#i thought the sinister 6 was supposed to be scary….

[nadiawritessomething]

ЕАRTH 42 | PART 1

Its rules, politics, lore, and why you shouldn't underestimate this element of the plot.

Many of you have asked to read my thoughts/analysis on Earth 42, and here I am!

I want to make sure to mention that the author of this post does not support any racial stereotypes, hatred of certain characters, or false information, so if you happen to find any of the above, please let me know right away.

I will continue this branch of my thoughts if this has at least one loyal reader, really. I have a lot to say about each character from Earth 42, you could tell that this is my fandom profile. I am here only for these analyzes.

So, I'd like to start by saying that many fans see Earth 42 as just a "scary and uncomfortable place" where fires are always burning and gunshots are always heard. And this description is not fundamentally wrong, it has its reasons: this is how the authors showed this universe at the end of the movie. Earth 42 was supposed to give the viewer goosebumps and the feeling that "something is wrong here" — and they did a great job!

But our task, as fans, is to develop the ability to see what the authors have deliberately left beyond the surface perception. So to speak, to "dig deeper," because it is the unwillingness of many to analyze beyond the surface level is the thing that leads to hedcanons about the toxic, evil Miles G or abusive 42Aaron. Both of these characters seemed "alien" and reserved, and therefore received this label from the fans.

But what is Earth 42 in the simplest of explanations? The answer lies in its LORE, which we also forget about quite often. Earth 42 is controlled, in whole or in part, by the Sinister Six. The Sinister Six is a group of 6 "classic" Spider-Man villains, including Electro, Vulture, Sandman, Dr. Octavius, Kraven, and Mysterio.

It's hard to say how long the Six ruled New York (or the world). Each of the official sources gives different information on this point. For example, the official art book "Across the Spiderverse: the art of the movie" says that the Sinister Six Cartel "took over the world", Jameson on TV says that they are only "fighting" for the control over the "streets" (it is not known whether it is a specific neighborhood or the whole city) and does not say anything about the whole WORLD that they hold in their hands.

Nevertheless, we, as viewers, can see the influence of the Sinister Six on at least Brooklyn clearly: Electro, for example, has his own 2G coverage and cell phone company, Octavius has his own corporation, and Vulture has an entire company. We can only guess at the exact purpose and goal of these companies because of the way the logos look, but it's easy to guess that they are most likely just bought out "old" brands that the Six, like every group of highly skilled, respectable villains, simply named after themselves and seemingly significantly degraded the service itself (c'mon, 2G coverage is a mockery of people, Mr. Electro)

We have to remember that there are people living under this tight control of supervillains (who are certainly smart or scientists, but I don't think they have ever run for politics), that everything we saw on the screen was not just a set piece effect - real citizens live in this place, struggling to exist in unknown conditions.

The fact that New Yorkers don't feel comfortable is shown not only by the lights and sounds of police sirens, but also by the details in the background.

For example, more than 80% of the windows in the high-rise buildings of Earth 42 are dark and faded, as if no one lives there (in contrast, Earth 1610 has many bright windows in almost every building shown). The poster of the popular song "Always 21" on the background of the 42nd dimension turns into "Never 21", which seems to hint that 1) children in this city do not hope to live to adulthood 2) the Six does not care about the state or quality of life of the citizens under their control.

Even the Morales' house itself shows the state of the Earth: the furniture is older and more "shabby", and the large wardrobes are replaced by old, neat nightstands on 42. A light bulb flickers in the corridor, and the only noticeable, bright light source is in the kitchen (this lighting was also done to draw the viewer's attention to Aaron and Rio standing there, but I am a supporter of the idea that no solution leads to one result only).

(By the way, in contrast, Aaron's apartment is more "modern" - there is a bike, several computers with headphones, and wires scattered around the place. I think it's more likely that Aaron has more money than Miles or Rio in general - he clearly showed us that when he "gave" money to Ms. Morales. There's a chance that this is the property he accumulated while working for Kingpin. Or maybe he's just lucky, lol)

On Earth 42, the colors green, black, and purple predominate. Not only do they signify the colors of the Prowler as an symbol, but are also quite cold and "unwelcoming" in their own right, especially this dark shade of green mixed with almost black rain.

At some points, there is also blue on the screen (mostly in the scene with the Mural), but this is most likely just the way the Sony's show the color scheme of nighttime.

If you ask me about my theories about Earth 42, I think the Six will be here for at most 5 years, at least 2 years. I think so precisely because it takes time to control a city (let's leave out the "whole world" part for now, because it's rather vague and was mentioned only once, let's just take New York for now). Even if we take into account the fact that the Sinister Six clearly did not agree to any "civilian" agreements, and local business bonafide owners were most likely asked to be removed, time plays a big role in fully controlling the power grid or building their laboratories/enterprises, it cannot be done in a month or even two. Especially if we consider that neither the city nor the enterprises themselves were empty: they still had potential customers and employees (if they were willing to work, of course, as 42Rio does, which is about two shifts a day on average).

We were also made to understand that Jeff's death was somehow connected to the Six's rise to power, as his mural is labeled "hero," which makes it clear that he did not die peacefully or from illness, and in the criminal situation close to Brooklyn 1610, there was no reason to die "heroically" because Spider-Man always kept things peaceful and calm there. My theory suggests that Jeff was probably one of the few police officers who did not agree to go over to the Six, and therefore paid with his life.

Jeff's death (if we take the photo in the Morales house, where Jeff, unlike the identical one on 1610, is not present, and Miles G looks younger than the conventional 13 years) occurred before Aaron's (1610) death, but if we take the closest dates to it, two or three years, at least. And, if we take the moment of Jeff's death as the "beginning" of the Six rebellion, we get this period of time as the minimum point in the chronology.

Speaking for the residents of the local Brooklyn, we should definitely check the depression statistics, I think the world has never seen anything like it. On Earth 42, guns are canonically encouraged and legalized (billboards with the words "Got a gun?" on one of the early concept art), no one prevents fires and sirens, and the city looks like a complete chaos. And so those who did not find a way out in their past lives descend into crime, which is permitted here, and those who are less risky work from morning to night for a pittance.

Another interesting detail is that, despite all this, they are still quite... selective in their thoughts about their rescue. So, again, Jameson is on the TV literally begging for a vigilante to be sent to them, whom the Daily Bugle will support one hundred percent, while Miles G, the Prowler, the full-fledged vigilante of this city, walks by.

This indicates that the inhabitants of Earth 42 do not perceive the Prowler as a vigilante, and probably places him only one step above the conventional Mysterio or Octavius. Most likely, this is due to the fact that 42 lost their Spider-Man, and therefore desperately want him, a heroic, "proper" savior, and an antihero who can blow up a building or tie up a bunch of people when needed... is not so necessary. I'll come back to this part in the analysis of Miles G, but for now, let's just leave it as an analysis of the mentality of the local minds - they are desperate enough to ask for help directly, but not desperate enough not to ask for it on their own terms.

We can't really talk about details such as censorship, certain moments of life, or the infrastructure of Earth 42: we don't have a lot of information about it, so we can only make hedcanons.

In my hedcanons, the sides of the coins are called "Mysterio" and "the Lizard", and many new holidays have been introduced, such as "Octavius Glasses Day" or "National Electro SIM Card Day".

So far, we can only say that the Six has almost complete control over the city, its life is drowning in sadness and a continuous dark path, and people are trying to survive in all this, like drowning in water.

In conclusion, I can only say that Earth 42 has much more than just "fear and fire". It is, first of all, a world of suffering and hopelessness, showing all that Earth 1610 could have become (what Miles could have become) if it hadn't gotten Spider-Man. It's a place of horrors and habits, a place of agony and strange peace, a place of lovers and desperate people, a place of loss and oblivion.

...And an incredibly interesting universe for analysis and thoughts. So please think of it as such.

Tag list: @hobiebrownismygod @futureblackfilmaker @igorsnumber1fan @0luna123 @teaboot

#across the spiderverse #atsv #miles 42 #miles morales #prowler miles #miles g morales #earth 42 miles #spiderverse #aaron davis #jefferson morales #earth 42 #analysis #I hate this “10 imges per post” thing #LIKE I NEED MORE #MORE PROOFS PLS #LET ME SHOW MORE PROOFS #anyways hope you liked it! #will tag everyone in the comments

[hellhoundmaggie]

5 Songs

**Share 5 songs related to your current WIPs (art or writing related)

**If you don’t have a wip, you can share what you like about your top 5!

tagged by @cymatile, thank you cymatile

I usually don't listen to songs with lyrics when writing, because they're too distracting. Often I'll throw on that lo-fi hip-hop beats stream. But I will sometimes listen to a thematic song or two before writing to get in the proper headspace. And how convenient, I made up a playlist for my blorbo, Wayne Scarlethollow! Listen to it why doncha?

There are 13 videos on that list, but I will pick out my Top 5 songs from it and explain them! In no particular order:

1. Mx. Sinister (I Don't Know How But They Found Me)

And I'll get you yet (I'll get you yet) I've got to make you mine Just know I'm not the sinister type

Wayne kind of understands that he strikes people as creepy, but when he tries to be reassuring it just comes off as even creepier. But he's literally neurodivergent and a miner, so I'm willing to give him a pass. In fact, it's part of his charm.

2. I Will Possess Your Heart (Death Cab for Cutie)

How I wish you could see the potential The potential of you and me It's like a book elegantly bound but In a language that you can't read just yet

The way the instrumentals slowly build from a simple bass riff into an intense soundscape over more than four-and-a-half minutes before the vocals even kick in! Gives me chills, folks. Plus the stalker's smug condescension and certainty (or false bravado?) that he will earn his target's love captures Wayne's attitude to a T.

3. The Point of No Return (The Phantom of the Opera)

Past all thought of right or wrong One final question How long should we two wait before we're one?

If you watch the clip from the Royal Albert Hall's 2011 production of PotO, you'll understand why I picked this song. You all can see it, right? I firmly believe that events similar to the PotO scene will play out in Episode 6. Wayne will walk on in to Avery's party, letting the guests assume he's a guy with a bitchin' Halloween costume, and give MC a big ultimatum. MC must either leave their friends to the horrors and go with him to (relative) safety, or stay with them all and probably die. The drama!

4. Liebestod (Tristan und Isolde)

Do I alone hear this melody, which wonderfully and softly, lamenting delight, telling it all, mildly reconciling sounds out of him, invades me...

The final aria from Tristan und Isolde captures not only the tragic romance aspect of the Waynemance that I think the devs are building towards, but also how bizarre a Waynemancer MC must be to pass over a bunch of nice, conventionally-attractive people for a scary zombie man. Yes Sybil, Wayne is my friend and we're in love and I am drowning in his song and sweet smell. Why are you looking at me like that?

5. Under Attack (ABBA)

This is getting crazy, I should tell him so Really let my anger show Persuade him that the answer to his questions is a definite no (I'm kind of flattered I suppose)

"Stop following me! uwu" A bouncy 80s pop song is a fun way to close out a playlist full of heavy tracks and serious themes. And yet there's a haunting quality to this one. Again, I don't think the Waynemance is going to end well. But it's going to be a lot of fun, won't it?

Tagging @lytorika, @itsmewahoo, @nimbexy, @shanklinthestabpossum @kris-mage-fics. No pressure!

#wayne scarlet hollow #ask game #wip #fan playlist

[brytnoter]

~Raggy Dolls~

On the topic of analogue horror ... Here are two episodes of a real series that existed that absoutely terrified and scarred me as a kid. It was made in the mid 80′s but I watched it mid ‘90s.

I suppose it has a good message in theory. The adventures of dolls that were made wrong, but they have each other, and they are worthy of love ETC ETC

“The Big Top” episode

WARNINGS - Circus themed. THE OLD-FASHIONED KIND OF CIRCUS, WITH IMPLICATIONS OF ANIMALS BEING MISTREATED.

I had some hearing or processing problems as a kid, so I turned this up really loud so I could hear the mumbly narrator, but I still could not understand. My only clue as to the tone of the story was the calm chatting between a group of friends.

First noise approaching at (3:06) was a little unsettling. And then I was hit with some of the most bone shattering sensory nightmare noises I'd ever heard. (3:18) (3:29)

And when a character on screen is shown being afraid, then it made me double afraid. Things are scary all the time but if everyone else can hold it together, so can I. So when I see a character who can't control their fear, it affects me too.

A character saying "Ssh, he'll hear you" (4:11) ????? WTF

Was I sitting too close to the screen? I don't know. All I remember is I really thought the elephant was going to come out of the screen and stomp on ME.

Something about the clowns with the pies (5:58) The sound effect??? Or just the concept of clowns??? Even though I have never officially been afraid of clowns.

The voices for the seal I had only ever heard in the mocking of disabled people.

And when they are in the lion's cage, I had a bizarre kind of terror for what might happen to these nice girls, and what I was about to see. The sound/noise of her saying "Back, you brute" in such a sharp voice stayed with me for a long time.

“The Dark Wood” episode

WARNINGS - Poachers and traps. Injured animals. Cartoon silhouettes and reference to animals being hanged.

I assume I have watched this episode because I know exactly what happens and in which order. I just don't remember remember.

Sad Sack yelling at (3:36) and shouting help at (3:44) makes my skin crawl even now.

A character stuck in a bear trap on screen.

An ANIMAL stuck in a bear trap on screen.

"It was the cruel kind of trap that farmers aren't allowed to use any more." WHAT KIND OF SINISTER SHIT

The heavy breathing at (4:48)

Traps fucking everywhere.

(6:14) "Don't look now, but we're being watched" Takes the last of my horror feeling and then I am pacified into compliance.

And then out of the darkness come these injured fucking creatures, some of whom are rabbits looking like FUCKING WATERSHIP DOWN (which was another cartoon that fucking scarred me)

And I think the ending and the consequence for the poacher is supposed to be funny, but I was far too upset at that point to actually realise it.

#raggy dolls #80's cartoons #1980s cartoons #kids shows #VHS #analog horror #analogue horror #creepy #purposefully bad french accent #ruined childhood #scary videos #uncanny valley #animal cruelty #injury #poachers #circus #clowns

[toorusluvr]

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ CALIFORNIA: IWAIZUMI HAJIME.

characters: iwaizumi hajime x f!reader

cw:  car sex, unprotected sex (please use protection if you hate kids), iwaizumi has a praising kink! mutual pining lol. if there's more let me know.

wc: 3k

crossposted on my ao3 🤍

The gush of the sudden heatwave was unbearable, you must admit. Stepping foot in California, a foreign country with no one to pick you up at the airport, felt awkward and scary at the same time. Your only goal was to visit your best friend, Iwaizumi, at the college he was studying at. Your plan was to give him a call once you arrived at the destination soon.

Taking a cab from the airport, the beach view came into your sight. The way your eyes shimmered at the beautiful view of people surfing and enjoying themselves at the beach was enough to tell that you actually had a great start being here. Iwa must have had an enjoyable time being here.. Is he homesick? It suddenly popped into your mind. He must be having a great time being in California. The weather’s great, and the scenery is pleasant.

The cab driver helped you with your luggage, though it wasn’t as handful as the other tourists, you still need help getting your big luggage out from the trunk. You heaved a deep sigh, breathless after dragging your luggage onto the concrete pathway. Without stalling your time, you searched for your phone in the pocket of your pants. Scrolling through your contacts, you finally found his contact number.

Within the first three rings, he picked up your call. His raspy voice greeting you the first thing. You heard he cleared his throat. “Hey, why are you calling me? Isn’t it like 11 in the morning there? Aren’t you supposed to be asleep, considering your fucked up sleeping schedule?” a laughter was followed after he nagged you.

You laughed, entertained by his own way of making fun of you. “If I was in Tokyo, then the answer is yes. But I am not in Tokyo, to be frankly speaking!” you were hoping he would catch on to what you were saying. Your presence here was to surprise him, after all!

Iwaizumi had just finished training at the local gym. He wiped the beads of sweats forming on his forehead with the towel hanging around his neck. He glanced over the clock on the wall, 6:15 p.m. Don’t tell me that you are here? he thought. “What are you on, Y/N? Are you talking in your sleep right now?”

This guy, you grunted softly. He caught on but he was afraid if his instinct was not telling him the right thing. “What a dumbass. I’m here in California, you idiot. Come and pick me up at your college! I don’t know your home address for God’s sake!” you burst out. The heat was killing you and please God, can he be quick to pick you up?

He deadass laughed at you. “Are you for real? Oh my goodness! Aight, just give me 10 minutes! I just finished working out. Stay where you are, I am coming to get you!” Iwaizumi rushed to take a quick shower in the shower room. He has to look and smell nice before meeting you. Of course, he would.

“Make it 5, Hajime. I swear to God!” you said, lowkey threatening him. You looked like you were stranded in front of his college with your luggage beside you. Standing awkwardly while the passersby looking at you up and down with a questionable look on their faces.

His sinister laughter made you unknowingly clenched your thighs together. “I swear I’ll be quick. Just stay where you are! Don’t follow any strangers!”

Being the petty friend you are, you counted how long it took for Iwaizumi Hajime to come and get you. He took exactly 7 minutes and 39 seconds to come to your rescue. The matte black range rover parked in front you. Iwaizumi got out of the driver’s seat hurriedly. “Hey, why didn’t you tell me you were coming, dumbass?” he ruffled your hair. Trying to look good for him ended up being ruined by the person himself.

You rolled your eyes, “Obviously, it’s a surprise visit! Can’t you tell them apart or what?” you laughed, unable to hold your laughter any longer. “Nice car, by the way!”

“It's not mine. I had to borrow it from a friend to pick you up” Iwaizumi told, taking in your luggage into the trunk. He opened the passenger’s seat door for you -- his hand rested on the windshield, ensuring your head to be safe. You mumbled a soft thank you before he got to the driver’s seat.

“Where are you staying, by the way? It's dangerous to be out there all alone. Or, aren’t you afraid?” he asked, his right hand turning the steering wheel to drive out of his campus area.

You hummed, “There's a hotel nearby here I booked. But, if you wanted to pay the expenses for me, it’d be nice!”

Both of you burst into laughter, knowing too well both of you are joking around and no hard feelings involved! “Since you are here, let’s go to In-N-Out that you’ve always talked about” Iwaizumi suggested, his eyes glanced over you in the passenger’s seat. You looked excited to try out the fast food franchise you’ve been wanting to try.

It felt like old times, hanging out with your best friend even in a foreign country feels exactly the same. The skies were getting darker as time passed by. About half before 9, both of you headed to his friend’s car. Iwaizumi needed to send you off before midnight. It's unsafe for you to be alone, especially at this hour.

Sitting in the expensive car, both of you enjoyed talking about anything and everything. Time doesn’t seem to be passing by when both of you are together. How badly Iwaizumi wants you to be there for him every single day. He hesitated to ask you, but it’s now or never, Hajime.

“Uh, why did you come to visit me? Why not Oikawa?” he laughed, an uneasy feeling creeped into his heart. Did he make a mistake? He was just asking a question. There's no way you’ll be offended, right?

Shrugging off your nervousness, you covered it up with a lie. “Apparently, California is much cheaper than Argentina. So, I decided to visit you first before meeting Oikawa. Sounds like a genius idea, no?”

Great, now you looked like a pathetic liar. That doesn’t fascinate him, not even a bit. “Oh- that sounds like a great plan, by the way” he laughed. “You know, I am honored to be the first friend you visited!”

You smiled, trying to think of a sentence to reply. “Yeah, you should be.” Fidgeting with your fingers only made you look like a liar. You turned to look at him, both of you fell into an awkward somehow comfortable silence.

“I think I have fallen in love with you” Iwaizumi confessed. He paused for a moment, “No. Actually, I am in love with you.” He looked serious, yes he was. He had been waiting for this moment to come and it’s finally time to confess. It's about time to tell you the truth.

“Wh-what? Are you kidding or what?” you chuckled nervously. Between him and you, you’ve always thought it’ll be you who make the first move but your assumption was wrong.

“No, I am not kidding” he looked at you straight in the eyes.

Your fingers brushed over your face which is now slightly warmer than usual. You disclosed the gap between both of you, “What if I tell you I am in love with you too?”

Iwaizumi's lips formed into a smile. He didn’t know how to put his thoughts into words, but he was thankful for your presence. Closing the gap between both of you, he moved his hand to your face. His palm cupping your face and pressed his lips on your lips with a tender kiss. “Is this fine?”

With your eyes closed, you nodded confidently. You have always loved how considerate Iwaizumi is with others. “Yes, please.”

