#i wasn't going to put alan here since he was in the other one but he showed up in the episode i was giffing for kaden and marcus

[mortemoppetere]

WICKED'S REST as FANTASY

( featuring: @nightmaretist, @eldritchaccident, @chasseurdeloup, @thenavysealkie, & @alan-duarte )

#wickedscontent #( king of a kingdom of dirt // face ) #i wasn't going to put alan here since he was in the other one but he showed up in the episode i was giffing for kaden and marcus #and he looked good #so he's here now #also look i finally have a use for the peter gadiot/avan jogia gay swordfight scene #long post #also these WILL slow down now that i'm back at work #but i only have a couple more planned anyway #so it is what it is

[pharawee]

It's been a week already, so here I am with the third part of my Pit Babe novel commentary.

(You can find the first two parts here and here.)

First things first, though. North is an omega. Do with that information what you will. 🤡

Meanwhile, Charlie and Babe are back at it again (because of course they are) and this time they're not taking any prisoners. Poor Way is on the phone with Babe as Charlie does his best to please~ him. In various ways. Way is very confused. All he wants is for Babe to tell him which car he wants him to buy. You know, if this is Way's villain origin story then I'm not even mad.

Charlie mercifully ends the call before things can get a bit too obvious, only for Babe to pick up the phone again to make an x-rated recording of them going at it like bunnies. Keep this in mind for later.

But anyway. It's finally time for Charlie's initiation into Team X-Hunter - that is, if he manages to pass Alan's test: compete against Pit Babe himself. As if Charlie wasn't nervous enough about it already. Naturally, he loses, and he's really upset about it too - not because he failed the test but because he failed his friends. Aw. But no one really expected him to win against Babe anyway, Alan merely wanted to test his determination, and so he's welcomed as the newest member of the team. Competitive racing really is that easy, I guess.

One almost-love confession later (Babe can't quite bring himself to say it but he doesn't need to. Charlie knows.) they're back to actually teaching Charlie how to race. Since Babe is still healing from his injuries, he can only (very stylishly) watch from the sidelines as the other members of X-Hunter take over as Charlie's teachers. Today it's North's turn and remember? He's the only omega on the team. Naturally, Babe is jealous. They (dirty-)talk it out. Charlie can now smell Babe's emotions, while Babe has all but lost his heightened senses. Hm.

Later, in the locker room while Charlie is busy racing, Babe comes across Way. Or is it the other way around? It seems like Way really wants to talk to him - or rather, talk him out of being with Charlie. Something's really fishy about the way he phrases things. Manipulate, mansplain, malewife. Or something. But the thing is? For some strange reason it's working, even on someone as headstrong and stubborn as Babe (and the only reason why Babe isn't immediately giving in to Way's weirdly cruel love confession is because his heart is full of Charlie). All these moments when Way and he seemed so flirty and close? Suddenly they've become very, very creepy. Hmm.

Anyway. It's time for Charlie to pay another visit to his mysterious clients and/or family. He never really says (but we now know better). But, oh no! He's left his wallet! Luckily, he's got the world's best not-quite-boyfriend to try and catch up with him before it's too late.

And here's where things go very, very wrong.

(I'm putting the rest of this post under a cut because of major spoilers and a content warning for SA and grooming. Please take care.💜)

Because that's not a taxi Babe sees Charlie getting into. It's one of his "father's" limousines, along with some of his men. Preparing for the worst, Babe follows.

Meanwhile, Charlie is meeting up with his adopted father. Their coversation goes about as expected, with Charlie refusing to return home and bring Babe with him while he's at it, because they've indeed been adopted by the same man. Charming.

This is the moment when Babe barges into the room, thinking that he's here to save Charlie before very quickly realising the truth: that he's been manipulated and played and lied to.

I need you to realise how much of a nightmare this is for Babe. He's spent over a decade running from an adoptive father who wants to trap and abuse him, and now the only person he trusts (and loves, but we don't talk about that) has led him straight back into that trap.

So basically, Babe's sanity is slowly unravelling at the seams. He immediately takes off, with Charlie following him outside and into the rain (because of course it's raining - it's much more dramatic that way). When Charlie attempts to stop him and explain, Babe (understandably) lashes out. He punches Charlie's glasses right off his face, failing to understand why he's the one who's hurting when it's Charlie who should be feeling guilty.

Oh, and then there's this bit:

"I thought you liked racing…" Babe's voice was trembling and soft, completely different from before, "…I thought you loved me."

I barely survived reading this. I'm here for fun omegaverse shenanigans dammit!!

So, yeah, Babe returns home alone, and even though he doesn't want to, he forces himself to remember what happened with his adoptive father, because as it turns out Charlie's betrayal has the most horrifying of implications:

You see, Babe was adopted because he was an alpha with special abilities. But he wasn't the only one, there were other adopted alpha children with special abilities that Babe was never allowed to meet. Eventually, Babe learned about the existence of enigmas who stand above even alphas and are so strong (and thankfully rare) that they can turn any alpha they have sex with into omegas and impregnate them. Children from these unions have a 99% chance to be alphas with special abilities. See where this is going?

Let me spell it out for you - because clearly this isn't wtf-inducing enough: Babe is essentially the main ingredient in his adoptive father's breeding program.

But wait! It gets even worse! 🤡🤡

Babe, alone and at his lowest, deduces that Charlie must the enigma that was sent to lure him back.

And if that's true, then maybe he's already been changed from an alpha into an omega (because his heightened senses are gone, remember?). Maybe he's already pregnant.

And this is what sends Babe completely over the edge (same here, Babe, same here...) because he is positively traumatised by the thought of having children and fulfilling his adoptive father's sick wishes. He doesn't want children. The very thought makes him sick. He values his autonomy above all else. He never even has sex with omegas because he refuses to get anyone pregnant.

Only now he's about to get a pregnancy test because he was stupid enough to fall for a cute, innocent boy with glasses.

Enter Charlie who of course still knows the code to Babe's condo. Babe barricades himself in his bedroom while Charlie tells him his side of the story. How he was adopted by the same man, and how he was quite content with his life until he learned about his father's plan to get one of his other adoptive children pregnant - by force if necessary. Charlie felt sorry for this older adoptive brother but since he only knew his name - Babe - he bid his time until he heard about a racer named Pit Babe. Charlie started hanging out at the races and in turn fell in love with racing (and with Babe).

Fast forward to now, only of course Babe doesn't believe him because he must be the enigma, right?

Nope, turns out Charlie is an alpha after all, only his special ability is stealing other alphas' special abilities.

And his grand plan? To take away what makes Babe special so their adoptive father will no longer be interested in breeding (ugh...) him.

Which leaves us (and Babe) with one problem: Wtf Charlie, you don't just steal people's abilities without their consent - especially not when you claim to love them.

So yeah, their whole relationship is based on lies and manipulation, and Charlie essentially stole Babe's heightened senses by having sex with him.

Babe starts crying, Charlie starts crying, then they start having hatesex (which usually ends all their arguments). This fixes things for about five minutes until Babe starts sobbing for real. He wants Charlie to leave. He can't even stand to look at him.

And so Charlie leaves and moves in with his other adoptive brother, Jeff. We'd already established that Jeff is an omega. However, he's a special omega (because why else would he have been adopted too?).

Jeff can see the future. 🤡🤡🤡

He was incredibly valuable to their adoptive father until he probably realised what that meant for him, so one day Jeff took a stroll outside and let himself get hit by a car, claiming that this had him lose his abilities. Naturally, he was promptly discarded, but he seems to live a comfortable life protected by Charlie. He's exactly as aloof as Pon plays him in the series. I love Jeff, ok?

Meanwhile, Babe's back to his old habits, trying to chase away his thoughts of Charlie by getting it on with other alphas. Only it doesn't work. He blames their scent, of course, but he's clearly still hung up on Charlie. Drunk and miserable, he rediscovers the spicy video of Charlie and him that he recorded on his phone and promptly starts masturbating (as you do). When Charlie calls him, he picks up out of habit. Babe is angry (and horny) and Charlie is sad (and horny) so they have phone sex (and they're still really into calling each other papa and daddy - which, you know, there might be better pet names considering who's their adoptive father but ok).

Babe still doesn't want to see Charlie, and as Charlie later aptly puts it:

"Because I chose the starting point myself without asking him. So now I have to let him choose the ending he is most comfortable with."

Much, much later, the racing season picks back up again. Turns out the whole race track had to shut down for an investigation into Babe's accident. It's Charlie's first race and there's some kind of qualifying for future rounds. But, surprise! Babe will be racing too. He's too stubborn to let Charlie win the title. To the surprise of absolutely no one (except for Charlie who's worried about Babe's barely-healed injuries) Babe easily wins, with Charlie (who's overwhelmed by his new heightened senses) coming in fourth place. Plot twist (but really actually not...): Babe doesn't need to rely on his senses to win because he has years of experience to draw from.

After the race, Charlie follows Babe into the locker room. They talk it out. This somehow involves a blowjob but I'm not judging. Babe still won't forgive Charlie, saying:

"You think I love you more than I love myself?"

Which is an incredibly powerful thing to say and I hope they keep this for the series.

Later that night, Babe meets up with Way because he doesn't want to be alone. Things with him have been awkward since that day in the locker room when Way basically confessed, but for some reason Babe won't hold it against him. Way is right, after all (Hmmm.). Only, Way won't let things be and somehow, without Babe noticing, they're suddenly kissing.

And then Babe goes motionless and still as Way starts undressing him. He's stopped just in time by a very panicky Charlie. When Babe comes to he doesn't know what's going on until Charlie tells him.

Way is their adoptive brother and he can hypnotise alphas.

Because DUN DUN DUN! Way is the enigma.

To be continued. 🤡🤡🤡🤡

#pit babe #pit babe the series #bl meta #pit babe meta #jane watches stuff #this is so long i'm so sorry lmao #but a lot happened in only 5 chapters so #i actually really liked babe and charlie talking it out after the big reveal #they're both such interesting characters and so well written #i started reading this novel out of curiosity but now i'm really invested #not really with the omegaverse part because that's not my cup of tea but

[wtfgaylittlezooid]

Stickbug AU

Just so y'all can get an idea of what I'm yapping about, I'm gonna spill everything I have planned for this AU so far on this post. I'll try to update it as I come up with more ideas.

NOTE: SO THIS CAME OUT A LOT LONGER THAN I THOUGHT SO IF YALL WANT TO CONTROL F TO CERTAIN SPOTS HERE ARE THE HEADER NAMES: The Hollows Creation AVA IV Chosen & Dark Anim VS Minecraft Purple KING LETS GO MY FAVORITE KING AVM Season 3 Victim & the Mercenaries After Everything

So this AU takes place around 50 years after the canon events of Bug Fables, and I'll explain as I go along so you won't need to know the events of the game.

Some needed information is that Humans are heavily implied to have disappeared/died, and some species of bugs have gained sapience in the "Day of Awakening," though some species remained feral with a few individuals gaining sapience far after the Day of Awakening.

The Hollows Creation

Alan is still in this AU, and in a way he is still the Hollows "creator." In this AU, he's a creature called a "Deadlander Omega" found in the Giant's Lair/Deadlands. Basic information is that they're colossal bird-like Deadlanders which are so big only their claws and eyes have ever been seen. In game they like to drop other Deadlanders onto the player which triggers a fight. Alan is a more aware Omega. He likes to collect whatever piques his interest, normally anything that shines due to the lack of sunlight in the Lair. However after a while of dropping Deadlanders onto the few passing bugs, he got more curious by bugs.

NOTE: THIS IS DRAWN BY @tatos-stick-pile SHE HAS DONE SO MUCH FOR THIS AU

So what did he do? Sneak out of the Giant's Lair. Used the overgrown weeds to his advantage and would look around. Found out about larva and got fascinated by the fact bugs came from that. So whatever larva he could find he'd take back-- which wasn't often since most people wouldn't just leave their larva/eggs lying around.

Anyway he'd bring them home. The Deadlanders wouldn't register the larva/eggs as bugs or alive so they could just crawl around and munch on the grass until they eventually grew up. Alan started realizing "oh shit grow your own entertainment" when his first little stolen egg grew to a bug, a grasshopper (victim). Alan would basically use a jar to keep Victim from running off, would drop Deadlanders on him to watch the fights even if Victim sucked at fighting.

Now even if Alan doesn't recognize the bugs as living and thinking things, he isn't stupid. He notices how they use the shiny crystals he likes to collect to heal. So when he sees Victim nearly getting killed in one of the fights he puts two and two together and "gives" Victim the crystal. AKA impales him and literally kills Victim. When he notices Victim stops moving, throws him away and tries again.

He finds a hornet larva. Decides to try something different. Bugs use the crystals for health, so as the larva crawls around and eats he crushes up one of his crystals and mixes it into areas they know they like to eat in. Because of the magic in the crystals, whatever sticks in their bodies results in the larva becoming strong, healthy, and extremely powerful sorcerers.

Chosen fights-- both the Deadlanders and Alan-- but can't win. He tries running, but Alan rips off a wing and puts him in the jar. Eventually Alan gets lucky and finds a wasp larva, and unfortunately for Chosen, this one doesn't seem to understand anything other than following Alan. Of course y'all can guess what happens from here: Alan pits the two against eachother, Chosen tells Dark they can team up to fight Alan, and end up doing a lot of damage to him before running. It takes a long while for Alan to rebuild his health before he tries again. This time a lot more careful with a little bumblebee larva (Second). He keeps a very close eye on it to make sure it doesn't hurt him, and an even closer eye to make sure it doesn't get away.

AVA IV

Red's a ladybug, Green's a grasshopper, Blue's a firefly, and Yellow's a caddisfly. While Bugaria takes place in the Giant's Lair (AKA a abandoned human home)'s backyard, the color gang are from the front yard. They each have their own reasons to travel to Bugaria: Yellow has heard about Roach technology and really wants to see how it works for himself, Red wants to join the Explorer's Association and fill out his bestiary along the way, Blue wants to visit the Harvest Festival and give an offering for the goddess of Harvest, Venus' approval, and Green just wants to stick with his friends.

However getting to Bugaria is difficult. While before most people would take the swamp, the only thing that resulted in was a lot of tension and frustration since they couldn't communicate with the Leafbugs living there and would only result in a lot of deaths on both sides. The swamp got closed off, and as a result, left two main paths. The Caravan is the most popular for good reason: it is an extremely long road usually consisting of many bugs, although because the trip normally takes around a month, it is not safe from bandits nor the weather. A lot of injuries tend to happen and many come out malnourished. The other option takes a day. Just follow the path through the Giant's Lair. There won't be many Deadlanders, but if there are, only large enough groups of bugs or explorer teams can go through to ensure safety.

Since they're a group of four impatient, naive, younger bugs, the Color Gang goes through the Deadlands. It isn't that bad actually, until a little bumblebee catches Red's eye, and an glint of Blue catches Yellow's. Each go off path, Red finding a very excited and nervous Second Coming, and Yellow finding a half of the Roach's ancient Key.

And This catches Alan's attention, because that bee and that key are both of his things. They get to see Alan's spooky ass eye, and Second urges them to run, but before they can the Color Gang gets squished by Alan's claw and Second and the key get picked up. Second isn't happy, stings Alan right in the eye, and gets dropped right next to his friends. He tries helping them up so they can leave, but they're still struggling. He takes too long and Second and his friends get a jar slammed over them.

Alan keeps watch of them, now mostly curious because that's a LOT of bugs in one jar. He's expecting them to fight or do something, but instead... they just sit together. They just chat and sit against the glass, and what really shocks Alan is when they pull out food and start sharing it. I think this is the moment it clicks for Alan that there's something more to them. Alan leaves, and when he comes back he brings back two things. A good pile of food for them, and one of his crystals. He places them on the ground and lifts the jar before perching to see what they do. They're too injured to leave even with the crystal's healing, but Alan is just fascinated with this new discovery. That they're complicated, that they think. For as long as they stay in the Deadlands, which is only a few days, he tries making it as comfortable as possible to see what they like. Tries modeling after what he's seen other bugs do and live in.

They leave of course, taking Second and the key half with them. Alan doesn't like it, but he lets them. Now he's curious on if they'll come back, and now just has a lot to think about now that he's realized they can think and feel.

Chosen & Dark

After everything with Alan, the only thing Dark and Chosen knew was the other, so they clung. Dark itched for a fight, and Chosen was more curious about the outside world. Eventually this lead to the two becoming an explorer team.

