#the second and third ones make me wanna [redacted]

[taintandviolent]

JPM wallpapers / lockscreens requested by @man-jin but also me because I am very yoo-hoo bats eyelashes at him

#the second and third ones make me wanna [redacted] #he can rearrange my guts (literally) and play with my blood idc #James Patrick March #James March #AHS Hotel #american horror story #Evan Peters #Countess #my edits #requests #lockscreens #wallpapers #American horror story hotel #tw: blood #myedits

[thesunshineriptide]

Can I request about the first year?. They overhear on the conversation about their lover's taste (probably about the second and third years), intending to want them as their lover.

I’m gonna be honest, I had a hard time understanding this ask due to the wording so I ended up taking it pretty literally. Anyway, here’s the Shepard’s Harem

Counting Rams

Ace Trappola/Deuce Spade/Jack Howl/Epel Felmier/Sebek Zigvolt/Reader

Characters: Ace, Deuce, Jack, Epel, Sebek, [REDACTED]

Tw// jealousy, mild spying

“Honestly, I’m not really picky about that kind of stuff. I’m more drawn to people than to attributes, y’know?”

Ace and Deuce happened to be goofing off in the library right near you when they heard that. It obviously perked Ace’s interest as he quickly shushed Deuce and covered his hand with his mouth, leaning against a bookshelf out of sight to keep listening.

“I certainly admire that, Prefect. But surely you have something physical you’re attracted to, right?”

You hummed and tapped your cheek with your fingers, “I have to say, blue eyes are very pretty. Sometimes they make me feel like swimming in the ocean…” you tilted your head to the side, “but at the same time, warm brown or amber or red eyes can make my head spin the same. There’s always a mystery to them.”

Ace gave Deuce a smirk before he caught Jack’s attention, waving him over.

“What are you two doing?”

“The prefect is talking to someone about their tastes! Now shut up, I wanna listen.”

“-Fluffy white hair, yknow? Or lighter colors in general. It gives off a sunny vibe. But again, like I said, it’s more of a personality compatibility.”

Jack gave the two Heartslabyul students a stern look, it couldn’t keep his tail from wagging, “You two shouldn’t eavesdrop, yknow.”

“You’re doing it too! You’re an accomplice now. Just as guilty as us. Now shut up.”

They heard your laughing and turned the corner to peek at you. You stood almost out of sight, clearly facing someone. Whoever it was, though, wasn’t within view.

Well, they weren’t, until their hand reached forward to brush some of your hair behind your ear, “And what about personality traits? Which ones interest you there?”

“Well now, I can’t tell you that. You might go changing on me, and I like you the way you are.”

There was a chuckle from the hidden stranger, and a clear fondness on your face.

Soon, though, Epel and Sebek approached you from the other angle, with Sebek moving to stand between you and the mystery person, while Epel tucked himself under your arm and leaned in.

Deuce sighed and stepped out from behind Ace and Jack to walk forward, joining the little cuddle pile.

“Oh, right, I guess I haven’t introduced you to them properly. Sebek and Epel are two of my boyfriends. We’re in a polycule with Jack and- Oh, hey! And Ace and Deuce as well.”

Deuce turned the corner, stepping past Sebek to be met with-

Azul Ashengrotto?

Oh FUCK no.

Evidently, Ace and Jack felt the same way. Which meant everyone in the harem was on the same page, even if you seemed oblivious.

Azul, however, seemed completely relaxed despite being suddenly ganged up on, “Ah, I see. I knew someone in the Coral Sea who was in a similar situation.”

Jack growled softly from somewhere behind the groups mutual partner, only to be lightly elbowed in the rib.

“Easy, you want to be a good boy, right?”

Jack had a firm look on his face, but his tail betrayed him yet again, slipping down between his legs.

Epel held back a laugh, “Don’t worry Jack, Sebek and I can protect Y/N too.” His grin turned slightly sinister as he turned his attention back to Azul, “We won’t need to do that, though, will we?”

Azul’s face was blank, eyes set in a way that was carefully relaxed, “Of course not. I have no intention of harming the Ramshackle Prefect. I was simply asking out of curiosity.” He then bid his goodbye and turned away, carrying a book with him.

You frowned slightly as your harem began to cheer at his departure, sighing wistfully, “I just wanted to see if he was interested, why did you chase him off?”

Ace laughed, but sobered upon seeing you were serious, “He anemone’d Deuce and I! And he sabotaged you and Jack! He’s so slimy, he’ll totally just use you!”

You frowned, sighed again upon seeing everyone in seeming agreement, and relented, “Fine, I suppose. If you all agree he can’t join, he won’t join…” you turned and grinned, however, “Doesn’t mean we can’t be friends though, so you better not stop that. I know you don’t see it, but he’s really got a soft heart…or three. I know there’s some good in him.”

The group exchanged dubious looks before shrugging.

“I trust you, Prefect. I won’t stand in your way.” Deuce swore, leaning in to kiss your cheek, “I support you.”

Sebek huffed, “I’ve only met one merman greedier than Azul, and it was Floyd Leech. I don’t trust he won’t demand more and more of your time. I don’t wish to see him harm you, human.”

You smiled softly, “You know I’ll always make time for you, croco-darling.”

Then you all walked off to start a food fight in the cafeteria and get yelled at by the kitchen ghosts

#Shepard’s harem #twst headcanons #twisted wonderland #azul ashengrotto #twst mc #twisted wonderland headcanons #ace trappola #deuce spade #epel felmier #jack howl #sebek zigvolt #first years #ace trapolla x reader #deuce spade x reader #jack howl x reader #epel felmier x reader #sebek zigvolt x reader #polycule #twst polycule

[mortuarywriting]

📚 🧚‍♀️ Just one or both if you'd like 👉👈

I can do both!! These were super neat to think on!! the second one is absolutely why this gets a read more. I went off the shits. So sorry about that.

📚 how do you come up with the fics you write

Hmmm sometimes it's seeing the right prompt, sometimes its seeing ideas being tossed around and thinking on it, sometimes its taking the canon and seeing how a seemingly small but significant shift would impact it and how that would domino effect! I love playing with worldbuilding sandboxes so much that sometimes the fics themselves fall to the wayside ">>

🧚‍♀️ favorite characters of all time

OUGH this is such a hard one!! How do you choose a favorite child!! I'll scoop from the top and be read for filth for it I think but. Worth it i think. Anyway you get them alphabetically

Auron - Final Fantasy X

This is it. This is your story. It all begins here.

I. boy I am really not immune to Dark Knights in the FF franchise the more I think about it but! Auron has always been such a good character and I associate him so much with a song I LOVE... Auron is just one of my favorite companions, I love the insight he brings and how he was a Guardian for Yuna's Father as well as her. He's also one of Two Nickels I realize I'd have for Dark Knights in Final Fantasy Game who [REDACTED].

Death - Darksiders 2

All who live know my name, all who oppose me shall know Death.

Caaan't find a decent pic of him and I don't really wanna go and redownload the whole game for screenshot purposes yet. Aywho-

Darksiders 2 is all about Death, the oldest of the Nephilim/Horsemen of the Apocalypse proving the innocence of his brother War (seen lower in the list) for the crime of allegedly starting the Apocalypse early. Between this game and the Abomination Vault book preceding any of the games I really appreciate these two, Death being a ridiculously smart but also an apathetic asshole who only cares for a small handful, plays things close to his chest... He's a neat character and I appreciate just how far ahead he seems to plan and the lengths he'll go to make sure it all goes as he wants it to. Metal as hell.

Because War has his I also have to show Death's horse so this is Despair

And this is his Reaper Form

Fray Myste - Final Fantasy XIV

Bastard of the Brume, Fray was taken in by Ser Ompagne and became trained in becoming a Dark Knight with Sidurgu. By the time we meet them Ompagne is long dead, and Fray has just been defeated in a duel.

We find Fray, pick up the Dark Knight Soul crystal from where it had fallen beside him, and he becomes your mentor upon your waking up. You touched something that would hurt yourself and others along the way and BOY HOWDY does he have excellent threats of violence. Will follow you around on your job quests and heal you while you're being a dumb tank. He writes your quest journal entries and is such a sassy bloodthirsty shit

Fray is the other of the Two Nickels I realize I'd have for Dark Knights in Final Fantasy Game who [REDACTED].

Jarlaxle Baenre - Forgotten Realms

I am Jarlaxle. I have been everywhere.

Lets start with Jarlaxle was born the third son of the Highest House in Menzoberranzan- a city where the houses are constantly trying to kill the house ahead of them for status and do so to not get caught, their goddess Lolth favoring those who get away with no evidence to damn themselves. To that end there's a firm rule enforced by Lolth- every third son is to be sacrificed to her- two male children are expendable and acceptable but any further are sacrificed after birth.

Jarlaxle's mother, ruler of the highest house and having kept that seat for Ages, went to acquiesce with that upon Jarlaxle's birth.

Lolth told her no. Jarlaxle was to live, he was too interesting.

He has since made this an everyone else problem. Man has connections in the underdark and surface, everything he wears is in some form enchanted, he's proficient with just about everything, and he is so fascinated with various things and just wants to see what happens next and how it can help him get ahead. I love him. I wanna study him under a microscope. Every character that's been in a campaign he's turned up in has vibe checked him and decided they want out of the room right now immediately. Most notably my dude who was sometimes part moose said "I'd like to leave, actually"

Urick - Drakengard 2

A masked man who lives a life haunted by the curse of death. Three years ago, after a tragic incident, he made a pact with the Reaper, although the price he paid for this pact is unknown. At first glance he appears to be a carefree, lively character who could never bear a grudge. However, on rare occasions, his jovial facade can't quite conceal the truth...

To preface the significance of this-

A Pact, also known as a Contract (契約 Keiyaku?) in the Japanese version, is a contract system in the world of Drakengard between a human (or other humanoid race) and a beast. By merging their souls together, the human gains supernatural powers, and both participants gain a second chance in life should either or both be close to death. The human must pay some price for the pact, and if one should be fatally injured, it means death for both unless the pact is broken. Beings who have formed a pact with each other are referred to as "pact-partners".

Urik's pact is his mortality. Straight up he does not have a heart in his chest anymore. He's just a generally chill guy and while I haven't gone through Drakengard 2 in years (thanks playstation for 0 drakengard or drakengard 2 rep) I remember him fondly. I forgot how much I loved him and that his wiki trivia describes him as "Urick is good at playing dead." The game quote they chose for him is "Just because you can't make any friends, doesn't mean you should take it out on the rest of us" which is what he says as he's about to save your character's life.

plus lookit this smile

War - Darksiders

You can look me in the eye when I kill you.

Darksiders is a game about oops, the apocalypse started on earth! Heaven and Hell start duking it out in the streets and humanity suffers for it. Humans die out, earth is in ruins, and all of it is conveniently laid at the feet of War - youngest of the Four Horsemen who has gotten in trouble for fighting with humanity before (please see left arm being fuckoff huge gauntlet. That's a prosthetic. Death cut his arm off for that bullshit in the comics).

Now, War is a man of his word and high code of honor- he said he'd leave humans be and he did. He's been framed and the Council- those in charge of keeping the balance and the bosses of the Horsemen- gives him a shot to prove his innocence and find the actual culprits with a Watcher keeping tabs and reporting back.

This is his horse, Ruin

This is his Chaos Form

War is voiced by Liam O'Brian and the Watcher is voiced by Mark Hamill. so that's fun. Samael in game could also get it but that does not a fav make.

Also fun lore fact: all the horsemen's horses are the same species. The horse just reflects the rider once they've bonded. Fun magic shit.

