#but my point is that despite nothing life altering or world shattering or something that could be 'big trauma' this was something i survived

[bullet-prooflove]

Killing Me Softly Part Two: A Stay of Execution - Alexander 'Tig' Trager x Reader

Tagging: @mortal--soul @yourwinchesterbros @buddinglinguist @spookyboogyuniverse @nessamc @ritasantosworld @bl4ckt00thgr1n @anime-weeb-4-life @redpoodlern @ravencrow83 @nu1freakshow @oureternalbond @the-wandering-lunatic @lexondeck @keyweegirlie @theplacewhereallthedemonsgo

Killing Me Softly Series:

Part One: Livid - You and Tig are at an impasse

You don’t call him, and he doesn’t call you. Tig figures this is the way it dies. Not with a bang like he expected but with a silence so oppressive it strangles the life out of the only healthy relationship he’s ever known.

There’s no leeway from either side. As much as he doesn’t want to, he understands your point of view.

Luann had given you back your sanity after what Omar Ghanezi had done to you. She was the one that had found you, scrubbing your skin raw in one of the shower stalls at Cara Cara. You’d been freelancing for the three Ghanezi brothers because Cara Cara was just getting it’s footing, and Luann couldn’t give you enough hours to pay the rent. She was the one that patched you up in the aftermath, tending to the physical wounds and the ones that scarred your fucking soul because you couldn’t just forget shit like that. She had been the one to talk you down, when you had a 22. Calibre pressed to your temple because Omar Ghanezi had come at you again and this time it had ended with three bullets in his chest and one in his head. She’d been the one to give you an alibi, to help you bury his body on the outskirts of Charming.

Luann Delaney, the woman who had given you back your life, who’d lost her own in a fucking ditch at the edge of the road with her head caved in and her skirt hiked up because Georgie Caruso didn’t want the competition.

Tig didn’t like it any more than you did. She was an ally to the club, a partner in Cara Cara and Ottos’s old lady. She deserved better than this, but his hands were tied on the matter and until Clay gave the order, there was nothing he could do.

Now that Tig isn’t seeing you, he has a lot more free time on his hands and he throws himself into making all of the minuscule adjustments to his bike, that he’s been putting off. It’s exhausting and it’s time consuming, but it feels good to work with his hands, to focus on something that doesn’t make his heart feel like it’s shattering into a million pieces.

There’s always been something about the way you enter the room that alters the air space, Tig doesn’t know what it is but it usually makes him feel just a little lighter, puts a bounce in his step. When he glances over his shoulder and sees you standing there in the doorway of his garage, he feels something inside of him die because he knows that this is the end and despite everything, he’s not prepared for it. He turns his attention back to the bike, but his hearts not in it anymore, his fingers fumble on the spanner and his focus wavers.

The scent of your perfume floods him, that soothing lavender with the soft citrus undertone, it flushes through his system, igniting all of his nerve endings because his mind might know what’s happening, but his body is already responding to you the way it always does. He startles when he feels you wrap your arms around his waist, the weight of your cheek in between his shoulder blades and the softness of your curves hugging him.  

He sets down the wrench, his oil-stained palms coming to rest over yours, his fingers settling within the grooves of your knuckles. He doesn’t want to turn around because he’s too terrified of breaking the spell, of snapping the fragile connection that seems to be wavering in between the two of you.

“When Luann died it was one of the worst days of my life.” You tell him, your voice muffled by the fabric of his overalls. “It felt like someone had taken a hammer to my world and smashed all of those pieces that I worked so hard trying to put back together again.”

Tig knows, he was there that night that Unser came to tell you. He’d held you as you fell apart, tears staining his kutte as he cradled you close. He’d felt each and every one of those violent sobs as they wracked your body.

“I wasn’t thinking the other night.” You confess, closing your eyes and exhaling deeply. “I heard he was back in the country, and it was like I was back there again in that moment and all of that rage…” You trailed off, searching for the words but finding them inadequate. “I know I don’t need to explain it to you.”

“No.” he says finally, inclining his head in your direction. “You don’t.”

“You didn’t deserve the shit I gave you. I know you were protecting me, from jail, from the club, from Clay…” The weight of it hangs in the air between the two of you, because in that time apart you realised Tig doesn’t want to stop you completing your goal, he just wants you to do it safety.

“His time is coming.” Tig promises as he turns to face you. His hands cup your face, his calloused thumbs ghosting over the blush of your cheeks. He smells like motor oil and eucalyptus, a combination that somehow draws you in. “It’s a stay of execution, not a pardon.”

“I know.” You tell him, the edges of your mouth twitching up into a cryptic grin. “And I have some ideas on how to make his life as miserable as possible in the meantime.”

This is what he loves about you, the balance of darkness and the light, the fact that they co-exist in the same space, one complimenting the other. You’re resilient and clever, always thinking outside of the box. Tig knows you’ve found a way around the conundrum that you’ve been facing, something that doesn’t result in you ending up dead or behind bars.

“My beautiful feral girl.” He smiles, lips brushing over the corner of your mouth as he whispers against your skin. “Come inside and tell me all about it.”

Love Tig? Don’t miss any of his stories by joining the taglist here.

Like My Work? - Why Not Buy Me A Coffee

#tig trager x reader #tig trager drabble #tig trager #tig trager fanfic #tiggy #tig soa #alexander trager #alexander trager x you #alexander trager x reader #alexander trager soa

[steel-and-fire]

The Starborn, The Box, Thanatos @undyingmedium

"Honestly, I was too young when everything went downhill to have 'long lost dreams', but..I did have dreams. Dreams that I had to abandon for the sake of survival. I run and run and run and for a while, running was all I did, and living another day had become my entire purpose." Ferenir sighed, with closed eyes. These were not the most fun memories.

"But after I found myself alone again, I held will that this would change. I had made a promise that I would get better, that I would make things better. And I started by re-establishing dreams and purpose.

I am a blacksmith, and I want to make some of the most beautiful and wondrous creations this world has ever seen. I want to create weapons and armor of legend that will carve history.

I devoted myself wholly to that goal, it gave me drive and it gave me motivation when everything seemed bleak. Step by step, and before I knew it, I was smiling over the anvil, hammering away on enchanted steel."

Fen had a quiet, for the most part, life, until he was forced abruptly to face the wide world, alone. Needless to say, he held into any semblance of comfort and stability with tooth and claw, because his box had long been shattered in the most brutal of ways.

So, he created his own. With ideals and beliefs that drove him to the point of obsession to maintain. Because that was all he had to bring stability to himself.

But, he realized soon enough the danger of what was happening. Due to Anika's presence, and realizing how unsightly and ungratefully he was behaving towards someone that gave him so much care, he found that his box had been altering him and turning him into something he found he hated.

After he left, he made every effort to make sure that he closed himself to no box again, as much as that was possible. It wasn't easy and it took him a long time, but he felt more ashamed for what he had become, rather than fearful of stepping out of that comfort.

Ferenir has witnessed many deaths. Even before, despite the relative peace, he was still actively fighting in the militia to protect the area. He killed, they killed, and there were also casualties on their ranks now and then. This is the life of a warrior, and he accepted it a long time ago.

As for phases, two were the ones whose end affected him the most in his life.

When his life as a normal person ended, and he found himself running for his life into lands unknown, hunted like an animal...it broke a lot inside him. Trauma, fear and dread sipped into his soul, as much for his life as for the unknown he had to face constantly. Without guidance or purpose, he simply wandered around, not even sure himself what he waited for or hoped. His life had, by all means, ended. He had to make a new one from scratch, with no one by his side and nothing to his name.

That's why, when he finally made some new connections, he clung to them so desperately, that he ended up choking them.

And that's when he realized the harm he was doing and left. A decision he dearly regrets. For, while he may have recovered mentally and emotionally in the mean time, he has done so enough to fully realize what he lost and left behind then. That loss changed him the most.

Ever since, he holds dear value in everything important to him, and he has become a much less judgmental and much more easy going person...even too much sometimes. He has become more of a reactive than proactive person when it comes to others, which has helped me maintain connections better, but maybe not create as deep ones as before.

#undyingmedium #ouf #those were hard #noice #ty~ #ic #asks #headcanons

[warmthpdf]

if i don’t write down all my thoughts about surviving this summer sometime soon i think i will explode !

#'surviving' to begin with feels like such a strong word to apply to this summer but survival is SO intensely woven into how i've been living #how ive been living these past few months has been based around just surviving the next hour the next day the next week #and not being sure if i was able to do that or if doing that was worth it #for the first time in years i didnt wanna wake up. but for the first time in years i also wanted to live authentically and unabashedly #theres a lot i want to say about that? probably not all of it on tumblr. i feel like im already sharing way too much #but my point is that despite nothing life altering or world shattering or something that could be 'big trauma' this was something i survived #and i want to feel a little proud of that #and i think to be proud of that i have to put that into words and really really look at it as if this was someone else #to feel validated in my own survival i have to ?? view it as if its someone else. bc i think im the one exception to deserving to heal ig #but it helps to put things in perspective #im rly holding back a lot of feelings rn i think and i need an outlettttt #gonna journal tomorrow night i think #sleepover on monday. a lot of feelings about that :') first day back at college on wednesday. seeing the big group of friends on friday #things are happening and im trying to hold my life in my hands again and say its enough to keep living for #mine #thats all ! its 4am nini #sorry my tags are so. like this lmaooooo i forget other people might actually SEE what i post #im not a writer by any means but ppl on my uquiz have said my writing is very nice :') so thats been encouraging me to ramble more i think #okay GOODNIGHTGOODNIGHT

[mxttellion]

So before I reply to some asks I got, I feel like it’s time to share a bit of lore regarding the magical au (and clearly see what my inspirations for this au are lmao)

Read below for more lore, wow!

A gem is the physical manifestation of a magical person’s soul, taking form of a gemstone that can vary in form and color. Said gemstone allows the user to “unlock” their powers by changing into a sort of alter ego, which is shaped on the very user’s soul. Even the powers are connected to what the person is and their desires. However, in this world there are two kinds of gems: Natural and Man-made/Artificial. Natural Gems (the ones owned by the main crew) are the “original” version of said gemstones. These are given directly by a Deity, usually in a dream, to a Chosen One, who has the duty to create as much gems as required and give them only to those They trust the most. The Choosing is a cycle, and it happens every few years (depends on what happens in the last cycle. Some cycles last only 1 year, some can last for decades). Natural gems are directly connected to the user’s soul, therefore it comes with a few downsides: If the gem breaks, the user immediately drops dead. if the gem gets damaged, the user may experience problems with their magical form and physical abilities. Gems can also get corrupted, which causes the user to become a monster. They also follow the feelings one may experience, with them glowing based on the current mood of the user. Once acquired a gem, the user can now unlock their magical form. Despite their fragility, it often takes a lot for someone to break a gem. Yeah, nothing happens if it falls off from a desk or a pocket.  Because of how fragile and dangerous owning a gem is, especially for those who got one from a Chosen One (Chosen Ones have the Deity’s blessing to not risk their life most of the times), people eventually started multiple studies and campaigns to produce artificial gems, which arent connected to one’s being, but still manage to give the user the same experience without risking to die for their silly little gem being shattered to pieces. One family in particular, the so called Hardcastles, found out first a way to create these, thus the Artifical Gems began to spread across the crowd. These gems can be fully personalized to one’s wishes, and most importantly, the user doesn’t risk their life from their gem. Don’t be fooled by their nature! Artificial gems can hold as much power as a natural gem, their powers are perfectly on match and sometimes, one artifical magical person can be stronger than a chosen one.  Oh, it’s worth mentioning how the Hardcastles also almost have the monopoly on the Artificial gems industry, with just a few other companies following behind. And new models are being released every year, and in more recent times, these are becoming much more preferred than their natural counterparts, which only helped the fall in popularity and importance of natural magical people and chosen ones. But who knows what the future holds for the company, especially with the problems that might arrive with the only Heir of said company....  GOD THIS IS LONG BUT That’s all I have for now for this specific point of the au, i probably will come up with more stuff later, imma be honest with you - i usually get more ideas right after i post something. and yes, even with asks 

#long post #eddsworld #ew magical au #txt pxst #let's play a game of who is an Hardcastle #it's easy #who else could it be

[echigo-empress]

Why I hate the English MC (Pt. 2)

Disclaimer: I’m still not used to using Tumblr, so please forgive me if I’m not using this platform, or its features, the way everyone else does. I’m just hoping to express my often locked-away thoughts and feelings with like-minded people, and had the courage to do so, after seeing validating posts from a few precious people. If you don’t like what you see, please exit. Thank you.

To start: I hate Ikemen Sengoku’s main character (MC).

If you “adore” her the way many Reddit fans do, please stop reading and go away. 走开 。你说什么东西，我都不会听。

I do not know if she is equally unpleasant in other routes (since she was already unpleasant enough in Hideyoshi’s), so I’ll be basing my words off Uesugi Kenshin’s route. I was hesitant to share my honest description of her, which is: She is too American to be likeable for my taste.

But then I realized there is some validity in the American tag. Let me break down some reasons why I hate her:

She is rude.

She is obnoxious.

She uses a lot of American English slang that I’m not sure American players are even aware are region-specific to the U.S. e.g. “big ole guy” “because reasons” Who says these things in real life? Do you hear other English speakers using such terms? Huge other rant I am not talking about today, but related: Anime translators and subbers who use too many American English or Americanized words, piss me off. Newsflash: English is not only spoken in the U.S., it is widely spoken and taught across the world. Just because someone selects ‘English’ as a language, does not automatically mean they are culturally American, or that they even speak American English. British English came first. There are so many people who are billingual, trillingual, and more (e.g. Germany, Belgium, Italy, South Korea etc.), choosing to converse in ‘English’ has many reasons that may not always be tied to someone’s identity or even citizenship. This is probably a fault of Cybird’s team, but how they even thought this was okay, acceptable, is beyond me. It proves to me just how small-minded, presumptuous, and maybe even racis-... they are.

She has a bad attitude. Oh, I could wax lyrical about this. Despite the player’s obvious choice in Kenshin, her attitude towards him remains cynical, cold, mistrusting, and frankly, nonsensical. It makes their romance feel unnatural, and jarrs the reader from fully immersing themselves in the game world. The player’s in-game word choices are bad (imo), but the follow up lines in the route are often straight up confusing, as if the translators only rewrote the MC’s lines, and altered Kenshin’s answers to fit her dissociative identity disorder tendencies (read: split-personality disorder)

It got to the point (Chapter 5) that I was starting to look for a way to switch the language to Chinese, or Japanese, within the game settings, and didn’t find any. Anything but to read one more word of her prejudiced and judgemental drivel. I had a feeling that the English version was terribly bastardized, and salvation and sanity returned when I found this affirmative post.

Even though this American girl MC was someone (I felt) was the opposite of me. And it’s hard for me to consume media with an unlikeable/unrelatable protagonist. I struggled through. I tolerated her, even though this was supposed to be a game about me x Uesugi Kenshin, because I fell in love with him. And made this blog.

And overnight (or rather, over Chapter 8), my heart shattered into a million pieces. Because, here’s the last, but possibly most important point:

She discriminates against people with depression. I would share the screenshot, but I was so heartbroken that I didn’t take one of that scene. Where she not only expresses 0 compassion for Isehime’s depression and suicide... but goes on to say something like ‘I will never be like Isehime. I will always fight to live, and I will behave differently; I’m nothing like her.’ 

Let’s unpack everything that’s wrong with that in the next post.

Chapter list of Probably quit Ikemen Sengoku because I hate the English MC/Uesugi Kenshin’s route series:

Part 1: Why I chose Uesugi Kenshin’s route

Part 2: Why I hate the English MC/Uesugi Kenshin’s route  (we here now)

Part 3: Depression, Trauma, History, and encouragement for other fans who might feel the same way

Part 4: Probably Quitting Ikemen Sengoku / Should I finish it?

Part 5: The Chinese version of Ikemen Sengoku / 美男战国 | 美男戰國

#ikemen sengoku #ikemen sengoku kenshin #uesugi kenshin #kenshin uesugi #i hate the mc #otome game

[akirosama777]

If nothing brings me joy and I always feel quite hollow, does that mean I've died inside already because I refused to follow...

Every person in the world who seems to skate, to flutter by... while the music fills my hollow ears and bleeds from glassy eyes?

Am I worth the amount of energy that I never seem to have, while the mother I once called a friend goes out to poison herself and die?

And I stand here in the bleakness of a hollow, brittle world, while I pick up all of the pieces that she left when she unfurled...

I am broken and I'm bleeding... I have nothing left to give, but the love I'd once begun to give, and barely alive to live.