It wasn't bad at first, but Dark of course gravitated to the shadier areas. Dark THRIVED in bounties and fights, meanwhile Chosen started second guessing whether or not he liked being an explorer. Every time they had to leave a kingdom or village, he'd always just felt disappointed. But Dark wanted to keep going, so he followed.

Eventually they started to get a reputation. They would do any quest, no matter the morals, and they wouldn't sell you out. They would get worse and worse clients, and were quickly teetering on the line of hitmen, and Chosen eventually had enough. He didn't see the point in it anymore, he liked the slow moments. Dark meanwhile thrived in a fight, because it was the only thing hes ever known.

This led to a fight between them. A bad one. Dark had been experimenting with Roach crystals to boost his own abilities, and somehow, Chosen ended up accidentally dragging Second and the Color Gang into it. There was a lot of collateral damage and Dark showed off how he was not above killing people, by targeting Second's friends. They died, and that mixture of sheer rage and grief was what triggered Second's skill in magic. Y'all know how this goes, Second beats the shit out of Dark Lord, revives his friends, but before he can land the killing blow, Chosen stops him.

Chosen doesn't want Dark to die, but he can't be with him anymore. So he rats on Dark. Gets him thrown in Rubber Prison, and Dark takes this as a betrayal. They depend on each other, and Chosen wouldn't even defend him and never visited him. Chosen regrets this decision every day and before he can get arrested too, he hides and is labeled as missing.

Anim VS Minecraft

This stumped me at first because how the hell do you mix bug fables and Minecraft but NO WORRIES I FOUND A WAY

After the Deadlands, first thing Color Gang does is sign up for the Explorer's Association. Unfortunately there can't be teams of 5, so they split into two teams: Blue and Yellow form Team Sunset, and Second, Red, and Green form Team Second. They do quests for a while, Yellow spends a lot of time focusing on the key half, and eventually they team up for a pretty important quest!

Not sure what this quest would be exactly, but basically they get lured into a cave and when they get into it Red starts acting weird. And then he starts attacking them and going for the key and yep if you've realized it WE FOUND A WAY TO ADD HEROBRINE FUCK YOU MINECRAFT CREEPYPASTA BUGSONA

Art once again by @tatos-stick-pile

Herobrine is a recently awakened Golden Orb Weaver spider who uses his silk to puppet Red around. This silk is SHARP too. He tries going for the key because he's heard of the artifact and its power and he really wants it to expand his territory. He gets his ass kicked when they figure out whats going on and he escapes.

Afterwards Yellow decides to be more secretive about the key half. They don't figure this out for a while though, but the entire reason Herobrine was expanding his territory is because he looks after lesser bugs ESPECIALLY ones that have recently awakened. He just hates regular bugs.

Purple

And I lied to start with Purple I have to start with an Explorer Team y'all should be familiar with-- unless youre coming from the bug fables fandom and to that i say hello how do you like the shitstorm so far. Anyway one Explorer Team, Team Orchid. It consists of an orchid mantis named Orchid and another mantis named Navy.

Orchid is an explorer for the sightseeing and to help people. Navy doesn't exactly care about that, he's mostly around to make sure she doesn't get herself killed. Eventually he gets an idea that they can get a pet for some extra defense. Orchid LOVES the idea, and so Navy drags her to the Forsaken Lands to find something strong enough.

Orchid falls in love with a mothfly and won't settle for anything else. That mothfly is Purple, a recently awakened mothfly who is extremely confused because he's only been around feral mothflies and its his instinct to stick with them. Anyway y'all know how this goes, Navy "trains" (aka beats) Purple, who can't fight back and goes to Orchid for comfort. Purple causes a massive rift in their relationship and its not even their fault. Orchid wanted a pet to dote on and Navy wanted something to train. But Orchid isn't stupid-- even if Purple is a mothfly and can't talk she starts recognizing he's awakened. He's a child. She starts treating him as such despite how much Navy HATES it and Purple of course starts seeing them as their parents and really looks up to them.

And one day Navy is sick of it. Takes Purple by the arm and drags him back to the Forsaken Lands and far from Orchid. Purple is nervous but still trusts him, thinks its for training. Navy drags him all the way to the abandoned Ant Settlement and tells him to stay there. To prove his training he needs to protect that settlement until he comes back to get them. Purple of course is "okay ❤️ yay❤️."

He doesn't come back. Neither does Purple. But Purple sticks to the settlement and protects it-- getting a little overly defensive of it. Overtime more mothflies are drawn to the area and of course they form little hivemind clusters and whoops! False Monarch 2. But since Purple is awakened and actually intelligent he has a lot more control over the mothfly clusters-- or False Citizens-- and they act more as an extension of him. Purple forms his own little cluster too-- and hates being separated from it and DESPISES being acknowledged as "just a mothfly" so he dresses with a mask and cloak to be a better bug. He gets a bit of a superiority complex as well due to just being surrounded by nothing but feral bugs that he can control.

Anyway the sudden re-population of this abandoned settlement with False Citizens does not go unnoticed. Especially because whenever one wanders close, Purple tends to have a citizen stalk and lurk around the edge until it creeps the bug out enough for them to leave. So a bounty is made once again for the False Monarch.

Blue and Green see it. They think it would be SO fun to lean into their competitive sides and see if whoever got the killing blow on the bounty would finally prove their team as better. So they go to the settlement, see the citizens staring and stalking them and ignore it. They aren't attacking them, after all. They're just being creepy.

They end up finding Purple who is NOT happy and is immediately defensive. But he's not attacking them. He's just kinda throwing a fit and making himself look bigger. Which is weird because bounties are usually extremely dangerous and hostile, but this one is just... throwing a fit. They end up just nearly dodging a fight when some of the citizens start grabbing Green and Blue to throw them out and Blue blurts out they don't want to fight. Turns out Purple does understand Bugnish, but can't speak it.

Great! So they don't have to kill the pretty chill bounty. But others don't know that, and they need to bring back proof they killed Purple to get the bounty taken down. They bring it up to Purple and after vague translations, they make a deal. Purple's been having trouble with a strong enemy near the settlement, so he gives them their mask and helps them defeat the enemy.

And its a big fucking spider, but thankfully they have Purple's range to help in the fight, and while its going smooth at first-- Purple ends up bailing. He's spent too long away from the settlement and figures since Blue and Green are strong enough that they'll be fine. They aren't. Because they needed Purple's range. Purple almost ends up getting them killed, the only reason they survived is because their friends realized they were gone for a long time and come just in time.

Green and Blue afterwards take the mask and leave. They're pissed at Purple but they can confront him another time, they mostly just want to be away from him at the moment.

KING LETS GO MY FAVORITE KING

Time for King! Y'all know King's deal. He has a child he loves with all his heart. In this AU he is a Violin Mantis and his little Goldie is a mantis nymph. King personally isn't an explorer, but Gold REALLY wants to be once and he always finds it difficult to say no to Gold.

Anyway Gold hears wind of a tourist thing. They're doing this mini-tour of the Deadlands in a 100% totally nothing will ever go wrong encased area. Its gonna focus on theories on the Deadlands and what Gold is more interested in-- how Explorers made it safer and how they traverse it.

King doesn't like it. Its called the Deadlands for a reason. But Gold really wants to and is begging him and is doing all his chores and being the most perfect little nymph so he can go. And they claim its safe. King finally caves and takes Gold, and y'all can guess what happens. Deadlander breaks through and kills his son right in front of him before the Explorer escorts can kill it.

So like any regular parent experiencing grief King vows to fucking blow up the Deadlands and everything in it. Not like anybody cares about that fucking place and is widely considered a No Man's Land. He ends up getting his hands on the other half to the Key and is obsessed with finding the other half.

AVM Season 3

While going towards the Termite Kingdom to hopefully find some clues on where the other key half is, King gets lost along the way and finds the abandoned Ant Settlement. False citizens are of course not happy and watch him, but he ignores them. He might as well search the place while he's here. He ends up finding Purple, whose not happy and already a little on edge because Blue and Green haven't come back despite promising they will.

King notices the bounty paper Green and Blue drop and promptly manipulates Purple. Tells them that they probably won't be coming back. But I imagine Green and Blue were yapping to Purple, mentioning the key half because both dont take it that seriously, and Purple sees King's key half and mentions it through a drawing.

King turns up the manipulation to 100. convinces Purple to take his citizens with them (wants to use them as a deadlander bait). If they get the key they'll be strong enough for their village. He just has to get the key from his friends and bring it to King.

Very cute doodle once again from @tatos-stick-pile

Purple does. A while after he's ditched the village to be with King, they run into Color Gang again. They're chatting and having fun and eventually Purple just... dissapears along with the key. Y'all should know what happens, the chase happens, Purple brings the key to King, he combines them and gets really strong and starts destroying shit. Big fight starts up, King focuses on superpowered Second, the color gang go after Purple, who isn't really that strong. He tries getting help from King, but King ignores him. Leaves him for dead.

This fucks up Purple. Because King introduced that fear and realization of abandonment in Purple. And Purple not only realizes how many mistakes he's made, but also realizes he's in fact a lesser bug. That's why nobody wants him. And people don't hesitate to kill lesser bugs when they're in their way. Purple gets both super emotional and terrified for his life, and is forced to abandon his beloved cloak and mask to make a run for it. Green pursues him, everything else happens.

Not sure how everyone splitting up would work so far, but Red somehow gets Herobrine and some of the bugs he watches involved in the fight. Green convinces Purple to go after King, and the bigger fight starts. King uses the Key to attack anyone and hes close enough to his goal hes gotten a lot more brutal. Will just hold whoevers nearest and shoot them point blank with it. Y'all know that scene. The scene where King is nearly killing Purple and goes through that flashback and is slapped in the face with the realization he sees Purple as his own son. That still happens, King gives up, helps Purple and Purple still sticks to him.

Victim & the Mercenaries

Shortly after being discarded by Alan, a cordyceps fungus found and started growing in the grasshopper's body. He is EXTREMELY lucky, because the tiniest crumbs of magic crystal left in his body was just enough magic to balance out the fungus sticking to him and passing on its memory without completely overloading it and turning him into a zombie. But its not perfect, and it still shows in the mini holes in his body. He also woke up fucking PISSED enough to turn him into a Locust

I'm gonna keep this section extremely vague since we still don't know what happened to Victim in AvA canon. Just know he built a massive "charity" corporation in the Termite Kingdom that claims its going to find a way to turn the Deadlands useful. AKA he wants an excuse to have enough money to research a way into killing Alan.

This involves hiring explorer teams, leading him to the Mercenaries: Hazard, Ballista, Primal, and Agent. They are explorers who work in the shadier areas of the Association and are EXTREMELY difficult to hire as they only accept high rewards up-front.

Some concepts for Victim and Agent since I haven't settled on a design for them...

Chosen and Dark catch Victim's eye, since they're rumored to have attacked an Omega and lived. However since Chosen is missing, Victim and the Mercenaries stop by Rubber Prison to visit Dark. Now Dark and the Mercenaries were very well known in the same area, so they know each other. Doesn't mean Dark likes them.

They convince Dark to help them with the promise of his bands back and a dead Omega. Dark thinks Chosen would absolutely love a dead Omega, and so he doesn't hesitate.

Shit happens. Chosen and Second get captured by the mercenaries and Chosen is PISSED at Dark despite all the regret. They're both mad at each other but Dark's doesn't last long when Victim starts torturing Chosen for information. He's mad at Chosen but he doesn't want that.

He blows up at Victim a little at it, so to get Dark to listen, Victim rips off a good chunk of Chosen's remaining wing. That makes Dark stand down, and now Dark doesn't know what to do. Chosen feels too guilty about everything to say anything, and Dark is too prideful to apologize. More shit happens-- Victim has the gem of Hoaxe's crown. Long story short it can brainwash Hornets, which Victim starts using when Chosen keeps refusing. That pushes Dark more off of Victim but he can't do anything lest Victim directs it all back on Chosen tenfold.

More vague shit. Mr alan becker i need the next part of episode six soon please. Anyway big fight in the Deadlands. Everyone's in there and Victim wants Alan DEAD. But Victim is getting progressively more and more pissed off because despite being attacked Alan is being as gentle as he can. He's going the extra mile to make sure he doesn't kill them. Anyway Dark ends up snapping Chosen's antennae to break him out of the brainwashing and Victim gets cooked.

Chosen decides to not murder Victim-- mostly because clearly that's not permanent and its too good for him. Victim is extremely upset about this because the fact nobody is killing him and just being weirdly merciful and the fact hes lost all control has sent him into a breakdown. Its challenging all the rules hes lived by and how he thought the world worked. Hes screaming and shouting at them.

Which attracts the attention of another Omega. Now the thing about Omegas is because they're pretty fragile due to being mostly bones, it means they need to build armor to survive. And they're territorial. Usually if an Omega picks a fight the one with the better armor survives.

Once again-- art provided by @tatos-stick-pile THEY ARE COOKING

And to protect the bug he KNOWS he hurt and was alive-- Alan attacks the other Omega despite already being extremely injured and losing most his armor. The others dont have a choice but to hide out of sight, and eventually the other Omega wins and kills Alan. Tries looking around for the interesting thing that was shouting but finds nothing and fucks off along with a few undamaged parts of Alan's armor.

Everyone except for Second and the Color Gang decide to take their leave. I imagine throughout the story theres a lot of moments where Alan works on making it up to Second and just truely shows he cares and is regretful. So Second tries reviving him, but the problem is that Alan is just... fuckin' massive. Even when they're dead or asleep they're so big their bodies get mistaken for terrain.

It doesn't work at first. Until Yellow finds the gem Victim left behind that he used to control Chosen, and he learned that this can boost magic. He gives it to Second and he completely exhausts himself and they revive Alan. Yipee!! Everyone is saved happy ending go home its over

After Everything

Chalk my liar count to 2 y'all

Purple lives with King, and King has officially adopted him. They still have their own issues they're working towards, but they're slowly getting there together.

Dark and Chosen don't know what to do at first. Chosen wants a chill and peaceful life, but Dark directly contrasts that. He's much more well known and hated than Chosen. Just by being with him, he ruins Chosen's happiness, but he just wants to stay with him. Chosen wants to stay with Dark as well. Thankfully, one of the mercenaries pops up. They're pissed at first, but all they do is mention a town.

Looking into it, after the attempted takeover half a century ago, the bandit leader Astotheles got inspired by the celebration. He wanted a home, a nation for his people, so he left Bugaria because it obviously wasn't gonna happen there. Outside the nation's borders, he established his own village. Where bugs who are abandoned or discarded can come to start anew.

Chosen and Dark decide to move to there, leaving behind and finally moving on from everything that happened to them.

Victim on the other hand went missing. He took that loss HARD. Agent thinks he has an idea on where he went, but needs extra help, so he puts up a request. He's not bringing the other mercs because they don't know about the cordyceps thing and Victim prefers to keep it hidden.

Color Gang ends up taking it up. They are low on berries and its the only request on the board. Nobody is happy about this. Agent makes sure to go with them, and he leads them all to Snakemouth Den. In the den there's a lot of spores and magic in the air, and it gets worse the deeper you go in because in that cave is an ancient Roach laboratory where experimented on cordyceps and magic in an attempt to recreate the immortality of the Everlasting Sapling (that thing is long dead it doesnt matter).

Anyway Victim went here for a power boost. Thinks he just needs to try again and he'll have more control and he'll win. Now he aint thinkin' clearly because the magic that is so goddamn potent in this cave is messin with the fungus. And y'all remember what i said?

"He is EXTREMELY lucky, because the tiniest crumbs of magic crystal left in his body was just enough magic to balance out the fungus sticking to him and passing on its memory without completely overloading it and turning him into a zombie."

Yeah. Ends up shanking himself with the crystals to try and force more magic in him and it makes the fungus go stupid crazy and completely overgrow out and through his exoskeleton and whoops! say goodbye to your sentience. Control freak loses everything even the control over himself. Fun little boss fight I also imagine he has a poison thing going on.

Anyway they end up knocking him down and restraining him, Agent rips out all the crystals. Victim isn't dead yet but he's in awful shape, and congrats you earned Second's pity. Second heals him and Agent pays them a shit ton for that and brings Victim home to help him recover.

Anyway thats it for the AU so far holy god that was so much longer than I expected if you made it here we should go on a date to texas roadhouse together

#anim vs bf au #my writing #animator vs animation #ava #avm #animation vs minecraft #ramble #long post

[williammorgan45]

You know what time it? It's Realizin' time!

