#did you know that the word ‘corpse’ can be used to describe both a dead body and a living one?

[thesmollestsnek]

Today in the snek rambles about random fandom things, we have: Danny’s age! Specifically, how he ages long-term, seeing as he half-died at fourteen.

Now, a lot of the fics I see that age Danny up in some way have his human body aging, either normally or occasionally at a slower rate, and his ghost form naturally changing to mimic that. Almost as common are the fics where Danny’s human form ages while his ghost form stays at the age he died. And don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of fun to be had with both those options. I’ve seen some great fics playing with both those concepts.

…But yknow what I haven’t seen?

A fic where Danny’s ghost form is the one that ages, while his human form stays the same. Think about it, a ghost’s form is malleable, and doesn’t necessarily reflect what a person originally looked like so much as what they think they should be. This is almost alway the explanation given for Danny’s ghost form aging with him, when a fic writer decides to go that route. Ghost forms are malleable, it makes perfect sense for Danny’s Phantom form to be capable of aging, so long as Danny believes that it should be.

…but you wanna know what isn’t so malleable? A human body. And for all that Danny’s still alive, he’s also dead, and while the show seems to portray Danny and Phantom as two separate halves with little to no bleedover, fanon seems to prefer having the boundaries between death and life in one Danny Phantom be much blurrier. As do I. Danny is a human who is dead, just as Phantom is a ghost who is alive. Both and neither at the same time. And while living humans age, dead ones don’t.

So. When Danny walked into the portal, he died. And regardless of how you want to argue semantics of resurrection and was there a brief period of time when he was only dead and he was also alive when he left the portal, he did die and a part of him stayed dead. Meaning that, by some definitions, his human body can be considered a corpse. And corpses don’t age.

Just, imagine the potential angst there, of Danny realizing, a year or two or three after the accident that no, he’s not just a late bloomer. He’s just. Not. Aging. And never will again, at least as a human. How long did it take him to recognize that fact? …how long did it take for him to realize that he can never seamlessly blend into human society again? His Phantom form is obviously not human, and his human one will never make it past fourteen.

…But then, his ghost form is still aging, it never stopped even after he noticed that the two forms no longer look the same. Even after he accepts that Danny Fenton will never make it past fourteen. There’s a part of him that recognizes that he’s still alive and that he should be aging, so Phantom grows up even though Fenton never will.

Which, if you’re inclined to keep piling on the angst, can also serve to isolate him from ghost society. A being of change trying to fit into a community of people who will forever stay the same. Preserved exactly as they were at their time of death. Except for Danny. Who’s still the odd one out, even in death. A ghost who’s growing up and a human who’ll forever remain a child.

…

Orrrr if you’re not in the mood for soul-crushing angst, you can also use this concept for fun and hijinks. Age Danny up a couple decades, plop him into any world with other superheroes, and watch the identity shenanigans take over. I’m especially fond of this being done with the Justice League, because he’s basically a reverse Captain Marvel. Imagine, the League finds out that their adult coworker is actually a small child masquerading as a grownass man through the power of a magically aged-up superhero form and a lot of bullshit. They see that when Billy Batson is in his civilian/human form he returns to his actual age. And then they see phantom, another coworker who, when not in the form they use for heroics, physically turns into a child. And so they go “we got this, no further clarification needed.” (Spoiler alert: they do not, in fact, got this).

[beevean]

The Devil Forgemasters in Netflixvania: why you shouldn't fix what is broken

I have a lot to say about how the show completely ruined Hector and Isaac, as characters and thematically. Adding more and more to the original post about how the changes made to Dracula and the Belmonts ruin the story would derail it more than I'd like to, so take this as some sort of lateral continuation.

Devil Forging is not tied to Dracula.

This is, admittedly, an obscure detail that not even many game fans know, but it's a good starting point.

Devil Forging (Japanese: 悪魔精錬術, Art of Devil Refining) is described to be a blasphemous branch of alchemy that creates life out of a wisp of conjuring matter. While it's ambiguous whether Hector and Isaac are the only Devil Forgemasters in the world or simply the most talented ones, it has been confirmed that they were infused with Dracula's own power to become Forgemasters.

Igarashi said it in a pre-release interview of the game...

"Innocent Devils are created out of strong magical essence. Previously when Hector was part of Dracula's army, Dracula himself provided that magical essence, so it was easy to create Innocent Devils..."

It was shown in a page of Prelude to Revenge...

And Death's entire plan in Curse of Darkness hinges on both Hector and Isaac being "suffused" with his master's power, making them the perfect vessels for his resurrection.

In the show, Devil Forging (or just Forging) is nothing of the sort. Forgemasters create Night Creatures by putting souls from Hell into recently dead, intact corpses. Hector in particular knew how to resurrect creatures in a zombie state since he was a child. Neither him nor Isaac, who studied by himself, needed Dracula to become Forgemasters: he met them when they were already adults and well-versed in dark arts.

This, on its own, doesn't ruin the story much: it's not a big deal if Devil Forging is changed from alchemy to necromancy, especially since this Dracula didn't use to be the alchemist Mathias Cronqvist. I also don't mind in a vacuum that the art has more limitations, like needing fresh corpses or tools. But, much like removing any hint that Lament of Innocence happened, it spirals into worse and worse consequences.

There is, however, something that can be mentioned here. The show makes a frequent point, through Carmilla, Lenore and the Captain, that Dracula might have planned to kill Hector and Isaac together with all the humans: Isaac accepted this fate and for this reason refused to befriend Hector, Hector could be manipulated at the other vampires' leisure. This conflict wouldn't have existed if Isaac and Hector trusted Dracula with their lives, as in, if he was the one who "made" them as they were: in fact, a big deal is made out of the Devil Forgemasters' humanity. I will elaborate more on the details next.

Dracula hired Hector and Isaac shortly after Lisa was killed.

In the prequels, Hector and Isaac went to knock to Dracula's door out of desperation (in one version when they were young boys), because there was no other place in the world for them. Dracula welcomed them and taught them the dark arts, on the condition that they would serve him, which they did out of gratitude for being allowed to live. Their talent was enough to earn them the titles of Devil Forgemasters and Generals. Their loyalty was then put to the test after Lisa's death, when Dracula used their powers to make an army to crush humanity with: Isaac was perfectly fine with it, Hector had reservations.

The wording implies that Hector was shocked by Dracula's descent into madness. One can even read his "indiscriminately" as a hint that at first Hector was also alright with punishing the guilty, but then had second thoughts the moment he realized Dracula's slaughter was beyond reason.

Only bits and pieces of all of this was kept in the show. As I mentioned, Dracula met the two when they were already adults and hermits, one in Rhodes and the other in the Sahara, and the two were impressed by how Dracula was the first one who treated them with kindness. Then he returned to them after Lisa's death, more or less telling both of them "I need you to exterminate the human race". Isaac was, again, up to it, while Hector had to be convinced with a lie: Dracula promised to him a compromise, that of culling the human race and using it as livestock. Then, he took them to his castle and immediately promoted them to Generals, because he trusted them as humans against humanity.

Why does it matter? Hector started off with all the building blocks to go through a similar character arc he goes through in the CoD prequels, but he's turned into a less sympathetic character, as he was on board with turning humans into cattle from the get go. An anti-villain who'd enslave his own kind out of a misguided sense of mercy needs a carefully woven narrative to justify, and possibly redeem. We all know what happened to him.

To be fair, the story wasting Hector is not the fault of the lore changes, so there's no point in elaborating here. I will mention, however, that some fans genuinely believe Hector deserved to be enslaved and raped precisely because of his original plan, which makes the narrative even grosser.

Why does it matter? 2: Hector not feeling grateful for Dracula giving him a home, because their relationship is now more shallow and cheaper, makes him weaker to Carmilla's and Lenore's manipulations: game Hector, pre-character development, would have had the right counterarguments against them, and he would have come off as less passive.

Why does it matter? 3: Hector and Isaac only worked under Dracula for a year, and they're already called Generals. In the prequels, it's implied they spent years studying under him and gaining experience, both in the alchemy lab and in the battlefield, which is why they're called Generals in the first place (unlike the show version, who allegedly aren't even physical fighters). While Dracula explains that he trusts them due to being humans willing to exterminate other humans, it's questionable that Dracula would trust their qualifications so much; this is made even worse by the fact that Hector was "hired" thanks to a lie. Their importance and talent are diminished, and Dracula comes off as more impulsive and less caring of those he trusts.

(and while this is more minor, Dracula, who in this version is meant to be more sympathetic, looks like more of a bastard for leaving Hector and Isaac in their isolated homes until he had a need for them. The story could have put Isaac through a character arc where he realized that his "friend" only saw him as a tool and discarded him as such, but nothing comes from it.)

Neither Dracula nor Isaac respect Hector.

In the games, Dracula respected both Hector and Isaac as his trusted Generals, but he favored Hector, which caused Isaac not a small amount of grief. Isaac himself was torn between respecting Hector as a friend and comrade and resenting him for "getting closer to Lord Dracula". In any case, it's obvious that both of them had a role in Dracula's court, it just happened that Hector was more talented than Isaac.

Before talking about the show, it's necessary to talk about the stats sheets that came out with Season 2, that implied that Hector and Isaac were meant to be both physically weak, with the former slightly stronger and more powerful in "necromancing" than the latter. This implies that the original idea was more in line with the games, with Hector being more talented than Isaac: this would have explained why Dracula resorted to lie to him to hire him.