#i think i've gone off the rails enough oops #thank you for asking! #rambles from the morgue #morg be normal about ur favs challenge: failed

[godnectar]

Hey are you copying saelestia or inspired? You nearly have the same theme as her old one don’t wanna accuse you or anything

She had the same theme February 15th and now you have nearly the same theme February 25th with the pictures and everything

note: dunno why I took this message so seriously but still did

gonna be completely honest– I just woke up, it's 9 in the morning (early asf for me on a Saturday), and at first I had no idea what you are talking about or which theme are we even referring to 💀😭

So I went to search that blog, 'cause I srs didn't recognize it, and didn't see anything related, but then kinda found what you mean (which is kinda (much) crazy to me ngl) ⤵️

anon's first "point" 🫠 (y'all have the same theme, same pictures)

I'm guessing these are the themes you're asking about 🙃 and yes, they do have the same two pictures at the header 🙂 but can you really say that "you nearly have the same theme as her old one"?? 🙃🙃 please–

anon's second "point" 🫠 (bc 1st doesn't need any further explanation) (the dates)

"She had the same theme February 15th and now you have nearly the same theme February 25th with the pictures and everything"

yeah, she did make that theme on February 15th (from what I saw), but now guess when I made mine 🥴 JANUARY 13TH ‼️⁉️ again, please–

(second pic is a screenshot I made that day because I always save photos of my themes) (also, every time I change my theme, I reblog it. And yes, yes, the date is still January 13th)

my third actual point 🫠 (about the pics)

if you want an explanation as to why we have the same pictures– I dunno 💀

these things happen so frequently, my dear, that at this point, it shouldn't even be a surprise (and then get into accusations) that two or more accs have the same gif/fanart/banner used, because pictures get reutilized and reposted all the time

in this case, I had the inspiration and found this fanart on a pinterest pin that I'm currently trying my best to find (edit: here), and if saelestia or any other blog had the same idea from a mf pin that went viral, that's perfectly okay

resume bc wtf 🫠 (have nothing more to say)

please (dunno how many times I've said this word), please search nicely before sending this type of messages 🥹

I'm perfectly aware this anon hasn't said anything rude and that the question was redacted with a normal tone, but I still had the necessity to make this post so long for some reason I still don't recognize

point is that as much as the pics are the same, there was no theme stolen, nor copied, nor plagiarized 👍

#nectar's rambling #anon message #♡ anon #this was long asf #but still had to give a piece of my mind #if there's anything I said or demonstrated that was wrong #tell me #but as far as I know #this is how things were done #also took me 1h to write this thing #so yeah– #still woke up at 9 for once 💀 #godnectar

[homemade-ghosts]

Helloooou I haven't read the famous leaks but I'm worried they speed up RINA so much next episode, what I love about them is the slowburn of it all, and I NEED Gina's to be as rough and honest to Ricky as she wish, to tell him how she felt back then, but I feel we don't have much time there is so much that needs to be happening next episode ugh why the best season is only 8 episode

I totally understand your concern (& I wish this season was longer, too) but what I will say is that I don't think that this slowburn is quite done burning yet. 

There were a couple hints in 306 that Ricky may have been aware of Gina’s feelings all along (you might be asking yourself, “okay, but why is this relevant to my ask?” I promise, it relates lol). First, when Ricky tells Maddox that Jet worked hard to win Color War for her because, “maybe he just wants to show [her] he cares.” and Maddox ends her response with, “I just don’t wanna let my guard down and get hurt again, you know?” there’s this look of sadness that washes over Ricky’s face and, for a few seconds, a kind of somber instrumental plays to emphasize his reaction. It isn’t quite the Rina cue, which the show has always used during the rare moments where we get Ricky’s perspective on their relationship (the car scene in 105, when Gina comes back for opening night in 109 and Ricky talks about how tough it is to see her, how it’s like she never left. Then again in 305 when he tells Gina, “I guess it’s hard not to just say what you feel, you know?” + in 306 when Gina calls Ricky “the best” for helping her with her promposal to EJ & again when Ricky is crying at the end of the episode) but, it is pretty similar in tone. & I don’t think it’s a coincidence that, immediately after this, Gina comes into frame and gives Ricky one of their signature high-fives-to-hand-holds. To me, it felt like Ricky was acknowledging last semester. It felt like he knew that Gina had let her guard down for him and because of him and he had hurt her, however indirectly.

The second moment is when Ricky tells Jet, “I can’t believe I let Color War slip through my fingers.” and Jet replies, “You mean Gina?” This evidence is a little more damning because you can’t lose something you don’t think you ever had in the first place. If Ricky never knew how Gina felt about him/thought she only ever saw him as a friend, then he wouldn’t be saying that he let her slip through his figures because that heavily implies (to me, at least) that he knew he had a chance with her and he’d missed it. 

There’s a potential third moment, when Ricky tells Jet that he’s done “more than a few things [he’s] ashamed of.” but I won’t include that one officially because I can’t tell if it was meant to relate to Gina at all (or if it was a reference to how he acted while dating Nini or something completely unrelated to either).

The reason I bring this up is because I think it sets up these last two episodes pretty perfectly, in a way that won’t be rushed. pw will breakup either before or during Camp Prom (that’s already been set up with all the miscommunication, secrets and now the lack of fireworks) in ep 7 and then, after the [redacted] Ricky will confess his feelings, maybe reassure Gina that he isn’t expecting anything from her and if she doesn’t feel the same way that’s completely okay, he’ll back off and they can stay friends. Gina will admit that she never truly got over him, that she’s always had feelings for him...but it doesn’t end there, they don’t get together. It’s not that simple. Gina tells him how heartbroken over him she was last semester and how she isn’t ready to jump into anything just yet. Ricky says he knows, that he’s so sorry. That everything he’s done since then is to make up for that. He promises he will be there whenever she’s ready, if that’s what she wants.

If things go this way, with Ricky & Gina both laying all their cards out on the table, but agreeing not to jump into anything, then I think the pacing is actually pretty perfect and it’s a good set up for them to get together in early/mid season 4.

#also i was listening to 'betty' while typing this and it's so rina coded i'm gonna go insane #anyway i know this was ramble-y but i hope it reassured you a little bit anon #hsmtmts #hsmtmts s3 #rina #ricky x gina #anon #asks

[two-calicos-in-a-trenchcoat]

The Grey Wolves Series: Prince of Wolves

A review

I would like to preface this review with the fact that when I first read this series in highschool, I hyperfixated on it for several months. I was 15. I still believed myself to be cishet. Quite a bit has changed since then.......and now that I think about that was 9 years ago. Fucking hell.

This series is. Not good. I dont know much about Quinn Loftis' life (tho she did follow me on Twitter when I still had twitter) but from what I could gather is that shes a stay at home mom and very Christian. Not so Christian that she was anti Harry Potter. Im likely going to keep a twilight and Harry Potter reference counter as I reread this series.

This review will likely be a bit disjointed. I have never written a second draft for anything in my life and I dont plan to start now. This is mostly for fun and I likely have adhd and struggle to articulate my thoughts so. Fuck it.

From what I remember of this series there is. A lot going on. The first couple of books follow Jacquelyn and Fane. The next couple focus on one of Jacquelyn's best friends, Jen, and her love interest, Decebel. The next two on their third friend Sally and her love interest Colin. I'm actually pretty interested to see how much I actually remember of these books. All 3 girls are very much the stereotypical YA novel protagonist.

Unfortunately this series frequently uses the word g*psy for one of its supernatural types. As I wouldnt class these characters as Romani, I will be referring to them as "healers" after their initial introduction as I dont want to have to constantly type out g*psy and they ARE healers. (As far as I can remember, Sally is not Romani (and yes, spoiler alert, Sally is a healer), tho she IS one of the few, if not the only POC in this series. So....not great, Quinn).

I'll likely only review the first 6 or 7 books (I don't remember how many of them I got through exactly but definitely the first 6), tho according to Google there are now EIGHTEEN books in this series. I know she also had a spin off series about healers (I think I read part of the first book of that series). But holy shit. 18. Thats a lot of fuckin books for there being almost no fandom when the series was still at 10 books. She may not be a great writer but shes got passion and drive I'll give her that. And that's not even counting the spin off series. Of which there are 5 books. Or the 4 unrelated series she did before Grey Wolves. Goddamn shes been busy.

Im writing all of this BEFORE rereading the first book. But some reviews give a first impression which i cannot do as I read these books for the first time almost a decade ago. Also I kinda wanna see if I can summarize the books before I read them to see how much I remember, cuz again, this is for fun and testing my memory has always been fun for me (I used to be able to recite the entire plot of the 39 clues series from memory and I would do so often).

SO

Book One. Prince of Wolves.

Jacquelyn *last name redacted as I cant remember it* is a 17 (almost 18) year old girl about to go into her senior year of highschool. She lives in a small town in Texas with her single mom. Her dad walked out before she was born (or slightly after) and she doesn't know much about him. Her mom is *quirky*. She has two best friends named Jen and Sally. Jen is loud and vulgar and sarcastic while Sally is quiet and shy.

The neighbors across the street from Jacque are going to be hosting a foreign exchange student from romania this year. Jacque finds herself instantly drawn to this tall foreign boy with dark hair and "piercing blue eyes" and after making eye contact with him, begins to hear a voice in her head that she is SURE is his voice despite having never heard him talk before. Spoiler alert: she is correct!

The begin communicating through this psychic connection frequently. He teaches her how to shut him out so he's not hearing her every thought. He informs her that she is a werewolf!!! Or at the very least, half werewolf!!! They are True Mates™️, which is why they are able to communicate telepathically!!!

She goes into her yard to sun bathe and Fane gets Big Mad™️ as her True Mate™️ markings are on display which is a Big No No for werewolves. She doesn't know what the fuck hes talking about. She goes inside to discover what appears to be a tattoo on her (....side? I think? Perhaps on her back).

Jacque has MANY sleepovers at her house with jen and Sally to talk to them about all of these developments.

She eventually tells her mom and discovers!!! Her dad is a werewolf!!! But her mom is not so she and him couldn't have been True Mates™️ and its slightly hinted that he left because he found his True Mate™️ so even though he loved her, he could not stay away from his mate.

Jacque starts having dead animals left outside her house. At first she thinks its Fane doing a weird wolfy courting thing and gets understandably upset by this. Fane confirms that while it IS a wolfy courting thing, HE is not the culprit!

Apparently there is a pack in the area!!! And one of the wolves in this pack is interested in Jacquelyn!!! And Fane is intruding on their territory!!! And the alpha of the pack (a man in his mid to late 20s) is challenging Fane for his mate!!! The challenge is to the death!!! But don't worry!!! Fane is calling in his parents and their pack to help him handle this situation and keep Jacquelyn safe if he loses!!!

At this point they inform the family that fane is living with about what is going on. They are surprisingly chill about the whole thing. Even with having several of Fane's pack members stay with them. Theyre Very Cool People.

We meet Fane's parents. Vasile and Mina (I actually did look up Vasile's name as I kept wanting to call him Vlad and I knew THAT wasn't right)

#man its been almost a year since i decided i wanted to reread and review this series and then wrote this out #i still haven't actually started rereading the first book yet lol #might do that soon #have this for now #we'll see if my executives start functioning

[sunny6677]

THE AUDIO LOGS OF ANDREW HUDSON.

SUMMARY: The following are real audio tapes of tapes left by an animator at the forgotten studio Joey Drew Studios. Please ensure that you are ready to listen with these with caution, dear listener. What you may hear may cause you to never want to hear again. What you may picture may make you never want to see again. Please be aware of the consequences you may have if you do not have permission to listen to these tapes. If not permitted, then [REDACTED]. You have been warned.

(This is fiction btw, so no worries-- I know some people with anxiety issues might think this is real so this is just a clarification.)

TW FOR CHAPTER/TAPE: NONE.

TW FOR SERIES: MANIPULATION, TRANSFORMATION, UNHEALTHY MINDSET, OBSESSIONS, CULTS, CULT MENTIONS, MURDER.

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

TAPE #4.

THE VOICE OF WALLY FRANKS AND ANDREW HUDSON.

2 HOURS AFTER THE THIRD TAPE.

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

W: "Okay, get this— so I'm walkin' around and doin' my rounds like I always do, right? When outta the blue, Sammy comes outta nowhere and starts hollerin' me as if I ain't already 2 feet away from 'em! I says, "Jeez, pal! What's got you in a twist?" He says, "These damn ink—..." What was that?"

[SILENCE FOR 2 SECONDS.]

W: "Hey, hello?"

[ANDREWS VOICE IN THIS PART OF THE RECORDING SOUNDS FAINT.]

W: "Oh, ay, pal— what'aya doin over there?"

A: "Eh, I'm on break, what el—"

W: "What— what's all the garbage doin' in those hands o'yours? Ain't that my job?"

A: "Yeah, yeah, but I ain't gonna let ya clean something as crazy as this shit. You'd think these guys are raccoons with how messy they are, I'm tellin' ya!" [ANDREWS VOICE BECOMES SLIGHTLY LOUDER.]

W: "Bu— buddy, ya ain't have to do all that! I can take care o' the garbage myself! Here, come— come over here, pal."

A: "Oh—pal, I picked these up myself— I'm not makin' ya do all the shit just 'cuz your the janitor 'round here. I feel okay with helpin' a pal out every once and a while, ya don't have to worry too much."

W: "Well, yeah, I know! But'cha ain't gotta do my job for me. Sure, your kinda makin' my job a lil' easier, but ya ain't gotta do it all for me. I'm sure it ain't exactly easy for ya either, bud."