Here it is! The result of the brain rot of @realizinau art and Alan Wake (I took inspiration by drawing this.The games are so cool) so here we are. It's a bit wonky but I think it's decent. Please ignore the little blue spooch on the suit. I made a boo─boo while painting :/

I'm still thinking about on how to name this guy but I have a little of his backstory on how his role would be in the Realizin' AU.

First he's a wolf if you're wondering.

Alright, now into his story: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Before being put into the Bigger Bodies Initiative, he was just a child like any other with a mother and father who loved him and loved them back. But after a tragedy to both parents in a car accident, leaving him as the sole survivor of the crash, he was alone in this narrow dark place.

He was put in normal orphange just with many others parentless but he was different to other kids. Just as the kids where loud, energetic full innocence and some didn't apply to the rules he was the opposite. He was quiet, didn't move alot from his bed, his innocence gone for the result of the crash and allways following orders from the caretakers of the orphange.

Since he didn't talk to the other kids besides to the caretakers to see of he was okay and only respond with a nod, a shake or a short phrase, they began calling him names like 'the silent kid', 'downer', 'the staff's pet' and other names behind his back.

He already got used to this new 'life style' on the orphanage. Wake up, breakfast, gaze outside the window of his room, nap, lunch, more gazing outside again, dinner, sleep, repeat.

He told himself that's going to be his life until he was adopted to a new familly.

...That was the plan before him and others kids where called on the hall as their caretaker was explaning that they were getting 'relocated' to a better orphanage. He didn't understand why tho but if they where getthing relocaded to a better orphanage was probably for the best.

...Right?

Him along with other orphans entered the bus that was meant to transport them to the new orphange. The name on the side of the bus caught his attention before entering. Playtime Co. He knew that name. Tha was the name of the company who sell those toys that appered on TV. His guess was that maybe they are expanding or something.

After that, everything where blur and pieces. How he arrived to Home Sweet Home, meeting the staff, Huggy Wuggy, Kissy Missy, Mommy and Daddy Longlegs along with other toys,doing some sort of test of memory and running, being told that he got adopted, on how he was guided to a room with a bed as they put him on the bed before putting anesthesia and how he became...like he is now.

He felt...weird to say the least but he quickly got used being taller and getting used to his new body. A few bumps here and there but he got used to it. Faster than the others. The Doctor thinks to himself.

And before he know it, he got a brand new suit (he allways wanted to wear one when he was older.It made him feel...important.) and got a new... 'job' as the new guard of Playcare and Home Sweet Home. At day he would help some of the staff carry important papers so he was given a mesanger bag to carry those paper more easier and organize smaller toys for the kids and making sure the wasn't something a miss or any complications among the staff and the children. And by the night, he would roam Playcare and Home Sweet home hall's with his trusty flashlight to make sure there wasn't any stray kid or someone suspicious was around.

He took extra careful in the night because he read in a book once that the dark can by tricky and dangerous. But what caught his attention more was one sentance in particular.

"Trust no one in the dark."

After that, he took his night patrols very seriously, with careful steps and eyes all open for anything. Something tells him there something off but rapidly dissmiss the thought.

Sometimes when doing the day shift, some of the kids would run to him and would either drag him to play with them, show him drawings of him or hug him out of nowhere. He would stay still with no idea what to do or react. Thankfully, some of the staff or caretakers would save him from that embarassment and he would fix tie and continue with his duties for today.

Just like before he is still silent with a neutral looks almost all the time. Responding with a nod, shake or short answer to long questions. He would been doing this for 5 years. Making him 15 years old if his math is correct.

None of the staff, the caretakers or even the children have see him smile. Not even once. Always on focus on the task. Some even says he's more of a robot than someone alive.

It would take a miracle to even make him smile.

...Maybe that miracle could be in the form of 8 new Critters know as The Smilling Critters.

Only time will tell...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And that's that! (Jesus, that was long.) Anyway, if you read till the end, thanks! 'preaciated! Hoped i could have entertaied you a little. Again, thank to @realizinau for inpriring me to make this little thing and maybe i will do more. But for the mean time...What's the time? Playtime...

#realizin' au #smiling critters oc #oc #oc art #poppy playtime fanart #realizinau

[spacedadkronos]

Ooo, lol, looks like someone got their knickers twisted so hard they wrote a whole essay about how they're categorically correct about an ultimately subjective matter. That's always a winning approach.

Please do not try to "educate" me the difference between writers and executive producers in animation. I have an animation degree. I'm not a child.

 I follow both Brent and Alan on Twitter and have been for like 3 years now. I have been watching their updates since the announcement of the show 2 years ago. I have pics of them celebrating finishing up the writing. Here's proof that they wrote it, including screenshots of the IMDb Brent had linked on his Twitter. 

I said this is not what they consider THE sequel. Obviously it is *a* sequel. I'm saying people should not be treating it like Megamind 2 when it is a pilot for the TV show. They want a real theatrical sequel.

This is a random screenshot I felt was important

I think this person better put what I meant about not as many people would care this much if it wasn't on streaming:

Megamind was an arrogant little egomaniac for the entirety of the first movie. Not sure how you missed that. Roxanne appears dissatisfied with her place in life from her recording at the Metro Man Museum with Hal onward, and does her level best to become the hero her city needs because no one else is going to stand up and do it - not sure how you missed that, either, but her whole character arc is about stepping up to the plate to do good. Well done reducing her to a single career point and then discarding her. I wasn't surprised to see her frustrations with going right back to reporting. That was a headspace that made a ton of sense for her. It was set up incredibly well.

And Megamind himself says, "some days, it felt like it was just me and Minion against the world," so you might think I agree with you there - but in fact I'm going to point out the SOME days, it FELT LIKE. There is no reason to believe that he never had any other professional associates between the time he left the schoolhouse and the time we see him as an established supervillain. In fact, I can and will argue that there's room to interpret *he himself* saying he wasn't always flying solo. It's up to interpretation - but it's there.

And no, Roxanne and Megamind are not and should not be "quasi-dating" unless you want to look past the enormous Bernard lie. Which I can't say I'm surprised you did, since Roxanne doesn't matter as anything other than Reporter Romantic Interest, apparently. The end of the original implies they have *potential.*

But I'm not trying to convince you. At the end of the day, you didn't enjoy something you hoped to enjoy. You missed a few key points about the original, so the pilot of the show didn't line up with some of your expectations and it pissed you off. That's a shame. But instead of offering some grace and recognizing it for what it is - a movie designed for a younger demographic than the original, the first ounce of love Dreamworks has shown this IP since its initial release more than a decade ago, and as much story as could be crammed into 83 minutes because the people making it only had so much time within which to work, which is *honestly a fun ride* if somewhat tonally dissonant compared to what YOU were hoping for - you've decided instead to focus on what it wasn't: What You Personally Wanted. And you've decided to make your disappointment everyone else's problem instead of processing it like an adult and moving on.

I think you're boring, I think you're unkind, I think you're a whiny little bully who came onto MY POST to bitch and complain about how you're the god of what I'M allowed to enjoy. Block me, if I make you so miserable. I'm busy having fun.

#megamind #megamind vs the doom syndicate #megamind rules

[miss0atae]

It's my random thoughts about Pit Babe the series ep 12:

What can I say? I still have so much fun watching this series. I know there are some loose ends and plot holes, but frankly I don't really care.

▪️ Way saved Pete from Kenta who fled the scene as soon as possible. It was really the episode where Way finally stopped spending all his time drinking and drowning his sorrow. He finally decided to properly apologize to Babe (even if he knew he would not be forgiven) and help everyone take Tony down. He used his power to help get some documents and tried his best to show remorse. I'm still not his best fan but it was a nice change from previous episodes where he was just crying and feeling hopeless. We can thank Pete who helped him a lot.

▪️ Speaking about Pete, this guy really see everyone good side even if they don't show it. He believes Way, still think that Kenta is a good person deep down (which I agree) and do his best to save all children taken by Tony. I still think their plan to do it isn't exactly the best but it works for the series so what should I say?

▪️ Babe really wants to put an end to Tony's actions and he does everything to get it. He didn't want to forgive Way, but to have his end goal happen, he accepted him in the team. When Way asked him if one day they could go back to how their relationship was, he wasn't entirely against it. He simply told him, it wouldn't happen soon but they might get there. Even if he is still really sad over Charlie supposed-death, he is poised and ready to fight no matter what. Babe is impressive.

▪️ Jeff was captured by Kenta to be sold to the new auction, since every special child Tony had, disappeared or is fighting against him. What is the point of seeing the future, if you can't save yourself from being kidnapped?! I know they told us, he can't really control his power but it's very unfortunate he couldn't this time. I was impressed about how calm he was.

▪️ Alan was trying is best to find him and was helped by his "family" (Can we say that Pit Babe is a BL type version of Fast & Furious ?). North and Sonic have always been helping him but I'm glad we saw Kim. Even if I get two minutes of him, I'm happy. I'm attached to this character. By the end of the episode, Alan saved Jeff. The power of love... always here when you need it. I only have one question: Why did they leave the children behind? Is there a good reason?

▪️ Finally, I'll talk about Kenta... It's been several episode where Kenta was abused by Tony and this one was no exception. I feel so sad for this man. He truly believed Tony was his father but unfortunately Tony never saw him as his child because he is not "special". It broke my heart to see Kenta kneeling and begging Tony. I wish he would understand how he could be loved and treated well if he just stopped helping him and leave! I hope in the next episode he will be free from Tony. He must be saved like the other children taken by Tony.

▪️ Oh and of course, we all knew the man who helped Charlie and Jeff is Babe's father. Anyone was surprised?!

▪️ Charlie also saved Babe in the last two minutes of this episode. and we'll get the reunion we were hoping between them, in the next one. It's a happy ending guaranteed. I just feel like 13 episodes is too light to tight up everything. Why didn't they make 14? Is there a good reason for this choice?

Anyway, Friday will feel empty when this series will end.

#my thoughts #thai series #thai bl #bl drama #bl series #random thoughts #pit babe the series #pit babe #Kim it's always nice to see you! #They need to save Kenta #It's unbearable to see him always being mistreated by Tony #I didn't talk about Winner but he is so annoying #Can't wait to see Babe's reaction about Charlie's resurrection and when he will see his father again #spoilers #episode 12 #the power of love

[lake-cosay]

since yellow posted about it without my permission (/j) here's everything (literally i'm going to try and put everything in one post) i've got for my parasite au

(just a heads up, it gets a bit heavy, mainly bc lake contemplates saving jesse's life against his will or letting him die with his consent.)

it's a no-train, human lake au. jesse and lake are childhood friends, both with relatively normal lives until one day jesse disappears. seemingly vanished out of thin air in the middle of the night. lake, who whole-heartedly does not trust the cops to actually try to find jesse, let alone bring him home safe, takes matters into their own hands, and sets out to find him themself.

lake packs a bag and heads out. (but not before they're stopped by jesse's parents, who know they can't stop lake and give lake supplies to stay safe, including jesse's dad giving lake his pocket knife.) (yes this might be a bit careless on the parents' side but i just want an excuse for jesse's dad to give lake his pocket knife idk) lake is willing to camp out in the woods for as long as they need to to find him.

days go by, and lake combs the woods looking for any sign of him. they think they catch fleeting glimpses of him, but whenever they turn to look, there's no one there. they also keep seeing deer -- sometimes only breifly, other times, they're able to watch the deer long enough to determine it's real and they're not just hallucinating. (surprise! it's alan dracula)

as the days go on, these glimpses of both jesse and the deer become more freuqent, more clear, more obviously not just lake's imagination. when lake is finally able to recognize the person as jesse, he looks bad. covered in dirt, his braid a mess*, his skin red from frostbite. his eyes... glowing. some horrible looking mark on the back of his neck.

*i firmly believe that if jesse and lake grew up being friends, jesse would shed the toxic masculinity much easier/earlier in his life, so he'd end up having a long braid by the time they're in high school.

but every time lake tries to get his attention, he disappears. but when lake is calm and quiet, they can start to approach him without scaring him away. eventually, they finally get to him. here's a drabble about that:

"Fuck, Jess, you're freezing," Lake said as they tried to suppress a shiver. He wasn't acting like he was cold, but then again, nothing about the way he was acting was normal.  Lake started to dig through their backpack, eventually fishing out the blanket. "C'mere," Lake tucked the edges of the blanket around his shoulders, then knelt down a bit before pausing. "I'm gonna pick you up," they said, hoping for permission. They didn't get anything explicit, but they didn't get a no either. As much as they hated to touch him without consent, his feet would fall off from frostbite if they stood there much longer. Lake tucked one arm around the back of Jesse's shoulders, the other under his knees. They lifted, and his weight came off the ground with surprising ease. Both because he had seemingly let Lake pick him up, but also because he had definitely lost a bit of weight.  With all of his weight in Lake's arms, Jesse leaned into Lake's chest. Lake lent their back against a tree, before slowly sliding down to sit on the ground with Jesse in their lap. They fussed with the blanket, making sure all of his skin was covered, especially his feet. Lake guessed that the blinding redness in balls of his feet were frostbite.

lake discovers that jesse's memories are extremely fuzzy. he doesn't remember any names, not even his own, but he does mention that lake looks familiar. when lake asks why he's out here, how he got out here, how he's alive etc, all he can answer with is "i don't know"

(alan dracula is definitely involved in lots of scenes but i forget about him when writing for some reason. i'm sorry AD i love you)

with their reunion, jesse's memories slowly come back. not fully, but he starts to remember lake's name again, and that he loves them, and that they love him. he remembers that he has a younger brother and his parents but it takes a while before their names come back to him.

i don't really have many details for the rest of what i planned for this au. basically lake somehow figures out that the parasite is killing jesse and they need to get it fast. they have to resort to cutting it out with the pocket knife.

that was all i had for the au until one day i realized that i've never seen anybody do anything with the fact that jesse almost turned into a tree in canon, and yellow helped me decide to combine that idea with this au. so, the parasite's way of killing him is turning him into a tree. here's another drabble:

Jesse winced and whimpered as another branch sprouted from his skin. Lake rubbed Jesse’s cheek, watching the branch slowly grow outwards.  Lake wasn’t sure how long they’d sat there, watching this parasite take over their best friend. But neither of them could think of a solution, and Jesse was so scared he was already practically stiff as a board. Save for the sobs that shook his body. There were 10 of them. At least 10 separate branches Lake could make out from here. They looked like they had pierced his flesh, the base of each branch surrounded with blood. Lake would look away for a minute, and when they looked back, the branches had grown thicker or longer. 3 of them had sprouted leaves. Or, maybe it had been more, but Jesse’s shaking had caused them to join the other leaves on the forest floor. Even his hair was changing; it was starting to feel more like vines than hair. Like dry, wilted roots. The tears Lake wiped away felt thick and sticky, and when Lake would kiss them away, they tasted like sap. Another whimper. Lake scanned his body, and the next branch poked out of his forehead, on his right side just below the hairline. Jesse’s shaky hand clawed at it, as if that was enough to stop all this. “I’m not gonna let you die like this,” Lake stated, with seemingly no response from Jesse. “Please. Let me try,” Jesse tried to take a deep breath, but the exhale made him shake violently. “I-I’m scared… I don’t— I don’t wanna die,” He tried to crawl even farther into Lake’s lap, but the roots from his feet kept him firmly planted in the earth. “If— If you really just… want me to stay,” Lake began, choking down their own tears now. “Then I will. But—” Staying meant saying goodbye. It meant Lake would sit here and hold Jesse until this parasite consumed him and he died. It meant he would die here, suffering. Lake’s hands itched to cut away the branches and carry him home, but Jesse had begged them to just stay. And though Lake’s heart had burst at his pleas to die, if that was what he wanted… Then Lake would do it for him. But Lake had a feeling that wasn’t what he wanted. That he was too caught up in his fear to really consider his options. Not that Lake blamed him; they couldn’t imagine how he was feeling right now. “If I stay, you die. I— I won’t leave you but— If you let me try— Then there’s a chance you could go home—” “Cut it out. Please,” Jesse begged, gasping for air. He pulled at his hair, and half of it came out like it was nothing. His whole body shook with sobs. “I don’t wanna die,” he gasped. “I wanna go home.” His hands clawed their way back to Lake’s. “Take me home.”

jesse turning into a tree was definitely NOT where i expected this au to go and i almost feel like they might be better as separate aus but the ideas are similar and i wanted to post that drabble anyways, so

i was going for a kind of analogue horror/lost footage vibe with this, just like. spooky dark forests, unexplainable disappearances, strange infections, etc.

so yeah, there's that. lmk what you think :>

#infinity train #ghost.text #jesse cosay #lake infinity train #jesslake #parasite au

[practically-an-x-man]

more thoughts about Wish:

Chris Pine has the best voice acting in this movie by far. Dude could be a legitimately scary villain if the animation wasn't so goofy

I'm telling you dude, the man is acting his ass off but the script and animation style are just ruining all the emotion he's giving

Alan Tudyk is also putting in the work but the script is not working in his favor

Evan Peters needs more lines. His character is legitimately interesting, a young guy who just gave up his wish and is now weirdly lethargic all the time, but they don't explore it enough

Speaking of the animation, it felt very inconsistent. With the King especially we'd get like... one cool moment (like him stopping the globes during his solo song) but then it's immediately cut by these goofy Nimona-as-Ballister type motions

The facial expressions are generally overblown, past the point of "animation stretching the rules" and into "this just looks goofy"

Like I said before, it feels like a patchwork of a dozen other, better Disney movies. My dad and I were watching this going "Tangled. Brave. Frozen. Peter Pan. Mulan."