Both of you kissed for the first time ever. There was a taste of love instead of lust from two individuals who are looking for home in the right person. Brushing your lips with his thumb, he looked at you once again. “Do you want this? Are we taking things too fast?”

You chuckled softly, “It’s fine, Hajime. It's not like we don’t want this in the first place.” Your eyes looking into his green eyes, before a smile appeared on his face. He nodded, agreeing with what you said.

“Let’s get to the backseat” he whispered, nibbling on the sensitive spot under your ear while his hands caressing both sides of your face. You climbed to the backseat, adrenaline pumping in your system. Iwaizumi gently laid you on the leather seat, spreading your legs so he could be in between your legs.

He easily removed your thin top, unzipping your pants that it slid over your legs so easily. The sudden cold of the night sent shivers down to your spine. “Are you sure you’re fine with this?” he interrupted your thoughts. You held his face in your hands, “I will never regret this moment, Hajime. Trust me.”

You have convinced him to not hold himself back. He nibbled on your sensitive spot over and over again, leaving deep purple hickeys all over your beautiful neck. Clinging your legs onto his waist, you arched lewdly to his touch while your tongues clashing with each other.

Iwaizumi placed his hands on your bare thighs, brushing his fingers over your inner thighs crucially slow. You whimpered softly, your body kept on asking for him to give you more. Everything he has to offer. “Hajime, please. I need you” you begged. “Don’t hold yourself back, because I am not going to.”

Oh, how sweet you looked being under him with your glossy eyes, begging him for more. He would wreck you if it wasn’t for this cramped place. Pulling his shirt off of his toned body, he let you enjoyed seeing his defined abs and chest. “I guess I need to teach my princess one or two things about love, hm?”

You nodded your head, your voice caught up in your throat, unable to speak proper sentences. “Don’t worry, I’ll take a really good care of you. Because I love you” he whispered in your ears.

You tugged on the waistband of his briefs, the tent forming in his boxer couldn’t hide the size of his cock. You gulped, he is unlike the other guys you have dated. He is sweet and loving, sometimes aggressive. Is he aggressive while being intimate too? You wondered.

From the way he parted your legs apart, you knew he’s real good at this. Iwaizumi dragged his two digits on your slick folds, “You’re already wet, baby” he laughed. He looked at you and gave you an assuring smile before he ate you out like a starved man. His tongue laid flatly on your dripping pussy.

His licks made your back arched lewdly to his touch. Iwaizumi never thought the day he'd be making love with his own best friend has finally come. He's in love with you ever since you guys were in first year of high school. The years of mutual pining only made him crave your love even more.

“You’re doing so good for me” he said, smirking at you in a glance. Your fingers intertwined in his spiky black hair while he praised you endlessly. “You’re eager for me, aren’t you baby?” his raspy voice vibrated against your wet cunt.

“Please, Hajime” you whimpered. “I-i want you to fuck me, please.”

“Since you are doing so good for me, I guess I have to give my princess my cock, hm?” With a harsh thrust, a loud gasp filled the car. He gasped when your tight walls swallowed his cock. Using his thumb, he played with your clit as he rocked his hips slowly to build his pace.

You have never heard yourself let out a sinful moan like you did just now. You immediately threw your hand over your mouth to cover your moans. Your eyes rolled back when he pressed his thumb on your clit.

“No, baby let me hear you” Iwaizumi yanked your hand away. “I want to hear you screaming my name, because I am the only one who can make you feel good from now on, hm?” he grunted as he slammed his hips into you.

Your tears formed in your eyes, wrapping around his neck while kissing him deeply. He toyed with your clit while kissing you passionately, hips rocking slowly into you. “Ah- Hajime” you moaned in his mouth.

“Fuck, you’re so beautiful” he grunted softly. "You’re doing so fucking good for me, princess. Taking my cock so well like this hm? Can you cum for me, baby?”

You nodded eagerly, “Pl-please. Make me cum, Hajime- ah!” your legs wrapped tightly around his waist when you felt your orgasm building up in your stomach. Iwaizumi bit his lips, continuing to grind against your g-spot as he eyed your fucked out face with your eyes rolled back and a single tear dropped down as you begged him to go harder.

“Fuck, you feel so- ah- good, Hajime” you cried out. “Please please please, I am so near!”

With the angle he's in right now, he managed to make you moan as if no one was there to hear. Iwaizumi was big, the tip of his cock bumping your cervix in every thrust, making your legs shaking badly and your lips quivering with pleasure and cries. It felt so fucking good, no one has ever fucked you this good. All the boys you dated were useless, never once making you cum.

Your cunt clenched tightly around his cock, telling him that you’re near. “Baby, come on cum for me” he dragged two of his fingers on your clit, flicking on it as he waited for your orgasm to break.

“Y-yes there! H-hajime, it feels so good!” you moaned, mixed with cries of pleasure. Your nails digging into his back muscle, leaving scratches all over his back.

“Here? Like this, baby?” he hummed through his teeth, flicking your clit over and over again until it made your whole body trembled. “Do you like that, hm?”

You nodded eagerly, words have flown out of your mind. Nothing can ever compare to his cock and the size of his fingers that could easily make you cum. Your throat felt dry from all the moaning and cries. You came around his cock, your cum dripping on his length.

“I need you to cum one more time, okay baby? You’re doing so good for me” iwaizumi caressed your hair gently. He placed a chaste kiss on your lips. You nodded, following his orders. He changed the angle of his thrust, pistoning his cock faster than he did before. His calloused hands playing with your hardened buds before taking one of them in his mouth and started sucking on it.

“Come on, baby” he grunted, biting his lips from cumming before you.

“I- I'm gonna- fuck!” you sobbed, it felt different than your first orgasm. Your legs trembled, “H-hajime please.”

“That's it, baby. Fuck, I'm cumming” he gritted through his teeth. “We can’t make a mess in here” he grunted softly. He looked at his cock being swallowed by your gummy walls. The mess that you made around his cock excited him.

“Fuck, just cum inside me, oh- shit” you sobbed, gripping onto his biceps as you came down from your high.

"Are you sure? Oh- fuuuck” you nodded, panting for air as he spilled his seed inside you with a deep grunt.

He laid on top of you for a moment, trying to catch his breath after spurting his thick cum inside of you. Iwaizumi kissed you on your forehead, “Let's stay like this for a moment. Can't afford messing up my friend’s seat, can’t we?” he laughed.

You chuckled, nodding your head. “Right. I have a tissue, Hajime. Don't you worry. But it’s in my luggage in the trunk.”

Iwaizumi giggled, sealing his lips with you sweetly while he tucked your hair behind your ear. “You did so good for me” he whispered in between the kisses. You giggled, “Yeah, as if we didn’t have sex in your friend’s backseat.”

He laughed, “He would have understand, right? Come on, let’s send you to your hotel it’s getting late.”

"Fuck, Y/N. I love you so much" he kissed you lovingly. You looked into his eyes trying to catch your breath. "I love you too, Hajime. Always have been."

#haikyuu x reader #hq x reader #haikyuu!! x reader #iwaizumi hajime #iwaizumi hajime x reader #iwaizumi x reader #haikyuu smut #haikyuu!! smut #iwaizumi smut #tw: unprotected #tw: praise kink #tw: car sex

[justmenoworries]

I have some... thoughts on Security Breach and I know they’re not gonna be popular. At all. If you wanna read them anyway, spoilers under the cut.

Okay, this game isn’t good. After all this waiting, all the delays, I was expecting at the very least a decent experience but everything about Security Breach is just so... subpar?

I don’t want this to just be a disoriented ramble, so I’m gonna try and put some order in here.

1. The game is buggy as hell.

Seriously, watch the AI for a few seconds and tell me that looks even remotely finished. The patrol routes are ineffective, the models get stuck if there’s the slightest obstruction and the bots don’t notice you half the time when they very much should. You can literally skirt right by a S.T.A.F.F. - bot without crouching and they’ll dead-ass stare right past you without doing anything. Also, you can fall right under the map. Yeah. I’m not kidding. I got yeeted out of bounds several times when I tried to take the elevator. This is the game that Steel Wool claimed they only wanted to release when it was perfect. The cutscenes don’t work right either. When I returned to the Lost and Found at some point, the game just straight-up replayed the Vanessa cutscene and reversed everything to when I ended up in that room for the first time. That’s not to mention the amount of clipping, voiceline-overlap or crashing I had to go though during the first hour! Look, I know game-making is hard, but at least make sure your product even functions before throwing it on the market Steel Wool.

2. The game isn’t scary

Nothing about this game even remotely scared me. At least not the way it should. Oh it tried, that’s for sure, but in the end everything just looks too nice and polished. In the previous games there was this terrible sense of helplessness, with you stuck in one location and only able to try and hang on until 6:00 AM. The animatronics were terrifying because once they got to you there was literally nowhere you could run to. This game? I only felt mild annoyance whenever a bot or an animatronic saw and chased after me. The animatronics are just too cute to be scary. And their try-hard eeevil~ voicelines don’t help. I’m sorry, are you really expecting me to be scared of a guy who says stuff like “You can hide, but you cannot hide”? The jumpscares are just these guys screaming in my face for a few seconds and then a generic static-y game over-screen. Really? That’s it? That’s all the “next chapter in fear” can do? Apart from the fact that jumpscares are the cheapest way to scare someone in a horror game, the imagery here is at least supposed to be terrifying! I’m supposed to dread the moment I might trigger those, not roll my eyes in exasperation because I know I’ve got an unskippable, boring cutscene ahead of me. Vanny is nothing but a disappointment. She’s barely in the game, she has like two lines and she also just up and disappears if you take certain routes. You’d think with the amount of promotional material she got and her significance to the game’s story, she’d have a bigger role, but nope. She gets nothing. Nada. Zero. If you bought this game in hopes of facing a villain of threat- and creepiness-level William Afton, congratulations, you got played. The twist of her and Vanessa being the same person is also not implemented beyond being cheap wham shots in the endings. Speaking of which...

3. The story sucks

This game is possibly the most story-heavy entry in the franchise and yet it still does a worse job at giving a consistent, interesting plot than the game that had you do literally nothing but sit in one room and press buttons. You get hints there’s something big and sinister going on behind he scenes. You get hints at potentially interesting character arcs. You get hints at some hidden darkness behind all the candy-colored, corporate fun. But that’s it. The game sets up roughly a million mystery boxes and then resolves about a quarter of them in its endings. Like, even the “true ending” explains virtually nothing apart from “William Afton was behind a lot of stuff”, which, yeah, big shock, we totally didn’t predict this since Help Wanted, wow, really pulled the rug out from underneath me there Steel Wool. Every major character is severely underutilized and gets barely anything but the skeleton of a personality. The only exception is Glamrock Freddy and even his character arc is sufficient at best. Everyone else gets silch. And that’s frustrating, because the game frequently hints that there could be more about the characters we’re not seeing. Gregory has no personal records and he somehow ended up in the Pizzaplex without a guest profile. Who is he? Just a random kid Vanny abducted? Is he a robot and that’s why there’s no information about him? Does he have parents? Is he homeless? The animatronics all have some form of personality disorder: Roxy has huge self-esteem issues, Monty can’t control his anger, Chica is a compulsive eater. Where did those come from? Is it a result of mistreatment at the hands of Fazbear Entertainment or Vanny’s hacking? Or did Vanny just amplify negative qualities that were already there so she could control them more easily? Speaking of which, are the animatronics aware they’re being controlled? Are they horrified of what Vanny makes them do? Are they fighting from within in some way? If Freddy was able to resist the reprogramming, why couldn’t they? Since we are able to potentially save Vanessa/Vanny, could there be a way to save them? All very interesting questions that the game apparently thought didn’t need answering or even elaboration. There are no motivations, no goals to pursue, no plotlines, other than ‘get out of the Pizzaplex’. Riveting. I’m so glad I spent money on this. Let’s move on to last and definitely least-

4. The endings are lazy

And I don’t just mean that from a story-telling perspective. The endings are concept art, re-modelled into mostly static comic pages. Most of them involve one character dying for cheap shock value or tear-jerking. Was it really too much to ask for to make fully animated cutscenes? The intro cutscene is animated, so why not make the same effort for the endings? Not to mention that they’re just not narratively satisfying? It’s little more than “Gregory gets out of the Pizzaplex and X comes with him” for every single one. There are no greater consequences for your actions during the game. The most you can do is free Vanny. But the animatronics? Gregory? They stay exactly the same. You’ve changed surface-level stuff and not much else. If you’re gonna pretend to be a choice-driven game a la Undertale or Detroit: Become Human, maybe don’t make every single outcome identical, but with a different coat of paint.

#security breach spoilers #fnaf security breach

[spicysoftsweet]

Chapter 6

Masterlist

“You have to promise to smile nicely, not that scary thing you do when you’re fighting,” Kumi hissed as she linked arms with Baji and, as though she hadn’t just been fussing at him, flashed her winningest smile to the camera.

Baji grumbled in disapproval but once she nudged him hard in the ribs with her elbow, he  smiled widely right before the shutter sound clicked, almost drowned out by the bustle of the city square in which they stood. Excited, Kumi ran over to the old lady who had been nice enough to take a picture of them together and thanked her with a bow before accepting her digital camera back. Before she left, the grandmother didn’t miss the opportunity to hold her gently by the wrist and whisper, “please encourage that young man to get a haircut.”

Kumi held in her laughter and nodded and the elderly woman nodded off.

The picture turned out nicer than expected and she showed him energetically. The two teenagers looked exactly like what they were just from the photo - a new relationship, a first relationship, awkward yet open to the future.

“See how cute you are! No one would even know you’re a troublemaker,” Kumi said, excitedly.  Baji pulled her cheek in retaliation, causing her to yelp, but it was evident that he was pleased once he took a look.

The two were spending the day in the shopping district in order to get Kazutora a homecoming gift. Baji had insisted that Kazutora wasn’t exactly the type of person to get excited over gifts, but Kumi and Kaksi had immediately argued the opposite.

We’re throwing him a party, they’d insisted. The irony was that they weren’t even sure when he would get out, but they knew about two years had passed, so it was anytime soon and they wanted to be ready.

Who was he to argue?

So here he was, following her around like a lost puppy as she quickly weaved through the throngs of people in the square, in and out of his view.

“Don’t say anything but I’m buying something for Kaksi too, her birthday is soon!” she said once she’d stopped outside of a store that sold craft jewelry, eyes sparkling.

“Hey, don’t forget you still owe me chocolate,” Baji reminded her, now irritated about all the things that she was getting for other people and not him. Just the memory of Mitsuya dumping tons of chocolate in her lap in front of him on White Day made him scrunch up his face in distaste.

“It’s literally been months! Plus I didn’t like you then,” she replied, calmly without looking at him. “So I owe you nothing.”

“Bambi,” he hissed in a warning tone.

She grinned and pecked him quickly on the cheek, causing him to blush. She went one step forward and squeezed his hand, intertwining her fingers with his.

“Next year, I promise I’ll make you so many you’ll get sick of them.”

The picture of the two of them together, along with a sticky note that promised to make Baji enough chocolates to last a lifetime, sat above her desk, right in the center of her bulletin board, bringing a smile to her face between studies from that day on.

---

Despite the amount of time Kaksi spent with Mikey, there were still very few subjects that would get him to open up of his own accord.

That was - until it came to the subject of Takemichi Hanagaki.

That name would almost fall from Mikey’s lips daily, Kaksi now noticed, although it seemed everyone preferred calling him Takemitchy. The girl had met him once as her friend had invited him to one of their ritual lunches together. Despite not being a jealous person, Kaksi couldn’t help wondering why Mikey would be interested in a boy like Takemichi.

While their meeting had been short and he had paid for his own meal, he apologized profusely to the girl for interrupting her date with Mikey, even though it wasn’t a date. Because, she in fact had a boyfriend that wasn’t Toman’s leader. Observing Takemitchy throughout that dinner, she found him to be very different from the other people Mikey would call friends. Now being different wasn’t bad, she was aware, but it was odd that he was nowhere as bright or as strong as her friends and yet he was becoming pretty famous.

As Toman’s previous conflict with another gang unfolded, Takemichi was the one who had saved Draken’s life, Kaksi had learned with surprise as well as relief. For her peace of mind, she used to prefer not knowing about the gang’s business, but as she got closer to its members she realised this couldn’t always be possible.

So it was with worried and pleading eyes that she asked her friends to all be more careful. She didn’t want to attend any funerals again; despite not being close to Shinichiro Sano, his death was engraved in her memory after all.

And any moment she thought of him had her thinking about her boyfriend.

Kazutora.

Kazutora had been released without fanfare, and quietly returned home. From the moment he was out of juvie, he longed to see Kaksi, his girlfriend and set out in the direction of her home as soon as he’d gotten settled. But she wasn’t home to welcome him, however, he realized, disappointed on his very first day out. That was without knowing that she was planning a homecoming party for him though. He decided to go to her instead. Wouldn’t that be an amazing surprise? To see her boyfriend again?

The boy thought so and waited for the right moment, making sure that he would look good for their reunion after two years of separation. He had changed a lot however - his hair had grown out, and he was taller now - he wondered what she would think of him now. Maybe Kaksi changed a lot too, he figured, on his way to her place for a second time the next Saturday afternoon.

It was with Kaksi’s favourite flowers that he had decided to greet her. It would be her birthday soon after all, so there was no harm in surprising her with an early gift.The pink orchids in his hand contrasted with his darker outfit, simple black pants and a dark grey shirt. He wore a beautiful smile on his face, excited to see one of the people he had missed the most while he was away. He may have had one specific mission the moment he came out, but reuniting with her would never take a backseat to that.

Unfortunately, that joy was short-lived as his eyes laid on an overly familiar bike model, a CB250T, the one he meant to steal two years ago. Kazutora stopped in his tracks, unsure about what he was witnessing. But there weren’t two smiles like this one. Yes, he could recognise Kaksi’s smile from a mile away. The flowers he held started the crumble as his fist tightened around them.

What the fuck was he doing here?

The fury that was taking over Kazutora was deadly.

What the fuck was he so close to his girlfriend for?

The ringing in the boy’s ears was deafening as he watched Kaksi take a hold of Mikey’s hand, only a few meters away from her apartment block. She was only inspecting the bracelet she had offered to her friend as he told her about his fear that it might fall apart any second, but of course, Kazutora couldn’t possibly realize that from his vantage point.

No, all he knew was that the person responsible for the past two wasted years of his life was getting too close to his girlfriend. What Kazutora felt was beyond jealousy, it was madness that he had been feeding every day ever since Shinichiro’s death. Kazutora had already wanted to kill Mikey. That was the only thing that could solve everything, he believed, and this was even more evidence of the latter.

Why was Kaksi smiling at him? Why was she giving him those eyes? Kazutora couldn’t understand. Didn’t she know that Mikey was responsible for all the bad things that had happened to him? The pain, the fear, the loneliness, the anger - it was all because of Mikey. He was the bad guy. So why was she so close to him?

Kazutora had noticed Mikey’s deep black eyes lingering on his girlfriend a few times in the past. But Kaksi’s brown eyes only sparkled for Kazutora... At least that was what he used to believe. Did Mikey decide to take her away from him too? Of course, he would, Kazutora was convinced. Wasn’t Kaksi the dearest person to him after all?  

Kaksi was the hands that would take care of his wounds, the ears that would listen to his nightmares and dreams, the lips that would kiss his salty tears away. She was his world and he was hers. That was how it had always been between them. Yet there she was laughing with Mikey like she wasn’t supposed to be missing Kazutora.

Did she forget about him? Was that the reason she hadn’t come to see him, her boyfriend earlier? Kazutora watched as she waved her friend goodbye, making her way to her apartment building, hand playing with the fabric of her dress.

Kaksi rarely ever wore dresses, he noted. Was she trying to impress Mikey? Kazutora was too angry to confront her, crushing the orchids he had brought her under his shoe as he walked away.

Once again Mikey was the cause of his pain and anger. But Kazutora had reached his limit a long time ago. He had to kill him, that was all he could think about on the walk back to his place.

Blood still boiling, he let himself stew in anger for a few more days before he turned to his confidant. 

---

“Long time no see, Kazutora.”

Baji met his friend with his classic devious smirk, muting his excitement to see him after all this time. After all, Kazutora appeared serious, and the fact that they met under the cover of night in a dark alleyway only further accented the sinister nature of their meeting.

Kazutora smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes.