But this, for whatever reason, was not kept at all. Not only the two are roughly on the same level of raw power; not only Isaac eventually is shown to be a menace in battle; but Dracula and Isaac have nothing but contempt for Hector as a person. They insult him gratuituously, calling him "a child in a man's body", "just a little boy", "a creature too simple for betrayal", "easy to lie to", and making fun of his love for animals. Furthermore, Isaac in particular says that he never cared to befriend Hector because he assumed, and accepted, that both of them will eventually die at Dracula's hands, so there was no point in forming a connection - but it could have been just an excuse because it's clear that he simply cannot stand him.

This is not just petty bullying, it's baffling writing.

Why does it matter?: this Hector should not even be in the castle, let alone with an important role like a General of Dracula's army. If Forging is a branch of magic well known in certain circles, unrelated to Dracula, why couldn't he attempt to find another one that would be on board with his plan? Especially since it seems to be common to shun them for their blasphemous powers, so there has to be another Forgemaster with a chip on their shoulder that wouldn't need to be manipulated.

Hector is kept in the dark about Dracula's real plan. He is considered so stupid that anyone could sway him. He yells in the middle of the war room that he doesn't enjoy paddling in the blood of children, confirming that he doesn't want to target innocents. He is also not special compared to Isaac, who is also shown to be quicker in Forging and capable in fighting. Hector is nothing short of a liability for Dracula, and it's all his fault for not realizing how much of a detriment hiring a naive "manchild" for a plan that goes against his very morals would eventually become.

But then again, Dracula in the show seems to like having liabilities in his castle.

Hector did not challenge Dracula of his own volition.

While the details are unclear and can only be inferred, it is pivotal that, at some point, Hector decided that he couldn't be an instrument of slaughter. He may have come to this conclusion out of principles (PtR) or out of pride for his own humanity (MF manga), but what matters is that he decided that he would rather flee to live in the human world that rejected him than to keep living in Dracula's castle where he was respected as a Devil Forgemaster but not as a person.

Hector's choice to run away in search of freedom, while understandable and admirable, has terrible consequences on Isaac, his foil and rival. He had to leave the castle to pursue the traitor: the two fought, and Isaac lost. Not only Hector left him alive instead of mercy killing him, letting the failure soak in, but thanks to their absence from the castle, Trevor and his companions had less obstacles to overcome, so they managed to reach Dracula and kill him. Isaac was beyond furious at Hector's betrayal: not only the rival he respected turned his back on both him and their Lord, but with one act, he stripped Isaac of everything he held dear in his life, from his position to the Lord who accepted him to his very home. Thus, the tragic cycle of revenge the two get stuck in during the game.

In the show, the real agent of S2 is Carmilla. She is the one who has decided that Dracula is an insane old man and she has to stop his insane plan (because it would harm vampires in the long run, of course). Her plan is to manipulate Hector into convincing him to convince Dracula to move the castle at Braila, all while praising his skills and reassuring she only wants to save his life from Dracula's insanity. Hector, who already had doubts, easily goes along with Carmilla's will, and by the time she reveals she disdains him as well, he doesn't have the strength to rebel, which leads to his beating and imprisonment in S3.

Why does it matter?: the most important theme of Hector's character is him gaining agency and choosing to amend his mistakes by being a better person than those around him. He is meant to be a parallel to Isaac (who close loyalty over freedom and couldn't rise above his bitterness and anger), Alucard (who is burdened by his family, not his wrong choices) and Dracula himself (who lost his heart out of grief and, like Isaac, kept spiraling downwards). Stripping him of his thematic relevance leaves Hector with nothing to his name: while Hector is canonically someone who clings in search of affection, the show takes this trait to absurd and frankly humiliating degrees.

Contrast the climax of game Hector's character arc of facing his former benefactor, telling him he has no right to judge mankind, and swearing that this time he will fight him face to face instead of running away:

with the climax of show Hector's character arc of protecting the woman who abused him, gaslighted him, raped him through deception and imprisoned him, and then allowing her to die on her own terms so that she won't have to face the consequences of her actions, crawling back to her (and Dracula! He wanted Dracula back after everything he had done!) because up until the end, he never acknowledged the fatal flaw of weakmindness and insecurity that led him to being tortured in all sorts of ways.

(Isaac telling us that "he changed" is the biggest lie of the show. "He never had agency", he also says, and not only it's true, it keeps being true until the end of the show, in the face of any character development)

Hector's character is much more than being a generic badass: he is meant to be an inspiration to not falter and succumb to your weaknesses because you are valuable as a person and human, regardless of how others see you. Even if you make mistakes, you can choose to become a better person, and you can find people who love you for who you are. It is incomprehensible how much his show's counterpart ends up promoting the complete opposite message.

Why does it matter? 2: while the story beats the viewer over the head that Hector is a simpleminded manchild, Dracula and Isaac actually look like the biggest idiots in the castle. Carmilla makes clear from her entrance that she has no respect for Dracula and would rather do as she pleases, yet Dracula keeps her alive, allowing her to talk with the "manchild easy to lie to", and Isaac flippantly agrees to her plan to "stop her from causing mischief". Hector gets all the blame for his naiveté and is punished beyond measure, while the other two gets off scot free from their plot-mandated stupidity. It's one thing when in the mangas Dracula and Isaac trusted Hector and thus were left blindsided by his betrayal: they have absolutely zero reason to leave Carmilla alive, let alone trust her.

Why does it matter? 3: Isaac has no solid reason to resent Hector. The two have no connection whatsoever, Carmilla is clearly the one in charge, Isaac sees Trevor, Sypha and Alucard storming the castle with his own eyes, and he was also partially responsible for Carmilla betraying Dracula. He never feels guilty for his negligence in recognizing her as a threat or Hector as someone capable of betrayal. His glee at seeing Hector suffering and his desire to kill him are far less motivated, impactful and tragic. It also comes as a slap in the face that in S4 he "forgives" Hector for lacking agency, without a word about his blind loyalty and stubbornness that nothing could harm his Lord.

Addendum: this is a smaller point related to the previous one, but I feel the need to mention it: there is a very big difference between an insane, ruined Isaac spying on a happy Hector from the shadows, plotting his downfall, and a gleeful Isaac spying on a tortured Hector and rejoicing in his suffering. The former creates palpable tension, because we are rooting for Hector's new happy life, and Isaac ruining it cements him as a despicable and threatening villain; when Isaac in the show is glad to see Hector in pain but still wants to kill him, it has no impact because everyone wants to see Hector suffer, and by that point, killing him would have been a mercy. Once again, it only feels spiteful and kicking someone when he's down.

Isaac and Hector swapped places without reason.

This is by far the most unpopular opinion and perhaps the most biased, but it has to be included.

Isaac in the games had a very specific role of being Hector's foil. He was the loyalty to Hector's pride, he saw himself as a tool while Hector recognized his own humanity, he succumbed to his own hatred while Hector eventually rose above it. He has a negative character arc, becoming more and more obsessed, unhinged and destructive from the prequels until the end of the game where he meets his tragic end, both puppeteer and puppet - his sister Julia is proof that he too had people who cared about him and he cared about, but it was not enough against Dracula's influence. Even his design tells us a lot about him: not only he let his uniform rot off his body in his insanity, but the intricate tattoos on his body can be seen as proof of how far he'd twist himself to show loyalty to his Lord.

While it's not necessary to recreate 1:1 his story in the show, it is immensely frustrating that show Isaac pretty much stole what should have been Hector's arc, leaving him with a flat arc that can be vaguely read as "forgive your abusers if they're sad enough".

It's not just about Hector, though. Show Isaac comes off as a worse version of both characters. I have already explained how in S2 he comes off as more negligent and thus less sympathetic than game Isaac in similar circumstances. S3 and 4, combined, should be about him travelling around, meeting new people and slowly realizing that he can be more than Dracula's right hand because not all humans are rotten to the core. In practice, show Isaac spends the majority of S3 causing much more reckless havoc than game Isaac, targeting people who merely dared to stop a dark wizard from invading their towns, flip-flopping between "maybe humans can be good" to "nevermind you are all rude and deserve to be used by me as demons", until in S4 he suddenly has the realization that he enjoys having agency and would rather build a better world (which includes killing people for "just" reasons); it's almost like the arc game Hector went through in the manga, except we actually see him trying to atone for his past sins, acknowledging that his dark past makes him hateable, and genuinely reforming thanks to Rosaly's influence.

Why does it matter?: Isaac is nowhere near as sympathetic as the show wants him to be, and his arc is shallow, rushed and generic. This is because he switches between two different characters with little buildup.

Why does it matter? 2: Hector and Isaac were meant to be foils in everything, from designs to personalities to arcs. They make each other stronger as characters. In the show, they have no thematic relevance, and the only contrast is that Isaac keeps getting what he wants while Hector keeps getting tormented and humiliated, not for a good narrative reason but out of petty favoritism and spite respectively. It makes their reunion in S4 ring hollow, because, much like the three protagonists, the two didn't have a relationship in the first place to make their mutual forgiveness poignant.

Bonus: the uniforms.

This is the hill I will die on: Hector and Isaac's designs in the games are crucial to the understanding of the characters, and the way the characters were redesigned in the show makes no sense.