The third act is like... Rise of the Guardians meets that one scene in Trolls where they sing True Colors

The music is just inconsistent. I think it mainly comes from the fact that they had a pop singer/songwriter do the music rather than a musical theatre composer, there aren't any consistent themes or leitmotifs and it leaves everything feeling very disjointed.

Some of the songs on their own are decently catchy but they just feel like they're trying way too hard

The dialogue is the same way. It serves a purpose but it doesn't quite feel natural or human. Some characters are worse than others and the VO work plays a role but the script itself is just awkward

I think they've just set up too many characters here. If they took two people out of Asha's friend group it would leave more room to develop the others. As it is, I don't remember their names and I have no idea what they want

Except for Asha since she's the main character and Simon because he's the only one who stands out from the rest (again, really interesting character! drastically underutilized!)

Feels like the talking animals are only a thing because it's a Disney movie. Valentino I understand, animal sidekicks are a classic, but the chickens and squirrels and mice are just too much

As a whole there's just... no substance in it. It feels like they've tried to make The Disney Movie and just started making it without even deciding on the themes or characters' journeys at all

It is a heaping pile of deus ex machinas. Every single problem in this movie is resolved in some cheeky little deus ex machina, solely for the sake of a stupid joke or a cheap reference to another Disney reference

If you're gonna copy Lin-Manuel Miranda's composition style anyway... just hire Lin-Manuel Miranda. At least he knows how rhyme schemes and leitmotifs work

This movie is so fucking trite it makes me legitimately angry

Good points I guess (because I refuse to dish on a movie without pointing out something decent about it):

Some of the songs are kinda catchy

There are a few powerful moments of animation, mostly with the King

There are little gold character moments here and there: the King's desperation for power, Simon's character as a whole, Asha's selflessness sparking the initial wish, etc.

Some of the voice acting is legitimately good!

The concept itself is interesting, a King who hoards wishes to make himself more powerful. It had the grounds to be a much better movie, it just didn't act on them very well

The diversity in this movie is genuinely good! We see various demographics of people - race, gender, physical build, disability, etc. - and there's not much "Disney same face syndrome" like we've gotten in other movies.

#out of the two wish-themed movies with harvey guillen in them... yeah no i'm just gonna watch puss in boots

[duskwoodgirl4life]

Hello everyone :) I'm back with another short story hope you all enjoy what I've written is live to read your comments enjoy :)

Chapter 1

MC and Jake had been working together ever since they found Hannah, they had decided to team up and solve some of the unsolved crimes in duskwood. Alan had cleared it so they could have access to the files and evidence. MC knew she wouldn't be able to stay away from Jake not after he told her that he loved her. She helped him clear his name and now here they are 2 years later solving crimes for the Duskwood police. They had just been given a new case to work on. This one wasn't like any other case they had worked on before. This case involved abduction and spiking people's drinks. There wasn't much information to go on but something MC spotted worried her. She showed Jake the file and he too had a look of concern. "What are we going to do Jake? There is someone out there abducting women and spiking their drinks" Jake put the file down and walked over to a worried MC. "we will find out who this is we always do"

Jake tried to reassure MC but his words had little effect "Jake what if it's him!! What if he's come back and he's the one doing this" Jake pulled a chair over to where MC was sitting and he took a seat. "If it is him we will deal with him I promise" Jake went back over to his computer and started to do some digging. The crime was dating back to 6 months ago. Everything was pointing to him after all this time Richy had come back. Everything was pointing towards him but Jake needed to be sure he needed to be sure that he was still somehow alive after the mine explosion.

MC and Jake searched for hours for clues that could lead back to Richy checking CCTV cameras MC came across something. "Jake, come and look at this I think I've found something" Jake got up from his chair and came over to MC looking at her computer screen. "What's he doing? Has he really just done that to that woman?" Jake looked concerned as he watched the footage showing Richy in disguise slipping something into a woman's drink and leading her away. "We need to stop him Jake, he either needs pulling in jail or shooting" MC let her anger get the better of her slamming her fists down on the desk. Jake took hold of MC and embraced her in a hug holding onto her as tight as he could. "we will get him MC I promise I won't let him near you" MC tried to wriggle free of Jake's grip but he kept holding her. "You better be right"

After looking at some more CCTV footage Jake and MC decided to go check out the dare house and see what clues they could find there. "What's gonna happen if we run into him while we are there? Can I kick his teeth down his throat?" Jake stopped and gave MC a look that she knew all too well. "I'm not going to let him anywhere near you and you're not to go near him either" Jake took MCs hand and continued making their way through the forest. When they arrived everything was even more run down than normal. It was clear that someone had been staying there inside. It wasn't much better because the roof had caved in, the water pipes had burst at some point and flooded everything. There was dirt and grime all over the walls despite some light coming through the roof it wasn't easy to see.

Jake pulled out his phone and turned on his torch. They went down to the basement and discovered that someone had recently been there. The candles hadn't been put out long; the blanket on the floor was still warm as they looked around the small space MC spotted metal chains hanging from the wall. On closer inspection they found dried blood all around the restraints. The smell was absolutely awful. All the people that had been forced to stay there had a small bucket to use for the toilet. It hasn't been cleaned for some time and the smell was just sickening. After MC had finished taking photos of everything they quickly made their way out of the dare house and headed back home.

When they arrived back home MC went straight to her laptop and started to upload all the photos. She had been quite the whole way home Jake knew there was something wrong. He went over to her and kissed her softly on the cheek "what's wrong? And don't say nothing I know when something is bothering you" Jake took MCs chin and turned it so she was looking at him with tears in her eyes she didn't need to say anything Jake quickly put his arms around her holding on as she let everything go. Once she calmed down a little she pulled away from Jake, wiping her eyes. "It was seeing all those photos and the conditions that all the women were forced to live in. Why is he doing this Jake why?"

"I can't tell you the reason for that MC but we will find out and we will stop him at all costs that I promise you" they both stayed in each other's arms for a few more minutes before returning back to the case. Jake found some more CCTV camera footage of Richy getting off a train. He was doing his best to avoid the cameras but despite how busy the station was he failed to notice one of the cameras. While Jake was looking through more footage MC found something that could get them closer to Richy. "Jake can you come here please you have to see this" Jake moved over in his seat to where MC was sitting. "I've managed to hack into his computer and I've found a list of women's names" Jake took a look. There were about 20 different names on the list; some of them had already been crossed off leaving 10 more names. "We need to go back to that dare house Jake, we need to find out if he's keeping anyone else there" Jake sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"We can't just go back there without a plan MC we need to come up with a plan first I can't handle it If you get hurt" MC saw the worry in Jake's eyes and she wrapped her arms around him. "We need to do something Jake, we can't just leave whoever he has locked up in that awful house" Jake pulled out his phone and tapped away at the screen for a few moments. "Give me some time while I place a tracker on his phone and on his laptop, once I have done that we can come up with a plan and we can go out tomorrow morning early. It's too late to be going into the woods now" MC looked at Jake and she knew he was right, it was far too dangerous to be going into the woods tonight.

Jake went into the office and started working on placing an untraceable tracker on Richys phone and laptop. While he was waiting for the program to do its thing he took a look at what Richy had on his phone. Jake's eyes nearly popped out of his head and his skin turned a pale white colour. He found more pictures on his phone, these ones detailing what he had done to them. He was able to save copies of the photos without Richy knowing.

#duskwood #everbyte game #duskwood jake #duskwood hacker #iamjake #duskwood jake x mc #i love you jake #jake x mc #he loves me #i love you #duskwood Detectives #duskwood richy

[julesthoughts]

Trap of Lies

Chapter 21

This is a dark AU collaboration started by @x3kristax3. You can find the other chapters here.

TW: Mentioning of Torture and Violence

MC POV

After ages, I was finally able to persuade Alan to leave his house. Of course, only with him, alone he would never let me go. His proximity drove me insane, and his constant advances got on my nerves. I kept telling him that I wasn't ready because of what had happened. He showed understanding, but still, it didn't stop him from trying again and again. It's been two weeks since I left Jake and honestly, I was hoping to get back to him as soon as possible. Back in his warm arms, look into his soft eyes and feel his soft lips on mine.

I shook my head slightly to break the train of thought. I couldn't think about Jake that much now, he was my weakness and weakness wasn't allowed right now. We went to the flower stand and as I was looking around, my favorite flowers caught my eye. I took a bundle and smelled them, a lump forming in my throat immediately. The memory of Jake watching me here back then came flooding back. He was a stranger and yet I felt drawn to him in a way. The corners of my mouth twitched up briefly, but I immediately put my face back to normal.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and put the flowers back as Alan wasn't going to buy them for me anyway. Alan had his back to me, and he was talking to someone, but I couldn't see who it was as he was completely hidden by Alan. I wanted to take a closer look, but suddenly I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder. I could already guess who it was, but I turned around to confirm my suspicion. In front of me was a red-haired beauty and I saw relief on her face. I put my arms around her, and she hugged me tightly to make sure I was really in front of her. I heard her sigh joyfully. The last time we saw each other was before I was kidnapped and held captive.

I wanted to detach myself from the hug, but Jessy wouldn't allow it. "MC, Jake told us everything. Everything. Would you explain to me why you are with him?” She whispered in my ear. The way she pronounced the word him sent chills down my spine.

I leaned closer to her ear and whispered, "I know what I have to do. Please be on standby, Jessy. You're the only one I trust completely." She loosened her grip, and I broke the hug. She put her hands on my cheeks and wiped my tears from my face with her thumbs. I didn't even realize that I started to cry. She gave me a compassionate smile.

"You can't let him see you cry. You can do it, I'll always have your back. You are so incredibly strong.” She took my hand while saying this.

Jessy looked so innocent and sweet, but when it came to her loved ones, she knew no bounds. When she cast her eyes on Alan, I saw pure hatred blazing in her irises. She hated this man like no other person in this world. I knew she would do anything to help me, and I was beyond grateful for that.

"Listen, I'll try to persuade him that I can meet you. I miss you and I could really use a girls day,” I sighed.

She knew that when I said girls' day, I didn't mean a normal girls' day. We wanted to catch up. I saw that Alan had finished his conversation and was approaching us. He put his arm around my waist. "Hello Jessica," he said cold as a stone.

Jessy rolled her eyes and I spoke to Alan, "Alan, I'd like to go with Jessy. She's on her way home and I haven't had a chance to meet her. I'd just like to have some girl time with her."

He took my chin in his fingers and looked deep into my eyes, scanning me. I sighed softly and my eyes softened, getting the answer I wanted. "Only if you promise to come back. I'm worried, you're not fully recovered."

He drove me crazy with his care. It was his fault that I felt so bad. Take a deep breath, MC! You have to pull yourself together if you want to reach your goal and get back to Jake. Since getting back together with Alan I've had serious problems controlling my temper. Knowing that I was pretending to love the man who put me through all the torture made me frustrated.

"Don't worry, I'm feeling pretty good today and besides, Jessy is with me,” I said shortly. I just couldn't speak long sentences with this man without losing my temper.

Out of the blue he took my face in his hands and kissed me firmly but sweetly on my lips. I kissed him back, I had to keep up my acting. I wanted this kiss to end, but Alan let the kiss deepen. What was the matter with him? I opened my eyes and saw that he was looking to the right. I followed his gaze and my heart shattered into a million pieces.

Jake stood there and his eyes were on us. He didn't even grimace, but there was pure pain in his eyes. His eyes made my heart clench painfully. Alan was really enjoying Jake's suffering and I broke the kiss abruptly. Alan glared at me, but I smiled sheepishly, "Alan, you know I'm not that fond of kissing in public." That was the truth, Jake respected my opinion and wouldn't kiss me in public.

Alan stroked my cheek, "Sorry, my feelings for you took over for a moment."

Fucking liar. I didn't understand what that was about, did he want to see Jake suffer? He didn't seem to realize I saw Jake and I took advantage of that. I kept acting the innocent woman in love with Alan. I said goodbye to Alan and when I turned around, I saw Jessy buying some flowers. She gave me a bunch of my favorite flowers and my eyes shone with joy, "Oh Jessy, that wasn't necessary. Thank you!"

On the way to the carriage, I saw Jake walking towards my father's trade business with his head bowed. He avoided my eye contact, and it broke my heart. I had broken his heart in the worst possible way. I began to have doubts as to whether he would even want me back once I had achieved my goal.

As we got into the carriage my lips started to tremble, Jessy already noticed from the outside of the carriage that I was watching Jake. She put her arm around me, and I let my head rest on her shoulder, exhausted.

"So, I'm waiting for an explanation. I know you know he was behind it all. Why are you with him?" She asked when the carriage took off.

I sighed shakily and tilted my head back. "You're right. I know it and I hate his every touch. Every time his lips touch mine it sends a shiver down my spine. But I have to go through this if I'm going to have a quiet life with Jake.” I pulled the ring out of my corset and held it in my hand, my eyes shining as I looked at it. “The question is if he even wants me back.” I spoke my thoughts out loud.

"Oh, my love, you still love him?” she asked happily. "Everyone thinks you don't love him anymore, including him. He needs to know that!"

"No!" I protested heatedly. "He mustn't be involved, do you hear me? And earlier he walked in the direction of my father's business. Something tells me that my father is helping him on the right path.”

Jessy shook her head, "Don't you want to give him at least a glimmer of hope?" She bit her lip, and I could tell immediately that she was holding back something. I ignored it.

"He doesn't need that, if I judge my parents correctly, they will have already given him hope. And if my assumption is right and my father really helps him to get back on the right path, then it would be more than wrong to involve him in it,” I said while bringing my head back to a normal position and avoiding Jessy's gaze.

I hid the ring again and let out a bitter sigh. What did I do in my previous life that my current life is such a mess? I treated the ring like a religious artifact. A talisman. A lucky charm.

Jessy watched me and she realized, "He doesn't fully trust you yet, does he?”

"No, I can tell by his behavior. He still checks me everywhere and I wouldn't be surprised if he even sent someone to check if I'm really going with you. So, you know if we get to you soon, then there will be acting!"

She started giggling and I joined in, after a while the carriage stopped, and we got out. Arm in arm we walked into the house, giggling. As soon as the door slammed shut, our giggles stopped, and we got serious. She took me in her arms again and let out a soft sob, I stroked her back soothingly.

"He stopped by our place," she said softly, resting her chin on my shoulder. "He doesn't think you don't love him anymore. He thinks he can't give you the life you deserve and that's why you left him."

That was the coup de grace for me. Jake was more than hurt, he really thought he wasn't enough for me. All my dams broke, and I burst into bitter tears. I clawed Jessy's back and she pressed me even tighter in a reassuring way.

"He only thinks that because I told him Alan could offer me a better life. Oh god what have I done! For a short time, I was disappointed in him for hiding this dark secret from me. I'm no better if he knew what kind of secret I was carrying."

"Hush. Calm down for now, ok? I'm here and we can talk, ok?” She held me in her arms while I shed my tears. She started rocking us back and forth and at some point, I giggled because I felt a bit silly. She pulled away from me and took my shoulders in her delicate hands, "You are such a strong woman! I don't even know how you stand it all. You've already been kidnapped twice and each time a man was a reason. Your father was the reason for your first kidnapping, and Jake was the reason for your second. I hope there isn't a third party!"

I had to giggle even though it wasn't funny at all. She was right, somehow men put me in danger. She looked at me in shock, probably because I was giggling. Shortly thereafter, I lost myself in thoughts about my first kidnapping. The memories flooded me like a giant wave.

"Ok, I see. Let's sit down and you tell me everything. Did you ever talk about your first kidnapping?"

"No, never. I don't want to burden anyone with this,” I answered quietly.

