#&&. v; only the devil can eat the devil (main)

[arcanemadman]

I've seen a lot of people defend the choice of the show to make an entire caste of good demons while the main antagonists are humans as it follows what was established in the source series. I would like to dispute this.

The problem is that the show addresses what "goodness" and "humanity" in political terms while the games have always focused on it more philosophically or spiritually. Humanity is unambiguously a good thing in DMC, its what makes Dante more power than those without it, even the like of Urizen and Mundus. The demons that become "good" are actively fighting against their nature, and in doing so they achieve "humanity". When Dante says "Devil's Never Cry" he mean that anyone that is able to cry for another person has humanity, which is why he uses it to comfort Lucia and Trish. It doesn't matter that they're full blooded demons, the fact they can cry is proof enough that they have humanity.

There's the example of Brad from the anime, a demon that fell in love with a human that has been used as an example. People forget that Brad was sent in to infiltrate and kill for his demon master, and only after falling in love with Mayor Hagel's daughter did he rebel. He was abused and trod on by more powerful demons yes, but he still followed any order they gave him. If not for the mayors daughter, he would have gone along with the murder of humans without a second thought, it's only after he started caring for someone else that he had a complete change of heart and was willing to let Dante kill him rather than hurt someone else. And these are meant to be the exception, not the rule. Out of all the demons in the series, you can count the number that actively turned away from evil on one hand.

Then there are the human antagonists. Every single one of them abandons their humanity for power or greed, Dante outlines this to Agnus after the boss battle in 4.

"You surrendered your humanity. It's that simple." "But you are not human...! So why am I inferior?!" "You assume humans are weak... Ok yeah, their bodies may lack the physical ability of a demon. But humans possess something that demons don't."

And Nero repeats this in the final battle with Sanctus.

"The power of Sparda... why won't you give me strength!? Am I not worthy!?" "Never could take those legends too literally. But I do know that Sparda had a heart. A heart that could love another person, a human. And that is what you lack."

Arkham, Arius, Agnus, Sanctus, all of them abandoned their humanity. That is why they are the antagonists, because they are the opposite of what the heroes stand for - the strength of humanity. They say "Humanity is nothing but weakness and can never stand up against us", which is rejected by the message "the human ability to care is greater than any power you could gain by abandoning it." This is the whole point of Dante and Vergil's rivalry, Vergil rejected his humanity in pursuit of power, and in the final battle despite both twins being equal and Vergil holding the Force Edge, Dante is able to win because he holds on to his humanity. This is emphasised again in DMC5 when Urizen eats the fruit of the Qliphoth and gains the ultimate power in the eyes of demonkind, but is still utterly defeated by Dante. It's only when V, who was able to rediscover his humanity, reunites with Urizen that Vergil becomes Dante's equal again. In terms of power adding V to Urizen is like adding a drop of water to an ocean, the only thing he add to Urizen is humanity, but that's what allows him to cross the canyon between Urizen's Qliphoth boosted power and Dante.

This is what the series was about - the strength of the human heart.

On the other hand, we have the show where humanity is villainous, and there are good demons, but how is it different? Well, the good demons are just that; they are inherently good. It's in their nature to be good. When they show kindness or compassion for someone else, it's not them defying their nature and showing their strength of character. When a demon cries in the show it's nothing special, they cry all the time whether if its from having a family member die or begging for mercy or when their about to be killed by the american military. Crying isn't a sign of the quality of their soul or ability to love, it's just something they do now.

As for the humans, when they do something evil it's not because they abandoned their humanity, but rather because they are following their human impulses. Why does America invade the demon world? Because they're greedy and want to colonise it. Why do they gun down the good demons? Because they're hateful and narrow minded. Why do they betray and manipulate? Because humans are untrustworthy. The humans of the show are evil because they are human, which is a direct contradiction with the core thesis of the series.

And there are no humans in the series that show this value of humanity. Mary is actively complicit with atrocities along with the entirity of Darkcom, Eva's dead, Kalina Ann is also dead, so's the quantum scientist, Enzo's a scumbag underworld dealer and also dead, and every other main human is used to show the flaws of humanity. The only unambiguously good human is the mother who begs the demons to spare her daughter but she's a side character that doesn't even get a name.

And what's worse is that Dante isn't the champion of humanity. I don't mean this in the sense that he's the champion for the human race, but none of what motivates him is because he values humanity. He fights demons because they hurt people, and once the plot gets going it's all focused on his power as a demon. His devil trigger unleashes his anger and hate which he struggles to control, and he doesn't fight the White Rabbit because he believes it's his responsibility as the Son of Sparda but because he wants his necklace back. Even when he defends Sparda, it's more of him defending that he didn't fuck up rather than him upholding a legacy of heroism. The White Rabbit being human has no influence on him, he doesn't care either way. Dante being the Son of Sparda isn't a character trait now, it's a plot device to explain why the White Rabbit involves him in the plot.

By removing Arkham's relevance to the plot we don't get how Lady's sense of responsibility for her family changes Dante for the better, by removing Sparda's change of heart being unprecedented and special we don't see the core theme of the ability to care being what defines humanity, and that all has the knock on effect of making Dante become the hero not because he cares for humanity or because his own humanity drives him to do good, but because what would happen if he didn't was just bad.

And the choice to make the whole thing wrapped up in an Iraq war analogy twenty years late where they compare real life refugees to the demons you slaughter in the games is really stupid at best and outright offensive at worse, but that a discussion for another time.

[fandomloreblog]

🗡️ Vergil Headcanons Post-DMC5 🫐

These headcanons are mainly for my DMC6 fanstory, but yall are more than welcome to claim them for whatever your silly hearts desire (if anyone does fanfics PLEASE TAG ME I am starved for content)!!!

Warnings: None! Pure fluff and giggles here!

Stuck in hell for roughly 3-5 months with Dante, so lots of impromptu bro bonding and family therapy. Hears about what The Order did and what happened with Nero and develops Overprotective Dad Syndrome™️ once he returns (Nero doesn’t know how to feel about it).

Ends up growing stubble and keeps it. Originally because he didn’t exactly have a decent razor (The Yamato can only do so much) but eventually grew used to it. His actual hair he keeps a bit longer, but tidy still and almost always naturally pushed back. Usually it’s only down once he wakes up or is too tired to fix it.

Actually uses the Yamato to cut a lot of stuff (hair, fabric, non-messy food, etc), his main issue is Dante using it. Nero grabbed it once to test the durability of a new Devil Bringer, and when Vergil attempted to get it back, Nero made a “Or what? You’re gonna take my other arm?” Joke that had him somewhat frozen for a solid 5 minutes.

V’s tattoo’s also ended up resurfacing, which he kept as a sort of “memento” of them. They glow when he’s annoyed or enraged, or just close to entering his Devil Trigger (think of djheretostay’s Demon Hunter Outfit Mod for Vergil in terms of look!)

Tries dressing somewhat more “humanly” and not “I am a demon in disguise wearing a hell boar skin coat and dragon scale armor”. Again, Demon Hunter fit is his go-to, along with still somewhat formal outfits, but still human-made and relevant to the fashion era. (He is somewhat embarrassed by his DMC3 fit looking back on it).

Starts cooking for the entire DMC after he returned. He discovered Dante’s poor eating habits when stuck in Hell and basically had to force-feed him scavenged food he whipped up to make sure he stayed healthy and didn’t starve. When they did get back, he took it upon himself to make sure Dante, Nero, and anyone else who was there get some damn veggies into their system. It’s basically his love language.

He made a whole vegan/veggie pizza once, and Dante didn’t notice the difference. Nero had to jump between the two when Dante found out, and now Vergil is required to notify what’s in whatever he cooks.

Ends up becoming cooking partners with Kyrie somehow? Kyrie wants to get into Vergil (technically her father-in-law)’s good graces, while Vergil wants to figure out something healthy that Nero and Dante will eat.

Speaking of cooking, Vergil actually has a wide knowledge on hell-based cooking and gardening. Due to his decades of experience living there (both as Nelo Angelo and Vergil), he actually knows more about Hell’s fauna and flora than Earth’s. As a result, he’s basically the go-to knowledge guy when it comes to dealing with anything that is more complex than “charging in and slashing up the demons”.

Ends up having a somewhat secret garden somewhere in his apartment where he grows the few fruits and veggies from hell that everyone likes. It’s sort of an open secret, but they don’t pressure him over it just in case he stops or gets embarrassed about it.

GOD this man becomes such a book nerd. Not even just for poetry, in general. While poetry is his favorite, he is curious about other books/genres, so he has a whole collection (again) at his apartment. Nico gave him a demon-based smut book to see what he’d do/react to it, but then he didn’t do anything? And no no one has the balls to question if he actually read the damn thing or hasn’t yet.

Speaking of The Apartment™️- it’s a small condo in a somewhat decent spot in Red Grave City. he actually owned it waaaay before DMC5. He got using some “totally legit funds” during his wanderings as a place to store info/supplies in his search for power. Basically he owns it outright and doesn’t have to worry about taxes, and it’s better to not ask questions.

Doesn’t really have much in terms of furniture. He has a bed, a dresser/closet, a bookshelf, the hell garden, and a few boxes, and that’s basically it. Very minimalist, but only because he doesn’t really exactly know what he likes in terms of decor (yet). Take him into an IKEA, and he’ll be sat in front of 4 near-identical lamps for 2 hours wondering what he likes best.

Still struggling with actually verbalizing that he cares. Very much an “actions speak louder than words” person, so he’s constantly doing small things/actions (like cooking) to show that. He’s trying hard to be a better person, and just hopes that everyone see’s it.

They do, Nero’s just too prideful to admit it, and Vergil takes everything Dante says with a grain of salt.

VERY SAPPY!!! He’s down bad missing (insert y’all’s Lady-In-Red name)/Addie. Has one ring she gave him because he expressed a modicum of interest in it, and that’s his most cherished possession. NEVER takes it off.

Dante tried grabbing it once, and Vergil actually hissed at him out of pure defensiveness.

[farfromstrange]

Lizzi's Kinktober 2023

Day 15: Mask Kink

October 30th, 2023

Main Masterlist | Kinktober Masterlist

Pairing: Matt Murdock x F!Reader

Summary: Matt really loves to eat you out.

Warnings: EXPLICIT SEXUAL CONTENT (18+ MINORS DNI), black suit Matt supremacy, Dom!Matt, mask kink, unprotected p in v, fingering, orgasm denial, slight spanking, bondage (use of ropes), use of "good girl", praise, not proofread

Word Count: ~2.5k

A/n: This is dedicated to @sunaspotato because her mask kink made my mask kink worse. And since she’s on this hellsite too now and wanted to read this, here you go. (Also, I hope you can still look me in the eyes after this. If not, I sincerely apologize. It’s different when one of the people reading this is someone I know irl so I hope I didn’t disappoint with this.)

The air coming in through the half-open bedroom window brushes coldly against your heated skin. 

You never thought you would end up in this position. So… vulnerable. Hunted like prey. It was never your intention. And yet, here you are now. Your wrists are tied to the bedpost with a harsh, greyish rope that isn’t yours, your sheer nightgown torn to shreds and discarded somewhere in the room. 

You’re helpless. Hopeless, also. Your friends have told you time and time again that you trust too easily, and maybe that is true. You can be colorblind to the existence of red flags. When you look danger in the eyes, you tend to gravitate toward it and not away, which has put you in trouble more times than you can count. You have shit judgment, to say the least, so it should come as no surprise that you are in this position. 

He has walked you home before. A few nights ago, a man tried to mug you after you missed the last bus of the night on your way home from work, and even though you cooperated, you had a bad feeling you weren’t going to make it out of this alive. He was about to steal all the money you had left in your purse, your phone, and everything else dear to you. 

Out of nowhere though, a dark figure emerged. He wore a mask made out of some sort of used fabric, a little white peeking through where it kept his eyes hidden from the world. His lips caught your attention right away. They were curled up into a smirk. He looked as if he had no emotions left in him, he only saw red where you saw none, and he beat the man trying to steal from you to a bloody pulp right at your feet. 

You should have been terrified, but the fear turned into a quick thrill, and it made you more careless than it made you careful. 

“You shouldn’t be out here on your own,” he said to you. 

Foolish of him to think he could tell you what to do, but he was right. He shouldn’t have been out there on your own. 

Next thing you knew, he offered to walk you home. Him on the rooftops of the city, you below. And you felt safer. You agreed; you talked to him, and you let the danger right into your life. 

From the second you first laid your wide eyes on the stranger, there has been something so forbiddingly arousing about the image in your head. His plump lips, his tongue, his sharp jawline, and the chiseled chest that he keeps hidden away underneath a tight, black shirt. Not to mention his thighs and the ass he is definitely not hiding in those pants.

It is so arousing, you have not uttered a word about it to anyone. If you told anyone the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen saved your life and belongings a few nights ago and has walked you home from work every night since then, they would surely call you crazy. Perhaps you are, but you have no shame about it. You are ashamed that he does something to your neglected soul, something a stranger in a mask should not do, but you are not ashamed that you haven’t told him off. Maybe you should be, but you can’t possibly find an ounce in your that cares. 

Even though it wasn’t planned and it took you off guard, you let him in when he knocked on your windows tonight, begging you to stitch him up. His panting and the way he groaned whenever the needle threaded through his skin didn’t help with this strange attraction you have been harboring. 

He noticed. You’re not sure how, but he noticed that you were getting turned on by his presence, and it was only a question of time until he would snap. In the end, he did about half an hour into your putting bandages on his battle scars. 

Now you’re tied to the bed, naked and vulnerable to the man in the mask at the foot of your bed, but your heart is not beating out of your chest out of fear. It’s the pulse between your legs that is the most prominent, and the danger only sends the pleasure you’re experiencing to new pinnacles. 

He isn’t going to show you his face, he told you as much. Lucky for you, you do not want or need him to. The thought of getting fucked by a man you have no idea what he looks like is as arousing as it is exciting. The mask on his face only enhances the feeling of being completely exposed to the prying eyes of danger, and you don’t want to miss this feeling again for the world. If that makes you perverted or mentally deranged, you don’t have a problem with that. You’ve been told that your delusions will be the death of you one day, so maybe it’s time to live your truth. 

The man paces around your bed. Eventually, he opens those plump lips again. He asks, “Do you have any idea what you’re doing to me?”

“What I’m doing to you?” you question, your voice barely above a broken whisper. He’s got you right where he wants you. 

“You’re supposed to be scared of me.”

You want to sit up, but the ropes keep you locked in place. 

“You were supposed to run away,” he says. “But you didn’t.”

“I don’t scare easily,” you tell him. 

He chuckles. “Yeah, I’ve noticed.” Why he sounds so bitter all of a sudden, you’re not sure. 

You let out a shaky breath. “I’m not scared of you,” you say, a lot surer this time. 

The stranger bares his teeth for a moment, then closes his mouth again. God, those lips. He hasn’t even kissed you yet, and somehow you already miss him. 

“I can smell you, you know. I can smell how fucking wet you are for me. Do you have any idea how hard it is for me to control myself when you’re so wet?” he says. It’s a rhetorical question. “You want me to fuck you so badly, and you don’t even know me.”

You blush beet red. You’re not sure how he can smell that you’re wet, even with your thighs clenched so tightly together. There are a lot of things you ask yourself, and for a second you wonder if you made a mistake, but if he knows that you are desperate to be touched by him, there is no chance in hell you will be able to lie your way out of this. 

You want this. You want him. And there is no denying the obvious; he wants you, too. 

His cock is straining against his pants. He is packed, you can tell. You wish you could see him, even just a small glimpse of skin, but he keeps himself hidden away. That’s how it’s going to be. He’s not going to give himself away, and you’re not going to protest, no matter how wrong this may be. 

You want him to fuck you, and he wants to fuck you. There is only one way this is going to end.

The bed creaks. His gloved hand meets your bare thigh, and you shudder. Your mouth falls open. The rough texture hiding his fingertips rubs against the sensitive hairs on your body. It makes your toes curl. 

“Don’t move away from me,” his mouth is suddenly so close to your ear. 

“I’m sorry, Sir,” you choke out. He has a chokehold on your lungs and the oxygen that is supposed to pass through them. 

His teeth show when he chuckles this time. It’s a breathless chuckle that sends even more shivers down your spine until you can’t feel anything but him. His breath, his hand, his body—you are completely consumed by him. 

“Matthew,” he whispers in your ear. “My name’s Matthew.”

He told you his name. Does he trust you enough not to ask questions? Not that you have it in you to do so, but it throws you off for a moment. 

He told you his name. The masked stranger who refuses to even take his gloves off told you his name. Your mind reels. You’re interpreting too much into this, but how can you not? You are completely infatuated. 

You’re infatuated with the devil. 

The heavy leather of his gloves thuds to the ground next to the bed. When his bare fingers touch you, you’re almost halfway on your way to heaven. 

You let out a soft moan that sends the heat to your cheeks. Your heartbeat pulsates in your ear. You can hear your blood rushing. Can he hear it too?

“Tell me it’s okay.”

You blink at his demand. 

“Tell me it’s okay to touch you,” he says. “I need to hear you say it.”

The words elude you for a moment. “I–” You swallow as you look at his covered face. “Yes,” the consent rolls off your lips softly but surely. “I want you to…touch me.”

He lets out a sigh of relief. This is the most human you have seen him. “Thank you,” he says. 

You open your mouth again to respond, to tell him that he has nothing to thank you for, but he shuts you up by thrusting two of his thick fingers into your tight cunt all at once. 

Your words turn into a loud moan that bounces off your apartment walls. You struggle against the restraints, wanting to wrap around his wrist, but you have nowhere to go. Your walls clench around the intrusion, but he pushes through, his fingertips brushing over that one sweet spot that has you seeing stars within seconds. And once he has found that spot, there is no going back. 