In Prelude to Revenge, we see the Devil Forgemasters' full uniforms:

They wear a big, dark cassock with a sash, that makes the both of them look like priests, and bat-shaped chest armor bearing the crest of their position. As we know, Isaac also went so far as embedding that crest on his back, signifying how devoted he is.

After the events of the prequel and during the game proper, their outfit changes. Hector wears what we can assume are the clothes underneath the cassock, haphazardly stitched back together, but keeping the sash (now with Rosaly's ribbon tied around it) and the chest armor, symbolizing how he's forced to face his past again to avenge his wife. This outfit is also designed for running and combat, as shown by the one glove and the arm guard.

Isaac, on the other hand, is unrecognizeable. After three years of rotting in the ruins of the castle, the uniform fell off his body, and he did not bother to fix it. He only modified the chest armor, making it smaller and creating chains, shoulder pauldrons and a collar to keep it on his body. It is meant to contrast his previously put-together design, and convey that Isaac's sanity is as gone as his clothes. Furthermore, he is flaunting the tattoos that symbolize his utter devotion and belonging to Dracula.

In short, Hector and Isaac started from a similar place, but they diverged to very different paths.

This, on the other hand, is nothing short of lazy.

There is no explanation as to why they wear different uniforms. There is no color coordination, no red/blue motif in their clothes. There is no reason Isaac wears a dark priestly uniform while Hector still looks combat ready when he's only a smith (wouldn't the arm guard get in the way?). Hector is shown wearing a red sash ever since he was a child, which doesn't explain why it's included in Isaac's uniform as well. Even the crest on the armor looks different:

There was no thought put in any of this, it was all sloppily stolen from the fandom wiki, and once again, it ruins the carefully woven connection between the two characters.

Hector and Isaac's story was airtight, with just enough room for speculation but enough material to get invested in, emotional, a great example of tragedy, and every choice was made for a reason. It was a story of revenge on the surface, but it also tackled quite well, despite its limitations, themes of humanity and agency and freedom. The writing in the show is not only sloppy and more shallow, but it accidentally promotes terrible themes in its misanthropy, cruelty, and lack of care regarding abuse and trauma.

[mlmxreader]

Can't Let You Go | David Hesh Walker x gn!reader

『••✎••』

↳ ❝ Pssst.... what if, hear me out here... I know "I think he's come back for his noon feeding" is from Jaws but!!! It's Y/N feeding people to their beloved that got turned into a zombie because they just CANNOT let go. Beloved in question is Hesh.

Optional but would be very funny if Logan helped capture victims because "It's not too different from hunting deer." and he also can't let Hesh go. The brother in law helps out.

Also optional, but would be interesting if Hesh could somewhat remember things even un-dead. Like Y/N tells him "I love you." and he'll sign it back because muscle memory or some shit. Establish a bit of motive for the whole "Letting my dead boyfriend murder and eat you." thing. - @tokillamockingbird427 ❞

: ̗̀➛ You're the only to blame for what happens to him, yet even still, between you and Logan, nobody can be quite sure who is less willing to part ways with him even though they know they should.

: ̗̀➛ swearing, smoking, graphic depictions of corpses, fatal injuries described in detail, MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH, murder, gun violence

•───────────────★•♛•★──────────────•

You blamed yourself for it, more than anything, knowing that the others had done everything that they could whilst you were over with a different task force doing some training; it was your fault that he had gotten that way. Your fault that he turned into a monster.

You should have known that the people they were after would have used the gas; infecting Hesh when he was alone in the control room.

You should have protected him, and look what you had done; he was far from the Hesh you had fallen in love with.

His beautiful, smooth skin was now covered in dried blood, the white cloth he had tried to use to protect himself was melted into his skin and had torn open to expose his fleshless jaw. Hanging on by tendons, dribbles of blood staining the once white fabric.

His skin was grey, pale and thick like a dying scab. Claw marks on his head where he had tried to fight the infection. His right eye was completely gone, melted from his skull and exposing the deep and empty socket; you could see right through to the back of his skull.

Bits of bubbled flesh stuck to his lower eyelid. A hole in the side of his neck where he had tried to kill himself in desperation, blistered flesh around the entry point. His hands were cracked and blistered, skin hanging off in thick scabs constantly, all up to his shoulders.

He could hardly speak, the words sounding more like an imitation of human speech; he sounded human in voice, but the words were just wrong. You had done this. It had all been your fault.

You and Logan knew you couldn’t let him go out on his own, knew that he couldn’t be given up to the US military; you also both knew that you needed Hesh, you needed him around. A life without Hesh… you didn’t want to imagine it, and neither did Logan.

Logan had never been without his big brother, and you had been Hesh’s significant other for so long that you just couldn’t stomach the thought of being without him anymore.

Together, you and Logan took Hesh to a cabin in the woods that you had been left in an inheritance; you put up six foot tall fences made of thick wood with a doggy door that only opened if Riley’s microchip was scanned, and ensured that the rest of the property was littered with barbed wire and traps to make absolutely sure that no one would ever find Hesh.

No cellular phones. No internet. No computers. Never anything that could ever be tracked to the location, not even burner phones.

Nobody else was ever allowed to know; Logan told Elias and Keegan that he was going to see some friends for a while whenever he came to visit Hesh, and you had no one to talk to anyway so you didn’t really need to worry about anyone finding out.

You moved into the cabin, Logan could only ever visit when he could manage to get away. It worked well enough, though, nobody in, nobody out except you and Logan.

If he ever felt like he was being followed, he would immediately drive past the cabin and head down to the local hotel; sign in under his own name, and remain there until it was time for him to go back to Elias’s house.

Never risk anything.

You were both adamant about that.

But every day, even though it always came back the same, you would always check Hesh’s state over and you would always try and clean up some of the wounds; he would sit there patiently, watching you with such softness in his eyes that it was almost hard to believe that he wasn’t fully human anymore.

No heartbeat. No respiratory rate. No reaction to being tapped on the knees or elbows. He didn’t bleed when he got paper cuts from thorns he picked up. He didn’t feel anything when he bumped into objects around the cabin. Never even flinched.

He didn’t sleep. He didn’t produce any bodily fluids like sweat, drool or mucus. He was a rotted corpse, through and through, but he didn’t seem to be rotting even more; like the gas had caused him to decompose up to a certain point and then let him be.

You almost wondered if they did it in hopes of creating soldiers, but you didn’t really care.

Hesh was still mostly himself; still pressed himself to your back when he saw you cooking, still nuzzled into you at night while you slept, still smiled and grinned when he saw you singing and dancing as you put the washing away.

He was still free to roam during the day, though, having access to everything within the six foot tall fence at least; it spanned quite a large area, but you still worried.

You checked every day to make sure that every panel was secure so that he wouldn’t get out and get caught by someone who wouldn’t understand.

Didn’t change the fact that he was always so fucking cold to the touch, though. His fingers always felt like ice, and his lips never failed to make you shiver; it took a while to get used to it when he peppered kisses along your neck like he used to when he came home from deployment.

But like every other being on the planet, Hesh still needed to feed; he still needed to eat, and you and Logan knew what you had to do; you knew that Logan was a skilled hunter, but you still felt bad about asking even though you knew he would agree - you still felt bad about asking him to do such a thing, knowing how much it would hurt you both.

But you had to keep Hesh going, you couldn’t let him fade away, you couldn’t let him leave - neither of you were ready for that, you needed him.

It started out small.

Logan would go hunting in the woods when tourism was slower and there were less people around to notice him going after whatever game there was; he would hunker down, wait for one to become separated from the herd to get lost, and then take the shot when it wasn’t looking.

He made sure to never use his car, and to always be within walking distance; leaving the prey on the small table you had made for Hesh. He would wash his hands of the blood he had spilled, watching Hesh bite chunks from the large carcass, tearing it apart with grunts and growls.

But it was only deer, that was all; it was only ones that ever became separated from the herd, and it was only ones that wouldn’t really be noticed. 

“We can’t keep this up,” Logan whispered. “Someone’s gonna find out - I know it’s only… deer. But still.”

You frowned, knowing that he was right. “We need to find a new herd, that’s all… there’s an unmarked, inconspicuous trailer… it’s big enough for a deer or two… and you can attach it to the car. Just say you’re using it to help someone move.”

“And the blood?” Logan asked with a raised brow. 

“I’ve got some buck fur,” you admitted. “And antler velvet, a few hooves leftover from old taxidermy - covers it up nicely.”

Logan nodded, pursing his lips as he looked over at Hesh, who was reaching into his chest; the flesh separated easily, a gaping hole of pale grey flesh hanging open like putty, when he heard a crack, Logan growled softly.

“Hesh! No!”

Hesh looked at Riley, then back at Logan, pouting. “Fetch?”

“No!” Logan commanded, huffing loudly. “Not with your own ribs!”

You whirled around, looking at what Hesh had done and sighing heavily. “Oh, baby… come here, let’s get that sorted.”

Hesh looked at you sadly as you examined the open hole. “Bad?”

You shook your head, looking up at him as you sighed and dared to gently kiss his scarred forehead. “You’re not bad, Hesh… you’re okay. You just made a little mistake ‘s all.”

He nodded slowly, sighing. “Miss. Be. Warm.”

Your breath hitched a little as you swallowed thickly. “I know… I know…”

He outstretched his arm, a loud peeling sound coming from the insides of his elbows where the flesh was full of sharp scaps; taking a step forward, he tilted his head down slightly.