A: "I'd assume it ain't easy for you either, though— so even so, I'd say it's worth it."

W: "Wha— okay, pal, that ain't how it wor—"

A: "Oh, yeah, speakin' o' which, I wanna get to know ya more! So I'm invitin' ya down to that local diner down town, my treat!"

W: "Wha— this soon! Bu— buddy, hey, we haven't even—"

A: "Oh, nonsense, you'll love it! It's never too late to get to know someone, especially when they're cool as hell like you, man!"

W: "Co— cool as—"

A: "Yeah, pal! Your pretty fuckin' awesome— especially considerin' ya deal with this shit everyday! I mean, if I were in charge o' cleanin' duty, I'd practically fuck everythin' up no matter how much I was tol—"

[FAINT THUDS OF OBJECTS FALLING ARE THEN HEARD.]

W: "Heh, I can tell.. n— not to sound rude or an—"

A: "Oh, I know, don't worry! I suck at cleanin', it's pretty obvious! Can't rely on me to clean shit, I'd probably be the worst butler or janitor to ever live if I ever became one! Which is why—"

[THE SOUNDS OF THINGS BEING PICKED UP ARE HEARD.]

A: "I became an animator! Cuz I sure as hell can do that as better than I can clean."

W: "Huh, well— I'd like to see your animations sometime, buddy. But ya gotta believe me, pal, I might not be able to—"

A: "Anyway, I'm gonna be goin' now, probably gotta get back,to my animatin' before Joey hollers after me like I ain't already 2 feet away from 'em. Uhh— I'll make sure this shit ends up in the garbage where it needs to be, I'll let ya know if there's any more later."

W: "Wh— bu—"

A: "Toodles!"

[RAPID FOOTSTEPS ARE HEARD APPROACHING AWAY FROM THE AUDIO LOG, AUDIBLE HUMMING FROM ANDREW IS HEARD; BUT IT DOES NOT APPEAR THAT WE CAN CONCLUDE WHAT TUNE HE WAS HUMMING.]

W: "I, uh.. [sigh].. ya know, if peoples 'round here don't stop interruptin' me, I'm outta here."

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

NOTES: THE FOUNDATION CAN CONCLUDE FROM THIS TAPE THAT WALLY DID NOT EXACTLY FEEL POSITIVELY ABOUT ANDREW FROM THIS TAPE. THOUGH THE INFORMATION IS IRRELEVANT TO WHAT HAPPENED TO ANDREW, WE CAN ALSO CONCLUDE THAT WALLY DID NOT CONSIDER HIM A FRIEND AT FIRST.

#batim #batim x oc #andrew hudson #wally franks #wally franks batim #wally #read the tws

[chouchen]

okay here i go nerding again: the 3 main pages i assume youre talking about are pretty much as you said. the first is all about story; the main storyline, the open world story, the chronicles that are like backstory for some of the characters etc. (except the material stages to the right, one coop and one single player, they are basically your dailies) the second is pretty much all the abyss gamemodes. in fact, the first one on there was at some point called abyss, now its superstring dimension (for me at least, it might change as you level up but i wouldnt know). that is pretty much the main way you get crystals, and was one of the only two ways to get them for free until recently. you go in, you fight everything as fast as possible for higher points, and the higher you are on the leaderboard, the higher you get in the global rankings and the more crystals you will get. you get a set amount after completing each stage, and a larger one depending on how well you did compared to the others on your leaderboard. it resets i think 2-3 times a week, so way more than genshins abyss, but yeah its pretty much the same reason it exists. the other one is memorial arena, which, as the name might suggest, is an arena. its much closer to the actual abyss spiral as far as gameplay goes, and is also played for crystals, and some other very nice materials that can be exchanged for character fragments in the store, even S rank ones, so be sure to check that out! now, a third one has recently been added, called elysian realm. its still pretty new, and by far the most fun. its also for crystals, also very challenging, but its the only singleplayer one, and gives a fucktonne of first time rewards. it resets every week, and gives a key for a new character to unlock every week as well. it is very hard to do though, i can only do it fully with only one character i have to be fair, but you can set the difficulty after youve done all the set stages and get more money the harder youve done it. kinda like those genshin events that send a wave of enemies at you, and you have to set the difficulty and different disadvantages for yourself for higher scores! except it gives you buffs after each wave. its kind of complicated to explain, you need to like know your characters and know what you need most for them in terms of buffs, but its still by far the most fun one out of the 3, and theres a lot of rly cool characters coming out bc of it, like the very next one called pardofelis! (and some other even cooler ones that are redacted and we dont know of them yet bc were good and noone ever leaks anything... actually, honkais way of betas are a lot less secure than genshins, as the china servers get everything exactly one update earlier, so its pretty easy to figure out whats gonna be next if you just look it up lol, it also helps with planning ahead, esp for lil old f2p me) andd the last one that can be confusing is universal mirage. that one isnt for crystals, or competitive at all, its for crafting materials. crafting is way fucking harder in this game bc things need so many more resources, and you cant get many of them at all, but while its a pain to do it, if there is something in there you want, and you dont wanna pull for it in gacha, you can technically just get the materials to make them in there. its real fucking slow though. aaand the rest are just one time challenges! char trials and deep archives are there to give a one time gift, and then theyre just kinda take up space, so not much else to talk about. and the event page, wouldnt you know it, contains the event content. OKAY, so, about gacha: honkai's gacha system works way better in my opinion. theres a lot more banners to choose from first of all so lets start with that. dorm supplies are this games starter banners, one for characters and one for gear. that said, they are just as useless. there for the exact same purpose of free shit as they are in genshin. after that there are the expansion supplies. that is the featured chara banner. after that is the focused supplies, each for a

different set of featured gear. event supply is too long to explain, its event supply, it changes too much for me to explain all the kinds of em just in here. and theres also ELF supply, for the ELFs, that exist in this game also (can you tell ive never got a single one of them) the rates work like this: way better than genshin, in my humble little opinion. so, first of all, characters. there is a 100% chance you will get the featured character on your pity. none of this 50/50 bullshit. in fact, the game outright tells you how much you have till then. the guarantee for a featured char always starts at 100, but i think thats still better than a chance of getting someone you didnt even want at 90, and resetting your pity completely. so, if you pull for someone, eventually you will get them, no bullshit, no counting down your pulls by going back and checking because it outright counts for you in the corner. you also cannot get gear from the char banners, (except for dorm supply) which should sound obvious, but alas... the counter also carries across banners just like in genshin, so dont have to worry about that. one A rank every ten pulls as well. okay, equipment banners are a little more complicated, as there are more of them and work slightly different. so, when a new valk comes out, her gear comes out with her obviously. that is on its very own banner though. the focused banner will still exist, and will still have the same gear, but it will work differently. the actual featured weapon and stigmata supply will have a 30 guarantee for the weapon or one of the featured stigmata. it will work the exact same as any other banner with its one good thing every ten pulls thing, same chances, same everything, but it will have a guarantee counter. as i said, the normal focused supply will still be there, and one of them will still be the new gear, but that one will not have a guarantee meter. which means, well, you will have no guarantee to get everything. the larger rates will still be for the set you want, but there is absolutely no guarantee for anything there. all random. so, why does it exist then? other than the fact that after the main gear supply ends, it will be the only place it will be available in ever again, im not sure. im not big brain enough to math it out. maybe if you had like 3 more pulls till the 10 on that one from before, you can still try and get something at the guaranteed 4 star and hope its the one you wanted. thats what i do anyway. SO, IN A NUTSHELL: pity is at 100 instead of 90, but there is no 50/50 for characters, guaranteed something nice every 10 pulls anyway, gear supplies are a bit more sus, but there is still a good chance of getting what you want if its featured with the 10 pull guarantees, and the pity on gear banners only exists sometimes (usually when a new char comes out, or bc of an event), usually 30 pulls for a stigmata set piece or the weapon (or 60 for the weapon actually, that happens too sometimes). also, good to know for the future, there is this thing called EXPA select and FOCA select. that is i think in the event one, and that is the best one in if you want a specific char or set, as you can select who or what you wanna get. chances are the same, but the guarantees only carry over for characters, not the gear. still, very useful if youve been wanting someone for forever and they just never showed up, but they change very fast, like every 3 days or sth, so its best for whales i guess, esp for gear. THATS ABOUT IT! if i left sth out, or explained sth poorly, do ask anything, i know so many dumb things about this waifu game

thank you for this explanation, i got everything about the abyss and stuff ^^

now my question is about the gacha, i've been doing random wishes (sorry for my genshin vocabulary) and i've been getting random valkyries. So are the limited valkyries...not limited ? like after their banner they're in the gacha forever ?

second question not related to gacha or abyss, is it worth it to farm fragments to upgrade a valkyrie you already have ? i think it's the equivalent to constellations in genshin but i don't know if it's really that good D:

[fregget-frou]

I saw someone else share piccrews of some redacted characters, so I wanted to share what I thought they looked like and some small headcannons to go with the photos :)

I only did the freelancer audio characters, but I might do more characters in the future!

💕💞💗💖💓💝💘 let’s get to it then!

First, I wanna start with my character, Ben!

-goes by they/he pronouns and is ace but sex positive(registers Gavins relationship as platonic)

-they’re tall and skinny (tallest out of everyone, around 6’7; yes I made my oc tall I like it >:[ )

-love language is gift giving and tiny acts of affections. He likes to use his friends as taste tester when cooking new things. His favorite is mushroom risotto :)

-they have the matching friendship necklace but he usually wears his og gold necklace over their clothes(also this picrew didn’t let me choose both :[)

-they’re 24, took 1.5 years of college before needing to move across state and that’s where they eventually found D.A.M.N a year after moving

-their hair is super poofy and hates humidity, it makes them look like a Pomeranian. It’s like eternal 80s hair cut for them lol (this picrew also didn’t have a fluffy enough hair choice.)

-uses y’alld’ve unironically, Damien cringes whenever he does

Huxley

-goes by he/him pronouns

-he’s 23

-his love language is physical touch, so hugs and handholding are a norm with his friends

-has a matching friendship bracelet and necklace with Ben(also with Gavin but they haven’t met yet; Ben tells him Gavins cool so he doesn’t mind)

-can bake like no one’s business, seriously his cakes and sweets are phenomenal!!

- he’s tall (6’5)and has huge shoulders, can most definitely lift about everyone up off the ground.

-he’s from a small town in California, eternal accent that is adorable

Lasko

-goes by he/they pronouns and is ftm, also 23

-third shortest (5’7)

-he likes to make small post-it note origami when they’re talking to students, very nimble fingers they always turn out so cute! He made a jumping frog for Ben once and Ben still has it

-sweater vests for days, he loves light academia

-he’s more of a tea person, coffee only adds to their jittery nature and when he does get coffee it’s decaf

-huge imagination, listening to them talk about their characters for DnD, fandoms and original stories is so fun because he fleshes out characters and worlds so well. You could seriously listen to him for hours it’s so interesting!

- Gavin and him talk sometimes, usually about work but sometimes Lasko, Gavin and Ben go out for hotdogs and talk about stuff. Still a nervous reck around Gavin but he’s getting better :)

-the only thing this man knows how to make well is an omelette, everything else is either from a box or he’s strictly following a recipe like their life depends on it

Damien

-goes by he/him pronouns and is 22

-blind as a bat without his glasses, they are so thick I swear he would bump into a wall without them.

-incredibly competitive, everything will turn into a competition with y’all I swear putting away pens faster is not something we should be testing right now Damien

-can use his hands to heat up drinks

-avid tea drinker, if he hears you say coffee or god forbid, energy drinks are better than tea it’s an immediate argument

-for some reason he shows his care with arguments, but like, he also does it with people he dislikes?? Maybe for his friends it’s a debate.

-also can’t cook, main person Ben gives new recipes to because one, he’s good at constructive criticism and two, it’s really his only decent meal this week

The second shortest in this batch (5’4) he’s our short king tho dw

-uses 5 in 1 shampoo

-hates y’alld’ve. Gets visibly angry whenever Ben says it. Ben still does it

Gavin

-this is his human form, still won’t change his eyes to a normal color

-his demon form is similar to a teifling? His skin is bright pink, his horns are similar to rams horns with ridges. He’s like really tall is his demon form (almost 7 feet damn) and has hooves and a traditional spear shaped demon tail. His eyes are a bright orange

-usually uses He/him pronouns but he’s to sexc for gender

-dresses in strictly unbuttoned Hawaiian shirts with enough jewelry to make him jingle every time he moves. If he wants to be heard that is.

-has toe beans on his hands in demon form. Yes Ben likes to squish them when they chill together.