“Are you in or are you out?”

Baji didn’t hesitate when he replied, “yes.”

Agreeing would mean betrayal by formally letting go of Toman, a group he’d conceived of himself with his friends.

There was more he wanted to say - more about what had happened while he was gone, how he’d missed him, to thank him for helping him out, but Kazutora had one goal in mind.

Revenge.

A singular, unreasonable type of revenge that Baji couldn’t quite wrap his head around.

Mikey did not make you do anything. Mikey did not put the weapon in your hands and force you to use it, he wanted to tell him. Mikey will understand. He’ll forgive you.

But Kazutora was too far gone, and Baji had to find a way to temper it. For the three of them to be friends again, for Toman.

“Let us know when you quit. See ya around, Baji!” Kazutora said, nearly singing out the words as he turned and walked off. Baji frowned the moment Kazutora had his back turned, fists clenched as he remembered the source of the problem.

Tetta Kisaki, a somebody who should be a nobody. He knew in almost no time that Kisaki was bad news, and he’d find a way to get to him, even if it killed him.

---

It was with anticipation that Kaksi made her way up the steps to her boyfriend’s apartment. Kaksi hadn’t visited in a long time and it felt a little strange to be there once again, expecting to see Kazutora. She wondered if he was upset that she hadn’t come to see him while he had been detained before being sentenced to two years in juvie.

This was part of the reason why she hadn’t come to meet him sooner, the fact that she still felt some guilt at not being there, and also because she was preparing a surprise party for him. But Kazutora would understand - he could hardly ever be angry at her, she remembered and he was way more understanding than he let on. There was no reason why he wouldn’t be happy to see her again, she concluded, knocking on the boy’s apartment door.

Kaksi played with the fabric of her skirt, inspecting her hair one last time as well as the light makeup she had worn on her face, waiting for him to open the door. She wasn’t even sure he was home, and apart from Baji letting her know Kazutora was back, neither he nor her boyfriend would answer her texts. She wasn’t worried however, as there was nothing unusual about Baji ignoring her unless it was for an emergency and as for Kazutora, she figured he might have changed numbers once out of juvie and didn’t have an opportunity to tell her yet.

But as the wooden door finally opened, Kaksi hoped that it was her boyfriend that would welcome her and not his mother, and her wish came true. Kazutora stood in front of her and she froze for a moment.

He had changed a lot.

Kaksi’s brown eyes studied the boy in front of her. He had grown and the girl was incredibly jealous of his height, as he’d gone from being the same height to towering over her by a few inches. His hair was also longer and styled completely differently from what she was used to seeing and it suited him very well, she realized, feeling the heat take over her face. He also had a new ear piercing, one with a dangling earring that made a tinkling sound with every turn of his head.

He looked absolutely stunning. Yet the first thing that Kaksi had noticed was his eyes, Kazutora’s wide sandy eyes. As familiar as they were to her, she couldn’t brush away the impression that something was off about her boyfriend. Still, she figured it was the novelty of his new look and the two years that had separated them that made him look so different .

This boy was still her boyfriend and as he watched her in turn, studying the way she had changed (admittedly way less than Kazutora), she couldn’t help reaching for his face. Kaksi’s fingertips brushed Kazutora’s skin as she smiled in adoration. She could feel tears of joy blurring her vision and quickly blinked, not wanting to cry in front of him.

He allowed her, remembering how good it felt to be this close to her again. This moment was however short-lived as he took a step back and promptly pushed her hand away. The sudden action brought the girl back to her senses, and she spoke for the first time in a while, a little embarrassed by what she had done.

“It’s been too long, Kazutora,” she said, with a little smile. “Can I come in?”

He didn’t return her smile but nodded before moving to the side, letting Kaksi enter. Kazutora closed the door behind him then faced her again. She was still smiling and he would have kissed her if it wasn’t for the jealousy that had been eating away at him ever since he had seen her with Mikey that other day.

“I’m sorry I didn’t come to see you earlier,” the girl told him. “I was busy with a little something.”

Kaksi chuckled, excited to show her boyfriend what that little something was.

“I know,” Kazutora’s voice was cold, very unlike him, she noticed.

The girl frowned, confused.

“What do you mean you know?”

Had Kazutora uncovered her planned homecoming party for him? Did Baji or someone else tell him?

“I saw you,” he said, confusing the girl further, his eyes staring into her soul. For once, Kaksi was wary about his look.

“Kazutora, what are you talking about?”

Her boyfriend laughed, but it was nothing like the melodious sound she was used to hearing when he was happy or amused. Rather, this laugh was as unnatural as it was frightening and Kazutora’s sudden change of expression didn’t help.  

“I’m talking about whatever the fuck you have going on with Mikey,” Kazutora spat, voice louder and harsher.

Kaksi’s eyes widened slightly and guilt automatically washed over her. How did he find out? was what she first wondered. But this wasn’t what she should be asking herself when it was still unclear what her boyfriend was accusing her of doing.

“Nothing is going on between Mikey and me,” she replied, in a small voice.

But this wasn’t true. There was something, even if she wasn’t sure what. Still, she hadn’t done anything wrong, right?

“I saw you,” he repeated, his smile sadistic. “Don’t fucking lie to me, Kaksi.”

“I’m not lying, Kazutora!” She protested. No, she wasn’t, at least not entirely.

“What did you see?” she asked him, assuming guilt already, whether it was completely deserved or not.

What could have ever given away that she hadn’t been completely emotionally faithful to Kazutora?

“I came to see you, a few days ago,” the boy explained, getting closer to Kaksi, without his eyes meeting hers. “I wanted to surprise you. So I bought you some flowers and decided I would come over to your place. I thought we could pick up where we left off, you and I.”

Kazutora paused for a moment, remembering all the emotions he had felt watching his girlfriend stand so close to the person that had hurt him.

“But instead, I saw you laughing and holding hands with Mikey,” he continued.

So this was what Kazutora saw. But this was only a twisted version of what had unfolded last Saturday afternoon.

“I wasn’t holding hands with Mikey at all. I was ju-”

“Oh please, spare me the details,” Kazutora cut the girl off. “Instead, tell me since when did the two of you get so close to each other?”

Was it the moment he turned his back? Had she always wanted him?

Kaksi took a moment before answering, thinking about her next words carefully.

“I felt guilty after what happened to Shinichiro, even though it wasn’t my fault,” she told him, sincerely. “I was just trying to be a good friend to Mikey, that’s all.”

“A good friend to Mikey?” Kazutora asked, in disbelief, then rage. His fists clenched.  “On whose side are you exactly, Kaksi?”

The girl frowned, confused once again about what was the real issue. The confusion made her upset, angry even.

“What the fuck are you talking about? There are no sides, Kazutora. Mikey is our friend.”

There was a new strength in her voice as it grew louder.

“He’s not my friend,” Kazutora replied. “And he shouldn’t be yours either. It’s because of him that I ended up in juvie. It’s because of him that I lost my friends. It’s because of him that we got separated, Kaksi!”

Kazutora yelled those last words and Kaksi wondered what she could tell him to help him regain his senses. It was clear that he wasn’t thinking straight anymore. Instead of feeling guilty for hurting Mikey, Kazutora had twisted the truth and decided to blame Mikey for his suffering. Kaksi couldn’t understand what had led him to believe in such nonsensical thoughts. But she couldn’t blame him, being completely isolated from everyone for two years after the traumatic event that had unfolded in the summer of 2003 probably didn’t help Kazutora’s fragile state of mind.

“Kazutora,” the girl said, softly, moving closer to him and holding his arm lightly. “This is not true. Mikey isn’t the bad guy, he doesn’t want to hurt you. He never meant to hurt you.”

This felt strange to say considering what Kazutora had done to Mikey. But Kaksi was unsure about how the boy would react to the unfiltered truth.

“But I am?”

“No, of course not,” she reassured.  

“So why are you defending him?” Kazutora asked, the fury in his eyes making the girl step back.

“I’m not defending any-”

“You love him don’t you?” her boyfriend asked, taking a step forward.

Yes. But I love you too. I love you more. I promise.

This was what she wanted to tell him.

“No, I don’t, Kazutora,” she said, instead.

“Stop fucking lying to me, Kaksi,” he insisted, gripping her arms and preventing her from moving away from him.

Kazutora was strong and his hold on the girl was hurting her. For the first time in her life, Kaksi feared her boyfriend.

“I’m not lying,” she insisted, regardless.

“Then why were you so close? Why were you on his bike? Why were you holding hands? Why were you laughing with him? Why did you look at him like you looked at me?”

It was useless. This was a fight Kaksi couldn’t win. Kazutora might have been irrational in the way he had been analysing the situation but he hadn’t missed the subtle clues that his girlfriend had dropped, it was clear to her now. Kazutora was right. She loved Mikey and she had hurt him, Kazutora had every right to be mad at her.

“I’m sorry,” was all she could say, as tears ran down her face.

Kazutora didn’t say anything, he dragged her to his door instead. But Kaksi didn’t want to leave, not like this, not after that. She pulled as hard as she could, trying to stop the boy from moving her further. But his grip only tightened around her wrists as his movements got more brutal.

“Kazutora, please,” she begged, voice breaking. “Listen to me.”

But the boy had heard enough. He held Kaksi with one arm and opened the door with the other. She tried to fight him back, reaching for him as tears kept rolling down her cheeks. It was in vain however as Kazutora violently pushed her out of his apartment.

“Go fuck yourself, Kaksi,” he hissed, slamming the door in front of her while she fell to the ground, crying from desperation and pain.

#baji x oc #kazutora x oc #tokyorev #off target effects #collab fic #mae.writing #tokyo revengers x reader #tokyo revengers imagine #tokyo revengers #longfic

[junquisite]

Treasure

WORD COUNT : 2.1K

GENRE : Supernatural AU, Spirit! Donghun X OC

WARNING : The OC has slightly ambiguous Morals, implied violence, mentions of murder, implied murder, very little mention of blood, PLEASE IT’S SOFT DON’T WORRY!!

NOTE : Hello, i came up with this idea last night at 2.30 in the morning, told @unknown5tar​ about it, then ended up writing this in like 2-3 hours. so enjoy~

The mountain top was reputed - reputed to hold the biggest treasure one couldn't even imagine and no man has ever reached there but the claims still live. The path was dangerous - journey worth weeks that you can't bring enough food for, thunder strikes and too heavy rain and snow or dust storms comprising the unpredictable weather you could never prepare for. And if all that was not enough, there were wild animals to fight you, and ofcourse the dragon at the top of the mountain. 

So Donghun just blinked at the girls standing at the mouth of the cave with his mouth agape.

“How did you get here?” he asked as the girl looked at him quickly and pulled her sword out from behind her.

“Who are you? What are you doing here?” she asked as she took frantic steps towards him and he stepped back with his hands raised.

“I’m the spirit of this cave.” he said when her sword was a feather away from his face.

“A spirit? Do you guard the treasure?” she asked as her eyes flickered to her surroundings.

“You can say so. Now if you can just take that sword away from my face.” he said and she took it away, her whole attention at the inside of the cave. Probably looking for the treasure, Donghun thought. 

“Aren't you a spirit? Why would you be scared of a mere sword?” she asked offhandedly as she walked around the barren cave and he was getting nervous as he followed her to the inside of the cave where there was a slight opening at the top reaching the peak of the mountain as she looked around.

“I might be a spirit but I'm still a mortal.” he mumbled as she turned to stare at him.

“How would that even work..” she mumbled but before he could explain she shrugged.

“Whatever spirit, where’s the treasure? It took me almost a month to get here, give me my treasure.” she asked him with a big smile and he just gave her a small smile.

“The real treasure is the friends you made on the way here.”

 There was a scary silence which settled in the cave where she stared at him and Donghun willed his heart to not jump out of his chest. She had a sword that she was clearly not afraid to use.

“You're joking aren't you? is this some test to see if i’m worth the treasure or not because I need my treasure spirit!” she spoke, her words getting louder as she stepped closer to him, crowding him against the wall.

“That is the real treasure. You must not have made it here alone on your own, the friends were the real treasure.”

She started laughing at that and it scared the spirit further.

“Why are you laughing?” he asked as she took a few steps away to sit down on the floor and laugh. When she had calmed down enough she looked at him sharply.

“So you’re telling me the 6 people I left behind to get here were the supposed treasure?” she asked and he nodded.

“What happened to them?” he asked and she shrugged.

“2 died during the climb, one of them got eaten by a tiger we encountered and the other 2 got caught by your precious dragon. He must not have to go out to hunt for a while now.” she said, her lips turning up slightly as she spoke.

“And what about the last one?” he asked and she gave him a sinister smile.

“I didn't want to split the treasure.” she said simply and laughed at Donghun’s mortified face. “Don't look so scared now. I won't kill you spirit.” she said as she got up and dusted her cloth.

“Don't you have a name though? I’ll start, I’m Kim Minji, and you?” she asked as she started wandering the cave again.

“Lee Donghun.” he said slowly and watched her head bob in acknowledgment.

“Aren't you hungry? Do you not eat?” she asked and he looked away. “I don't.”

She laughed loudly when his stomach grumbled at that exact moment.

“I'm going to stick around for a while spirit until I find something worth taking back with me. So share your food with me.” she said as she waited for him at the center of the opening, her hands on her waist making her look more serious then she probably was but it got the point across as Donghun scrambled to go to one of the tunnels just on the other side of the opening. 

He heard her gasp as she entered behind him to the small garden.

“What would you like?” he asked as she looked around.

Figuring she was probably not going to answer anything anytime soon, he started gathering the fruits and berries and anything edible in the small garden he felt like eating.

“This is so fascinating but do you really get enough to eat daily?” she asked and he looked at her confused.

“What do you mean? They bloom and fruit everyday?” he asked. Wasn't that how it was everywhere?

Her open mouth gaping at him made him think maybe it was in fact, not like this everywhere.

“Aren't you going to eat?” he asked as he filled a container with the water behind the garden and she followed him like a puppy to the opening. It made him laugh for some reason.

 After eating she literally groaned and proceeded to lie down on the floor and sigh happily.

“I haven't eaten this much in years and this wasn't even meat.”

Donghun had many questions but what came out of his mouth was,“Meat?”

She sat up at that. “You have never had meat?” she asked and he shook his head.

“What is it?”

“It's basically the flesh of animals but cooked.” 

He scrunched up his face at that. “That's so disgusting.” he said and she laughed.

“I'll change your mind and get you some one day.” she said as she got up and strolled a little away from him and settled in a little corner as Dognhun looked up at the little sky opening above their head, it was getting dark.

“Are you sleeping?” he asked and she nodded as she pulled the small raggish looking bag he remembered her bringing and pulled out a tattered blanket she wrapped herself in.

A few minutes passed and Minji was almost asleep when she felt someone pulling her blanket away. She was about to fight when she felt something more solid and warm being wrapped around her and she smiled and snuggled in.

 A loud noise woke her up and she looked up to see it was about a little earlier than Dawn, the sun was probably about to rise she assumed as she picked up her sword and walked to the entryway of the cave. She peeked outside as two men from her village were holding Donghun at sword point. 

“Stop lying to us spirit! Tell us where the treasure is!”

She stood back as she looked at them. He was a spirit, he must be alright. She thought as she looked at the scene. She recognised the men.

They must have followed me and my group for an easy way, she thought as one of them looked around at the sparse belongings of the spirit and the other held Donghun with his sword in his face. When the first man kicked off a small bundle to the floor and clothes fell from it, Donghun tried to stop them and convince them that there was really no treasure. 

She wasn't going to interfere, she had no need to since he was a spirit, but when the one holding the sword pierced his neck’s skin and drew out blood, she sighed as she stepped out.

“You really have no shame. Was the plan to take the treasure off of my hands when I would get back to the village not enough that you came here following me too?” she said as her own sword dangled lightly from her hands.

She heard Donghun softly whisper her name and winked at him.

“Now why don't you leave my pretty spirit alone and deal with someone who can not only take you on but also probably defeat you.” she said and smirked as she knew she ticked them off.

15 minutes later she was standing with her own feet on top of that man’s head as she cleaned her face of blood with her jacket. She kicked him as she went to check on Donghun who was peeking from the opening and she smiled at him.

“I’ll drag the bodies outside, I'm sure your dragon would love that.” 

“I'm not your pretty spirit.” he grumbled as he looked down on the ground, but quickly looked at her when he heard her laugh loudly.

“From everything I did, you chose to pick up on that?” as she left him to drag the bodies out. 

A few minutes later she came back only for Donghun to thrust a pair of clothes towards her.

“There is a stream from that entrance.. You can clean up, I won't peak.” he said and his red cheeks were begging for her to tease him, so she did.

“I won't mind if you would.” she said and winked at him, and left laughing to the entrance he pointed as she heard him choking.

 That morning  after eating something for breakfast, when she was stretching on the ground and Donghun was sitting in the corner, observing her, she stared back at him.

“What do you usually do here?” she asked and he shrugged.

“Nothing?” she asked and he nodded and she whistled. “I’m equally parts sad and happy for you.” and she sat up, a serious look on her face.

 “I have decided what I want for treasure.” she said and saw Donghun visibly gulp.

“You. i'll have you as my treasure.” she said with a huge smile and he tried to stutter out a response which wasn't coherent enough for her to make sense.

“Hear me out,” she tried to stop him from hyperventilating and when he took a couple deep breaths and nodded at her to  go on, she smiled.

“I’ll stay here. There's nothing calling me back to my village, I've got no one. I'll stay and protect you from people like them and i’ll even take you out!” she saw as his face was slightly scared but at the prospect of going outside, it lightened up.

“You’ll.. Take me out?” he said and she nodded.

“Okay..can i trust you though?” he asked and she raised an eyebrow at him.

“I just saved your life?” she questioned back and he glared at her.

“You also killed them with no remorse.” he said and she shrugged.

“Fair enough. But you can trust me, I'll also teach you to defend yourself my mortal spirit.” she said and threw him her sword which he caught, slightly scared.

“I’ll agree then.” 

~

“Do you think it'll be alright for me to leave the cave?” Donghun asked her and she rolled her eyes at him.

“For the hundredth time Donghun, yes. You yourself told me that I was the only one who came in the past 3 years.” she said as she stepped out with her sword behind her back and a bag full of fruits to trade off for some money.

“How are you today faei.” she cooed at the dragon who rubbed her giant head at Minji’s tiny hands.

“It didn't really took her that long to get comfortable with you.” Donghun said and Minji smiled.

“I never knew it was her. Women bond quickly, don't we Faei.” she said, the last part directed at the dragon who made an elated noise at her and Minji laughed.

“We’ll go to the other village, the opposite to mine. The people at mine must be anticipating either my death or me returning with that treasure to steal it from me. So let’s go to the other village.” she told him and he nodded as she turned towards the other way.

“Lets go!” she said as she grabbed Donghun’s hand and his ear turned red and he looked away.

“We’ll eat bread?” he asked and she smiled and nodded. Then he proceeded to name all the food she has ever mentioned to him and a few steps forward she was full on laughing and nodding at his every word.

“And meat of course!” she added as he scrunched his face at the suggestion.

“How preposterous!” he said as he made a horrified face and she laughed.

“I’ll get you used to it, my precious spirit.” as she pulled him closer with a hand around his waist and he looked away.

She got his attention with giving him a small peck on his cheeks and he was quick to look her way, his whole face read now as he tried to stutter out a response.

“Let’s go my spirit.”

“Not your spirit.” he managed to mumble out and the mountain forest resounded with her laugh.

#a.c.e #donghun #a.c.e donghun #lee donghun #a.c.e scenarios #a.c.e scenario #a.c.e imagine #a.c.e imagines #ACEWRITERS

[vinylhazza]

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost!” <3

“y/n, calm down-“

“relaxxxxx have a beer! you’re supposed to be having fun!” ethan slurred from beneath you, pressing the clear bubble on the cardboard “Trouble” game he’d found in the cabinet underneath the TV. the dice slap against the plastic and a moment later he’s cheering at the outcome of his play, moving his yellow game piece excitedly.

“i’m sure it wasn’t that big of a deal, there are drafts all over this shithole,” thomas reasoned softly, the quietest of the group. he was the only one that actually looked concerned about the petrified face you wore. maybe he was trying to convince himself more than you.

