, so that might come off as creepy.”
“Eh, it’ll also give me better depth perception, and the humans say that eyes, plural, are the ‘window to the soul,’ whatever that means,” Zeleveya said as she gave a shrug. There was a moment of silence, before she quickly thrust out the arm that held the bouquet of flowers. “There’s also a human practice of giving flowers during romance, and they’ve even got a whole language of meanings to them. I did my best to approximate.”
Kalne gave an appreciative flick of her ears as she gently took hold of the flowers and guided Zeleveya over to a bench that sat next to the doorway of the fortress-like office building. “So then, what do they mean?”
As the striped venil asked the question, Zeleveya felt a surge of confidence within her. This was a topic that she could manage, having pored over comparisons between plants through most of the previous break claw. “Well,” she said slowly, “First we’ve got the sun-plumes. Those look like an earth flower called goldenrod, which has meanings of encouragement and good fortune. Most of the flowers have meanings that feel like they would be better suited to later in a relationship but this felt like a good place to start.”
“You said most, what about the others?”
Zeleveya gave a humorous twitch of her ears as Kalne asked the question. “Well, there are some that are like goldenrods, and a surprisingly large amount that are basically rejections and insults, so to quote a saying, it is possible to passive-aggressively say ‘screw you’ in flowers.”
Kalne’s tail curled in unbridled mirth. “Well then, I hope that you didn’t throw any flowers like those in,” the woman said as she leaned into Zeleveya’s side. “What about those shadeflares?”
“These,” Zeleveya murmured as she touched the iridescent dark blue flowers that looked like the flaring scruff of a shadestalker, “these are akin to a flower that signals bluntness. I coupled them with these goldcores, which are akin to a flower called chamomile that signals patience in adversity. I’m– well, I tend to be blunt, to put it simply. And I hope that you can have the patience to deal with me.”
Somehow, the striped venlil managed to pull even closer to her at those words. “We understand each other Zeleveya,” Kalne said. “I know how you’ve struggled to fit in with others, and I think that I can cope with your quirks.” Then the other venlil briefly pulled away to look at her with a twinkle of mirth in her eye. “Seriously, your differences are tame compared to some of the wack-jobs that I have to work with as an Exterminator.”
Zeleveya gestured her thanks with a quick ear flick, before she lifted up a small group of pearlescent yellow flowers with tightly bunched petals. “Speaking of Exterminators, this one symbolizes glory, recognition, success, you know. I want the best for you, even if…”
“Even if what?”
Zeleveya gestured helplessly, before she picked up a set of four different flowers. The first was similar to the last one that she had pointed out, albeit lavender and a bit more bell-shaped. “Your good cheer, energy, you managed to knock me out of my shell for a bit and had me start forming genuine connections. Saints, I’ve even started arguing with Jalnak in a joking manner rather than just pure spite and aggression, how did that even happen⸮󠀡” She touched a small spheroid composed of tons of tiny magenta flowers, before continuing. “And the way that you understand me, I am so grateful for that, but… but I’m a danger. This flower ball, the earth plant that it looks like, hydrangea, that flower has two meanings. One that I outlined already, but it also shows frigidity and heartlessness. I’ve been called those before and with good reason. I lash out at others and I can’t help it. I’ve been a poison to people around me, and I don’t want to bring you any more harm when you’ve been nothing but good to me!”
Then she held up the third of the four flowers, a tiny inconspicuous blossom with wide leaves branching out from the stem. “This flower is nearly identical in appearance to an earth plant called poison ivy. Ivy grows and sends out creeping vines that tangle everything else in it. This is what I am. We might know that predator disease is a farce but you’re still beginning to court someone who has it.”
“Zeleveya–”
Before Kalne could begin to argue, the dark-furred venlil held up a shaking hand. “Please. I need this to be said.” The Exterminator gave a brief nod and Zeleveya began to speak once more. “Kalne, I can tell by a glance that you are destined for greatness, and I don’t want to hinder that. So this is supposed to offer you an out. If at any point you feel that there is a pressure placed upon you by your compatriots and I am the reason for it, don’t hesitate to cut me out. I’d be willing to take the fall.” She briefly touched her clawtips to the last flower, a column of five-petalled pink blossoms, her words little more than a whisper. “I’ve done it before.”
​
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[main story line of Insertion (formerly titled Now Boarding)] - [first part of prologue arc] - [previous] - [next] – – [Nature of Predators Literary Universe]
This is a fan story set in the universe of u/SpacePaladin15’s The Nature of Predators series. Posted with the permission he left in the comments of Chapter 16: “anyone is welcome to write fanfiction; just credit the original universe, if you don’t mind!” In addition, this is part of the fan story by u/AlanharTheRiver, who I am co-writing this story arc with. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this!

Hey fellow Total Drama fans!
I recently watched the Total Drama Island reboot and had a blast reliving the nostalgia. However, I can't help but feel a sense of curiosity about the original fanfiction that started it all. I would greatly appreciate it if you could suggest some well-written fanfictions that serve as sequels to either Total Drama or its spin-off, Ridonculous Race (TD or RR).
I'm particularly interested in finding stories that stay true to the spirit of the original series and offer engaging plots, character development, and perhaps even some unexpected twists. Whether it's a continuation of the original competition or a new adventure altogether, I'm open to exploring various possibilities.
If you have any personal favorites or recommendations, please feel free to share them here. I'm eager to dive into some captivating fanfiction that will keep the Total Drama excitement alive. Thank you in advance for your suggestions!

Longs tory short, I have four characters: Two in Diasomnia (Green), two in Savanaclaw (Yellow).
Diasomnia- Spindle and Eira
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https://preview.redd.it/9t9l5fbj9y1b1.png?width=792&format=png&auto=webp&s=720dd91446761092ece9be0f3200b1ff7645e9bd
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https://preview.redd.it/alc7tj3t8y1b1.png?width=616&format=png&auto=webp&s=cded9c6379618f7dd0e56ef8090e4910221b55df
Savanaclaw- Wicker and Enchantress.
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https://preview.redd.it/8b1jp8vl8y1b1.png?width=622&format=png&auto=webp&s=17d987cebd0bceed2cd47dfeca0e27731f67ab2c
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https://preview.redd.it/pmbhxvqm8y1b1.png?width=980&format=png&auto=webp&s=7825d2d261fc1fc7d4911c3ebf7308c71f84f1f5