I was beautiful once... I had a dream... had a goal or two in mind... but I'm sitting here in the broken wake that her destruction left behind.

But it began way before my time, began with a little girl... my mom... and her grandpa, such a piece shit, let's called the bastard, "Tom,"

Took from her, her innocence, shattered her life apart, sent her down a road of agony, and her father killed her heart.

When he sent her far away at the behest of a beastly cunt, sent her to a boarding school, a common parental stunt.

And her life began at 11 when she'd had it all ripped away, sent her down that road of agony in blood and tears was paved.

Then at 16 she met a Jewish man, who with her had his way, then abandoned her with two children on one fateful Christmas day...

But she picked up the pieces, worked 3 jobs, she became addicted to a couple of drugs... met my father in a satanic band, acting like a thug.

So when she fell in love with him, got him to change his ways, both of them kicked the drugs they'd started and set out on another day...

She soon became again pregnant with my father's first born son, and he tried to kill the baby, with a doctor... not a gun...

Told her if she loved him badly, loved him half as much as she'd said, that she'd abort that fetus and remove its tiny head.

But she didnt... and he stayed... later giving birth to me... but that's not the last of her children... I was only number three.

Then as I grew he would abuse me, threaten, beat and apparently molest... then she had my little brother but he'd never face these tests...

As I began to mature and grow, I could see the patterns form, and my mind became a labyrinth as the alters would soon be born.

And at 6 I tried to end it... but my little brother was there... just one of the many treasures that kept me from joining the City of Air.

And he saved me... I don't know why, but he removed the chord I would choose... saved me from my madness as the alters began to fuse.

All the while my mother from her past she'd grown quite numb... and my father kept her helpless, kept her silent... kept her dumb.

My older brother fell to drugs and disappeared one day... right around the time, eleven I think, where I realized I'm gay...

And my sister fell to young love, to a man who started fires... and my mother fell to drinking when the divorce set forth in ire...

Sent my sister too to heroin and my mother to her dark, while my brother depended greatly on my ability to endure the harsh...

So I shouldered all that hatred... shouldered all the pain inside... let the alters guide me forward through the labyrinth in my mind.

I pushed forward for my brother until my little sister was born... as my mother found another man who left her completely forlorn.

And another life depended on the strength I'd come to own... after all the pain of a father, who's approval was never shown.

I was broken, I was bleeding, I was yearning for a hand... never found it... never searched, for on my own I had to stand.

Now my brother... little brother, grown and turned into a guy, who too had shouldered pain and suffering likely due to mine.

And my sister, little sister, worst of all had witnessed decay... and was tortured by a mother who'd been through so much hate and pain...

But im here now... for my sisters... for my brothers best I can... all five of me are standing and I've grown into a man...

But I'm broken... fuck... im broken... and my mother now she's gone... left my darling little sister on a strangers dying lawn.

And I'm picking up the pieces... trying so hard to hold me up... trying so hard to remember but the memories are scuffed.

Yeah this story's probably cliche... im sure you've all heard it once before... heard about a broken persona raped and bloodied on the floor...

Yeah, you've probably already heard it... probably seen it on a show... nothing shocks you people anymore, when it's something you already know.

I'm so certain that it's pointless to write these words and cry... while my mothers out there drugging and likely about to die.

And my sister... my poor little sister... all those years I tried to protect... will soon be here to visit this pathetic, broken mess...

And I'm trying to keep it together... to tell the alters to quiet down... in my brief and silent lucidity in a new and peaceful town...

And despite my anger... sadness... despite the insidious voice of pain... I understand why mother did it... though I know it doesn't explain...

But her life was so much harder... she'd had so much love to give... but the entire world around her let her run into their shivs.

So she tried her best at surviving, passed those lessons on to us... taught us how to keep on fighting but never how to trust.

Now I'm married... and I love him... but I'm broken, hurting, mad... at the life they gave my mother and that treatment from my dad.

I'm so full of rage and agony... so full of hope and full of pain... that's why I can't get to healing... why I cry whenever it rains.

And she's missing... my mothers missing... a person who never could refrain... She went out to numb the agony, the voices in her brain.

And... I empathize. I sympathize... I understand those thoughts... im still fighting... im still trying... Im still battling... distraught...

For my sisters and my brothers I have never touched a drug... for my sisters and my brothers I have never said no to a hug.

For my sisters and my brothers I am fighting yet, so hard... to keep my head above the water and stay away from all the shards...

I won't cut myself again... I won't try suicide to commit. I won't do again what I'd tried to do at least five times... maybe six.

For my father I'll keep fighting... I'll keep being a better man... prove him wrong and keep on going... on his grave I'll one day stand.

For my family that was broken... I'll keep searching for our mom... I'll keep hoping she'll find solace deep within her sorrowful song.

Mom if you're out there somewhere breathing, just know I understand and care... Im still your standing pillar, still your darling baby bear...

For my little sister Anna and for Justin im still here... I'll do my best to outlive them and watch them live out all their years...

I will never let this agony... from my health or lack there of... push me down to join the army of the defeated by the drugs.

I will never let this anger, let this rage or let this pain, push me to the point again where I grow more alters in my brain.

I'll keep fighting for my dogs... keep on fighting for my man. Keep on fighting for my sisters... and for my brother's I will stand.

[feralnumberfive]

The Rewatch Academy: Episode 4 of Season 1

“Man on the Moon”

I am in no way a good analyst so my little analysis and speculations probably sound a bit goofy or pretty wild and probably mean nothing at all. Everything I put into this post about each episode is purely what I noticed or thought, whether it’s funny or serious. I will be making jokes, so please just leave it at that (in no way am I trying to make fun of an actor and or character!) I am also in no way saying I noticed this stuff first. This is just what I noticed while rewatching these episodes

☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂

1x01 | 1x02 | 1x03 |

☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂

☂ So at that point Luther had already been alone for about five years (due to his siblings leaving when they were 18 or even 17 according to Diego), and by alone I mean he did’t have his siblings with him. I’m not counting Reginald, Grace, or Pogo because I’d imagine they weren’t the best company. There was a two year gap between Luther getting the serum and then being sent to the moon. He had already been “alone” for five years before he was sent away to be completely alone for four years. He hasn’t had really any social/outside interaction besides going on missions for almost ten years, which means Luther is an awkward dude and he hasn’t been a true leader because he hasn’t had anyone to lead. I don’t think people really realize this and I think that’s where some of the hate towards him comes from 

☂ We see that Luther looks into Allison’s and Klaus’s bedrooms as he makes his way down the hall, and I’m willing to bet he did that for all of his siblings. Makes me wonder how many times the siblings went to Five’s room to visit it or to even check with hope that he had come back  

☂ I wish I could ride my bike around my house and chug a gallon of milk :[

☂ I can’t believe that Reginald still made him wear that leather battle suit 💀

☂ Why are there posters of animal anatomy in the infirmary?

☂ Apparently it takes between two to four months to grow a full beard, so that’s  about how long Luther had been lying there

☂ *suffers through the Allison and Luther scene*

☂ “HoPe I wAsN’t BeInG tOo LoUd”

☂ Vanya and Leonard were really sweet in the beginning. Screw you Leonard

☂ It’s really sad that not one his siblings notice that Klaus is gone. Not. One. 

☂ Are you telling me that Klaus and Five are certified freaks? At least I’m sure that’s who Cha Cha is referring to, or maybe it’s Luther

☂ I tried looking up tortures in Trinidad to see if Cha Cha was referring to any specific event, but I think it’s just a random thing in the show

☂ It’s only when Diego mutters “The boy” that it reminds him either of Five’s superhero name “The Boy” or his new appearance as a teen again so it finally clicks in his head that that’s who the mystery kid is

☂ Diego admitting that he doesn’t really know how to process his feelings!

☂ He’s very protective of his family and that’s something that I love about Diego. He doesn’t know who Hazel and Cha Cha are but all he knows is that they are searching for Five for some reason and that his siblings almost got killed last night

☂ Five doesn't realize the suffering that he’s putting his family through at this point since he’s only focused on finding who’s responsible for the end of the world. It’s ironic that he’s doing all of this to keep them alive and safe and yet him not being with them almost got them killed. Five buddy, you should have included all of your siblings from the start no matter how much they annoy you

☂ Also where has Five been this entire time? He left the van at night and now it’s the next morning. He’s been following the guy but why did it take him so long to corner him?

☂ Ope, and there’s a continuation error! When Luther takes his arm out of Five’s dresser, he takes part of the wood panel with him. When it cuts back to Diego talking there’s just a fist size hole

☂ “We barely got out with our lives.” Okay but where were you, Pogo?

☂ It’s funny how quickly they revert to child-like shame when Pogo scolds them. At least they still respect him I guess

☂ Is Hazel eating potato chips with ketchup? 

☂ I think one reason why nobody notices that Klaus is gone is because none of them saw him that night during the attack. They possibly assumed he already had left the Academy??

☂ Looooove the “Shingaling” scene. They are straight up vibing

☂ I don’t know why Luther was frustrated with the van door being locked. It’s not like he could rip the door off or anything.......

☂ I have a two questions here:

Why did Diego know where to find Five based off of the book? Sure he saw that it came from the library, but that doesn’t mean that he’ll be there

Wouldn’t Luther and Diego have seen the smoke coming from the Meritech building? Unless they left immediately and weren’t able to see the smoke even though they probably were still in the vicinity when it began to burn

☂ Five is holding the man’s arm to make sure that he doesn’t get away (hard to tell in the pic below though). He needs that sense of security that this lead isn’t going to escape his grasp, but I’m sure that if he were to run he wouldn’t get far when you can just teleport after him

☂ I got a nice pic of Five (also the dude on the bike that was riding behind Five as he runs up in this shot just does not care that this building is on fire) 

☂ When it shows Five on the ground, it at first starts off with light and slightly comedic music before it quickly switches over to something dramatic. I always thought it was funny that they play the light stuff as we see Five just laying there 💀

☂ You can see just how quickly Five’s face changes from shock to disbelief and disappointment as his only lead is literally blown away from him look, you can pinpoint the exact moment his heart breaks. Also Five definitely would have had hearing issues since we can see that the windows on the building behind him were shattered. He’s staring into your soul....

☂ There’s nothing really significant about this at all, but Whippets are racing dogs and in the comics Five goes to watch a dog race at one point

☂ “I hate sprinkles.” Hey, me too!

☂ I love that Griddy’s is still open despite the damage that was done to it

☂ Diego left home at 17 (which is illegal so I wonder if he was emancipated or maybe Diego ran away and Reginald didn’t care to look for him) so I wonder if the others left when they were 17 too or if they waited until they were 18 

☂ Luther I don’t really think you’re one to talk about being “grown up” my guy. In fairness none of the Umbrellas know how to be fully functioning adults, not even Five who’s about twice the age of his siblings and is almost a senior citizen

☂ “I stayed because the world needed me.” Hey that was basically Five’s reason too, but more so for getting to see his family again. Anyways, like brother, like, uh, brother! 

☂ "And things are never gonna go back to the way they used to be.” You sir just predicted the next week(s) (and technically years in the 60s) of your life and the lives of your siblings! This also applies for what happens after those weeks/years, but we haven’t gotten there yet but it’s certainly not the way things used to be!  

☂ How was Luther upset enough that he wanted Diego to stop talking after he said something genuine and a bit sad?

☂ This whole relationship talk isn’t exactly relatable......

☂ He’s just chillin’

☂ Reginald can ✨perish✨ Oh wait, he already did 

☂ Here I am taking any little scrap and running with it, but when Five says he’s going through puberty twice does that mean that he didn’t get his aging altered by The Commission? In the comics, Temps Aeternalis/Commission stopped Five’s aging but here it sounds like that didn’t happen. Since we haven’t heard anything about Five’s DNA in the tv show we don’t really know much about his aging alteration either. I think that they really do have to leave that part out due to Aidan himself, who is a growing teen, and for the fact that they would need to come up with an excuse for Five’s aging (Aidan already looks different in S2 and he’s taller too). I wish they would bring this stuff up in the show!

☂ Five deflects answering the question of what he’s the best at most likely just because he’s just distracted but also possibly because he doesn’t want his brothers to know at this point

☂ First the feral chimp smile and now this

☂ Five actually sounded serious when he was talking about how many people he has killed and how he’s the ”Four frickin’ Horsemen” which is more so an exaggeration but it still shows us that he views himself as dangerous and powerful. He revealed this to them while he was drunk, even though they don’t really understand, but I wonder if Five ever actually planned on telling his siblings what he did and how much blood he has on his hands. I feel like he would have told them after he had saved the world from the apocalypse, but yet again I could also see him brushing off questions in relation to what he just said to Luther and Diego to hide his past from his family

☂ ✨”Little Psycho”✨

☂ As eerie as all of those ghosts are, it’s a really neat scene

☂ It’s not really meant to be funny, but Klaus denying the duct tape just reminds me of a little kid refusing to go into timeout 

☂ I guess Cha Cha got out through the door next to the bathroom when Klaus was banging his head on the table?

☂ It’s a shame that Patch died right away, I really liked her

☂ Klaus, where you’re going really isn’t any better 

☂ It’s sweet that Diego puts Delores down gently and doesn’t just toss her somewhere. Even though she’s a mannequin, Diego knows that she means something to Five

☂ Well Luther I think it’s pretty self-explanatory what he meant. You just need more context 

☂ Diego: *signaling that someone, possibly a threat, is approaching and to be alert*

Luther: 🕴👁`👄’👁

☂ Even if they did think that Klaus had left the Academy before Hazel and Cha Cha attacked it, it’s sad that it took them this long to think about him

☂ Luther patting Delores is so cute

☂ Say it with me kids, “Patch deserved so much better!”

☂ My heart breaks to see Diego so heartbroken and upset, especially when he says “I gotta go, okay? I can’t be here when they come, okay?” Ugh, that gets me

☂☂☂☂☂☂☂

Feel free to comment or reblog with things you have noticed too!

#tra #the rewatch academy #tua #the umbrella academy #umbrella academy #luther hargreeves #diego hargreeves #allison hargreeves #klaus hargreeves #number five #five hargreeves #ben hargreeves #vanya hargreeves #hazel and cha cha #eudora patch #reginald hargreeves #man on the moon

[the-gay-prometheus]

Frankenstein AU Segment: “Always You”

I promised some gay shit today so have some gay shit.

Warning: it is extremely gay, I think.

This lil segment is Henry and Victor being silly and dumb and not realizing until just now that they are desperately in love with each other, and I think that is very gay of them.

Anyways actual little mini warning for this one: Victor refers to his assigned gender at birth and also mentions his deadname at one point in this segment. I know for some trans folks, reading things where a trans person makes a reference to their AGAB and/or their deadname it can be triggering, hence why I’m making this warning just to be on the safe side. The entirety of this segment is genuinely wholesome though, so no other warnings needed to my knowledge.

On a completely different and random note, “In A Week” by Hozier is officially Victor and Henry’s love song, and no I will not be accepting constructive criticism on that.