“yeah you look like you’ve seen a ghost!” angela quips, sitting up from her place on the couch.

you’re sure she’s right. your white metallica t-shirt had ripped on your way out of the guest room, caught on a cracked piece of wood on the doorframe. it remained crumpled in your fist. your face, drained of all color, gave the impression that you’d seen something to convince your almost immediately you weren’t alone. there was something else lurking in the old shack they called a cabin and they needed to listen before it was too late.

ethan and joshua chuckle from their spots on the floor, atop a dingy carpet that had to be there for more than a decade - uncleaned at that. it made your skin crawl that the two looked comfortable among the filth of the creepy ass cabin they’d somehow convinced you to come to. in the middle of the woods, miles from the nearest house or rest stop, far enough from civilization to have you on your toes the moment you set your bag on the hand crocheted blanket on the bed.

“it’ll be fun,” they said.

yeah fun until strange happenings that you can’t explain start popping up and no one believes you. someone pulling on your foot in the middle of the night, pinching at your skin that can’t be coincidence, voices low but noticeable. isn’t this the plot of every horror movie? the girl that doesn’t want to come has all the bad shit happen and all of her dumbass friends mock her until they inevitably have their asses handed to them?

“maybe that’s because i have” you huff, eyes darting to every nook and cranny they could to ensure nothing took you by surprise for the second time. you know what you saw, and none of these drunken fools were going to listen to you, “you’re all telling me you didn’t hear that shit last night.”

this only induced more laughter from your group of friends, too rep-occupied making a joke out of the trip than actually considering that this cabin just might actually be haunted.

“unlike you ms night owl, we were beat from the what was it? 6 hour drive out here? i was practically in a coma,” ethan chuckled, much rather slurred.

neither twin knew the real history behind the cabin nor why their aunt had fled as fast as she could when she’d spent her entire life hidden away from society. they didn’t think it was strange she suddenly wanted a change and gave them the keys to her families cabin with no question? opened her doors to “kids” that had no other plans than to tell scary ghost stories and get drunk off their asses?

“thomas and e are right babe, my aunt helen even said herself that there are drafts and when the house settles it can get kind of freaky-“

“pictures don’t come flying off of the wall because of a draft. someone touched me grayson. nor does a window slam shut that i had to fight to open in the first place,” you turn your attention to your boyfriend, narrowed eyes and all. you thought for sure he’d be the one to believe you and come to your aid when everyone else chalked it up to an old house surrounded by the elements. he should have considering his complaints the entire ride to the cabin.

“i don’t really wanna deal with e trashed the whole weekend”

“there’s nothing for us to even do there”

“how the fuck are we even supposed to seep with angela and thomas trying to fuck every hour?”

“no air conditioning either, i hope the trees shade and fans will be enough because i’m out if i sweat the entire time.”

“it’s gonna be so fun sure, bugs and rodents and complete seclusion oh goody!”

would he ever admit to saying such things? doubtful.

trying to reason with them was pointless. the group of young adults merely rolled their eyes at your frantic attempt to make them understand there is something seriously wrong. something sinister and evil lurked in the depths of this house, right down to his foundation—you were sure of it. you weren’t saying you had some sort of intel on spirits destined to loop for eternity, demons, ghosts and gouls...but you weren’t a fool and you did have a gut feeling that the group of you needed to be as far away from the cabin as possible. you cared little that you’d arrived only yesterday. one night was enough to scare you for life.

“i can call her if it would make you feel better,” he softened under your intense gaze, hair disheveled on his head. his look of apprehension let you know that he knew now wasn’t the time nor the place to challenge your feelings or make this anymore embarrassing in front of your friends that didn’t believe you.

he had slept throughout the night, unbothered by the unexplained sounds throughout the night: walking, skittering in the walls, pictures swinging on their hooks, doors creaking open, even wind across your face when there wasn’t a single window open or fan on in the house. you tried to reason with him, but knew he’d talk you down from your hectic attempts to scare him into leaving with you.

“no signal, remember?” you sneer.

with a chill down your back you know the lot of you weren’t alone. you knew without a doubt, deep in your body, it was the entity there to join in on the show, front and center just waiting for the right moment to let the rest of unsuspecting kids know it didn’t want them here. just as it had been banging and messing about in the early morning hours.

eyes wide and unwavering on grayson’s you begged him to see your terror at the situation. you just wanted to get the hell away from the run down prison cabin and never look back.

a favor was a favor until it wasn’t. his aunt had known the spirits that lurked in the cabin, whenever they came from. she’d always been a strange woman, very reclusive - but suddenly you wonder what motive she had being so open about the lot of you using her abandoned cabin she fought so hard to leave. a favor for her favorite nephews right?

with a whisper you urge them all to quiet down, a hand flying to your mouth. you felt in an irrational way that if it heard the labored breaths coming from your buzzing body, it would feed off of that energy. the energy it thrives on.

“it’s here.”

“y/n, you look so fucking crazy right now for real maybe you should have gotten some sleep. in fact maybe you could lay down and we will just get you when the food is done-“ angela whines, moving towards you with her arms open for a sympathetic hug. she really thought she was helping matters.

“did you not hear me? i said it’s. here.” backing away from her arms was your first reaction, your voice shaky and small.

“what is? there isn’t anyone here y/n jesus fu-“

with ethans sentence caught in his throat and his hand propping his body up on the floor, the group of you watch from across the room as the cellar door creaks open slowly, catching the full attention of the inebriated kids just looking for a good time.

you’d have loved to say i told you so, but instead waiting for movement, stuck in your spot in horror.

“isn’t that normally locked?” thomas whispers from the corner, backing himself up as far as his body would allow, contouring himself against the white and blues of the peeling wallpaper.

“always. i’ve never even seen what’s down there...” grayson swallows, clearly petrified to move any part of his body from the way his hands clenched at his sides.

with your breath stuck in your chest, you watch as angela rises to her feet, bravely marching towards in the door in a heroic kind of way, swinging the door open and looking down onto what you assumed to be a long stretch of stairs.

“looks like we are about to find out.”

-

a/n: just something spooky and fun idk. cheesy horror movies are my vibe.

#asks #gray!concepts #ethan!concepts #e!concepts

[monochrome-in-madness]

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My Top 10 Favourite Horrors

Within this top 10 list, some will include the prequels, sequels and any other follow ups as 1 ranking number. Some may be considered thriller, sci-fi, suspence etc, however, I do regard these as horrors myself.

I have take many aspects into account, such as videography, actor quality, SFX makeup quality, soundtrack, directors, CGI etc.

Note : this is my personal opinion. You do not have to agree with it, though if you haven't seen these, I highly reccomend them.

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1. The Conjuring

(1 & 2)

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The Conjuring 1 :

The Perron family moves into a farmhouse where they experience paranormal phenomena. They consult demonologists, Ed and Lorraine Warren, to help them get rid of the evil entity haunting them.

The Conjuring Trailer :

The Conjuring 2 :

Peggy, a single mother of four children, seeks the help of occult investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren when she and her children witness strange, paranormal events in their house

The Conjuring 2 Trailer :

My Opinion :

The Conjuring was the start of an incredible series of horrors that beat any other horror to the ground. It is absolutely fantastic and I basically worship these films. James Wan is my favourite director and he never ceases to amaze me.

Paranormal horror is my favourite and as someone who actually believes in the paranormal and who has had paranormal experiences, I can confirm that The Conjuring is much more realistic than any other paranormal films, which just makes it extra spooky.

The actors, camera angles, music, sfx makeup and storyline is just - chefs kiss -. I've been waiting for the 3rd one for so long, but they keep extending the release date. (R. I. P)

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2. Annabelle

(all of them)

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Annabelle :

John and Mia Form are attacked by a Satan worshipping couple, who uses their doll as a conduit to make their life miserable. This unleashes a string of paranormal events in the Forms' residence.

Annabelle Trailer :

Annabelle Creation :

Samuel and Elle embed their daughter's spirit into a doll, only to realise it is a demon. Years later, they open their home to a nun and six orphan girls, one of whom finds the doll.

Annabelle Creation Trailer :

Annabelle Comes Home :

Judy and her babysitter are left alone in her house after her parents leave to investigate a case. However, an unexpected guest sets Annabelle free, unleashing demonic activity in the house.

Annabelle Comes Home Trailer :

My Opinion :

Another great film series that was birthed form The Conjuring. Definitely less realistic, with many more jumpscares and spooky characters, which is appreciated in the horror world. Many people find dolls far more creepy than ghosts, myself included, so that's another perfect aspect that adds to the suspense.

I prefer Annabelle 3 over the others, mainly because I found that one to be more scary overall, even though Daniela is an idiot and she makes me so frustrated 😂

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3. Saw

(all of them)

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For the totally unindoctrinated, the Saw movie franchise revolves around the Jigsaw Killer (a.k.a. John Kramer), who tortures victims he believes are complacent or guilty, in order to make them appreciate their time on Earth.

All Saw Trailers :

Obviously I'm not going to list every Saw movie, because there are 7 (Jigsaw aka number 8, does NOT count. It is a disgrace).

My Opinion :

A classic for horror and gore lovers of all kinds. Of course I need to list this as number 3. I simply adore these movies. I even have the DVD set, so I am definitely a long term fan haha.

The obstacles and creativity regarding Saw as a whole needed a lot of thought put into it, plus it has a happy little side note of "make sure you don't cause harm to others in life and don't take anything for granted" which some may have not even noticed while being overwhelmed by the amount of fake blood.

Yes, a lot of characters are annoying, but that just makes us enjoy seeing them tortured even more (shh it's not real). Some of the blood doesn't look very realistic, the sfx can lack attention, BUT... It's still great and I can overlook these few flaws to appreciate the movies to the max.

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4. Blair Witch

(2016)

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A young man and his friends venture into the Black Hills Forest in Maryland to uncover the mystery surrounding his missing sister. Many believe her disappearance 17 years earlier is connected to the legend of the Blair Witch.

At first the group is hopeful, especially when two locals act as guides through the dark and winding woods. As the night wears on, a visit from a menacing presence soon makes them realize that the legend is all too real, and more sinister than they could have ever imagined.

Blair Witch Trailer :

My Opinion :

I love the camerawork. Not because it's perfect, because it's the opposite. It's a documentary style and this makes it feel more realistic, as if you are within the film yourself. I enjoy how they skip to the action at just the right time after a mild buildup.

The visuals are great as well and there were definitely some parts where I was disgusted and claustrophobic, which is good to experience while enjoying these types of films.

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5. Under The Skin

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Disguising itself as a human female, an extraterrestrial drives around Scotland attempting to lure unsuspecting men into her van. Once there, she seduces and sends them into another dimension where they are nothing more than meat.

Under The Skin Trailer :

My Opinion :

I would classify this as horror, but many won't. Either way, this is an amazingly artistic film with beautiful imagery and silent awe. It definitely makes you feel the suspense in a calming manner and it has some really dark moments. Without reading the description, one might be confused as to what is going on, but how art is supposed to be interpretated is by the imagination of individuals.

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6. Veronica

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During a solar eclipse, young Verónica and her friends want to summon the spirit of Verónica's father using an Ouija board. However, during the session she loses consciousness and soon it becomes clear that evil demons have arrived.

Veronica Trailer :

My Opinion :

A Spanish masterpiece, to put it simply. It's hard to find proper horrors like this in English. I really enjoyed this one and I watched it subbed not dubbed, because I feel like voiceovers tend to ruin the art of the original film. The buildup is perfect and unlike many horrors, it barely shows you the face of the "monster". That leaves it to the imagination, which in general makes it far more scary.

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7. Underwater

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Disaster strikes more than six miles below the ocean surface when water crashes through the walls of a drilling station. Led by their captain, the survivors realize that their only hope is to walk across the sea floor to reach the main part of the facility. But they soon find themselves in a fight for their lives when they come under attack from mysterious and deadly creatures that no one has ever seen.

Underwater Trailer :

My Opinion :

This movie was released quite recently and I didn't know what to expect. I was definitely blown away by how good it was. Being trapped underwater gives most people a sense of anxiety. Add being trapped underwater and being hunted by creepy sea monsters and you've got yourself a good horror. Kristen Stewarts general anxious personality definitely suits this film well.

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8. Split

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Kevin, who is suffering from dissociative identity disorder and has 23 alter egos, kidnaps three teenagers. They must figure out his friendly personas before he unleashes his 24th personality.

Split Trailer :

https://youtu.be/84TouqfIsiI

My Opinion :

An incredible film with phenomenal acting on the part of James McAvoy. You can get lost within his character and almost feel as if you are the character itself. Suspense is built up slowly and the climax of the film is released rapidly. People I know who do not enjoy horror, love this film themselves, which is saying something. It's definitely one of the best modern films that draws you in from the start. 

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9. A Quiet Place

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A family struggles for survival in a world where most humans have been killed by blind but noise-sensitive creatures. They are forced to communicate in sign language to keep the creatures at bay.

A Quiet Place Trailer :

https://youtu.be/WR7cc5t7tv8

My Opinion :

As you can tell by now, I love anything alien related. This film has some of the most amazing looking aliens I've seen, I was honestly in awe by how great they looked. Another silent film, but in a different sense to the previous one. Instead of being the hunter, this family is being hunted and this adds more to the fear factor.

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10. Unfriended - Dark Web

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When a teen finds a laptop with a cache of hidden files, he and his friend discover that the previous owner has access to the dark web and is watching over them.

Unfriended - Dark Web Trailer :

https://youtu.be/XenTM_C9fxM

My Opinion :

A modern take on horror. Involving the actual dangers of the dark web and the use of technology and turning it into a horror was a magnificent idea. It definitely had me at the edge of my seat.

Due to another film type that is not often explored (thus being that most of the movie is equal to what it would be like to look at your computer and video chat), it makes it different and therefore more compelling than the usual videography styles.

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Thank you for reading, if you've made it this far! Feel free to share your top 10 in the comment section, I am definitely interested in your opinions and finding new movies to watch myself. Any questions are also welcome.

Until next time, take care and stay spooky!

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#Horror #Horror movies #Horror films #Review #Movie review #Horror movie review #Horror fans #The Conjuring #Annabelle #Saw #Blair witch #Under the skin #Veronica #Underwater #Split #A quiet place #Unfriended dark web #Scary #Spooky #Spoopy #Dark #dark side #Paranormal #Supernatural #Witch #Witchy #Ouija #Spanish #James Wan #Youtube

[victorie552onepiecespeedrun]

Reading One Piece pt 221: “My Body… Won’t Move…”

Chapter 468

Thoughts:

- Chapter title says we’ll see Chopper vs Hogback. Destroy him, Chopper

- Fpos/cs: What. “Energy surges into an ancient town” Why do I see a bunch of chibi soldiers presumably waking up? What does it mean??? What are they doing on the moon??? Was Old Professor from the moon then? What a f*cking coincidence that would be. Does that mean Enel will have army of chibis now? I was just about done caring about that ministory and they suck me right in! But in all honesty, what

- “How does it feel to be captured by the powers of your own nakama!?” ooh, Hogback got Penguin and Samurai to do the dirty job and capture Robin and Chopper. That’s just plain rude

- Huh, Penguin could hit Robin now, when he refused to attack Nami earlier. It could be used for Shipping Manifesto but personally I think there’s a time limit on how long shadow’s personality holds reigns on zombie’s body, I mean Moria is waiting for Oars to lose Luffy’s… Luffyness still. And let’s remember Absalom blasted Penguin hard enough I though him gone for good

- Hogback just repeated what I said :/ Was he not listening

- So will we be watching them fighting zombies or zombie masters here?

- Cindry can be a little scary

- Chopper is speaking

- He talks about death, rebirth and heresy. I know he’s a genius reindeer doctor but… I think… this is the first time I feel this all is very unfair to him. Kid is mentally 15 here. Give him a break, not a “don’t meet your heroes” moment

- He got small now :(

- “don’t meet your heroes” intensifies

- “I was a prodigy!” “I performed operations for money!” “More and more patients kept coming from all over the world!” “It only causes trouble!” “I could save the lives of those that other moronic doctors couldn’t save!” “Don’t you understand the agony of a prodigy!?” Can I punch him now. Like what the hell

- But I have no problem buying he was a good doctor and surgeon before that zombie business. He really feels like real doctors who only do their stuff for money. I suppose if you don’t believe in that inherent “saving lives” stuff, being a medic does leave you being like… this

- What an asshole, that’s what I’m saying

- Chopper says **** YOUR ZOMBIES, they’re just puppets and you’re not that smart

- “Don’t make a fool out of life!” yeah!

- What the **** Hogback, what are you doing to Cindry

- “Lick the floor, Cindry” “Yes, Hogback-sama”

Me:

- *flails around uselessly* how… how about No

[ETA: I’m writing that day after posting and I must say, I kinda went off with this chapter. All this Cindry Situation makes me really uncomfortable and that shows. Evil gotta evil and everything here is good writing but... I read in posts about “Coraline” that there are texts and concepts that kids love to read about but adults find terrifying and I think that’s exactly what happened here. I went Full Adult trying to explain and justify my discomfort.

With Chopper taunting Cindry, it’s all obviously intended and working as an “snap out of that mindcontrol already!” talk/moment BUT I really can’t imagine it being worded worse than it already was. I Do think it’s pretty much victim-blaming here but it’s more “very poor choice of words” here than something sinister. So, we’re good here. Enjoy me getting off the rails over this :)]

- Hogback tells his backstory! He had a celebrity crush on Cindry when she was alive! But she refused him! But then she died! And then! Wait, what

- He met Gecko Moria. And offered his services if Moria bring Cindry “back to life”

- “I easily obtained an obedient actress Cindry! I didn’t care for the character of the girl who rejected me! If only I had that beauty!” O_O

- “This is the zombie Cindry-chan! I’m happy, and I’m sure she must be, too… since she can once again live as a human in this world!” …

- I…

- First of all, this is disgusting and unethical, no question here. Hogback needs to die, let’s kill him

- Second of all, should that be in a shounen manga? Should we show that to the kids? Is that allowed? I mean, I think I wouldn’t be phased that much by that as a child, it would just be a little weird for me. But now it makes me feel all horrible inside, so. I wonder if they censored that part in some countries, because WTF

- Lastly, I kinda keep that blog strictly PG-13 and it wasn’t any kind of hardship or even really conscious up to this point, but now… Now I have questions I really don’t want answers to. Like ever

- CHOPPER SNAPPED, AS HE SHOULD

- “YOU ARE JUST CREATING MONSTERS!” yes!

- (side effect of this is that I’m even more uneasy about zombies being all around than I was before. I knew it was evil before but damn, I did NOT think about all the implications. It’s evil x10 now)

- Now Cindry and Chopper are fighting. At least she’s not on the floor anymore

- …excuse me?

- “I pity you! How would your family feel if they knew about this? Your wounds were horribly patched up! And you were turned into a soldier! Your relatives won’t be able to bear it!” Is Chopper victim-blaming Cindry here…?

- Cindry, who is a zombie AND was dead when they decided they’ll “resurrect” her? AND who had absolutely no say in the matter?

- …

- FUCK YOU ODA

- AND FUCK YOU FOR MAKING CHOPPER OF ALL CHARACTERS SAY THINGS LIKE THAT

- “Humans have more freedom! You are the one who isn’t treating them as humans!” Now that’s more like that. I will now erase past 6 panels out of existence AND my memory, thank you very much

- Robin springs into action!

- …?

- Zoro’s and Sanji’s shadows are fighting each other

- …god bless these idiots and their rivalry

- Bless :)

- Hogback tried to make them cooperate so Robin muted him :D

- “What happens when there is no more commands?” what indeed

- Now Robin tricked Hogback fair and square into throwing his zombies outta the window. So much for prodigy, huh

- Chopper is all business :D

- …Cindry is crying

What a rollercoaster. I thought that chapter would just be Chopper yelling and punching Hogback into next Sunday. Instead… this…

rOP 220  rOP 222

#one piece #one piece speed read #Chopper vs Hogback is like book!Sherlock Holmes vs tv!Sherlock Holmes #book!Sherlock Holmes is a genius and actually a real sweetheart #tv!Sherlock is an asshole for shock value #morphed by male fantasy into something detestable and unfit for the society #ok that doesn't make sense but that's what I thought of while reading this #that's what I get for being in Sherlock fandom all these years ago #and you know I actually don't watch and therefore don't really know sh*t about horrors or horror genre #but I think Oda nailed the Golden Rule of horrors in this arc #which is Being Horrible To Women #:) #chapter 468 #one piece chapter 468 #468 #spoiler #spoilers #have a nice day #rOP 221

[senadimell]

DW: The Monster in the Closet

I realized while looking at a Girl in the Fireplace analysis that when Moffat involves a child in an episode, he chooses a particular set of tropes. It’s no secret he has favorite types of stories; this one I’ll call “The Monster in the Closet.” Moffat came onto Doctor Who writing Monster in the Closet stories; in fact, take a look at his first 6 stories: The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances, the Girl in the Fireplace, Blink, Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead, The Eleventh Hour, and The Beast Below. With the exception of Blink, they all fall into this category. Why? More on that below, after we look at what the episodes share.