Even in death, that fucker still knew how to use the puppy dog eyes with only just one eye, and you couldn’t fucking resist; wrapping your arms around him and letting him snuggle into you as you held him.

It seemed like he couldn’t get enough, trying to keep you as close as he possibly could and trying to get his hands under your clothes; yet he couldn’t feel the warmth against his hands, and he couldn’t tell if his own were getting colder or warmer.

He just knew that he missed the feeling of being warm, and that he missed being able to actually feel you; the sensation of sweating at night because you were snuggled into one another and he was overheating beneath the thick duvet.

You missed the feeling of his warm hands on your body, almost scared to touch him thanks to the ice; it made you feel like a part of you was missing, a chopped off limb. A removed organ. You sighed, your eyes thick with tears as you sniffled, letting him go and gently kissing his cold, cracked lips.

“Logan?”

“Yeah?”

“Do me a favour,” you told him, turning away from Hesh.

Logan shrugged. “Sure.”

“Let me borrow your rifle,” you said, voice shaking. “I need to go hunting.”

Logan silently pointed over to where he had left it, and watched as you and Riley left the fenced off area, leaving him alone with his brother. He looked at him, studying his brother's features. He knew that it was still Hesh; when he looked into that sad, singular eye, he could still see his brother trapped within it.

Yet his cheeks were completely gone, the flesh sloughed off long ago during the gas attack, leaving the sides of his jaws hanging on by tendons and strings from the stained cloth. His hands were blistered and bloodied, no longer the calloused hands of his elder brother who used to ruffle his hair when he was upset.

His arms were covered in thick, long scabs just like the scratches across his hairline. His chest was agape, the skin slapping against itself dryly when it caught the slight wind. Of course Logan knew that it was still his brother, it just didn't look like him anymore.

He swallowed thickly, pulling out a packet of cigarettes from his back pocket and offering one to him; Hesh took it, and put it in his mouth as Logan lit it. The smoke drifting into the hole in his skull where his eye used to be; up close, Logan could see the tunnel all the way to the back of Hesh's skull.

He could see the grey mass of lumpy muscle that should have been pumping and thumping, that should have been light pink and squishy. That should have been a brain. He watched as Hesh took a long drag, but never blew out the smoke again, and he frowned.

In every sense, it was Hesh, Logan knew that, but it was… he was wrong. He was Hesh, but he was wrong. But he was still Hesh, and Logan wasn’t ready to be without him - even if it meant having the wrong one.

He sniffled, daring to look at his brother’s remaining eye as he nodded slowly.

“Dad misses you, y’know,” he said, his voice shaking. “I wish I could bring him here, but… it’d hurt him… but he still talks about you all the time like you’re… still here.”

Hesh nodded. “Still here.”

“You were my big brother,” Logan started, tears in his eyes and his voice falling apart with every syllable that left his mouth.

He wished he could have had more time, he wished he could have even though he knew that he would never.

Still, he cleared his throat, and he dared to continue despite his voice giving out, “you protected me, you taught me how to do all the shit Dad wouldn’t - how to smoke, how to drink, how to misbehave, how to sneak into pubs without ID… and I’m lost without you. I was never… I never wanted to… to be alive without you, man. You were always meant to be there for me, you promised.”

Hesh frowned. “Still here… still brother.”

“I know,” Logan whispered, taking a shaky drag from his cigarette. “But you’re not… you’re not you… you’re not… you’re not alive anymore, and I… I can’t let you go because I can’t picture a life without my big brother.”

“Love,” Hesh growled out, his hands signing the words. Muscle memory. “Love you.”

A sob left Logan as he whimpered and did his best to steady himself. “I love you, too.”

Riley was crouched in the bush next to you, sniffing the air as you steadied Logan’s rifle, hunkered down, you used leaves to pad the gun so that it was even more silenced, and with the commotion from all the lorries nearby, nobody would ever hear a thing.

You had your eyes on the prey, and so did the dog beside you, ready to pounce if you needed him to; you watched as your prey took a few steps forward, right into your sites, and then you pulled the trigger.

It reached up to grab its neck, suddenly slumping to the side and twitching violently; you pulled the trigger again, and this time, an orange spray rained through the woods, and you could easily see that part of the head was missing.

It was done.

Riley ran over, sniffing it and making sure that it was dead before he sat down, waiting for you to come collect your prize; you sighed, grabbing the ankle and trying to ignore the bits of metal slapping your hand as you dragged it.

Riley was the first to go back, while you followed behind shortly after. The dog was happy, but as you hauled your prize onto the slaughter table, you couldn’t help but to feel slightly empty.

Usually, hunting helped you to clear your mind, but… not this time. 

Logan came over, Hesh following behind him, and he looked at what you had managed to get. “Good eating.”

You nodded, removing a boot and tossing it aside with a pile of others. Logan helped you to remove the coat, hat, scarf, gloves, shirt, trousers and underwear in total silence. “Check the coat for a wallet, same with the trousers.”

Logan nodded curtly, heading over to the clothing pile that was steadily starting to pile up against the fence. “On it.”

Hesh stood on the other side of the table, watching as you grabbed a knife. He brought his hands up, and smiled, daring to slowly sign four words: “you are my sunshine.”

You looked at him, and sniffled as you nodded. “My only sunshine.”

“You make happy,” Hesh told you, then pointed at the grey skies. “Even when.”

You couldn’t believe that he still remembered that song, the one you used to sing in the car together when he picked you up for date nights; the one that he was going to sing at your wedding. You wanted to sob, but nodded slowly as you swallowed thickly, watching him head over to his little food table.

You whistled at Logan, and pointed over. “I think he’s come back for his noon feeding.”

Logan nodded, daring to come over and aid you with chopping up the limbs and removing flesh from bone. “Is it wrong I still love him?”

You shook your head, daring to meet his gaze even though your own was teary. “No, because I still do, too… I know… I know he’s not our Hesh, but…”

“But you can’t imagine a life without him,” Logan whispered, picking up a pile of goopy, dripping flesh as he cleared his throat. “Nor me.”

You continued to grab what meat you could while Logan put what was done on Hesh’s table.

Immediately, he gathered up as much as he could in his hands, blood dripping from between his grey fingertips and staining his skin harshly.

He bit into it, a loud squelch echoing all around as he started to rip it apart; Logan could see the bits of flesh moving in his mouth through the holes in his cheeks, and was almost sick at the sight.

Still, he went back and picked up some more meat from your table before giving it to Hesh. 

“We need to burn all of this,” you told him, nodding at the piles of clothes and mouldy bones. “Or at least bury it.”

Logan nodded in agreement. “You got a shovel?”

“Back room in the cabin,” you told him, clearing your throat. “Logan?”

He hummed as he looked back at you.

“You’re the best brother-in-law I could ask for,” you told him sincerely. “Thank you.”

Hesh got up as Logan walked away, dragging himself over to where you were and planting his hands on the table as he glared at you, tilting his head to the side. “Love… love you… my… sunshine.”

He looked pleased with himself, and you just couldn’t help it, grinning as you nodded eagerly. “I love you, too, baby… go eat, you need it. We’ll have more for you tomorrow, alright?”

Hesh nodded, extending his hand and showing you what he had in it, gesturing for you to take some. “Eat.”

You looked at the boneless fingers, and you smiled. “Maybe in a minute, I gotta get all this cleaned up.”

Hesh left them on the table, nudging them your way. “Eat. Love.”

You sighed, licking your lips. “In a minute, I promise.”

He frowned, but reluctantly slunk back to his table; you weren’t really sure what to do, whether to engage in what could only be described as polite cannibalism, or to wait until Hesh was too busy to notice you throw them away.

But you supposed, you deserved such a torment; it was all your fault that Hesh had become what he did, and you knew that you could not change that even if you did your best.

You knew that you deserved such torment for letting him die, for not being able to save the man you loved so much. 

[blackjackkent]

So, I wanted to write it that Rakha was still a sheep when Halsin came back out of the portal and that Wyll did the talking instead, and I thought I was gonna have to do some kinda finagling to fake that happening in-game and get screenshots, but look! The game did it for me and left Rakha as a sheep! Beautiful.

-----

With an exhausted groan, Wyll lets the Hunger of Hadar fall, staring out at the strewn bodies of their shadowy enemies. Behind him, the portal has begun to swirl agitatedly, and he hears a heavy, familiar footstep.

"It's done!" Halsin cries, emerging through the aperture with the unconscious form of a young boy in his arms. "I have him!"

The portal closes behind him with a low sucking sound, and he kneels to lay the boy gently on the stone.

He barely seems to notice that it is Wyll, and not Rakha, greeting him on his emergence. He barely seems to notice anything, in fact; all his attention is on the boy.

"But something's wrong," he mutters. His fingers flick in quick gestures - healing spells. The boy doesn't move. He barely seems to breathe. "Dreadfully wrong..."

He stumbles unsteadily back to his feet. Wyll can see the exhaustion in him now, in the way he sways for a moment before settling into balance. "No," Halsin mutters feverishly. "It can't be..."

Wyll frowns. "Is he dead?" he asks - as tactfully as he can under the circumstances.

"No." Halsin's voice trembles almost imperceptibly. "But some part of him is missing. He is... hollow." He swallows, then looks up at Wyll. "I need to examine him back at the camp. Come see us, when you can."

-----

He pauses, halfway through the act of scooping the boy back into his arms, and squints suddenly. "What is that?"