The lewdest cacophony of wetness and heady moans turns into a crescendo. He is playing your keys so delicately, your entire body locks up. The wave keeps on building until it has turned into the size of a tsunami, ready to destroy whatever is in its path. 

He moves his digits in and out of you, brushing against that spot every time he thrusts back in, and he pushes even deeper until he’s filled you up completely to the brim. He reaches parts of you that you never knew existed, and he does it over and over and over again until there is not much more you can take. 

His free hand grabs your chin, forcing your eyes to meet the darkness of his mask. Somehow, that makes your walls clench ever harder around him. He smirks. Oh, that shit-eating smirk is going to be the death of you, you’re sure. At the same time though, you want to wipe it off his face. 

“Look at me,” he says. 

You have no choice but to comply, as ironic as it sounds. 

“Good girl.”

The subtle praise makes your nails draw blood from your palms, the robe rubbing against the sensitive skin of your wrists and probably doing just the same. You’re going to be bloody and bruised tomorrow. You’re going to carry his marks.

You’re his now. 

“Are you gonna come?” his breath tickles your ear. 

All you can muster is a weak nod. 

“Good,” he says. “Don’t.”

You must have misheard him. “What?!” you stammer. “But–”

“No.” 

Fucking with danger is as hot as it is frustrating, it seems. 

His fingers pull out of you suddenly, roughly—you are left with a gaping emptiness that makes your thighs clench, and your throat emits a whine that you are not used to hearing from yourself. 

“Please,” you beg. You never beg. Not like this. “Please, Matthew, I… I’m sorry.”

What are you sorry for? You haven’t done anything wrong. But he makes you feel like you did. He makes you feel like you deserve to feel so pathetic, and that he owns your orgasms. 

He owns you. 

Well, shit. 

The ropes around your wrists disappear for a moment. A moment of mercy, you think, but he is quick to flip you onto your stomach. The bed creaks again. You catch a glimpse of his smirk again. His mask. His body. His cock. It looks like he touched himself while he fingered you, his cock pink and weeping as it stands tall against his stomach. You want to reach out and touch it, a rare beauty, a rare sight, but once again, you are disappointed. 

He flips you over, and he ties your hands back to the headboard. You’re once again trapped. 

A series of cries, “Please, please, please!” Passes your lips. You kick your feet, you say his name, and you moan when his lips travel down your exposed back. You would do anything for more, and you try to, but he won’t let up. 

This is what you get for making foolish choices. 

“Patience, sweetheart,” he rasps. His hand collides with your backside, and you cry out. The pain turns into the sweetest pleasure, making your clit throb in need. You can’t withstand him. “I’m far from done with you. You asked for this, remember?”

The way he says it sends shivers down your spine.

When his thick cock penetrates your tight walls, forcing your legs to stay together as he pushes his way forward, you surrender. Your jaw slacks in a needy moan. He’s got you wrapped around his finger and his cock, and the feelings he elicits in you are so inhuman, you get addicted. He’s a drug. He’s dangerous. 

But danger has never looked so fucking good before. 

Besides, you brought this upon yourself when you let him into your bed. When you asked him to fuck you like no one has ever fucked you before. When you gave him consent to touch you. And when you let him take you like this, you surrendered yourself to him all over again. All of you. Your mind, body, and soul. You gave it all to him. You’re his now. 

His. His. His. It keeps repeating in your mind as he pounds into you, and God, it is good. It is so good, you lose yourself, and you never want to go back. 

The stranger in the mask is what you need. He is all you will ever need. 

You asked for this. 

You made a deal with the devil and now you have to pay your dues. 

Matt Murdock Smut Tag List: @acharliecoxedfan @gpenguin666 @linamarr @mcugeekposts @itwasthereaminuteago @ravenclaw617 @mattkinsella @norestfortheshelbywicked @yarrystyleeza @littlenerdyravenclaw @etanordoesbullsh1t @thychuvaluswife @harleycao @schneeflocky @imjustcal @pipsqueakkitten @merlinbtch

Also tagging: @blackshadowswriter @1988-fiend

[thatpunkmaximoff]

Story: 3 out of 5 Smut: 5 out of 5

Normally I love bully romances or romances where the male love interests are unapologetic assholes, but there was just something about these three heathens that ALMOST made me dnf this book. Fortunately, I didn't, and I ended up liking the story well enough.

Romina is the most innocent and pure individual, and I wanted to protect her at all costs. Then I realized she had to learn what she liked, and I realized she fit in rather well with the heathens after all. The overturning of Roe V. Wade and the punishment of doctors was a little too real, and I'd never rooted for devil worshippers more than I had when I read this book.

Some of the spice was questionable, especially given how innocent Romina is in the beginning, and then it was downright filthy towards the end.

I might not have liked it as much as I thought I would, but I still recommend others to read it.

Now enjoy my ramblings..

* “You call out God’s name one more time while I’m between your legs, even he won’t be able to save you, little lamb.” — THE FIRST FUCKING SENTENCE, are you kidding me?! 😂

* Father Frollo can eat a dick.

* Holy fuck! These three little shits just bought the chapel.. the chapel where Frollo is hiding Romina!

* Damn.. these dudes are dicks. Poor Romina 😬

* Goddamn. He really just pulled her into his face and ate her out, huh 😏

* Now that the boys know the truth of her living situation, they’re PISSED!

* So Corvin is the only one holding out. Felix is okay, a little obsessed and very much protective while Sonny is just a plain dick.

* I like Reesa sticking up for Romina about the “bad touch”. Too bad Romina loves their touching tho 😂

* Sonny “called” Romina? Wtf is going on?

* I normally love the guys being assholes, but Romina is too pure/innocent to be given this treatment. Idk how I feel about this book.

* That cemetery scene.. I’m just.. at a loss for words 😳

* I’m noticing an uptick of girls getting fucked with the hilt of a knife 😂 Is everyone in crack?

* And goddamn, Sonny! Did you really have to tell Romina you didn’t like her after she had to use her safe word with you? What a dick. I hope Corvin is the first one to fuck her.

* She Arlan Black’s granddaughter?! I fucking knew it.

* Yesssss! Corvin fucked her first lmao.

* Oh no. They told her about Arlan.

* And fuck you, Frollo. I can’t believe you’re giving her an exorcism. You’re so fucked, dude.

* Now fuck you, Sonny, for kicking her out! I just hope Reesa is a decent human being.

* Ohhhh. Poor Romina 🥺 Can we let this girl be happy please?! She doesn’t deserve this.

* Well at least the boys realized they fucked up and took her back in.

* These Escura boys, man.. 🥵 She was the main dish in their spot roast 😂

* Alright, who the fuck tranqed Sonny?

* Oh fuck that dude. I’m so glad they killed him.

* Holy shit. The old man wants them to marry?!

* Aww. He was a virgin lol.

* She bound herself to them!!

* Frollo got what he deserved.

* And Romina got what she deserved as well. The heathens who will worship her until their time is up.

* I can’t believe they got married 😭

[headcannonsbutwrittenbyasnake]

A bunch of Devil may cry!Yuu headcanons

Also this is just a bunch of random headcanons not really in any order

Imma say this outright Yuu is Dante's kid (I say daughter but really it could be anything)

When Grimm and Yuu first meant and Grimm spit fire in her face, Yuu keep smiling and was just like "Neat!"

Also almost killed Crowley at the entrance ceremony and got collared by Riddle

Genuinely thought Riddle was a kid when she met him

Is so tired with life... She went from dealing with her family's antics to now this world antics? Just wants a break

Yuu also has some of Dante's old weapons- and a few of her own

Agni and Rudra, Nevan, and a pistol her Auntie Lady gave her :)

Just kinda watches most things play out

Like when Ace and Grimm got into a fight, she just didn't do anything

"Ohh now this is getting spicy! Oh wait, they've burnt the statue..."

Instead of Yuu calling out to Deuce to stop Ace, Grimm did.

Doesn't know how Ace is still alive after getting a cauldron dropped on him

Ace also found out very quickly what a 'summon sword' was

"AH! What the hell??" "Don't worry we do this in my family all the time!" "What the fuck is wrong with your family!"

Lets just say the Adeuce combo is confused and scared for Yuu's safety

Now ignoring all of the main story stuff them finding out Yuu is pretty much indestructible even by half demon standers was a complete accident

During a fight, a spell hit Yuu and flung them through a wall

Yuu just stood back up and proceeded to beat the ever living shit out of said student

"Yuu! Are you okay?" "Hm? Oh yeah, don't worry about it. My cousin and I use to throw each other threw walls to see who was stronger!" "..." "..." "Well who was stronger?" " My cousin."

After showing them a photo of her, Nero, Dante, and Vergil they had some questions

"You are all just copies of each other." "Well Dante and Vergil are twins." "Yeah we can tell."

After a few more questions Yuu retells the family history

"So you're all half demons right?" "Right," "And you only just found out your Uncle was alive?" "Yep" "After he tried to kill your father a couple of times, and took your cousin's arm?" "Uh-huh" "And you are completely okay living with him?" "Yeah why?" "Oh great seven..."

After Jack joined the first year squad, him and Yuu became very good friends

"Yuu, please don't throw Leona-senpai," "No, he talked shit, now he gets hit!" "Count him lucky it wasn't the gun."

Deuce + Yuu = The "I have a single parent who I love and if you say anything bad about them I will kill you" squad

Yuu cares for Grimm very deeply and would absolutely murder someone for him (Watch your back Idia)

Yuu like Chen'ya just not the rest of RSA

Neige was to sweet and pure, Yuu just doesn't know what do to

Can and will eat Lilia's cooking and scare the rest of Diasomnia

"Yuu-chan! I've made you a meal, it must be hard living all alone in Ramshackle." "Oh thank you Lilia"*takes a bite* "How does it taste?" "It's fine, definitely not the worst thing I've had..."

Silver's in the background wondering just what Yuu's eaten (Hint hint: it was demon)

Yuu was on the street for a while and being desperate and constantly hunted, Yuu just kinda... Killed a demon and ate it... A few times (if V can do it in the manga, Yuu can too)

Malleus and Yuu are pretty close

"You are not scared of me?" "Well you aren't scared of me."

Over all DMC!Yuu is pretty desensitized to violence and gore, is blunt, but cares deeply for her friends and family

[prophetparadox]

DMC OC Week 2022 Day 5: Job and Hobbies

@dmc-oc-week-specialedition​ 

Alright, how about something a bit more relaxed after the angst of yesterday’s prompt?

This is a pretty simple prompt, there’s honestly not much for me to say about it! Just me talking about Kay’s job and hobbies! Wish I had more to say, but I don’t! So...let’s just get right to it!

Kay works for the one and only Devil May Cry, though she doesn’t start out doing what she wanted to do. While she had skills in killing demons, Dante wanted her to live the way she was unable to for the longest time. So he basically gave Kay an intern position of sorts. She watched over the office, picked up pizzas, that kind of thing. Dante had good intentions, but unfortunately this wasn’t what she wanted to be doing. She wanted to be killing demons, just as she had before.

This would change on May 15th. V requested her services in helping defeat Urizen, a request which Dante reluctantly accepted. She would help V retrieve Nero from Fortuna, and be the only member of the main Devil May Cry branch to make it out of the Qliphoth. For the next month, she traveled Red Grave City with V, trying to minimize the casualties and damage from the Qliphoth until the time came to fight Urizen.

Afterwards, Kay would go on to start up a third branch of Devil May Cry in Red Grave, to help deal with remaining demon problems and lighten Nero’s workload. She’s now a full fledged Devil Hunter, alongside her partner.

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

If one good thing came out of Kay being stuck in the DMC office though, it was being able to develop hobbies she never had the chance to thanks to her lost childhood. The one that she really got attached to was baking. Making delicious treats such as brownies, cookies, pies, cupcakes, etcetera became something she was really good at. It helped that it became a source of stress relief for her. Her specialty is, without a doubt, her salted caramel brownies. People just can’t get enough of them! Especially Dante, as she has to hide them whenever she makes them because he’ll otherwise eat them all.

Another hobby she took to was reading. She was already an advanced reader, having started reading at three years old, and she kept her skills sharp during the years she was living out on the streets. But she hadn’t exactly been reading for fun, it was only for survival. So with the help of the local library, she began checking out books of all kinds, catching up on the things she’d missed. From classics to modern hits, across various genres, she was commonly seen walking around the office with a book in hand. She loves Edgar Allen Poe and Stephen King the most.

It wasn’t just reading that she spent her time doing, but watching movies as well. Just like with books, she wanted to catch up on movies she’d missed watching growing up while enjoying new ones as well. And movies very quickly became something she enjoyed, to the point where movie nights would become a thing with her as well, and anyone who was in the office for one would be joining them. Again, the local library was a huge help in this regard, especially since streaming services and piracy were a struggle for her due to lack of internet at the office. Her favorites tend to be horror, musicals, and animated films of all kinds. She especially loves Tim Burton movies.

And to a lesser extent, she got into video games as well. While it wasn’t a hobby she could go full in on due to lack of money, she does enjoy a good RPG title since they’re long and she can spend a lot of time on them before they end.

[yami-kada]

Mission 2

Recently I read a fanfic on AO3 called Interlude - Class 1-A by @itslivybear and was inspired a bit to write a fic based on that! Well really I got inspiration for a single line (you'll know it when you see it) and then had to write a whole thing to be able to share that one line, but oh well. This is my first time writing a chatfic or even any BNHA content at all, so I hope it doesn't suck! Thanks to @shadesofflame for being an awesome beta!

(Quick FYI in this AU M*neta and Bakugou are replaced with Shinsou and Monoma, sorry for any confusion. Also a name guide can be found at the bottom.)

RockSolid: Um, so.

RockSolid: Remember the missions during the Sports Festival?

PurpleGrape: Oh hell yeah.

PurpleGrape: Still cherish the look on that bastard's face.

Spoderman: jehxgjc Kiri I got it on video!!!

JazzHands: You've had video of the capture of the bounty this whole time and never showed us???

LSD: I thought we were friends Sero!

Spoderman: omg no not that I totally would have shared earlier if i did

Spoderman: im talking about That.

RockSolid: no Sero don't tell them!

RockSolid: it's embarrassing!

PikaCHU: Tell us, tell us!

NYOOM: Kaminari-kun! If Kirishima-kun wishes to keep his privacy, then it is our duty as his classmates to respect that!

Spoderman: ok but consider: he already gave them a major hint and they are about to POUNCE

BreadIsPain: As a witness as well, I must say that Kirishima was si attirant que j'ai failli m'évanouir~*

RockSolid: thanks, I think?

MOMo: To paraphrase Aoyama, he is essentially saying you were very manly, Kirishima!

RockSolid: aw thanks bro!! Don't believe you but thanks!

Spoderman: you take that lack of confidence back I have evidence right here that says you are super fucking manly!

LSD: ok please now we have to know so that we can show Kiri how great he is!!!

MOMo: I must admit that the commentary seen thus far has me rather curious as well.

RockSolid: You guys…

RockSolid: alright then, I'll tell you!

Spoderman: sweet ill pull it up!

RockSolid: bro don't you dare! my story, I get to tell it!

Spoderman: oh yeah of course bro!!

Spoderman: but if after you wanna show it then i am READY.

JazzHands: This is very sweet and all but I am very thirsty for this TEA.

RockSolid: on it!

Kirby: Kiri you've been typing for so long that I'm getting Izuku vibes here.

GreenGrape: Hey!

RockSolid: sorry! this is harder than I thought!

Spoderman: want me to start it off?

RockSolid: you know what, sure.

Spoderman: aight so,

Spoderman: Council, what qualifies as capturing the bounty?

GreenGrape: Guys no the bounty is over please no more bounty-hunting Kacchan.

MOMo: Your objection is noted and overruled, Izuku.

MOMo: For your question, Sero, I do not believe we ever set specific limitations on what qualified, but I was under the impression that it was limited to the Sports Festival. Why do you ask?

Spoderman: just double checking

Spoderman: because my bro here just totally shot both missions out of the park!!!

LSD: gaSP!!!

JazzHands: bOTH?!

RockSolid: no not both!! we have no confirmation for either, technically!

Kirby: Technically? What do you mean by that?

RockSolid: ahhhh ok so Sero and I were eating lunch in the courtyard because it was nice out, right?!

RockSolid: and we were chillin, being bros, birds were singing, all was good.

RockSolid: and then we heard a small explosion before the bounty walked in at the other end of the courtyard and started kicking at the wall.

PikaCHU: omg so angy.

RockSolid: and like fine, we can tune him out, just try to act like he's not there, you know?

RockSolid: But then he started yelling at random people in the courtyard, just acting pissed as hell.

PikaCHU: oMG so ANGY.

RockSolid: and that's just not manly at all, you know? going off on people like that just because you're in a bad mood.

GreenGrape: Yeah… that's Kacchan for you.

RockSolid: so he's making his way around the courtyard now, like everyone needs their daily dose of asshole for him to be happy, and the closer he got the more annoyed I got.

Spoderman: here it comes!

RockSolid: and eventually I get up, because I have had just about enough, and walk right up to him.

RockSolid: he doesn't see me coming, because he was too busy yelling at some girl, and I get right up behind him.

RockSolid: and then I just called out to get his attention, and spun him to face me while making sure I end up between him and the girl.

RockSolid: and well I told him off a little bit and got him to back off then left in a hurry.

RockSolid: and that's it!

Spoderman: oh no you don't

BreadIsPain: Oui! Monsieur Kirishima, you must tell the climax with just as much zest as the build-up!

Spoderman: what he said! no skipping out on the best part!

RockSolid: but!!!

Jacked: No buts, mister. We're all way too invested now for you to back down.

RockSolid: :(

RockSolid: fine! you win!