-has movie nights with Ben often, his favorites are treasure planet and wall E.

-have you ever been hugged by him?? Amazing beautiful gorgeous this man his is built for hugs.

-flamboyant as shit, but it’s endearing so we put up with it.

-he’s 5’10 in human form, it does not stop him from being hella strong and being able to lift furniture easily.

-always chooses walugi in mariokart

-made friendship necklaces with Ben and Caelum once, still wears it with his jewelry.

-heard about how Ben made an extra for one of his friends Huxley, also wants to meet him but for different reasons. You better not do anything weird man |:[

And last but not least, Caelum!

-goes by all pronouns, also does not care about gender whatsoever

-so smol,, 4’11 so teeny we love to see it

-also wears lots of Hawaiian shirts but has a amazing collection of super soft sweaters and hoodies.

-in his demon form he is lavender, with smaller smooth/glossier horns on his forehead and soft dark purple eyes. Most demons have no pupils or irises in their demon form :]

-he. Has. Paws!! His toe beans are so cute ugh <3

-loves to accessorize with beads and hair clips. Also makes manny loom bracelets and bead bracelets.

-yknow those crazy loom bracelet makers? These ones? Yeah he’s an expert at those he can make little mini people with them seriously.

-also likes to give gifts to his friends, he knits super soft sweaters

-he’s so fast on his tiny legs, chill out man!!

-he likes to join Ben and Gavin on their movie nights, his favorite movies to watch is the toy story franchise and the ice age franchise

-he has a blanket in Bens room that he specifically sleeps with when they have sleepovers.

-fluffy hair, braid it while his chills and talks about stuff it’s so calming

-bonus: his usual facial expressions can be summed up to; :O, :D , :3, >:]. If he has a phone he’d use those.

————

I might draw them if I have time but anyways have a nice week!

#redacted asmr #redacted asmr Gavin #redacted asmr freelancer #redacted asmr Huxley #redacted asmr Lasko #redacted asmr Caelum #redacted asmr Damien #picrew #small headcannons

[sleeperswakewriting]

For the pick any passage ask: No , he thought darkly, and as she moved to step down from the altar, he took her wrist, pulling back on it hard. She flinched, her hair messy and skin growing goosebumps from the chilly air, and fear shone in her eyes for the second time tonight.

He swallowed slowly, his Adam’s apple bobbing, reminding him of the very first sin, and the one he was about to commit.

Levi decided he would give her one last and final chance, and he cleared his throat, using the controlled and practiced voice he taught himself in the mirror over countless nights.

“Marry me, Petra. It’s the only way we can make this right.” (we both know i'm choosing this fic)

ahhhhh BEY. There's more I want to write but more will be revealed in part three!

OKAY SO. I had this scene in the mind the moment I drafted this fic. I wanted to find a way to convey he's batshit crazy with actually stating it. As soon as Petra tells him that she's leaving, that's when he loses it. I think I dropped several hints that Priest!Levi is very unstable 😆 and he knows he wants to kidnap her and do....lots of [REDACTED FOR SPOILERS AND NSFW IDEAS. 😘] to her. Regardless if I wrote a third part to it, I wanted to end it on a dark note cause....Well, who the fuck fucks a Catholic school girl in a public building?! Crazy people! Of course I love writing unhinged Levi, the idea he can turn from a lover to a kidnapper makes me 🥵 This whole passage was me trying to set up for a third and more fucked up part.

This is probably one of the most important lines in the fic,"using the controlled and practiced voice he taught himself in the mirror over countless nights"

I wonder what people make of it! I don't wanna spoil too much, but I will say that being a priest took a lot of effort on Levi's part.

When he asks her to marry him, that's when his mind breaks, I think. He's at war with doing the "right" thing but he's damned either way. He's a tainted priest and he had sex before marriage = two big no-nos for him. He doesn't want to deal with the dissonance which leads to Petra's kidnapping!

AHH i wanted to write more, but i don’t wanna spoil, but this was so much fun than you Bey!!!

#em's cut

[pertinax--loculos]

Weekly Update

Currently Writing Absent That Night (tagged: WIP: ATN)

wordcount this week: 6,839

total wordcount: 30,126

seriously considering giving myself a deadline on this, just to see what happens. I imagine with my tendency to overwrite + fantasy=worldbuilding, I'm looking at about a 150k draft. Tentatively thinking end of September 'deadline' (mayhaps October NaNo prep? for the next idea which I already have ugh). Will make a proper post about this sometime this week, maybe.

highlight: Latrell, flailing: YOU ARE A CrImInAl!! Nox: I steal only from the rich and use every cent I have left over after [redacted] to a) survive and b) help disadvantaged populations in this cesspool of a city Nox: I'm basically fuckin Robin Hood

my brain is cranking overtime on plot -- finally nailed down the third murder victim/midpoint twist, figured out how it plays into the Murderer's overall goal, and have scenes planned up to the catalyst. Next week is ideas for fun and games win/loss cycle, clues and red herrings and all that jazz

my first (main?) job is fortunately very cruisy in that the boss will only yell at me if I'm scribbling notes for, like, a full hour. Managed to get a fair whack of scene ideas/planning done there this week. My second job (!!) is gonna be pretty braindead but is for a large company, a situation in which I've never worked (only family owned businesses til now!). So although I'll have time to think, I'm a little wary about how it'll go without me being able to write it down immediately. We'll see how I go

very happy with how it's coming along despite the fact it's taken me 30k to reach the catalyst and I'm genuinely unsure if it's because I have a proper end point/scene I'm working towards. That will definitely need thinking on if I manage to keep up the momentum over the next couple of months and actually finish the damned draft, so it's something to file away

haven't written as much as I would've liked over the last few days, as I've been distracted by Crafting and also, just, being insane. Gonna try and get into a bit more of a rhythm again this week. Still written lots of notes that I don't count in the wordcount! So not all bad

Currently Reading The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater, book three of the Raven Cycle

I don't know if it's just me but I feel like the voice in this one has changed...? Or maybe I'm just not concentrating as much as I had been

still enjoying it! Though looking forward to getting to the end and getting back into thrillers

I quite like the way introspection is done, because it feels seamless yet still gives you a lot of info about the characters. Also the kisses! Going back to book two as well, I enjoy the way Stiefvater doesn't necessarily describe the physical act but instead does it through feelings. Very impressive, note taken

about 50% through I think? So should be finishing it up this week

Real Life

my state is now in a statewide lockdown. It's not awful cuz I can get money and I spend a lot of time in my room anyway, but I'm paranoid about my first shift at my new (essential) job and also I'm stuck in a house with the Bitch for (at least) seven days ughghgh

but! New job! New excellent job that will help with finances and next year and fits my schedule and, just, wow, so thankful

naturally I'm paranoid it's all gonna change/it's a joke/mistake. I just wanna get the first shift over with tomorrow please I hope it's gonna be okay

health kick is ongoing. Challenge this week is to not lose momentum through lockdown, and also not eat everything in reach just because I'm bored

Excerpt

feat. Latrell being a pain in the ass and thinking he knows everything (spoiler: this bites him in the ass hard):

Latrell subsided, nodding a little. He still wasn't happy, but this wasn't his operation. He and Albie were just along for the ride, extra manpower in case something went down, proximity in case they got lucky and could learn something about Nox. Not ideal, but as good as he was going to get.

Albie gave him an exasperated look as Turner finally continued outlining the operation. Latrell sipped his coffee, not reacting, steadfastly avoiding her gaze.

"You," Albie said, quietly enough that Latrell had to strain to hear her beneath Turner's drone, "Are the absolute worst."

Latrell kept his eyes straight ahead still, but this time, he smirked.

#pockets muses IRL #weeking writing update #or just weekly update i guess #given it's just me blathering #still! #may still add words tonight #but have not done so yet #so alas #they are not counted

[hollypastl]

the disappearance of [REDACTED] ch.3

miya atsumu/reader

Summary: "MISSING: MIYA Y/N" It reads. Underneath is a picture of yourself. Age, height, weight. Everything important is listed. How embarrassing.

Genre: angst/mystery

Warnings: missing persons, time skip spoilers

Notes: crossposted on ao3 https://archiveofourown.org/works/28726002/chapters/70566306#main

[y/n] 10:27pm: i’m heeeereeeee

[y/n] 10:29pm: i said i’m here you asshole

[y/n] 10:29pm: hurry tf up

[y/n] 10:29pm: did you fall asleep

[y/n] 10:29pm: i’m leaving if you don’t respond in the next 30 seconds

With a painful squeak, the window slides open. “Wouldja shaddup?” He hisses. “Yer gonna wake up ‘Samu if ya keep buzzin’ my phone so much.”

“Too fuckin’ late, asshole.” Osamu groans. You can hear him rolling over in bed and Atsumu disappears from view, courtesy of a pillow flying towards his face at light speed.

You take over the spot he’d been occupying to pop your head in and lean over the windowsill. “Hey, how are you?”

“Tired.”

“Then go back to sleep, stupid ‘Samu.” The killer arm flies out again and this time the pillow lands. Atsumu’s head gives a sick crack against the drywall.

You let out a low whistle. “Nice one.”

He finally sits up and comes into view. “[l/n], right?” He’s obviously tired, and you feel kind of bad for waking him up.

Your face quirks a performative smile, remembering that you do still have to respond. “The one and only.” You straighten your arms and hoist yourself up, over, and in through the window, taking a seat and holding out your hand to shake. “Hey, you don’t mind if I call you by your first name, do you? It’d be kinda weird to call you Miya when I already call Atsumu, Atsumu. You can call—”

Without warning, you shoot to the other side of the room and stick yourself to the wall.

The door swings open.

From where you stand, Osamu’s eyes connect with the person at the door, darting towards Atsumu for a split second. He realizes there could be big trouble really quick. His mom might be pretty chill, but having a random girl sneaking into their room? Does he realize that? He was suffering from brain damage at the moment.

A silent conversation takes place between the brothers and their mom, who stands silently at the door. It kind of freaks you out, how you can see her shadow splaying out from the light in the hallway and not hear a sound.

“Go to sleep.” She commands, slamming the door shut.

A breath of relief leaves all three of them.

It swings back open. “Sorry fer slamming the door. G’night, love ya.”

“Love ya, too.”

“Love ya, mom.” They chorus, slightly out of time with the other. When they speak in tandem like that, you can’t tell who’s voice is who’s.

“And close the damn window; it’ll mess with the AC.”

The door clicks closed, the lights in the hall are flicked off, and footsteps walk away.

You hop over to give Atsumu a hand up. He’s still sulking against the wall. “Like I was saying, you can call me [y/n].” You pat him on the shoulder, which is slightly awkward because the boy is so much taller than you. You wonder what their mom feeds them. Then you remember why you’re here in the first place. Seems like the trauma of almost getting caught redhanded was getting to you.

“[y/n] can we hurry up and go?” Atsumu whispers in your ear. You’re not paying attention, you’re too busy rustling through their closet and dresser.

“I’m kinda busy, right now. And we’ve got plenty of time. What difference is a few minutes gonna make?” You slide one drawer open after the other. “Eww. Teenage boy sock drawer.” Atsumu kicks it shut and you almost lose a finger in the process. You can’t see it, but intuition tells you he’s red in the face.

“Do I even wanna know what you two are up ta?” Osamu drawls.

“We’re breaking into an abandoned sweet potato farm.” You throw a different shirt at Atsumu. “Change into that.”

“Why?”

“Because I said so, that’s why.”

“I meant why are you breaking into an abandoned sweet potato farm?” Osamu corrected. You faltered. Why did their voices sound so similar?

“The third years are planning a party to kick off summer break, but they need a location. We just need to check if it’s safe, and we’re in.” Your head shot back at Osamu and you ignored Atsumu stripping in the corner of your eye. The room was dark enough. “Wanna come?”

“Uhh, I’ll pass.” He flops back down on his mattress with an audible whump and throws the duvet over his head.

You shrugged. “Suit yourself.” You turned to Atsumu, now dressed in a shirt that wasn’t cringy as hell. “Ready?”

He was already lifting himself out the window and extending a hand to you. “Bye, Osamu!” You whisper-yelled. “Sleep well. I promise Atsumu will try to not wake you up when he gets back.”

Outside, it was much brighter. From the light of the moon and stars, you could fully appreciate the scowl Atsumu directed at you. “What?”

He shuts the window first, obviously struggling not to slam it. “Didja have to spend twenty minutes flirtin’ with my brother?”

He’s already hiking his way up the hill that they called their front yard, probably looking for his bike. “Oh, was I? I didn’t even realize.” It takes you a second but you find it fallen in the bushes of his neighbor’s lawn. “Can you blame me? He’s pretty cute.”