"Come on, tell me. I'm listening, you know we've been through a lot." She took my hands in hers and her face was so open, it was enough for me to burst out.

"I was kidnapped at night. They somehow managed to break into our house, I wanted to scream, but they immediately stuffed a rag in my mouth. I didn't stop thrashing around. At some point it was enough for one of the kidnappers and he hit me on the head with something, so I lost consciousness.”

Jessy squeezed my hands tightly, which gave me some support. I continued, "I woke up tied to a chair and they told me that my father had some kind of debt. They must have left a threatening letter offering an exchange. My father pays the debt and gets me back in exchange. They wouldn't tell me what kind of debt he had, but I didn't believe them either. They tortured me and kept sending my parents small gifts.”

"Gifts?" Jessy asked unsuspectingly.

"Not normal gifts. It started quite harmlessly at first, they just pulled my hair out and brought it to my parents. At some point they removed one of my fingernails and brought it to my parents. They always brought these little gifts at night and displayed them on their doorstep. I mean, how nice can a morning start for parents when they find their daughter's fingernail nicely wrapped on their doorstep? At some point they cut off my scalp like a slice of cheese and sent it to my parents, I got a scar from it.”

I turned my back to Jessy and lifted my hair on the right and showed her the bald spot with the scar. Hair never grew back there. She gasped and was shocked she had never noticed.

"Jessy, how are you supposed to notice? I usually wear my hair down and if I have a different hairstyle, I cover it up."

She nodded glumly, "What happened when they did that?"

"Nothing at first, they also tortured me like that, just for fun. Mostly psychological, they held a knife to my neck and threatened to kill me, enjoying the fear in my eyes. But it was always just empty threats, but I didn't understand that at the time, and I was terribly afraid afterwards.”

"This is so horrible, how long were you trapped there and how did you get free?" She asked as she wrapped her arm around my shoulders and hugged me tightly.

"Five days and the debt has never been paid as my father personally released me. At that time, he came into my room completely out of breath and freed me from my bonds. He was different. I don't know how to describe it, Jessy."

"How different do you mean? Hey you're shaking, calm down. Don't rush, take your time.”

After ten minutes I stopped shaking and stared at the opposite wall. "My father... His eyes were so dark and so empty. At the same time, I saw relief on his face when he saw me. None of the men who tortured me were anywhere to be seen. My father got me home as fast as he could. He didn't answer any of my questions and just told me everything was fine. I was treated by a doctor and for days I kept asking my father what his debts were.”

“What did he say?” Jessy asked, concerned.

"He said they lied, he never had any debts, and it was just unhappy customers."

"And you believed him?"

"No, but I never asked again as he would never tell me the truth."

"It seems everyone has some dark secrets, even the two of us," giggled Jessy.

“White Night,” I whispered, reminiscing.

"Mhm, exactly. I have to say I miss our time there at times, but I would never trade my life now for that life.”

"If Jake found out I worked for a secret service that takes people down. Oh saint.”

"But then he would understand why it was so easy for you to leave him. We've been trained to ignore other people's feelings for just such missions.”

"I know it's not usually difficult for me, but Jake is the first man that has truly won my heart and made me weak."

"That's how I felt with Walter at the time. The love for him was stronger than my will to stay in this service."

I saw how Jessy closed her eyes, I did the same. We put ourselves back to that time, I will never forget the time back then, especially because that's where I met Jessy for the first time.

.......................................

Once again, we took down a criminal, it's always been like that here. A sleazy asshole who presented himself as a good businessman but only exploited the poor and stole even more. We only ever brought down those who did evil.

Here we were in our hiding place, a shabby wooden hut in the woods. As we planned how to take down the next one, there were a few reports again that someone was torturing the poor people because they couldn't pay their bills on time. I always got angry when I heard stuff like that. People already had nothing and worked hard just to afford enough food and then there comes this rich bastard who can afford anything and tortures these poor people.

Jessy and I were assigned to track him down and bring him to our hiding place. The boss wanted to take care of him personally, so there was probably something private involved. In the evening Jessy and I found each other in a bar. The whole time we were looking for the man, Jessy kept looking at a brown-haired man who looked back at her. After a while I pretended to leave earlier. I nodded to her where he was sitting, and she swung her hips and sat down next to him. Jessy has always attracted everyone's attention and so we decided that she should seduce him.

I was standing around the corner when I heard Jessy's voice and a strange male voice, I knew that my mission had come. I came out of hiding and hit him on the back of the head with a rock, not too hard. Just so he lost consciousness. The boss gave us a carriage that we could use to transport him. We put him on the back seat of the carriage, and we sat down in front and set off. When we got to our hideout, we dragged him into the cabin and took him to the room our boss had asked us to use.

He sent us out, he wanted to do it alone. I didn't ask any questions, but before long we heard bitter cries of pain. He tortured him, something must have happened between the two personally. Jessy was sitting in another room, I went to her and saw her staring at the wall, lost in thought.

I sat down next to her and asked, "What do you think he's doing to him?"

She shrugged, "I don't know, but I don't care." At first, I thought she was mad because she wasn't allowed to be there, but I saw that she had a small smile on her face.

"It's the brownie from the bar, isn't it? I saw your looks, my dear."

She put her hand over my mouth, her eyes wide, "Hush!" I understood, I got up and closed the door. I sat down next to her, and we whispered despite the door being closed. Love was not allowed in this service as it made you weak. You had to be able to think neutrally and not be influenced by love.

She began to relate, "I bumped into him in the market. I almost threw his bread down but was able to catch it. I apologized a hundred times, but he kept saying it was ok. He was so nice and so understanding. We met again and again at the market, I noted his times when he went to the market and at some point, he bought me a bouquet of flowers. That's when I knew that he too was coming to the market regularly at the same time on purpose. Well, tonight in the bar, that was him. I just couldn't take my eyes off him, not only because he's handsome, but also because I just can't get him out of my head. The meetings in the market were like little dates, I would like to give it a chance, but as long as we are in this service it doesn't work, and I don't want to leave you alone.”

"Jessy, you know I follow you everywhere," my voice got even quieter. "When do you want to leave here?"

She looked at me with big grateful eyes, "You would really take that risk for me?"

"Of course, Jessy. You're my best friend and I didn't intend to spend the rest of my life here either." I took her hands in mine and squeezed them lightly to show her my support.

"Tonight? Let's leave the White Night tonight,” Jessy said.

“Deal,” I said smiling. It was decided. Tonight, we will leave the White Night service. Since it was hunting time again at the moment, we didn't come home. We all slept here, and I hated lying to everything and everyone at home. Once a year we are trapped here for two weeks, and we bring down one by one.

We went to sleep and waited for the boss to go to sleep. We had already packed our things and when it was quiet in the hut, we got up quietly. We snuck out of the bedroom and tiptoed to the front door. We heard heavy footsteps, and we knew immediately who it was. I held my index finger to my lips to tell Jessy not to give a peep. We hugged the wall as tightly as we could and held our breath. My heartbeat quickened as the footsteps stopped in front of the open door. Luckily for us, there was another pillar on the wall so he couldn't see us.

The steps came closer, and he murmured, "The door is usually always closed. Hello?"

I closed my eyes and cursed myself. How could I forget to close the door? He walked into the door frame and grabbed the doorknob and closed the door. When the footsteps became quieter, we breathed a sigh of relief and left the hut as quickly as possible.

We ran through the woods in the middle of the night until we got to town. Jessy was so happy that she turned several times in circles with outstretched arms and cheered, "So this is what freedom feels like!"

I giggled and joined in her joy, and we held hands and twirled each other in circles. We celebrated our newfound freedom. My heart did a little jump of joy. I just couldn't stop smiling. Jessy laughed and took my shoulders in her hands, "You will be my maid of honor if we should work out!"

I smiled and I nodded happily like a little kid, "Oh Jessy, I would love to do that!"

We made our way home, it was early in the morning when we got home. Jessy went to her house and I to mine. When I entered our house, I heard my parents in the kitchen, they were eating breakfast. Their conversation ended when the door slammed behind me. Immediately, the kitchen door sprang open, and my mother hugged me tightly. I told them what had happened, and I saw relief but also concern on their faces. It might not have been the best idea to just flee.

……………...........................

Jessy and I came back to the present and we started laughing, but concern graced her face. She looked at me questioningly, "I'm surprised the boss never looked for us." I bit my lip and immediately her eyes almost popped out, "Wait! You know something I don't know about!"

"Damn it," I sighed. "I met the boss in town a month ago."

"What?!" She exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell me that?"

"I'm sorry, I was so stunned by what he said to me that I had to process it myself and then all things happened." I hung my head and was terrified that Jessy would be mad at me.

She lifted my head by taking it in her fingers, "Then tell me now."

"He babbled and told me that he had a wife with a child at home. He immediately regretted it when he saw my victorious smile on my lips. I threatened him that if he hurts us or anyone, we are close by a hair, the rest of the service will find out about his little secret. He said he has his eyes everywhere, but he trusts us because we haven't told anyone about it either. At least that's what he thinks. He doesn't know that my parents know or Walter.”

"And it should stay that way.”

"But I swore to myself I'd tell Jake, he deserved it,” I said agonized.

"If you want to tell him I'll have your back, ok? Once again you made sure that I can lead a normal life."

“I'm so glad you joined this goddamn service, as soon as I saw you, I knew I wanted to be friends with you,” I confessed.

She then just took me in her arms. Jessy loved hugs, but I had no problem with that. I put my arms around her, and I giggled. I was happy again for the first time. But the thought of going back to Alan immediately made my joy vanish.

"Jessy, how far would you go for me to reach my goal?"

"Regarding Alan?"

I just nodded and looked at her.

"I would walk over corpses,” she said sternly. That was enough for me, no matter what I had in mind Jessy would help me.

Jessy winced when there was a knock on the door, "Oh crap! How could I forget that?"

"What did you forget?"

"Your parents wanted to come over. They wanted to see if I had heard or seen anything from you. I have a hunch they're going to bring-“ Jessy was interrupted by a voice that was all too familiar to me, "Jessy?"

"Jake," I whispered, shocked. Jessy motioned for me to be quiet as she walked towards the door. You couldn't see me from the front door.

She opened the door, "Jake, what are you doing here?"

"I'm supposed to bring this from Charles. He says it'll be later, he thinks we won't be able to until tonight.

“We?” Jessy asked confused.

“Yes, we. I'll come with them, I want to know everything too. Can't you tell me now if you've heard from MC?"

"Jake, this is not a good time. Please come back tonight."

"Jessy, you saw it today at the flower stand too! How they kissed. Or should I say how Alan kissed MC?"

"How may I understand that?" Jessy continued to act as if she didn't know anything.

Jake raised his voice, "Oh come on! Everyone there could see that she didn't want that kiss.”

Oh no!

#duskwood #duskwood fanfiction #fanfic #trap of lies #duskwood au #mc x jake #jake x mc #duskwood everbyte #duskwood jake x mc #duskwood mc #alternate universe #juleesiswriting

[plentyoffandoms]

Main Masterlist ♡ Top Gun Maverick Masterlist ♡ Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw Masterlist ♡ For You Masterlist

Just like all my other stories, this has not been proofread, but please enjoy.

Warnings: Some swearing.

Hope you all like it. Also please don't come at me for not knowing Naval terms or their training. This is just fiction.

Gifs & photos do not belong to me.

Rooster's POV:

I could hardly sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I pictured Nick being tortured. I asked Pete to show me the video but he told me it was probably for my best interest if I didn't see it.

"How bad is he?" I asked, not really wanting to know the answer but I had to know.

"From what I could tell, broken nose. Broken fingers. Maybe a few broken ribs. They were also hitting him on the back with a cord."

He went to tell me more, but I held my hand up making him stop.

"Do you think they will be alive when we get there and answer me honestly."

"Bradley,"

"Answer me Pete."

"I don't know."

I think I got maybe two hours of sleep by the time my alarm woke me up. I got up and got ready.

I didn't talk to anyone as I walked to the plane. Since this mission was time sensitive, we we flying to Jordan on a C-21.

We were split into two planes, so that way if something were to happen to one, the other may have a good chance of getting to our destination.

I climbed into the first one and I saw that YN was sitting in the very back. I could tell she hasn't got much sleep.

"May I sit here?" I asked her as I pointed to the spot next to her.

"Sure. I don't think you will be comfortable though."

"I'll be fine." I gave her a small smile as I sat down. Shit, she was right. I am too tall for this.

"Stand up." YN said as she stood up.

"What?"

"Stand up Bradley. Take my spot. I'll take yours. My legs are smaller than yours." I tried to oppose but YN won this battle.

"How did you sleep?" She asked me.

"Fine." She squinted her eyes at me.

"Liar. I can see you slept like shit."

"Just worried is all." I hope she doesn't push it.

"Yeah, I get it." YN was looking out the window as she said that.

I gently placed my hand under her chin and turned her head so she was facing me. "It will be okay YN."

Her bottom lip began to tremble. "I know he was the one in the video. Phantom told me this morning."

"He did not have to tell you that. Pete told me. I was going to tell you." I wasn't but she didn't need to know that.

"I figured you knew. I know Nick is strong, just like the other three. I know them Bradley. When I would visit Nick, his friends were right there." A few tears slid down her cheeks.

"No more tears Sweetheart. We have to be strong for not only our son, but the other three as well."

I didn't notice that we had an audience. Hangman and Phoenix were looking at us, as well as Angel and Phantom.

Phantom was giving me a dirty look, but it changed when YN looked at the group.

"Take your seats, now." Pete called out.

This is going to be one long plane ride.

~

The ride was quiet in the beginning as we were all trying to wake up still. But my focus was on one person.

Alan "Phantom" Kerr.

I had to ask her about him.

"Want to tell me about your friends?" I asked her.

"Sure. Angel first name is Sara. Has three girls, married to," I listened to YN as she talked about Angel.

"And Phantom, his name is Alan, and well I wouldn't really call him a friend." It felt like my heart dropped into my stomach.

"What do you mean?"

"He is kind of pushy. He keeps asking me out, but I turn him down."

What a fucking relief.

"Want me to have a talk with him?" I said jokingly.

"No thank you. I am good. He will get it soon enough." She yawned as she said that.

I put my arm over the back of her seat. "Lean into me. You're still tired."

"I shouldn't." Another yawn. "Maybe you're right." YN leaned into my side. I knew Phantom was watching and did I get a kick out of him being angry?

Yes.

But I also have YN in my arms once more. Never thought that would ever happen again.

YN'S POV:

I knew what Bradley was doing. I saw the way how Alan looked him when he got on plane. I just pretended I didn't. And I knew Alan was being his creepy self and watching as I got comfortable against Bradley.

I was never one to be able to sleep in anything that is moving, so I did feel Bradley kiss the top of my head gently.

I did hear him whisper how much he messed up and how he wished he could change the past.

'I wish we could too Bradley.' I wanted to say, but this is not the time nor place for us to reconnect.

~

I actually did fall asleep because I woke up hours later. "About time you woke up. Saved you some food." I felt my stomach rumble at the thought of food.

"Thank you."

"Anything for my best girl."

"I bet you use that line on all of them."

"Only you." Was his serious answer.

I had to look away from his intense gaze so I decided to look out the window.

"I just gotta stretch. I'll be right back." He said after a few moments.

"I'll be right here." It looked like he wanted to say something else, but he didn't. He left his seat and went to go and talk to Bob.

He wasn't even gone ten seconds and Alan took his seat.

"How you holdin' up?"

"I'm doing okay I guess. To be expected."

"I am always here if you need anyone to talk too YN." He placed his hand on my knee. I almost choked on my food when he did that.

"Please take your hand off of my knee." I asked him politely.

"Just trying to be there for you." Was all he said as he moved his hand.

"I have someone who is here for me."

"That guy?" He did a quick look at Bradley, then back at me.

"Yes. He is Nick's Father." His eyes got real wide.

"That is the Bradley? Huh."

"Yes that is Bradley. Now please leave." I didn't give him another reason to stay. Maybe I should just have Bradley talk to him.

Maybe he will leave me alone.

Nick 'Sparrow' Bradshaw's POV:

It hurt to breathe. It hurt to move. I can hardly see out of my one eye.

My back is still dripping fresh blood from my wounds. We never know when they will be coming in to torture us.

The four of us have no idea if we will be getting out of here alive.

"Psst. Nick." I turned my head to look at Jamal.

"Stay awake man. When they go to sleep, I'll clean your wounds."

"Save your water." I moaned out.

"Fuck that. Gotta keep you alive." I just groaned in response.

I turned to look in front of me as that didn't hurt.