As always, likes, reblogs, and comments of any kind are greatly appreciated!

~~~

The peaceful song of crickets chirping was interrupted only by the occasional trilling call of a boreal owl which seemed to echo across the cliffs and peaks. Above the gnarled branches and wispy needles of the pines the moonless sky was illuminated by uninterrupted glimmering starlight. Victor and Henry lay atop a massive boulder they had climbed in the midst of the woods, savoring the moment alone together as they stared up through the canopy above into the shimmering heavens, each with their hands folded over their chests. Though Henry was entirely still, Victor tapped his fingers against the back of his other hand as he picked through the millions of thoughts racing through his head. “You shouldn’t stay,” he mentioned suddenly. Henry glanced over at him. After a long pause, Victor continued. “I mean you shouldn’t stay here. You’ve… you’ve got your whole life ahead of you.”

“So do you,” Henry answered, turning onto his side and resting his elbow on the stone and his head on his palm. Victor turned to look at him.

“No, not really. I made my choice, Henry. I made a mistake, and this is my burden to bear - not yours. You shouldn’t be throwing your life away for my sake.”

��Victor - you know I’ve always got your back,” Henry replied, giving him a comforting smile. “I really don’t mind it.”

“I know that but… it’s not fair to you.” Victor rested his head back and stared up to the  sky, and Henry laid back to do the same. “You should be finishing your studies at Ingolstadt, or traveling the world, or finding some beautiful woman to settle down with.” Henry tensed as he spoke, but didn’t answer. “I’m thankful that you’re here with me, and it really has been wonderful and I can never repay you for how much you’ve helped but… it kills me to think I might be causing you to miss out on all the things you wanted in life.” There was a long moment of silence between them, and Victor began to grow restless, tapping his fingers against the back of his hand again. “Do you… not agree?” Henry tensed more, then let out a sharp exhale.

“Can I tell you a secret?” Victor blinked, then turned on to his side and sat up slightly.

“Of course!” he exclaimed. “It’s… not like I really have anyone to divulge it to other than… well… you know who. And he certainly doesn’t have anyone to divulge it to.” Henry gave him a half smile, then turned his hazel eyes back to the sky.

“Victor I… I have-” He hesitated. “I’m… I mean I- I’m-” He pinched at the bridge of his nose, then dropped his arms to his sides. “I have no interest in women.” Victor glanced over at him, then lay back down and returned his own gaze to the stars.

“Oh.” Henry cringed, expecting some kind of other reply, but relaxed slightly as Victor spoke again. “Well… that’s fine. You still shouldn’t stay. I know you always wanted to finish your studies and travel the world at least. I don’t want to hold you back.” Henry swallowed hard and clenched his eyes shut.

“That’s not what I mean Victor.”

“Then what did you mean?” he asked, glancing back over at him.

“I… I have no interest in women because I-” Henry hesitated again. “My only interest lies in… other men. It… it always has.” Victor looked upward once again.

“Ah.” His eyes widened. “Oh!” Henry cringed at this response. He wasn’t sure why he was so afraid but… part of him was terrified. Victor suddenly sat up, a look of revelation on his face. “That’s a possibility?” Henry’s eyes snapped open and he looked up at him.

“You say that like you didn’t know.”

“Well- how was I supposed to know? It’s not like I’ve ever... seen it before.” Henry gave him an odd look.

“...What about Percy and Alex?”

“Who?”

“Back in Ingolstadt? Your classmates? You can’t tell me you didn’t know. It was obvious! Not… that they were necessarily public about it, and for good reason, but the way they looked at each other and talked to each other, there was no way they were anything less than lovers.” Victor frowned and glanced over at him.

“You assume I paid any attention to my classmates.” Henry blinked.

“...Oh. Yes that… that’s certainly a good point.” He shook his head. “Regardless! Why… why wouldn’t it be possible? If a man can love a woman, why can’t he love another man?” Victor thought for a moment.

“Well this… this changes everything,” he muttered, eyes still wide. Henry glanced away, suddenly worried again.

“...How so?”

“Well - it means I’m… I’m not broken!” Victor exclaimed, suddenly grinning. Henry snapped his gaze over to him.

“What?” Victor turned, sitting fully upright with his legs crossed and his fingers tapping excitedly on his thighs.

“Henry. After all I’ve done, after everything I’ve made of myself, after all the changes, there was one thing that always continued to irk me. I have changed my name, altered my body, filled myself with the correct chemicals, and yet despite all of that, one thing never changed. Even though I had finally become the person I knew I needed to be, I still was attracted to men!” Henry’s own eyes grew wide. “I had simply chalked it up to being some sort of strange flaw, that maybe I hadn’t perfected myself enough, that I hadn’t entirely rid myself of my… my…” He hesitated, as though he didn’t want to say it. “My womanhood - but no! Perhaps it has nothing to do with my sex!” Henry couldn’t help but chuckle at that statement.

“You really thought your attraction was tied to your sex?” Victor shrugged, then nodded, prompting another quiet laugh from Henry. “Victor, have I ever mentioned you are by far the most intelligent imbecile I know?” Victor smirked.

“Not in those words exactly, but something akin to that, yes.” 

“Victor Frankenstein, ladies and gentleman, brilliant scientist capable of creating life from death, entirely incapable of understanding human attraction,” Henry announced sarcastically, throwing his arms wide as he spoke with a big grin. Victor snickered and batted his hand away.

“Oh hush, Henry, the poet who couldn’t figure out the difference between a daisy and a dandelion,” he mused in return. Henry sat up.

“Hey! I know the difference! I just… got the names confused!” he exclaimed. Victor laughed, and flopped back onto his back, Henry laying back down beside him.

“Sure you did,” Victor retorted with sarcasm, glancing over at him. The two regained their composure as their giggles faded back to quiet smiles, though Victor’s smile quickly faded. He let out a sigh. “Well… regardless, Henry. You really should go. Go study, go explore, go find a kind man to settle down with. Live the life I’ll never get to have.” Henry’s own smile faded as his mind suddenly raced, trying to think of how to respond. “I’ll be ok here on my own. I promise.”

“But… Victor I-” Henry’s heart began to pound in his chest. Don’t say it, don’t say it, don’t say it, he repeated in his mind as his pulse quickened. Despite the repetition, though, he glanced back over to Victor. His breath caught in his throat. “I’ve already done those things.” Victor looked over at him, confused, his own heart seeming to skip a beat.

“...What do you mean?”

“Well… I’ve travelled - maybe not around the world, but I traveled to Ingolstadt. I may not have finished my studies but I certainly came close enough. And…” He turned his face away. “I’ve… I’ve already found a kind man to settle down with.” Victor felt his heart shatter in his chest upon hearing those words, and he turned away.

“...I see,” he muttered dejectedly. “Then you should go to him. Go to him and live your life with joy.” Henry looked back over at him, feeling terror clawing at his chest as he mulled over whether he should or shouldn’t reveal himself.

“You… you don’t understand Victor.” Victor turned back toward him, his own eyes already starting to fill with tears of worry. “It’s… it’s you. It’s always been you.” Victor blinked away his tears, his eyes widening as he suddenly felt as though his heart stopped. He was frozen - stunned - and his face turned bright red as he blushed. Henry, seeing this reaction, grew tense and turned away. “I’m sorry- I’m so sorry I- I didn’t mean to make things strange between us. I shouldn’t have said anyth-” He was cut off as suddenly he felt Victor’s fingers upon his cheek, gently coaxing him to return his gaze to him.

“Henry I… I misspoke,” Victor whispered softly. Henry clenched his eyes shut, fearing the worst. “When I said I was attracted to men, what I should have said was… I am attracted to a man.” He hesitated as Henry slowly opened his eyes. “It was always you, Henry. Always.” For a moment the two stared deep into each other's eyes, their fears falling away as they finally began to realize the intensity of the connection between them, until Victor suddenly pulled back and gave Henry an odd look. “Wait. No- no. You’re lying. You have to be lying.” Henry’s eyes widened with shock.

“I- Victor I just bared my soul to you. Do you genuinely think I would lie about something like that?”

“Well… no. But it makes no sense. If you always knew you were interested solely in men, then how could you have always been interested in me? Good god Henry, when we first met I wasn’t even Victor, I was Emily Frankenstein, the strange girl who refused to wear a dress and practiced needlepoint while sitting out in the mud!” Henry’s shock dissolved into a short huff of laughter at the memory of seeing that younger, drastically different version of his boyhood crush, with long, frizzy dark brown hair (a far cry to his now short and messily cut hair) sitting in the mud by the lake wearing boys’ clothing while intently working on an embroidery that read ‘Alchemy is Relevant’ with the symbol for the philosopher’s stone above it - young Victor’s way of spiting his father.

“You know how you thought you were flawed because somehow despite everything you still felt attraction toward men?” Henry asked. He paused, then smiled. “Attraction to me, I guess.” Victor frowned slightly.

“Yes?”

“Well… that’s how I felt when I first met you. It was so bizarre to me. Up until that point, I had never understood the other boys my age, all pining over young girls while I was admiring which of them was the most handsome. And then I met you, and even though I was so sure of myself and who I was, you turned it all on its head. For the first time I wasn’t just admiring, I was fully, deeply enthralled by someone. I simply chalked it up to the fact that, perhaps this just meant I finally found the right girl, like my father always said I would, and that maybe everything I thought I knew was wrong. And yet… I continued to find myself admiring only other boys my age, and no other girls. I was so deeply conflicted - until that day years later when you returned after having run away and confided in me that you had come to realize you were never meant to be a girl at all,” he explained. Victor’s expression softened.

“So… what you’re saying is… you… you knew all along? Before I was even aware of my own identity?” Henry thought for a moment, then smiled.

“Come to think of it, I suppose maybe I did! I’ve… never really thought of it like that before.” Victor stared at him for a moment, then lay back again, smiling brightly. Henry smiled back at him, and lay beside him again - though moving a bit closer this time.

“Then I suppose we were never broken after all,” Victor remarked. “All this time, we knew each other far better than we ever realized. I’ve never much believed in soul mates, but… considering this evidence, I’m almost considering rethinking my stance on that,” he concluded half jokingly. 

“You jest, but… you have to admit it might have some merit,” Henry pointed out as he stared calmly up at the sky. “How truly remarkable that the stars should align for us to meet, that the strings of fate should tie us together so neatly and that we should lead each other, even if unknowingly, into the light that is living our truths. We may have no evidence for the existence of some higher power, but there is proof that the world works in mysterious and wonderful ways that even science cannot define. Our very existence is such a specific rarity, a mere blip on the scale of time, and somehow here we are, together, here, now.” Victor turned on his side, lifting himself up slightly as he stared in awe and admiration as Henry spoke. “We are miracles, Victor, common miracles yet miracles all the same. There is so much we have to learn and to discover about the world and about ourselves, and how brilliant it is that we should have the chance to do so together, and to lift each other up to be the very best versions of ourselves that we can be. We-” He suddenly was cut off as Victor was suddenly leaning over him, propping himself on one hand that rested on Henry’s other side, his light brown eyes staring down into his hazel ones with a gaze of pure wonder. He shuddered, his heart suddenly fluttering in his chest as he looked up at him, and he gasped softly as Victor placed his unoccupied hand onto his cheek and brushed a long strand of ginger hair away from his eyes.

“Is it too early?” Victor inquired in a quiet whisper. Henry pressed his face into Victor’s hand.

“Too early for what?” Victor hesitated.

“Is it too early to say I... I-” Henry grinned, breathing deeply and slowly shaking his head as he lifted a hand and placed it on Victor’s cheek.

“I love you too,” he murmured. They stayed frozen for a moment, silence returning between them as the creatures of the night continued to sing their songs and the trees creaked softly in the breeze. As they searched each other’s eyes for some unspoken answer to some unheard question, it was Victor who suddenly leaned down, his pulse racing as his lips locked with Henry’s. At first Henry’s eyes widened, but his eyelids fluttered closed as he lifted his hand higher and gently gripped Victor’s short, messy brown hair between his fingers, softly pulling him in closer. Though it only lasted a moment, it felt like a blissful eternity before they slowly broke away, both of them shaking with the joy and excitement of it all. As Victor lay back on his side, he wrapped his arm around Henry tightly, and Henry moved closer, wrapping his own arm around him. They lay contentedly in each other's embrace, silently staring at one another as though there was nothing else in the world they’d rather see than each other’s eyes. That was, until, a sudden cry from just outside the forest jolted them both upright. Victor let out a soft sigh, and slowly started to rise to his feet.

“I’ll be back,” he muttered disappointedly. Henry gave a sympathetic smile as he stood as well.

“No, I’ll come with you.” Victor hesitated a moment before descending the boulder and landing on the ground with a soft thud, Henry following close behind.

“You don’t have to. I’m sure it’ll only be a moment,” he mentioned. Henry took his hand and squeezed it tightly.

“And I don’t want to lose a single moment to spend with you,” he murmured, leaning forward and tenderly kissing Victor’s cheek. Victor blushed and smiled sheepishly.

“If you insist-” He was cut off by the sound of a sudden loud sob. “Come on. It sounds like one hell of a nightmare,” he mentioned as he began to lead the way back to their cabin home.

“Sometimes I think you make a surprisingly good father, despite everything between the two of you,” Henry mentioned as they exited the trees. Victor gave a contented sigh as they came upon the dwelling and he reached for the door.

“You really think so?” he asked quietly as they walked in and continued toward where they could hear his creation now quietly crying inside. “Well… at least I won’t have to do it alone now.” He paused just outside the door to the creature’s room, looking back at Henry. “You will stay, won’t you?” Henry chuckled softly, gripping Victor’s hand tighter.

“Oh, Victor,” he murmured, leaning forward and resting his forehead against his. “From the day I first got here, I never wanted to leave.”

#frankenstein au #trans victor au #victor frankenstein #henry clerval #clervenstein #head empty clervenstein thoughts only #High-key considering creating a redbubble and making an 'Alchemy is Relevant' t-shirt design akdbjhbdvjdhbjhvbjdfvhbf #also those of you who read 'We've Got Work To Do' will recognize that I have changed Victor's deadname- #this is because I decided that Victor would have wanted to make his name as different from his deadname as possible- #so Victoria would not have worked. I thought a while about names and ended up with 'Emily' because... #A. Emily Frankenstein flows pretty well. #B. Emily - Elizabeth - Ernest. Y'all already know Caroline would. #Not that it really matters of course. But I've been trying to think it through so I can more accurately build an AU version of his childhoo #clervalstein

[brazenautomaton]

Fixing Afterlives: the Shadowlands

This is my “fixing stories” for WoW’s latest expansion, Shadowlands. Due to overwhelming popular demand, by which I mean @shieldfoss and @bhikshu I’ll go into why this is dumb and how they could have done something instead of choosing to do nothing.

I will work under similar constraints to my Heart of the Swarm rework. I magically became Creative Director of WoW just for Shadowlands, so I cannot alter any of the plot of BFA or Legion or anything that came before. The concept art is done and asset creation is proceeding and I can’t change the overall structure or aesthetics of anything, just how the story is implemented. 

Minute one, what you need to do to make this expansion work is sit down and figure out what it’s About. Now, a MMO expansion doesn’t really need a driving central theme, though it can help, and it’s allowed to be “a bunch of stuff that happened” because it needs random-ass side plot bullshit going on. But the tagline is “Brave the Beyond”, this is the AFTERLIFE, this is where we go when we die and the world of the soul -- we need to be dealing with things bigger than us, bigger than the concept of us. Fundamental and About something because they are mythic incarnations of what kind of life you can live and what kind of world exists. 

We’ll still have an About in the traditional sense though. It doesn’t have to unify everything, but it’s good to have a bit of a through-line to define the main conflict. And also, there’s a certain point where characters need to stop saying “The Jailer… speaks true…” and fucking tell us what he says and WoW passed it long ago. Our About is a central question about the Jailer, and the broader notion of Hell represented by the Maw: “Is it possible for someone to do something so horrific that they deserve infinite punishment?”

And it’s funny, you know, you see JJ Abrams talk about the “mystery box”, and when he explains it, it makes perfect sense: a mystery that is central to the story but is never answered because it represents infinite possibility until it is revealed. And told in that way, that makes sense, that can be very good! Except Abrams never does that, he always ends up having to reveal the contents of the mystery box which by his own logic can never end in anything but disappointment. So I can’t say we will have a mystery box, but we will have a central mystery that we know will never be answered: what did the Jailer do to deserve the Maw? All we know is it is incomprehensibly horrible. Like our mortal minds would literally be unable to process it, even trying to understand it would harm us. So this isn’t “nah he’s bad trust us” we need characters who DO know to really, really sell it. Emotional reactions of anger and revulsion and helplessness, and absolutely nobody whether opposed or allied with the Jailer can deny his evil or say it wasn’t that bad. When you ask Devos about it, Devos shudders in fear and disgust, but says it doesn’t matter. If the question was “how bad was the Jailer’s crime” then we’d need to know what it is; if the question is “is it possible to have ANY crime bad enough to warrant his punishment” then we don’t.