RockSolid: so uh when I got his attention, I also got my hand onto his shoulder, and used his surprise to knock his feet a bit off balance and pulled him back, but then I ended up with him in my arms and could tell he was about to start yelling so I just…

RockSolid: you know…

RockSolid: flirted?

LSD: oh my GoD this is great!!!

PikaCHU: Hell yeah Kiri! Go get yourself a manz!

RockSolid: I'm not getting a man! He's probably going to kill me the next time he sees me!

Spoderman: i dunno, it took him a good long while to reboot after what you said there

Spoderman: you might have a shot

PurpleGrape: Well if you're not going to get a man out of this, mind telling us what you said so I can bait him next time he tries to be an ass?

RockSolid: uhhh…

RockSolid: I'm nervous.

BreadIsPain: If you will allow me, I shall finish your tale off dazzlingly!

RockSolid: Thanks Aoyama.

BreadIsPain: Bien entendu!

BreadIsPain: While holding him in his arms tightly in a dip, faces inches apart, Monsieur Kirishima leaned impossibly closer to emphasize his point.

RockSolid: oh god I regret everything.

LSD: Hush, it's getting good!

BreadIsPain: With a growl to his voice and his eyes burning above a smirk, he said "You know, you're damn cute when you're angry, but you'd be downright sexy if you shut the fuck up." Then he straightened up to fling the lost soul to the side, and saunter off like the devil was guarding his back, leaving the bounty terribly confused in his wake.

PurpleGrape: Whoa.

PikaCHU: Holy shit?!

RockSolid: what is that description?!?!?!

JazzHands: Kiri that was PERFECT oh my god?!

LSD: It's ART is what it is!

Spoderman: don't forget how red the guy was! Kiri was cool as a cucumber but the other guy couldn't stop blushing after seeing his face!!!

MOMo pinned a message

RockSolid: Yaomomo!!!

MOMo: My apologies, Kirishima, but I felt it only right to ensure easy access to your most manly moment.

LSD: Yeah Kiri! Then one day we can all look back on this and celebrate how everything started!!

RockSolid: How what started???

LSD: E v e r y t h i n g

RockSolid: @Spoderman bro hide me I’m scared.

Spoderman: hey guys, wanna see a GREAT video?

Spoderman: the stars are our main man, Kiri, and the bounty!

PikaCHU: hell yeah!!!

Jacked: Lay it on me.

PurpleGrape: Sure.

JazzHands: Do you really have to ask????

RockSolid: but I already told you what happened!

RockSolid: why do you want to see me being so embarrassing?

PikaCHU: bro we all appreciate you so much of course we want to see you being manly!

LSD: Just from what you all said there is no way you don’t look great in that vid, Kiri!

PikaCHU: gotta give support where support is due!!

PurpleGrape: They’ll all bully Sero into showing them one way or another anyways, might as well give in now.

RockSolid: but...

BreadIsPain: Nous devons vous montrer à quel point vous brillez et dissiper ces pensées douteuses!**

MOMo: I could not have said it better myself, Aoyama!

RockSolid: I don’t even know what he said though?!?!?!?!?!?!

Spoderman: Kiri.

Spoderman: Bro.

Jacked: Well shoot he’s using proper grammar and everything.

Spoderman: Rude.

Spoderman: Anyways Bro.

RockSolid: yeah?

Spoderman: You are epic. This video shows you being epic. And putting an asshole in their place.

Spoderman: You have nothing to be ashamed of, and every reason to be proud. So please let me show the video so that everyone can appreciate you like you deserve bro.

RockSolid: bro…

Spoderman: Bro.

RockSolid: bro -

Spoderman: Bro?

RockSolid: bro!

Spoderman: aight everyone down to the common room its up on the big screen

Spoderman: i have popcorn too

Jacked: Not even gonna question that.

LSD: Finally!!!

JazzHands: Yuss!!!

BreadIsPain: Je vais regarder avec enthousiasme!***

MOMo: As will all of us I’m sure, Aoyama!

RockSolid: Thanks guys!

RockSolid: Now get down here and watch me maybe get a man!

Translations:

*so attractive that I almost swooned.

**We must show you how much you shine, and dispel those self-doubting thoughts!

***I shall excitedly watch!

Guide to names:

GreenGrape - Izuku

PurpleGrape - Hitoshi

CopyCat - Monoma Neito

MOMo - Yaoyorozu Momo

datBoi - Asui Tsuyu

JazzHands - Hagakure Toru

NYOOM - Iida Tenya

SnowWhite - Kouda Kouji

LifeIsPain - Tokoyami Fumikage

BreadIsPain - Aoyama Yuga

Kirby - Uraraka Ochaco

LSD - Ashido Mina

PikaCHU - Kaminari Denki

RockSolid - Kirishima Eijiro

RipHarambe - Ojiro Mashirao

IcyHot - Todoroki Shoto

MuffinMan - Sato Rikido

Octodad - Shouji Mezou

Jacked - Jirou Kyoka

Spoderman - Sero Hanta

[collecting-stories]

I Feel it all Over - t. 04 - JJ Maybank

Summary: Kiara surprises you at church and you spend the day with her, JJ, and Pope.

A/N: If you haven't ever listened to them...can I just highly recommended listening to The Maine (whose album You Are Ok this is based on)? They’re music is amazing...You Are Ok, American Candy, and Pioneer are probably my favorite albums of theirs. Plus they did an incredible cover of Watermelon Sugar...if you’re a fan of Harry Styles. 

You Are Ok Masterlist | Outer Banks Masterlist

✞ I swear to every god I feel everything tonight with you ✞

New patrons to the church were usually whole families that came to services, whose fathers or mothers agreed your father’s lesson and felt drawn to the “community” of the Baptist denomination. They responded to the clickbait phrases and did feel lost in their everyday life. It was very rare that any new member, or anyone testing the church out for the first time, would be a single person, a teenager far removed from the beliefs and traditions of the church. But there was Kiara, walking up the few steps into the vestibule. She wasn’t here because of any lost feelings; she was here because she wanted to get to know you more. What JJ had told her, and what she had seen for herself on Friday, was someone that she definitely wanted to be friends with.  

She had no bet to dictate how or when she became friends with you. She slipped into the line of people entering the church, catching sight of you standing by the door handing out pamphlets for that morning’s service. Making sure she was at the end of the line, she waved as she approached, happy to see you.  

“What are you doing here?” You asked, glancing into the church before giving her a quick hug. If your parents or any other family saw they would ask how you knew this complete stranger and why you seemed so friendly with someone who had never been to the church before.  

“JJ stole you on Friday,” she shrugged, “thought maybe we could hang out after church?”  

“Yeah,” you nodded, a story already formulating in your head to tell your parents. Your mother always said that a lie was the devil on your tongue and the first time she’d said it you were convinced that the devil had taken out real estate because you lied constantly, and with ease. Sometimes just to see if you could get away with it. “That would be amazing.”

As far as friends went, you had very few. Your main source of companionship had come from your brothers and sisters, other friends were just acquaintances from youth group or church retreats that you never really felt any deeper connection with. The further away from the fold you felt, the less you found a community for yourself. You had been doubting for so long now that anything within the church felt like a show you were putting on for other people’s amusement, the emotions weren’t real and niether were you.  

JJ wasn’t the first boy you had ever let yourself like but he was the first person you had ever felt comfortable being yourself around. There was no fear of judgement or rejection with him, nothing you said was turned into a weapon to make you feel guilty or unworthy, you didn’t have to pretend to be someone you weren’t. You had been nervous to meet his friends, feeling so different from them, but Kiara and Pope had been nice, welcoming, and all you felt was ease. Even now, seeing Kiara had put a more genuine smile on your face than seeing your family visiting for church.

“I wore my best ‘church’ outfit,” Kiara said, gesturing to the maxi dress and sweater she was wearing. The dress was backless and strappy but it was the only thing she owned that wasn’t short. She’d thrown a sweater overtop, hoping she could play off the dress better.

“You blend right in,” you laughed, “I’m relegated to sit up front...I don’t know if you wanna sit with me up there?”

“Lead the way.”

The “peace be with you’s” weren’t too bad and you lied to your mom when she asked how you knew Kiara, telling her that you had met at Heyward's and invited Kiara to church because she was interested in the tract you had. Your mother’s love for testimony and her conviction that people really did want to be approached on the street and harassed about their faith were enough to convince her that your story was solid. It was enough, even, to give you permission to go to lunch with Kiara after service was over.  

Kiara hadn’t been to church since she was thirteen and her mom decided that she was old enough to choose whether or not she actually wanted to be there. That sort of power and responsibility had been all Kiara needed to ditch Sunday service altogether and spend her mornings out on the waves with the pogues, worshipping a different sort of force. She was a lot less religious and a lot more spiritual now though she listened intently to your father preaching. The opinions were hogwash, nothing to bat an eye at, but the actual teachings were interesting. You seemed relatively invested in those parts too, your notes, Kiara realized, looked a lot more like a theology lesson than a preacher’s condemnation of society.  

“You know a lot about the bible,” Kiara mentioned once you were out of church and back at her house, changing into jeans and a shirt of hers.  

“I like studying religion, theology,” you clarified, “my grandfather knew a lot about the texts. Not like my dad, he’s just...got his own ideas. My grandfather knew the Greek and Hebrew translations and spent years studying other religions as well. It was so cool to talk to him about it. I like that part, the history, the context, more than the ‘fundamentalist/evangelical crap’ my dad touts.”

“Is that something you’d study?” She asked, pulling a tank top on over her bathing suit, “like in college?”

“My parents won’t let me go to college.” You replied.  

“That’s so crazy, my parents would kill me if I didn’t go.”

You spent the drive to Kiara’s dad’s restaurant explaining your parents future plan for your life, including telling her about the boy that your parents wanted you to marry. When she asked if JJ knew you admitted that he did and that you weren’t really sure what was going to happen when you turned eighteen. You knew what your parents wanted, for you to get engaged and then quickly married, but that wasn’t what you wanted at all.  

“If I say that though...there’s a good chance I’d be ex-communicated. Not just from the church but from my family. One of my cousins defected and no one speaks to her anymore.” You said, “it’s like a massive stain on her family’s reputation.”

“Yeah but if she’s happy, does it matter?”

“It’s...it’s not just that I haven’t worn jeans or drank a soda,” you said, following Kiara out onto the back deck to eat, “it’s that I don’t have anyone outside my family. It’s not just being sheltered, it’s being isolated. And I know that, and I hate it but...it’s all I know.”  

“None of your siblings have done it differently?”  

“No.” You shook your head, “I think I would’ve been fine coasting too...I was pretty much set that this was it ya know? But then...JJ asked me out.” You admitted.

Kiara frowned, “yeah but you don’t know what’s gonna happen with JJ in the future.”

You shrugged, “it’s not just about him...it’s me, feeling happier and more confident.”  

“Talking about me?” JJ’s voice came from behind you and you turned around, watching him and Pope walk up to the railing of the deck. He put his hands on the railing, pulling himself up so he could lean over and kiss your cheek.

“I should’ve known you guys would crash.” Kiara said, rolling her eyes as JJ climbed the rest of the way up, hopping over the railing onto the deck.  

“What’re you guys up to?” Pope asked, staying on the other side.

“Kie mentioned taking the ferry to Chapel Hill.” You replied, “I have to be back before dark though.”

“So what’re we waiting for?” JJ said, grabbing your soda and taking a sip.  

-

The four of you rode the ferry over to Chapel Hill, standing on the back deck the whole time talking. Kiara suggested shopping the moment you got off the ferry, telling you that all she wanted was to see you pick out an actual outfit.  

“Nothing hand-me-down or borrowed, just like a real, honest outfit that you pick out.” Kiara said, taking your hand in hers as she pushed open the door to one of the small stores along the main road.  

JJ followed you to the back of the store where the sale racks were, skimming through clothes, holding up different things that were still a little too far out of your comfort zone. You shook your head at a spaghetti strapped mini dress, pulling a crossover out to show him, “I like this one.”

“Try it on.” He shrugged.  

“Where’s the changing area?” You asked, looking around the small area.  

JJ grabbed your hand, “over here.” He led you to the curtained off stalls, pulling you into one of them and hanging the dress up.  

“I have a very strong feeling that if anyone caught us we would be in massive trouble.” You whispered, biting your lip to stop from laughing as JJ moved so that you were looking in the mirror and he was behind you, hands on your hips. He rested his head on your shoulder, nudging his face into the space between your shirt and your neck, kissing the exposed skin.  

“Yeah but you’ve never been shopping so what do you know?” JJ replied, as if it was obvious and he wasn’t just bullshitting you to stay in the changing room.  

You turned in his arms, putting your hands over his, “I’m not changing with you in here.”

“Fine,” he groaned, “If I leave will you try on something for me?”

“Fine.” You mimicked. You kissed him, initiating it for yourself this time, before pushing him into the curtain. He gave another exasperated sigh as he swept the curtain out of the way and left you to change.

Alone in the dressing room, you changed out of your clothes and tried on the floral wrap dress. It tied off at the waist, cutting a deep V and a slit up to your thigh. It was a dress but not like any you had ever worn before. You pushed the curtain enough that you could peek out to see JJ. He was slouched in the chair, texting, while he waited for you.

“I thought you were picking something out?” You said, looking over at him.

He shrugged, “I’d rather see what you like then pick something out for you.”  

“Thanks,” you nodded.  

JJ watched you as you pushed the curtain back and stepped out of the changing room. “Holy shit,” he mouthed. “Wait, don’t move!”

“What? Why?” You asked as he lifted his phone in front of his face.  

“I wanna picture of this.” He replied. Sure, he had seen you in a dress before but he had never seen you in a dress like this, one that actually fit you well, that wasn’t trying to hide your figure but accentuate it. One that you looked so incredibly happy in.  

“So I take it I don’t look half bad?” You joked, stepping further out when he had stashed his phone and stood up.  

“Half bad? You look...incredible.” JJ replied. Deciding it was worth mentioning, he added, “you look really happy.”

“I really like this dress. I’ve never really...liked anything I’ve worn before. Like, it’s just always felt like, clothes. This is different.” You admitted.

Your clothes were just whatever hand-me-downs fit you. From siblings, relatives, church members, it was never your stuff, you never chose it, never got to say what you liked or disliked.  

“Oh my god!” Kiara exclaimed, coming over and interrupting your moment with JJ, “you look so pretty.”  

“Thanks.” You nodded, smiling at her, “I think I’m gonna get it.”  

“Let me.” JJ piped up and you looked over at him.  

“You don’t have to.”

“I want to.” He insisted.  

There was little further discussion to be had about it, JJ purchasing the dress for you and the four of you wandering around the rest of Chapel Hill, heading in and out of a few different shops. Pope talked to you about his future college plans and you listened intently. Being with JJ was amazing but being able to be friends with a guy, just sitting with Pope and not having to consider anything other that friendship, was so underrated in your life. You had never been friends with a boy either.  

-

Kiara drove you back to your house after you changed, just getting inside as your sister Praise was setting the table. “Hi! I’m so sorry I’m late!” You apologized, “Kie and I were just chatting and I lost track of time.”

“That’s okay Ace, mom was just telling us about Timothy’s visit. Are you excited?” Praise asked, wrapping her arms around you in a hug.  

You hugged her back, “I’m very excited.” You lied.  

Robert gave you a hug as you walked further into the house, handing off a baby and soon you were outside, supervising kids while your other siblings sat and chatted with your parents around the table. You were only two years younger than Robert but he was married with a kid and another on the way and that automatically made you still a kid. Though you felt less and less like a kid every day.  

Your parents talked about Timothy’s visit and their own upcoming trip, ignoring anything that actually had to do with you or your interests. Even Praise, in talking about your upcoming nuptials, mentioned that her dress was still in good condition if you needed one.  

“Oh, wouldn’t that be amazing Ace? You could wear Praise’s dress?” Your mother mentioned from across the table, smiling at you as if all her dreams were being realized right there at the table.

“Amazing.”  

-

The sound of tapping at your window startled you as you sat on the bed, reading before sleep. You walked over, lifting the blinds to see JJ standing there. He waved as you opened the window for him.  

“What are you doing here?”

“I missed you, I wanted to see you.” He replied, leaning into the window space.  

“You just saw me earlier.” You pointed out.  

“I also wanted to know if you wanted to go for a ‘midnight swim’ with me, Kie, and Pope?” JJ said, “we’re taking the HMS out. John B and Sarah don’t feel like going out and I figured you might.”

“I’m lucky no one caught me last time JJ,” you replied, “I don’t know if I can risk it.”

“That’s fine,” he said, “you don’t have to.”

You bit your bottom lip, glancing back over at your door. Your parents were asleep for the night and the thought of getting to spend more time with JJ was just too tempting for you to say no too. You were sure your dad had some bible verse to offer for you as proof that this was an evil infatuation but you could care less, agreeing to go and grabbing the swimsuit that JJ had given you. “Just let me change.”

“Can do.” JJ turned around, back to the window, and you almost laughed.  

You changed quickly before climbing out the window, “I better not get in trouble for this.”

JJ led you through the woods to John B’s house, just like the night of the kegger, taking you down to the jetty. Kiara waved when she saw you and Pope helped you onto the HMS.  

“I can’t believe you let him sneak you out.” Pope joked as JJ boarded the boat.  

He drove you out on the marsh, parking in an open area where they couldn’t be seen by lights at the edge of anyone’s yard. The HMS didn’t have lights itself and they banked on that to keep themselves mostly out of trouble. Kiara lit a lantern in the middle of the boat but otherwise it was dark as they jumped in, JJ hanging back with you.  

The two of you sat on the bench together, in your own little world seemingly. “Can I try a sip?” You asked, holding your hand out for the beer he was drinking.  

“You sure?” He asked.

“Yeah, positive.”  

He passed the beer over, laughing when you took a big gulp and then practically spit in out. “Oh my god, that’s horrible!” You cried, sticking your tongue out.  