He looks past Wyll's shoulder. Rakha, still in the form of a sheep, is running in agitated circles by the edge of the water, screeching at the top of her lungs. Lae'zel is standing near her, looking mildly perplexed. Minthara, standing a little further beyond, is somehow smirking and rolling her eyes simultaneously.

"We're, uh, not sure," Wyll says. "Her magic just... does things, sometimes."

"I see." Halsin frowns.

They both watch for a few moments in silence as Rakha, with animalistic fury, slams her head into the side of Lae'zel's thigh. The impact with the hard githyanki half-plate, it seems, does some damage, because the spell breaks abruptly.

The sheep vanishes, leaving Rakha sitting sprawled on the ground instead.

"DAMN IT!" she roars, surging to her feet. Knocking past Lae'zel to the nearest Harper corpse, she unloads her fury in another great burst of fire into the dead body.

Wyll holds his breath, but nothing else happens. Silence falls. Rakha breathes out heavily and rubs her fingertips against her temples. Then she turns and sees Halsin, with Wyll standing at his side.

"You're back, then," she says curtly. Wyll knows her well enough to hear the humiliation masked by the tightly controlled words. "What happened?"

Halsin appears to have been just on the edge of a rueful smile, but seems to think better of it. "I have Thaniel. But we must speak - back at camp." He flicks a quick look at Wyll, then back to Rakha. "When you're ready."

Rakha grunts. "We'll follow behind you." She waits until he has disappeared back up towards the inn, then looks from Wyll to Lae'zel to Minthara. "I don't want to hear a word," she growls.

"Oh, no fear of that," Minthara says dryly. "This is, I believe, one of those instances where the image was worth a thousand of the words to describe it."

[blasphemecel]

Guido Mista — Clever

PAIRING: Guido Mista/Reader WORD COUNT: 1.4k TYPE: Humor

After a few blinks, some contemplation, and a massage to the bridge of his nose, Fugo demands, "What the fuck is wrong with you, Mista? I mean-" then words seem to escape him because the sentence trails off until it halts completely.

Mista frowns.

Narancia, to help the situation, or maybe to make it worse, says, "Well, I thought it was pretty funny."

"Guys, you're not helping."

"I don't really know what you want us to do," Fugo says in a distasteful tone before he nudges your unconscious form with his toe. You're alive, sure, but Mista will probably be dead to you after all this.

Narancia finds more amusement in the situation. "[Y/n]'s such a pansy, fainting after that."

"I didn't think this would happen," Mista says under his breath before he glances away with an emotion that one can vaguely describe as guilt, or something adjacent.

"You made it look like the police came over to [Y/n]'s place. We're in the mafia. What, exactly, did you expect to happen?"

"I thought it was pretty common knowledge they only do that 'outlining the corpse' thing in movies!"

Narancia bursts into another fit of laughter. Cries and holds his stomach and flails around, even.

"And you," Fugo starts, snapping his neck in his direction with a motion that's more fitting for an alien than a human. Then he thrusts his index finger forward like he's weaving a lethal weapon. Narancia staggers back as he tries to avoid getting his eye poked out. "You helped him. You helped him do this. What were you thinking? What were you both thinking?"

"Chill, chill," Narancia says with a wave of his hand. Once more, he's determined to be the least beneficial party in this conversation. Fugo sneers in response to his dismissal, but that stays irrelevant when Narancia takes a long step to avoid pressing his foot to your face and approaches the crime scene. Or, well, it's a fake crime scene, but with the state you're in, it might look like a real one to bystanders now.

He traces the note Mista wrote with his finger and opens his mouth to read it out loud, but it proves too absurd for him, and the only things that come out are strangled noises and spit bubbles until he rolls over in an exaggerated attempt to stifle his giggles.

At this, Fugo raises an eyebrow. He didn't really bother reading what the note comprised since he thought Narancia and Mista were pulling a prank on you or something, and so he didn't consider any other possible... motives for this. With mild intrigue clouded by indignation, he squints his eyes and cranes his neck, only for Mista to grab him by the shoulder and try to stop him. "No, no, man, don't-"

After getting over his fit, Narancia wipes away a fake tear and recites with a flair of sick, sadistic glee in his expression, "I've just been dying to go out with you!" Then he laughs some more at it. He would do great as a paid actor in the audience of a comedy show.

The betrayal causes Mista to freeze, clam up and gawp like a fish. Whatever happened to friendship?

Fugo spares one more bewildered blink until his gaze turns judgemental and full of contempt towards Mista's game, or lack thereof.

As a defense mechanism to this embarrassment, Mista quits grimacing altogether and now appears to be repressing the last fifteen minutes, during which his way of 'confessing' gave you a panic attack and made you black out, and the subsequent bullying when he asked his so-called comrades for help. "So, do you guys think this is salvageable?"

So, he may or may not have asked Narancia to draw his outline in front of your house, then placed the note there. He thought it was clever, and he thought Narancia agreed, but apparently all Narancia wanted to do was make fun of him. Then, when he picked you up from where you were at, instead of throwing yourself at him in exaltation or something, you... passed out. You didn't even read what it said. Or maybe you did and assumed you have an unhinged stalker.

Fugo kind of had a point when he asked him what he was thinking.

"That's crazy," Narancia says, a wide grin on his face, still not entirely recovered from his hysterics. "It's crazy you just said this."

Fugo says Mista better pray you got amnesia from the fall, but Mista argues he didn't let you hit the ground when you actually fell.

He reiterates, "You better pray [Y/n] got amnesia from the fall," with a twitch in his eye and his lips sloping with condescension.

___

"The pigs are coming to get me!" you declare when you awake, clutching fabric in your hands. You look down. It's one of your blankets. Like one that you recognize and own.

Interesting.

For some reason, Narancia, Fugo and Mista are at your house.

"Heyyy," says Mista with a smile that shows too much teeth and resembles a flinch. Narancia turns around to do something that suspiciously looks like doubling over and laughing. Fugo's giving the wall the Kubrick stare. "How are you feeling?"

"We were outside?" you say, as you recall, he was standing somewhere behind you when you saw that thing in the yard, and Narancia and Fugo weren't there at all.

"You... Fainted on the way here... And were having a nightmare. I don't know," he offers after a while of staring and crinkling his eyes, and he's also sweating profusely, like he's hiding something.

Fugo had cleaned the chalk from the concrete. It should be fine.

You rub your chin. "Yeah, well, whatever." What follows that statement is a shrug after you throw off the blanket to rot in the corner of your room. Fugo is trying really hard not to scold you, on account of your probable concussion.

"What, just like that?" Narancia asks in surprise at your recovery time.

"We'll be going," Fugo says, then grits his teeth, which makes his next words sound more ominous than they needed to. "Mista will stay around with you to make sure you're fine. Right?"

"Erm, yes, totally," he confirms.

"Why are you scratching your head?" you ask, confused. "You're always wearing a hat. Does it feel like anything? Or are you itchy because it makes you sweat?"

Your remark makes Mista quit the sheepish behavior. The line of questioning feels like you're throwing boiling water at him.

"Do you have dandruff?"

"Uh," Mista says with what he believes to be a disarming smile on his face. A prolonged moment where he leafs through a book you keep lying around before closing it again and putting it back down despite not reading a thing passes. "Do you want me to do anything? For you?"

He's unusually fidgety. Now that he has abandoned the book, he's tapping his fingers against the table to produce a sound that's only mildly grating to your nerves. You realize Fugo and Narancia are no longer here when the front door clicks, and that makes your face light up with something sinister.

"Yeah. I mean, obviously."

"Oh, what is it?"

"We've got to go on a date now, right?"

Mista's eyebrows pinch together, though he doesn't understand. Even then, embarrassment catches up to him, at the possibility you're teasing him or...

Wait.

"Were you pretending?" he asks, incredulous, but also with a begrudging respect for your evil genius.

Of course, you recognized his hideous handwriting immediately when you first saw it. You nod in the affirmative.

"Why? I thought something happened to you. I was so worried-"

Before Mista can ramble any more about how concerned he was despite his readiness to girlboss and gaslight his way out of the situation, as you saw, you raise your hand and your palm faces him rigidly. "To punish you for being a cornball, duh." But it's fine, you suppose. You like that about him.

"Damn, was it that bad?" He leans down onto your chair and almost slides out in his dramatics.

"Well, no. I was going to stop, but then you called Fugo and I got curious about what you'd do. Anyway, are we going?"

"I mean, give me a second," Mista says. All date ideas he had prepared flew out of his head when you collapsed. Maybe it shouldn't be Narancia who becomes a paid actor, but you.

You're a little evil, Mista thinks while he watches the way you're observing him with self-satisfaction written all over your face. It's alright, though — he likes that about you. Kind of.

[ultimablades]

Some thoughts and my interpretation on the FF16 ending

I’ve seen a couple different interpretations of the ending now so I want to share what I think happened. Personally, I am in camp “Clive brought Joshua back and then died on the beach,” so I’m so….confused I guess, that so many people saw the book at the end that’s titled “Joshua Rosfield” as proof that Clive??? Survived??? And not Joshua??

People say it’s cause Harpocrates wished for Clive to put down the sword and pick up the pen one day. But Harpocrates also said that Joshua had a gift for words and would be an excellent historian. In that same vein — we never see Clive showing a particular interest in books or history or writing really, while history and research are a big part of Joshua’s character, he’s one of the only people in the world to have a copy of Moss the Chronicler, like my dude is a nerd. He’s described as bookish in official material.