Atsumu sputters, yanking the handlebars from you. “Will ya stop teasin’ already?”

He’s so easy to rile up. “I’ll have you know I’m never anything but truthful.” He swings his leg over the bike and checks the road.

“Hurry up and get on. Let’s go.”

“Yeah, one sec.” Without warning, you stick your thumb and middle fingers in your mouth and whistle nice and quiet. Wouldn’t wanna wake the neighbors.

The hair on the back of his neck shoots up and he waits a good thirty seconds for the lights to switch on in one of his neighbor’s houses. “WHAT THE HELL?” He whispers. When he looks back, you’re just tapping your foot and debating whistlin’ like a banshee again.

“Just callin’ our friend.”

“Wha—”

Finally, a giant dog bounds up from the woods, surprisingly silent for his size. “Good boy, coming here.” You rub his face affectionately and finally sit yourself down on the back of the bike. “Taro, meet Atsumu. Atsumu, meet Taro. Taro-taicho, really, but he’s not militaristic about his title.”

“Whydja introduce the dog first?” He grumbles, toeing the kickstand up.

The bike jerks forward and you wrap an arm around Atsumu’s waist to balance yourself. It’d be inconvenient and uncool to fall off. A piece of dried jerky is also tossed to Taro with your free hand and you call for him to follow.

The air feels nice, breezing through your hair and tickling your skin. July heat has been unbearable, you’ve hated it ever since you were a child. But it felt nice with the sun being long gone. Even the crickets and cicadas relentless buzzing was oddly tolerable. Maybe you should make late night summer outings a habit.

After twenty minutes of coasting up and down hills and towards their destination, Atsumu breaks your comfortable silence. “Yanno, this is kinda romantic.”

“Huh?”

“You. Me. Alone. Under the stars.” Objectively, he’s not wrong. Last time you heard, sneaking out with a boy in the middle of the night did fall under the spectrum of dumb high school romantic activities to engage in. You might have even entertained the thought of playing along if Atsumu hadn’t carelessly pointed it out.

“Don’t forget about Taro.” You reminded. “Or that I wanted your dreamy brother to come along—” You fail to deliver the line flat and a laugh bubbles up.

“Will ya stop with that?” He lurches forward and peddles twice as hard, putting his frustration into kinetic output.

You cackle and lean against him. “C’mon, I can’t help it, Atsumu.”

“Help what?” He sounds exasperated, like he regrets even agreeing to this whole adventure in the first place.

“Making fun of you whenever you try to flirt with me.”

He scoffs. “M’not flirtin’ with ya! That’s just how I am!”

“M’kay.” You hum. You don’t buy it for a second. “Well, that’s just how I am too.”

“Fine.” He huffs.

“Fine.” You mirror his tone and he isn’t sure if you’re teasing him again or not. “Turn here.”

“Yeah, yeah. I got it.” He swerves to the left and you let out a short whistle to alert Taro. Just because you’re feeling extra nice tonight, you toss the dog another piece of jerky, which he leaps in the air to catch.

“Hey, want some jerky?” You’re already pulling apart a nice, soft piece for him. You’ll feed the tough bits to Taro.

“You mean the stuff you’ve been feedin’ the dog?”

“It’s for humans, too.” It definitely wasn’t.

He thinks it over for a second. “Only if you feed it to me.”

Oh, the stuff that just pours out of his mouth. Does he think before he speaks? You’ll miss hearing it someday. Just to play along, you let your breath catch. It’s just loud enough for him to hear.

“C’mon, my hands are busy, just give it here.” He argues, turning his head slightly so you can see his mouth but he can still see the road.

“‘Kay.” You pop the meat in his mouth. “Huh.” You stare at your fingers.

He groans. “What now?”

“I’m just surprised you didn’t try to suck on my fingers or anything!” You explain.

At that, you can feel him stiffen up immensely. “I—If anything, y—you’d be suuuuuh…” He trails off.

But you know exactly what he wants to say. “I’d be…?” You almost miss the sign. “Oh, hey we’re here!” You bounce off the bike before Atsumu has a chance to stop, and run up to the gate. “Wow, lucky it’s only rusted shut.” You give it a few good kicks before the metal snaps open. “It would’ve been so annoying to lug my bolt cutters all the way back here. Hey, you’ve got your tetanus shot, right?” You shoot over your shoulder.

Taro beams ahead once he can wiggle through and you’re right behind, waving the flashlight on your phone around and picking your way through overgrown weeds. You’re glad you wore tights under your denim cutoffs or else your legs would be itching like crazy right now.

“Atsumu? You coming?”

He shakes his head and runs his hand through his hair. He must be tired. It is almost midnight after all. After a moment, he follows after you. Even from several feet away, you can see his eyes drooping and the sluggishness in his step. Right, he did just bike forty minutes with you balancing behind him and not helping in the slightest. Not to mention your personality can be… grating. Or so you’ve been told. When he gets close enough, you offer your hand and he takes it without any fanfare. This old place is creepy as hell and he’s not gonna say anything to make you take it back.

To Taro, you direct three short whistles, signaling him to lead the way, but stay close. He picks his way through the field carefully and you follow dutifully behind. The fields are full of holes and pits, you’re again glad that you wore clunky hiking boots with ankle support over some flimsy sneakers. The LED light on your phone can only help so much.

“Should you be wavin’ that thing around?” Atsumu asks, voice low with trepidation.

“What thing?” You ask.

“Yer flashlight.” He clarifies, halfway between a hiss and a sigh.

Your brow involuntarily furrows. Where had he gotten that idea? “Why? Kind of need it to see, ya’ know?”

“But what if someone sees?”

You stop in your tracks, drop his hand, and turn around. “There’s no one around for miles, Atsumu. Nobody’s gonna see.”

“Then why are we even here?”

“To check if it’s safe, I told you that.”

“From what? Some old farmer’s ghost?”

“When did I— Actually, you know what? That’s a good point. I didn’t think about the place being haunted.” Considering what you knew about the history of the property. You continued to mutter under your breath and swiped your phone on. Did you have a signal here? Could you download a ghost detector app? “Maybe I’ll just have to borrow one from the paranormal club at school. They owe me a favor, after all.”

“Can you PLEASE stop rambling and tell me what we’re doing all the way out here in the middle of nowhere in the dead of night?” His palms land on your shoulders. From the way his fingers dig into your skin, you’re glad he religiously clips his fingernails.

“—”

He shakes you, roughly. “EXACTLY?”

You dropped your arm from where it was held in the air, trying to get a better signal for your phone. “We’re checking for bombs.”

The annoyance in his expression drops and leaves you looking at… You didn’t really know what that emotion was. “What?”

“I told you it was abandoned in the 40’s.” Maybe you hadn’t been clear enough when discussing it with Atsumu the day before. In your defense, it seemed pretty obvious. Why did he think there were people here? You had said it was abandoned.

“You’re tellin’ me...” He sputters.

You cock your head to the side. “I mean, why did you think I brought Taro?”

His eyes dart behind you to where the dog is patiently waiting.

“We’re leavin’.” Before you know it, Atsumu has a vice grip on your wrist and is dragging you back the way you came. But you can’t leave yet, you haven’t cleared the property. At the very least, you wanted to make it to the old farmhouse and see if the floorboards were safe for dancing!

A sharp twist and tug of your wrist frees you for a split second, but his reflexes are quick, even when he’s not looking and it’s dark out. “Let go!” You whine. He doesn’t. Any attempts, physical or emotional, are useless. You’re caught off guard by just how much stronger he is than you and you’re not sure what makes it more infuriating: that you’re weak, or that you’re stupid for not knowing.

Taro barks and your eyes widen. On instinct you grab the arm Atsumu’s dragging you with and throw your entire weight back. By the grace of the gods, it’s just enough to send him stumbling back and you both topple over in the thistle.

“Owwwww.” You moan, already second guessing yourself. There are thorns digging into every inch of your skin and Atsumu’s bony elbow has planted itself in between your vital organs.

Slowly, he lifts himself up. “What the hell was that for?” By now, Taro has bounded over and is shoving his nose in your face. He growls when Atsumu extends a hand.

“Taro, heelAHHH!” One after the other, you take the proffered hand up, tell Taro off, and rise up. Except when you put weight on your ankle, it screams in protest. Tears prick your eyes and you grip onto Atsumu for support. You feel bad for him. Your nails probably hurt.

“Don’t step back.” You warn, remembering at least that through the pain searing itself up your leg.

He shifts his weight and Taro barks a warning again. “Is he barking because of the…”

“Yeah.”

From your spot hanging onto him, you can hear his heart beating faster and faster. It wasn’t a situation you were familiar with. Should you just tell him not to be scared? But that tactic never worked for you in the past.

He’s the first one to work up some courage and kick his mind back in gear. “Can you walk?”

You test it, setting some weight on your heel. Probably not as carefully as you should have because you hiss in pain.

“I’ll take that as a no.” He sighs, gingerly turning around and crouching down, listening for Taro’s warning the whole time. “Hop on.” You comply. “Taro-taicho? Lead the way.”

The dog stares Atsumu down while you bury your face in his back. You’re so angry. At what? You’re not quite sure. Definitely not Atsumu. It’s not his fault. Then again, why did he get so mad anyways? It’s not like you were purposefully— That’s a lie. Abandoned farm from the 40’s wasn’t specific enough. Even with the additional context of your bomb sniffing hound. You let him assume and from how quiet he’s being, he’s pissed. You would be too if the roles were reversed.

Vaguely, you process him helping you back onto the bike, giving his shoulder for you to hang onto. The person you’re mad at is yourself.

“Why’re ya snifflin’?”

If this were a movie, your tears would be shining in the moonlight as the wind whipped them off your cheeks. But it isn’t and you’re glad he’s not looking at you.

“I’m sorry.” You choke out. Your throat is closing up and they’re the first words you can think of. “Are you mad at me?” They’re whispered as loud as you can make them, but you can’t put any real force behind them because the frog in your throat is getting bigger by the second. The atmosphere is nerve wracking. His answer can’t come quick enough because your mind is already jumping to different, more effective, ways to apologize. What should you do? How do you make it up to him? You’ve never been good at gift giving. Was running an option? Let him take you home and then lock the door before he can say anything. Delete his phone number and ignore him at school.

The manipulative bitch inside you wonders if giving him a piece of yourself would suffice. Would he even want it? He sure spoke like he did. Sometimes. How far would be enough? A kiss? On the cheek, or lips? How long? What if he wanted more?

He had asked before. Half joking, half serious. Unwilling to commit. Back then, your rejection had been painless. The both of you laughed immediately after and went back to normal.

But that was then and this is now. 'Now' is painful and suffocating. It's a shot in the dark, but maybe the opposite action would give you room to breathe.

#miya atsumu #atsumu x reader #haikyuu

[lilacmiracle]

The Terrifying Case of Iplier Manor - Chapter 1

Beta read by @mysterio-is-the-truth

Fandoms: Markiplier, Buzzfeed Unsolved

Note: Quotation marks are Ryan narrating, bold is Shane speaking, italics are Ryan speaking, both bold and italics is the psychic, both bold and italics and in all caps is the spirit box

(AO3) Words: 4,356

The video opens on a series of clips that are presumably filmed later in the episode. The first clip shows Ryan in front of a broken mirror while looking over at Shane, asking, breathlessly, “What the fuck?” The second clip shows Ryan, still in front of the broken mirror, with a bottle of what is presumably holy water. He sprays it at Shane. The third and final clip shows Ryan, Shane, and a new person, all in a different room, this one with a wood fireplace, with a flashlight that has been brightly turned on. The flashlight switches off, and Ryan screams very loudly. 

The video then cuts to the intro for most ‘Supernatural’ episodes, with the building in the background being a version of the Manor, rendered in a 2-Dimensional style.

The video then cuts to Ryan and Shane standing in front of the double doors to the Manor, with Ryan on the right and Shane on the left.

“We are here at Iplier Manor, site of the Warfstache Disappearances, for this season’s finale and my one demon sacrifice for this season.”

I’m really fucking scared, man. I -- I don’t wanna do this.

It’s fiiiiiine. I mean, what’s the worst that’s gonna happen? Spooky lawyer ghosts?

We could die! We could disappear like those other people!

Only if the Colonel comes.

“This house, if it is, in fact, inhabited by a demon, is by far the most dangerous location that we have ever investigated. As such, we have brought in a psychic to help us in our investigation.”

The new person from the third clip steps into frame. She appears to be an older woman with short, gray hair and loose clothes. She is wearing loose necklaces and an abundance of bracelets that hang off of her wrists.