“I warned you.” He laughed.

“Not enough,” you replied, “that’s really gross.”  

“Sorry babe,” he wrapped his arm around you, pulling you against him and kissing your cheeks and then your lips. “We’ll stick to soda for now.”  

“Yes please.” You replied, kissing him back.

“Quit macking on each other and get in the water!” Pope shouted, grabbing on to the side of the boat and pushing himself up so that the HMS would rock slightly.  

You grabbed onto JJ more, laughing as the boat swayed.  

“What the fuck Pope, we’re coming.” He grumbled. “I’m trying to spend time with my girlfriend.”

-

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[e350tb]

The Owl House: A Blight on Gravesfield (Chapter Three)

Three

Everyone has a bit of a talk...

The Connecticut Witch Trials were the first large scale witch hunts to occur in the American Colonies. Eat your heart out, Salem.

Now it’s worth pointing out that they were much less intense than the Salem Witch Trials; more people were executed in Salem in fifteen months then were killed in Connecticut in fifteen years. Nevertheless, they certainly had an effect on the people of the young colony; and indeed, on the town of Gravesfield.

The panic started with the trial and execution of Alse Young in Hartford, in May 1647. The following year, also in Hartford, Mary Johnson confessed to ‘familiarity with the devil’ - because of a pregnancy while imprisoned, she wouldn’t be executed until 1650. The tendrils of suspicion seeped out across the land, and before long, an accusation was made in Gravesfield.

The year was 1651. Philip Wittlesbane was already a source of some contention in Gravesfield; he had written a pamphlet denouncing the execution of King Charles I, claiming it to be a ‘miscarriage of justice by a vengeful, prideful victor.’ He’d actually spent a day in the pillory for it, and probably would have suffered worse if he had not clarified that he certainly wasn’t a Royalist.

The Wittelsbanes had started off, like most people in Connecticut, as fairly staunch, if not particularly active, supporters of Parliament. John remained so throughout the Civil War period, but it seems Philip grew more and more concerned about the Roundheads as time went on. It was not the execution of Charles that really seems to have soured Philip, but the establishment of the ‘Rump Parliament’, which was basically a seizure of power by the supporters of Cromwell’s New Model Army.

That’s a gross oversimplification, but we’re not talking about Cromwell today.

By 1650, Philip had become a big supporter of the rights of men - not women, just men, this was the seventeenth century - and by men, we mean Englishmen. All Englishmen, regardless of wealth, status or faith. Well, as long as that faith was Christian, anyway.

This troubled John and the other city fathers, who had something of a stake in keeping power centered on a wealthy, Puritan elite. And as Philip started to get more and more in trouble with the authorities, John started to worry about his writings about witches coming out; because then, of course, the authorities would find out what John had been writing about them too.

On one hand, Philip was his brother. On the other hand, he might doom them both.

On a summers’ day in 1651, John and Philip went for a ‘private discussion’ out in the woods near Gravesfield. John’s friend, Thomas Goodfaith Masterson - fantastic name - waited at John’s house for them to return; ‘John hath told me most firmly that by sundown, the matter of Philip would be solved.’

John returned alone that afternoon. Philip never returned again.

--------

The tension in the air was so thick that you could cut it with a knife.

Luz, Amity and Vee sat on the couch; Luz’ eyes were fixed firmly on the floor as Camila paced in front of them. No-one knew quite how to start this conversation; there was that strange feeling in the air, the feeling when nobody is in trouble, but at the same time everybody is in trouble.

Perhaps it would be more correct to say that nobody was in trouble from Camila, but they were all in a lot of trouble from reality.

Camila inhaled through her nose.

“Okay,” she said. “I want you to start at the beginning. What happened before you got here?”

“Well,” Luz rubbed the back of her head. “It involves Emperor Belos. And, well, I don’t wanna upset Vee…”

Camila turned to Vee.

“Vee, if you need to leave the room at any time…”

“No.” Vee shook her head. “I’ll be okay, I think.”

Luz nodded.

“Okay,” she said, “It all started this morning, at the Owl House…”

 -------

“Luz… hey, Luz… Luz. Luz. Hey, Luz.”

Slowly, Luz opened her eyes.

She had been lying face-first on the floor, scribbled notes surrounding her; the Echo Mouse snoozing quietly next to her. King was prodding her gently with a stick, and the rays of the sun were spilling through the window into the lounge room. When she had fallen asleep, she couldn't tell.

“Ugh.” She pushed herself up, turning onto her back. She could see Eda leaning on the door frame, arms crossed, a little smirk on her face.

“Fall asleep on the floor again?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Hey!” replied Luz. “It’s only been… one, two… wow, three nights in a row.”

“Yeah, and I can’t nap on the couch while you’re down there talking in your sleep!” exclaimed King. “What the heck’s a Vee, anyway?”

“It’s, uh, my favourite letter!” replied Luz, sitting up quickly. “Yeah, gotta love that letter V, am I right?!”

Eda and King stared.

“You don’t really think I’m that dumb, do you?” asked King.

“Something’s bugging me about you, Luz,” said Eda, walking over to her. “Is something on your mind?”

“You mean, apart from building the portal home?”

“You’ve been obsessed!” exclaimed Eda. “Normally you’d have been up two hours ago to go to school. I mean, if you wanna play hooky, go right ahead, but…”

“I’m missing school!” exclaimed Luz. “I can’t- I gotta-”

She ran a hand through her hair.

“I… no, I can’t go to Hexside, I’ve gotta focus on this!” she said, turning back to her notes. “I’m almost there, I’m sure of it…”

Eda and King exchanged glances.

“You, uh, you sure everything went okay with that portal?” asked King.

“If there’s a problem, you know you can tell us,” said Eda. “I mean, if you can’t trust family, who can you trust?”

Luz glanced from her notes to Eda and back again, exhaling through her nose.

“I… okay,” she replied. “It… it didn’t go that great.”

Eda sat down on the couch and patted the spot next to her. Luz gave her a small, grateful smile and took her seat.

“Mom… she really kinda freaked out,” she said, her fingers tightening on the edge of the couch. “And she was really upset, and I… I kinda promised when I got home…”

“...you’d stay with her,” said Eda.

Luz looked away, nodding.

“But you don’t want to?” asked King.

“I… I’d give the world to see Mom again!” replied Luz. “But I don’t want to give up you guys, or Amity, or Willow or Gus; heck, I don’t even wanna give up Hooty! I just… I’ve got so much more here in the Boiling Isles than I did in Connecticut.”

“Yeah, Connecticut stinks!” said King.

“You’ve never been,” said Eda.

“Yeah, but you can tell by the name,” replied King, crossing his arms. “It’s spelt Connect-I-Cut, but they drop the T! That doesn’t even make sense!”

Luz chuckled despite herself.

“It’s just… I don’t wanna go back to having no friends,” she said. “And I love mom, but it’s always just been me and her, and…”

“You don’t wanna be lonely.” Eda put a hand on Luz’ shoulder.

“Yeah,” replied Luz. “I don’t.”

“Hey,” Eda smiled. “We’ll sort something out, okay? If you want, I can come with you when you finish the portal, and we’ll talk to her about everything, okay? Maybe when she sees how good the Boiling Isles has been for you, she’ll let us… I dunno, timeshare or something? Is that the word?”

Luz looked up, into Eda’s eyes, and smiled.

“Yeah,” she replied. “Maybe that’ll-”

“SWEET TITAN, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO LULU!”

Hooty’s voice echoed through the house, and Eda shot to her feet.

“Lilith?” she exclaimed.

The three ran to the door, throwing it open.

Lilith was on her knees, about twenty five yards from the Owl House, bound by her arms and legs. Two guards stood on each side of her, pointing spears at her abdomen. Behind them were about a dozen more guards, and three hulking Abomatons - atop the middle of which stood a familiar, short figure.

“Kikimora!” exclaimed Luz.

Luz could just about see her cheeks raise - a sign that the little demon might have been smiling, or perhaps smirking was a better word.

“Sorry to barge in like this,” she said, in a tone that indicated she was not sorry at all, “But I’m afraid the Emperor has an outstanding warrant for Edalyn Clawthorne for disturbing his operations.”

“What?” demanded Eda. “You can’t prove I’ve done anything! ...recently.”

“Oh, really? I think you’ll find we can.” 

Kikimora clapped her hands together. A limp sack, like a figure secured in a black spider’s web, hovered out from behind the Abomaton. Suddenly it dropped, as if an invisible string had been cut, and the black tendrils fell away. A limp, bespectacled figure crashed down into the dust, coughing and wheezing.

Eda’s eyes widened, her fists clenched and shaking.

“Raine!”

 -------

“Raine?”

Luz shrugged as her mother asked about the name.

“I don’t really know them,” she said. “Eda mentioned them a couple of times, but…”

“Raine Whispers,” interrupted Amity. “Head of the Bard Coven. They disappeared a few weeks ago.”

Her fingers tightened on the edge of the couch.

“If Belos could turn on one of his own coven leaders…”

“I’m sorry, what exactly is a coven?” asked Camila.

“They’re like… I dunno, magic classes,” replied Luz. “Once you pick a coven, you’re stuck in it for life, and you can’t do any other magic. There are nine main covens, and then there’s a bunch of smaller covens under them, and… oh, yeah, and there’s the Emperor’s Coven, who can do any magic they want.”

Camila frowned.

“Pretty convenient that the Emperor’s Coven gets to do everything.”

“I don’t get it,” said Vee. “If Luz was with the Owl Lady, how did Amity get mixed up in all this?”

“I can explain that,” replied Amity. “You see…”

 -------

Hexside before classes started was always a den of activity. Students bustled too and fro, rushing to get to their first period (or not rushing, in the case of more than a few students), and the corridors were jam-packed with people.

Unfortunately, not the person Amity was waiting for this morning.

“Hey, Amity!”

Amity finished grabbing her books from her locker and turned - Willow and Gus were approaching, both looking more than a little worried.

“Oh, hey Gus,” said Amity. “Hey Willow. Have you seen Luz?”

“We were kinda hoping you had,” replied Gus. “We haven’t heard anything all weekend.”

“We’re hoping she hasn’t spent the whole weekend studying Philip’s diary and forgotten to sleep again,” said Willow, “But…”

“That’s probably what happened,” said Gus bluntly.

“Well, she did keep sending me pictures of echo mouse projections, so…” said Amity.

“Okay,” said Gus, punching his palm. “We’re gonna need to stage an intervention.”

“Please don’t tell me it’s gonna involve cinnamon and formaldehyde again,” sighed Willow.

“It was one time, Willow! One time!”

Amity rubbed her arm.

“I don’t know,” she said. “Luz has been really… distracted since she went through that proto-portal. I think something happened there…”

“Something bad?” replied Willow.

“I don’t know.” Amity looked down at her feet. “I feel like something bad happened with her and her mom, but…”

“Ahem! Hello there, students!”

Amity turned. Principal Bump was leaning against the next locker, one hand on his hip.

“Uh… hello, Principal Bump,” replied Amity.

“So, how’s that, uh, Grudgby scene going?” asked Bump, trying and failing to act casual, “Down with Glandus, am I right? Huh, am I right?”

There was a long, awkward silence.

“Principal Bump,” said Gus, “you’re making me very uncomfortable.”

Bump cleared his throat.

“Yes, quite,” he said. “Anyway, I just wanted to randomly tell you that, say, if I was privy to any information that the Emperor’s Coven was going to act against the Owl House, I wouldn’t be at liberty to tell you.”

“What?” quizzed Willow.

“I’m saying that, if I had somehow been informed that the Emperor’s Coven may or may not be attacking the Owl House, I couldn’t tell you.”

“The Emperor’s Coven is attack-”

Willow covered Gus’ mouth.

Amity narrowed her eyes.

“And who… wouldn’t you be able to tell us gave you this information?” she asked.

“I absolutely couldn’t tell you if it was the Golden Guard,” replied Bump.

“So it must’ve been someone else!” exclaimed Gus.

Willow and Amity shot him meaningful looks.

“Okay,” nodded Willow, “thank you for… not telling us, Principal Bump.”

“You did hear it from me,” nodded Bump.

He blinked.

“Wait, that should have been you didn’t hear it from… well, anyway, I’ll be in my office.”

He walked very briskly away.

“We’ve gotta warn Luz!” exclaimed Gus.

“Come on!” shouted Willow, “We might be able to get there before them if…”

“Wait, they might already be there!” said Amity. “We have to come up with a…”

She trailed off as Willow and Gus darted off down the hall, headed for the exit.

“Okay, forget the plan,” she shrugged. “Wait up!”

 -------

“And then what happened?” asked Vee.

Amity shrugged.

“Willow and Gus got there just a little before I did,” she replied. “But we were too late. The Emperor had gotten there first.”

Luz glanced at Amity, a slight frown on her face, but said nothing.

“And the Emperor hurt you?” she demanded, a dangerous ice underlining her voice.

“I… don’t actually remember.”

Luz rubbed her head.

“I remember Kikimora bringing Lilith and Raine to us,” she said. “Then it gets… blurry? I know the Emperor hurt me, but… not how?”

“Dissociative amnesia, maybe?” suggested Camila.

“Hmm?” Luz tilted her head.

“It’s when we block out memories associated with a traumatic event,” replied Camila. “But it could also be a result of head trauma.”

“What did you see, Amity?” asked Vee.

“I…” Amity gripped the couch harder. “I saw… I mean, I think… I remember…”

Her breathing became heavier and uneven, and she seemed to be sweating just a little bit. Gently, Luz put a hand on her shoulder.

“Hey, it’s okay,” she said softly. “You don’t have to say anything until you’re ready.”

Amity swallowed.

“I have to…”

“You don’t have to be anything, Amity.”

Camila sighed.

“I think we all need to get some rest,” she said.

“Yeah,” Luz nodded, “Sounds like a plan, Mami.”

“Vee, are you okay to help me set up the airbeds?” asked Camila.

“Oh, I can do it if…” said Luz.

“Not until I know for certain you’re okay, mija,” replied Camila. “You were unconscious a few hours ago! I don’t want you hurting yourself.”

“I can handle it, Luz,” said Vee, smiling.

Before Luz could say anything else, Camila and Vee had headed up the stairs, leaving Luz and Amity alone.

“So, how’s about tommorrow we start working on getting you home, huh?” said Luz, grinning weakly at her girlfriend.

Amity mumbled something in reply.

“Amity?” Luz tilted her head, concerned.

Amity looked up - her eyes were somewhat watery.

“I don’t know if I want to go back.”

[ayzrules]

✶ 𝐇𝐗𝐇 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐒: 𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 & 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒, 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇 & 𝐃𝐀𝐌𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍   Long story short, I have been thinking about this for wayyyyy too long now and wanted to get some ~thoughts~ & analysis written down! This post is going to be...fairly long, lol. Apologies in advance :D

  Also, if you can’t see the last gif (the one for ‘holy’), click here. Tumblr keeps fucking up the image when i try to upload it :////

  This post is probably going to be about 2/3 yorknew & phantom troupe/kurapika focused, 1/3 chimera ants, maybe with some references to other arcs (including manga-only arcs) mixed in. so, ofc, tons of spoilers ahead! also, i realize that my blog theme is hard to read (and i’m p sure clicking ‘keep reading’ sends you to the og post itself), so i’m linking the post w/ full text copy/pasted in on my art backup side blog (which has a more legible font) here. 

✶ 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇   I’m sure absolutely nobody is surprised with me starting here - there is just. SO. MUCH. DEATH. in hxh. & right from the start, one thing I noticed that togashi really emphasized was the #4 and its connection to death. in japanese, chinese, and im p sure some other asian cultures the number 4 is pronounced like the word for death so it’s associated with death in general, and boy oh boy does the ‘deadly number 4′ thing show up E V E R Y W H E R E. we get to the hunter exam, and hisoka is applicant #44. kurapika is #404. i didn’t notice it at first, but this was so intentional holy shit. togashi is NOT SUBTLE.

  So pika & hisoka are, right off the bat, associated with death. okay. and then there are even more clues to drive the point home: hisoka is member #4 in the phantom troupe, kurapika’s birthday is april 4th (aka 4/4). 100% not a coincidence (!!). with hisoka, it’s pretty obvious why togashi’s throwing all this death 444444 stuff around - dude is a psycho murder pedo clown, literally gets off on killing people (and there’s also the fact that judas sits 4th from the left in the last supper painting, and he’s sort of the judas equivalent for the phantom troupe). with kurapika, though, it’s a bit more subtle and woven deeper into his characterization, which i LOVE. togashi puts the mans in blue & gold & white (traditionally ‘pure’ or ‘heavenly’ colors), makes him so fucking kind & so good-hearted.....when he’s not relentlessly pursuing his revenge, ofc. more on this in the next section, but pika = death. togashi has made that v v v clear.

  Backtracking a bit to hisoka, though, I also just wanted to point out the 4 is death symbolism in the fortunes too (GOD i love the fortunes): in one translation, he’s the false fourth moon, and in the og japanese (i think), he’s the false hare (4th in the lunar zodiac or w/e it’s called. i don’t know the japanese cultural influences here, but in the chinese legend that established the zodiac animals, they race across the heavenly river & the top 12 animals got zodiac slots. the hare finished 4th, so it’s #4 in the cycle). 

  And just as a final note, Tserriednich is the fourth prince of the kakin empire, and also another dude who has a hard-on for murder & other gory shit. again: togashi is not subtle with this, lmfao

✶ 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐘, 𝐔𝐍𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐘   As probably everyone who’s gotten to yorknew knows, togashi is so 0 fucks given when he wants to be. I mean there’s the whole thing where he just. took New York and decided, Yorknew. LMFAO, but also, he made the main antag of that arc be named chrollo lucilfer, sit around in a ruined church, have a reversed cross coat, pale & dark-haired/dark-eyed, generally dressed in dark colors, very terrible murder guy. liiiike......chrollo x devil symbolism game is 1000/10 at this point lmaooo

  And i know absolutely nothing about christianity in general, but pt/kurapika & yorknew arc is just so full of christian imagery/symbolism! one thing that i L O O O O O O V E though is how togashi really blurs the traditional christian-coded good/evil, holy/damned boundaries.