And then there’s the whole “Clive would take up Joshua’s name,” but….why….why would he do that? It makes sense for him to take up Cid’s name because Cid had already made a reputation for himself as an outlaw who was freeing Bearer’s. Clive could use that notoriety and connections to his advantage and also hide his true identity from people he didn’t want to know it. Why would he use Joshua’s name then? There is nothing for him to gain by penning the book in his brother’s name rather than his own when he could’ve said something like “in memory of my brother,” instead.

I also just think Clive living and Joshua dying makes for a worse ending. I saw someone say the opposite, that Joshua living and Clive dying is worse, and I just don’t agree. Being Joshua’s shield is a huge part of Clive’s identity, perhaps the biggest part of his identity, all he wants to do is protect him. If Joshua dies for good, then that means the game both starts and ends with Clive “failing” what he sees as his duty to protect Joshua. That’s….really unsatisfying for his character!!!

Joshua’s story is about rebirth while Clive’s is about protecting the person he loves most. Clive’s entire story begins the day he loses Joshua and he spends the next 18 years focused on first avenging him, then reuniting and protecting him. He carries that Phoenix feather with him for five years, as a constant reminder his brother is alive. An ending where Joshua dies and Clive does nothing to save him hurts both their characters I think.

And Clive HAS the power to save him. Earlier they said that even the Phoenix doesn’t have the power to bring someone back from the dead and that’s true but Clive doesn’t just have the Phoenix’s powers — he absorbed the power of creation from Ultima too once he defeated him. The power to create and destroy life mingled with the power of the Phoenix I could absolutely believe could revive someone who had just died. Like, do people think he just closed Joshua’s wounds so he would leave behind a pretty corpse? What did you think was happening in that scene?

“But the montage proves Joshua’s death,” the montage that happens while Clive holding Joshua’s body shows us two scenes that we hadn’t seen before: the day Clive officially became Joshua’s shield, and the very first time Clive met Joshua as a baby. Why these two scenes? To remind us what Clive sees as his most important duty — to protect Joshua. The ceremony makes it official but I think it was that first meeting when little baby Joshua grabbed his finger that Clive knew he would do anything for him.

So I think Clive used the combined powers of creation and the Phoenix to save his brother’s life. After that, he uses the rest of the power he had gathered to destroy Origin. When we see him on the beach, with his hand quickly petrifying from the curse, as he is no longer Ultima’s chosen vessel and must now lay the price for all the aether he channeled through his body.

I think he dies on the beach and it’s very sad and bittersweet but I also think it’s ambiguous enough that you can believe he survived that. Like I get it! I don’t want Clive dead either, even if I think he is in the end. I think that’s why Metia fades. But I do think Joshua lived and he really was the one who wrote the book we see at the end with his name on it.

[factorialsfandoms]

So the pics may not be done for a lil while because I've literally never draw Time, Twi, or Wars (apparently I can't draw a lot of armour or fur well) so I'll have to look at their ref sheets and practice etc before I start their stuff, but for now have some ideas I did this morning.

Favourite one atm is Time because of the despair but also because I like to imagine he wrapped Hyrule in Sky's sailcloth so no one can see his corpse. Also because I don't wanna draw Hyrule in that specific pose tbh.

Okay, first of all, I love these and thank you so so much for sharing your sketches. Armour and fur tricky but I appreciate you so much. (And also yeah how the fuck do bodies work?!?!?!)

I honestly love the idea that the sailcloth was used to wrap him. I might steal that, if you're good with it? It's not like Legend would have really registered it at the time anyway. It would be such an awful show of love and affection, and I think Sun would understand. At the very least Sky believes she would. It was already a bit bloody from hugging Legend, so... It's probably the one item they'll bother to at least try washing the blood out of, but honestly... Just the idea of it is in my brain and making me a bit sad. They're trying their very best to love him, even if he's dead...

Now to gush about individual little doodles! Top left first, going like reading order. I'll try make it clear. Cut because... words.

Hyrule, Hyrule, poor boy. I know I'm the one who did this to him, but your little sketch is almost painful to look at. The way the one arm is out, almost like he's trying to reach but at the odd angle that looks like it's broken (he certainly couldn't have moved it out after he fell, but it falling to look like he's reaching? To just raise the hand slightly towards Legend? Oh that's heartbreaking and tasty). The other arm over the wound? Almost like he was trying to put pressure on it, to keep the blood inside, but his body is just caved away, there's no way he can? So its just lying in the gore of his wound? That's horrible in such a wonderful way. The mess of his everything - his face, his arms, his clothes, his hair - the massive dip where the bomb stole his flesh. And of course above all else the way his eye is still open and clear, looking out and straight at the person viewing? (At Legend) I can't quite describe it but his whole expression is just... Wonderful. But in a very horrible way. I would like to cup his cheek and somehow take the pain away, but I can't...

Injury map! Those are always fun. You did a real good job at translating what I said into actual physical things. The extent of the damage and everything... I know its probably just a little reference for you, but your choices in mapping it out are... not delightful, because horrifying, but something like that.

Then there is Hyrule and Legend, and /oh/. You may have swapped eyes, but that makes Hyrule look away, which really does hurt something more. Is this just after he died and Legend had just realised? It's make sense, given Wars folded the arm back over him and, well, that's where it is. And the more distant. Its just a scribble, but the awkward angles Hyrule is lying at... And then there's Legend. I can't see his face, I can't see any of him, but he's right there. I can see the tension in his shoulders, and cannot imagine him anything but shaking with sobs, either expressed or held in. The desperation, the way he's still clinging to one of Hyrule's hands... Those poor, poor boys. The both of them.

Then we have Warriors and Wind and Four and... Well, with their backs to us you can see how Warriors is holding them so tight, trying to protect them from the same fate no doubt. Wind's right at the back so it looks like he's trying to press into the hold and get comfort, while Four is trying to stay upright and strong and not need it, but those crossed arms say so much that he does. Warriors staying tall and alert, pressing their two youngest on so they don't have to look, taking point also to ignore his own grief to keep everyone /else/ safe. How tall he is, like he can't bring himself to crack.

And Time, Time, oh Time... I've mentioned the sailcloth thing above, but I still adore it. It's horrifying to use the sailcloth as a shroud, but its probably all they had to hand. Except their blankets, but most of them need those and, well... Hyrule's aren't really the best. And they want something kinder to wrap him in than those. But Time, poor Time, you did really good at displaying the sheer agony at finding the fairies too late, when Hyrule was too far gone for even a clutter of them to save. The way he's grasping his face with the agony, but still using the weight of his body and face to keep Hyrule's corpse safe in his arms, safe as he wishes he had kept him in life. The hand clutching the sailcloth, desperate and so very not okay... I love it so much, but ow... And then the little fairies! Shocked and upset with their little "!"s, desperate to help but there's nothing they can do. Time hunched in on himself, the agony, the pain... Then trying to help but there's simply nothing they can do. Time called for them so desperately, but they arrived too late, and that broke him. Hyrule could not have lived the extra few minutes it took, it just wasn't possible, but if he'd only looked better, been better, fought harder... And he failed his command, and you tied all of it all in so well. Also! Just the side not of the way Hyrule's feet are just... dangling there. Far enough from his chest they're probably bloody, but his boots and his feet one of the few bits entirely intact, and they're all of him you can see...

And then finally, Twi and Wild... Oh, oh this, all of them hurt and it doesn't hurt the most but just... There's not a whole lot to say about Twi. But Wild! The way he's clinging to Twi's hand on his shoulder, surely there to guide him as he's still struggling with the world. His head bowed, utterly despondent... He was saved, but at what cost? his other arm hanging limp, not knowing what to do, just... Walking. Clinging to Twilight and walking. Actually no with Twilight... Such a gentle arm around Wild's shoulder, keeping him from being separated but a quiet comfort all the same. He's grieving too, but for Wild for whom the hit was taken? He's doing his best to protect the scoundrel, just like Wars with Four and Wind, but different now. The two small ones seemed scared and desperately trying to hold it together, but Wild... Wild looks like he's just given up... The only people who look worse are probably Hyrule and Legend, and... Well...We know how that went. We can't see either at the moment in your doodles, but... Horrific times. So bad. And we know why Wild looks so bad! Why they all do! But oh it hurts.

And that brings me to the end of the rambling. I hope the rambles were all okay. May you have a lovely day, and so on and so forth, and my deepest thanks to you.

[deiarcana]

Gravedigging

He watches the skies; it seems gloomier somehow. Perhaps it is, he wouldn’t know, it has been quite a time since he last saw the sky, free from a cell stinking of corpses and diseases.

Unfortunate there’s a chance he might not see it again after this, even after the fact that he spent the first week of his freedom chasing a dream and being used by a hand untethered.

Alas, life move on all the same, and so will he.

With his back turned towards the sky and shovel in hand, he digs. It was the first thing he did after he purchase the land, and it will be the last thing he does if he ever does come what may.

He didn’t purchase this land for some superfluous reason, he does so because of a legend. And if he doesn’t misjudge the world around him, then the myth might be more than just tall tales and some fancy fiction.

In fact, he’s almost certain the proportion of the real thing is underplayed if the result of his investigation were to be believed. Which is why, even when the first week of his dig result in nothing but a discovery of a small underground waterway and some inexpensive minerals, he continues.