I thought about my Mom and Dad. I have a feeling my Dad would be one of the ones picked to come and rescue us.

I can imagine my Mom worrying herself sick. Maybe she would be apart of the team as well.

Probably not. My parents together in the same State, let alone working together to come and get me?

Part 2 ◇ Part 4

Tag List: please let me know if you would like to be added to the tag list. @cashwheelersgirl89 @mavericksicybabe @blindedbyyourgrace17 @luckyladycreator2 @txtxdxxr @bespinnn @n3ssm0nique @mads-weasley @labellapeaky @calsjack @teti-menchon0604

#top gun maverick #top gun maverick imagine #top gun maverick x reader #top gun maverick fic #bradley bradshaw x female reader #bradley bradshaw #bradley rooster bradshaw #bradley bradshaw x reader #bradley bradshaw fic #bradley bradshaw x oc #bradley bradshaw x y/n #rooster top gun #rooster x reader #rooster x female reader #rooster x y/n #rooster fic

[rw47vr-key]

ONESHOT Contains Duskwood Ep10 spoiler!!⚠️

☆Snippet: "You've been stabbing yourself, MC" "*desperate chuckle*That's my line, Richy. When are you gonna realise? "

☆Genre:Angst, fluff, love, enemies to friends ☆Characters: JakexFem!MCx Richy ☆Warnings: Mention of blood, depression, swearing,weapons, intimate(?) (No no it's not what you think.I swear,yet I'm leaving a warning just in case, also Feel free to tell me if I forgot to mention something here) ☆A/N: Before diving in, @spookycolorpeanut a huge thank you for supporting me dear!! <3 I would have cremated this in my drafts if it weren't you :P.Also the post here of @renneiscent is basically the plot I wrote, Thanks a lot to you too,dear!! <3 I know this fic went illogical.My writing skill is 0% and so is my confidence, but here I am. The story is set with 3 different timelines,I'm sorry that it may confuse.Please don't hate me for this,english isn't my first language.I'm talking too much..*bows down ,wishes you a good day/night and sprints*

»»——⍟——««

Morning 11.07 am , dd/mm/2025

※MC's POV※

"What took you so long,Mr Alan? I've been waiting here for more than an hour.,"I say, as I hear him whispering an insincere apology to me and shutting off his walkie talkie.

"He's not here with you, is he? ", he glanced at the parking lot from the second floor of Terrendale police headquarters, where we stood near the windows. Phil, who was leaning against the car, waved at us.

" Jake is not here ,Mr.Alan. Well, I didn't want to put him in a tight spot", I shrug while he points that we should go to the adjacent building . "Don't look at me like that! I'm really sorry that I kept you waiting,Mrs Donfort, but I honestly didn't know about the change of his imprisonment site", he said for which I sighed and followed him.

"Jake threw a huge tantrum during one of the trials, I understand. But I wonder how he left you with his rival",asked Alan .

" Beats me. Besides there was no one free to accompany me.Jessy was there but", I lowered my voice a bit and said, "She doesn't know about his change of imprisonment. She saw him yesterday, but not here,you know".

Alan mouthed an "Oh yeah" and continued, "It wasn't easy to bring him just for a day here. I had a hard time convincing the higher officials ", he grumbled,by the time we reached the investigation room.

Alan stopped me with his hand and looked quite bothered. He took out his gun from the holder. " Do you need this? ".

" Ashhh! You're mocking at me ,right? ",I shrieked for which he returned a grin. He patted my shoulder and said, "Just call me if you need my help, ok? ".I thanked him,he smiled and walked away, probably to talk to the chief police of Terrendale.

I've waited for 3 whole years for this one to one conversation with him.I've been strolling back, afraid of this to happen, but not anymore.

I greeted the officers on guard, and entered the room.Surprisingly I was not anxious nor shaking.I was full of rage, hiding it with all my effort. There in the seat, I saw the guy sitting and staring at the floor. He slowly looked up, as he sensed me coming towards him. Slower and slower his lips curved. That smile, the smile that is like a soothing beam of daylight,which makes your entire worries disappear, had me only ready to slap that wretch of his face. It was Richy, the man without a face in a prison dress,one of his hands cuffed with strings.And I did hit him, my effort to hide was all in vain.

※3 years ago at the Ironsplinter mine※

" My goodness! Ms. Donfort, are you okay? "

"Please save Richy! ", MC could here Hannah crying and Alan comforting her.

MC let out a deep sigh of relief;Hannah is saved, finally. But it didn't stop her from running, since she had two other tasks to do. She cut the call, removed her headphones, and looked around , catching her breath. It was pitch black;and she could clearly hear Alan screaming repeatedly, who was facing the other side, " Put your hands up! , whoever you are! " , Alan was ready to shoot the person in front of him.

It was Jake who also got caught to Alan.The black masked guy stood there, about to rise his hands.Suddenly a gun was pointed at Alan's forehead.Hannah was in shock but didn't have enough strength to scream, and Jake stood there perplexed, with his hands up. "Lower your gun now! , Mr. ALAN BLOOMGATE! ", yelled MC, who was wearing a mask and suited in all black.

" Who the hell are you? ", Alan spoke aggresively, he didn't change his target of shooting nor moved an inch. MC pressed her gun a little harder in his head, " *clicking sound of a gun* It's loaded, I'm not playing games, Mr. Bloomgate.I'll take care of him.I'm fom the FBI", MC showed an ID and quickly pushed it back into her pocket.

Realising the situation, he slowly put his gun down, while Jake fled away immediately.

"Sh#t", MC ,shoved her gun into her pocket,and chased him in the direction he ran. The mine was dark and had eerie vibes, just like Jake told. MC followed the sound of his steps and stood swiftly in front of him. There was a light source a little away from them, so she could see his movements somewhat, and vice versa. He was about to hit her, but MC dodged it.

There was 1-2 minutes of 'who was the upperhand in the fight' . MC did her best not to get hurt and also not hurt him harder,and in the middle of it she was screaming to get his attention, "Jake!..Wait! .. Listen to what I have to say!", but he was persistent to get rid of her. He was a lot fit and faster than MC, and finally pinned her to a wall ,grabbing both of her hands with one of his hands.

Before knocking her down, he got strangely curious and pulled out her mask, only to get shocked to see who it was. MC kicked his knee and freed herself,she slid down the wall and leaned against it.Jake winced in pain but the astonishment hasn't left his eyes.

"Yes, it's your girlfriend,Jake Donfort", MC said, under her breath.

※ Few seconds later ※

MC got up staggering, and lent her hand to Jake, who was lying on the ground, breathing heavily as much as her. He stared at her hand, and then stood up on his own, patting the dust on him. He was dead silent, picked up his bag and checked his essentials.

"Jake?….Are you angry?"

He glared at her and averted his eyes to his bottle of water. He yanked his mask and started drinking it, as if he was trying to calm down his burning emotions. MC blurted a "Wow" and before she could savour his beauty, he stepped towards her and grabbed her wrist, eyes fixed to hers.

"Angry? Do you have any idea how I feel right now? What happened to the promise you made!?What if it didn't go according to your f**king plan? , " Jake's temper raised.

" Give me a second, I'll treat your wound, Jake.I told you to be careful while climbing, but you didn't",MC looked at his unproperly bandaged leg, and tried to change the topic, despite knowing it won't change.

" This isn't about me, MC! Look at my eyes and answer me!.Why did you come here?",He pulled MC a little closer, his voice hasn't gone down.

"What do you want me to do? Wait at home until I hear the news that you got caught to the FBI? Or that you died? You sound like you hate me for saving you a few minutes ago.Hate me,scold me all you want! ,but I'm not going to apologize for breaking our promise.Why did I come here? Because I love you,I love you Jake!I don't want to lose you, I was so scared, I was worried about you! . Is it so hard to figure out?", MC screamed, tears ready to flow down her cheeks.

He squinted his eyes, losing balance and clasped his injured leg and let out an "ahh", as low as only both of them could hear. MC's silent tears ran down,she slowly made him lean comfortably on the wall, and grabbed her bag to find the emergency kit. She quenched her thirst and handed him her water bottle and he calmly watched her mending his wounds.

" Did I hurt you..during the fight? I'm sorry, MC", his soft voice yet quavering, made her smile a little. She shaked her head, and sat beside him." It's only bruises. Don't worry,Jake.I should be the one apologizing *looks at the swelling in his hand*. That must hurt a lot. I'm very sorry, Jake",she said and looked at him genuinely regretful but he started giggling.

"What's so funny, Jake? " ,MC asked blushing. He restrained his laugh, "Sorry,its just..I didn't know you were good at fighting".

" I have a lot of hidden skills like you.I would love to show you all of them, once we get out of here, deal?", MC said and beamed a smile. He winked and gently interlocked his fingers with hers,for which MC pecked a kiss on his knuckles. His cheeks turned red instantly and then he sulked after seeing her tear-strained face.

He pulled her for an hug and said, " What would've happened if I hurted you a few seconds ago? Do you think I would've lived with that? I don't hate you , I will never hate you, MC. Even now, I don't believe if you're really here. Do you think it was easy for me to live every second, assuring your safety ,miles away from you? When you said you've imagined a life with me, I wanted that to happen no matter what even if I have to face hell. But my life is not what you expect it to be.It has unpredictable dangers,and I'm afraid that I'll kill you because of that.Let's be honest here, I only troubled and hurted you, by pulling you into this mess, am I right?. I'm the worst boyfriend one can ever find.Just let go of me. Atleast then, you will be at peace", he started talking without a break that he didn't realize he was tearing up.

MC wanted to cry along with him, but she wants to make him feel safer, to be loved, and not to hate himself for the mistakes he didn't do.

She hugged and brought him a lot closer to her, "I am not letting go of you, Jake, I want you to be in my life.And please, stop blaming yourself. It's not your fault Hannah getting kidnapped, it's not your fault that I'm here,not your fault that this mess happened. I feel miserable when you always apologize for everything.What do you mean by worst boyfriend? You've hurt me sometimes, I agree, but the happy moments I've experienced,only you can give me that, Jake. And whether it's right or wrong,best or worst,let's do it together .I know,you've faced so much difficulties in your past. It must've been so hard to go through it alone.Your past,present and the future you hold, let me be a part of it, Jake.You don't have to face them alone, Jake,you never have to", she cried and released her hug.

He was still crying, she cupped his face in her hands and caressed him. "I'll stay with you, ok? I'm not letting you go", she said again looking right into his (colour)eyes, and reassured him. "Thank you for being here, MC", he placed his hands on hers and continued sobbing.

But they didn't have time for this. They have to get out of here, and also save Richy. With MC's help he got up. He was able to walk, thankfully. He gestured her to follow him, but then suddenly halted ,looking at his phone.MC could hear him saying "Gotcha!",and tapping some numbers on his phone. Then he turned around with a doubtful expression.

" What do you mean by FBI Agent?Why did you lie to Alan? Are you planning to stay in jail with me? "

She was ready to apologize again, but widened her eyes, "You did a background check on me? How dare… "

"Umm.. I'm .. I sincerely apologize for doing that. I didn't mean to… ", before he could finish his words, she pulled him by his hoodie, and kissed him.The surprise kiss caught him off guard, that he looked frozen. " I didn't know you were this much talkative,Jake", MC cackled.

"You look more pretty when you're blushing, MC", Jake backfired.

As he was about to kiss her again, MC moved her head sideways, " You don't have anything to say to me? ". Jake looked puzzled ,then moved closer to whisper in her ears, " I love you so much, MC", he pressed his lips to hers.It started gentler but his whole body was lost in her presence,and by the time they parted to catch their breath,he met her lips again, as if he will never again get the opportunity to taste her lips.

Now, it was MC's phone that vibrated. They chuckled as they pulled apart. "Ah,you still didn't answer my question,MC",Jake asked. MC texted Alan and looked up at Jake to respond.

" Ok, long story short, I went to the house in forest right after Mwaf got shot by Dan, asked him the gun and staged my plan. I used the route that you told about,the entrance in Terrandale.That FBI ID is my driver's licence", MC's reply made Jake speechless.

He was about to start his lecture but MC showed him Alan's message and the one text that caught his attention was "FBI agents are here". MC looked worried because she knows very well Alan wasn't telling about "the fake FBI MC".

" Don't worry MC.I took care of them. My strategy was to guide them to a fake location, they'll probably head there in no time.Just wait here for me. I'll quickly look for a path to find Richy.Please don't go anywhere. I'll be right back, MC", he kissed her forehead and vanished into one of those paths in the mine.

She took the ointment to treat her bruises, but there was someone in the shadows,heading towards her. She quickly took her gun and held it ready, but she lowered it as soon as she recognized the person.

"Oh my, Jake, that was quick. What is it now? ", asked MC. She saw him holding on to something in his hand, and staring at it intensely.

" Sorry that I surprised you, MC…. I..I found this on the ground. This is my late mom's ring. I carry this around wherever I go….Seems like I lost it while you chased me", Jake spoke like he wanted to share a lot regarding that , but she could see his heart was not ready,especially because of the situation you both were in.

"Ah, I see", MC didn't know what else to say.

" I may lose it again, so I'm entrusting this to you,MC", he took her hand and the moment he wore the ring in her finger, he just smiled innocently and headed to his mission. MC was too stunned to function.

How much ignorant her hacker boyfriend can be? Yes.

After that, the only thing MC remembered was the video call with the man without a face.

※Evening 7.12 pm dd/mm/2025 (same mentioned date at the beginning)※

MC and her Duskwood friends were having a barbeque party ,to celebrate the two Donfort sisters' weddings that took place on the same day.The party is happening in Hannah's Dad's guest house.

MC kept remembering all such little ,funny conversations that she had with Jessy and Richy in her mind. It felt like the three of them were together for a long time than one could imagine. The trio were wandering merrily in a garden holding hands and teasing each other.Then suddenly one of them pushed the rest two into a very deep river.MC and Jessy scream and try to come up ,only to see Richy wearing the mask, with the red blood and raven feathers. They both think it's better off drowning than facing the horrible truth. That's how it was, and it would always be.

※Jake's POV※

The truth, about who Richy really was, made MC feel nothingness . She wasn't able to process completely for a week? a month? Or more than that, that I couldn't even tell exactly. Sometimes, when she's right beside me,holding my hand,her head on my shoulder, she speaks languages with her tender touch that only I can understand,but her eyes kept searching for something.She was fighting a figure that wasn't visible to me.

"Don't leave me suffering alone,Jake!.I know what you feel about me. I don't care about what this world expects from us. All I want is to be with you forever", she cried when I was at the hospital, in a situation of life and death,and that made me fall for her even more.After surviving the tragedy, I thought I could solve what's eating up her soul and mind. I was afraid that I would fail in doing that.

" MC's behavior has changed a lot ever since she came to Duskwood.Please take care of her ,Jake",her brother/sister/best friend, when they came to see her after the mine incident,told me worriedly. But today, it was different.

She looks like a weight has been lifted up from her shoulders. Maybe Phil was right about allowing her to meet that maniac. I didn't entirely oppose about the meeting.Moreover, MC said she needed time to think. And it delayed for a very long time because of Hannah and Jennifer case. Fortunately, Hannah was punished with 2 years of imprisonment, and Dan and MC got charged for using the gun.

Nevertheless,I'm amazed how Alan didn't accuse MC for playing thevrole of"the fake FBI".And he also helped me to live a normal life, thanks to MC's request. The whole thing with my dad went a bit smoothly because of her. Where would I be without her?

I asked the reason to Alan and he told me that he didn't want to make the situation worse and he'd have done the same if he were in her shoes. But what irks me is ,he told me that " MC is interesting " followed by that crooked smile of his.Hah,I know that she is interesting,that's why she is my wife(officially a couple since 2023).Arghh he is driving me nuts.

"What are you deeply thinking about, Jake?You don't want to play ? ", MC asked ,holding Thomas's guitar.

He snapped back from his thoughts and smiled at her. " You want me to play this ? " She nodded with excitement all over face and the Donfort sisters too urged him to play.

He looked at MC'S eyes as if he said NO, but MC handed him the guitar and stood along with him in the centre of everyone.

"Well then, MC will be the singer! Come on, you said you were good at it", Jessy cheered her.

"Yayy I didn't know that, come on boo, sing a song to congratulate our wedding", Dan said holding on to his wife, Lilly.

" Stop calling her boo, Daniel!", Jake and Lilly cried in unison.

"Oops, but heyy, I'm not cheating, that's how I used to call MC".MC nodded in response to Dan, to prolong the fun in the drama.