I’m including Night Terrors in this analysis because it’s so fitting: it’s literally about a monster and a closet. It’s actually written by Gatiss, but copies many of the same tropes and subverts the ending. I’m not including Listen, because I honestly don’t remember it well enough to analyze and don’t care for a re-watch just yet. Plus, I think Moffat was trying to branch out by that point.

Here’s what’s in a standard Moffat Monster in the Closet episode. 

The Child

Fake Faces

Repetition is Creepy

The Doctor’s Reputation

The Bad Guy isn’t evil, just fulfilling its nature

The child (or perceived child) is isolated from the adults in their life who should protect them but don’t realize the monsters are real. The Doctor steps in to validate them and solve figure out how to tackle their monster, who is real.

The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances: Nancy (Jamie and the kids Nancy looks after are also contestants here.)

The Girl in the Fireplace: Reinette

Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead: Cal

The Eleventh Hour: Amelia Pond

The Beast Below: Mandy (Timmy is also a contestant)

Night Terrors: George

Fake faces indicate something uncanny is occurring. The two-faced nature of the monsters suggests that the monster is not what we think it is.

The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances

The Girl in the Fireplace

Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead

The Beast Below: (Liz 10 also has a mask and initially comes off as sinister, and is revealed to be part of the problem by choosing ignorance)

This is a bit of a stretch, but here’s the face-changing Prisoner Zero from the Eleventh Hour: 

It’s worth noting that the Doctor had his own face change in this episode, so we’re waiting to see if he’s the genuine article or if he’s more like the monsters. 

Night Terrors. Doesn’t get creepier than this.

Repetition is creepy. This doesn’t really serve a narrative purpose beyond being creepy, other than perhaps to indicate the monster has a goal that we do not understand. When we do, we can solve the problem. This kind of reminds me of when a kid is trying to get their parent’s attention, but they’re on the phone and don’t really hear.  I find that just like fake faces, the more often this is used, the more banal I find it. 

The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances: Creepiest thing ever

The Girl in the Fireplace: What is that mysterious ticking noise?

Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead: (so much repetition here that any episode after it that uses repetition feels like overkill to me)

The Eleventh Hour:

The Beast Below does something a little different. It goes for a creepy nursery rhyme instead: 

GIRL: A horse and a man, above, below. One has a plan, but both must go. Mile after mile, above, beneath. One has a smile, and one has teeth. GIRL: Though the man above might say hello, expect no love from the beast below.

Night Terrors:

DOCTOR: George! George, what's going on? Are you doing it? ALEX: What's happening? GEORGE: Please save me from the monsters. Please save me from the monsters. Please save me from the monsters. Please save me from the monsters. DOCTOR: George, no! GEORGE: Please save me from the monsters. Please save me from the monsters. Please save me from the monsters. ALEX: Help me, Doctor! GEORGE: Please save me from the monsters. DOCTOR: George, no! (The Doctor is dragged back into the cupboard.) GEORGE: Please save me from the monsters. Please save me from the monsters. Please save me from the monsters. (Alex is dragged into the cupboard.) ALEX: No! (And the door slams shut. Peace reigns again.)

Line about Doctor’s reputation scaring off the bad guys: The Doctor acts as a parental figure, but instead of dismissing the childish fear of the monsters, he validates and vanquishes. He fulfills a parental role, though, and just as parents scare away monsters by virtue of being an adult, the Doctor scares away monsters just by being the Doctor. 

*The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances: Saving this one for last. 

The Girl in the Fireplace: 

DOCTOR: Even monsters from under the bed have nightmares, don't you, monster? YOUNG REINETTE: What do monsters have nightmares about? DOCTOR: Me!

Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead:

VASTA NERADA: These are our forests. They are our meat. DOCTOR: Don't play games with me. You just killed someone I liked. That is not a safe place to stand. I'm the Doctor, and you're in the biggest library in the universe. Look me up. (The Vasta Nerada desists and gives him a day to evacuate the library)

The Eleventh Hour:

DOCTOR: Okay. One more. Just one. Is this world protected? Because you're not the first lot to come here. Oh, there have been so many. (The projection shows the Daleks et al.) DOCTOR: And what you've got to ask is, what happened to them? (A run through of all the previous Doctors, then this Doctor steps through the projection with a jacket and bow tie.) DOCTOR: Hello. I'm the Doctor. Basically, run. 

The Beast Below: 

This one breaks the mold a bit: It’s Liz 10 who does all of the “fear my reputation lines” and pulls almost the same line as the Doctor in 11th hour (I'm the bloody Queen, mate. Basically, I rule). What ties this to other Monster in the Closet episodes is that problem’s solution comes from realizing how amazing the Doctor is, and applying that logic to our misunderstood Starwhale. Since it doesn’t need to be scared away like our past few monsters, we get this instead: 

AMY: The Star Whale didn't come like a miracle all those years ago. It volunteered. You didn't have to trap it or torture it. That was all just you. It came because it couldn't stand to watch your children cry. What if you were really old, and really kind and alone? Your whole race dead. No future. What couldn't you do then? If you were that old, and that kind, and the very last of your kind, you couldn't just stand there and watch children cry.

AMY: Amazing though, don't you think? The Star Whale. All that pain and misery and loneliness, and it just made it kind. DOCTOR: But you couldn't have known how it would react. AMY: You couldn't. But I've seen it before. Very old and very kind, and the very, very last. Sound a bit familiar? 

Night Terrors: 

Again, the formula’s changing. Here, the Doctor’s title declaration triggers the monster and makes the scary stuff happen rather than the other way ‘round because the resolution is reconciliation between parent and child. If the Doctor were to be the substitute parental figure, he would interfere with that reconciliation.

GEORGE [memory]: Who are you? DOCTOR [memory]: I'm the Doctor. GEORGE [memory]: A doctor? Have you come to take me away? Away. Away. Away. DOCTOR: That's what did it. That's what the trigger was. He thought you were rejecting him. He thought he wasn't wanted, that someone was going to come and take him away. 

(It should be noted that there’s still a title declaration where the Doctor assumes that people should know and respect his title, even though they have no logical reason to: 

DOCTOR: I'm not just a professional. I'm the Doctor. ALEX: What's that supposed to mean? DOCTOR: It means I've come a long way to get here, Alex. A very long way. George sent a message. A distress call, if you like. Whatever's inside that cupboard is so terrible, so powerful, that it amplified the fears of an ordinary little boy across all the barriers of time and space. )

So that brings me back to The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances. One of my huge Doctor Who pet peeves is the Doctor’s growing hubris. I could manage it in seasons 2-4 because everybody and their dog was calling the Doctor out when he went too far, but it just kind of stopped in season 5 and the Doctor threw out more and more lines about how great or scary he was.

What I love about Nine is that he’s humble. What? you ask. The man who told us “I am so impressive!” is the most humble? Yes. Despite his “devil may care” blustering, Nine carries a huge burden of guilt and he constantly questions whether or not he has the authority to make big decisions when lives are at stake. It’s no coincidence that Harriet Jones pulls the “I’m the only elected official” card in World War Three to tell the Doctor to save the world even if she and Rose might die, or that when the Doctor acts unilaterally to let the Gelth posses corpses in The Unquiet Dead, he’s wrong, or that his actions to free the human race from the brainwashing news just leads to societal collapse and allows the Daleks a place to lie in wait, or that he’s spared from deciding Blon’s fate in Boomtown by the TARDIS. It all leads to his decision in front of the Daleks: Coward or killer? Do I have the right to decide who lives and dies? His answer is no, I don’t (then Rose saves the day). 

In keeping with his personality, it would be totally out of character for him to boast of his reputation to scare away the monsters. Instead, we get this beautiful inversion of the Monster in the Closet Doctor/Parent figure scaring away the monsters by virtue of title: 

DOCTOR: Amazing.

NANCY: What is?

DOCTOR: 1941. Right now, not very far from here, the German war machine is rolling up the map of Europe. Country after country, falling like dominoes. Nothing can stop it. Nothing. Until one, tiny, damp little island says no. No. Not here. A mouse in front of a lion. You're amazing, the lot of you. Don't know what you do to Hitler, but you frighten the hell out of me. Off you go then do what you've got to do. Save the world.

Instead of an “I’m the Doctor! Monsters are scared of me!” line, we get the Doctor saying ‘the monsters are scared of you.’ Then, he says he himself is frightened of humans. That’s an odd thing to say, since Nine doesn’t act frightened of humans and seems to just love them, until you consider the thematic implications. Who’s scared of the humans? The monsters. 

The Doctor from ‘Dalek’ is calling.

The Doctor considers himself to be one of the monsters, even if he’s trying to atone for his past. He’s desperately avoiding whatever reputation’s left after the Time War and doesn’t pull that card until he’s facing a Dalek army. I am so so so grateful we got this line, instead of a line about how great the Doctor is.

The bad guy is not actually malicious, just following its nature: The monster is always something real here, but it’s never properly evil. I do like a good “the aliens just have different needs than humans” plot. That said, it can get predictable when you know there’s going to be a twist coming. I like the twists less and less as the episodes go on.

The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances: The monster is the child! Sort of: the good-at-healing but bad-at-AI nanogenes made Jamie and everyone else a monster since they didn’t know what they were going for as they repaired the humans. 

The Girl in the Fireplace: Arguably the most sinister on this list, the droids aren’t malicious, just trying to repair their ship with re-purposed body parts because they broke down. Not evil, just following incomplete AI instructions like our Nanogenes. This was the only thing I liked in this episode. At least the monsters had a reason they were obsessed with Reinette, unlike the stalker-y actions the Doctor took that were supposed to be 100% okay, even though he criticized the Robots for doing that? 

Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead: The Vasta Nerada are creepy and eat people, but it’s just because their forest was pulped and they came here in the books! They just want to be left in peace to hunt like normal predators. 

The Eleventh Hour: This one doesn’t fit quite so neatly. However, it should be noted that the primary danger in the episode doesn’t come from the bad guy, Prisoner Zero, but the cops looking for him who are willing to boil the earth. They’re not evil, just callous and need to be reminded of proper boundaries.

The Beast Below: The weird scorpion stingers are just the Starwhale! It loves children. It doesn’t even care about being tortured for centuries and will keep driving everyone through space. 

Night Terrors: George is monster! That is, he’s the one causing the creepy stuff to happen because he’s an alien who stressed out about the parents he brainwashed abandoning him. I guess that’s sci fi for you?

With the exception of Blink, all of the monsters are shown as innocent, if dangerous. They just need to put their energy in a different direction. It’s not until Victory of the Daleks that Moffat breaks the mold. Why? The punchline of “Monster in the Closet” stories is that the monsters are real and scary, but not evil, just following their nature. Daleks fall into the “these are actual bad guys” category, not the misunderstood monster. (Which is kinda funny, because it’s been established that Daleks are genetically engineered to kill and hate. They may be a Nazi analogue, but Nazis were people who chose evil. The Daleks are bred to hate and exterminate--note what happens to the “impure” dalek in Dalek and Evolution of the Daleks: they don’t kill people, and then they die.) 

My biggest beef with these episodes that they’re all relatively close together, so it’s easy to notice the overlap. When Moffat uses almost the exact same line in one episode as in the previous episode, I notice. When he uses the same mask design, I notice. When he has a constantly repeated line and does it again, I notice. Even before I waded into anti Moffat stuff, I noticed a shift at the end of season 4. I attributed it to a new cast since I just couldn’t click with anything. Then, I learned there was a new writer, and found out he had also written my least favorite episode of New Who (The Girl in the Fireplace). 

After writing this, I can’t help but parrot what I’ve heard elsewhere: Moffat’s trying to write a fairytale. A lot of the people and dangers feel more like archetypes than people, and the dialogue is witty but often unnatural--nobody goes around bantering like that all the time. The villains are identified by their form just as much as what they intend to do. There’s also this weird idolization of childhood and the innocent child. I don’t like it much. I’m more of the Coraline, Witches of Worm, Egyptian Game, and Wrinkle in Time mold, where the kids are just as realized and human as their adult counterparts and can lack empathy and be as creepy as adults. Alternatively, I’ll take Shannon Hale’s fairy-tale retellings where the bad guys are people and the solution involves personal courage and collaborative effort. (Moffat can keep his Day of the Doctor maypole children, and I will keep Chloe the scribbler, even if her episode was a little off).

My rating for these episodes, from least to most favorite: 

The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances: Love Christopher Eccleston’s performance and was very creeped out by the child monsters. The solution to the problem was implied but not obvious so I didn’t get it until I was supposed to. I didn’t enjoy the introduction of a love triangle or the constant innuendo, but at least it was gone in an episode. Also, I will never not fangirl over “Everybody Lives!” and its significance to Nine. 

Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead: Thoroughly enjoyed these episodes, though I do have things to quibble with (wish Lee was black like Donna’s other romantic interests--she’s got a type and it’s not “gorgeous and can’t speak a word,” among other critical things). Overall,  a great episode

The Eleventh Hour, which I enjoyed, but makes me feel weirder and weirder the more I watch it between child/adult Amy, handcuffs and porn references, and the annoying “prisoner zero has escaped” mantra, plus “I’m the doctor! The earth is protected! I also didn’t like the repeat of comatose people sitting up and saying things. It was good the first time, not so much the second. Funny, but also uncomfortably awkward and creepy, and not in the “are you my mummy” way. 

The Beast Below, which felt like it was recycled from earlier tropes to me. Maybe if Liz 10 wouldn’t have had the GitF porcelain mask, I wouldn’t be as tempted to compare it to other Monster in the Closet episodes. Overall, just meh.

The Girl in the Fireplace, which rubs me wrong in every way, except for the droids cannibalizing crew to save the ship--what does that say about me and the episode? I will not rewatch this episode willingly.

#anti moffat #analysis #dw meta #amelia pond #the girl in the fireplace #9th doctor #ninth doctor #10th doctor #tenth doctor #11th doctor #even if this is moffat analysis #i feel like it's too anti to tag it with a plain moffat tag #doctor who #doctor who meta #the monster in the closet

[route22ny]

I grew up in the Bay Area at the height of AIDS panic, and all of that era’s sex paranoia remains burned into my brain, repurposed for Covid-19 and the act of commingling wet breath. A few weeks into this crisis, I found myself having a ten-foot-distant conversation with my neighbor Patty, both of us incredulous at people who still tried to talk to us in-tight face-to-face, like we weren't all suddenly barebacking reality with everyone they'd chit-chatted with that day and everyone in their lives, etc. Patty allowed that she should be able to strike people she considered a threat. I mentioned Florida's attitude toward this legal principle and firearms. I suggested she become militant. I tell that to a lot of people, but I attenuate the humor of it for the audience. I tell every teacher I know to strike.

There are more sirens now. It's hard to tell, because unlike New York, everything isn't quiet. Cars are out on the road—fewer, but enough that hearing a siren can still be vehicular idiocy and not a more sinister house call. But I still hear more of them.

I don’t know why Luke asked me to write about Coronavirus in Florida. I mostly stopped writing last year when a good friend dropped dead in front of his family. (Subscribe to my Substack—we don't update regularly!) Before that, I felt increasingly overborne by events. Things ground to a halt in 2019, but the machine began to break down long before. I ended the 2016 campaign periodically sitting under my desk, high, feeling secure because I wasn't writing anything stupid and feeling good because I was appropriately afraid of everything, but people thought I was exaggerating when I mentioned it.  

I wish I could say my seriousness about the novel coronavirus stems solely from believing in science and peer review and that I would take it seriously regardless, but my spouse is immunocompromised, and my father, who lives out in the Bay Area, had Covid-19, back in March or early April. He didn't tell us kids until he was out of the woods, but for days he had fevers over 103º. My stepmom, a former emergency room nurse, couldn't get him admitted anywhere, because he wasn't having respiratory problems. He woke up the same every day: It felt like someone had parked a Volkswagen on him.

We're supposed to say he's out of the woods. I'll believe that when he dies of old age, or something more reasonable that kills men in my family, like colon cancer or car accidents. Sometimes I think about him dropping dead like my friend, only from whatever post-Covid-19 effect triggers the brain’s forgetting to tell the lungs to breathe—or from the one that leads to storms of strokes, like a brain's blood vessels recreating the burning energies depicted on a CRISS ANGEL MINDFREAK poster. Then I wonder how I would die, or my wife, or my friend in Atlanta, or my brother. I think about drowning in open air, alone in a hissing world, and being incapable of saying the overdue apologies I ran out of time for.

After a while I realized that basically all Luke wanted was to hear from a coward living in the mismanaged kleptocracy of Florida, and the thing is, I can do that! I’m frightened right now!

I considered opening with, Every day I wake up frightened, to throw a fucking jolt into a piece about facing down a pandemic in a place where they have a paradise just for the cheeseburgers. But the joke is, I'm not wastin' away here in Coronaville. Sometimes I wake up and just have to pee, on the rare days when I don't wake up from the sensation of my son elbow-dropping my head because—how rude of me—it's 6:45 already.

In this respect, I am serene: My son and I exercise outside to burn off his energy, so I'm out in the sun for hours a day. I'm tanner, I've lost weight, and my phlegm feels looser. I grew a lushly indifferent goatee. My haircut looks like something that belongs on the gatefold cover of a concept album about a form of locomotion by a band named after geography. While the term "Lebowski Phase" has been applied to my appearance and to the fact that my leg injury and medical-marijuana prescription have collided with the reality of never having to drive anywhere again, I must insist that in many respects I have come to look like Jesus Christ. I am pro life and take no pleasure in reporting this.

As I have said, I am frequently awakened by my son, whose full name is My Beautiful Five-Year-Old Son Maitland. He is a treasure who spends quarantine within earshot of 24-hour news, regurgitating West Wing Democrat observations of mine with five-year-old precocity to harvest follows for Instagram. Maitland is an influencer already on record as supporting L’Oréal, opposing Medicare For All, and, when I first read him the shaggy start to this piece, he said, "Not a good look." He's a natural.

Waking up is violent but easy. The problem is everything after that. By the time I close my eyes, I'm not sure what I felt most on any given day—anger, sadness, impotence, a resentful churning need for vengeance, despair. Any one can seem like a day's dominant emotional dysfunction and then suddenly be overwhelmed by the dread that suffuses prolonged thought about the world outside.

I am one of the people who is Taking It Seriously. Seriously Taking It Seriously, though—not the people who say they're taking it seriously and then tell you about:

• Going to a recent indoor birthday party.

• Having a multi-course dinner at a fancy restaurant, "But it was okay because it was [extremely not-worth-a-life celebration]!"

• A full-contact playdate their kid had recently with two other children.

I abhor these people. I have an existential loathing of these people, and a granular scientific indictment. I enjoy reading new articles to learn new ways in which they are a danger to me. My apprehension is rich and exquisite. May their friends shun them, and may they be abandoned by their gods.

Sooner or later, every day, I think of the threats arrayed against me and my family. Each day, I see the most recent thing said by my governor, Ronald Fuckface DeSantis, in which he explicitly endorses and declares his intent to pursue actions that all available data say will kill Floridians by the thousands. Each day, I think about how, if I do so much as suggest fostering a free exchange of ideas about the proportional value of using every means to stop him, I will be arrested.

Every day, I bounce the "Evil or Moronic?" debate around my brain. I check in with an alumna buddy in Atlanta to see whose governor has shown more recent determination to murder his citizens. I gotta give Brian Kemp credit, because he's really holding his own. Naturally, this leads to wondering if either of them have a natural or acculturated advantage in terms of idiocy and malevolence. DeSantis' enrollment at Yale and Harvard and service in the military problematizes the idiocy narrative only for as long as it takes to remember all the people you've met who've gone to any of them and were dumber than dogshit. It would seem like fate to be murdered by an oaf, but I don't know that it's not merciful to at least be murdered purposefully rather than contemptuously and indolently.