Some rocks are too hard to break through, forcing him to alter his course. Some places are finally too deep for the light to reach, forcing him to bring his own light source down, the ladders growing longer and longer with each day that passes.

At some point, he thinks it insanity. At another, he fears stopping when he’s so close to his destination. Time no longer has meaning to him; he no longer counts them. He seldom eats, the muscles trained hard for nimbleness has been remade for his sole purpose and deteriorating fast.

Like a man possessed, he was rotting alive; the trusty blade that has always been at his side a silent witness to his predicament. For all of his searching, there’s naught to be found but the foundation of the earth.

At the bottom of the pit in a barren land he owns, he’s forced to admit that he’s wrong. There’s nothing buried beneath his barren land, there’s no hope for the world above.

A somber thought to have when you’re surrounded by nothing but darkness in a hole of your own making. He fears that’s where everyone else is heading and he would much rather they head there with help. He wishes they get there with help.

His word echoes through the inky black with the help of his blade, reaching into the primordial string of the world and pluck a tune out of it. The discordant melody was haunting yet beautiful all the same.

It reminded him of—the ground shakes and cracks. He tries to clamber up and escapes but many sharp blades, piercing through the floor and ceiling, block his only way out.

He falls, his hands only managing a shaky grasp of stone before being pulled further down. The hole—once familiar—slowly turns and move in a way impossible. Colors explode out of the dark, voices call out from beyond, all familiar to him who has lived too long.

All of them was his.

His greatest failures in life, his achievements, the short amount of people he can call friends and call him one in return. Even his childhood memory, one tainted in both nostalgia and bitterness taunt him.

He suspects he’s dead, why else would his entire life burns bright around him, displayed in full to shame him of all that he is and isn’t? Why else would I be standing in front of a giant centipede with a human head for a face?

“A giant centipede with a human head for a face?” he repeats his thought out loud, the giant centipede with a human head for a face bark an unnatural laugh, but mirthful all the same at his question.

“Unwieldy name, Abraham,” it says, voice lilting and beautiful. “One I do not prefer, yet accurate enough to describe me that I wouldn’t mind being called so by you.”

Used with people knowing his real name now, Snikey ignores the mocking way the centipede says his name to ask a better question: “What are you?”

“I am many things,” it replied, as its body circle around Snikey. “I am the Power That Be, the Violence That Kills, the Star Devourer, the Guardian of Hell, the Queen of the Dead and Damned.”

Undaunted. “What should I call you, then?” Snikey stood his ground, already expecting the centipede grand answer. Since his involvement in that mission, he has been dealing with things with far too many names, even by his standard.

“Power! Violence! Hell! Queen! Or my favorite: Aztra.”

“Aztra?”

“Given to me by a child in a red dress, the first sacrifice to the Most Powerful. Starz, as she would put it.”

“Are you a devil, Aztra?”

“Devil?! Me? Oh, I would never!” Its tone is light, obviously spoke in jest and arrogance. “No, no, no! I’m not a devil, Abraham! I’m the Devil! The one you seek unless you seek the non-existent one for whom the prison was originally built for.”

“I see,” he responds, studying it closer. The story spoke true indeed, it was a giant centipede that rampages through the world all those incarnations ago, a legged snake, as they would call it.

And if that story is true, then it means—“Yes,” Aztra cuts his thought. “I’m capable of what you want to be done. What needs to be done.”

“Are you a mind reader?”

"A mind eater, perhaps. But a mind reader? You’ve read far too many fictions, indeed.”

“Fiction? The books that claim you exist, you mean?”

“Yes, exactly that kind of book is what I’m talking about, Abraham.”

“You are real, though.”

“Am I? Or am I your wish incarnate?”

“You are.”

“If you insist,” it whispers, the bait obvious from its sentence, something Snikey doesn’t take. Instead, he changes the topic: “You’re open for a deal, then?”

As he asks the question, the centipede changes form at last. Each of its legs turn stiff and sharp, becoming the tip of a blade hungering for blood. Its carapace cracks and recedes, turning softer into a raven black silk that covers every part of its body, with the head crowned in a lovingly crafted mask with a script of a language long forgotten.

It—no—she smiles, then. Snikey doesn’t know how he’s so sure of both. “I do.” He simply is as the woman answers in a whisper. “Name your terms, mortal, and I shall give you a balance for each.”

“The continued protection of my city,” he begins with the most important one.

“The permanent gateway to Hell at your city.”

“I accept.”

“Good. Continue, you want more. You needed more.”

“The assured prosperity of my city.”

“A small shrine to be built and maintained in my name, for my worship near the gate.”

“How am I going to know how to build your shrine?”

“The same way I shall deliver all my promises.”

The old bear raises his brow at that, encouraging more explanation. When nothing comes, he sighs and shakes his head. “I accept,” he repeats.

“Great!” she says, extending her hand to Snikey. “Let’s make it official, hm? Put it there!”

He studies the hand and the person that offer it, both suspicious and obviously untrustworthy. Yet, what other options he has after spending more than half a year looking for her? Nothing, he answers.

Perhaps that is part of the devil’s ploy, to weaken his resolve so because she can’t back him to a corner. If that’s true, then she has won, for the world-weary bear shakes her hand.

And the instant he does, the world burns. Every part of him scream to let go, but the woman’s hold is vicious and strong, there’s poison in his blood, at his fur. It threatens to claim his life, to weaken him until he’s nothing.

And the devil watch as he falls to his knee, succumb to suffering eternal and unending and—he’s alive.

The breath he believes his last are released with shock and relief as he studies the world around him. The sky is clear, the full moon is there, and so are the many stars that loved Her.

They’ve not changed, Snikey doubt they ever will.

He cannot speak the same for the world below, for his world.

Already, he can feel it tremble in terror of the terrifying being he just met and made the mistake of making a compact with it. Just another thing to add to his list of crime beside stealing from a teenager.

He needed to allow her to have a say in the name of the city, at least.

With that thought in mind, he let go of the shovel and walk away, a new destination in mind.

After all of his struggle, the Power That Be can wait, he has friends to visit.

[wyvernscales]

Syl’vhenan just ends up the unofficial dad of Vigil’s Keep.

Kirta is a bit of a leash child. They are young and don’t really know how to be the public face for an arling in a country they’ve never been to before. They’re out of their depth and need guidance. But what Kirta finds important isn’t what Syl does.

Kirta: “Do you know if taupe is in this season?”

Syl: “Do I look like the expert on human fashion?”

Kirta: “Given all that human jewelry? Yes.”

Syl: *dad grumbles*

Velanna and Syl bond over Dalish lore. Sometimes Syl comes off as a “back in my day” boomer, but they generally mean well. At first, Syl is absolutely bewildered by the way her Clan does things, but its literally just because things changed over six ages. Velanna values this knowledge immensely, and many of the stories she records are from Syl.

Syl: “Why don't your aravels fly?”

Velanna: “Why would they fly? Did yours fly?"

Syl: "Everyone's did"

Justice is new to the whole “possession” thing. The jury’s out on what exactly Syl is, but they’re a corpse who’s been in the waking world for centuries. Syl definitely ends up doling out the most advice on existing to him. Which isn’t to say they’re best friends. Justice isn’t particularly fond of the “bones decorated in stolen jewelry” thing.

Justice: “Stealing is wrong”

Syl: “So is going back on your word. So is mass slaughter. So was the Exalted March of the Dales.”

Justice: “I’m afraid I do not know of the events you describe”

Syl: “Then perhaps you should hold your condemnation”

Sigrun is the perky dead girl to Syl’s gloomy dead guy. They’ve also been a Warden since forever and know a lot about the darkspawn. Sigrun also seems like the type to carry snacks, so you know Syl is reaching their hand back to grab some.

Sig: “All this time, and I’ve still never gotten used to the stench of the Spawn. Do you think if we catapulted some soap into their camp they’d use it?”

Syl: “No, they wouldn’t”

Sig: “Wait, did you actually try that?”

Syl: “In the Black Age. It didn’t work. Bring a satchet of aromatic herbs with you next time”

Oghren has absolutely been on the wrong side of Syl'vhenan's petrify spell before. Several times in fact. They also watch the Glavonaks build up the walls of Vigil's Keep while complaining about the 80 Gold price tag together.

Both: *standing with their hands on their hips watching the construction crew work*

Nathaniel’s image of his father was recently demolished and he threw his life at the feet of the Warden-Commander. He is in desperate need or purpose, advice, and guidance. Syl can often be found helping the groundskeeper, and Nathaniel pitches in too sometimes.

*Nathaniel clumsily swinging a scythe at some tall grass in the Keep*

Syl: “That is the worst attempt at weeding I have seen in six ages”

Anders is fascinated with Syl because they’re an absolute mystery. Syl ends up giving him magic advice a lot. Syl was so against Anders keeping Sir Pounce-a-Lot, but ended up taking the cat when he left for Kirkwall.

Anders: “What type of spirit are you? Justice is, well, Justice, but you go by a name. You must be a spirit of something.”

Syl: “Must I?”

Anders: “Aren’t you a spirit who possessed a corpse?”

Syl: “I am simply Syl’vhenan Andras”

[kikyan]

Do you want to play a game?

Character: Izaya Orihara

Fandom: Durarara!!