Hello, my name is Lily, and I am here to help these two with their investigation on this Manor right here.

With that, the Ghoul Boys™ and Lily head inside of the Manor.

I have a Bible and my holy water.

You’re gonna be fine, Ryan.

I sure hope so.

“This episode is going to be rather out of the ordinary with regards to our other demon investigations, considering the fact that we have already covered the history of this house in our last True Crime episode. However, there are a few odd occurrences inside of these walls that were not covered in that video.”

The video cuts to black, fading into a black-and-white image of Mark Iplier. Ryan’s narration continues.

“This Manor has a long history of misery, being the place of many a divorce and untimely death, all of which were ruled to be by natural causes. Things start getting weird when the actor Mark Iplier buys the house for himself and his new wife, Celine Iplier, in early 1913. Investigators found a diary that is believed to have been owned by Celine Iplier. The entries in this diary paint a terrible picture -- Mark was being twisted into the form of a monster, wrote one entry.”

The image on the video had shifted into an image of Celine when Ryan mentioned her. Now, it shows an image of aged paper, with a message written in practiced cursive. A female voice begins to read:

“Friday, February 20, 1914,

This house has become more and more oppressive. I sense darkness within it, and I think that Mark does as well. I am concerned, for if he feels what I can -- he is not trained in anything beyond our world, he has no access to what is past our mortal realm. For the house to make itself known, even to him, is a sign of something terrible.

I can feel him changing, shifting; he has been ever since he bought this place. Hell, he changed the moment he set foot through those damned doors. I don’t know what the house is twisting him into -- I just know that I won’t like the end result.”

There is a sound effect of the turning of a page, and the image onscreen is replaced by a new one -- another aged piece of paper, the same perfect penmanship, a different message that’s somehow even more ominous. The same voice begins to read:

“Wednesday, August 5, 1914,

Mark hasn’t gotten a job in months. He quit the studio in June, and he keeps telling me that he’ll try for a job with another. He’s not going to, and I don’t have to be psychic to see that. He keeps wasting away in his office, today is no different. He keeps going to the wine cellar, but whenever I go, no wine is missing.

I don’t know what he’s doing. Mark’s beginning to scare me -- he fired our butler. Again. He wouldn’t have done that two years ago. This Mark isn’t the one I married two years ago, either. 

This house is twisting him, and I fear the image that he is being molded to. My concerns aren’t being listened to, either -- everyone’s saying it’s the stress of the War. That’s not it, wars don’t make men stay away from their wives for weeks at a time. Wars don’t make men fire staff member after staff member, or buy car after car, while doing nothing at all with the luxuries that they’ve bought. Wars don’t change men like Mark has changed.

I want my husband back. And I want this fucking house burned to the ground.”

Another page turn, another piece of paper. It’s still old, and still covered in Celine’s perfect handwriting. A new message is upon it.

“Friday, May 14, 1915,

Mark is dead, and whatever’s walking around in his body isn’t him. I’ve mourned and made my peace with that. The thing wearing his face is a selfish and awful monster.

It still hosts parties like Mark did -- the same poker nights that are always won by (the writing is redacted. Written over it, in white, is “The District Attorney,” despite the fact that the person that it must be referring to won’t even be the DA for another 5 years), the same cocktail parties for the sole purpose of social climbing. Those parties are the same as before, which is almost insulting. The only difference is that Mark, our friends and I used to make fun of the pompous jerks, afterward. Now he sends them home with everyone else. He never speaks to me, either.

Parties are the only times I see my brother anymore. I miss Damien, almost more than I miss Mark. But I know that Damien is within reach. I know that I can worm my way past the monster, if only for a few hours. But Mark is too far gone to even be contacted through the beyond. I fear that I will never see him again, even after I die. That almost scares me more than the monster.”

Another entry.

“Saturday, October 7, 1916,

William returned yesterday. He says to call him Colonel now, but I don’t think I ever will. It’s too impersonal, and it glorifies the War far too much. The War cost William his leg, and too many others their lives.

Will may be my only escape from the monster. He hasn’t let me leave this house in months, not even to see Damien. There’s a poker night on Tuesday, the 10th. I know that William will be there, and I know that the layout of the house will disorient him. When he gets lost in the house, I can find him. He’ll be away from ‘Mark,’ far enough away that I can convince him to run away with me. I know that he will, I know that he still loves me, even after our breakup, and even after my wedding.

I only have one chance to escape. William is my last hope, and if I fail, my fate will be at the hands of the monster.

At times like this, I think of my husband. My real husband. I miss Mark dearly, but I know that I could never bear to look at him if he came back. His image has been far too tainted by the thing that is wearing his face.

This will be my final entry. I am hiding this diary in the hopes that it may one day be found by those who may purchase this accursed Manor. Know that if I have mysteriously died or disappeared, it was caused by something taking the form of Mark Iplier. 

Know that this Manor isn’t safe.”

Well that was something.

That was an adventure. We’ve got body snatchers, we’ve got cursed houses, we’ve got reclusive husbands. Hell, this would make a great book!

(wheeze)

“These diary entries tell the horrifying tale of Celine Iplier, who was terrorized by the demon within this very Manor. It took the form of her husband, Mark Iplier, whom she was later able to divorce. She regained her maiden name, which has now been lost, along with many other names of those present at the party almost exactly four years later.”

What’s weird -- and I mean it’s really fucking weird -- is she did still disappear mysteriously. With whatever made itself look like her ex-husband.

That is weird, yeah, but it’s also four years later. I think it’s a coincidence.

But it’s four years to the day!

Coincidence. Although -- this does paint Warfstache in a whole new light.

It does, actually. He’s the hero now!

Good for him.

“Speaking of Warfstache, we are now going to be entering the room that matched the location of his supposed ‘séance room.’ When it was investigated, there was no evidence of anything supernatural at all, though it doesn’t hurt to look.”

The crew enters the room, which is set up with a table in the center. Around it are three chairs, presumably meant for Shane, Ryan, and Lily. There are three lit candles sitting on the center of the table.

We are going to be performing a séance in this room, the one where Damien and Celine allegedly disappeared. We will be attempting to contact their departed spirits, in the hopes that they will be able to give us answers as to the events that transpired in this house.

Shane, Ryan, and Lily all sit at the table. They join hands around the table, encircling it.

Close your eyes, everyone.

Shane, Ryan, and Lily all close their eyes.

We are reaching out to one or both of the twins Damien and Celine, who disappeared in this house in the year 1920. If either of you are present, please send us a sign.

Nothing happens for a moment. The room is silent, the only light coming from the flames of the candles.

Lily visibly shudders.

Something is here. I do not know who, or what, it is. Ryan, if you could ask your first question?

Yes. Are you Damien or Celine?

I -- I just felt a “No.” In my head. I don’t think that it’s either of them.

Are you, or were you, human?

Another “No.”

Are you a demon?

Lily breathes deeply, as if steeling herself.

“Yes.”

Ryan visibly tenses. Shane continues his questioning.

Are you the demon that looked like the actor guy?

Lily becomes unnaturally still for a moment, as if she’s listening to something that nobody else can hear.

It -- it says that it never looked like him. It never possessed him. It just ... spoke to him. Are you intending to harm anyone in this circle tonight?

Silence. The video cuts ahead, almost imperceptibly, as everyone is still in the same position as before.

Fifteen minutes have passed with no answer. The demon has ended the séance.

Lily opens her eyes and releases Shane and Ryan’s hands. The others follow suit.

I’m really freaking out now.

You’ve got your holy water, man. And your Bible.

I -- yeah. I have holy water and I’m not afraid to use it.

You think it was telling the truth? About not possessing the guy?

Are you actually admitting that a real demon was talking to us?

I’m not admitting anything. I’m invested in the story, though.

The story.

Yeah, the story. Was the guy possessed like the wife says, or did he just become a total douche? Fame can do that to people, you know.

You didn’t need fame for that, you dick.

Shush, you.

“After the séance, we’re going to be walking around the Manor so that Lily can get a general sense of the place and if there’s anything that she can pick up on that we haven’t.”

I would just like to say, before we leave this room -- I can feel something here. Unrelated to the recent séance.

Ryan hesitates, then says, 

Please elaborate.

Something ... bad ... happened here. In this room. I sense feelings of confusion, betrayal, loss ... regret. I -- hang on.

She moves to another area of the room, closing in on herself.

Something terrible happened, right in this spot. Somebody died right here. The thing is, though, I can usually sense if it’s a masculine or a feminine presence. I can definitively say that there was at least one masculine presence, the one that died in this spot. But the other ... seems to alternate between the two. And not in a natural way, either; it feels like a woman was possessed by something male. These ‘presences’ aren’t here right now, though, Ryan, you can relax.

Ryan had tensed up, but now he relaxed slightly after Lily told him to.

These are ... echoes of people that were here, ones that went through something awful. These echoes feel very similar to each other, at least, the masculine one and the feminine part of the other. I think that Damien and Celine did die here. I can also sense that they are still wandering this plane, still stuck roaming the mortal realm ... but they left this Manor long ago. We won’t see any of them tonight.

With that, she exits the room, beckoning for Shane and Ryan to follow.

“Our first stop is by an object that most paranormal investigators have agreed is one of the most active places in this Manor.”

The crew stops near a broken mirror on the first floor of the building. There is a large hole just to the left of the center of the mirror.

There is a lot of energy here. You boys might like to use your ‘Spirit Box’ here later. I can feel ... quite a lot, a lot of people, a lot of emotion, right here. I can feel an echo of a man, just over there.

She points to an area just past the mirror, towards what appears to be a room with large double doors leading outside. They are covered by curtains, and made almost completely of glass.

There is a sense of ... pity. Towards him, from someone over here. This mirror feels ... empty. Not empty as in ‘there’s nothing there,’ but empty as in apathetic. Someone fought desperately, kicked and screamed and did everything in their power to get someone, anyone, to help them ... but nobody came. So, they slowly gave up. The fight drained until they finally realized that nobody would, or even could, save them. Now they’re trapped in the eternal hell of the mirror, abandoned by those they thought to be friends. I ... don’t know where that came from, I’m sorry.

Don’t be.

Well, I can tell you that the presence in the mirror was human, but now they’re a spirit. Neither a masculine nor feminine presence, but I think that that discrepancy is a natural one. I can also feel ... something familiar, similar to the room we were in a few minutes ago.

The séance room?

Yes. It is only an echo, but it feels ... powerful. Very, very powerful. And ... angry. On a quest for revenge, hoping to right the wrongs done unto it. Them. It feels like multiple people in one echo, which ... I don’t like that. But ... that echo held the souls of Damien and Celine, but ... not. It was them, but broken. Only bits and pieces of their souls were pieced together into this ... amalgamation. I just ... I really don’t like the energy over here anymore. May we go on?

Of course.

Shane and Ryan hang back a bit.

That was intense. Maybe it possessed her? A bit? Or the thing in the mirror was lonely, and went kind of overboard in expressing itself. Maybe?

We can ask it with the Spirit Box later. Of course, I would not be at all opposed if you didn’t want to.

Why? You scared, Shane?

It’s loud and annoying and, frankly, if I don’t have to hear it then I wouldn’t mind at all.

Yeah, it is kind of loud and annoying.

Thank you.

But we’re still doing it.

*sigh*

The video cuts to the crew walking around various hallways and into various rooms. A few occasional creaks and thumps can be heard, but they’re all easily explainable as the house settling. It is uneventful, until Lily suddenly stops at the top of a balcony on the second floor. Shane and Ryan turn around to see her grasping at the rail with a white-knuckled grip, her eyes squeezed shut.

I ... someone died here. Someones, actually. Two people died in this general area.

Can you tell us if you have any idea of who?

Yes. I need a moment, though.

She walks back to a window that she had passed a moment ago. She kneels below it, her head bowed. She stands again.

I can feel it. A man died right here, very suddenly. I would say that I smell gunpowder, but I don’t smell it, I only sense it. This man wanted justice, he wanted answers for ... I’m sorry. I don’t know.

That’s alright. Can you give any more insight as to who he was?

Yes. Something about him is very ... fixed. He stuck to what he knew, and what he was familiar with. He always had a partner, even though none of them lived to tell the tale.

The Detective.

That seems to make sense, considering everything that I’m getting from him. I think his name was ... “Abe.” 

Thank you. Now, can you tell us anything about the other death?

Yes. It was over here, I believe.

She walks back to the balcony, gripping the rail. She never looks over the edge, instead staring into the camera.