Minute two, you need to know how the Shadowlands works. Because they made it just another continent and that doesn’t make any sense at all. What kind of candy-ass warrior afterlife gives you one life and then your soul is destroyed? How does it make sense for characters to call you “mortal” when they die just as hard and in fact you are superior because you haven’t used your extra life yet? Fuck how are necromancers a thing in Maldraxxus, if your soul is obliterated when you die in the Shadowlands WHAT ARE THEY CALLING BACK?

So none of that bullshit. You don’t die in the Shadowlands, at least not without a lot of work. Souls are anima, and the tide of dead souls flowing into the realms of the Shadowlands is a flow of anima, because everything is anima. Anima is the force of significance and permanence.  Anima is what makes up shadow and substance, things and ideas. Anima is the weight of being About something, anything. You don’t die in the Shadowlands by having your body stabbed to death. You will continue to exist, slightly weaker. You die in the Shadowlands when there is nothing left to the concept of “you”. When you are utterly forgotten and what you are is “nothing”. This is how we get those Unraveling Soul Fragments in Torghast: they are souls tortured so much there is no longer a self there, just a concept of misery. That’s extremely, extremely evil. Is it possible to commit a crime so heinous it deserves infinite punishment? If not, is there a crime so awful that it would be unimaginable to inflict it even on its perpetrator?

We also have three major antagonists we need to know.

One of them is Sire Denathrius, who is just fucking perfect the way he is, we love you Denny.

One of them is Sylvanas Windrunner. Sylvanas needs to stay in character: an absolutely remorseless piece of shit with no sense of right and wrong but who does productive things because they benefit her and who is extremely cunning to know how to work an angle to her ends. She’s too smart to get lied to by the Jailer and she’s too smart to go Full Evil but not only is anything less than that completely fair game, she doesn’t get why you have a problem with it. She has allied with the Jailer because there is one thing she absolutely wants to do and only she can do and she can only do with the Jailer: she wants to break him out because in doing so the hold of the Maw is shattered and now anyone can escape. The Maw stops being a prison once the Jailer escapes. And she wants that because she knows she’s got a one-way express ticket to the Maw when she finally runs out of extra lives. She knows she is a selfish, terrible, murderous, monstrous person. Does that warrant infinite punishment? In her heart she is convinced it does, so she’d prefer to make the question irrelevant before she has to find out. She is sympathetic to the pain she is inflicting on others, because it is like the pain she has felt. But she won’t stop. She knew she endured it, so you can take one for the team.

The Jailer is super super super super evil. If we remake him to be obviously in pain and lashing out in fear, he won’t WORK. He needs to be ominous and menacing and say “your soul is mine” and that kind of shit. We will be able to generate sympathy for Sylvanas, we shouldn’t try to do it to the Jailer. He is the victim of the ultimate injustice, but also perpetrator of the ultimate atrocity. He’s not sorry at all. The fact that he has raised a philosophical question about the nature of punishment is just a nice side effect of him saying things to people to get what he wants, which is to break out and inflict tyranny and suffering. Sylvanas is not tricked by him into thinking he only wants freedom, she has a plan that has his true motives in mind. What dimension do we give him so he won’t be flat while still being completely one-dimensionally evil? He resents you. He doesn’t lash out and scream his emotions and say it’s not fair that you have what he was denied freedom. But he resents you. A little ribbon of resentment threaded through his speech to you. He’s subtly insulted by the fact you exist. He doesn’t merely relish your suffering, he relishes your failure, your realization of weakness. He doesn’t pull an Azmodan and say “okay well NOW this trap is inescapable despite you escaping the last twenty!”, he knows you’re probably going to break free of things and escape. But he doesn’t care that this trap didn’t catch you, catching you would just be a bonus. He cares that he hurt you and made you feel inferior and the inevitable doom encroaches just a bit more on you. That is the source of his sinister satisfaction and confidence. He doesn’t announce an ambush and say “now you will never escape and your soul is mine,” he announces it by saying how weak and stupid you are to fall for it.

His victory is inevitable because Death is inevitable. He doesn’t care what temporary victories you earn; he doesn’t bother trying to convince you they are only a setback. He’s going to have you eventually and you’re going to suffer on the way. What a fucking dick.

#fixing stories #my fiction #World of Warcraft #wow

[pencilofawesomeness]

Fics I Absolutely Adore and Would Recommend to Anyone

I’ve been meaning to do this for a long, long time, because I love reading fanworks and they deserve a lot of love and I love sharing things that I love. 

Obviously this isn’t everything, and if it’s not on this list that doesn’t mean I don’t love it, it just means I forgot at this moment. I will be adding to the list and I remember things or come across it again. (Trying to sort through my bookmarks and subscriptions is like trying to catch a fish bare-handed.) I’m also gonna shy away from the one-shots, even though I adore fun one-shots, just for the sake of organization. The list would be super long otherwise, and those are best sorted by fandom. Here... Here are just some brilliant works I want to rant about. 

Disclaimer: I say “recommend” because I would recommend these works, any time any place, but do keep in mind the story’s rating and tags and stuff. Not everything is kid-friendly.

There is absolutely no hierarchy to the list below. They are added as I add.

Fairy Dance of Death

by Catsy ( @fairydanceofdeath​ )

Fandom: Sword Art Online Word Count: 660,282 Status: ongoing

「AU reboot of the entire SAO storyline, beginning from the premise that Kayaba Akihiko was obsessed with magic and Norse Mythology rather than swords and pure melee. As a result, he created the Death Game of Alfheim Online rather than the floating castle of Aincrad—a world in which player-killing is not a crime, and the nine player races are in competition with each other to reach the top of the World Tree. Multi-POV epic following the stories of multiple canon characters throughout the game.」

If Catsy wrote the SAO light novels and anime, SAO would be among the legendary series. Fairy Dance of Death has this amazingly simple premise of making Alfheim Online, the video game from the original series’ less-than-stellar second part, the game that the main cast becomes trapped in. However, it’s so much more. They took the characters and made them characters, and everyone gets ample spotlight—even background characters that normally wouldn’t receive a second thought. It’s masterful work, and to boot, there is a lovely frame of in-game mystery and player conflict. The organization is phenomenal and I aspire to world-build the way they did. Not to mention that stakes are so much higher and this series has ripped my heart to shreds more than once. 

It has also brought me great joy, and even when I was in the dumps and didn’t want to read anything, a FDOD update made me pick up my phone and read when I otherwise wouldn’t have. It has a really special place in my heart. It updates once in a blue moon, but that’s okay. 

Even if you have never seen a single piece of Sword Art Online, Fairy Dance of Death is still a great read. In fact, it’s the Better Version of SAO, if we’re all being honest, so I would especially recommend it if you hadn’t seen the original. Or if you have. The characters are given so much love and detail, to the point where Fairy Dance of Death’s characterizations are More Canon to me than Kawahara Reki’s work. It is just a beautiful piece of fiction, and it makes you question the depravity of man on levels that SAO shied away from. 

Poisoned Dreams

by StrangeDiamond

Fandom: Genshin Impact Word Count: 82,852 Status: Complete, with a complete sequel and more to come

「 Every night now, Diluc dreams of death. Usually Kaeya's. In between these nightmares his life is falling apart. It doesn't take Kaeya long to realize that this is something much more insidious than simple bad dreams. His brother's life and sanity are on the line and there is nothing Kaeya won't do to save him. Bonus chapter added.」

In a growing fandom from a new game, StrangeDiamond swooped in and characterized these bad boys so well I think it’s canon. It really breathes life into the video game lore, and it’s an A+ depiction of awkward sibling re-bonding post-Terrible-Happenings. Poisoned Dreams can be read alone with a basic understanding of Genshin storybuilding, but StrangeDiamond has an entire group of fics and oneshots set in the same headcanon, and they integrate them really well and subtly together. Not to mention that the narrative style is really clever with making you question what is real and what is dream (a big point in this story) and the inner voices of the point-of-view characters are very compelling. 

One Word to Change the World

by AgentMalkere 

Fandom: Fairy Tail Collective Word Count: 43,988 (30 parts) Status: probably never coming back

「 In just one universe, Ultear called out to her mother instead of turning away and the fate of Fairy Tail and the world was irrevocably altered. These are glimpses of a world where a single word made all the difference.

In other words, welcome to the Butterfly Effect - Fairy Tail style. 」

It’s a really cute canon-divergent, and while the series makes no attempt to re-write Fairy Tail, it addresses the major events and just snippets in between. It does a good job at giving the vast cast ample spotlight, but it’s also an easy read. It’s special to me because it was the series that made me really pay attention to Bickslow in particular, and I respect that.

Vigilantis Pretium Libertatis

by aradian_nights 

Fandom: Attack on Titan Word Count: 399,226 Status: Complete

「 Five years ago, an accident freed Eren Jaeger, Mikasa Ackerman, and Armin Arlelt from an experiment that forced the most extraordinary powers onto them. After five years of separation, of being raised apart to be heroes by a set of three very different adults, they meet again. As they uncover the truth behind their captivity they realize being free and being heroes are sadly nothing but an illusion. 」

This wrecked me.

I still remember when I read it. It was the beginning of 2018, and I had the flu and a lot of time on my hands, so I binge-read this. It was simultaneously the best and the worst thing I have ever done, because I resonated with it so deeply there were times I was just staring up at the ceiling wondering what was real. I empathized with the characters to a level I rarely achieve, and I empathize easily. I laughed. I cried. It was amazing.

I refer to this story in conversation to this day. It handled themes published authors have only dreamed of achieving. Heck, if Dani (the author) took out the names of the AoT cast and replaced it with new ones, it could be its own stand alone novel. It is worldbuilding from the ground up, and any fandom knowledge you take in with you is used against you like a knife leveraged against your throat. Yet, no one is out of character. It’s phenomenal. I would say more, but this is something I daren’t spoil for anybody, because you must be as wrecked as I was. Vigilantis Pretium Libertatis is a level of writing I achieve to gain as a writer myself. It is a masterpiece in every sense of the word.

Life in Glass Houses

by blueskyscribe ( @blueskyscribe​ )

Fandom: Transformers (Transformers Prime, Transformers: Shattered Glass) Word Count: 119,900 Status: Ongoing (maybe, I hope)

「 No one would have thought Bumblebee and Knock Out were capable of getting along, but when they're stuck in a strange new world and their only hope of survival is cooperation . . . Yeah, they're probably doomed. 」

I could be biased because Knock Out and Bumblebee are two of my favorite characters, but it really is brilliant. Two enemies, stuck together—but not in an overly cliché way. It’s the right amount of cliché, with heaps moral conflict and inner conflict and sometimes just beating each other with a broom when no one is looking. It’s also a fascinating look into what makes a character the way they are in relation to the morals they possess, and how stalwart those morals can be. I can’t help but think of this story whenever I see or write a “role reverse” or mirror-verse AU. It does an excellent job at making all of the characters engaging and their own character, despite being in a mirror-verse.

Yesterday Upon the Stair

by PitViperOfDoom ( @pitviperofdoom​ )

Fandom: My Hero Academia Word Count: 424,070 Status: Complete

「 Midoriya Izuku has always been written off as weird. As if it's not bad enough to be the quirkless weakling, he has to be the weird quirkless weakling on top of it.

But truthfully, the "weird" part is the only part that's accurate. He's determined not to be a weakling, and in spite of what it says on paper, he's not actually quirkless. Even before meeting All-Might and taking on the power of One For All, Izuku isn't quirkless.

Not that anyone would believe it if he told them. 」

As a person who normally doesn’t read these kind of minor canon divergences, especially at the time of reading, I frickin’ love this fic. In fact, I think YUTS gave me a deep appreciation for canon divergence fics. It’s MHA in all of its glory but it’s so much more, and even the parts that rehash canon give new light to the characters and their points of view. 

I had read Viper’s work before and saw Yesterday Upon the Stair filling my inbox, and then I finally watched My Hero Academia. It was one of the first MHA fics I read and it still has a very special place in my heart. I recommend this series to people who don’t even watch MHA; in fact, there are some who might prefer the darker tones and themes of heroism vs apathy to the main series. Not to mention the writing style is phenomenal, and I aspire to be that good. It made me laugh. It made me cry. Yes, tears streaming down my face crying. It is the best ghost story I have ever read.

the Vantage Point Universe

by Aggie2011 ( @aggie2011whoop​ )

Fandom: The Avengers (MCU) Collective Word Count: 1,032,651 (35 parts) Status: Ongoing (just slowed down)

「 Six months after the Loki incident, Clint isn't adjusting well. When an enemy from his days in the Army comes back to haunt him, he'll be forced to face a part of his past - and to move past Loki, if he has a hope of finding his place with the Avengers. (First of a universe created to center around Clint Barton) 」

// description taken from first installment

Have you enjoyed the MCU, especially the first-era Avengers phase, but like me, were disappointed in the fact that Hawkeye was barely there? The VP universe is for you. 

I honestly have a hard time remembering what was canon and what was VP. And if it’s not canon, it should be. The VP universe gave so much life to Clint and to Natasha and to all of SHIELD and even the rest of the Avengers. It’s just...so good. It’s completely immersive. It focuses a lot on Hawkeye and Black Widow from before the Avengers team-up, as well as after, and it all flows together so beautifully. Not to mention that I can be reading a mission that happened pre-series, so I know that they are going to live with all of their limbs, and I still sit there on the edge of my seat the whole time.

The OCs, minor as they are, that are created for this are also wonderfully done. I can’t believe Dan and Phil don’t exist in canon. Every character, canon or no, is engaging and dynamic, it is a pleasure to follow each point of view. The emotional turmoil is also handled very well, and the VP universe carries the MCU trend of humanizing its heroes and takes it so much further. 

Ghosts of the Future

by Evan Stanley ( @evanstanleyportfolio​ )

Fandom: Sonic the Hedgehog Word Count: comic (18 issues) Status: ongoing

「 About 200 years in the future, Silver the Hedgehog is an average kid living in San Francisco... except for his strange and terrible dreams of a dying Blue Hedgehog, a Black Hedgehog, and mysterious gems called "Chaos Emeralds". What will he do, when these "figments of his imagination" appear before him in his real life? 」

// description taken from first installment

Okay so this is the only one that isn’t an Ao3 story, but rather a comic on DeviantArt. However, it is still one of my favorite stories. Even though it takes the commonalities of Sonic canon and turns them on its head, GotF really treats the characters well. There are enough familiar world elements to create intrigue, but it is set in a completely different take of the future, so there is ample opportunity for world building and being able to engage with a completely new thing. I wish SEGA put as much love in the series (namely the games, because the comics are *chef’s kiss*) and all of its possibilities as creators like Evan Stanley do.

The friendship and family relationships in GotF are so diverse and all so fantastic to witness. It’s a keynote example of the new hero and the old veterans, and both parties are active and trying their best.

Do not be alarmed by the starting art style. Sure, it’s rough around the edges at first, but then it gets better, and then it gets gorgeous, and then you’re left there so stunned that it looks like just life canon art. And then you could be like me, blinking slowly as my small brain finally connected that this Evan Stanley is in fact the Evan Stanley. GotF is an amazing fanwork, but she also draws and writes for the Official Canon comics (the IDW ones now) and that work is also phenomenal and should be supported. 

Whirlwind

by Lynse ( @ladylynse​ )

Fandom: Danny Phantom, American Dragon: Jake Long, Miraculous Ladybug, Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja Word Count: 75,556 Status: Complete

「 Jake should be used to ominous predictions by now. Randy should know better than to blindly follow McFist. Adrien should think twice before sneaking away. And Danny really should've expected something like this when he got that phone call from Jake. (Secret Quartet fic) 」

I have to start by saying that I adore all of Lynse’s fics, and I chose this one simply because it is one of my favorites. But it’s all fantastic, one hundred percent. I also love Mirrored, the sort-of prequel to this fic, but Whirlwind just has the chaotic pure bean energy that each of the shows bring and it foils against each other so perfectly. This is the epitome of the Secret Quartet crossover, truly.

All fandoms and all characters get ample love, and the way the reader gets to see just how badly the characters’ assumptions are going is positively wonderful. It’s so easy to fall into the “I know what’s happening and so do the characters” trap, but Lynse leaps over it gracefully and lands in greatness. The fic had me smiling like a maniac one minute, and feeling sorry for my babies the next. Wonderful. Simply fantastic!

[billiejs]

Julie and Luke been best friends since childhood and now older and puberty hit there afraid to admit feelings for each other unroll they get paired for a project together.

I hope you’re not lactose intolerant because this is the cheesiest thing I’ve ever written (based on an experiment I did in high school).

Julie/Luke, alive!AU, best friends to more than best friends, extreme fluff, 1,1k

More than (bio)chemistry