  Back to kurapika: he wears gold and blue, his coloring is very stereotypically ‘angelic’, he’s precious and good and kind. his chains are all about ~judgment~ and ~healing~ - some of the chains are also in literal cross shapes, aren’t they? And the chain dagger in his own heart...the imagery is very startlingly similar to the immaculate heart of mary, where the swords stabbing thru the heart apparently represent seven sorrows. IDK much about this stuff other than the visual similarities; literally had to google ‘daggers through heart christianity?’ to even get the name of that thing LOL. anyway, at first, it seems like togashi establishes him as the ‘angel’, the ‘good’, the ‘holy’ in the angel/devil, good/evil, holy/damned dichotomy between him and chrollo.

  But that’s not the end of the story. his entire storyline is driven by a huuuuuuuge giant desire for vengeance, first of all, and then there’s the scarlet eyes, which canonically are seen as demonic/cursed/what have you (according to one of the movies or smth? where they show pika as a 10 y/o?), and then we also have red eyes in modern culture being associated w pretty much the same thing (vampires, anyone?). the fight scene with uvo has everything in b&w besides the blood on his face & his red eyes & the moon (<<< more fortune foreshadowing & symbolism, i love to see it), and there are tonssss of scenes where he has to suppress his rage. so all of that is obviously not very angelic of him i would say LOL. in fact, what i find super interesting is that the scarlet/red eyes (which are ‘demonic’) is actually the driving factor behind his super powerful nen abilities; this ties in so well with the fortunes & death associations imo! the fortunes call him the ‘death-bringer’ in one translation, or ‘half-angel, half-death’, so that’s one side of pika = red eyes = death, but there’s also the fact that emperor time is literally draining his life force. so pika = death for both himself and others namely the pt, question mark?

  Now for chrollo: togashi’s devil symbolism is EXTREMELY overt with him, but i love the subtler jesus references too. the church thing, obviously, and the st. peters cross which is cuz st peter respected jesus too much & didn’t think he was worthy to die in the same way as him (or something like that, i am the most atheist person in the world & hxh is literally my entire christian education pls) but is also used as an anti-christianity symbol these days. bandit’s secret looks like a bible, lbr, and mans has a cross tattoo.

  Other things beyond visuals - 12 spiders, 12 apostles; hisoka’s betrayal, where member #4 can be thought to correspond to judas sitting 4th from left at last supper. and this miiiiight be a bit of a stretch, but i think the meteor city being the place of origin may also play into the blurred line between angel/devil and holy/damned here; meteors are defined as space rocks that are in earth’s atmosphere, becoming incandescent in the process. meteorites are for the kinds that actually reach the ground. and idk, lucifer was cast out of heaven / sky too right? so i think there might be some subtle fallen angel imagery/symbolism playing into the pt as well

✶ 𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 (𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐊𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒)   Last section yay! i don’t have as much to say about this, besides when i was making chimera ant arc edits & realized that there might have been some subtle gon/meruem parallels???

  So obviously, everyone knows that line killua says to gon - “you are light” - and then i was just remembering that meruem’s name means.... “light that illuminates all” (!!!!). maybe it’s a coincidence, but knowing togashi, i’m leaning towards nahhhh. there HAS TO be some kinda meaning there (!!).

  Going back to the events of the chimera ant arc....ooh boy. let’s see: gon is optimistic & hopeful even in the face of kite potentially being dead, killua says he’s light, they find kite & dude is fucked up, gon is pissed. gets all angry & ~dark~, especially during the palace invasion when he’s staring pitou down as she fixes up komugi. then the actual fight against pitou: more darkness, more anger, but through it all there’s still light, namely his jajanken being very orange & fiery lookin.....and that final sequence, where he puts all his possible nen he’d ever have into his ~final form~ or wahtever & turns into a male version of true form!bisky but dressed in a crop top & short-shorts (i am SCARRED, btw. s c a r r e d !). there’s just huuuge flashes of light as that’s going on, and it reminded me of supernovas or dying stars when i was thinking about it, where the star is like, collapsing under its own weight? & burning thru its own fuel, until there’s nothing left except a dwarf or black hole or what have you. one final, extremely deadly burst of light & energy before death.

  On the meruem side of things: born into a dark cave, exhibits a traditionally evil/cruel/wicked/whatever personality/traits so that has ppl associating him with darkness. then he gets to know komugi, starts to appreciate other aspects of humanity, seems like he could have actually turned into a decent person who doesn’t want to eat everyone - so that’s a ‘path to light’, maybe? - and then the extermination team yeets themselves into the palace, netero takes him out to bumfuck nowhere, they fight. netero’s fighting is just ALL light, from his giant ass golden 100-type guanyin bodhisattva to the poor man’s rose. again, there’s the sense of finality to it all, in a similar vein to dying stars: netero comes in determined to kill meruem no matter what, and we all know netero doesn’t flake. then we see netero get destroyed after the zero hand, and he triggers the rose, and everything is burning & on fire before the flames are put out and all turns dark again.

  But wait!!! pouf & youpi revive meruem and all he does is play gungi with komugi, even with the poison of the rose. he eventually dies, and the gungi pieces in that final shot of them together (i am BAWLING just thinking about it holy shit) has one that’s all white, one that’s a black ring and white inside. i assume all white is for komugi, who has never done ANYTHING wrong in her LIFE, so i like to think that the 2nd one is for meruem - born “into darkness”, literally & figuratively, but he turns something like ‘good’ by the end. it’s interesting how togashi has sort of gone for a bit of a subversion here: the hero going from light to darkness, and the main antag from darkness to light.

✶ 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐂𝐋𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍   AahhhhHHHHHhhh so if you read all the way down here through my LONG rambles, tysm! i would LOVE LOVE LOVE to hear what other people think about all this, and i’ve FOR SURE missed tons and tons of stuff - chimera ants is just. SO MUCH. and i don’t know it as well as yorknew eeek.

  I’m not sure if i’m really ~knowledgeable~ in any other areas relating to hxh, so this might be the only one of these that i do, but i definitely think about some of this - esp all the religious symbolism & #4 stuff - a ton! so in the meantime, if it’s of any interest, i’m just going to shamelessly plug my hxh x religious beliefs/superstitions edit series :D lots of love to all!!!

[skvaderarts]

Hiraeth Chapter 57: Safeguard

Masterlist can be found Here!

Chapter Fifty-Seven: Safeguard

Note: I had to play DMC2 for this. Again. Mourn my untimely death. Thank you.

(-~-)

On either side of the walls that surrounded the courtyard stood a menagerie of dilapidated structures, some clearly the remnants of statues, other what remained of pillars that could have been structural at one point or another. Nothing remained overhead, so it was difficult to tell. What was clear was that this place was ancient, a relic of a bygone era long before the time that anyone he personally knew existed. And there was a strange kind of intrigue that came with that.

Looking over at the young guardian as they traversed what remained of the path laid out before them, the Darkslayer couldn’t help but notice the aura of this place. In truth, it had been a lifetime since he’d felt anything like it. The Qliphoth had reeked of blood and death, the catacombs underneath the city where Dante’s office had been when they were teenagers had reeked of decay, mold, and rot, and the walls and halls of Temen Ni Gru had held the stench that only stagnant air and malevolence could produce. This was entirely different. It was strangely familiar. He dared say that it resonated with him. But he knew with every fiber of his being that he had never set foot in this place or the sprawling grounds around it before, so how could that be even remotely possible?

“Who constructed this edifice, and what was its intended purpose?” He spoke bluntly but without malllace. After all, he had not been wronged in any way. But he had to admit that there was something imposing about this place despite the fact that it was clearly not evil. In a way, it was almost as if the imposing building that stood before them was actively trying to drive them away, making it known that they were not welcome on these hallowed grounds. They did not belong here. That much was a fact.

Stopping for a moment to survey the grounds, Lucia looked over at him. They had not been standing terribly close to one another, but they were within comfortable speaking distance. Her hand slowly slid down towards the blade at her waist, something clearly making her warry of this place. Perhaps the very energy of this place unsettled her in the same way that it unsettled him?

“This ruin is what remains of a temple where the devils that ruled this island were worshiped. They demanded much of my people, and much was lost. Your father ventured here when we needed him most, and with him by our side, we managed to defeat the foul devil Argosax and lord Sparda sealed him away, never to return.” Her eyes slowly traveled towards the remnants of the stone hallway that encompassed the edges of the grounds, something seemingly catching her eye. “We were entrusted with the artifacts used in that ritual. This is the main temple. After Argosax’s death at Dante’s hands, we consolidated the remaining Arcana and reset the traps. It seems that your father set a few of his own. And for that we are grateful.”

Her words caught him slightly off guard. He was somewhat sure that Dante had mentioned that her people had worked with their father before, but the fact that he might have had something to do with putting a spell of some sort on the grounds of this temple that would still be in place? For what purpose? “What would be the purpose of these traps? Have they just activated now after all this time?”

“One can only assume that it is a defense mechanism against whatever happened that allowed the Arcana that you returned to me to be taken from its home, but this is not the source of that artifact. We kept it in a clock tower. This was the home of another artifact until recently. The holy chalice.” her eyes remained focused on whatever was over there, just out of her line of sight.  Something has happened here during my absence. My mother contacted me to say as much. And that is why I had to return so suddenly. Forgive me if I-”

Vergil raised his hand slightly, unwilling to allow her to continue to apologize for something that wasn’t even remotely her fault. None of this was her doing. She had not been here to guard this place with the rest of her clan because she had been assisting him and the rest of his family. He would no sooner blame her for having to return to her duties than he would anyone else. “Your responsibilities lie elsewhere. I know that.”

She seemed to understand, nodding to herself as she broke away to assess what she perceived to be a possible threat. Vergil allowed his hand to rest on Yamato’s hilt, ready and willing to back her up if necessary. After all, it was below his dignity to stand by and allow her to do battle alone, even if the foes she was doing battle against were not much of a threat to her life. “Thank you for your understanding.”

“You see something.” His breath was barely a whisper, but she understood what he said regardless. It wasn’t a question and she knew that. A quick now was all it took for him to fall in line behind her, making sure that nothing was going to get the better of them from behind. He refused to allow his opponents an easy way of gaining the upper hand.

Without warning, a ball of fire jetted forward from behind the rocks and several heads popped up from throughout the ruin. The figures wore different colored robes ranging from back to red as they brandished their staffs, clearly ready to attack. This had been an ambush from the moment that they had stepped foot on the grounds. Much to his irritation, he had just been too distracted by the temple itself to see that.

(-~-)

“Genuinely, I don’t believe I’ve ever seen anyone try to eat a burger while holding it like that.” Sirrus continued to stare at V as allowed his head to rest on his right hand, his elbow having gone numb from the pressure of being embedded into the table for this long. But they had nowhere better to be until after he was done eating, and he didn’t want to suggest that they take it to go. It would probably get wet in the rain anyway. Best to just finish it while they were there. “How very… particular.”

V allowed his eyes to direct back towards Sirrus, a slight bit of humor creeping back into them. He succeeded in biting the burger and then chewed it, admittedly pleased by the taste. He only had a few more bites left at this point, but he knew exactly what his companion was talking about. It wasn’t the first time that he had been called out for eating things in an odd way.

“As a general rule, I don’t like the sensation of having wet hands. It just feels wrong to me somehow.”

Sirrus seemed intrigued, sitting up somewhat instead of continuing to look at V in a sort of dreamy, hyper-attentive gauze. He’d been listening to V talk, sure, but he was much more concerned with the state that he had found his friend in. V had seemed so utterly broken to him in that instant, and he wanted to make sure that everything that had happened that day had not weakened his resolve. He cared much for his friend. V meant the world to him, and all he truly wanted was for him to be safe and happy. He had been neither of those things at the moment in time.

“Does that mean that you never wash your hands, then?”

Truthfully, he wasn’t sure if he’d actually wanted an answer to that question or if he just wanted to keep V talking in the hopes that something he said would eventually make him laugh. He knew he needed it. But he was actually surprised when the young summoner answered his somewhat rhetorical question. After all, it wasn’t as though he needed to. He could’ve just laughed it off as a silly joke and continued to eat.

“Indeed, I do. It’s more about the texture of the substance on my hands than it is the actual fact that they are wet, I think.” He took another bite out of the burger, delighted by the fact that there was a pickle in this part. He was actually quite fond of tart snacks like this. The next time he went to the grocery store, he would have to pick up a jar of some sort of pickled vegetable. “For example, water is just fine, but I despise the sensation of oil and grease. Sauce is an especially egregious offender in this regard. Something about it is just disgusting to me. It’s just too thick.”

Repressing the urge to full one laugh at that revelation, Sirrus held his hand up to his face and laughed into the back of it, shaking his head slightly. He’d never heard something this strangely specific and ridiculous before in his life, and he honestly didn’t know what to say about it. But if that was indeed how V felt about it, then that was the reality of the situation. Nothing that he could say or do would make it any different.

“No, I actually kind of love it. It’s exceptionally quirky!” Sirrus laughed slightly, but his tone was no less sincere. He genuinely did care about what was going on with V, even if his unrelenting sense of humor wouldn’t allow him to convey that with any degree of seriousness. “Although it does seem like it would be a bit miserable. I wish you luck coping with it.”

V nodded in appreciation and picked up a thick napkin to wipe his hand on. “We should head back. It’s getting late, and I must admit that I do feel worse than I did earlier today. I should not have strayed away from the range of the hex for this long.” He stood up, steadying himself. Perhaps it was simply the nature of eating food that heavy, but he had to admit that he was somewhat sleepy. Not in the sort of way that would lead to him actually going to bed early that night, but in the kind of way that meant that it was time to curl up under a blanket and relax. “Thank you for dinner. It was quite good. And for everything else. I think I needed this more than I realized.”

“I believe that during times as severe and unrelentingly bleak as these, normality and simplicity are the only things that truly bring us out of that darkness.” Sirrus stood up and joined him, ready to catch him should he need it but more than willing to assume that he could handle catching his balance by himself. V had made it this long without his aid. He was more than capable of taking care of himself. Well, most of the time. “There is no need to thank me for doing the bare minimum that I can to help you. We're not far away from your home. It should not take us very long to get back there. Would you prefer that we hail a cab? I don’t mind sharing my umbrella with you if you don’t.”

V looked out of the window for a moment before nodding ever so slightly to himself. He then turned back to Sirrus and gave something akin to a small smile and tilted his head in the direction of the door. “Then perhaps we should simply walk back.”

Happy to oblige him, Sirrus placed what seemed to be a large sum of money on the table before heading over to the door and opening his umbrella. V had one of his own, but it was probably better that he keep it closed and focus on keeping his balance in the rain. After all, he wasn’t wearing a jacket, so holding up his arms to keep the umbrella over his head would only sacrifice much-needed warmth. He didn’t mind sharing the umbrella with him in the slightest.

For a few minutes, they walked along in silence, simply enjoying the company of one another and the sound of the rain as it came down in a furious downpour. It was more ice than rain at this point, the chilly autumn air now closer to that of winter than anything else. October was a beautiful month, but this rain had no courtesy whatsoever.

“Somehow I completely forgot to mention before that I have something for you. It may prove useful, all things considered.”

V slowed to a stop alongside his companion. Another gift, then? Perhaps he should look into giving him one as well. Now he was starting to feel a bit ungrateful. “I get the impression that you enjoy giving me gifts?”

Chuckling to himself, he nodded and then shrugged. He shifted the umbrella to his right hand, digging through his pockets as he searched for whatever it was that he was looking for. He would be lying if he said that V was wrong about that. He did indeed enjoy giving him gifts. Seeing the mixture of surprise and happiness that crossed his face as he tried to process what was going on would never become less satisfying to him. Of that much he was certain.”

“Guilty as charged. Although this one has a more practical use than the others I gave you.” Ah, there it was. Just what he had been looking for. He felt his hand brush against it as he gripped it and pulled it out of his pocket. To say he would have been irritated if he’d lost this or managed to leave it at home would be an understatement.

“More practical than an entire house full of furniture? Somehow I find that incredibly difficult to believe… ” He stopped dead in his tracks as he saw what he was being held out in from of him. In Sirrus’s hand was a simple onyx bracelet with a chain clasp. Between every three or so stones was a metal loop that matched the chains on the lower section of the bracelet that led to the clasp. All in all, a high-quality but not at all flashy piece of jewelry that was entirely unremarkable aside from the slightly larger green gemstone of some sort that hung from the center off of a metal loop of some sort. And in truth, it was strangely to his liking. He had worn a bracelet on a few occasions in his lifetime, but this would easily be the nicest.

“Do you mind holding this for a moment?” Sirrus said pleasantly as he held it towards him. V obliged breathlessly, entirely unsure as to how to process this particular gift. He wasn’t so much confused as he was deeply unsure as to the implication of this specific trinket. It wasn’t that it seemed expensive so much as it was the fact that he was being gifted something of this nature at all.

V opened his mouth to speak before closing it again, genuinely unsure as to what to say. He’d never received this kind of gift before. He was admittedly flattered by his newfound friend’s continued generosity. But there was something that he did want to make clear to him at that moment. Something that he felt needed to be said considering what had just transpired between them. He just hoped that it didn’t come out half as needlessly unkind as it did in his head.