It was just as sudden as Abe’s. A gunshot. They were trying to help their partner, though they didn’t blame the culprit. Everyone was high-strung at the time, and the Detective was ‘poking the bear,’ at least, that’s what I’m getting from them.

Their partner ... this must be where the District Attorney died.

This feels eerily similar to the spirit in the mirror.

One could hear a pin drop, with how silent it got. After a moment, Lily continued.

They were shot, and then they fell over this balcony right here, all the way to the ground below.

Lily looks over the railing, gripping it with both hands. Her knuckles are white, when suddenly she reaches out, screaming,

IT WAS AN ACCIDENT, I SWEAR!

It echoes in the hall for a moment. Everyone, even Shane, stands there in stunned silence. Lily retracts her hand, resting both gently upon the railing. She looks down. Her eyes are closed. She murmurs, softly, almost to herself,

It’s not fair, is it?

Lily shudders and looks up and around, coming back to herself. She folds her arms tightly across her chest and breezes past the camera, murmuring, 

I’m sorry, I have to go. I’ll be in the last room.

The video shows Shane and Ryan looking at each other in confusion and concern. The video shows the crew chasing after her for a bit, then cutting to a room with a couch and a fireplace, with a hardwood floor. It is the room that was shown in one of the clips that was played at the beginning of the video, the clip with the flashlights. Lily is there, with Shane and Ryan. Lily is standing in front of the fireplace.

Are you sure that you want to do this?

Yes, I’m sure. The flashlights will provide a mode of communication, so nothing will have to use me. This will actually be the safest thing that we have done thus far -- provided, of course, that we continue to adhere to the rules of proper conduct.

What are those? We haven’t heard of any kind of rules, except for not to directly incite anything to speak.

No, that’s not what I meant. You received general advice, of the kind that could be used in contact with any run-of-the-mill demon. This one, however, requires a bit of ... decorum. Most powerful demons are like that, and this Entity is no exception.

What are these rules, exactly?

You don’t need to worry, I’ll let you know if you come close to breaking any. Just continue as you were.

Okay, well, if you’re sure ... 

“We are currently sitting in the room that contained the makeshift crime scene, that was supposed to belong to Mark Iplier. The area that the body supposedly occupied was in front of that fireplace right there -” he gestured over to the fireplace “- and it is also here that he reportedly died. Once again, this was covered in our True Crime video, however, there are a few supernatural elements that we neglected to mention. Specifically, Warfstache’s reports of the body having disappeared less than 24 hours after it was discovered.”

The “poof” strikes again.

(uneasy laughter)

“There is no evidence to suggest that this body was moved through supernatural means, in fact, there is also no real evidence to suggest that a body was even here in the first place. The crude shape of a body lying on the ground was constructed of white tape, however, it was not likely that it was constructed by actual authorities, given that no records definitively place a body in this spot.”

Not to mention that the tape structure had a dick on it.

Wait, really? Like, the real outline had a dick?

Yep.

(disbelieving laughter)

“Additionally, many tests have been performed in this area to determine whether any bodily fluids, fingerprints, or any kind of remnant of a human body was present in this area. All that was found was half of a thumbprint, which could not be identified.”

The thumbprint was in the general area of where the thumb would have been, judging from the tape, but that’s not enough conclusive evidence to say, “yes, Mark Iplier did die here.”

It could’ve been any thumbprint, from anyone who was making the tape thing.

Yeah. Personally, I think that it was Iplier’s, but some may not exactly be inclined to believe that.

Lily takes the end of Ryan’s narration as her cue to begin investigating the room for an echo or a presence of any kind.

There was death here, but ... I do not sense any emotion from the victim. That’s ... very odd.

The “victim?” So the person that died here, were they mur-

NO!!!

Ryan and Shane glance at each other in shock.

Don’t say that word. It’s a rule for this demon.

Ryan gives a shaky exhale.

Thanks.

But to answer your question ... yes. The victim was ... killed by someone else.

Do you have any idea who?

I ... barely. He seems very similar to the man I sensed earlier, the one who was pitied by something near the mirror. I know it isn’t much, but ...

Thanks anyway, Lily. Now, let’s get into Shane’s favorite part ...

It’s flashlight time! 

A flashlight is set up as usual, with the setting almost hovering between on and off. It’s currently on, but it would be very easy to turn off completely. 

Okay, my first question: is anyone or anything with us right now? Please turn the flashlight off if you are willing to communicate.

The flashlight doesn’t change for a bit. Then, slowly, it dims and turns off. Ryan tenses up immediately, while Shane hardly reacts.

For the record ... this does feel very similar to the demon from earlier.

If you’re a demon, turn it back on!

The flashlight turns on almost immediately. It is shining rather brightly, brighter than before. Ryan shrinks back a bit. Shane, however, is laughing.

Turn it off ... if you’re gonna kill us!

The light turns off, and Ryan screams. Shane laughs at Ryan’s reaction.

Okay, demon, just one more question before Ryan starts talking ... turn the flashlight back on if you’re gonna disappear us like those other guys.

The camera focuses on the flashlight for a few minutes, but it remains off.

Wow, we’re not even gonna be a mystery? You’re just gonna kill us and not even bother making it interesting? You have no taste.

Shane is shaking his head in mock disappointment as Ryan laughs uneasily.

I am gonna be slaughtered in cold blood, and when I do I want it to be a goddamned mystery! I wanna be on Buzzfeed Unsolved! Fuck you!

Ryan is laughing louder now, and is beginning to relax.

Okay, uh, let’s get down to business. Did you kill the inhabitants of this Manor in October of 1920?

The flashlight remains off, immobile.

I think I scared him off.

Try one more question, Ryan?

Okay. Did you enable, or help along in any way, the deaths of the inhabitants of this Manor in October 1920?

The flashlight remains off for a moment. Then, slowly, it dimly turns itself on. Ryan jumps, but doesn’t freak out as badly as before. 

I ... I think that we’re done with the flashlights tonight.

Awww!

Shane pouts, while Ryan grabs the flashlight and turns it off. Lily stands, and nods at Ryan and Shane.

It seems that it is time to make my leave. Goodbye, you two.

Lily begins to walk away, as Ryan and Shane wave a short goodbye. Then as soon as she is about to leave the room, she stops and turns back.

Good luck. You’ll need it.

Then, she walks out of frame.

Tags: @lildevyl @ghostly-quest @turtlecrow @sandinthetardis

#markiplier #wkm #The Terrifying Case of Iplier Manor #The Terrifying Case of Iplier Manor - Chapter 1 #bfu #buzzfeed unsolved #wkm fic #ryan bergara #shane madej #Damien #Celine #wkm the seer #wkm the mayor #wkm the detective #wkm the colonel #wkm the actor #wkm the DA

[alchemist-shizun]

Songbird

Deceitber - Day 1: Humming Christmas music - prompt list by @dragonindigo245

General taglist: @whizzie72 @sapphire-knight @burningpersonflapsuitcase @softanxiouspatton @royallyanxious @kim-argent-moon @lance-alt (tell me if you want to be added or removed)

Word Count: 638

Characters: Deceit, Remus, Orange side

Pairing(s): Could be both platonic or romantic Dukeceit as you prefer!

Warning(s): Swearing, slight sexual innuendo (once)

Summary: Who said Roman would be the only one to sing his heart out during Christmas? 

A/N: Me? Writing less than 1k words? This sure is a date to remember. Okay so I’ve already said this is probably going to be the only time I’m free to write for the event but I had this little idea and I wanted to carry on with it! This is just a bunch of fluff, hope you can enjoy it, stay wonderful dear readers. ♥

✾

It was a simple little afternoon in their common room, free of any loud bantering or annoying whining, any unpleasant sound canceled by the relaxing silence they were sharing.

Deceit had been moving around the room for quite some time by then, hanging the first decorations to bring up the others' festive spirits.

The minutes were passing by inconsequentially.

Soft sounds started rising from Deceit's throat, before realization could struck him. It happened pretty frequently, him finding himself in the middle of improvised melodies, created while his focus was set on something else.

It was around the second or third symphony that it clicked.

This time, though, the tune was definitely recognizable since the first note left his vocal chords. Deceit heard Remus shift on the couch, where he had been scheming ... whichever activity he was planning to make. He had never particularly fancied prying into his business.

Almost automatically, Remus joined his humming until it grew so loud they were basically half-singing with their mouths closed.

It became a duet of no words. One sketching something on a notebook, the other struggling to untangle some fairy lights.

Remus summoned a stereo playing the instrumental of their song.

He sat up on the sofa, stretching out his right arm to point a finger jokingly to his singing companion who had his back turned to him.

« I just want you for my own! »

Deceit immediately turned around, a wide smile suggested he was keeping himself from laughing. « More than you could ever know, » he held his hand out, with the wire of the lights interlaced between his fingers.

Remus took it, despite the little pieces of glass slightly stabbing his palm, then he pulled forward, bringing the other closer. « Make my wish come true! » his left hand was now theatrically placed on his chest.

« All I want for Christmas is you~! » that was when they sang their hearts out, like a couple of old friends performing their favorite musical when none else was home.

Their singing was still lingering on the last letter when a blur of orange shoved them away from each other. « To shut up! » [Redacted] added, following the melody with the wrong lyrics as the other two's snickering filled the room and drowned out the sound of the music.

« Seriously, you guys are loud! »

« Wanna know where else I'm loud? »

« I'm afraid I would already know. »

« How about you two start being useful and help out for once? »

« Sure! »

« Remus why did you turn all the decorations into little porcelain doll heads? »

« You were the one to ask for help. »

« This house is a fucking nightmare. »

« Get your shopping lists out cause I'm asking for some more patience to Santa this year. »

And, sure, maybe even more dolls appeared on the furniture where you least expected them to be, maybe cursing ensued, maybe some chasing around the mindscape did too.

But all in all, that was the routine of festivities and they would eventually all end up lying on the couch, plaguing Thomas with less intrusive thoughts or ponderings about the values of nowadays society. Because, hey, they needed some rest too!

In fact, the day went by exactly as predicted, with Deceit squished between the other two sides fast asleep against him.

He rested the back of his head on the top of the sofa, eyes closed, while a familiar symphony reached his ears like it had earlier that day.

A soft smile tickled his lips and he went back to humming a couple of notes yet again, before sleep took over him too and he let his body relax to the sound of Christmas approaching.

#deceitber #deceit sanders #ts deceit #remus sanders #ts remus #orange side #ts orange side #sanders sides #fanfiction #ts dark sides #thomas sanders #purp's writings

[callwonil]

#7

2046 [REDACTED] Penitentiary

Today marks Raewon’s third visit to the penitentiary. He is unaware the Tinker stopped by the previous week with an offer for Wonil. 

RAEWON

Raewon slouches back in his seat and stares past the glass, gaze faraway. “How’ve you been sleeping?”

WONIL

How do you think? is Wonil’s initial thought. He grins instead. “What do you wanna hear for an answer, hyung?”

RAEWON

“The truth, I guess.”

WONIL

“Hm. Well it’s not too bad for being without a mattress. Gotta get used to it either way,” He tilts his head “don’t I?”

RAEWON

He wonders why it’d never occurred to him to ask in his first visit. “That right?” He asks, furrowing a brow and leaning forward. Just blankets and a pillow, probably. “And the others?”

WONIL

“The others…” Wonil trails off, as if he needs to give it some thought. Give up the act, Won. Juwon and Sunho, transferred a week in, with Euntaek left raising hell like he has nothing to lose in Cell Three. Which isn’t far from the truthㅡTaek hadn’t been the one nailed with the almost two-decade long sentence.

“Dunno.” A shrug. “Why, wanna make them your charity cases or something?”

RAEWON

Never a peaceful day in the penitentiary. His brother’s slight rolls off like the wind and slaps him like a fallen branch. Cold and dry. “Not interested.” He returns. “More just. Wondering if they’re the ones affecting your sleep more than the floor.” He folds his arms across his chest. “Guess that isn’t the case though.”

WONIL

“Aw, bummer.” At this point his taunting couldn’t be more obvious. “They could use a couple more years. You’re an expert at making that come true, aren’t ya?” The elites’ very own fucking genie. “Floor or not, I’m sure you won’t hafta worry about experiencing it ever. So.” So rings with a sense of finality. “Did Mom call you yet?”

RAEWON

He smirks, lopsided, tilted glass. “You could say that,” he nods with his lips poised upwards.

So. The base of the cup is heavy and Raewon lets his words graze over like tinkling fingernails along the rim. “Not yet. Believe it or not,” he starts, mirroring his brother. “I’m not the first person she wants to talk to.”