Cleo , on the other hand,sipped her drink while enjoying the show. " You are awkwardly silent today, Phil", she asked the bartender who was staring at the motionless huge trees in the forest.

He looked at Cleo, then shifted his gaze at Jessy. Cleo understood what he might be concerned about, and handed him a drink, which he got without hesitation.

"You're not the Phil I knew before", said Cleo, glancing at Jessy.

Phil emptied his glass and asked raising his eyebrows, "Was I that much of a nonchalant brother? "

"You were", Cleo said and added "Are you worried about her and… Richy… ".

" She met that guy yesterday, MC told me", he paused and continued "She wants to give him a second chance? What does she think of herself? An angel forgiving a devil? All he did was LIE! Why doesn't she listen to me? And MC is also siding with her. Ack.. I don't know ,how this will end, "

"Love makes one blind, Phil, you wouldn't know that", Cleo remarked and poured him another 2 glasses, " Try to take care of yourself first, I heard your bar isn't having much visitors at weekdays".

Phil choked on his drink, "It's not! I close them from time to time, since I also do another job. Are you interested to know about that? ", Phil's tone was a bit cheerful.

"I'll pass. By the way, what did MC talk to Richy today? ", inquired Cleo.

So that's what you wanted to know from the beginning, Phil murmured and then responded with a forced smile, " MC panicked and didn't talk properly to me. We must give her some time.Don't you agree? "

She just hummed and asked "Shall we meet tomorrow at the Aurora? ", without making an eye contact with him.

"Oh yes ", exclaimed Phil.

※Roughly 8 hours ago※

"Haha,MC, this feels good.You came all the way just to hit me? "

"You're so funny Richy, I'm here to talk", MC said dragging the chair, and sat facing him.

" I have a question before that ", Richy asked MC. He seemed serious.

She just blinked her eyes in agreement. " Why did you wait for three years,MC? Why? Why didn't you approach when you saw me everytime you visited the court?", Richy's words were emotionless, yet MC could feel the severity of his words.

During those trials in the court, MC would see him, sometimes she would give him a death stare, some days her eyes would be red, but she won't shed a single tear in front of him.Some days she yearned to forget the truth, and live on believing the lie that he was only Richy, the friendly mechanic; MC was struggling to intertwine her heart and mind's decisions' in one single string.

"What type of question is that? Does that mean you missed me?", she got up from her seat and stood at the closed door, with her arms crossed.

"You've been stabbing yourself, MC", Richy mumbled. "Things wouldn't have gotten out of hands if you have just listened to the mwaf", he pointed at himself and gave a devilish smile.

*desperate chuckle* "That's my line, Richy. When are you gonna realise? ", she took little steps towards him , "And that smile doesn't suit you Richy Roger, don't play 'the bad guy' before me, I didn't come here to kill him."

He rolled his eyes sceptically.

" And the answer to your question is simple. I wanted Hannah and my friends back. What I mean by that is, I … "

"You wanted them to go back to their normal lives", Richy concluded her line, she wanted to say something but silence conquered her words.

"Not bad, you are right.And the jury didn't allow the main victims(Hannah,mc, jake) to confront the culprit.Also,We were especially worried about Hannah. She started believing that her survival was meaningless.I thought the group would lose another friend",MC and Richy exchanged looks and he immediately stared down,she bit her lower lip and continued, "But Hannah understood that the more she tried to run away from her mistakes, the more she ruined her own life and the people she care about. She forgave you long ago,Richy. *a pause* She only wishes that you don't hate her for this".

Richy stood up from his seat, and banged the table with his hands yelling, " Stop it MC! Everything is over between us .Practically speaking,it didn't even exist from the very beginning.So Get out! "

"When you meet Richy tomorrow, remember that he will only try to fight against you",MC recalled what Jessy told her, and somehow it made her remember of someone else too.

"And your parents,Well, I think Jessy might've told you(Jessy and Phil take care of them). Anyway, Paul wanted me to say this to you, he wants his son back.He regrets so much for failing as a father. Mom is fine.You should've already introduced her to me,Richy Roger.She's simply sweet, she also loves the cakes I prepare along with Cleo.Sometimes she reminds of the Richy I know", MC was now only an inch away from him.

"You can't fix what I broke, MC", Richy roared in laughter.

" I damn know that very well, Mwaf. I and Jake almost died during the fire and I will never have the heart to forgive you. You said it wasn't easy for you to do all this, remember? What makes you think it wasn't difficult for others? You were fu#king selfish and single minded. But I have to appreciate your acting skills. Haha.You should apply for acting in a movie, you'll probably be selected. "

MC came closer to hit him again, but instead hugged him. Richy stood their startled , but his legs were shaking without his will.

"I really felt happy when Richy said we could have a clubhouse. I agree that we were kidding about that, but I trusted and loved him as a fellow friend. I felt proud of the guy who didn't give up on his garage business , who took care of his parents despite the state he was in. I don't know if any of the feelings he showed me were real,whether he really considered me as a friend, but Thank you Richy. I had fun enjoying that part of you, in my life. And you also showed me that I will never see him again. But if he's still there, just let him know I miss him,we really miss him.

"Yeah, he died a long time ago, what you saw was just a ghost of him. "

She raised her head to see him,a melancholic smile spread across her face, "I know that Richy, but why are you crying? ", she asked him not releasing her hug.

MC used the key and released him from the handcuffs, so that he could hug her. He finally wrapped his arms around her and weeped till his cheeks were swollen.She patted and whispered that everything will be alright.

※a while later※

"I'm not going to be forgiven, but…I'm sorry MC. I am so sorry for treating you like that."

MC released her hug and handed him a tissue,"Before that, can you tell me what is that shining in your finger? I've seen a similar one in someone else's hand", she questioned looking at the ring that he was wearing.

"Uhhh, that.. MC it is… A gift from Jessy, nothing else,haha, " he diverted his eyes to examine the empty room.

MC smacked her palm against her forehead, "Phil is gonna kill us.No, me"

"Speak of the devil, he's texting me. I better go. Ahh what am I going to do with you and Jessy! ", she rambled and when she was reaching for the door, he called her.

" Is it okay.. To start again? Do you think I deserve that, MC? "

"I do not know for sure.I honestly feel like I can't be the judge of that. Well, wait for another 4 years. Let's hope for the best to happen. See you later, Richy", she bid him goodbye and stepped out. She gave the key to the officer and he rushed in to see Richy.

The air that she breathed felt no longer suffocating and her regret and sorrow departed from her heart little by little as she moved away from the room.

Everything is going to fine in the end. If it's not fine, it's not the end. -writer of Everbyte Duskwood

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A/N: Thank you so much for those who reached the end of this fic😆❤. And let me know what you think about this🤭 The law and order etc,I'm not familiar with it, I'm sorry if I have mentioned anything wrong😅I realised it very very late that I the ring concept is repeated omg😭 just ignore it haha

Take care and much love! 💕

✿MASTERLIST✿　　

#duskwood #duskwood everbyte #duskwood fandom #duskwood fanfiction #jake duskwood #iamjake #duskwood episode 10 #duskwood episode 10 spoiler #duskwood mwaf #everbyte studio #duskwood hacker #duskwood jake x mc #everbyte studios #duskwood game #everbyte duskwood #duskwood richy #duskwood jessy #writings☆

[stephaniebrownslover]

Vigilante shit-Chapter 1 ¡!Jane The Killer!¡

Sorry for all the Grammer mistakes but i didn't have many time to fix them. İt's translated from my main language because people who speaks my language didn't seem interested. So i decided to translate it another language.

İt's a fanfic with multiple chapters and some of them may seem unrelated but it's not.

Anyways, hope you like it! Let me know about your opinions!

When she involuntarily opened her eyes, all she could see was darkness, which had failed to be as dark as her heart.

She didn't know where she was, she didn't know who she was, she didn't know why she was still breathing, she didn't know who were the people she cared about, she didn't know why she couldn't see anything but darkness.

She knew only the task she had to fulfill, since she had inflicted deep wounds on her mind and heart, which the action that she had to put into reality.

Revenge.

The word easily slipped out of her other thoughts as she clenched her hands into fists in anger, even she could barely move her hands.

Even if she forgot all the memories she had, she could never forget the dead bodies in front of her eyes, how her familys dead bodies looks.

Even the non-existent god could not know how much she cried for her life and the family that had been taken from her that day. And it was on that day that Jane learned that God was not real.

Because if God really existed, it would not have allowed all these terrible events to happen. It would not have left the nightmare she forced to live unanswered. In fact, it wouldn't have let Jane have such a tragic life in return for all the prayers she'd had since she was little.

That's exactly why the god wasn't real. And if it was, it was a watertight fact to her that it was nothing more than a ruthless being who only used humans for its own amusement.

That's why Jane Evarlasting lost all faith in God long ago when she shed her last tears at her parents' graveside. This was the first step that had dragged her into an incalculable pit of obscurity.

She didn't know what would happen when she died, she had no idea where she was going.

She didn't care what would happen to her if she died, she didn't want to know.

Jane held on with all her might to the image that shone like a precious metal through her jumbled thoughts.

She only noticed she has been dug her nails into skin when she felt wetness on her hand, and it even caused her palms to bleed a little.

She didn't want to stay in this darkness where her eyes couldn't see anything. Even though she was in pain all around which tell her not to move, she had to leave this frightening place as soon as possible. She knew it was a closed place, although she didn't know where it was. But it doesn't matter, she has to leave this place behind immediately.

Because there was a vengeance waiting to be taken.

There was a bastard waiting to pay for what he did.

And Jane was a fierce hunter at the top of the food pyramid.

Jeffrey Alan Woods would be her most prized prey.

As far as she felt, she still had the clothes she was wearing before she woke up here. Which only meant that she was seriously injured, and whatever had brought her here, it hadn't even had a chance to change her clothes. The fabric texture of the dress she's wearing, was able to comfort her a little bit. Her dress was dark as the starless night.

First, she brought her back to an upright position to rise from the floor she was lying on, something she did with little effort. But this movement triggered a scorching pain all over her body with different tones than she was used to.

Using her aching body, Jane made one more move to stand up. Her eyes seeing nothing, not knowing if there was a wall she could rely on. And she hardly willing to touch nothingness with her hand since she not had the slightest idea of what to expect.

She tried to get support from her seated position as much as possible and from her legs, which were full of cuts that she could not see but could feel. Although she had barely gotten up to get up from her position, she fell to the ground in a very short time.

A curse came out reflexively from the young woman's crusted lips, causing her to become even more angry at herself for doing something stupid like making a noise while she was already quite angry at not being able to stand up.

"Fuck!"

She made a sudden attack to bring her hand to the familiar cold metals location, but failed to meet her fingers with the reassuring sharpness she had hoped. She stood there doing nothing for what seemed like hours, literally feeling every beat of her heart filled with fear in her ears. The adrenaline and noradrenaline in her body had reached their peak. Which made it easy for her to ignore the cuts she felt were covering his body, but it didn't change the fact that it was still painful.

For a while Jane just listened to the silence dancing with fear in her heart.

For the past few seconds, she waited for a sign of movement from the people who had come looking for her because of her stupid mistake.

But what answered the call of the heartbeat was nothing but an eerie silence that made one tremble to the bone.

Although Jane wanted to wait a little longer to make sure no one was there, she quickly weighed her options. She needed to leave as soon as possible. It would be a very risky move to wait for someone from the darkness to attack her without doing anything here. But she had no idea how to defend herself while she couldn't even get up.

She ignored all the warnings her body gave her to not get up. Pressed her teeth together to minimize the sound of pain that escaped her lips as if she trying to break them. She pushed herself up from the ground with all her might, her palms burning with fierce heat as she did so. She was trying to do this as fast as she could while using her legs to support her weight.

Even though a few murmurs of pain escaped hed throat and every cell in her body was enveloped in unbearable pain, she finally managed to stand up after her efforts.

The first time she put all her weight on her legs, she seemed to lose balance. But to prevent this, she slammed her hand against the wall, ignoring a risk she didn't even want to think about in the first place.

Nothing bad had happened to meet her, as she had feared. She could only feel a layer of half-dry, half-wet protruding above the wall paint with her hands.

As she stood for a while to spread her trembling legs, the heavy smell in the room finally caught her attention.

Jane hadn't smelled the same since that damn bleach had been spilled on her and set on fire her. It had been a long time since she had felt anything heavier than the burning smell that haunted her often in her dreams.

The razor-sharp smell that pervaded the whole place where she was, and what was drying wetness on the wall was.

As soon as she realized what the thing on the wall was, she pulled her hands away from the wall. She was leaning against in disgust, not caring about falling to the ground. She rubbed her hand roughly on the cloth she was wearing to wipe the stain on her fingers and palm of what she had touched. She knows that it would have no effect, but she had to get rid of that thing.

Just thinking that her hand was free of that liquid would have been enough for her. It was a substance with which she was quite familiar, although she did not want it.

It was blood.

Not knowing what to do, Jane tried to take a clumsy step through the darkness. She thought that it would be foolish to suddenly start running or kicking, which she compared to the crawling of a baby just learning to walk.

Feeling her black hair shining like the ocean in the dusk on her shoulders, the woman began to unconsciously bite her palate as her legs burned with sharp pain whenever she took even a small step with her limp legs. While this is something she usually does when she's feeling stressed, she's now doing it to quell the pain. No one could blame her for having such a bad habit.

As she got used to the pain, she took a few steps inside, each time feeling that her legs were opening a little more than before, but it wasn't enough.

What she did for her revenge wasn't enough.

She wasn't strong enough for those she loved, and she never was.

You're nothing but a useless sack of shit, Jane.

You don't even give a fuck about your wife who cares so much for you.

And for what, a goddamn child's vow?

You're just a big slut who doesn't deserve to live and you can't do anything but hurt the people around you.

It would be so much better for everyone if you died.

If you had never been born, your family would still be alive.

These thoughts made the young woman forced a scream.

"Shut up!"

But Jane was a human being who knew she was stronger than the humiliating voices in her head she had heard since that tragic day. To restrain herself, she pulled her teeth from her palate and parted her lips slightly for more air. After that she realized her throat was dry since she breathed through her mouth for the first time.

She struggled to keep herself away from coughing, but she continued to breathed. With knowing she needs it to calm down and reassure herself that no one was around to help her. When her breathing became a little more regular than before, the loudness of the voices in her head also decreased.Even though she could still hear them, she could at least focus on the thought of leaving now.

Knowing that if she stays here more than enough, she will have a panic attack. So Jane started to walk, albeit extremely slowly, with bare feet with aching soles. Even though she couldn't be seen through the darkness she was in, her eyes burned with rage, as black as the vacuum of space that devoured everything.

She muttered in a tone that even she couldn't hear.

"I'm coming for you Jeffrey fucking Woods."

She didn't know where she was going.

She didn't know where to go.

She had none other than her instincts that kept her alive for six whole years.

The young woman seemed to glow in the darkness as her instincts that did not disappoint her guided her less swaying feet. It was possible to hear from her smooth voice, no trace of her previous growl, her determination on the subject she had just mentioned.

"And when that day comes, I'll make sure you wish for death."

Walking slowly through the lightless environment, Jane was literally an angel of death. Even so, her undiminished deadly beauty was imperceptible in the pitch dark, but it didn't matter, what mattered was her desire for revenge.

There was only one thing she thought about with every step she took into the void.

Which would be her last step leading her into the trap she was getting closer and closer to?

#jane the killer #jane x mary #mary vaughn #creepypasta #creepy #creepypasta fanfic #creepypasta fandom #creepypasta family #fanfic #fanfiction #creepypasta jane

[cosmolog]

Duskwood Detectives

(Richy's Love Story)

Part 6

"A witness? Who?" Alan asked.

"Me. I was on a video call with Richy before he...well, before he faked his death" She told him. "He told me he was The Man Without a Face and that he was the one who attacked Jessy. But after that he told me Phil had threatened to kill him if he didn't do it"

"So you're saying he was blackmailed?" Alan inquired.

"Yes. I know he wouldn't have hurt Jessy if he had the choice" She said.

Alan was silent for a minute before he said; "Alright, fine. But you need to come down to the station so we can discuss this further, okay?"

"Of course, as soon as I'm finished with what I have to do in Forest-Edge I'll get back to Duskwood and we'll talk then" Y/n said before hanging up and getting out of bed.

She sighed before making her way to the kitchen, where Richy had set up the table and was now dishing out the large variety of food evenly between three plates.