Eventually, this leads to spending some time thinking about DeSantis as a kind of lethal bro angel. It's hard not to see his shitchyeah, brah, people are dyin', it's classic! expression and recognize that the state's chief executive resembles a lout you don't want to run into walking alone at FSU after a home loss. I prefer my jokes about the governor, but my friend David Roth nailed it when he said that DeSantis seemed like a person who would describe himself as “kind of a DUI guy.”

I know there's supposedly a culture war out there. There's a truck in my neighborhood with a Q sticker, and another with a Three-Percenter sticker, and there are more than a few neighbors of the "easily victimized white dude who owns a $50,000 truck he rarely takes off the pavement and who becomes physically belligerent when you correct him" variety, but there's a reason why you really only see “war” shit on YouTube. Few Americans are hostile to general safety protocols, and even fewer act out against them. I live where hate groups and old fashioned unaffiliated redneck trash drive in from the county to make a show of rebel flags, rolling coal and honking to intimidate protests, but people line up six feet apart at Home Depot, wear masks at Publix and get takeout at the pizza place outside without insisting on barging in. Most wars don’t need one side of them to be this manufactured.

Most of my friends and colleagues from this gig live in New York, so I've already sat through weeks of descriptions of streets silent except for ambulances, and I’ve already woken for weeks to the half-twilight of nightmares where friends died in a spare white hallway. There aren't a lot of surprises in store for Florida, and no images I can describe that would make you want to turn back now. It's like we're waiting for the rolling premiere of a franchise blockbuster. The dead won't really start packing them in for a few more weeks, but all the scariest shit hit YouTube when it opened in New York a thousand years ago. The coronavirus as an image, what it functionally is, as a horror, feels as familiar as the Scream mask, and the context that makes that scary as hell already feels dangerously been-and-gone, like an apprehension that Florida had for too long before the actual scare came.

There's a hope that all this will come to little again. Despite Governor DeSantis' refusal to take the initiative on shutting down the state until the last dollar was wrung from the last snowbird, the original shellacking never came. The Tampa Bay Times sampled smartphone data and concluded that Floridians overwhelmingly took the initiative to stay home, and they were aided in their quarantine process by the fact that Florida is car-dependent and atomized.

The heartbreaking realization, as you gradually run across more people who are Not Taking It Seriously or are Expressing Moronic Skepticism, is that for a month there about 80 percent of America was on board with doing the right thing. We, a people who suck at doing the right thing even for the wrong reasons, stood on the side of doing the harder thing if it helped people who weren't even us.

I really can't tell if I feel more anger than sadness at the fact that those who were meant to encourage us in safety, to serve us by offering difficult guidance, wasted our sacrifice and our trust. They squandered the patience given by a beggared and exhausted people. All they had to do was the right thing, and if they weren't sure what that was, they could have erred on the side of saving people’s lives and hoping it counted, and they failed.  

Instead, more people will die, and we'll be shut down again, and we will realize we are fundamentally unequipped for life with Covid-19. Florida is built on enclosed air-conditioned spaces: It's dependent on divorcing yourself from Florida as a climate and place. Asking Floridians to generate a public life under the unshielded rage of God’s angriest sun and baked from beneath by a sprawling pave-ocalypse requires asking them to rebel against everything their infrastructure has taught them for as long as they can remember. It is a car culture to the flesh and bone, and a restaurant relocating indoor tables to a road patio would park its diners inches away from eternity.

A picnic day like that is months off, again. It's time to go back inside and resume Inside Time. Inside Time melts away. I saw a headline around the Fourth of July, from the New York Times, that read, "In the Covid-19 Economy, You Can Have a Kid or a Job. You Can’t Have Both," and I remember seeing colleagues tweet, mmmm, so true, and, gets at something crucial we aren't talking about, and shit like that, and I was like, "Buddy, let's get in the DeLorean and visit March." I have nowhere to go, anyway, and all life is timeless.

We have no family in the area and have had no break. It's the three of us, like No Exit, but if most of the dialogue was the word "no" and a lot of stuff about poop and butts and farts, good guys and bad guys, and what Lego Star Wars would do, but with a lot of excruciated pleading for silence because Mom and Dad Are Working Right Now and We Love You Very Much but Jesus Christ Please Stop for the Love of God I Will Give You a Dollar If You Go in Your Room and Be Quiet and Play That Kindle App That Teaches You to Read That You Pay Attention to More Than Us Even Though I Would Read You a Fucking Novel If You'd Just Shut Up and Sit Still.

I'm resigned to staying in here until 2022. I’m screaming, but I will do it. I'm lucky in that I have access to a community pool and a neighborhood where my son and I can roam around on bikes and romp and look at water and birds and turtles. When we're lazy, we have a porch where we can feel nature without feeling exposed. We have a dependable (ok!!! haha!!!) income, and I can do irregularly scheduled work that allows me to be Parent rather than Employee. Exercise, meals and stories take up enough hours that I might as well lean into it.

But we’re lucky. We have a house and prescription mood-altering drugs and one thousand years of undersleep, but we are in less immediate danger than most. The state, almost reflexively, reaches out to open more doors even as Covid-19 blows past reopening benchmark after reopening benchmark.

The inexorable march for commerce doesn’t even come from malice in many cases; people in charge just don’t know how to do anything else but extort and scold people into working under any conditions, so long as it devours most of their time. All the exploitive principles are expected to work the same even if the world they built is fraudulent. We feed meat and the virus into the machines, irrespective of what the data says, and pray for rain. Watching Florida government on the state and local level is like watching two parents bring an alcoholic home after he got kicked out of rehab and deciding that the best course of action is leaving him with $5,000 in an apartment up the street from a dive bar and then going to Cancun for the week. It was on the calendar already, there wasn’t any choice, he looked very healthy at the time!

We have friends who are teachers, and we are scared for their spouses and kids. I don't know what Florida's plan for its teachers is other than to murder them. Again, I don't know if DeSantis is an idiot for flirting with giving enormous bipartisan sympathy to arguably the most effective labor group in the state, or a genius for flirting with finally eliminating a lobbying obstacle to conservative governance by simply liquidating its members as a class.

I worry if I start listing all the things I'm scared of, they'll never stop, but every day I see my son reach for something he should be able to reach for, and I either have a low-grade panic response and stifle it, or I have the panic response and yelp at him to get his attention and tell him to stop, startle him, and add another layer of gun-shy haunting to his day. I'm afraid he'll eventually become an animal in a Skinner Box in which all the buttons and levers are electrocuted, and there are no prizes.

I'm afraid that my son will always be emotionally arrested at two years behind the development of people the same age who had siblings in their house, or who, like many kids in my neighborhood, had parents who thought kids were invincible to Covid-19 and let them play with whomever they wanted. I worry that he may pay a price year after year even into adulthood because other kids got to practice socializing as we rode past. They got to hang out with people their own age and run around and do vitally stupid shit and say "butts" a lot, and he got look at me heartbroken and knowing empirically and epidemiologically that he couldn't play with his friends anymore but still needing to know why, and knowing that I couldn't tell him anything more sophisticated and anything less terrifying than, "So we don't get sick."

The other day he started crying and then screaming, "I hate the sickness! I hate the sickness!" repeating it in a higher and higher register, until he was up even past that piercing birdlike screech that prepubescent boys make whenever trying to sound like lasers or dinosaurs or squealing brakes. Every day I worry that I see another little bit of his capacity for happiness is dying—that the same awkward process of terror that took me from happy little kid to profoundly unhappy teen to scarred adult is even more rapidly at work, and each day another sparkling and joyous little light of childhood winks out in him, replaced by fear as a necessity of life.

I know that there is no plan for us. Conservatives don't want to be taxed or have their businesses lose money, so people are being kicked off unemployment and sent back to work with no test and trace protocols, irregular access to PPE, overwhelmed hospitals and often limited access to any care. We're doing all this as Florida blooms scarlet like paint being spilled into a mold shaped like the state. We're sending the men in the gasoline suits right at the heart of the fire.

It's a cruelly lazy little culling genocide of the working class, a Wall Street gamble that the blow to the labor force won't be more than a blip on the Dow and, a little recession aside, the One Percent will come out ten years later owning an even greater percentage of the United States. To the extent that there is a plan, that's the plan, and whether you land on the dead or the living part of any of those exchanges is more of a Your Problem than a Their Problem.

For now, it's enough to be hermits and hope the rest of Florida goes on strike by going inside and staying there and writing letters to representatives threatening to never come out. Cooking the same things, getting the same exercise in the same places, having the same awkward conversations on VOIP delay, and living every moment outside like we're three drinks in so we’re ready to get belligerent with anyone who is getting too close. Living every moment with some low-level neurasthenia that grows spine-deep and for the rest of our lives sends shuddering disequilibrium at the thought of air that never seems to move, hallways that lengthen without exits, and objects that seem both unavoidable and unclean. It’s fine. We’re all fine, here, now. How are you?

I feel a sudden Git Offa Mah Land thing about my son, a resolute commitment to homeschooling for the foreseeable future and to keeping the gummymint away. It sucks so much. I was so happy to send him to the public school just a few blocks away, instead of the shitty little charter schools nearby, but now that it’s Plague or Parents, he’s got his parents. Between us, he'll have access to 1.5 first-class educations. I still have my grandpa's service weapons from WWII, the last time America was in a war with fascism, when we took the opposing side. I'll empty a couple magazines into anyone who comes onto my property and tries to stop me from teaching my son critical race theory, Howard Zinn, and Leonard Levy's Jefferson and Civil Liberties: The Darker Side. I refuse to turn my back on the heritage of my youth, of watching thousands of hours of MASH, by refusing to wear a mask outside or in fact any time I am doing anything other than drinking gin that I made in a tent.

Outside, records fall and progress rolls on. A governor whose go-to pejorative for opponents of all ages and sexes is very likely still “queef” watches as even the president concedes that a Republican National Convention here would be too lethal, as the state repeatedly sets records for daily deaths, beats out all of Europe in terms of new daily cases, leads the nation in cases per day, then tries to set them again. And then, every day, our governor makes his ahegao-but-for-ethnic-cleansing face and psychotically clangs a bell indicating that Florida just became the 15,000 customer at Leadshoe Larry’s Kicked-in-the-Dick, and it’s time for all us lucky winners to line up and drop our pants.

Florida’s lethality is so tacky that it’s almost camp, but there is no satisfaction in being right about how wrong everything is. Nobody gets a prize for correctly guessing the surplus death toll. All you have to do is look someone else in the eye working in life under Covid.

I’m old now, so I have Humiliating Injury Syndrome (HIS), and somehow in the month between the Super Bowl and the pandemic, I tore a rotator cuff, a labrum, or both, by throwing a (mini!!!) football with friends. After four months, I broke down and went to get an MRI. I skulked down corridors and lurked in a corner of a waiting room, like playing spies with an opponent who was the air. Even the clean and modern fixtures felt miasmic and corrupted, like they were a parking garage in an Alan Pakula film.

Eventually a nurse emerged from an office, crinkled her brown eyes, waved and surprised me by asking after my family by name. She lives three blocks away from me and had hosted me at a party once. Later that day, as my car coasted down the approach to my house, I saw a garage door open and my neighbor’s son walk out on his way to his shift at the same grocery store that I treat emotionally like a Superfund site.

I thought about how much I unconsciously held my breath where they work, and how I unconsciously associate those places with poor choices. The danger of the world outside is so massive that I reflexively need to cordon off the threat into areas of blame and blamelessness. In a moment of crisis, years of conservative rhetorical conditioning in the discourse have taught me to reflexively pathologize those in harm’s way. There is less chaos if someone is at least responsible for something. There is less risk to me, if it turns out someone else’s epidemic is someone else’s fault.

But it is someone else’s fault. And it’s not some poor fucker doomed to sit in a box somewhere and accept paper money and hand metal money back and point at where toilets are, because that’s how he keeps the lights on. It’s not the person consigned to some life-sucking task that, on the best of days, is too humiliating and cruelly impoverished of purpose to ever be a reason why someone should die. It’s not the person around whom you hold your breath because you don’t know where they’ve been. It’s the person and people who put us all in position to suddenly feel like we’re suffocating together.

I hate that I sometimes unconsciously hold my breath around strangers, and I hate that they have heard it. I think of my neighbors, and of the workers on whom we’re dependent, and the permanent uncertain shortness of breath I feel, and I want every moment of their anxiety and mine gathered up and then rained on those who shepherded it into being, those who nurtured it and feasted on it, those who profited from it and were indifferent toward it. Those who consider themselves DUI guys and those who pay to elect them and give them sinecures and who are simply too rich to be arrested for boating under the influence anymore.

I think of how I hold my breath near good people and near vulnerable people in places I am wary of and that we all need to share, and I wonder if we will simply hold our breath for the rest of the year, and if we’ve bargained for standing near each other and holding it for all of the next. And I wish so eagerly that all our suspended futures and the air between us might catch at the throats of those who put us here. That justice for a man like Ron DeSantis might be a permanent and sucking terror: stuck always in an involuntary startled gasp at the sight of responsibility, afraid at the approach of every stranger, incapable of drawing a full and restful breath, and never knowing peace again.

Jeb Lund used to write about politics for Rolling Stone, The Guardian and Gawker, and a bunch of other places, and was the Spectacle of Trump Editor at 50 States of Blue. He and David Roth have a podcast about Hallmark original movies that is mostly funny and exasperated and not unkind, and it's not ultimately about the movies anyway. It's fine and people enjoy it. Don't make it weird. He also has a podcast where he watches every Dennis Quaid movie in a row. That is also completely normal.

Ok here’s me again with a couple more things.

You’ll want to read this in the New York Times today about a forthcoming documentary on ICE. After it was completed the filmmakers were apparently threatened with legal action by the agency over the inclusion of parts that made ICE look even worse than they already look doing literally everything else they do.

Some of the contentious scenes include ICE officers lying to immigrants to gain access to their homes and mocking them after taking them into custody. One shows an officer illegally picking the lock to an apartment building during a raid.

At town hall meetings captured on camera, agency spokesmen reassured the public that the organization’s focus was on arresting and deporting immigrants who had committed serious crimes. But the filmmakers observed numerous occasions in which officers expressed satisfaction after being told by supervisors to arrest as many people as possible, even those without criminal records.

“Start taking collaterals, man,” a supervisor in New York said over a speakerphone to an officer who was making street arrests as the filmmakers listened in. “I don’t care what you do, but bring at least two people,” he said.

Here’s one disgusting detail among many.

They followed Border Patrol tactical agents who took pride in rescuing migrants from deadly dehydration even as the agents acknowledged that their tactics were pushing the migrants further into harm’s way. They showed how the government had at times evaluated the success of its border policies based not only on the number of migrants apprehended, but on the number who died while crossing.

***

source:

https://luke.substack.com/p/all-they-had-to-do-was-the-right?utm_source=Brooklyn+Today&utm_campaign=dd6f63665c-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_07_28_01_15&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1ba554d7d5-dd6f63665c-125128182

#long reads #florida #covid #genocidal dystopia #Jeb Lund

[exosmutfactory]

Dark Horse-Prologue

All I know is that one day my boyfriend and lifelong best friend disappeared. No word of him from anyone. No trace of him anywhere. And after 6 agonizing months, they concluded that he is dead. So why the fuxk do I seeing him strolling around town at 3am?

[ warnings: strangulation(being choked), blood, implications of murder/death, scary shit ]

Prologue ✓ | Part 1| Part 2 |

•⇔♦ •⇔♦ •⇔♦ •⇔♦ •⇔♦ •⇔♦ •

Baekhyun?

I’ve never been one to venture outside after dark. Always sticking to a safe schedule even if I live in a fairly nice neighboorhood. I’ve grown up knowing that you can never be too cautious; too present; too defensive. For the ones in the big, unlocked houses on the hill are killed in cold blood just as the innocent bystanders walking the lone hood streets. And I, unfortunately, have been a witness to both.

So no, you would never catch me power walking down the streets with both hands full of groceries at 3 am. But with one coworker calling in sick, another quitting before putting in their two weeks in advance and an important order due by 7 am the following morning; I had no choice but to stay back and help my frail boss get everything done. She offered to call me a cab, but I’ve never been one to take a ride from strangers. Not in years, and not when my car is actually working. Just my luck it is stuck on a 3-week waitlist at the only auto shop in this forsaken town.

I sigh deeply, a cloud of smoke forming from the cold November air. The bags in my hands will surely break if I don’t get home soon. The girl behind the register packaged everything poorly with a clear sneer on her face. Honestly, I’m used to such behavior, but I don’t have my trusty shopping bag with me. It’s left in my car. Luck isn’t quite on my side this week, but I will not let it get me down. Everything passes eventually... No matter how long that eventually is.

Carefully walking across the road one block away from my destination, I look up at the moon. Something about the glowing orb in the sky brings a sense of calm to my heart. And, unexpectedly, it’s in full form.

Strange; I think. Wasn’t it full the previous Tuesday?

With a start in my chest as I recall the last time I’ve seen it, I realize… It was.

A jarring noise brings my steps to a halt; my ears picking up on it from the alley to my right. With it comes the sound of a muffled scream and the squish of a knife diving into human flesh.

I close my eyes in resign, steadying my breathing before continuing on.

Before my foot can even touch the ground, I’m grabbed harshly by the arm. I cry out when my face slams into a wall. The bricks mercilessly scraping my cheek; hot blood running over my parted lips as I gasped for air. The click of heeled boots comes my way as I carefully lean away from the wall; hissing when my wounds are slammed right back against it by a cold hand. I close my stinging eyes.

The culprit chuckles. “Didn’t mama teach you never to go out after dark, little girl?” They whisper in my ear, roughly dragging sharp teeth across it that makes me cry out again before licking the dripping blood with a hum. “Especially tasting this sweet…” Gripping my collar they tear the back of my clothes with a single yank. “Hmm,” They lightly drag their teeth over the exposed skin; cold tongue occasionally flicking out as if sampling a new meal, “So pure too.”

I can’t help shivering, but it’s not from injury, the cold or humiliation… It’s… Their voice… Against all the things my therapist told me. Against all odds of my suspicions being incorrect. Against the possibility… the likelihood of my thoughts being false. I think of him. And open my eyes. The truth is one that I can’t handle.

A strange man with snow-white hair covering his eyes; an adored button nose; mochi lips I’ve kissed thousands of times.

“Baekhyun?” I utter, feeling breathless as the realization sets in. It’s him. It’s him! It has to be him.

Then they lift their head; eyelids flicked open to reveal blood-red pupils and blacked out irises where normally shining brown orbs are supposed to be. The crooked smirk on their face sinister as I see the souls of the people that have been devoured swirling in those demon eyes.

I choke as a cold hand wraps around my neck, scratching at it as my lungs burned with the need for air; black dots filling my vision at an alarming rate. Before I lose consciousness, the...the thing leans closer.

It tilts its head, “Baekhyun?” A wider smirk reveals razor-sharp teeth covered in crimson; the metallic scent of blood and raw meat reaching my sensitive nose. “No.” It cackles, tightening its grip so much I can only silently scream at the loud crack of the top of my spine.

Just as the light is fading for my eyes; my sense of touch going numb with the oncoming darkness; its distant voice rings loud and clear.

“I am Baëkhyun.”

I sit up with a choked gasp, clawing at nothing but air. My eyes flicker over the blurry room; pastel colors taking a while to register in my mind.

I’m alive; I gasp in another breath, counting to 100 as I try to calm my pounding heart. I’m alive; my hands reach down to the cotton candy blue sheets, gripping them as my breathing regulates. With a blink, the blur clears from my eyes. Comforting baby pink walls greeting me.

I jump when my alarm goes off, quickly slamming the clock to shut it up. The time reading 7:00 am on the dot.

I sigh shakily, running a hand roughly through my tangled hair, “I’m alive...” Looking down at my hands I wince, curling them to hide my dirtied nails.

Relaxing against my pile of pillows, I turn my head to look out the window; whimpering the second my neck throbs in pain. Facing forward, I carefully climb out of bed; paddling with bare feet across the carpeted floor to my room door. I move to the door to the left, flicking on the lights before stepping into the room. My breath catching in my throat at the state of my neck.

Four distinctly red finger marks on the left and another on the right; all larger than my own hand. All the shape of his.

Dumbly poking a tentative finger at one of them, I cry out in pain; gripping the sink for support.

It wasn’t a dream; I do not dare to utter aloud, taking another look at the mirror.

To my horror, I see him there; razor-sharp teeth preparing to sink into my neck.

With a startled scream, I run out of the room; slamming the door to my bedroom shut. But even safely within the confinements of my room, the scent of his rancid breath lingers. The sound of his evil laughter circling in my head.