WONIL

The news brings a blink of surprise. Even the success of the older, more evidently put-together son wasn’t enough to have her spare so much as a thought his way. He thinks back to the one and only time she had stood silently where Raewon is sitting, but doesn’t go forward in mentioning it. Once a cunt, always a cunt.

“Y’know they have a personal lawyer now?” Wonil says instead, absently scratching at the side of his neck. “He called me. Said to not expect a single penny out of her or dad.”

His hand falls to his lap. “So that makes two of us.”

RAEWON

Raewon hums. Matters of the will. Dad might have mentioned them in passing, but that was well over a year ago, and not long after he’d made first contact again to tell them he’d somehow shoed himself into a law firm and that he’d be setting up a transfer payment system. “Well that sounds familiar.” Raewon can’t help but grin. “Didn’t they say the same thing to you about me?” When I left?

WONIL 

Wonil raises a brow. “What the hell would they tell an eight year old?” on the contrary, he’d had something to say to them.

(Morning after, at the dining table. Mom’s eyes are bloodshot, but not from crying. She taps her spoon absently against her cup saucer.

“Where’s Hyung, Ma?” He asks.

“Well he’s not here now, is he?”)

He takes in Raewon’s expression. Can’t buy it.

“Bet you have something different to say, though.”

RAEWON

“You think age ever mattered to them?” Raewon laughs. “C’mon, Wonil. You know better than I do.”

A hitch. It doesn’t catch him off guard so much as it itches at his brain, something curious and persistent. The pause lingers as he narrows his eyes and leans in. “About what?”

WONIL 

“If you’re expecting some shit like ‘don’t you ever do what your brother did,’ it didn’t happen.” Wonil crosses his arms. “They’re neglectful assholes. Not walking clichés.” For better or worse. He doesn’t have the patience to consider what it could’ve been like had they had the decency to be the latter. Or at least pretend.

He flashes a smile, a full show of teeth. Menace doesn’t suit him, but it’s something like it. “C’mon, hyung,” he parrots. “You know better than I do.” There’s a singular question that’s been picking at him since the very day, the very second Raewon decided to show up the way that he did. “What’re you getting out of this?”

RAEWON

Wonil’s voice scrapes rough like chipped toenails and he’d be a lousy professional not to detect it, gruffness betraying something that whiffs of tender flesh. He saves the laughs but maintains a smile just barely there. That’s not it, baby bro, but “For some, that’s as good a cliché as any.” he returns.

Taunting’s never been his strong suit; taunting back less so. In this circumstance and the last and the next. He swallows Wonil’s words down whole and lets them churn and writhe in his stomach until they tire out. “Nothing, apparently.” He states simply.

WONIL

“So you’re part of that ‘some’ then.”

Raewon’s words, understated as they may be, hit, then miss. You could pull out the pliers and the real answer wouldn’t ever be pried from his damn mouth. A lost cause from the onset, from how much he knows, how little they know of each other.

His mouth loosens back into a softer smile. “Great! You’ll get something outta spending your time elsewhere, I’m sure.” The chair groans as he gets up. God. What were the fucking odds, anyway?

RAEWON

“It was meant to be ambiguous but thanks for pointing it out.” He says, bracing himself. That’s what it boils down to between the shallow pauses and unreadable expressions and a ticking clock that’s evidently gone for lunch. They’ve barely made a dent into the hour.

There’s the punch. Whining grit of the chair against the floor and Raewon’s eyes drag down and up. Wonil is getting ready to go back in now. Raewon follows in suit, careful as he scoots his chair with back legs lifted off the ground, standing without bumping his knees against the low table. He’s not greedy for time, even if his brother is. Raewon places his hand onto the table, taps it twice.

“Maybe so. See you next time, Wonil.”

#( .para ) #( .7 ) #( ft. raewon )

[f-117-nighthawk]

More playlist meta bc I don’t wanna do homework and Jimmy kicked me out of the TA room saying I’d been in there for far too long for a Friday (it was four hours! Interspaced between classes! Workshop kit inventory is just an excuse to blast Gloryhammer to me, it’s fun)

Since I was talking about Ten Thousand Against One earlier, I’ve been thinking about the timeline and which event the songs are connected to. Long post under the cut

Turn the Lights Out is... sort of an odd case. It’s not like Remnants of Stars, which is about Galran and my philosophy about how we were created, what happens to us when we die, and the cycles that power the universe. Of course, Remnants of Stars is a little more than just philosophy. It actually describes (in a rather metaphorical way) the actual process of the marthinazik filtering quintesence into new stars, planets, beings, anything you can think of. It also has a very important lyric for much much later like, post Sticky Notes later. Now that I think about it, it actually defines a good chunk of that maybe-sequel-maybe-idea era in conjunction with Soul Extract’s Filaments. 

Anyway, back to Turn the Lights Out. It’s an odd case because it’s sort of like Remnants of Stars in that it’s more about the philosophy, but it’s before Remnants of Stars because it’s also kind of an event. If you read interviews with Delain about Moonbathers, Charlotte states that Turn the Lights Out is about Neil Gaiman's Sandman comics, specifically the character of Death. I confess I haven’t read those comics, but my interpretation fits her rather well I think. To me, Turn the Lights Out is about a gentle god who accepts they will not always be seen as who they are but will give their everything to protect those within their universe. Now, who does that sound like? Which characters have been around since the birth of the universe, under various names, whether they be Ibeshganszá, ‘kibrraldíl, Marduzbazí, or Vôltrôn? 

You can make an argument for Your World Will Fail to be directly after Turn the Lights Out, but I rather like it after Remnants of Stars too. Turn the Lights Out is the beginning of the universe, so naturally, it goes first. Sentient life needs to evolve for Remnants of Stars to truly fit, and even though Your Would Will Fail technically can happen at any point between the first Plank time and the next, it also happens when the comet that becomes Voltron crashes into Daibazaal. The Your World Will Fail/Dark Matter/Eater of Worlds trio is both a general, entire timeline-spanning idea, and a specific event. 

(Your world will fail my love/It's far beyond repair/Your world will fail my love/It is already there)

(Bring me your soul/Bring me your hate/In my name you will create/Bring me your fear/Bring me your pain/You will destroy in my name)

(Can't imagine the violence/The rage and the love in my madness/I am the eater of worlds and I'm looking for someone to feed me)

And then, right after that event, or even during, you have Apocalypse 1992. The death of the dream, the final madness before the triumph of chaos. 

You Keep What You Kill is very much the odd one out out of everything. Helion Prime based it off a book I forget the name of, but here it’s purely about Zarkon’s empire. The “Holy Half-Dead” have lost so much of their culture, of the family bonds that kept them together even when their mistakes threatened the destruction of all, but they still remember the songs of glory. And they do keep what they kill. 

And then there’s a rather large time jump of about five thousand Earth years to The Seven Sisters. This song is pretty well encapsulated in Child From the Stars (Lost in the Dark) (which is a lyric from Closure, but Closure is later for Reasons), but the other half of it is connected to Memories of a Girl I Haven’t Met.

Who Will Save You Now has gone through so many iterations of what it’s connected to I honestly don’t remember what it actually is anymore. Given its placement between The Seven Sisters and Nobody Gets Left Behind, I think it’s related to the SFSS Genesis’s disappearance. But it could also be placed in conjunction with A Simple Plan and be about something slightly different...hm, I’ll think on that. This song has such a Dark Matter vibe to me, but it hasn’t found a home that sticks in my brain yet. 

Nobody Gets Left Behind is really there bc it’s a fun song and when I found 1551 I immediately had to put something in. BUT it is a good song about family dynamics and, well, that’s Voltron in a nutshell right? (and then you get, right there in the first verse, “Don't even try to pretend/That you're rough and just as tough/As when you're missing a friend/Attack and take him back/Cause when the team isn't whole/You've got a hole in your soul/So step up to your fucking role/We might get hurt/We might be taking some hits/But when you're taking our friend/Then that's some personal shit” and you cannot tell me that’s not everybody’s mood post Battle in the Sarnan Nebula) 

A Simple Plan is a new addition in the past few weeks. I rediscovered The Spiritual Machines a few weeks ago and the lyric “How long can we hold off ending/How long can we pretend we're ok” hit me right in the Keith feels. So this one is in conjunction with the first verse of Nobody Gets Left Behind. The entire song actually reminds me of Dark Matter with how it’s centralized at one event but contains hints of other things (The truth arrived too slow).

Memories of a Girl I Haven't Met is maybe one standard year (so six earth months-ish?) after A Simple Plan. 

String Theory is... weird. It’s mostly there for the title, but the lyrics do contain themes found in other parts of the playlist that fit really well but don’t map to the event I associate the song with. It’s honestly about Shiro missing Adam and the rest of the people on Earth. Which, granted, given the point in the timeline the title is associated with makes a certain amount of sense but...idk. And the bit that begins with “You don’t believe in space” is about something entirely different. It’s confusing, but all inexplicably related to the title event.

Interesting fact: My Dark Matter drafts/ideas folder is actually split int pre- and post- String Theory folders. It was originally because String Theory is such a pivotal moment in the Coalition’s efforts, but it also ended up vaguely the middle of the timeline. It’s the point where things absolutely, truly, have no relation to what happens in canon. The butterfly effect stemming from the events of Shatterpoint (and an implied secondary shatterpoint in another fic) have changed things enough that apart from one general event, nothing happens the same way (and that event is for drastically different reasons). All in all, it fits the weird vibe of the song rather well.

Next is Belgrade, the Ultimate Klance Song, about three months later. Fun Shenanigans happen in conjunction with this absolute bop.

Here’s the surprisingly big gap of just over a standard Earth year, in which several important events happen that don’t have songs attached to them (Roentgen, maybe)

Then we get Birthright/Firewall, a set of songs about reclaiming yourself from the depths of hell with just a liiiiiitle bit of help from your family.

(It's time to take ahold of what belongs to me/It's time to walk away with no apologies/Voices in the mirror start quietly/And now they're screaming back at me!)

(This force knows what you can do/And what you can make/With your tattered shell)

Here Comes the Reign technically starts during Birthright/Firewall, but doesn’t come into full effect until a month later, and then even fuller around five months after that. Meanwhile, we have The Day the Earth Collapsed, which is rather self-explanatory.

A few months later there is Darker Matter. The fic connected to this is real weird, but also real important. Suffice to say it’s gonna be confusing, and a universe doesn’t like the Paladins for a while.

And then we have Closure. Child From the Stars (Lost in the Dark) is actually the first of four fics inspired by Closure’s chorus. (I also drew a picture for each fic. They’re combined into my desktop background, and the first one is still my phone background and my pfp) “I am the child from the stars/That got lost in the dark/Between heaven and hell/I am forced to live on/I am the cause when you sin/I am the demon you skin/But there is no more tears to beautify/This is my last goodbye”

Closure is a rather sad song actually, but the way I’ve interpreted it ends on a bright spot of hope. The first related fic I’ve already posted/talked about, the second would be around the time of A Simple Plan. The third is somewhere in the gap between Belgrade and Birthright/Firewall. I’ve placed Closure at the approximate time of the fourth fic. I actually just moved it while writing this, because I realized this makes more sense after Darker Matter and with the Fall of [Redacted]. I’ve chosen to interpret the last line as finally deciding to stay instead of the (probably more likely given the rest of the album) darker interpretations.

After Closure is Ember, which is actually super connected to Darker Matter which is why I originally had them next to each other. The thing is, all three of these songs are connected to very specific events, the latter two of which are in direct response to the first even if there is a month or two between them. Ember is on the playlist for two reasons: the first is the line “dark matter falling from the sky” that basically required me to put it somewhere; the second is the fact that I keep mishearing the lyrics. “chthonic” is not “cuthonic” (which is not a word, but I interpreted as meaning Cthulu-like) and it’s “riches to embers” not “witches to embers.” Make of that what you will.

And finally, after almost seven Earth years, we get to The Reckoning/This is a Call/World on Fire/Louder Than Words. The Reckoning sort-of picks up where The Day the Earth Collapsed left off, spanning at least a year before going full force into the frantic five days of the other three songs.

(In blood and tears/A thousand times/We rise against/We'll always hold the line/Of reckoning)

(This is a call to action/This is a call to arms/All lives for one, together/There are no false alarms)

(World on fire with a smoking sun/Stops everything and everyone/Brace yourself for all will pay/Help is on the way)

(We have the force to fight/We have the blinding light/A war is more than heard/Coming in louder than words)

#i am dark matter; your road to ruin #dark matter playlist #to the tune of sketchy galore: meta galore #god I hope the under the cut works this is so long #its also two am i'm going to sleep it's been a long few hours #DM Playlists