Richy, hearing her come in, looked up at her and smiled. "Breakfast is served" He said. "Oh shoot, I forgot to ask if you're a vegetarian or not...Are you?" Y/n told him that she was/wasn't a vegetarian and sat down. (If you're a vegetarian Richy would have instantly removed the meat off your plate asking if you wanted a clean plate with no oil on it from the sausages and bacon)

Richy sat down before gesturing to the fresh bowl of watermelon slices. "Would you like some watermelon with that?" He offered, Y/n nodding/shaking her head in response.

"So, where is Carlos?" Y/n asked.

"Carlos went out to do some small shopping, he'll be back in a minute. The closest shop is just down the hill, Carlo's sister owns it." Richy told her.

"Oh, I see. So, have you thought about coming back with me to Duskwood?" Y/n asked, eager to get an answer.

Richy looked down at his plate, suddenly losing his appetite. "I have..."

"...And?" Y/n asked, expectantly.

"I'm not ready to go back just yet, Y/n. I don't think you understand the pressure of what you're asking me to do" Richy shook his head, looking up at her. "I can't go back"

The room was silent as Y/n and Richy thought about different things. Richy was wondering why Y/n cared so much that she searched for him ever since Jake told her he was alive. Y/n was trying to think of a way to convince Jake that maybe they could just leave Richy be and put the whole thing behind them, would Jake be okay with that?

"Do the others know?" Richy asked, his voice so quiet Y/n could only just about hear him.

"No" She answered. "No, I didn't tell them. Jake didn't want me to"

"Jake seems to like to boss you around a lot, doesn't he?" Richy rhetorically asked. "The minute he tells you to do something you do it. Why?"

Y/n broke eye contact and stared out the window, seeing Carlos walking up the hill towards the house. "He's my friend, Richy. He also saved my skin a couple times too so...I'll do anything for him" She answered.

"Would you do anything for me?" Richy asked, sounding hopeful.

"I'd do anything and more" Y/n smiled at him causing him to smile back just as Carlos entered the house through the kitchen door.

"A mi hermana le gusta mucho chatear" Carlos grumbled, taking his shoes off and heading to the counter to put the small bag of groceries down before sitting down and giving Y/n a smile. "Did you sleep well, señorita?" He asked, kindly.

"I did. Thank you very much for letting me stay" Y/n thanked.

"Don't worry about it at all. It's hard living up here in the mountains, away from civilisation, with only the company of a snorer" Carlos joked, looking at Richy who rolled his eyes.

"And your sister" Y/n added.

"And my sister" Carlos chuckled. "She doesn't stick around much either though. I only really see her when I'm shopping for supplies"

"Oh, well you should invite her up here sometime. This place is amazing" Y/n looked around the large cabin.

"Muchas gracias, my father and I built it from scratch just a few years ago. We built one for my sister too" Carlos said, before gesturing to the food. "Ah, Richy. You're a real cocinero profesional" He chuckled again, before digging in.

Richy shrugged. "Well, I've had a lot of practice" He replied before he and Y/n also began to eat.

After eating and chatting some more Richy stood up and began to gather the plates to clean them. Carlos grinned at Y/n. "Why don't I show you around the stables while Richy cleans up?" He offered.

Y/n nodded. "Sure"

Carlos led her down the hill, offering his hand on the steep so she could steady herself. Carlos then showed her the stables, where three horses lay in their own separate stalls, one had his eyes closed as he rested in the warm stable shielded from the winter weather outside.

Carlos stopped at the first stall where a chestnut horse lay. The horse show them and immediately stood, walking closer to them to receive pets from a smiling Carlos.

"Come closer, he likes humans" He beckoned her closer. Y/n took a hesitant step closer to him and the horse, raising her hand to softly pet the horses forehead. "This is Dorito, the calm" Carlos moved to the next stall and looked in at a white horse who was fast asleep. "Next door to him is Galileo, the face-maker" He stopped at the last stall, where a tall black horse had her head poking out of the stall, looking lively and full of energy. "And last but not least is Adios"

Y/n chuckled at the names. "Dorito? Like the-"

"Like the snack you have when you're at a party, yes" Carlos laughed. "He's the colour of one of my favourite flavours of Doritos"

"And Galileo.."

"My favourite astronomer" Carlos smiled. "Adios's name is quite self-explanatory. You say 'hi', she says 'bye'. She is so fast, it's like time can't keep up with her" Carlos said, petting her. "Would you like to go for a ride later? Richy is coming too. I'll tell you all about the secrets this town holds"

Y/n thought for a moment before making her description. "Sure, I'd love to" She smiled, making Carlos' smile widen.

After walking back to the cabin and getting back into the warmth, Carlos told Y/n all about his family, his life in the mountains and the benefits of living away from all things familiar to you.

The afternoon soon came and Richy joined the two as they walked back down to the stables. Richy and Carlos tacked up the horses and Carlos handed Y/n Dorito's reins.

Seeing she looked a little nervous, Carlos placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about a thing, Dorito just loves to follow the other horses. He's very sensible so you can trust his to keep you safe" He said.

Dorito nudged Carlos' hand making him chuckle softly and pet the horse before he went to get Adios.

Richy held both Dorito and Galileo as Carlos helped Y/n onto the horse. After teaching her how to hold the reins, steer, stop, and go, Carlos and Richy got onto their horses and they were off on their journey.

Y/n stayed in the middle, Carlos in front while Richy rode behind them. The trail was small but when it widened out Richy came up beside Y/n.

"What do you think?" Richy asked.

"I think I want to live in the mountains and have horses of my own" Y/n joked.

Richy laughed. "It's very fun, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I never thought I'd try it out but here I am" Y/n smiled, petting Dorito. "And Dorito is taking good care of me"

"Want to go faster?" Carlos looked back at her.

"Uh.." Y/n suddenly grew worried. "You mean gallop?"

"Sure!" Carlos nodded.

"Okay, yeah. I'll try it out. How do I gallop?"

"Dorito will follow after Galileo, all you need to do is stand up, bend your knees, and lean forward a little. You can place your hands on either side of his withers to help you keep your balance"

Y/n nodded, standing up and bending her knees. "Okay, this seems pretty easy"

Carlos smirked. "Ready?"

"Yep!" Y/n replied.

"¡Vámonos!" Carlos yelled, his horse immediately picking up speed.

Galileo sped up too, making Dorito follow his lead. The three galloped through the forest, cheering and laughing in excitment.

"YA-WHOO" Carlos shouted, as Adios showed her full speed, their fleeing silhouettes becoming smaller and smaller as they rode away.

This was the best experience Y/n had ever since she met her Duskwood friends. It made her think back to what they would be doing right now while she had the time of her life. She hoped they were well, she hadn't seen them in person yet but she had been keeping in touch with most with Jessy and Dan.

Maybe she should visit them soon, Jessy had been talking about how much she wanted to meet her in person and allow Y/n to see Duskwood for herself.

(The next part is being written and is currently unavailable at this moment)

#duskwood #dan #cleo #duskwoodcharacters #femalereader #jessy #richy xreader #jake #richyxreader

[look-a-ghost]

rant about True Detective (Season 1 vs Night Country) follows below, bc i don't have anywhere else to post this so it's going here now (it is long and incoherent so dont say i didn't warn you)

i can't think of a tv show i've been more ashamed of falling madly in love with than the first season of True Detective

i suppose i couldn't have known at the time, and it was a confluence of various things that made it as exciting/captivating/whatever as it was to me back then (i think that was probably the saturation point of my enjoyment of edgy antiheroic tv nonsense), many of those things which have nothing to do with the guy who wrote it (who seems to be coming across lately as an enormous prick)

it's slightly cold comfort to see folks attributing some of the most memorable parts of that season to other writers as well (Thomas Ligotti, Alan Moore), and obviously credit goes to Fukunaga and the actors who made the characters as memorable as they were...

it just felt in some ways like the writing was kind of on the wall in terms of the ultra-machismo, (retrospectively) high school nihilism of TD S1 and also of his novel Galveston, which I read whilst being swept up in the wave of TD fan fervor, and on the one hand it can be pretty crass to dismiss a work out of hand just because its subject matter/thematic overtones deal with edgy machismo nonsense, but in this case i guess it telegraphed the author's intent and personality rather transparently...

there were other red flags along the way in terms of Pizzo having clashed with Fukunaga on set and being petty about it afterwards... and, again, perhaps it's unfair to believe that someone's personal political beliefs are an indicator of their capacity to behave in a moral way, but it feels like in this day and age we're kind of getting to that point now lmao and i remember seeing posts about the kind of political beliefs the guy could very well have had... which again, somehow doesn't surprise me.

so the fact that he's melting down in this embarrassing man-baby fashion, and also the fact that he doesn't seem to have put out any successful work of much note well after the success of TD S1 feels a little telling? like. y'know. be a shit person, achieve shit results?

having said all of this, I am also sort of mystified by the discourse around TD Night Country. I've spent more time looking on Reddit than I care to admit in recent months, and the demographic there seems to skew quite heavily against NC. Likewise the online critical discourse seems to vacillate between glowing (respected reviewers whose opinions I've historically trusted, eg. Sepinwall, have said that NC had "the best finale in the series' history") and dismissive as well (that guy from Forbes who does a bunch of video game coverage seemed to REALLY hate this season??) and I think I personally fall somewhere leaning towards the former but not entirely? Like. It felt like a perfectly decent series of TV! It was cool! It wasn't SENSATIONAL, it didn't captivate me in the same way S1 captivated my then-20-year-old lizard brain, but it was doing some really interesting things with some really interesting characters...

As Pizz himself has already very crudely and dismissively said, it would be too easy to attribute a lot of the hate from the online, male-nerddom-leaning quadrants of the internet to simple misogyny... I do wonder if that is the entire story here though. The only way I could take it further than simply "INCEL BOYS HATE WOMEN" is that the two lead characters in NC are actually portrayed as actively unlikeable in multiple different respects, and I am not sure if something in that conscious decision to present those two characters as having repellent behaviors and choices was simply too alien for a contingent of people who are used to the boys being the edgy dark brooding transgressing antiheroes?

it would be a little weird to attribute the fan vitriol to simply brigading on Pizz's behalf as well, since he hasn't really done anything to match the level of critical acclaim in the 10 years since TDS1 was released... I don't know how many of the angry nerds online are aware of the fact that NC was made by an entirely different showrunner too, but i'm guessing it's a not-insignificant amount.

It could also be a poisoned combination of both misogyny and anti-wokeness (whatever the fuck that means); perhaps it was too big of a bridge to cross for people to stomach a show with two female leads who are partially unlikeable, at least one of whom is BIPOC, and is carrying a very clearly left-leaning message of "corporations bad, pollution bad, cops corrupt, racism/misogyny latent across society". In that way, perhaps the show came across as some kind of """""woke pandering""""" cocktail? And again, maybe the Reddit people/Forbes guy who try very hard to come across as the "reasonable" folks and not the clearly repressed/prejudiced/vitriolic sort are just unwilling to admit that they are subconsciously succumbing to these biases...

I have no idea. I don't think the show was bad enough to warrant hate from people who claim outwardly to not be affected by misogynist/anti-left tendencies, but I don't know how else to square it. It's just weird!

#me rambling

[novastorm223]

Runt, Beta and Radar.

Chapter Three: Resting and recovery.

"I will." a voice announced. Quietly a Cameraman in a white suit came up with a medical kit. He approached slowly. Runt watched him carefully, she was on her side on the one where that wasn't hurt. He crouched down to her level and took out a device, "This here, tells me what's wrong." He stated calmly. She nodded. He showed her what it will do explaining it to her calmly. "So you've got a broken arm, and one broken rib with a few others bruised and a few thin cuts on your shoulder, if it's okay with you three may I set the bones back into place?" He asked calmly. The three mimics nodded, "Thank you for helping me." Runt said quietly. "No problem." the cameraman said calmly. "Can you sit up?" He continued. She nodded and he carefully helped her up. He explained what he'll need to do and warned her that it will hurt... but he'll be as gentle as he can. "I trust you." she said quietly.

After this he set her rib back into place and she let out a yelp of pain. "I'm sorry." He said quietly. "I-It's okay." she replied calmly. He carefully set her on her side again and then he gave her a moment to recover a bit. 'Maybe I can give her some pain medicine...' he thought to himself.  After a moment he considered that he may get in trouble for this but she wasn't bad, she didn't do anything bad and he remembered that she helped someone in the past... hell she helped him at one point so this was his way to return the favor. So he rummaged in the bag for a moment, "I'm going to give her something for the pain it will make her tired and stuff but it won't hurt her, watch her closely and don't let her wander around until it's worn off." He told the mimics.

They nodded, "Alan..."  an agent warned. "She's a patient and I know how to tend to those who need it." he said calmly. He ignored their protests. Runt sat up and gently stopped him. "I'll be fine, don't get in trouble for me." she said quietly.  He looked at her, "Are you sure?" he asked. "Mhmm... It's okay." she assured him.  He sighed and then she gave him her injured arm, "I'll make this as quick as I can with this one I have to put a cast on it, don't take it off it will help the bone heal." he instructed calmly. "I understand." she said quietly. So with this he quickly tended to her, once he was done he looked her over for any other wounds aside from the claw marks he saw nothing else. After this Beta carefully took hold of her, "Thank you, we'll keep an eye on her, sorry to ask for the help." Beta said quietly. "It's okay, I just wanted to repay her kindness." he replied calmly.

Once he was all done the trio left the area without any further trouble. It took them a couple of hours to find a safe spot, once they were there the two older mimics took turns watching her and got anything that made her comfortable. A few days later, Beta was out hunting while Radar stayed with Runt, he kept to the alleyways avoiding any alliance members wandering around. He noticed that there was very little of the Speakermen, especially since the titan in red was infected. He carefully watched as a small group of Cameramen walked by, a distant howl pierced the night. They froze for a moment and then slowly continued to walk off. Beta was about to move on when he heard one of the cameramen speak up.

"Do you think the little mimic is okay?" one of the agents asked. "Don't know." another replied calmly. There was a pause, and Beta followed curious as to where this conversation would go. "I hope that the little one is okay, I saw on one of the logs that it helped a human and I think I heard that it helped Alan, though those are rumors." the first agent replied. "Where did you hear that from? Any proof of that?" the second agent asked.  Another howl could be heard but closer this time. Beta opened his mouth to taste the air. He could taste a mimic about fifteen minutes away but moving fast. He rumbled to himself and then sighed, he went from his hunt form to his idle to try and blend in with the others. He didn't know what he was going to do but he wanted to at least help them since some of them helped Runt. 

As he followed he would sniff the air since opening his mouth was too risky, so he remained silent and vigilant. The conversation shifted from Runt to the parasite, "I'm glad that we got a parasite, now we can figure out how they work and then use the knowledge to save other infected and then save Roland!" one of the agents nearly shouted, 'Shut up idiot! there are mimics here.' Beta thought fearfully. "Dude! shush, we don't know if there are any mimics around." a third agent hissed.  'Exactly!' he thought to himself. After this he darted into another alleyway and looked around to make sure that there were none of the mimics around. He tasted the air again and thankfully this time the mimics had gone the other way. 'Maybe that titan was around or another one or something.' he thought to himself.

After about thirty minutes of following them they finally got to their base and so he went on his way, a bit disappointed since he hasn't found anything to take back to Runt or Radar.  That is until he winds up bumping into a small group of agents. He jumped and then started to walk off quickly when he was stopped. "Hey! Wait..."  Beta paused, "How's the little one?" the agent asked. Beta turned around and saw it was the same cameraman from before, 'She did give me something shiny to give to him as a means of saying thank you...' he thought to himself. "She's okay, sore but other than that okay, thank you for asking, and for helping her." Beta said quietly. "It was no problem, she helped me and it was the least I could do." the agent said. Beta nodded, he then carefully took off a small pouch and took out a small crystal-like rock. "I know it seems strange, but my friend the little one, she wanted me to give this to you, she likes shiny things and thought you'd like it too." Beta said holding out the rock.

The agent seemed surprised. "Uh... thank you." he said calmly. He carefully walked up and took the rock, "It's nice, thank you..." the agent said. "You're welcome." Beta replied. After this they parted ways and then going around the corner Beta spotted a whole lot of skibidis. 'Jackpot... now I can bring some food home to my pack.' he thought to himself happily. About fifteen minutes later he returned to their hideout and he gave them each some of the food he'd gotten and then they all enjoyed the rest of the night peacefully, tomorrow they'd move on to a different area to hopefully find some more food.

#skibidi oc #writing #skibidi fanfic #tv mimic #camera mimic #beta #cosmica galaxy #credit goes to cosmica galaxy #ocs #radar #Runt