I let my back slide down the door, curling my knees to my chest as I try to stop choking on air.

If that wasn’t a dream…

My eyes fall shut, squeezing hard enough to hurt as tears well up.

“If that wasn’t a dream. I’ll be seeing him soon…”

•⇔♦ •⇔♦ •⇔♦ •⇔♦ •⇔♦ •⇔♦ •

Prologue ✓ | Part 1| Part 2 |

#not tagging this part so I dont freak anyone out ahhh #feel free to ask what I was on while making this #aka I listened to bad romance and dark horse on repeat #by lady gaga and katy perry yes #and ofc the exo comeback is a thing #please dont come after me with pitchforks xd

[bookishbea]

Black Friday Reaction

Okay so I’ll be live tweeting Black Friday but none of it will have any sense to it but it’ll just be my reactions

1. The Paul thing is really bothering me

2. I really love the mention of the other characters

3. If Jane is mention is the story about the mom mentioned some more

4. Is the delivery man ted (cause he’s also a sleazeball

5. It’s weird seeing Cory not play a pure bean

6. I love California MIA

7. The little sister (Im sorry I’m bad at names) I self project as autistic and she something else idk

8. Did anyone else noticed Robert’s Australian accent come out?

9. Like I said this is out of order so yeah but I personally think the second song in the show was very shocking as I’m not used to very serious starkid songs

10. When Robert gestures smoking i think its lowkey a refrence to the smoke club

11. I have a crush on lex

12. I love Lauren’s charecter so much

13. I love the name linda becuase it could be like a karen without using that name

14. Not to get poltical but i choose to belive they made an antivax joke

15. Also the marvel nerd in me loves the name becky barnes

16. I know its probaly not on purpose but joeys charecters costume in line looks like the homeless guy’s one

17. Jaimey is great as always

18. The conversation is so cringe i love it

19. I kinda hope torture porn is a fanfic refrence (i know most people would want me to say spies are forever but nope)

20. I love Lauren but shouldnt her accent be included when she sings

21. I love Jeff’s reaction

22. I may get some hate for this but what was bothering me in tgwdlm and i notice in starkid is lack of fan comments in the captions

23. As a theatre fan i love the toy zone song (i am not sure if thats the right name) espcially the do wop becuase it reminds me of older musicals

24. Also since i watched tgwdlm and black friday a day apart its weird to come from songs happening because they are infected to songs happening cause its a musical

25. i love the love the line we are not relaibly to anyone who dies becuase they clearly show in the trailer that someone will die (this is not a spoiler if you watch the trailer for Black Friday)

26. I love Corey but when he dances i notice a bulge (i am not a perv he makes it very obvious)

27. So i rewinded it to make sure i wanst going crazy and realized something as lex says the pepper spray line. She would be good as janis ian

28. I love the touch money part its so cute even if its not supposed to be

29. Jaime plays a perv really well

30. I love Jon’s charecter its hilarious

31. Also i love jon and lauren interactions so it was cool seeing them together not as paul and emma

32. I love seeing more of Jon because although hes reaally good at playing paul paul doesnt have any flavor and its cool seeing jon do something diffrent

33. Jeff’s fuck you

34. Okay I was right it was the homeless guy and i bet the money is paul’s money

35. And this is not a sterotpye as i am jewish myself but i bet Laurens charecter is jewish

36. Its sad that the price thing is true

37. So i am a theatre fan and do not watch got but that music kinda reminds me of got

38. Cant tell if jeff’s charecter is gay and a perv or just a perv (i realzie this could be mmisinterpreted as homophobic i just mean to say that jamie’s charecter just seems like a full out perv where as i cant tell with jeff’s)

39. Obviously you shouldnt be that insane but i do like the lines about how you are in charge of life and dont care about what others think. its goood life advice

39. Looks like Paul’s boss got his wish

40. They are all idiots for holding up the doll when everyone wants to get it

41. Corey’s charecter is like shit, money isnt that imporant

42. Becky why are you a part of this you have moral high ground (yes i am ignorning the fact that cast usually join in dance numbers even if their charecter isnt a part of it)

43. Shouldnt tom get ptsd (see above)

44. Lex you already have one (see above)

45. So i may be overthinking things but how curt says never should settle is in the tune of spies are forever

46. Is it just me or did anyone else notice when the security guard comes in the tune of show me your hands comes in

47. I dont know why but i do love soft bullies because hes like hey im punching you but only for the kid

48. Some may say its schizo or something hannah has but its anxiery or something from how shes expressing it

49. I feel like hannah has a superpower and can tell whats happening

50. Maybe webby is actually wiggly

51. Baby (both hannah and robert)

52. Please tell me my babies not dead

53. Jon’s eee is adorable and silly

54. Wait hes alive

55. Wait no hes dead, im sad liek starkid is supposed to be fun and happy this is the darkest star kid yet. Even oregon deaths were silly

56. I love starkid but this is making me anxious i cant tell if its good anxious or bad anxious

57. Also i relate to the black and white thing not fully but liek whenever i dont feel well sometimes my brain is overstimulating but only in my head its very hard to explain 

58. Also i think sometimes kids on the spectrum and im not an expert but i do have it kind of make a friend in their head and i do that too sometimes just to give me advice

59. Also i hope they dont get rid of the black and white as sometimes people go more crazy without the figurative voice in their head

60. Like i said this is going to be random order so i like that emma adopted paul;s Okay and no im not making a tfios refrence

61. Poor Tim

62. Poor becky but even less

63. i thought they were supposed to be mad at g-d but in this and tgwdlm they like g-d

64. I cant tell the other pins on joey’s jacket but the first two i notice are mr wiggly and paul

65. I love Lauren’s acting you can see the very sublte sadness in her

66. Lauren and Joey together ahhhh

67. I know its probaly not a big deal but they should give a seziure warning before the tv scene

68. Did they reuse curts spies are forever outfit

69. Really starkid the obama refrence seriously, i cant tell if im mad or laughing 

70. How did Bob get one

71. I do realize they are talking irl but i cant help but wonder if the nazis were a spies are forever refrence

72. Does wiggly have a special power or something 

73. I think its similar to the metero the closer you are the more power it has over you

74. The starkid special effects we all know and love

75. Also is that mcnamara

76. Also maybe shooting it (the doll) does the same thing that shooting the affceted does. Give them no power

77. I cant tell what the music reminds me of exactly but the tune does kinda refrence a diffrent star kid song

78. Jeff looks so proud of himself for the peeps line

79. I love the purposeful i presume reuse of lines

80. Is peip like men in black

81. Also hatchetfield kind of reminds me of night vale

82. Is the black and white like the upside down?

83. I wonder if the point was purposeful since someone was filming or just choreographed

84. Yes Jon Singing!!!!!

85. I love the act two opener

86. Did his parents really name him christmas?!?

87. Oh hes literally related to santa

88. I love lauren and joey as eleves

89. Noel another christmas name

90. Isnt the little dance move like a genie move or something

91. Its so cute that she insitincitvely went to their seats

92. Also carving is goals

93. Even though its a penis its still goals

94. I know what you are, say it, santa clause

95. Tom dont yell at your girl

96. Poor Tom

97. But also dont make this about you

98. They probaly werent the head of the school since they were nice, i am sorry but thats true

99. Yass girl fight his ass

100. Also the theatre kid in me is picturing all that jazz

101. he ran into my knife he ran into my knife ten times

102. Yes Becky’s husband (i forget the name sue me) is bad but i feel like becky is more sinister then we realize

103. Becky’s line even if it isnt meant to be is so funny

104. The girl who plays Becky could play Barbara

105. I love how Joey and Lauren look into the camera

106. Jamie saying santa awww such a pure bean

107. The person in the wiggly onsie is goals

108. Matrix glasses for the win

109. Is wilbur a refrence to Charelots Web?

110. Its a cult a cult of wiggly

111. I feel like Sherman young is around 30-40

112. I love how its mommy to sound less pervy

113. Oh wait never mind Linda is mom

114. Shit thats fucked up they killed him

115. I am right a jew no non jew says mensch

116. To quote jared klienman kinky (shoe kiss scene)

117. Also i love this song the adore song

118. Why does them picking up Lauren give me Draco vibes

119. Wait he isnt dead?? im so confused

120. Wait he is dead???

121. Also ethan is creepy now

122. But Roberts expressions are goals

123. Robert your proffesor hidgens is showing

124. What the how does he know her name

125. Savage Wiggly

126. Wiggly is more funny than scary

127. But my poor baby dont be scared

128. What the fuck tom

129. Also poor baby number two

130. At first you think becky is made about him hurting a child but no its about the doll

131. What the fuck Becky

132. Also I wonder if thats the same serum that Hidgens used

133. Tom yelling at the audince is hilarious

134. Also Becky singing is giving me little shop vibes

135. Becky are you drunk or something you so stupid

136. But yayy my baby doesnt get hurt

137. More starkid special effects

138. Also the lighting nod to tgwdlm

139. Also why did they take my baby (see i told you random)

140. So the perv is wiggly

141. Also if he can appear in regular formation on earth why does he need to be the doll

142. Oh wait never mind he explains it

143. Joey talking to the audience and making them hold the apple is goals

144. I love Joey’s song

145. MIA = Missing in Action = Made in America

146. Wait im wrong Joey cant be Wiggly unless he has super powers he cant be in two places at once

147. I know they dont mean sex but still wtf

148. Lauren looks so done i cant

149. Seziure warning after mr presidnet leaves the black and white

150. Unless it was purposeful they should have hidden the dolls better backstage

151. Wait didnt hannah say something about two doors earlier?

152. Seriously Sherman ponies

153. I love the going back line

154. My poor baby lex

155. No Lex dont die not you too

156. Haha throwback to tgwdlm

157. Yes baby you got the gun

158. Also die perv die

159. Eagle screeching is goals

160. Yes lex use that logic

161. Also it makes sense only the adults can be brainwashed

162. There were only adults no children, scary (not sarcastic i promise)

163. Seriously starkid Fortnight

164. Thats why you should never fully grow up

165. Woah what Lex says is deep

166. Yessss Tom

167. Wait Tom dont hold the gun

168. Wait is Charolette alive or just a reuse of costume, if so why would they have jaimie wear it

169. No dont take her magic hat

170. Haha stupid hats cant be magic only dolls obviously

171. Does lauren say something like fucking knife in another show too?

172. Lauren screaming gives me my father will hear about this vibes

173. Also give my baby her hat back

174. Yass Lauren get it girl (i do realize shes playing the villian but still)

175. Yass Robert get it

176. Even though shes a viilain i dont like seeing Lauren get killed

177. But also how did they get the bullet wound on her so quick im impressed

178. Haha the way Gary stops everything to talk to gerald is goals

179. Like hes like oh shit money

180. And then hes like oh wait i have to pretend to care

181. I love how exagerated their dying is

182. Thats an impressive quick change

183. Yess Emma Hidgens

184. But also no hell fuck up again

185. Also Paul interupting is goals

186. Haha hannah you go girl

187. First off I love the song

188. Song off Hannah’s voice

189. Is paul scared normal or because of the hive

190. Wait all the tgwdlm charecters are back like nothing happened im confused

191. Haha the Hatchfield band is back

#black friday #starkid #tickle me wiggly #the guy who didn't like musicals

[lowkeyaesthvtic]

Evil Karma - Chapter 7

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6

Word Count: 1,883

Summary: A quick look into Sofi’s past ends in a messy room

Pairings: OC x father!OUAT Peter Pan, poly!Harry x OC x poly!Uma

Rating: PG (no swear words but some angsty content)

Warnings: description of child death, mention/description of physical abuse, basically Peter Pan is an abusive douchebag and Sofi deserved much better

Tags: @hookedradge @descendantofthesparrow @curse-brekker @newtshairdryer @amityravenclawelf @kirbiejayhook

Author’s Note: Not gonna lie, I’m a bit nervous about this chapter. I just wanted to say that I take all kinds of abuse incredibly seriously and that it’s not something to be glamorized/romanticized. What Sofi endured from her father happens to people every single day and it’s for that reason that I proofread this a million times to make sure it was taken seriously. Also, if you need help or someone to talk to, my DMs are always open.

Ironically enough, I had fallen asleep shortly after telling Uma that it was something I didn’t usually partake in. Uma must have stayed awake, as when I woke up I was not lying on the chair that I was in before I had drifted off. The three of us now lay in a brown, mildly dusty bed with a thin blanket draping over us. Somehow, I had ended up in the middle once more. My arm was draped over Harry’s chest and my head rested gently in the nape of his neck, inhaling his scent with every breath I took. He smelled...different than usual. Rather than carrying the scent of crashing waves trying to tear a ship apart, he smelled like a ship calmly drifting through an even sea. His hair was just as messy as before, if not messier. He definitely was not a still sleeper. I could feel Uma behind me, dancing her fingers across my back, tracing circles and hook-like shapes as if I were her empty canvas. It felt nice, truthfully, but it was all so...new. “I bet you got this treatment all the time back on Neverland, didn’t you, Island girl?” I hear Uma mumble behind me. A small laugh huffs out in response.

“Nothing like this…” I could feel my voice drifting as I cast my mind back to the crowded island I once called home.

It all started off so wonder-filled. I was the second person to be born in Neverland rather than being taken there by the Shadow. People were still wondering how it all happened, my own father included. For the first eight years, I aged as regularly as any child would. Obviously, I don’t have much recollection of it, but one of the older boys once told me that I was relatively peaceful and I could make even my own father crack a smile. I wish I could go back to it all, just to remember it again. There was only one thing about my childhood that I could recite by heart.

Her name was Delilah. She was the first to be born on the island. Her mother fled home soon after, just as I believe my own mother had done. If the boys thought I was peaceful as a child, Delilah was an angel. Her skin was fair and practically blemish free apart from small brown freckles splattered across her nose and the apples of her cheeks. Her hair was not light enough to be called ‘blonde’ but nowhere near as dark as mine. I swear her smile could light up even the darkest regions of the Echo Caves. She made me want to be a better child. If Neverland were some kind of movie, she’d be the leading lady there to steal everybody’s hearts.

Even as young and naive as I was, I was rendered surprised when she was so eager to be friends with me. The first thing I remember hearing from her was her asking if I wanted to race her to the shoreline. “Last one to the beach is a crocodile!” She yelped out. She almost always won. Maybe because she was faster than me, maybe because I just loved seeing the smile on her face when she got there first. Either way, she was a winner. Soon, we started doing everything together. We’d eat together, swim in the ocean together, I had even persuaded my father to let us share a tent. From that night on, we were inseparable. The boys would try everything they could to get us to crawl out of our tent and hunt with them, but to no avail.

One night, a blistering storm came rushing through the island. Pan had commanded everyone to stay in their tent no matter what, promising that he would take care of dinner and anything else the boys needed to rest easy. Everyone quickly obeyed, knowing the dangers of the island’s angry rain. The only one I had yet to see come into their tent was Delilah. It worried me to my very core. When everybody had fallen asleep, I snuck out of my tent to look for her. I had climbed mountains and scoured the forest and even dug through the sand to find her. But, there was one place that I had yet to look. The Echo Caves encompassed the darkest area of the island. Delilah would tell me stories of how her mother went to the Echo Caves to steal pixie dust and fly home. From what the boys had told me about those caves, Delilah’s mother might not have been the only one. Boys had tried to fly from the Echo Caves, believing that the power of their homesickness would bring them home to their families. What nobody ever told me was what happened if they failed. I found that out myself when I found Delilah’s body bloodied and bruised at the edge of a cliff by the Echo Caves’ entrance. In her cold hand was a bottle with a letter inside.

“Dear Delilah,” it read. “I don’t know if you’ll ever see this, but if you do, you need to read this very carefully. Neverland is not the paradise you think it is. Your mother, your uncle Michael and I all ventured there as kids under that same belief. We didn’t want to grow up, either. But we started to miss home, your mother especially. Pan wouldn’t let her leave. That’s why you were born here. He’s a curse, Delilah, a demon that will do anything for power and control. Go to the edge of the Echo Caves and cut one of the vines, a black liquid will start coming out of it. Put the black liquid into this bottle but do NOT let it touch your skin. Then, when Pan is drinking, slip the liquid inside while he isn’t looking. After that, you’ll be able to do whatever you want. If you want to come home, write us a letter and seal it with a kiss. Your uncle Michael and I will come and get you along with anybody else you want to take. We love you, Delilah Darling. Be careful. Sincerely, your Uncle John.” It wasn’t until after I had read the letter that I saw the black liquid oozing from her wounds.

Since that night, I didn’t want to be young anymore. A part of me thought that if I could grow up, I could leave. The other part of me was telling me that if I didn’t grow faster, stronger, and smarter than I was as a child, I’d end up just like Delilah if not worse. At first, I followed the island’s logic. If you believe in it hard enough, it will come to you. I wished to grow up each and every night for what could have been years, but nothing happened. So, I did what I thought was the only thing left to do. I went to my father.

“Dad...can I ask you something?” I asked, quietly peering into his tent. He was drinking wine, a usual hobby for him. A husky scoff erupted in response.

“What is it, Sofia? You clearly see I’m busy with something.” He turned his chair around and faced me. I never realized it when I was younger, but he was always angry with me. Every time he looked at me or even said my name, there was a glint of rage in his eyes and in his voice.

“Well...I really want something. I’ve tried believing in it, like you’ve said, but I’ve been wishing for this for a really really long time and nothing has been happening.”

“Get on with it, child.”

“I...I wanna grow up. I don’t want to stay a child forever anymore. It’s scary.” Silence. He swiftly stood and towered over me, glaring down with a laugh so deep and sinister you’d think he was a tiger hunting its prey.

“You think eternal youth is..scary? You stupid child!” A burning pain arrive on my right cheek as his backhand sent me to the ground. “Do you have any idea how hard I work to keep this paradise for you and the boys? Now...you’ve come to tell me that you don’t want it? I should throw you to ocean and see which of the mermaids is fortunate enough to snatch you for lunch!” He turns back around and walks to a desk by his bed. At that moment, I didn’t know what to focus on. I didn’t know if I was going to live or die, but I was so scared that I couldn’t move to escape. The next time I saw his face, he had a tiny bottle in his hand filled with a purple shimmering liquid. “Fine...you want to grow up? Drink this, and you’ll be the only person on this island who won’t be young forever. But I’ll tell you now, dear Sofia, all magic comes with a price. If you don’t pay it like a good little girl, you’ll end up just like Delilah. You hear me?” He throws down the bottle with near enough force to break it. “Now pick up your waste of space potion and get out of my sight before I really give you something to be scared of!”

“Sofi..? Sofi? Sofi!” I was shaken back to reality by both Harry and Uma’s voices calling to me. By the time I was back in reality, the room we were in had been near completely trashed. My knuckles had become bloody and any glass surface in the room was shattered. Moments after coming back, my knees buckled and I collapsed to the floor. I didn’t want them to see me cry. Nobody is supposed to see me cry. Crying is a weakness and if you possess weaknesses, you won’t survive anywhere.

“Hey, duckling...it’s just us. Your dad’s dead, remember?” Harry leaned down and took one of my hands into his. They were big, veiny, strong..but somehow, in this time, they held such a gentle air to them. They were warm in a room that couldn’t be any colder. Then, it came to me.

“How much did you hear?” I tried to keep my voice strong and deep, but it couldn’t help but quiver and crack. There’s no way they would ever see me the same. “I’m not weak..I promise you I’m not weak-”

“We know, Sofi. We know. Honestly, you’re probably the strongest girl I’ve met. Next to myself, of course.” I let out a small laugh. She had a point. “We don’t know everything you’ve been through, Sofi. You don’t know everything we’ve been through, either. But if there’s one thing that I know, it’s that the three of us are the strongest this Isle has ever seen. Nothing from our past is going to change that. Okay?” I nodded my head and felt my breathing return to normal. Harry helped me up to my feet and walked me to a tall, dilapidated wardrobe.

“Let’s go ahead and get dressed. I think Lady Tremaine’s place is due for a quick robbing, don’t you, duckling?” I smirked and nodded my head.

“Let’s get into some trouble.”

“That’s my girl,” Uma replied as she placed a gentle kiss on my cheek.

#descendants uma #descendants fic #descendants x oc #uma x oc #harry x oc x uma #uma x reader #harry x reader x uma #harry hook x uma #uma daughter of ursula #huma #harry hook x uma smut #harry hook smut #harry hook x oc #harry hook x reader #harry hook

[drmedicsgamesurgery]

Danganronpa Togami Volume 3 Part 6 (Summary)

Time for more good weirdness.