Julie met Luke when she was six and he was seven, at the after school ROCK BAND! program her mom had enlisted her in. She remembers that meeting well because he almost drove her away from the program before it could even begin: she was shy and the idea of sharing a room with a dozen other kids didn’t do much to put her at ease. The moment she’d walked into the room she had to run for cover behind the bass drum of the drum set, because a boy no taller than 3’5″  in a Jedi t-shirt was swinging an electric guitar around laughing like a maniac, shouting about wanting to be called Jimi Helix or something like that. 

Ten years later, Julie knows that although Luke might have outgrown the Star Wars outfit, he’s still as excitable and unruly as that first day in ROCK BAND! when he’d ended up tripping over the amp cable and knocking out his two front teeth in the process. 

And despite having been his best friend for ten years, Luke still terrifies her sometimes. Especially when he smiles at her after she helps him figure out a chord progression for a song they’re writing. Especially when they’re entranced by each other while harmonizing a duet and Julie knows, from the bottom of her heart, that nothing in the world matters to her more than Luke at that moment. He makes her feel vulnerable, he makes her feel powerful, he makes her want him. And that’s the scariest part of it all, because Luke isn’t just her best friend, he’s also her bandmate and songwriting partner. Luke is the embodiment of all the things she likes the most about her life, and Julie has no qualms keeping her feelings hidden if it means protecting what they already have. Julie doesn’t blame herself, though. There’s only so many love songs you can write and perform with a cute guy before you inevitably start falling for him. 

On a much less romantic note, Luke is also going to make her fail Biochemistry. 

“Stop it Luke, are you out of your mind?” Julie hisses, taking the boy’s hand in hers to stop him from messing with the Bunsen burner on their lab table. 

“Relax, Jules,” a lazy grin spreads over his face and Luke runs his thumb along the veins in Julie’s right wrist. “I’ve done this already.” 

Julie jerks her hand away when she realizes she’s been holding her breath for several seconds. 

“You mean you’ve failed this already,” she points out. Luke shrugs noncommittally and rests his cheek on the cold lab table, watching her upside down. 

“Who cares about school anyway?” He makes a show of yawning right when the teacher is looking at them and God, Julie is going to murder him. 

“Come on, this experiment is kind of cool,” she murmurs, because they’ve had this argument a million times already and she hates the sad face Luke makes when they disagree. 

Luke glances at the two test tubes in front of them, where white filaments of their DNA are clogging up in what looks like white little blobs.

“Exciting,” he replies, his tone heavy with sarcasm. “There’s only one reason I’m in this class anyway.” 

Julie glances around the room, a weight in her stomach. She’s always wondered if the obvious crush that Martha, second row and pretty blue eyes, has on Luke is requited. She’s not sure she wants to find out.

“What is it?” She mutters anyway. Luke blinks at her and his cheeks get inexplicably pink for a second.

“It’s because you’re in it.” He says. Julie’s breath hitches in her throat. It’s not like they’re lacking quality time outside of school, because they spend almost every afternoon with Alex and Reggie in her garage. She feels the same goosebumps that have traveled over her skin a minute earlier, when Luke had traced the lines on her wrist with his thumb. She lets herself picture it for a moment - her and Luke, together. Luke knowing that when she sings “I never knew a love so real, we're heaven on earth” she’s not just stepping into the shoes of her songwriting alter-ego. She means every single word.

Julie racks her mind in search of an answer, but before she can find the right words, Mr. Adams slaps a little box in front of them, shattering the moment. 

“Patterson, try not to ruin Molina’s GPA this year, will you?” The short, balding teacher adjusts his glasses on his nose to send a nasty look Luke’s way. Unbothered, Luke waits until he has his back to them, then makes a face at him. Julie stifles a snicker. 

“Let’s see what shape it is, this time.” Luke opens the box and his expression softens. He empties the contents in his hand and shows it to Julie: it’s two little plastic hearts, transparent in color and empty on the inside. They’re supposed to put their DNA fragments inside once they’ve finished with the experiment - they even had to pay five dollars for those plastic charms. 

“Cute,” Julie laughs, her breath short for some reason. Following the teacher’s instructions, she takes the permanent marker Luke hands her and signs her initials on one of the two tiny hearts. 

Luke is toying with his, a strange pondering expression on his face. 

Julie waits for him to snap out of it until she can’t take it anymore. 

“What?” She says. The experiment is almost finished. Both of their DNAs are tiny white blobs swirling slowly inside the test tubes, almost perfectly aligned. 

“I was thinking…” Luke clears his voice, and doesn’t look her in the eyes, “I was thinking, it would be cute to exchange them, wouldn’t it?” 

Julie blinks, not sure she’s following. 

“What?” 

“I mean, the charms. The DNAs. We exchange them.” 

“So… you put my DNA inside yours and I put yours inside mine?”

“Yeah,” Luke finally looks at her and his face is bright red, but his trademark cheeky smile is back. “So you always have a piece of me inside your heart.” 

Julie stares, mouth hanging open, until Luke’s face begins to fall. 

“Sorry, it’s a stupid idea, I don’t even know why I said that…” 

He begins to shuffle away from Julie and she acts on instinct: she grabs Luke’s hand and exchanges the little plastic hearts, then proceeds to use the pipette to gently suck her DNA from the test tube and into the charm marked with the letters LP. She seals it and gives it back to Luke, who looks at her as if he’s never really seen her before. 

“Just for the record,” Julie says, speaking before she starts doubting herself, “I don’t need a piece of your DNA inside a plastic charm to hold you in my heart, Luke. You’ve pretty much lived there rent-free for the last ten years.” 

____________________________________________ Thank you for reading! Click here (x) for more cheesy silliness. ❤️👻❤️

#Jatp #Julie and the phantoms #jatp minific #juke #jukebox #my fics #juke fanfic

[gaytransflint]

@a-man-for-hire-and-his-archives​​ prompted: set in post season 2. Flint lends his largest shirt to Silver while he's recovering inside the cabin. Hurt/Comfort conversation about Silver's pain and discomfort. [tw for internalized ableism ahead]

When Silver wakes he’s quiet, barely conscious. He blinks and feels around the blankets and the bench, as if finding his balance. He groans inquisitively, but asks for nothing. For no one. Flint doesn’t rise from his chair, turning only to see Silver drift back off, hands gripping the hem of his stained shirt. Splotches of blood line his sleeves and waist. Flint makes note and stands from his desk.

The third time Silver wakes, it’s with a harsh start. He shouts and nearly throws his weight over the edge of his bed. Luckily, Flint had moved to rest in the chair by his bedside, resting in the setting sunshine, and catches him before he hits the floor.

“Steady, Silver.” Flint eases him back down. Silver has the look of a child-- an infant, almost: shocked and horrified and looking in every direction for relief. Everything is at the worst state he’s ever experienced and it’s unchanging. Flint can’t imagine the pain. He's unsure if he can.

“How are you feeling?” Flint asks, once Silver is sitting back again. "You were out for a while there."

“I didn’t want this.” Silver says immediately, shaking his head. There isn't just agony to his voice, there's terror. He's afraid it's still real. “I didn’t want this. I told them.”

"Silver, does it hurt-- where does it hurt?” Flint inches forward on his chair, resting his hands on the edge of the window bench.

"I told them I didn't want this." Silver surges upward again, grappling for Flint-- if only to thrust him out of the way. "I told them I didn't."

"Silver, you're okay."

"I told them no." There is a new ache in his voice. The sentence is worn out, but perhaps it's first time being heard. "I told them not to. I said no."

"I know. I know you did." Flint sits back in the chair. "I was informed of the entire ordeal. It must’ve been very horrific for you, I’m sure.”

"Don’t fucking placate me.” Silver snaps, shoving his blankets back.

He exposes his leg and his wound. He gags, but Flint supposes that’s the closest thing to a sob he’ll ever see. Silver places a hand over his chest, steadying his breath. His fingers dig into the collar-- then immediately splay out. Silver looks down at the shirt, holding his arms out. He begins to shudder.

“What happened to my shirt.”

“That one was completely soiled. I couldn’t let you wake in that.” Flint says, folding his hands in his lap. He hopes it establishes his willingness to see Silver through the terror racking his face, crumpling every hardened feature into a startling softness. He’s close to tears, and Flint can tell there is nothing Silver would rather do less than let a single tear break through and fall down his cheek.

“You changed my clothes.” Silver says. “You didn’t ask me. I would’ve said no. You didn’t ask me--”

The anger breaks through and flares out at Flint. He doesn’t move away from Silver, or even begin apologizing. He remains still and watches Silver’s face contort with the rashness of fury and, eventually, grief. It takes Flint a moment to realize it is not just the loss of a leg that Silver mourns, but a certain loss of self-- of being and being heard.

Flint unlaces his fingers and braces both on his knees. “I didn’t consider-- I’m sorry.”

Silver is still feeling the shirt, mindless and numb. Trying to form it against his skin, trying to make it into a second skin. A shelter for himself, or at least what’s unexposed and able to be hidden again.

Flint’s shirt isn’t exactly stark white. It used to be, he knew that much. It had seen its fair share of fights and fear. Flint hopes he isn’t passing any of it on to Silver, but rather a blanket of wisdom Flint himself doesn’t have but wants to offer to his friend in dear need.

Silence isn’t an option.

“How do you feel?”

Silver doesn’t stop feeling the sleeves, fingers finding the small nicked holes along the shoulder. “Awful.”

Flint pauses, but can’t for long. “Okay.”

“Everything hurts.”

“Everything?” Flint sits up, more at attention. He tries to see where it couldn’t possibly be hurting-- where else.

“I think I’ve been set on fire.” Silver mutters, his words sticking in his throat. He clears his throat, although it might’ve been another gag. “I’m burning up-- burning alive, I know it. I know I am.”

Flint hears the truth webbed in his words: once he’s burned, he’ll only be ash. he won’t come back. Flint knows the burn, one currently smoldering embers in the pit of his stomach, waiting for a winded moment of solitude to flare up and engulf him.

“I know it hurts.”

“You know. What the fuck do you know! They’ve carved me up.”

“They saved your life.”

“And I asked them not to!” Silver shouts, finally cracking. His voice quivers and his hands white-knuckle grab at his sleeves. His arms are crossed, holding everything together. “They made me into something. They should’ve left me as I was. Let that man die.”

“They didn’t make you into anything, Silver. They wanted to save the man you are.”

“Are you saying that because it’s true or because that’s what you keep telling yourself?” Silver finally looks Flint in the eye. It’s chilling, despite the fires attempting to eat them both alive, separate and unaware of the other.

“I know the man I see in front of me. He has not changed. And I won’t let him.” Flint makes the promise instinctively, uncaring to how it might sound. He knows of the fire, he knows of the burns it leaves, and is familiar with all the iterations of scars. The ones that fade and only twinge in ghostly aches. The ones that are always open and gushing. The ones that are mortal that can’t be shown beyond the safety of isolation, nursed in, and by, loneliness.

"Another task taken upon yourself without asking.”

Flint clenches his teeth and sighs. “This might be my initiative, but this requires a hell of a lot more from you. You have the say in whether or not this changes you. That fire can burn you, but it’s also only ever fueled by the same source: you. You have to decide if you want to feed that fire for the rest of your days or if you want to extinguish it. Those flames can’t fucking claim you if you tell them no.”

“Sounds a whole lot like making this my fault.” Silver snips.

“Reality has no fault. It just is,”

Flint thinks of Miranda. The reality of her death was instantaneous, though the consequences and effects slow-growing. There is no arguing, no analyzing if he could’ve possibly known of the deadly intervention taken toward her words. Flint could only watch the fire, make sure it didn’t get out of control. Or stoke it and let it consume the very last bit of reserve he’d kept.

Hope is the best gasoline.

"And this reality is one I decided against.” Silver says, his breathing labored again. “What am I now, Flint.”

His name is a sudden sharp edge to his words, nearly slicing Flint apart. It’s now not just about a man and his altered world, It’s about the small world they’d been avoiding, resting between them and hidden in the dark corners of the cabin. Silver assumes it’s been shattered, it’s broken and he’s become a singular, forgotten creature again. That all the fight ahead of him is to be done on his own.

Flint breaks and rests with his elbows on his knees. He reaches for Silver’s arm, gently pulling-- inviting him to open them again.

“What. What do you want from me.” Silver says, shoving his arms down by his sides. Flint grabs Silver’s wrist loosely, settling his own forearm into Silver’s lax hand. “What are you doing.”

“There is a ship full of men that know exactly what--who-- you are, even if you don’t.” Flint says. “I know, and would be more than willing to offer a reminder when it is required. And I am also open to corrections.”

Silver’s hand tightens around Flint’s arm. His fingers spread the fabric of his sleeve taut. He nods slowly-- almost following the rocking of the waves-- before looking out the window beside him.

“Everything hurts, Flint.” He says, words tucked against the window pane. Yet another secret for the room. “Tell me it won’t, at least not forever.”

“The hurt will stop.” Flint says. “It will stop and you will heal. Completely and wholly.”

Silver keeps his eyes on the ocean and nods again. “I’m going to be stupid enough to believe you. Don’t let me down.”

"You have my word.” Flint moves his chair closer to the bench and sits in the same beam of sun as Silver. He softens his grip and moves his thumb back and forth over the pulse point of Silver’s wrist. “And I take it you’ve given me yours.”

Silver nods again, finally heard but without a sound, and leans back on his pillows. The sun is lower on the horizon but just as glaring. It’s a kind heat, a docile fire. It encompasses them both, faces warm and pleasant. The flames are still for a moment. Everything is alive.

[ao3]

#silverflint #john silver #james flint #captain flint #silverflint fics #my fics #writing this one really took me on a ride i hope you like it!!!

[afairytalestray]

The Dawn of the Age of Skimblegus

One of the most underrated ships in all of Cats.

Part 9 of my Cats pre-canon headcanon series (masterpost here), coming at you after delay caused by me taking forever to write this rather long instalment basically from scratch! But anyway it’s here now, and we’re back on character backstories, this time: Skimbleshanks, Asparagus, and a wee bit of Tumblebrutus being a mischievous sunshine smol. This one is maybe the longest one I’ve done yet; this was entirely unintentional and unplanned - it literally came to me as I was writing it. There is far too little Skimblegus content out there so I am creating the content I want to see! Just a content warning to start with: this one gets a bit dark - there’s a character death. Nothing too gruesome, but it is there. However, due to who I am as a person, it does have a happy ending. Without further ado, please enjoy!

Skimbleshanks, despite having god-tier dad skills, never actually has any biological kittens of his own. He’s something of an uncle figure to many of the Cats in the Junkyard (and the future adopted father of Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer - coming in a future post), and is perfectly happy with his lot. In his youth, he was very much a free spirit. He had itchy paws, and when he discovered the trains he became obsessed with travelling up and down the country on them. His time on the trains became a delight to the human rail workers and regular passengers, and he became quite well-known as the Railway Cat - the workers even set him up his own little office (like Tama!). At first, he split his time fairly evenly between the trains and the Junkyard - as much as he loved to travel, there was one thing he loved more: his best friend Asparagus (Jr.).

Skimbleshanks and Asparagus grew up together and were nigh inseparable from each other for most of their kittenhood. Skimble couldn’t tell you when exactly his feelings shifted from platonic to romantic, it was a very gradual thing. Asparagus can - the first time Skimble went away on the trains for more than a day, he realised he missed him more than a normal amount and it quickly clicked into place. It was normal for Skimble to set off in the morning and bounce back in the evening, but this time felt like forever. Never being a shy one, Asparagus resolves to tell Skimble when he returns. Even though he doubts Skimble feels the same way (Y’ALL), he hates keeping secrets from his best pal, and he’s confident their friendship is strong enough to survive it.

But when Skimble came back the next day, he just couldn’t do it. Skimble was high as a kite; he went on for an age about all the things he saw, how amazing the trip was, how amazing all the trips were, how the longer ones were so exciting, how he wants to go here, there, and everywhere etc…. And all Asparagus can think about is that they seem fundamentally incompatible. Asparagus has always been a homebody. He’s quiet, likes the comfort of his own den, always being close to his family, and has never had that adventurous streak that fuels Skimble’s every move. And the thought that even if Skimble did feel the same it wouldn’t work, that is far too painful to entertain. He would want to be close to Skimble, but knows he could never be happy constantly flitting from place to place. He also could never ask Skimble to give it up knowing how happy it makes him. So, Asparagus makes the call to swallow it all down for now, and then let it go. This choice, unfortunately and unintentionally, causes a bit of a gap to grow between them, as Asparagus struggles to act normal around him and needs a bit of space to get over the feelings.

At this point, Skimbleshanks is aware of his own feelings, but for the life of him can’t work out how to express them. He desperately wants to, and is constantly thinking of new ways to do it, but keeps binning them when they’re not totally perfect. It has to be perfect! He also notices that Asparagus has been acting weird around him, but can’t get him to talk about it. It worries him, but he doesn’t want to push the issue, and he has his trains to distract him after all. A week or so later, he sets off on a multi-day trip, resolving that if Asparagus is still off when he gets back, he’s going to trap them both in the old wardrobe so they can hash it out properly, Skimble can confess and then they’ll all live happily ever after. 

There was nothing that could’ve prepared him for what he came back to.