Believe me, I know that. But I appreciate why you would feel the need to clarify. I have been rather fiscally negligent lately. I sincerely apologize if I’ve made you uncomfortable. That was not my intention.” A gentle look of understanding passed across his face. He was more than slightly aware that it was the nature of extravagant gifts to make people uncomfortable, and the last thing that he wanted to do was make V uncomfortable. He got the impression that he wasn’t accustomed to receiving gifts. “This bracelet has a protective ward built into it that should help mitigate Belial’s influence, if only slightly. It has other effects as well that should be beneficial to you. Namely the effect it has on hostile demons. I went to fetch it after everything that happened earlier. I thought you might like something that made you feel more secure. Less alone. I get that impression from you at times, and I understand how awful it feels to be in a room filled with people but still alone. “

He seemed to recoil slightly as he said that, the mention of that seemingly causing him no small amount of distress. V noted that quietly as he held the bracelet up towards the moonlight, admittedly quietly excited about the gift. He hoped that he wasn’t being unkind. He knew that Sirrus meant him no harm, but it occurred to him at that moment that this gift might have more significance for his companion than it did for him. Had Morgan actually been onto something with her joke…?

“Thank you I… I’m not sure what else I can say… This is…” He paused, genuinely at a loss for where to even try to find the proper words. He was utterly blown away by how wonderful this gift was, especially considering that it was apparently magical in nature. Perhaps it was just best that he be happy about the gift and not go into a self-imposed existential downward spiral. “You said it has other effects?” 

“Oh, yes it has several. I’m sure you will see soon enough. I sense that we might have company, hence my timing. I was going to wait until we arrived at your house but...” He gestured towards the empty wooded lot across the street from them and, without warning, a shadowed being dropped down off of the top of the small warehouse next door. V shook his head and readied his cane. It seemed that Sirrus’s intuition was on the money. He too had the feeling that something wasn’t quite right around the area they were in when they had left the diner, but now he was sure of it.

“Perhaps we should dispose of it before we head back? If you’re feeling up to it. Otherwise, I can just strike it dead where it now stands and be done with it.” Sirrus withdrew his blade from the inside of the coat he was wearing with casual disinterested dismissal. V got the impression that this particular demon wasn’t very high on his newfound friend’s threat index.

No, I think that we should take care of it. If nothing else it should be a good opportunity to practice while I still have the chance.” V allowed Shadow to join him, the deep abyssal fur of the devil being much less likely to draw the attention of anyone who might happen upon them. He would summon Griffon if he felt the need to.

With a smirk the two-headed across the street, ready to see what they were up against. And as soon as they both came close enough to see it, they stopped dead in their tracks. It seemed they might have bitten off more than they initially bargained for… 

“Oh. Oh.”

(-~-)

The rules clearly state that before the big battle I get to write two smaller battles as a reward for having to play DMC2 for research purposes. Sorry, that’s just what the rules say. I don’t make them XD anyway, I hope you liked this chapter! I’ll see you again on Wednesday! And thank you for the awesome comments you’ve left this last week. They really made my day!

[quazartranslates]

Welcome to the Nightmare Game - CH115

**This is an edited machine translation. For more information, please [click here]**

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Chapter 115: The Dream of the Holy Nun (V)

Although the key NPC Rudd had run away, Qi Leren, who was a "cheating" player, did not panic at all. He said in a word: "That thing is in the dark room of Arnold's former residence."

So in less than half an hour, they had snuck into Arnold's room smoothly and retrieved the key task item - a small and delicate brooch, composed of metal gears and feathers, from which a drop-shaped pendant hung down. The whole brooch was incredibly delicate. At the moment the brooch was picked up, a system prompt appeared:

[Obtained the special task item brooch. Holding this brooch, one can pass through the fog around the Holy City.]

[Player Qi Leren has triggered a special task: The Dream of the Holy Nun. Please bring the memento to the Holy City within 30 days. After arriving at the task site, your survival time will be suspended until the mission ends. Overdue arrival is regarded as a task failure, and 100 survival days will be deducted. Players can receive the task by touching the task item. The current number of participants is 1/4.]

Qi Leren handed Ning Zhou the brooch, and Ning Zhou also received the task.

Qi Leren asked, "Would you like to bring a few more people to do the task with? We can find two more teammates... A healer, at least."

Qi Leren deeply remembered that Chen Baiqi said Ning Zhou's Holy Spirit cure was broken, and Ning Zhou had also taken medicine with him in the Witchcraft Sacrifice task. It didn’t seem like he had any healing abilities. Although Dr. Lu's fighting power was unreliable, there was still a lack of healers in the Nightmare World - seeing that he could live so well by opening a clinic. He also brought with him EX luck and treasure hunting skills, but was it a good choice to take him? That is, the task was a bit dangerous... Did he want to take Dr. Lu?

Ning Zhou snorted, but the black bird on his shoulder said noisily, "I won’t bring a healer, clearing the world depends on going wild!"

Qi Leren was speechless about this bird. Ning Zhou was such a serious person. How could there be such a rowdy bird? He didn’t know where it learned to be such a mess.

After leaving Arnold's former residence, Qi Leren hesitated to go to Dr. Lu's home, and was just in time for Dr. Lu to be going to get a midnight snack.

Dr. Lu depressedly and asked him if he intentionally came during mealtimes. He’d gone to have a snack that afternoon, but had instead entertained Qi Leren. After eating and drinking, Qi Leren told him about the "Dream of the Holy Nun" task and invited Dr. Lu to join.

"The first 'monthly exam' will be held soon, and we’ll have to wait until after that," Dr. Lu said with an expression of pain.

Because the compulsory task happened to be once a month, it was dubbed the monthly exam by players. Qi Leren and Dr. Lu had entered the game on the same day, and the time of their monthly exams were the same, so he naturally agreed: "That’s fine."

"To be honest, I don't want to die. This task sounds very difficult. Why don't you invite Su He and I’ll go if he goes? Speaking of it, I saw him two days ago. He’s still in the Village of Dusk. He should have a better understanding of the main world’s background. If he’ss willing to help, the task could be much easier," Dr. Lu suggested.

Qi Leren paused. After receiving the task, he didn't want to invite Su He, because he was always a little afraid of Su He seeing through him about the laptop. But when he thought about it, Su He wouldn't know that this is the so-called main task. He could say he’d received it by chance.

But if as the task went on Su He found that this task was inextricably linked with the Nightmare World... Would his half-GM status have an uncontrollable impact on this task?

Just as Qi Leren struggled, a knock sounded on the door and Dr. Lu sighed, "Ah, there are patients at night, it’s really exhausting. Come in, come in!"

When the door opened, Su He pushed the door open and looked slightly surprised to see Qi Leren in the room: "So you’re here."

"Speak of the devil, Su He, we were talking about a main world task. Do you want to participate?" Dr. Lu asked smoothly.

"A main world task? What’s the task’s name and location?" Su He hung his blazer on the hook behind the door, walking towards the two people. It was a little crowded when three people sat in the spacious room, but Su He gentle aura wouldn't make people feel oppressed.

Dr. Lu has already started, so Qi Leren simply said: "The task is called 'The Dream of the Holy Nun' and the location is in the Holy City."

"The Holy City? It was captured by the Devil more than 20 years ago, tough, and now it’s shrouded in a fog. I am afraid it’s dangerous to enter rashly," Su He said, recalling the history of the Nightmare World.

"Entering the Holy City isn’t a problem. I accidentally got a task item. With this item, I can pass through the Holy City’s fog." Qi Leren thought about it, but still didn't say anything about Maria and her field, because he couldn't explain the source of the information.

"It seems to be related to the Devil’s invasion in the previous tasks, I’m very interested. Okay, I’ll join," Su He smiled and readily agreed.

"That's great!" Dr. Lu breathed a sigh of relief and suddenly remembered something. "Oh, why are you coming to see me so late?"

"I originally came to say goodbye to you. In fact, I went to Qi Leren’s home just now... Your friend opened the door," Su He paused strangely, his handsome eyebrows raising in a clear sign of curiosity.

Dr. Lu: "Ah?"

Qi Leren: "..."

After the Slaughter Secret Society undercover mission, Qi Leren moved back to his home on Sunset Island. Ning Zhou was staying with him for the time being for convenience while carrying out basic training. Just after the two had come back from Arnold's former residence, he left Ning Zhou because he came to see Dr. Lu. As a result, Ning Zhou returned to his home and happened to meet Su He who had come to say goodbye to him…

In the Castle Cry task, Qi Leren had talked with Su He about the Witchcraft Sacrifice task... Although he hadn’t used any names and Su He shouldn’t be able to tell that the man he’d mentioned was the same Ning Zhou who opened the door at his house, Qi Leren still felt a little guilty for no reason.

But if Dr. Lu and Su He joined the Holy Nun task, it was only a matter of time before they realized who Ning Zhou was!

The story of going undercover with the Slaughter Secret Society was hidden and couldn’t be made public. How could he explain that the two people who had looked upon each other like death had suddenly made up again and were living together? Could this be explained as a pure friendship between the same sex?!

Qi Leren, who had a headache, forcibly changed the subject: "Well, you came to say goodbye to me? So Su He, you’re going back to the Village of Dawn?"

Su He was really a very gentle person, and even had no objection to the poor change of topic: "I was going to go back to the Village of Dawn, but now that you need it, of course I have to stay and help."

"No, no, no, if you have something to do, go back." Qi Leren imagined Dr. Lu and Su He watching Ning Zhou and him together and felt his heart become overwhelmed. He regretted it, he shouldn't have come here to ask Dr. Lu to take part in the task.

"I don't mind. In fact, there’s nothing important, I just haven’t been to the Village of Dawn in a while and thought I should go back. I would leave if there was nothing else here, but now that you have difficulties, then of course I can't stand by," Su He said with a smile.

Dr. Lu applauded and praised his teammate: "Little friend of love and justice, come, I will invite you to eat cake."

Qi Leren, who felt that there is no love in his future, was simultaneously angry and comforted as he ate Dr. Lu’s cake: Anyway, there was a healer, a fighter, and a recyclable meat shield, so let the GM come along for the ride.

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[ahockeywrites]

Chapter 2 - Edmonton, Alberta

“I cannot believe it’s our first day in Edmonton and we’re already at a hockey game,” Addison laughed. The department Addison and Simone were contracted to work at regularly attended hockey games as a group to encourage socialising outside of the workplace and had invited the girls along to meet their new colleagues.

It just so happened that one of the other girls in the department was good friends with the Oilers roster and was able to get some good seats occasionally, and this happened to be one of those nights. They had seats right next to the ice for the Senators @ Oilers match and seeing as Addison had barely paid attention to the Blues hockey lineup, she had no idea that the brother of the boy she had been ignoring for years was about to take to the ice for warm ups.

A puck hit the glass in front of Addison and she looked up to see who hit it. Standing in front of her was Brady Tkachuk. She shot him a confused look, she had no idea he even played hockey anymore let alone in the NHL. He gave her a quick smile and shouted “gimme a text, number hasn’t changed,” then he skated off.

“Wait, you know Tkachuk?” one of her new colleagues asked? This was not how Addison wanted her first day in Edmonton to go. All she wanted was an easy introduction to her new colleagues not to be bombarded with questions.

“Yeah, grew up in St Louis a few doors down from them,” Addison explained, trying to go into as little detail as possible. There was no way she could let the people she was going to be spending a lot of time with know that she used to be friends with the devil of Calgary. Her co-workers just nodded, trying to understand how she hadn’t shared this information before. To the majority of people, growing up around NHL players was the most amazing thing ever but to Addison it was the most difficult thing. She wished she didn’t block Matthew out that summer, but she knew it was best for her at that time.

The rest of the game went surprisingly well, even if Brady was on the losing end of the game. No one asked Addison anymore questions about the Tkachuk’s, which she was very thankful for but Simone had started putting the pieces together and had pretty much figured out who it was that Addison was avoiding in St Louis.

Addison did text Brady, but she waited until she had settled in to Edmonton first. Naturally, Brady had already let the entire family know who he had seen in the stands as soon as he was able to. Keith and Chantal already knew because of their closeness to Addison’s parents, Taryn was excited to know that Addison had moved and was using her degree to her advantage and Matthew said nothing. He didn’t want to believe that they now lived in the same country, let alone the same province.

Ever since that day in St Louis, Matthew had vowed never to love another woman. He couldn’t, Addison was always the only one for him. It wasn’t like he couldn’t find someone else, he always had women falling over him almost anywhere he went, but none of them lived up to Addison. Instead of trying to settle down in Calgary, he had a different woman in his bed most nights to satisfy his desires.

Simone gave it a few days too before asking about the interaction at the Rogers Place. She was almost certain that the man who Addison refused to keep in contact with was the eldest Tkachuk child but she didn’t know the whole story. She didn’t want to reopen old wounds for Addison which could be especially painful. The safest space to bring up the topic was likely to be their shared apartment and she did one night with SportsNet’s NHL coverage in the background.

“Ads,” Simone started, she was unsure of how to approach the topic so decided to stay safe to begin with, “how do you actually know Brady Tkachuk?” Addison sighed, she knew this would eventually come up and was much happier that her best friend asked her rather than any of her other colleagues because it could have made the entire graduate program very awkward.

“I wasn’t lying at the rink, he did grow up a few doors down from me in St Louis,” Addison explained, “but I spent a lot of time at their house with Chantal because mom often worked late nights and dad used to, and still does, travel with the Blues for games. I’m the same age as Matt, so it just worked well.” She hoped that she hadn’t given too much away, it was the truth, just missing a lot of detail.

“But, is there anything else that I should know? You know, you’re probably gonna see the entire family next time you’re home and if I’m with you, the whole story is appreciated?” Simone tried to get as much information out as she could without hinting that she knew who Addison was refusing to mention.

“Matt was my first kiss and then I’ve ignored him ever since,” Addison said at such speed, she wasn’t even sure she took a breath between the words. It was the first time she had admitted it to anyone aside from her parents. “And I don’t think I ever stopped liking him.”

“Babe,” Simone exclaimed, “why didn’t you say something earlier?”

“Because he’s a professional hockey hot shot and I’m me! Plus, I was going to MIT and he really doesn’t give me vibes of someone that could do long distance,” Addison said, letting a tear fall. “I thought focussing on my studies would get rid of this silly crush, but seeing him in Calgary has just made things worse.”

Addison was shocked with herself, she had never vocalised her feelings of inadequacy when compared to Matthew before. Everything that she had just said was something she had internalised for years and the only way she knew to respond to the word vomit that had come out of her mouth was to cry. Simone came over to her and just held her. She had seen Addison like this before and knew she just needed to know that someone was there for her.

The room was silent bar the commentator for the Stars v Kings game and the two were thankful that it wasn’t a Flames game. “How about, we order some Chinese food, eat ice cream and watch some terrible movies?” Simone asked, this was how Addison solved all of the boy issues that anyone encountered at college so hoped it would help. The two spent the evening watching crappy rom coms wishing they were the main character in all of them and this was able to take Matthew off of her mind at least for a day.

Work seemed to drag along for the rest of the week and Addison let it. She was spending the majority of her time in her office, which she shared with the other graduates, and kept her head down working on a new project she had been assigned. She was designing a new ball bearing and it was the most tedious thing she had ever done. College could not have prepared her to spend 40 hours a week in front of a computer designing such an essential part of a manufactured product in such detail. All Addison wanted was to finish the design and go out to the bars because it was a Friday night and she needed a beer. Eventually, Simone and Addison were able to head home and get ready for a little night out in Edmonton.

It took a few hours for them to get showered, changed and eat something because they knew that drinking on an empty stomach was a bad idea. Addison chose to pair a deep green bodysuit with black jeans and heeled boots whilst Simone chose a flowery jumpsuit with small heels. They both knew they looked good and that gave them the confidence to head out with a smile. The Uber they had called arrived and they quickly threw back a vodka shot each. The night was cold but the bars calling their names were warm as hell.

The number of bars showing Calgary games was low, but apparently not zero because the first one they arrived at showed the Flames thrashing the Bruins and as soon as Addison looked up at the screen, she saw the baby blue eyed, curly haired boy she had been trying to ignore the life of for years.

“He’s everywhere,” Addison complained, “even in a city that supposedly hates him. I can’t seem to get away from him.” Simone shot her a look of sympathy, knowing that everything Addison had done was protect herself from getting hurt by a boy who meant so much to her. “I just want drinks.” And drinks Addison did get.

5 shots and two beers in two hours at the first bar took her to a state she rarely reached, very drunk. Seeing Matthew on tv had done it for her, he was living his life to the best so she was going to do the exact same, even if she was working 9-5, 5 days a week. Simone knew better than to let Addison go anywhere alone and made sure that she had drunk water and got home safely. However, Simone didn’t expect to wake up only an hour after falling asleep to hear Addison talking to someone on the phone.

“BRAAADDDYYYYYYYY!!!!” Addison shouted down the phone with a giggle.

“Heya Addie,” Brady replied, trying to control himself and not laugh too much but it was too hard. Here, well in Edmonton, in front of him was the exact opposite of the girl he had grown up with. Normally Addison was well kept and smartly dressed, today he saw her in a massive Blues t-shirt and hair forming a birds nest. “Has someone been drinking?” he asked playfully.

“Yeaaaaaaaaaa, I saw Matty on tv and decided I didn’t want him being the only one having fun tonight,” she said, trying not to hiccup. The alcohol she had consumed had kicked in suddenly and she had no idea what to do. As Brady was the most recent person she had texted, somehow she had called him.

“You saw a flames game in Edmonton? They must really hate their own team eh?” He laughed.

“I did! I think it’s because they’re coming for a game here next week, ooohhhh, maybe I’ll see Matty, I miss Matty, I was silly,” Addison explained, even if the drinks had gone to her head, she was trying to form coherent sentences.

“Hey, Addie, I know Matt misses you too. But, the best thing you can do is head to bed and get some sleep. It’s gotta be like 5am in Alberta, so go to bed, yeah?” Brady was really trying to help the girl, no matter what happened between Addison and Matthew, Brady didn’t want to lose the potential of a friendship with her again.