Thanks to @enoshima-pyon @shockersalvage​ @jinjojess​ @hopeymchope​ for helping out!

CHAPTER 13- The Ascension of K

 1.

 Karel Čapek [0] wrote, "I don't need any masters, I know what I should do."

Franz Kafka [1] wrote, "‘What’s happened to me,’ he thought. It was no dream."

Milan Kundera [2] wrote, "Kafka learned to kill Kafka because of his insistence on deciphering."

Even with losing Borges, I can still quote the words of the Czech writers. As for why, well, that was a good thing to ask K.

 > Go to the city

> Climb the mountain

 Shinobu decides to climb the mountain where the sniper is supposed to be. It’s dangerous, but she believes that it’s not as dangerous as wandering around in the city while being wanted.

She starts climbing the mountain, but with only one eye, it's difficult to estimate the distance between her and the trees so she stumbled upon them several times.

Suddenly she find an open space right before her. There was an old log cabin, which looked like a restaurant, with tables and open air seating. A sign said “Temporarily closed for business”.

An old man stood there. Although it was summer, the old man wore a black hat and a black coat. It might be a bit redundant to say that he was a Westerner. From his sharp blue eyes, she couldn't see anything like sociality and friendliness.

"Have you gotten rid of Borges?" the old man said. "Follow me, Shinobu Togami."

2.

 She follows the old man to his house on the mountain. He hangs his coat and his hat on the coat rack and boils the kettle. Shinobu notes that the place has a low ceiling but the door is big enough not to be claustrophobic, and she sits at a table.

As I watched his movements with the corner of my eye, I watched the tableware placed on the homemade bar and the woodworking tools piled near the doorway. A picture hanging on the wall came into my eyes.

It was a weird painting.

A small animal that looked like a rat with a scary nose, where its nose supported its body like a leg. There was a certain factor in the painting that made it sinister, which caused my interest and anxiety. [3]

The old man, who has beautiful silver hair, puts two cups of coffee on a table and asks Shinobu to sit down and drink. Then he hands her an eyepatch saying her face looks scary with a hole in it.

"I have already understood the situation. That fake’s ‘World Domination Proclamation', even if I don't want to hear it, has been ringing in my ears. Others call me K."

"K?"

"Thirteenth in Latin, the thirteenth in poker."

“Speaking of K, that is the protagonist of “A Hunger Artist”, right?” [4]

K says that is incorrect and is the name of the protagonist from various other stories. Shinobu apologies, but admits to herself she didn’t come across as genuine.

"Forget it, as long as you say it is white, then black can also turn white," the old man who claimed to be called K snorted. "The initial letter of Kafka is also K."

"Are you...?"

"The reason why people call me K is many, but the most common one is KLAMM [5]. In the era of the Czech Republic and the socialist countries, that was what everyone was secretly calling the official of the Secretariat."

"I don't know Czech at all."

"It means 'fraud'."

Shinobu shows him the piece of paper that Hiroyuki gave her. She says that it’s too much of a coincidence that she met K right after getting the note, so she asks who is he.

"So, please, tell me. Who are you? Why do you know me?" asks Shinobu.

"Who are you? If you want to use that question to figure out my career and position, then it is still a little troubling to answer you. If you want to talk about the why, it is because I am an alumnus of Hope’s Peak Academy. I participated in the development of the Bible Plan. That project and later in the participation in the development of Borges with the Togami Family." says K.

When Shinobu brings up the Hasegawa Institute and if he has any relation to the Ketouin Conglomerate, K has no idea what she’s talking about. K goes on to talk about an interview with a writer who was questioned as to why he didn’t go into detail about a character’s past or appearance. His response? 

“'You dare to ask this in front of Kafka? What color is the character's hair, and whether this person's father has money, you should decide it yourself!'"

K delves into what is important or not, is dependant one what one’s worldview is, using several books as an example and asks if what she sees as her reality is different. 

"Enough."

"Enough what?"

"I understand it, all these things. Please don't say these words. This is the right thing, only..."

"Only the reality I see is different, right?"

I have been vaguely aware of it. And now that I think about it, even though others have pointed this out to me again and again, I pretended not to notice it. In order for me to be me, in order for me to be a secretary, I can't admit it. However, after losing Borges and "Journey Under The Midnight Sun" and my identity...now I have that idea in my heart.

Do I want to admit it? 

That Borges, as an irreplaceable right eye, as a vital signpost, that has always been with me...it has been lying to me, in a rather obvious manner. 

In this case, I don't have to be so stubborn. I firmly believe that I am not wrong.

K quietly drank coffee for a while, before suddenly the wrinkles in his eyes trembled and he whispered.

"The cause of this is Borges." he said before continuing. "You use Borges in order to master the situation in this world. It makes the scene you see different from the reality in the eyes of ordinary people."

"I don't understand."

"The writer that I mentioned said that when he translated his work into other languages, he was shocked because the translation was too casual.The French version changed, the English version changed, as for the Spanish version, I heard that the translator didn’t even understand Czech at all. So the question is, how faithful was Borges translation from the original, or to be precise, how shameless was its adaptation of it?”

3.

K explains that he, alongside other graduates, were contacted by Hope’s Peak Academy’s Steering Committee and given an outline of the Bible Plan. After being pressured by the committee, he joined their research team alongside other former Super High School level students who shared similar writing abilities (such the former SHSL Literary Critic, Poet, Writer, Suspense novelist, Children's Literature Writer, Essayist) and was the head of the software department where he collected talent data from the students in the school who had similar abilities. From there, the data is placed into the automatic writing system that was created by the hardware department. Thus, the creation of the Story AI was born.

K then continues on to explain his hand in creating the AI’s method of writing stories program since, as he puts it, it’s like the difference between using AI for novels and chess.

"To let AI play chess, just tell it the rules, let it read the past chess scores. But novels have no rules. If there are no rules, the AI can't write novels. So, as well for 'story data' I also wrote the 'method of writing stories'." says K.

“Don't you let it learn writing skills?” asks Shinobu.

K explains that the meaning of it is different, although it has methods of writing stories, it has many differences in writing technique then just what he fed into the system. He explains what he means by quoting Čapek and Rousseau [6], who all have different styles of writing, logic, techniques and the like. He mentions that Karel Čapek is also a K.

“What you are saying feels a bit complicated.”

“I’ll tell you an analogy. For example, there is such an experiment where a mathematician and a writer live on an uninhabited island. The condition is that the two islands have the same area and have the same problem. They can be escaped the same way. However, at this time, the two people may take completely different actions, and the method of fleeing may be different. Since their occupation is different, there is no common ground for the two people's actions or principles. Thus, as a result, the actions that they take are different."

So, the difference between the actions taken by mathematicians and writers against uninhabited islands serves as the differences in the novel? And that’s the "method of writing stories"? Is that really the case? I doubt very much how much I understand K.

"In any case, the 'Bible Plan' started like this. Then it failed."

"Failed?"

"It takes a lot of time, a lot of money, a lot of manpower, and the story generated by AI is not that great. At least this thing can only be judged after I read it with the team members."

“Why would it fail?”

"Of course it would."

“How can you write a story that anyone can recover hope on first reading?”

"You said it yourself so clearly that I don't know what to say..."

"'A life changing book', there is such a saying. Some books can make people immersed in it, and some books can change one's outlook on life. But I want a book that can have an effect on all humans. To get this effect is simply an idiotic dream. To make readers with different ages, genders, nationalities, and political positions have the same opinion after reading, how can such a book be written?"

"So because humans can't write it, so let AI write it?"

"In fact, the Story AI has done a good job. It responds brilliantly to the requirements of human selfishness. However, the result is terrible. The story AI has written a Bible-like thing... a fake Bible. This is also a matter of course. For now, to say which book is the best book that can bring hope to despairing people, a Bible is certainly the best choice."

"What……"

This is true, that's it.

"The 'Bible Plan' shamelessly carried out the biblical reproduction, which is really boring. This is no different from the shameful behavior of other cults around the world. To transcend the Bible, creativity is indispensable, because if there is no creation, then it cannot be broken. It's at the forefront."

"If you don't have the ability to create, you can't write a story."

Shinobu thinks to what Byakuya had said previously, being similar to this. Using the database to write stories is too limiting as it can only create stories similar to the existing story. The essence of creation is indispensable for a truly new story to be born. The story needs originality, as well as ancient and modern writing technique.

Silence. When I was with K, I had a few coffees from time to time and spent a period of speechless time together. My gaze naturally turned to the painting of the small animal hanging on the wall. The animal that stands with a surprisingly small nose should be a fictional animal, but it has eyes, ears, and legs. If a painter with the essence of creation draws something new, I don't think it will be a creature at all. Creation is such greatness, and it is such a deformity, therefore it must be.

K reckons that even though the Bible Plan was frozen, that the rumoured Despair novel was a product created with the same Bible Plan technique, but it’s difficult for him to tell. It’s possible the Story AI may or may not be involved with the Despair Disease, as well.

“Is there someone who supplements it, like someone other than you?”

"It shouldn't be possible, but I have a hypothesis. If it can make it work, it's just as good as the effect that Borges has on you, or maybe not."

"What's the matter?"

"Don't worry, I’ll explain it one by one. Although the 'Bible Plan' is frozen, as a matter of course, the story AI shows a very intriguing tendency."

"That is……"

“With just one story, it can produce different research ideas from multiple different perspectives.”

“Can you please tell me something more straightforward?”

"Do you know the Mona Lisa?"

"Of course I know it."

“Have you actually seen it?”

"No."

"Since you haven’t actually seen it, how can you say that you know it!"

He seemed to be suddenly angry.

"Because there are textbooks or on TV, I can see it whenever I want..."

"Since there it’s in a textbook, who photographed the Mona Lisa with a camera? Since it is on the TV, who recorded it with video? This is what the story AI can do. Do you understand?"

"I don’t understand."

"Because we are not Da Vinci, it is impossible for us to draw the Mona Lisa in principle. However, we can create the back or the lower body of the Mona Lisa, we can use Mona Lisa's portrait data for use in collage art creation, or writing about the Mona Lisa in a woman's novel. In fact, there are such works of art and books. According to this current statement, it’s secondary creation... Combining or deriving something from that work."

"Secondary creation?" [7]

Suddenly a modern vocabulary emerged, and I was somewhat unprepared.

“The Story AI has become an expert in 'fiction techniques'. Although there are no rules in the novel, there are some things that are customary. It must show the characters, tell the background, and let the plot blend into the historical situation. It must be empty when the scene is converted. Lines, must be numbered, must add a new description, new description texts..."

Shinobu thinks that this premise is too big, which justs makes K more upset that she doesn’t understand. He uses examples of various authors which all come to the main point that while you think these books would be based in realism because they are about real events and real people, but they also have the freedom to blend in things like jokes which never happened at the real event, only added later. He also talks about how many of these realist authors too have a K in their name.

"Hey, although the tangent you are talking about is very interesting, can we get back to the main focus of topic?" Shinobu cuts in.

"This is also the topic, but forget it," K nearly retching said, using his coffee to moisten his throat. "We let the Story AI swallow a lot of data, and as a result, it has the kind of tendency I just stated prior... For a story, it can produce different research ideas from multiple different perspectives... We did an experiment on it. Do you know Metamorphosis?" [8]

"I’ve read it."

K explains that by feeding the story Metamorphosis to the Story AI, that it was able to study that data, and then write many different versions of the story with many different and altered scenarios. It even created stage play and comic book versions as well. Shinobu sounds like it became a light novelist who specializes in Metamorphosis. 

"It wasn’t only limited to "Metamorphosis", even if other works of other writers are given to it, it can also be used for secondary creation and writing fake books. We named the story AI “the K2K system” and decided to let it evolve on its own."

"The K2K system." [9]

It seems that the letter K also appears here, two of them even.

"The Bible Plan ran out of funding, but even so we didn’t think failure was important. We were obsessed with the K2K system and even developed up to version 2.3.[9] The K2K system began writing and kept writing, it turned into a writing a machine, a writing robot."

K's words made me feel shocked. I am a writing machine, a word puppet, just a note-taking tool for writing "Journey Under The Midnight Sun". Now, after losing Borges and "Journey Under The Midnight Sun", can I still be so sure of myself?

K continues by saying that the word robot was developed in Czech as forced labour, which was widely known at the time due to Čapek’s writings. He states that propositions like robots gaining the same dignity as humans is dying due to the fact of what the K2K systems can manufacture. Basically, because the K2K system can now go beyond human authors, they will have a sense of crisis in their own dignity as writers. Shinobu says that it would be fairly unbearable if robots were to really take over the artform.

K says "However, this is the reality. In this way, after becoming the perfect pen machine, the K2K system soon triggered an incident. It destroyed a person in the research team."

4.

 It created interference, K says.

"“This book changed my life.” One of the people in the group collapsed after seeing it as required."

"Is that person dead?"

"From that point of view, the opposite is true. That person has become a murderer."

“Wait, you just said interference, right."

"Oh."

"So what you are saying is the Story AI... the K2K system can write something that affects human thoughts, but the 'Bible Plan' has not been successful?"

"In the end, it was just interference with an individual. Didn't I just say it, 'This book changed my life', not 'our lives'. The K2K system wrote a story for that person."

"Does the K2K system have the will to do this kind of thing?"

"The K2K system has no will. Even if there is no will, AI ​​can get a car to a destination, and you can talk to AI ​​on the phone. Now in schools, AI has become the secretary of most people. It can recommend things to you, a book you'd like, help you pick the hotel you want to stay in, and tell you the symptoms of your sickness. It can also give you the most suitable medicine. The K2K system is no different from that, just that it mechanically makes a 'recommended book for you'. However, its destructive power is enormous, just like recommending "The Sorrows of Young Werther" [10] to a person who is troubled by love."

Not long ago, I couldn't do anything without Borges, but this interpretation made me feel scared. Among the things recommended by AI, if something intense and full of charm has the ability to destroy the human spirit, can I refuse it at that time? No, maybe I have already seen it before I even noticed it.

"Because that person took the data, what kind of story he saw was unknown, but only from the results, that person became a murderer. Nearly half of the research team was killed, and because of this After the storm, Hope’s Peak Academy learned about the existence of the K2K system. After understanding the situation, the steering committee intended to freeze the entire K2K system, and we took it away, because after the data was separated from it, the capacity of a disk was enough to accommodate, the system is always as simple as possible."

"Then there is actually no K2K system in the school, right?"

"Because we are also worried that the steering committee would use it for other purposes. That school was like this before, they can't be trusted at all."

"Then Despair High School grabbed it from the team members who fled with the K2K system..."

"I have never heard of a stupid organization with that name, but I don't rule out this possibility. There is also one possibility that is the most terrible. I also said that the research group of the 'Bible Plan' had data from many super high school level students. If these people are trying to take their talents, it would be easy to embark on the path to evil."

"Used to do evil, huh?"

"They probably don't think it's evil at all."

It may be that someone leaked the K2K system to Despair High School. Although I am very reluctant to think so, it is not impossible to see that the current "Despair Novel" has actually spread throughout the world. We may face countless enemies. This kind of uneasiness makes a chill crawl up my spine.

"Listen to what I say next and then tremble."

K's blue eyes turned to my right half of the face, so I noticed that the topic finally turned to this point.

 "I was trying to hide Borges and finally found a suitable vault. That is you, Shinobu Togami." K said, "Borges is controlled by the K2K System."

 Translation Notes:

[0] Karel Čapek was a Czech writer, playwright and critic. He has become best known for his science fiction, including his novel War with the Newts (1936) and play R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots, 1920), which introduced the word robot. He also wrote many politically charged works dealing with the social turmoil of his time. Influenced by American pragmatic liberalism, he campaigned in favor of free expression and strongly opposed the rise of both fascism and communism in Europe.

[1] Franz Kafka was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work, which fuses elements of realism and the fantastic, typically features isolated protagonists facing bizarre or surrealistic predicaments and incomprehensible socio-bureaucratic powers, and has been interpreted as exploring themes of alienation, existential anxiety, guilt, and absurdity. His best known works include "Die Verwandlung" ("The Metamorphosis"), Der Process (The Trial), and Das Schloss (The Castle). The term Kafkaesque has entered the English language to describe situations like those found in his writing. Kafka was born into a middle-class Ashkenazi Jewish family in Prague, the capital of the Kingdom of Bohemia, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, today the capital of the Czech Republic.

[2] Milan Kundera is a Czech writer who went into exile in France in 1975, becoming a naturalised French citizen in 1981. Kundera’s Czech citizenship was revoked in 1979 and was not restored until 2019. He "sees himself as a French writer and insists his work should be studied as French literature and classified as such in bookstores". He is known for his beautiful silver hair and blue eyes, which contrast the black outfits he enjoys wearing. As of 2020, he is the only author mentioned in Danganronpa to be still alive. Whether or not you understand what I am saying, well i guess is up for interpretation. 

[3] If you are a fan of the other Danganronpa spin-offs you should know exactly where this is going. If not, I highly recommend reading Kirigiri Sou before the next part releases. Link can be found here.

[4] "A Hunger Artist" (German: "Ein Hungerkünstler") is a short story by Franz Kafka first published in Die neue Rundschau in 1922. The story was also included in the collection A Hunger Artist (Ein Hungerkünstler), the last book Kafka prepared for publication, printed by Verlag Die Schmiede after Kafka's death. The protagonist, a hunger artist who experiences the decline in appreciation of his craft, is typically Kafkaesque: an individual marginalized and victimized by society at large. "A Hunger Artist" explores themes such as death, art, isolation, asceticism, spiritual poverty, futility, personal failure and the corruption of human relationships. The title of the story has been translated also to "A Fasting Artist" and "A Starvation Artist". 

[5] KLAMM refers to the short story by Kafka “The Castle”. The german title Das Schloss may be translated as "the castle" or "the palace", but the German word is a homonym that can also refer to a lock. It is also phonetically close to der Schluss ("conclusion" or "end"). The castle is locked and closed to K (The protagonist of the Castle, whose name is K). and the townspeople; neither can gain access. The name of the character Klamm is similar to "Klammer" in German, which means "clip, brace, peg, fastener" and may hold a double meaning; for Klamm is essentially the lock that locks away the secrets of the Castle and the salvation of K. In ordinary usage, "klamm" is an adjective that denotes a combination of dampness and chill and can be used in reference both to weather and clothing, which inscribes a sense of unease into the main character's name. In Czech, "klam" means delusion, deceit. 

[6] Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, writer and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolution and the development of modern political, economic and educational thought. 

[7] “Secondary creation” is not a term commonly used in copyright jurisprudence and it is difficult to ascertain its actual coverage. For instance, there are views suggesting that “secondary creation” should include translations and adaptations, or should be treated as “derivative works”. However, the concepts of translation and adaptation, both being derivative works, are clear under international copyright treaties and copyright laws in different jurisdictions. In particular, the owner of the copyright in a work has the exclusive right to make a translation or an adaptation of the same. Although there may be original elements in the later work itself, it may not be appropriate to take this as the sole basis in considering any copyright exception.The provision of a copyright exception solely based on the rather ambiguous concept of “secondary creation” may blur the line between infringing and non-infringing works, create uncertainty and increase opportunities for abuse.

[8] The Metamorphosis (German: Die Verwandlung) is a novella written by Franz Kafka which was first published in 1915. One of Kafka's best-known works, The Metamorphosis tells the story of salesman Gregor Samsa who wakes one morning to find himself inexplicably transformed into a huge insect (German ungeheures Ungeziefer, literally "monstrous vermin"), subsequently struggling to adjust to this new condition. The novella has been widely discussed among literary critics, with differing interpretations being offered. 

[9] Yep, so this is what is speaking to “the reader” during the books openings, and that one interlude. Not Yuya Sato. So suck it TV Tropes and your bullshit misinformation.

[10] The Sorrows of Young Werther (German: Die Leiden des jungen Werthers) is a loosely autobiographical epistolary novel by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, first published in 1774. A revised edition followed in 1787. It was one of the most important novels in the Sturm und Drang period in German literature, and influenced the later Romantic movement. Goethe, aged 24 at the time, finished Werther in five-and-a-half weeks of intensive writing in January–March 1774. The book's publication instantly placed the author among the foremost international literary celebrities, and was among the best known of his works. It is written in the form of Letters, and is basically a depressing love story.

 To be continued.

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