Asparagus was right back to normal, albeit with the small caveat that he had met someone. A queen, a pretty ragdoll queen who was calm, clever and cautious, a little shy and reserved. When Asparagus excitedly introduced them Skimble felt his heart break, but he plastered a smile on his face and let Asparagus tell him all about how they met and how crazy their instant connection was. Asparagus had never meant to meet someone else, but he thought the best way to get over Skimble was to try and make some new friends, so despite his dislike of interacting with the general public and talking to strangers, he trotted on over to one of Bustopher’s clubs where he met Caorann. They both had a lot in common and hit it off right away, both of them bonding over trying to hide in the same corner since neither of them were comfortable in a room full of unknowns. Genuinely, the only other Cat Asparagus had had such a fast and strong connection with was Skimble, and since he had resolved to let his feelings for him go, he thought it would be a good thing to see where this might lead. The two of them fell in love quickly.

Skimble wanted to be furious, he really did, but he couldn’t. Caorann was nervous around him but always very sweet. Although she never knew about Skimbleshanks’ old feelings for Asparagus, she knew he was very important to him, and always strived to make a good impression. He was miserable and wanted to hate her, and at first couldn’t see how the two were a good match. But he could never bring himself to even dislike her, because it became very obvious very quickly that the two were more than a good match. Skimble, bless him, had never really considered the long term ramifications of being in a relationship with Asparagus, and was abruptly slapped in the face by all the same things that had occurred to Asparagus before: that the two were very different, and that their lifestyles just weren’t all that compatible. Caorann was a good match for Asparagus: neither of them were particularly adventurous, their idea of a perfect day involved little more than basking in a quiet patch of sunlight, and they shared the same lack of concern for the bustle and goings on of life outside their little happy bubble and the same desire to be comfortably settled. Fundamentally, at that time, Caorann was the better choice. Despite that, Skimble can’t help but think he might have given it all up for a chance to be with Asparagus.

But that hurt too much to think about, so Skimble went back to his trains, unable and unwilling to break Asparagus out of a happy relationship with someone else, but it never quite brought him the same joy as before. But it was a whole lot better than constantly seeing the Cat he loved in love with someone else, so he spent more and more time away from the Junkyard. The hurt lessened, after a while. It never really went away, but he found he was able to genuinely be happy when Caorann became pregnant, and vowed through joyful tears to be the best uncle in the world for little kitten Tumblebrutus when he was born.

On the day it happened, Skimbleshanks had recently gotten back to the Junkyard when a loud screech and a wail shattered the calm of the evening. Running towards the sound, the source was a sight that still gives him nightmares to the present day: baby Tumble screaming and crying as he lay trapped under the motionless bodies of his parents. It came out later that the three of them had gone on a family walk together, and on their way back as they crossed the road to the Junkyard, a car suddenly skidded round the corner and hurtled towards them as fast as lightning. Without thinking, Caorann and Asparagus threw themselves in front of their son. It worked. Little Tumble was almost completely unharmed, but Caorann was killed instantly, and they thought Asparagus had been too. However, as they were moved off of the road, they noticed Asparagus was breathing. It was extremely weak and laboured, but he was breathing.

Skimble can barely remember the weeks that followed. He only has flashes of burying Caorann, mostly remembering how it was wrong that Asparagus wasn’t there. All he can really remember was that everything hurt and was awful, and that he did whatever he could to help Jennyanydots, who took sole charge of Asparagus’ care (she and Jellylorum were already fully trained healers then, but Asparagus is Jelly’s little brother, and it was very difficult for her). He also tried to help look after Tumblebrutus, who was too young to understand what was going on. It took Asparagus a fortnight to wake up properly, and several more weeks to be able to move about independently again. When he woke up, he was deeply altered. He was in terrible physical pain, but also became emotionally despondent when he learned about Caorann. Skimble stayed by his side the whole time, trying to coax him into talking, maybe even smiling, and very gradually they made progress. Asparagus mourned his partner deeply, and was only able to pull himself out of it when he realised that Tumble needed him. It took a long time, but eventually Asparagus came back to himself.

To most other Cats, at least. Skimble was probably the only one who saw that Asparagus still had moments of deep sadness. To the others it just looked like he had zoned out for a moment, but Skimble knew those were the times when he was thinking about Caorann. These moments got easier for Asparagus to deal with over time, and although at times he missed her, it became pleasant for him to talk about her with Tumble, and he could remember their time with happiness instead of sadness, and eventually even realised that he was ready to try being with someone else.

The problem with that though, was that the accident had greatly damaged his body. He has chronic pain; he can no longer really dance like he used to, and can’t move around very far - leaving the Junkyard is no longer really an option for him. To his surprise, his old feelings for Skimble started to resurface. Although, he shouldn’t really have been surprised. Skimble had hardly left his side at all since the accident happened (the trains are in CHAOS), he’d been there through all the setbacks and progress, his meticulous nature shining through in his diligent care. He was such a constant in his life to the extent that Tumblebrutus was genuinely shocked when he learned that Skimble actually wasn’t related to him in any way (he basically sees Skimble as a second dad). However, Asparagus is more decided than ever that they wouldn’t work as a couple, seeing as how now he couldn’t join Skimble’s journeys even if he did want to. Skimble, though, is the deepest romantic at heart. He never stopped loving Asparagus, but knew he was needed as a friend first and foremost, so that’s what he was. He always says to himself that if they were ever to be more, he would never want to replace Caorann, so it would only be when Asparagus asked. So naturally, nothing ever happens.

Until Tumble puts his paw down. As he gets older, he struggles to understand why his two dads aren’t together. He knows about his mother, of course, but believes with his whole heart (correctly) that she would want them to be happy. He begins to plot ways to get them together, but doesn’t make much progress with the two stubbornly resistant Cats until Mistoffelees helps him. 

When Misto arrives in the Junkyard he’s looked after by Skimble, who introduces him to Tumble. Misto is painfully shy and quiet, but with Asparagus as his dad Tumble is very used to quiet Cats, and Misto becomes a tentative friend. By the time Misto is mated, more confident and moving out from Skimble’s care, he wants to thank him for everything he’s done and how kind he’s been, and asks Tumble for help. Tumble immediately tells all about how grossly in love his dads are, but that they aren’t together for some reason despite his best efforts. The two of them decide that the dawn of the age of Skimblegus is nigh, and come up with a plan.

The next day the two of them separately lure Skimble and Asparagus to a secret location under the guise of “it’s a surprise”, which works despite its simplicity as Skimble is very fond of Misto and Asparagus is Tumble’s loving father. The secret location is revealed to be a nice picnic setup, and the boys each leave their respective parent figure with the cryptic message of “do yourself a favour and tell him.” Skimble and Asparagus decide to play along, but all mystery is very quickly dropped, as the picnic is very clearly romantic and intended to be a date. Things are a bit awkward at first, but the two soon fall into their usual easy rhythm. That is, until Asparagus jokes about this being Tumble’s idea of a date (“I mean, it’s not like it’s bad or anything, but like, yeah…” “Haha, yeah, as far as romantic gestures go it’s pretty good.” “It is kinda romantic, isn’t it?” “It is a bit, but like, that’s not a bad thing of course!” “Of course! I can think of far worse dates to be on!” “And Cats to be with!” “Is this… I mean, are we, you know, on a date right now?” and so on).

And then finally, finally, it all comes out. Skimble finally reveals that he’s been in love with Asparagus his whole life, but never got the chance to tell him before, then didn’t know if he could or should after everything; and Asparagus says that he loved him before and again now, but just doesn’t know that it would work. It all gets very sappy and mushy, but they ultimately decide to give it a go. And it works! The two of them have always gotten along like a house on fire, but now it’s more, and better! Tumble is ecstatic, and of course takes all the credit for himself (with the exception of the 20% he grants Misto). Skimble does go back to the trains, he’s missed them, but now he spends maybe only ⅓ of his time there, and the other ⅔ in the Junkyard with his beloved Asparagus. They’re both extremely happy with the balance, and always spend hours catching each other up when Skimble returns. Although Skimble is very much still an adventure-seeker, now that he’s a bit older and more mature he definitely enjoys a long nap curled up with his partner! They’re a happy, healthy couple who support each other, make each other laugh, and make the worst dad jokes you can possibly imagine.

#cats the musical #skimblegus #skimbleshanks #asparagus #tumblebrutus #long post is long #my headcanons #character death #skimblesparagus #asparagus jr #skimbleshanks x asparagus #asparagus x skimbleshanks #skimbledad

[reluctant-fan-girl]

My thoughts on 139 as an Ereri shipper

Buckle up for a long read and some unpopular opinions haha. Feel free to add on/ correct me but this is only how I feel so take it with a pinch of salt, I'm not asking anyone to change how they feel because we're all feeling some feels right now and your grief is valid. I just really wanna talk about the chapter before I go back to my Yaoi ship. (Forgive my grammar errors and all I wrote this at 5am and I'll probably come back and fix the spelling and stuff later today)

Thoughts on ch 139:

Well... here we are guys. The last chapter, it's been one hell of a ride and even though I have only been a part of the community for three years I'm still sad it ended. (Not to mention it finished 4 days before my birthday but that's just an extra oof) I keep seeing a lot of Mikasa hate and even though I used to despise her this chapter really got me thinking and damn, she's definitely one of the strongest characters (second to Levi at least in terms of resolve but hey I'm biased lol) she killed the person she loved, who pushed her away time and time again, and until the very end wanted to save him yet she was the one who ended it all. I doubt I could do that if my girlfriend was doing something similar... but I guess most people are like that. I admit, when I read the chapter at work I began crying in the break room, not because the ending caught me off guard, it was about what I was expecting, but I'm still sad Eren died. All this stuff was foreshadowed through especially the last few chapters and I kind of hopped into the manga around when Zeke blew Levi up, and even then... I feel like I knew this would be how it turned out some time last year? It was mostly predictable since this story, from it's inception, has done nothing but break the shonen stereotype time and time again and this was just the kind of ending that would shatter the mould and make it worthy of that moniker. Now am I happy that Eremika is canon? Not really, in fact not at all I'm mad. Although tbh it's not that I really expected a same sex, age gap relationship to be canon in mainstream manga, but this is what fan fiction is made for right? Besides as much as this manga has challenged or straight up ignored it's very obvious what the intended ship was going to be from the start. Even still the confession at the end by Eren is honestly OOC from most of everything else he's said/done and feels forced but, 🤷🏻‍♀️ like... the ending would have been better if Eren's feelings stayed vague so we could come to our own conclusion. If I had my way I'd have Eren confessing to Levi and they'd run off to live in secret but again... that isn't how it ended and I'm accepting that even if I don't like it. (Plus I can read/write a fanfic of a 'better' ending to make myself feel better) but I'm glad I stuck around for such a bitter sweet end.

Eren's character:

Now I love Eren as much as anyone else, but I see lots of people crying "character assassination" and I feel this personally isnt true at least not completely. We're all grieving right now and I know he was so cute and lovable at the start (hell in a way he still is) but this has always been his character. He is the one who most desperately yearns for freedom because feels trapped by his fate more than anyone else. The line "I felt like I had to and I let myself get caught up in the flow" is proof he *knows* he isn't free despite his father's reassurance, and his own repetition of the phrase. There's a common phenomenon with mantras or the practice of repeating something over and over in your head, the more you say it, *the less you believe it* and IMHO Eren never really felt free from the start. He knew his fate was sealed and he probably could have, no... *should* have acted differently yet he himself couldn't change what fate had in store. He just kept moving forward for no other reason than he wanted to save Mikasa, Armin, and his people. He (may have?) sacrificed Carla, not to serve as motivation, but so that he could save Armin later on by eating the Colossal titan instead of burning to death. It must have been a heart wrenching choice to make but he cares for his friends more than anyone else. He gave them a fighting chance and his death gave the alliance a good name so the world (or the 20% left of it) would see they aren't the same as him. Of course I'm thinking, "What if he had Dina free Carla or just let her eat Bert I mean Grisha probably would have passed on the Attack titan to Eren even if Carla had lived," but Armin very well could've died in another way or things could've turned out so much worse for everyone else. But even if Eren hates his choice I think something to note here is he doesn't seem to regret it, taking some of Levi's advice with him to the grave (quite literally) Plus you guys have to remember he died at 19 years old, that is *young* and I may only be a few years older but 18-21 is a huge period of change and you wont make the best choices, he's dealing with all that on top of the memories of the other titan holders, and the founding titan which I think really messed with him more than anything. He even says he only wants to live 10 more years ;-; the poor thing deserved a full life too even if his perception of time is warped and he never got a chance to become an adult.

The aftermath:

Well, everyone seems happy for the most part which is great! The one thing that I didn't expect was for the ending to be bitter sweet rather than total annihilation. Historia really does seem... fuck it I don't know and this is the part that bugs me most is she never really got the ending she deserved and felt kinda... forgotten? It's hard to tell but I think she ended up loving her child in the end... maybe... she's smiling while holding her... right? Levi is out beyond the walls and he may be wheelchair bound and half blind but he's still alive! Now this is honestly my saving grace here I mean god imagine him surviving a literal bomb only to die such a lame and pointless death in the last chapter. My boy made it through everything though and he's still got them dad vibes with Gabi and Falco which is kinds sweet... but I still hate Gabi. I still really hate Gabi, but it's nice to see that they're all somewhat okay. (Plus okay... Eren Canonically being reborn as a bird is kinda hilarious yet fitting since he got his freedom... Parasitic Jaeger haha good one Isayama.) Who knows if the war will ever end, heck Isayama himself said this is only the begining and while the fight goes on they have a chance thanks to Eren sacrificing himself the way he did. He could've made so many other choices and I don't know what could've/would've been better. Maybe Isayama knows but time travel and altering the past opens a whole ass can of worms that is just... like the killing your grandpa paradox kinda thing and if I were writing this story I wouldn't wanna try and deal with that either, especially after writing one story for eleven years.

(LEVI LIVED MY BEST BOI LIVED WHOOOO YESS 😭😭😭 ALL I COULD ASK FOR AHHH) *cough* sorry I had some crying fan girl in me that demanded to be seen too

Anyways this was just my thoughts for now, I may eventually write more and hell I'll probably go back to sweet sweet denial myself, posting contradictions because dammit I love my ereri too much and some people have good points or some posts are just funny in general. Have a good day, stay safe, and we are all in this together <3 Thanks for reading all the way if you did! (And here's a good meme to lighten the mood too)

[v-e-n-t-i]

Hiii. I'd love opinions on this story I'm considering posting. It's a highschool au of Hazbin (with an oc or two involved) where everyone is still a demon, but a more humanoid version of a demon. The protagonists are Angel and Alastor, and it's supposed to be a typical highschool drama until Alastor murders someone and Angel helps him cover the crime, all while they juggle stuff that is filled with your typical teenage angst. Here's a chunk from the prologue!

When I was growing up, I always felt like I could just look at someone and understand their entire life story. It was just a certain look to them, the way someone carried themselves, the way they dressed, their hairstyle. From head to toe, everyone had always been an open book to me. Not Angel. I thought I had him figured out, but as time went on, his story became more and more complicated, and I came across the unsettling realization that the very person I thought was the easiest to see through, had a significantly cloudier surface than I first believed. Angel remains the only demon who confuses me, a total mystery, a demon who can make the assumptions about his past disappear and cause new theories to form about him on a whim.

From the very first moments within Angel's intense presence, I felt like he didn't belong at Rosewood Academy, an elite private school that I'd describe as a cesspool. Figuratively, of course. The place itself was gorgeous, and upon appearances alone; Angel fit in perfectly. However, it didn't take long for me to observe just how toxic the student body was, worse than your stereotypical highschool, because this place overflowed with people too rich to care. The kind of rich people who primarily viewed the lower class as scum.

Not Angel, though. He overflowed with positivity on a good day, which I couldn't understand because he was in a unique position. /Everyone/ liked Angel, he was flamboyant, sometimes violent, and honestly overwhelming to be around for more than five minutes, yet somehow the very definition of popular. The poor souls who publicly outed themselves as someone with a distaste for him... well they simply became outcasts.