“Okaay Brady,” Addison yawned, “I’ve made it to bed, it’s sooooo soft, like Matty’s hair.” Addison couldn’t help but smile as she thought back to the time they had kissed, it was one of the happiest moments of her life along with graduating college.

“I’ll text you when you wake up,” Brady said, “now sleep Addie.” She had fallen asleep before he had even finished speaking and the sound of her softly breathing was the only thing that either Brady or Simone could hear.

prev//next

[askmyboys]

I’d call these more, my own interpretations instead of just OCs

I’ll tell you how this happened tho, i was literally just comin back from a l o n g ass road trip listenin to the musical and my tired lil brain started thinkin bout these boys and i was like ...what if i just,, made my o w n versions of em? What if I just,, and then boom, out popped well, this-

| Names: Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde

| Nicknames: Jekyll doesn’t much care for nicknames but Hyde calls him Jek, Hen or Hen-Hen, or Henny which he REALLY hates. For the other, it’s either Ed or just simply Hyde ...Jekyll has given him many ‘nicknames’ mostly they are hateful ones tbh.

| Genders: Henry goes by he/him and Hyde goes by he/him and it/its

| Ages: Unknown but they are both adults

| Heights: Jekyll is 5’7” and Hyde is like 6’6” for sure (even tho they inhabit the same body, fuck it, im makin the rules ..andchangingthemfromtheogthing but i say height changes when Hyde’s in control)

| Species/Races: Henry’s a human ofc and Hyde? Honestly, idk what this thing is, all i can tell you is he’s stinky

| Eye Colors: Jekyll’s eyes are a Baby Blue color and Hyde’s eyes are Blood Red (ooh e d g y man)

| Hair Colors: Jekyll’s hair is honestly a messy curly undercut and the color of it is a dark brown and he has gray on the sides meanwhile Hyde’s hair is Black and in a spiked quiff style and he also has gray on the sides

| Skin Colors/Body Types: Jek’s a BIT pale but Hyde’s a much more- his skin is definitely more so a Whitish Gray kinda color so it’s definitely more noticeable than Jek’s skin if you look close enough at that (things do have to change when a certain one is in control of the body, can’t be EXACTLY the same or else it might give away that their the same person hehe) and their body types don’t really change- Jek’s body type is skinny (nothing TOO bad ofc, just a tad bit) if Hyde had his own body he’d definitely be a more average kinda bulkier build.

| Appearances: Okay first things first- they both have circle beards EXCEPT Hyde’s is a LOT more scruffier (he also has thicker sideburns btw!) and a BIT more grown out than Jek’s which is trimmed a bit more and groomed perfectly.

Jekyll usually has the typical lab coat on and a baby blue turtleneck underneath it, he also has blue pants that he wears with it as well and some oxford shoes that match the outfit, he also wears circle glasses as well (they help him see a lot better p much whereas when Hyde’s in control he doesn't really need em actually) Henry has a GOOD amount of scars all over his body, whether it be by accident, inflicted on purpose, or something more… It’s partially why he keeps his turtleneck on mostly and the lab coat helps as well- he’s ashamed of the scars and he tries to hide them especially so no one will worry about him, also for some more minor details- he wears a black watch on his wrist as well (he has no piercings or nothin like that) that’s p much it for Jek tbh, his features are p much 100% human so uh yeye

Now onto Hyde’s outfit- And yes, keep in mind- he’s still kinda,, an entity or whatever the fuck he is inside Henry’s body essentially but he DOES change his clothes when going out- his main one for going out is usually a black cloak he wears around himself (the outfit underneath is a black suit vest with a long dark red tie (his shirt underneath the suit vest is a dark red long sleeved shirt), he also wears black pants, and dark red oxford shoes, and of course he’s got a black top hat on (the band on it is red, definitely keeping a black n red themed appearance here aint he?) (his other outfits, hm I can leave up to the imagination tbh this is just for when he’s travelling around and so other people don’t spot him nearly as easily, especially when it’s n i g h t t i m e…) he’ll wear whatever the fuck he wants, and it doesn’t have to be fancy in the s l i g h t e s t- he has a variety of options.

He also has pointed ears, razor sharp teeth (got them bear trap teeth but not only that, he’s got a lot more s e c r e t teefs than that ;) he’s a lot more monstrous on the inside than the outside i’ll say that much, Jek’s n Hyde’s anatomy does change and transform depending on who gains control ...honestly it probs hurt to have your body transform and shift like that ouchie) he also has multiple tongues, he has claws that he painted black and red for the a e s t h e t i c s ya know- and hell at this point he might as well have tentacles ...He might- but I mean if you really wanna know, fuck around and find out for yourself and fuck it- he also has a dark red devil style tail since he wanna act like fuckin Satan himself smh

...I made him a lot more monstrous than originally planned but eh its fitting- bc this is Jek’s body even with a LOT of changes in these regards, he’s got the same scars n such as that, he also wears black and red spiral gauges in his ears (I should also say, he can technically hide these features to make himself appear more human, i didnt originally intend on giving him any actual monstrous features except maybe sharp teeth, claws, n the pointed ears but here we are, he still gotta not arouse suspicion around him too much tho) also his eyes have dark circles around them, not because he’s a tired man he’s just a fucking- hellish bastard who loves to look intimidating.

| Personalities: Let’s uhh start off with Jekyll because he’s better and nicer and not nasty and gross n smelly looking- He’s kind, sweet, compassionate, caring, honestly wouldn’t hurt a fly himself- could never willingly hurt someone! A sweet babey man! He’s very intelligent- I mean,, he IS a Doctor after all, he takes pride in his work but it’s not that overbearing narcissistic type pride, he’s just proud of the breakthroughs he’s made ...Granted, there is one “breakthrough” he wished he could take back .. -glancing slowly at Hyde in the reflection of the mirror- ahem- but he’s always been pretty outgoing but a lot has changed since, that abomination came into his life, sure he still tries his best to be a good person, he tries his very damnedest to find some sorta way to separate or better yet a way to destroy this evil vile beast that plagues his and everyone else’s lives! He’d rather destroy Hyde than separate from him because even then, it's still back to square one only with worse damage since he’d be of his own free will now.

He shuts himself away in his Lab a LOT, as much as he can anyways to avoid going out and risking something more happening to anyone else, of course…

There is no avoiding the outside world forever, he needs things to eat and drink, he needs things to keep his body functioning and not to mention not going outside could drive him, well, more insane than he already feels he is- He just tries to be as quick as he can about it before the other takes control or tries to, Jek definitely has a lotta anxieties and fears, and ya know at this point I mean,, hell- the man’s got trauma- Sometimes he wonders if any of this is actually real, if he had just gone insane and was just imagining all this, sometimes his head hurt because of all the thoughts and potential scenarios along with their outcomes plagued his mind, he feels a lot of things he never thought he’d feel towards anyone, he feels anger and hatred toward Hyde but in a way aside from feeling so negatively toward the other, he can’t help but admire the way Hyde wishes to just simply l i v e, and even before this beast became apart of him… He was always anxious deep down and almost scared to take that jump when needed.

But Hyde? Hyde doesn’t seem to even c a r e! That thing lives it’s life without any care whatsoever, he doesn’t have any anxieties or fears at all it seems! In a way, Henry might even be a lil envious toward the other’s carefree attitude and that he’s free of anxieties and fears ...H-He still doesn’t want the other around, he still wishes to destroy Hyde of course, even with the envy and maybe a slight bit of admiration he has his morals and principals, and if Hyde continues to exist or w o r s e gets his own body it could prove v e r y perilous.

Now onto… Eugh, Hyde- The bastard man himself- He’s stinky- an evil bastard who really needs just a good punch in the face (god don't do it yourself tho, he’ll probs eat ur entire arm) Hyde’s absolutely disgusting, will do ANYTHING to get what he desires, he can be narcissistic in some regards, VERY prideful and greedy in many ways, he isn’t above committing murder like really, was he EVER above it? If he wanted, he’d literally murder you not even for a bag of corn chips but literally just one, psh- selling you to satan for one? Bah that’s amateur’s work! He’s somehow a minor inconvenience who can commit REALLY nasty and horrible atrocities at the same time if he feels like it, if he finds out something annoys you or REALLY pisses you off he’s going to keep doing it, he will literally try driving you insane just for the fun of it, really at this point it doesn’t seem like he HAS much of a goal but to just l i v e and cause chaos, destruction, and mayhem wherever he goes, he despises Jekyll in many ways, one being for trying to destroy him first and foremost but also Henny is just s o fucking weak, such a weak man with far too many anxieties, fears, etc- He’d be SO much better of a man if he’d simply let Hyde take control and STAY in control!

It’d make everything a lot easier, then Jek wouldn’t have to worry about ANYTHING ever again! No more of that pathetic nonsense! If it were possible, Hyde would absolutely l o v e to have his own body, separate from Jekyll, that way he could have his own life separate from that pathetic weakling’s! But… Even then, Jekyll and Hyde are one, in many ways they are absolutely apart of one another, two sides of the same coin, even with their MAJOR differences in personality and Hyde almost seeming like an entirely different entity just merely possessing Jekyll, after all, Hyde will admit it himself, he spawned from deep within Jekyll’s mind, he’s tried to get the other to see time and time again that he’s always been apart of the other deep down, Jek’s always had a more mad and evil side to him! Even if the other will deny this and take the denial to his grave, Hyde always persists in trying to get the other to see the truth in front of his eyes!

Aside from that tho, Hyde is just generally a dick and loves to mess with Jek and terrify him sometimes for literally no reason, hell he could be bored one day and decide “Hey Henny, fuck you, you suck” he loves to start drama, he loves to cause problems on purpose- Both of them would give anything to separate from each other, even if Hyde knows the truth deep down bout the both of them, even if he were always originally a part of Jekyll, it didn’t matter, that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t jump at the opportunity to get his own body, away from that pathetic coward of a man!

| Side Facts: Jekyll rarely ever gets to relax or any free time, he’s too worried to give himself that in fear he’ll lose control, he’s almost CONSTANTLY fighting to keep control over the other, even though he knows it's physically impossible to do so, after all, he can’t stay awake forever, sure that doesn’t stop him from trying to stay awake as long as he can before his body practically forces him to pass out and he’s MUCH weaker than he used to be, I mean hell, given how long Jekyll seems to have been around, fighting SO much and almost EVERY single day has practically worn his body down but whenever there is an opportunity for any “free” time he usually spends it trying to figure out an antidote or a way to get rid of Hyde (I will say, before Hyde REALLY started doing bastardous n horrendous things, Jek would still get annoyed with him bc he was always that way but he actually, I’d say tolerated him more so than he does by now) and Hyde even- well, he still disliked Henry IMMENSELY so, but he definitely wasn’t as bad or as awful as he is to the other now, it was more so I tolerate you and we dont have to seriously fight or struggle with each other for control and back then Jek would even sometimes let Hyde have control.

But then… A serious incident (I wont name what exactly) but a serious incident that happened caused the two to absolutely despise each other (i didnt say up there, yes, Hyde absolutely despises Jekyll but there is some heavily hidden admiration in regards to the other’s determination, his persistence, and even somewhat of his creativity, Jekyll despite being an annoying nuisance in Hyde’s way, he does have some admirable things about him) but anyway- ever since that incident occurred, Jek has tried almost EVERYTHING he knew of to get rid of Hyde, even if separation from his body would still be bad bc that could mean Hyde would obtain his own body honestly? I believe Jekyll would still take that opportunity if he were given it, if he needed, he’d try and find someway to stop Hyde’s evil, maybe it’d be easier even if the other had his own body, he didn’t know, he just wishes he could be free from all this torment and agony like gosh damn give this man a b r e a k. Give him some fruit gummies and an appy juice carton and leave him be!

When Hyde is in control he wastes little time in finding things to do, being able to be out, to see the world, the world ripe for chaos and destruction, he wastes little time in getting straight to work with whatever his devious lil mind wants to think of- also for more monstrous purposes, back up there, I was p vague with the mention of teeth on his insides- p much teeth going down his throat and hell who knows, the bastard probably has teeth on the inside of his stomach at this rate- Another not so fun fact, this man can unhinge his jaw! Yaaay so u can see sharp teefs! ...He does have to kinda set his jaw back in place though bc god forbid Jek takes control then.

Smh imagine taking back control of your body only to have a fucking dislocated j a w wouldn’t that be hellish?

Hyde rarely ever does this for a few reasons- he only does it if he’s in the mood for just takin a big chomp outta someone (big chompy) just, just please- lock this thing away- or kill it, it's a menace to society and deserves nothing good- two more things btw, tbh I genuinely wasnt even considering inhuman features at first but ya know, I compromised- he has them he just chooses to hide them more often and speaking of, while Hyde says he’s always been apart of Jekyll (well this version I made anyway) that deep down their two sides of the same coin, can you really believe him? I mean, I’m not going to spoil it and tell ya anything in that regard, but who knows, who knows what Hyde REALLY is, whether or not he’s always been apart deep down inside of Jek or just some form of entity that spawned via that wonderful little formula.

And the final thing is, their voices are p much based on the musical ones' voices- Hyde’s is that deeper n raspier kinda voice while Jek’s is much softer and ya know POLITE sounding.

[moved-attre]

Rewriting Cyberpunk 2077 into a bullet point list! LET’S GO!

(Disclaimer: I’m trying to be realistic. So no, “every single detail of the game changes based upon every single choice V makes” but just things I expected in an RPG from an AAA company in 2020. I take a lot of inspiration from the old trailers, and rumors of pre-2018 development.)

And this is really long, too. Sorry. 😜

Okay, so first off: Act 1 generally goes off the same as it does in canon. I’m open to other ideas, but I don’t think it’s a bad starting point. I do think V and Jackie should have had more time together, doing smaller jobs until Dex calls. Like, there should’ve been side jobs that were only available in Act 1. You have to get a minimum of 5 street cred before you get the conversation with Jackie about Dex.

The heist still goes to shit; Yorinobu kills his father, Takemura rebels against him and Arasaka factions split. V inserts the chip into their head, Jackie still dies and Dex shoots V in the head. Takemura rescues V, kills Dex, V wakes up in Vik’s and is told they have 4 months to live. (2 weeks is not enough!)

On to Act 2! The origins actually affect the game, so there’s three versions of it you can play. (Some things happen regardless of the origin, though.) For example: Corpo V has contacts in the Corpo world and pursues leads about the Relic there through their old friends. Street Kid V has contacts in the gangs, like the Valentinos or Maelstrom, who have dirty dealings with corporations and can get V in on Arasaka knowledge, Nomad V has leads out in the badlands about the corporations and gets in that way, hijacking transports to get some info. All origins can work with the corporations (like Hanako’s branch of Arasaka, Militech, Biotechnia, etc.) or against them. Like, the point is to snoop around the corporations and dig up some dirt on the Relic and Yorinobu’s Arasaka branch specifically but each origin goes about it differently?

Maelstrom vs Meredith Stout choice actually matters. It’s one point in a subplot I mentioned above, where V continually makes choices on whether they’re gonna side with the corporations or the gangs/people of NC against Arasaka in order to be rid of the Relic. Also affects V’s relationship with Johnny. You can also have a real, long term relationship with Meredith if you pick her side and get Militech support, or count on Maelstrom to help you in the main plot against Arasaka. Both sides will still attack V if they poke their nose in, meaning random encounters can still happen.

^ The subplot is like, making a deal with the devils (The corpos) or... other devils (The gangs). One person objectively could say one is better than the other, but they’re both awful. Night City is kind of rotten to the core, and V’s problems can’t be fixed by a pursuit of justice. V can still be a good person in either case, and it’s still kept kind of punk by going against the head honchos. I think this more suits the “Wake the fuck up, Samurai. We have a city to burn.” quote because V is churning up a path to the top, even if their methods are purely selfish. V themselves can be uninterested in righting wrongs, but they kind of turn NC on its head by challenging Arasaka so changes come anyway.

Point, is you fuck everything up either way. THEN, V can choose whether to trust the corporations and work with Hanako to “change the system from within” without disrupting people’s day-to-day lives (short term good choice I suppose?) or to let the gangs rise up and cause total anarchy. (long term good? since the downtrodden are rising up and maybe there shouldn’t be absolute power in the hands of a few.)

T-Bug doesn’t die. V thinks she’s dead, but sometime in Act 2 gets an anonymous call and meets up with T-Bug. She went underground after the botched heist, and isn’t eager to work with V again. Maybe you do a few missions with her, and she comes around? Or you fuck up and never hear from her again. I imagine she’d love to poke around at the Relic, if V helps her.

Giving Jackie’s body to Vik has real consequences. If you give his body to his mother, you attend the ofrenda and get his bike, his mom allows you to use his den as a place to stay... It’s basically the ‘good’ choice, if you care about the characters. If you give his body to Vik, you unlock a side mission where Arasaka steals his body to find the relic. You have to go and find it but it was destroyed(?) at some point by Arasaka. You can get his pistols (Which are, aside from Johnny’s pistol, the best weapons in the game. I don’t get why they aren’t in canon...) in this route and whole lotta angst, so his mom basically hates you because she blames you for not being able to bury her son and the bar is off limits. No getting the bike, either.

More content involving Alt Cunningham. V still witnesses the scene with her and Johnny, her kidnapping and death. But, Ghost AI Alt allows V to look into Alt’s memories for information on Mikoshi. V accidentally accesses some more personal memories. We can see Alt as more of a fleshed out actual person, not just a tragic backstory for Johnny. Some of the memories do involve Johnny, and the tone is very different from her perspective. We see that Alt has genuine affection for him, but Johnny is possessive and abusive... It’s far from the relationship Johnny recalls. Of course, Johnny can see all this too since he lives in V’s head. He and V have a heart to heart afterwards, with Johnny realising how badly he treated Alt and yeah. I wasn’t satisfied with how Alt was just used as a sob story for Johnny, but I was sent an ask by an anonymous person about how the memory was from his perspective and thus biased. It really got me thinking! If I was more creative, I’d come up with a way for Alt to live... But Johnny still needs to bomb Arasaka and Alt’s death was the reason why he did that.