From the beginning, I felt like I'd want to nothing to do with him, because he was beautiful and bubbly, sure, everyone thought so, but that wasn't my scene. I wanted these years to go by quickly, and that be the end of it. I wouldn't necessarily describe myself as an extrovert, yet that was exactly what Angel was. Before I knew it though, he pulled me into his world, and I became so incredibly hypnotized by him. The feelings were unwelcome, and oh so nauseating. Yet, I didn't want to leave at the same time.

I never would have met such a nightmare of a demon if it weren't for the scholarship I couldn't turn down even if I wanted to. My mother had always been middle class, so there was no way I would have been able to attend such a sickening academy if it wasn't for that scholarship that altered my destiny - and to be fair I considered turning it down, but my mother begged me to attend, said it was a great opportunity for me. It was almost embarrassing to admit that the stupid scholarship was my only way to attend Rosewood though, because to the majority of the student body, the insane yearly fee to attend was nothing. It baffled me that anyone could pay so much for a highschool education, so carelessly too. Angel so happened to be one of those people, and that was all the more reason that I attempted to avoid him altogether when I first laid eyes on him. I thought I had a plan; avoid this intoxicating nightmare for a few years. Easy, or so I thought. It's a big school, no worries.

However, that thought had been slaughtered from the start. There he was, his aura enchanting as ever. Something about his small frame, his smile, the way his fluffy hair framed his face. Everything about him told me multiple things. One; I thought he was the easiest person to read that I had ever seen. I wasn't ever going to be able to prepare for the moment when I discovered he was the most mysterious and confusing demon I had ever, and would ever meet. Unsettling realizations were now a pass time with Angel around. Two; I would never be able to avoid him. /He was going to stay in my life, and that was final/. Three; My life is over from this point forward and this ethereal male was my murderer. He was the hurricane that would change everything, and make sure it stayed wrecked. Everything I loved so dearly would become turned upside down, and yes, Angel was guilty of that too. /Angel wrecked everything. Every single aspect. Yet, the ruins were something I found myself seeking more, because as much as I wanted to hate his stupidly cheerful personality, he became irreplaceable in a split second. I'd even boldly call my time with him addicting/.

I never wanted to become as close to him as I did, but Angel made sure that if anyone would bury me, it was going to be him. Angel insisted on being a new constant in my life, a new permanent, and like I said before, that was just the end of the discussion. There was no room for arguments. Yes, it was over for me from the start, but I still foolishly believed that I could simply avoid him for those first few weeks of the time just before my time with him, the time that would really bury me.

Angel was a mastermind for sure, but I became pretty frustrated over time as I tried to figure out whether or not my kidnapping was an intentional feat of his or not. Was it all some accident? - He seemed to have a lot of those... Yet, accident or not, this cherubic atrocity made me his helpless captive.

The illusion shattered itself eventually, and the inevitability of his story being permanently tangled with mine was all too real eventually. I soon learned Angel's world would be my own, whether I was ready for it or not.

...But if I was being held captive in his story - his world, he at least made sure I had a place in it. Despite my disposition, I don't think I'll ever stop feeling grateful and in debt to him for that.

Angel was the hurricane, but I simply believed he was the calm before the storm.

#hazbin angel dust #hazbin hotel angel dust #hazbin hotel alastor #hazbin hotel #hazbin demon #hazbin fanfic #hazbin fandom #hazbin fan character #hazbin alastor #radiodust #fanfiction #opinions wanted #opinions welcome #ocs #original character #vivziepop

[robbyrobinson]

Fanfic: Enemies Within

A @dokidokiliteraturegirls fanfic (webcomic was created by @youhavethewrong

                                       [CHAPTER ONE]

“Quick, everyone, into the club room!” Monika yelled.

The girls’ rapid footsteps echoed down the halls. The entire school was tainted in a deep shade of red. The walls pulsated and contorted into different geometric shapes. Whatever was chasing after the girls was jetting fast, bouncing off the vibrant walls with ease. The school itself became a barren wasteland devoid of students and teachers. Outside of the building all of the windows had been shattered. 

“It’s gaining on us!” Natsuki remarked.

“I wish Anthy was here,” Yuri sighs, “if she didn’t decide to face off against that beast, she would’ve deleted them a long time ago.” 

Ako darted on the twisting floors, managing to avoid some obstructions. “We’re almost to the literature club!” 

The black and white girl was correct. The entrance to the door of the literature club was within their grasp. The floors may be writhing and shifting, but if they kept their footing, they should make it. Natsuki turned to look at her lover and smiled. “We’re almost there, dear.” 

Yuri’s mouth formed an O as if she were about to comment. Before she could, her left foot hit a bump in the floor and to her lover’s horror and bewilderment, she crashed onto the floor with an ungraceful thud. Yuri moaned in pain. “It’s my knee...I bruised it.” The walls merged into the ground and lifted the purple-haired girl in the air, propelling her backward. 

“YURI!” Natsuki screamed in disbelief. 

Yuri was sprawled on her back recoiling in pain. “Natsuki, you have to escape without me.” 

Tears sweltered in Natsuki’s eyes. “No! Not after everything we’ve been through, you can’t give up now!” 

Yuri started to cry as well. “I’m badly hurt...I’ll just slow you guys down. It’s okay.” 

Natsuki shook her head violently in refusal. “My life was nothing but misery before I met you at the literature club. My father...everyone ostracizing me and seeing me weird for my obsession with manga and...other things...Yuri, you lighten up my world! I don’t want to lose you now! Please stand up!” 

Yuri tried to get up, but the tremors in the ground forced her back down. The creature was now advancing towards them faster than before. “Forget me, Natsuki! If you won’t do it for me, do it for us!” 

Natsuki looked at her other club members then back at Yuri. She did this a few times that felt like an eternity. Her thoughts were being drowned out by the quaking noise and Yuri’s vocal insistence. Natsuki grabbed the sides of her temples in anguish. “Why do I have to choose like this!?” 

With that, she ran towards Yuri. Ako stopped momentarily to see what was happening. “Wait, Natsuki!” 

She wanted to say more. She had to say more. She didn’t want to lose anyone else today. But Monika grabbed her only arm for she had lost her metallic arm in the fighting. “We don’t have much time,” Monika said solemnly, “it pains me, but Natsuki made her decision.” 

“B-but...” Ako stammered. Monika dashed to the door and bent down to bite the handle of the door. Her teeth grasped the handle tightly giving Monika a slight toothache from them grinding on the handle to open it counterclockwise. She couldn’t help but pray to whatever forces out there in the universe to give her this small bit of strength to do this one simple task. With the door opened, Monika tossed Ako into the room and slammed the door. 

Natsuki somehow made it to Yuri and placed herself on top of her girlfriend. Yuri was still hurting slightly, but feeling the warmth of Natsuki’s body did remedy some of it. Tears were streaming down her face. “That was quite an immature thing to do, Natsuki.” 

Natsuki cried as well. Her tears fell on Yuri’s chest soaking it. “Hey, you know me, Yuri, I am a child after all. 

The two shared a deep, passionate kiss with each other breaking it a few moments to breathe. Natsuki’s lips still tasted like cupcakes. Yuri’s were a sweet lavender scent. Their chaser towered over the couple and chuckled. “That would be sweet, but I already sacrificed my ties a long time ago.” 

Natsuki looked up to see the attacker. They remained in a stable motion despite the walls and floors collapsing in on themselves. In fact, Natsuki could’ve sworn that whoever it was, they were levitating in the air. The attacker was radiating a red energy and was gathering into a violent ball of dark power. Natsuki grit her teeth. 

“You’ll never get away with this!” 

“That’s what they all say.” 

Ako paced back and forth when she stopped in her tracks to hear several blasts and sizzling. Ako whimpered to herself knowing what happened but she could not even dare to imagine the immense pain Yuri and Natsuki were put in.She looked over at Monika. Monika was putting on a straight face, or at least a visual of it. She heard everything as well, but she had to be strong in their memory. Now they had to barricade the door to keep the attacker at bay. 

Ako was grabbing whatever wasn’t glued down to the ground and blockading the door with it. Desks, chairs, boxes. Whatever was readily available, Ako made use of. “That won’t hold them for long, Monika, so hurry!” 

Monika had her laptop in hand and activated it. “I’m hurrying, I’m hurrying!” 

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Red energy illuminated through the cracks of the door. Ako responded by throwing in her body weight to slow down the attacker’s thrashing. She shoved her hands firmly on the door and pressed her feet on the ground. “Grrr....can’t hold on much longer!!” 

“It’s finishing loading, Ako, just hold on a little longer,” Monika said reassuringly.

Ako’s sweat moistened her hands, making them slippery. Her arms were chafing and on the verge of failure. “I have to do this for all the girls.” 

The banging on the door became louder and more forceful. The desks and chairs were giving way. The red energy shined brightly, overtaking the room. Monika became unnerved by it, but she pressed on. “Just one more and...there! Ako, I got into the command panel!” 

Her tone of triumph fell flat from the lack of a response. “Ako?” Monika said “Ako?” 

She turned to look at the door and nearly panicked. Ako was gone; evaporated. The door was now hanging on its single hinge alongside the charred chairs and desks. But worse of all, she was now alone in the club room with Ako’s killer. 

“I-it’s you,” Monika remarked. She shielded her laptop despite being petrified. 

“After I have destroyed all of the other alternate realities, you of all people should’ve known that I would come for this reality next.” 

Monika narrowed her eyes in disgust. “There is one universe that I know you haven’t destroyed.” 

The attacker laughed. “Dimension C-2293? The one where you live a happy little life as if none of your sins ever happened?” 

Monika bowed her head in shame. “That dimension’s Monika has a copy of the laptop I use. I already sent it to her. You’ll never win because of teamwork.”

She looked at the clock on the wall, but reading it was difficult due to the walls twisting and turning and fading away. “99% of the game is deleted.” 

The attacker smiled. “Everything you have ever done dies with you. I don’t care if you sent a version of yourself the message because you no longer exist.” 

In a flash, the attacker was gone leaving Monika with the world crumbling around her. She collapsed on the ground writhing in agony. Looking down at her hands, she could see that the flesh on them was being eroded away. Before long, she would be completely deleted. More open wounds erupted throughout her body and unravels from the data being eradicated. With her gaze faltering, Monika felt her only solace would be that she’d be with her dimension’s Sayori. 

“I just hope she gets the message ASAP.” 

                                [CHAPTER TWO]

Monika and Sayori sat in their shared home one day watching television. For whatever reason, Monika had a worried look on her face. Sayori noticed her few passing glances and was slowly becoming alarmed as well. "Dear, what's wrong? You're acting weird."

Monika blinked suddenly and then a few times. "Oh, sorry; I just received some…interesting e-mail."

Sayori's eyes widened. "Really? From whom?"

Monika shrugged her shoulders. "The coordinates were all over the chart." She stretched out her arms to further emphasize her point. "I feel it has something to do with the game's code again. Maybe I'll ask Anthy on it later."

Sayori snapped her fingers suddenly. "Oh, shoot; I almost forgot. I think our Ako has a crush!"

Monika tensed up for a bit. Even if it's been about two years, Monika still felt slightly incensed to the notion that Ako would try to go after her Sayori again. Even though they had both buried the hatchet back during the beach episode arc. Sayori took notice if this and tapped her on the shoulder. "No, not me this time."

Monika's limbs loosened in relief. "Sorry. I still need to work on that. Anyway, who is it?"

"Anthy." Sayori replied.

A moment of silence filled the room. It was so quiet, that a pin could drop any minute and not invoke much of a reaction from the two girls. Monika opened her mouth a few times still unsure on what to say. Anthy? That girl who literally tried to kill all of them and was the one who bit her arm off? Really? Monika picked up her glass to take a few sips from it, but it noticeably wobbled in her hand.

"Anthy? Why?" Monika asked.

"It all started when Anthy started to appear more to check on how the game was running. As you know, Anthy kind of made some alterations to the game by making herself a home here. Well, she started hanging out with Ako at the library where she'd watch her draw two flowers and a cat. Anthy started bringing her different objects to draw. One thing led to another…and then they both kissed."

Monika spit her drink out, startling Sayori. "Monika, what the hell?"

"Sorry, sorry. It's just…coming off as a surprise to hear all that."

Sayori nodded her head. "That explained why they kind of…freaked out when they were close to each other at the club room a day before."

Monika was still unsure of what to think. Sure, she is content with the fact that Ako found herself someone to potentially love. But Anthy…to be frank, was a little creepy. What with her permanent smile and shark teeth, could you really blame her? Anthy couldn't much help that because she mentioned constantly that it was her default expression. Even when she wasn't doing anything…deadly, she was still intimidating. But at the same time, she shouldn't dissuade Ako from pursuing her heart, even if it ends in heartbreak.

"I take it that she texted you about it?"

Sayori nodded her head again. "Yeah; she did. She said that she wasn't sure about what to do."

"Are you suggesting we arrange for the two to confess to each other?" Monika asked.

"Of course; she's going to come by later to confide in me. You could maybe confront Anthy and give her advice."

Monika raised her finger to say something additionally. Sayori laughed at this. "She won't bite; I promise."

A large distance across from where they lived, a girl with short blonde hair and blue eyes was walking. She attended the same school as the four girls and walked home from school every day at a certain time. It was not long since school had let out for the day. She walked down a small path soaking in her surroundings. She was thinking of what to have for dinner at home when a surge of power generated through the air. She looked up in alarm.

Above her, a rip formed in the sky and gave way to a large, gaping hole. The girl stood glued to the ground with shock and awe. Fragments of the sky fell onto the ground revealing heavy static behind it. "What in the?" she asked herself.

From that rip came a rosy-colored flame ball. It launched itself in a downward spiral bombarding towards the girl. Seeing this suddenly brought the girl back to her senses and she ran right to dodge it. The flame ball smashed into the ground, leveling it. Smoke filled the site of the impact. Out of curiosity, the girl pondered what had fallen to Earth and stood by to observe. The smoke eventually settled enough for the girl to realize that it formed a considerably large crater.

"What?"

She ran towards the crater her curiosity being overbearing as it was. Panting from running, she investigated the crater to a surprise. In the hole, there was a girl, roughly around her age. More bizarrely, she was bereft of clothing and laying on her belly with her bare cheeks at full display. The blonde-haired girl blushed at this slightly most likely from embarrassment at seeing the girl in such a position. But she was horrified all the same assuming the girl for dead.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no…" she said. She scrambled through her belongings to find her cell phone so she could contact the medics of the dilemma. After dialing up the number, she momentarily looked away to listen to the ringtone. She looked back to catch another glimpse of the girl for a description but saw that she was gone.

"Ma'am? Ma'am?" the receptor asked.

The blonde girl held the phone shakily in her hand before dropping it seemingly not hearing the person on the other end. In front of her, the naked girl levitated before her. She couldn't speak. Nothing about what she was seeing made any sense. Before she could say anything, the naked girl grabbed her by her throat and glared at her. Upon looking closer at the girl before her, she saw that she shared the same color of her eyes. As she was desperately trying to comprehend what was going on, the nude girl's eyes turned crimson.

A few minutes later, the once nude girl had clothes. After finishing up on her necktie, she walked up the path. "I'll be coming for you soon. Don't get too cozy."

Ako arrived at Monika and Sayori's house roughly at six. She approached the door fretfully and almost found herself walking away several times unsure of whether she should go through with it or not. She extended her right hand to knock on the door, but her knocks were barely an octave. She waited around, but she did not hear the girls. "I knew this was a bad idea."

Ako turned to walk away, but the door slowly opened to a creek. "Ako?"

"Oh, uh, hey…Sayori," Ako said.

Monika had prepared some tea for the occasion and offered some to Ako. Ako thanked her for it and took a long, noisy sip from it. Afterward, the room went silent again. Monika and Sayori stood by waiting for someone to start the conversation. Eyes darted throughout the room to see a single instance of lips parting to form a vowel sound. When nothing came about, Sayori cleared her throat. "So, Ako, how…"

"I kissed her, Sayori," Ako finally responded.

"Oh," Sayori said plainly,

"I don't know what happened. We were both sitting down at a table. Anthy had gone to one of those online game websites and brought me back a teddy bear for me to draw." Ako stopped herself so she could drink more of the tea before starting again. "Before I knew it, Anthy was sitting close to me; so close, I could feel her body rub up to mine. That same sensation I felt for you came back. Stronger even. My gut was making…butterflies is the term, I think? My heart was beating fast in my chest…I was scared that it would burst out of my chest if I wasn't too careful. But I felt Anthy's heart also skipping a beat."

Sayori and Monika listened carefully not saying anything. Anthy's cheeks began to turn green and she was becoming queasy. "Sayori, she's having an attack, what are we going to do?"

Sayori slipped out a paper bag, walked across the room, and placed it in Ako's hands. After breathing sporadically into the bag, her breathing eased. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it," Sayori said, "can you speak now?"

"I was drawing the teddy bear like I mentioned…but when Anthy got even closer to me, my hand nudged up with hers, and…our eyes met each other. As if unprecedented, we suddenly kissed."