You have to return one of your apartments/safe houses every few days to wash and sleep. If not, V will get a penalty that means they are less accurate when aiming and slower when breaking in a vehicle. Also some NPC’s will refuse to talk to you if you don’t bathe, because... stinky.

And you have to eat! Otherwise you get hungry, and get penalties for that too. Can’t concentrate on an empty stomach. I’d say eating once or twice a day would be enough.

Instead of fast travel points (that are supposed to be taxi services, I think...? But we never see a taxi! And why can’t we just call Del? Ugh.), V takes the metro. There are side missions that can sometimes only start once you get on or off of a train. (You meet NPC’s in the train, or waiting for one.)

Takemura and Johnny are romance options, and are available for all genders. They’re the most difficult to romance, with some (kind of obvious) dialogue choices ending the possibility. Like, for example: Takemura’s romance ends badly if you choose to go against the corporations, and Johnny’s ends badly if you go with the corporations. It’s the same with Meredith, essentially, in that going against her won’t allow you to romance her. I know a rival-mance system is possible, but I think that might be too complicated.

Takemura and V’s relationship is much, much deeper. They have more time together, and grow closer. Takemura trains V in combat, and takes over from Coach Fred in the street fights side missions. You go with Takemura to fights, he’s your coach, is very proud when you win. (He’s basically training V in the event that they have to take on Adam Smasher and Oda. Like, why did we have no training montages with Takemura?!) V is able to choose romance or stay friends with him. There’s plenty more missions with Takemura too, mainly espionage stuff against Yorinobu. Finding out his weaknesses, replacing his staff with people that are loyal to Hanako, digging for dirt on him. Lots of stake outs, hehe. 😉 Romance!™️ Also makes it that much more tragic if V doesn’t choose to trust the corporations, since Takemura will end things and leave NC.

There are garages to upgrade your cars but Panam can upgrade it further if you do her missions + befriend her, and you can find super secret parts for your cars that Panam needs all around NC by stealing them from gangs or Corpos! Like, make your car go 200 mph fast or a setting to make it hover. 😎

FOUND FAMILY TROPE... Involving the LI’s + more characters. I wanted Misty, Vik, Judy, Panam, River and Kerry to all know each other and be friends. Also, somewhere for them to hang out. Judy coming down and hanging out with Misty and Vik would’ve been so cool.

Missions involving Vik. I think he deserved his own personal missions. Also, he’s gotta be romanceable! I’ll add more to this later.

I’m still figuring out how Johnny’s romance would go. It’s a tricky one. Lots of tension, jealously if V flirts with anybody... Heart to hearts... Holding hands... Passive aggressive confessions of love...

River is introduced in the main story. Maybe you team up to hunt down somebody who knows stuff about the Relic, like Anders Hellman, or something else to do with it. River’s like “What the fuck is going on?” but V doesn’t really tell him. Then, of course, you meet him later on and recognise him in the BD given to you by Jefferson.

Meeting Kerry earlier in the story, say mid Act 2? Ideally there would have been 5 Acts, and maybe I’ll edit this to include more once I figure out how the story could have gone. AND he’s part of the main story.

Less generic, “get in, get item and get out” side missions from Fixers and more side missions like the Peralez’s and that guy who got crucified. More freaky Cyberpunk subjects like what constitutes a soul, what is “intelligence” (What makes a machine different than a human? Without shitty false racism analogies), human rights abuses (and in that: classism, racism, ableism, transphobia), pollution, more on “Cyberpsychos” and how harmful that term is, etc. Nauced and thought-provoking. Reminding us that this is a dystopia and the issues are different but not all that wildly so from today. I would’ve developed Brendan’s mission more, because it seemed like we were going to see an earnest discussion on Artificial Intelligence but instead it was just confusing and “Haha, tricked you!” 🥱 Like, what if he really was a person capable of free thought and emotion? And that company still owns him and can overwrite him? Isn’t that fucked up?! It didn’t need a happy ending, just something to unnerve me.

Adding to that, Delamain had plenty of opportunities to discuss AI and the rights of individual contructs. His “children” could be freed, but nothing really happens as a result? I wanted consequences! The emails about human staff being made redundant because of Delamain were so interesting, too. I wanted to see something about the consequences of that in a city with no basic universal income. What happened to them? What can be done to help people who are made redundant by machines? So many possibilities for truly emotional and scary side missions!

I’m gonna watch black mirror for more inspiration, but stuff like the IRL blocking feature? Freaky as hell and totally plausible. Would’ve loved if one of the side missions involved V getting involved in some dispute involving something like that. “I can’t see his face!” or the copyright stuff about people’s appearances! Imagine if there was a Johnny lookalike? Engram Johnny would either find it hilarious or get really pissed off.

I’m hoping the DLC will deliver on more Takemura, so I’ll hold my breath for critiquing the Arasaka ending.

More to come! I’ll probably edit this later, if there’s any mistakes and/or I realise I hate an idea hehe.

[geekgemsspooksandtoons]

Why Bioshock Rebirth Part 3 won’t be a thing for a while

Guessing that title will work. I think considering now and on this day. There isn’t much else to do. I’m finally gonna talk about this. This is gonna be a long one. I’ll think about adding a keep reading thing as I make this. 

If any of you are a Bioshock fan or follow me. Or whatever else. I have this reimagining AU named Bioshock Rebirth. It has people who like it. There are mainly three parts on my mind. 

Part 1 and 2 basically deal with Rapture. Which are basically a reimagining of the main stories of Bioshock 1 and 2. With the events of Minerva’s Den being the epilogue. Part 3 from my mindset would deal with something outside Rapture. But I’ll talk about that later.

Yet I feel like to me. The reason I am not wanting to make a part 3 as soon as possible. Because it’s really tricky for me. I think I’ll just make the points and what my plans possibly were. Including I am gonna publicly reveal what my version of Zachary Hale Comstock would of been. Which is may be the most craziest decision. Whether people like it or not.

Now I just finished this post. I’ll put the tag after I write this. I will reveal I have a Bendy reimagining AU on my mind. But I want Dark Revival to come out soon. Which is why I don’t wanna focus more time on part 3. Along with other things. I feel proud or so with my work on Rebirth. I’m glad people love this AU/reimagining of Bioshock I made. :) So I will add the keep reading option. Now here is my detailed development of part 3. Not everything about it is there. But it’s a lot.

1. Part 3 would of taken 5 years after Bioshock Rebirth parts 1 and 2. Parts 1 and 2 took place in 2002. While part 3 takes place in 2007. Meaning the character ages have changed.

Basically Archie Wynand is 28. Elizabeth Comstock is 24. Brigid Tenenbaum is 40. Eleanor Lamb is 22. Even though Archie/Jack and Eleanor had her their ages sped up by people. With Archie being 10 and Eleanor being 12. But again there ages were sped up. Also the Little Sisters and Big Sisters that have been rescued have grown up too.

It depends on what characters would return. Like Delta/Johnny being 42. Daisy being 34. Booker being 43. Considering it’s not in Rapture. I don’t know if many characters would of returned. Yet that’s because I didn’t start writing possibly the main story for part 3. In case if anyone is worried. Many of the Vox Populi are fine. They must of moved on with their lives with Rapture sadly being a mess.

2. From what I get. The main story again was outside of Rapture. I seemed to be going with my old ideas I had for this AU. A public Rapture or the idea of Rebirth’s version of Columbia.

Considering Rebirth was born from the mistakes and retcons of Burial At Sea breaking the multiverse. Basically me disowning, shaming, yet acknowledging that DLC. So the idea I seem to be going with is that Columbia is the aftermath and America trying to make their own kind of Rapture. A public Rapture in a way for tourists. Something kind of like Jurassic Park.

Yet I don’t think it would be fully in the sky. It would be an island on water. With possibly Rapture under it. They built it over Rapture. 

Again Columbia is like America’s pale imitation of Rapture. With Rapture being discovered by America. Basically making profit off of it. Despite how tragic the results of Rapture of.

3. More on the main story. I think what it would be or as of now is Archie, Elizabeth, Brigid, and Eleanor going to Columbia or America’s public Rapture to stop Comstock. Considering this city has become a mess. The original idea is that it some how became worse than the tragedy of Rapture. 

With Big Daddies and Little Sisters being legalized. And Splicers or so possibly becoming more I guess crazy. With an old or possible dark idea of a Splicer eating out of a Little Sisters neck. Yet that’s really dark and just me showcasing some how this place became worse than the original Rapture.

4. Vigor’s in Rebirth would of been America’s knockoffs and pale imitation of Rapture’s Plasmid’s being reworked by Jeremiah Fink to make them more accessible so that you don’t have to inject them into your wrists. You could just simply drink them. 

Basically again they are strangely knockoffs and pale imitations in a way.

Shock Jockey is Electro Bolt. Devil’s Kiss is Incinerate. Bucking Bronco is Telekinesis. While some are again knockoffs. But some are original being the other Vigor’s.

But considering an idea from my anonymous friend who has helped me with this AU. With them mentioning well I’ll copy what they said instead. I’ll put the “ around it.

“Ironic considering the stereotype about most of the world's products being inferior knockoffs made in China. I can imagine that Fink's imitation of Rapture's products might be even more unscrupulous and dangerous compared to the original versions in Rapture, as the greater capitalist system intersects with the small-scale capitalism of that city.”

5. To be honest and I want to get this out of the way. The reason I am not making part 3 right away. Because I want to see if the leaks about Cloud Chamber’s Bioshock 4 are really true. Spoilers.

Basically the leaks being about that Rapture seemed to have been discovered. Now London is at war with ADAM being used. You play as a character named Lucas with other characters like Eleanor Lamb joining you. I want to see if this is all true. So I can see how Cloud Chamber interpreted of how the world would react to a city like Rapture. 

While there are folks who have made criticisms about people discovering Rapture being the end of the world. Basically being critical about the Bioshock series going in a Resident Evil like direction. Which I can totally understand.

But I’m gonna be honest. I want to see what Cloud Chamber are doing. Yet this horrible thing I’m gonna say next. As someone who’s.....opinions of their planet and maybe species is I guess low....I kind of don’t care. Because I want to see the chaos of the consequences if a place like America discovered Rapture. 

It’s maybe my darker side and my action junkie side having the best of me. I am strangely interested to see Hell on Earth all because governments got fucking greedy with ADAM. Again my opinion on my planet and whatever else is tricky.

Fuck it like we as a species deserve it. But I’m sounding pessimistic. I want to see war torn London destroyed by ADAM junkies.

5. My direction for part 3 I feel is weaker and not as powerful as parts 1 and 2. Because the general idea of part 3 seems to be, “America is fucking stupid. Because it empowers young rich pricks like Zachary Hale Comstock and makes shit like Columbia. Our country needs to be fucking better if really are the land of the free” It feels less original and been done before.

Compared to the first two part’s stories of humanity, found family, love, forgiveness, empathy, and compassion. Along with other stuff.

While I recall my inspiration for this idea long ago was this video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXjJOmRkN6s If I recall it being like an example of....America’s thought process of it thinking it’s awesome or whatever the Hell. I wanna say stupid thinking. But that video is awesome. Amazing what that person did.

Also my version of Comstock I feel is less threating and less interesting than the likes of villains like Andrew Ryan, Atlas/Frank Fontaine, and Sofia Lamb. Unless I really tap and dig deep into his character.

There’s also the other thing part 3 I feel unless I decided. It doesn’t deal with dimension travelling and all that crap.

6. There’s another thing is that I used many of the major characters from Infinite and incorporated them in Rapture. Such as Elizabeth, Booker, Daisy, and the Lutece twins. I haven’t done much with Annabelle because she sadly died before the events of parts 1 and 2. Also Bluto is practically Rebirth’s version of Songbird when he was in Rapture. He was the Proto-Daddy.

Fink and Comstock are the only major Infinite characters I haven’t used.

7. Bluto’s robotic corpse would of been found by Fink and Comstock. He would of been rebuilt into Songbird as being the supposed mascot and guardian of Columbia.

It’s also a way of torturing Elizabeth mentally. Because two men practically took her protective older brother’s corpse and rebuilt him as something else. With the added angst that Songbird still have memories of Elizabeth.

8. Another reason why I don’t feel so highly of part 3. It’s because it just seems unrealistic. Which may sound stupid. My ideas of America’s own Rapture like place becoming somehow worse than the original Rapture seem crazy.

Along with things like legalized Big Daddies and Little Sisters seems crazy. Despite how stupid my country is. The idea of taking human beings and turning them into that under an American government seems like bullshit. Unless they didn’t know. 

Yet it seems to be dissing on America. Considering the direction of Comstock I’m going with is more like, “We’re America and we are great.” Yet everything goes to shit.

Along with the crazy idea of the place being built in 5 or maybe 4 to 3 years. Which is why I wanted to give it a timespan.

Also it’s a fun easter egg that it’s the time span of the original Bioshock’s development. Unless I make part 3 in 2013. But don’t think I should.

9. There’s been a recent idea of Lucas being an antagonist. Something similar to the Arkham Knight from Batman Arkham Knight. But I should wait and see if this Lucas character is seriously real. Yet what I have read about him, he reminds me a bit of Booker.

I’m guessing and even was thinking a bit more in detail. Lucas being a US Marine who was born in 1981. He’s 26 during part 3. Possibly being an anti-thesis to Archie’s character. Now I’m thinking he may of met Arch during possibly tours. Even though they weren’t really friends but knew each other.

With Archie being an earnest and kind man. Now this makes sense. Lucas being jealous of Archie’s position as, “The Demon Of Rapture” and, “The Killer Of Fontaine”. Lucas being a bit more angry and less honorable than Archie.

Man these ideas make more sense than Comstock being an anti-thesis to Arch. Yet we also have Frank Fontaine and Booker Dewitt being anti-thesis to his character too. But the idea of Lucas is strangely perfect.

The ideas I am having are he’s Columbia’s poster boy of a super soldier. But without the horrifying results of Archie’s origin possibly. Since Lucas I’m imagining is more equipped with stuff(Again thinking of Arkham Knight)....fuck this is strangely perfect. 

Man we haven’t gotten more info on this who I am calling Lucas Parkside....fuck I thought of more of him being a deeper character or so.

10. But again about Bioshock 4. Considering Rebirth is the result of Burial At Sea and also Infinite breaking the multiverse. It combined the worlds of the main universe(Bioshock 1, 2, and the Rapture novel if you want to include that) and Infinite. Which resulted in a timeline where Rapture was made later during the cold war. Along with characters like from Infinite being more connected to Rapture because of the events of Burial At Sea.

Yet Bioshock 4 or those Parkside leaks. I question if I should put them in here too. Because it’s unknown if well the events of 4 happened yet in the main universe. Unless we take into the good ending being canon. With 4 taking take in the 70′s what I read.

I’m rambling, I’m sorry about that. Basically the events of the novel and first two games happened. But the events of Infinite and Burial At Sea disturbed the main universe. And whatever I’m using some weird comic book logic. 

Again I hope sometime but soon I want more information considering Bioshock 4. 

11. I guess I’ll just reveal this now. Including I called him a young rich prick. I gave a hint early on. In fact this character was hinted at in memes. But him combing in Comstock was something I was surprised by long ago. Yet I felt I guess could be genius or whatever.

Only two friends of mine know. The anonymous friend. And also @feckinatlas

Zachary Hale Comstock in Bioshock Rebirth would of been the Mark Zuckerberg of Bioshock.

While there was the idea of making him the, “Radec” or something similar to make him more threating. But Booker is already that. Including the Mark Zuckerberg angle is something I’m interested in.

Yes Comstock is Rebirth is younger than his main universe counterpart. He’s also not Booker and possibly not related to him.

One of my original ideas was that he’s a year younger than Elizabeth. But I changed that and may make him possibly 30 or so. Or even Archie’s physical age or 29.

An old idea I even told Feckinatlas that him being Fontaine’s kid. But Frank never knew about him. Practically making even more of a terrible father. Yet I don’t know if I’ll go with that idea. Yet it seems better than Comstock being a kid of Booker. Which I don’t like. I was trying to keep the Booker and Comstock connection. I’m still wondering now.

Yes I think that’s all I’ll reveal now.

Edit I forgot this one other important thing. Oh crap two actually.

12. Considering Ava Tate survived and escaped Rapture. She would of been one of the villains in part 3. Basically she sided with Fink and Comstock. Ava is kind of like that character who might not care what side she’s on. Despite she has redeeming qualities in her.

13. Even though this wasn’t part of the main story. To be honest there are ideas that one of Elizabeth’s looks is like her Burial At Sea look. Yet she’s not a femme fatale. Basically it was the idea of her and Archie going undercover. With Elizabeth trying to pose as a femme fatale. Which in reality she isn’t. She’s still the same joyous girl that people love. It’s something a bit more strangely adorable.

Also Brigid tried to teach her some stuff of trying to act different. I remember talking about this with my anonymous friend. It’s mainly silly and adorable stuff before meeting her seeing Ava. Like Arch being pouty that he may have to put on a tux. When he’ll put on something like maybe Clark Kent would wear. He doesn’t wanna look like a rich prick and would rather have black ops gear on. While Brigid and Elizabeth find it adorable and funny he doesn’t wanna dress like Ryan and whoever else. Despite they would kick him out if he looks very normal.

But again Brigid teaching her some tricks. Along with Elizabeth trying to smoke to look cool. But she coughs and again it’s adorable. XD

This idea is like before the main story. But I should develop it more. It could still be before the main story. I wanted to share this because I forgot about it.