"And after that, Anthy opened up a portal to run away?" Sayori asked.

Ako bowed her head. "Should I have kissed her?"

Monika spoke up next. "Did she like the kiss?"

"Monika!" Sayori shouted in surprise. "That's too much to ask."

Ako shrugged. "I couldn't tell. She didn't turn her head in disgust over it, but she also didn't express that she enjoyed it."

"Well, maybe we can help you come to terms with it," Monika said.

"How?" Ako asked.

"Getting you both to state your feelings to each other."

Ako raised an eyebrow. "How?"

"Well, a poem worked for both Natsuki and Yuri," Monika explained, "maybe that could help."

Ako raised her palm. "I gotta stop you right there, friend."

"Why?"

"Writing poems are not my thing." Ako stated. "It sounds kind of dumb."

Monika's right eye twitched. She felt her inner rage reaching her boiling point. "What the f-!"

Sayori covered her lover's mouth. "Maybe a drawing you can both do?"

Ako scratched her chin in deep thought. "That could work."

Ako stood up from her seat. "But the only issue remaining is that she caused us so much pain and almost killed us and nearly deleted the game. How can I just forget that?"

Sayori smiled. "To be fair, you can never really forget something like that. It makes you more unsure that you could trust someone like that again because you run a risk of going through that pain again. But when the person is putting in the effort of being better, you have to have some faith in them."

Ako nodded in agreement. "Is that like when you forgave Monika for the things she did in your game?"

"Yes. I mean Monika tried to have my neck snapped when I had a noose around my neck, but it's all good now, right, Monika?"

Monika laughed nervously at Sayori's comment. "Yeah…I did, didn't I?"

Ako also joined in on the laughter. Sayori and Ako were laughing wildly as if it were some type of joke. But Monika remained quiet, clearly not wanting to be reminded of what happened in the past.

                [CHAPTER THREE]

"This…doesn't make any sense," Anthy said to herself. She went behind the background of the game's world to view the coding. There was some recent addition to the game, but for some reason, the addition was invisible to her. As an antivirus program, Anthy would be aware of it. If data were being burned in exhaust, Anthy would be sure to quash that. And yet, here she was trying to find out what happened. She was so absorbed in her work; she almost did not hear her doorbell ring.

"What? Huh?"

"Anthy, it's me," a voice responded.

Anthy sighed in relief. "Oh, it's just you, Monika; come on in."

Monika opened the front door and entered the house. Her eyes widened in surprise. Anthy's house…was not that great to look at. The wallpaper was in stitched patches of light green stripes. Like a Christmas tree. All the furniture were merely photos she had made copies on by visiting various websites on the internet like Clip Art and Photoshop. Most striking, however, was that when the wallpaper began to decay and peel, it revealed the static background of the game's setting.

"Oh, hey," Anthy said in a half-laugh, "this is my humble abode." She stretched her arms out to further emphasize it. Monika soaked it in for a few moments but forced a smile.

"Oh, it's nice," she said.

Anthy lowered her head to indicate that she sensed that she was lying. "Yeah, yeah, I know. It isn't the best thing ever, but at least it's cozy." Anthy laughed in embarrassment.

"Well, what were you doing exactly?" Monika asked.

"Oh, the game apparently had some addition to it, but for whatever reason, I can't find it."

Monika scratched her chin. "That is odd; I received some coordinates on my laptop; it felt like it came from somewhere outside of the game."

Anthy sat on a green chair she copied and pasted from Clip Art. "What brings you to my home anyway?" Anthy squinted her eyes in suspicion. "You didn't add something to the game, right, Monika?"

Monika denied it by shaking her head. "No. It's actually about Sayori."

Anthy looked up. "She isn't still distraught over finding out the truth about the Player?"

Monika frowned. "It wasn't your fault, Anthy, you know that."

Anthy nodded. "Yeah, but when the game glitched out that one time and you all were thrown out of your game and met the Player, I felt it was my fault for it."

Monika pat Anthy's shoulder. "Even though the Player outright admitted to us that he viewed us as nothing more than pixels, the love that we had for each other was real. It was the only thing that mattered."

"True; well, what was on Sayori's mind?" Anthy asked. She ripped a small hole in thin air and pulled out a mug. In the mug was some coffee. She then opened her mouth and pitched the mug into it. Monika shivered a bit. Anthy always had the oddest way of eating food. If she even needed to eat at all.

"She spoke with Ako today about what happened between you and Ako."

Anthy suddenly spit the hot coffee out of her mouth. "What!?"

Monika waved her hands. "It's fine, it's fine."

Anthy's face reddened spontaneously. She bowed her head again and shielded it with her gloved hands. She let out a slight whimper almost as though she were a little puppy. "Oh, why did you have to bring it up? It was so…humiliating!"

Monika blinked a few times whilst thinking of what to do next. "Did Ako think it was?"

Anthy looked back up again. "I got out of dodge before I even asked her about it."

Monika nodded understandably. "Ah. I understand. You know, Sayori and I didn't immediately hook up, you know."

Anthy listened tentatively. "Yeah, I can see that. But what can I do about my dilemma?"

"Oh, when Ako came over to speak about what happened, she also had the same feelings about the kiss as well."

Anthy's eyes widened in surprise. "Really?"

Monika smiled. "Yes; she almost through up from it."

Anthy squinted her eyes to indicate a frown which was obviously hard due to her perpetual grin. "So, she did hate it?"

"I wouldn't say that" Monika replied. "It goes to show that she is just as unsure about her feelings like you are."

Anthy nervously tapped her two index fingers. "I…I think I love her."

Monika smiled warmly. "Well, I m glad to hear you coming to that realization of yourself."

"I don't know what it is," Anthy replied, "but anytime I'm around Ako, I feel…warm. Calm even."

"And what are you going to do about it?" Monika asked.

"Jump into a farming simulation and maybe disconnect with modern society?" Anthy answered.

"No. If you are unsure of what to do, Sayori and I came up with a solution."

"Tell me, please," Anthy begged.

Sayori was at home watching anime when she received a notification. She reached for her cell phone and saw that it was a text message from Monika:

"Anthy agreed to do the drawing with Ako."

Sayori smiled. She quickly replied and laced it neatly with a heart emoji. She played around with Monika in a teasing fashion until Anthy typed up a response amounting to STFU. Sayori rolled her eyes. That was one of the things she liked about her bizarre, shark-toothed friend.

Sayori continued to watch her show for a good hour. As it reached its finale, she received another buzz. "What now?" she asked.

She flipped through her messages again. This time, she saw that it was a number she did not recognize. She opened it up and read it. While the number was one, she did not know, it stated that it was from Natsuki. Sayori raised an eyebrow. She read it over a couple times to make sure she was interpreting what she was reading.

"I'm at the mall; I'm going to buy an anniversary gift for Yuri, and I need your advice."

Sayori was more complex. "Is that you, Yuri? What happened to your number?"

After typing that out, she got a response. "My phone broke, so I had to get a replacement."

Sayori rubbed her head. "Well, that makes sense."

Not taking how odd the text messages were, Sayori agreed to Natsuki's request and they both set up where they would be meeting at. Sayori followed the coordinates without further questions. Even though the site that they agreed upon was further away from the mall. Sayori thought to text Natsuki a few more times inquiring whether she had forgotten where they would meet up at. Natsuki sparingly gave responses at random until she arrived at a back alley. Sayori became unsettled by this.

"Natsuki, are you there?"

Her deep, innermost thoughts told her, nay screamed at her to not go into the alley, but her mind immediately drifted towards Natsuki. What if something was horribly wrong with her? Without much infliction, she rushed into the alley way. "Natsuki! Natsuki!?"

Her voice echoed throughout the seeming empty void. But there was no response. Sayori held her phone out and typed up another text for Natsuki. "Where are you, Natsuki? This isn't funny."

She waited around still fearful of her surroundings. She felt as if she was being watched by some unseen spectacle. It felt like an eternity of her waiting for an answer. The hair on the back of her hand stood on end. Her neck was out in the open, and now something or someone was caressing it. Sweat was raining down from her pores. But from that bout of anxiety, Natsuki's text came back startling her.

"Behind you."

Sayori turned around and saw a dark figure. It grabbed her before Sayori could even scream. Sayori struggled against her assailant with all her strength. The attacker grabbed onto Sayori's wrists with a tight grip. "Grrr…get off!"

The assailant twisted Sayori's right wrist propelling Sayori to fall on the ground. That proved to be Sayori's undoing. In a flash, the attacker held something in their hand and slammed it on Sayori's face. Sayori mumbled and squirmed vibrantly with her head pushed harder into the object. Eventually, Sayori's struggling weakened, and she fell unconscious. The assailant sighed heavily out of irritation at Sayori's resistance and went to collect her.

                      [CHAPTER FOUR]

"Mmm…. where am I?"

Sayori's eyes fluttered open to soak in her surroundings. She was in a dark room somewhere in an unknown place. Her mind pained her apparently resulting from her attacker wrestled that odd-smelling substance on her face causing her to black out. Sayori reached to soothe her aching head, but there were restraints around her wrists preventing her from moving her arms.

"What are these?"

She tried to feel for the rest of her body only to receive the same response. Her waist and legs were also seemingly locked in place. Sayori's eyes widened at the realization. She was trapped unable to maneuver her limbs. Before she could fully comprehend what has become of her, the room was suddenly washed over in light and assaulted her eyes. Squinting her eyes, Sayori beheld some figure standing in the doorway.

"So, you're finally awake, huh?"

That voice. Something about that voice was familiar. Sayori looked down seeing that she was tied to a chair. That made some considerable sense. But that was not her main concern. With her vision steadied, she further investigated the source of the voice. Her eyes widened in shock.

It was her. Or rather some entity that has her visage. She wore a school uniform like her own. Her hair was rosy-red with her signature bow on it. The other girl shared the blue color of her eyes, but in her case, they were paler and seeming lifeless. A dark aura radiated from her. Sayori could not believe what she was seeing. She blinked her eyes a few more time under the belief that she was having a daydream. But it dawned on her that she was very wide awake.

"W-who are you?" Sayori asked finally.

The girl lightly chuckled. "I'm you, idiot."

"B-but how?" Sayori stammered. "Were you left over when Monika rebooted the game?"

The girl turned aside and slipped out a phone. Sayori looked intently at it seeing that it was her own phone. The girl had stolen it when she was out cold. She lightly tapped the screen of the phone. She browsed through the pictures on her gallery. She raised an eyebrow, perplexed. There were several photos of Sayori with Monika. "How long has this…thing been going on?" The girl placed heavy emphasis on "thing."

"For about two years now," Sayori replied.

"Are you suggesting that after all of the pain that she had put us through, you're now in love with her?" she spit. Just thinking about Monika's name was enough to make her bitter.

Sayori frowned up in defense of her girlfriend. "What Monika had done was bad, but she worked hard to change. I gave her a chance, so why can't you?"

"You fail to realize how long it's been?" she asked.

"To me, it felt more like one time," Sayori said innocently.

The girl scoffed. "One time. Try about 1,000 times!"

Sayori tried to free herself from her binds to no avail. The ropes ripped further into Sayori's skin and were covered in her blood. They were leaving marks on her arms and legs. "Let me go!"

"For thousands of times, nearly every day, she corrupted my mind…made me do things that led to my death. Rinse and repeat. Every single day, the same routine. What I am is an amalgamation of all the Sayoris that have been dealt a bad hand. Through the different worlds, fragments of my being broke through realities out of one singular emotion. That being a pure, unending hatred."

She reached into her pocket again and slipped out an elongated chain. Sayori did not know what to think about it at first, but then it hit her what they belonged to. They were chains comprised of different codes. "That's not what I think they are, are they?" Sayori asked.

The girl nodded. "Yes, these are just some of the prizes I have acquired from exploring other games."

She laid the chain of codes on the ground to let it roll out. It started wat the girl's feet then inched its way towards the chair Sayori was strapped into. The chains were roughly around 30 ft long. "Each strand of codes was what I had collected when I deleted other versions of your game," she explained. "I always made sure to collect one to reminiscence on them."

"Why are you here now?" Sayori asked aloud.

"I assumed that I had deleted every dimension where Monika and that Literature Club were situated at. In each world, I made Monika suffer the same way we had suffered before ending her life by bringing devastation to her precious Literature Club. I like to believe that when my game was no more, the command powers that she had were unwittingly transferred to me. Whether it was fate or whatever, I do not see any reason to care. All I know is that I have gotten my chance on destroying Monika and erasing her from existence."

The girl dismissively rammed Sayori's phone back in her pocket and went to walk out of the door. Sayori started to panic. "Wait, wait, you can't leave me here! Let me go!"

The girl stopped at the door and smirked. "I'm sorry, I can't do that. I will play a game with your girlfriend first before tearing the world apart inside out. Now do me the pleasure and starve to death. Will ya?"

With that, Sayori's doppelganger slammed the door shut leaving Sayori to her own devices. Worse, she did not have her phone to notify Monika or her friends about her being locked away somewhere. The ropes cut deeper into her skin. The pain was excruciating, but Sayori had to do something. Fast.

Monika, Yuri, and Natsuki assembled at Monika's house with some pieces of paper. Yuri looked at the clock on the wall with concern. "Do you think they'll show up?"

Monika smiled slightly. "Don't worry, Yuri, I'm sure they hadn't booked us."

Natsuki looked at her wristwatch. "Speaking of booking us…where's Sayori?"

"Now that you mention it," Yuri began, "I thought she'd be the first one here since she's Ako's friend."

"She texted me about going to speak with Natsuki about giving her advice on what to get Yuri for their anniversary."

Yuri's cheeks blushed a deep red forcing her to shield her face in her hands. Natsuki was also blushing deeply. "You ruined the surprise, Monika!"

"Oh, sorry," Monika replied laughing nervously.

Natsuki crossed her arms and pouted. "Besides, I never told Sayori about my plan."

Monika raised an eyebrow. "Wait, if Sayori didn't text me that then who…"

There came a knock on the door startling them. "That must be them now," Yuri rationalized. Monika went to the door and opened it revealing that it was Ako on the other side. But her cheeks were a greenish hue again. "H-hey, guys," she said.

The three friends stared at each other at a loss for what to say. "Take a seat over there, Ako," Monika directed.

Ako did as she was told and sat in the seat Monika directed her to. Ako breathed in slowly and exhaled in a whistle. She did this a few more times before she felt her stress was away. Ako was then given paper and a pencil. "Draw whatever's in your heart," Yuri advised.

They waited around a little longer for at least Anthy to arrive next. But as the hours slowly went by, it seemed that Anthy kept to her word of leaving the game for some other one rather than confront Ako in her current state of mind. Ako had already begun drawing but with each scribble she did, she balled the paper up and tossed it into the garbage. With each one, Ako began to sink into depression. "She's not coming, isn't she?" Ako sighed. "I don't blame her."

Monika tapped her shoulder. "Please do not think that way, Ako. Maybe she just needed more time."

Ako looked up with tears in her eyes. "This hurts more then when I accidentally fell in love with Sayori."

Monika looked at Ako in pity. "You should not beat yourself up like that."

"It's true! You have Sayori; and Yuri has Natsuki. I have no one that I love."

Monika and the other girls ceased talking afraid that whatever they said next would further muddle the situation. While thinking, a rip manifested in thin air by Monika's couch. Inside of the rip revealed the static background representing the game's reality. A gloved hand reached out from the rip to pull itself out. On the end of the gloved hand was Anthy.

"Anthy, you made it!" Monika exclaimed.

"I did get cold feet and I did consider leaving," Anthy explained sadly, "but then I realized I would be hurting Ako by doing so."

Natsuki gave Anthy a piece of paper and she also sat in a seat by Ako. Ako looked up momentarily and blushed in embarrassment. Seeing the shark-toothed girl again at this proximity made her heart skip a beat again. "You-you came?"

Anthy's smile widened. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

The two began to draw. Anthy was a lot of things, but an artist was not her forte. Ako herself often drew two flowers and a cat. That was her main purpose as an NPC. But being so close to Anthy now filled her with different emotions. The two went wild with their drawings. They finished in about 20 minutes.

"Alright, present what you've drawn," Monika announced.

Ako timidly shook the paper in her hands. "Are you sure?"

Monika nodded in approval. "I am positive."

Ako took a deep breath and placed the paper on the table. It was a crudely drawn version of herself standing with a hand missing on the right side of the paper. Monika rolled an eyebrow at this. "Strange."

Anthy was next. The thought of ripping a hole into reality to leave crossed her mind, but she too took a deep breath and placed her paper on the table. Ako's face turned red. Anthy twiddled her thumbs her cheeks slowly turning red as well. For what was on the page was Anthy to the left of the paper extending her nonexistent hand like with Ako's self-portrait. When the two drawings were place together, it gave off the expression they were holding each other's hand.

"Does, does that mean," Ako stammered. Inspired by the self-portrait, she grabbed Anthy's hand, and Anthy reciprocated it.

"Oh, you're my perfect little ink blot girlfriend!" Anthy proclaimed.

"And I love your smile, my..my love!"

The two continued to say sugary nothings to each other. While Yuri and Natsuki were delighted by the turn of events, Monika was preoccupied with her phone and sending a frenzy of texts to Sayori.

"Sayori, I don't know where you are, but please pick up!"

(More to come)

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