Words: 18.4 K

Au: Saw AU

TW: Gore (not too detailed), mentions of corpses, angst like A LOT, cursing, yandere themes (subtle), etc

Disclaimer: Aside from the first trap, all other ones are taken from the films and edited slightly to fit the AU/Character/and/or situation. I’m not the best at describing them so if you don’t know which trap I’m referring to, let me know and I’ll make a list! The first one I did make up however and as far as I know, it’s original and not in the films! 

Honorary Mentions: Thank you so much @pandaiiis for help with the AU, they really helped me a lot with planning the story, characters, and getting an appropriate plotline down! Again, thank you so much!! 

Likes and reblogs are appreciated (if you want to reblog but the app shuts down it’s because it’s a really big post so you’ll have to go through the website, don’t use the app)!! 

‘He...e? Ca...u...r...me? H..! Hey, can you hear me?!’ 

[Reader] arose quickly, but came to regret it as a throbbing pain erupted from their head. 

“O-ow. . .m-my head. . .” 

“ Thank goodness you’re alive!” 

[Reader] didn’t recognize this voice at all. Confusion and panic spread, looking up they came to see a male no older than 17 or 18 looking down at them. Their blond dyed hair was the most noticeable, followed by their piercings. Scared beyond anything, [Reader] scrambled to get away from him. They ended up getting up too fast, the pain returning and growing ever so slightly. 

“W-who are you?” 

“S-sorry, guess I should have introduced myself, I’m Masaomi Kida.” 

“Masaomi. . .Kida?” 

“Yup!” 

“W-where are. . .we?” 

“Don’t know, the good thing is that you’re still alive. I haven’t seen you around Ikebukuro as of late, are you new here?” 

Nodding, Masaomi understood a bit more of their situation. Whoever they were, he pitied them at the moment. New to Ikebukuro and they awake to a horrible place. 

“So what’s your n-!?” 

“ LET ME GO!” 

Both Masaomi and [Reader] were alerted to a loud voice, directing their attention to a tall male who was dressed professionally. One would guess they were a bartender based on that outfit, but their behavior was a bit brash and abrasive. His blonde hair was probably dyed like Masaomi, but [Reader] was too preoccupied with the situation. Masaomi apologized, before walking up to the male. 

“S-Shizuo, calm down!” 

“ I CAN’T! NOT WHEN HE’S HERE!” 

[Reader] followed his gaze to see a man hunched over, desperately holding onto something to stabilize himself. He coughed a little and blood drops left his lightly pale lips. His black hair was drenched in sweat, probably due to the large coat that he was wearing. 

“Izaya. . .” 

A soft voice spoke, [Reader] turning to a female with short black hair that seemed to be cut weirdly. She wore a black dress with a hood and her glasses were a bit cracked, no doubt from this place. Speaking of, what was this place? 

More people were starting to show up and walk towards the commotion, all with the same confused and frazzled expressions. 

“Izaya is here?” 

‘Izaya?’ [Reader] wondered, who was that? Considering the reactions everyone had, he probably wasn’t on their good side. 

“NO DOUBT HE’S RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT'S GOING ON!” 

“I-I’m in the same position as you. . .Shizu-Chan. . .or are you too brain dead to piece that in?” 

“WHY!” 

[Reader] probably shouldn’t get involved, but something was sitting right with them. It seemed that this “Shizuo” or “Shizu-Chan” was more of an impulsive male, so [Reader] had to approach this logically. 

“WAIT SHIZUO!” 

[Reader] panicked, his fist was raising and without a doubt, he’d kill that man! [Reader] ran to the man who was crouched down, and with outstretched arms hoped to stop the man. Luckily the punch never came, but [Readers] eyes were closed shut with fear. 

“ GET OUT OF THE WAY!” 

“ I CAN’T!” 

Everybody looked up, not only did they have the ability to stand up to Shizuo, but they were defending Izaya? How idiotic! 

“L-listen, I’m new here so-” 

“ Then you aren’t aware of who Izaya is, he’s not a good person you know.” 

Masaomi emerged from behind Shizuo, turning to glare at the male who was too preoccupied with his savior. 

“Maybe, but this doesn’t feel right. This person, Izaya, may have wronged you but I can’t be the judge of that! I’m new here and I wouldn’t feel any better knowing that I was partially responsible for the death of a stranger! Besides, he has a point. . .we all awoke in a strange place. He’s probably just as confused as us, so please reconsider!” 

Shizuo scoffed, but he returned his fist to a resting position. 

“Be careful what you wish for…” 

Masaomi sighed, this had taken a turn for who the fuck knows at this point, but [Reader] was proving to fit the cliche soft personality look. Izaya glanced at [Reader] who returned to a normal state and let out a sigh of relief. Luckily, nothing intense occurred, they wouldn’t know what to do if that happened. Izaya also let out a sigh of relief and was about to speak, until [Reader] turned to him. They extended their hand, which Izaya hesitantly took. 

“Don’t make me regret saving you.” 

With that, [Reader] walked away to inspect the room and follow up more clues. The room was in horrible condition. The walls were covered in hideous wallpaper, stains on the wall no doubt from the humidity, and visible mold on the corners. [Reader] cleared their throat, 

“My name is [Full Name]. I recently moved to Ikebukuro and know absolutely no one. I woke up in this situation just as all of you did, so I say let’s work together until we figure out a way to get out of here.” 

Several people were looking at each other and some were hesitant to speak. The blonde-haired and well-dressed male emerged, 

“Name’s Shizuo Heiwajima.” 

The others quickly followed suit. 

“Masaomi Kida.” 

“Saki Mikajima.” 

“M-Mikado Ryugamine.” 

“Anri Sonohara.”     

“Mika Harima.” 

“Seiji Yagiri. . .” 

“Namie Yagiri.” 

“Aoba Kuronuma.” 

“Ran Izumii.” 

“Haruna Niekawa.” 

“Takashi Nasujima.” 

“Izaya Orihara.” 

Though a few harsh glances were thrown across to one another, everyone seemed willing to cooperate. Nobody moved, all looking at one another. 

“I see, well if we get out of this place, I hope we can befriend one another.” 

“Not happening. Not with him here.” 

Shizuo still held distaste, the idea of even working together with Izaya haunted him. 

“Same could be said about them. We don’t trust them one bit.”  

Masaomi pointed to Takashi and Haruna. The duo was certainly odd with Haruna having long dark hair and big eyes. They were a dark brown, almost reddish tint. They were off-putting to say the least, she looked a bit psychotic. The man held a similar appearance, his dark hair was neatly kept and his eyes were average looking but his face held a sinister vibe to it. Haruna glared back and harshly bit her lips. 

“H-hey, just like [Full Name] said, we’re all in the same situation okay? We should try to work together till we get out and I’ll leave Ikebukuro okay?” 

“As if we’d believe you!” 

“Hey! Enough chit-chatting, we have a job to do here!” 

A long-haired female with a straight posture spoke. She had on a green long-sleeved turtleneck with a blue corset, black leggings, and a red short pencil skirt. Her name was Namie. 

“Oh yeah? And what fucking job is that?” 

A rough voice responded, the owner of said voice wore a dark outfit with a blue scarf, sunglasses, and his hair was slicked back. Half of his face was light pink with a rough and bumpy texture. More than likely, a burn mark. His name was Ran Izumii. 

“If we’re going to work together to get out we need to start looking for clues. Unless you want to stay here?” 

Scoffing, the male looked away from Namie. She turned to see her brother (presumably since they shared the same last name), Seiji was wearing a gray button-up and black slacks. He was looking around the place, dragging his fingers across the walls in an attempt to find something. A girl was looking around as well, she wore a white button-up, white beanie, and a matching red tie and skirt. Her name was Mika. The others quickly followed suit and it seemed like everyone had their group. Namie, Mika, and Seiji in one though the two girls exchanged harsh glares at each other. Mikado, a boy with blue jeans and a white jacket with the sleeves being green, formed a group with Masaomi, Anri, and Saki. Saki wore blue jeans and an elbow-length pink shirt with white ruffles. Another group was formed by Haruna and Takashi, which made sense because they were both equally hated. Haruna wore a light pink dress whereas Takashi wore a casual white button-up and dark slacks. Shizuo was by himself, Aoba and Izumii held some tension but worked together, and Izaya was also by himself. 

[Reader] could join a group, but they felt it was best to leave them be. Izaya noticed [Reader] was alone but didn’t walk over to them. He felt that it was best to leave them, but he did keep a close eye on them. After some time, he decided against his previous thought and walked over to them. [Reader] noticed them and turned to face him. 

“How can I help you, Orihara?” 

“Izaya is fine. I wanted to thank you earlier. You may come to regret it soon, most do.” 

“ What makes you say that?” 

“ I’m not a good gu-” 

“Hey! We found something!” 

Mikado removed a brick, which revealed a hole in the wall. Inside the hole, was a black box. Masaomi grabbed the box and Mikado discarded the brick. They both opened it, revealing 14 envelopes with a name written on them. They began to hand them out to their corresponding owners. [Reader] received theirs, they opened it and began to read the contents, 

‘A pillar in someone’s life that slowly begins to crumble is not stable. It reflects upon the builder that has no renowned work or accomplishments. Is the builder incompetent or was the pillar misplaced? 

‘Don’t show your statement to someone else.’ 

[Reader’s] eyes averted from the card, looking around to see everyone examine the contents of their letters. Some had dark looks and others were confused. 

Namie closed her eyes, 

“What does your letter say?” 

“ That I can’t say.” 

Her eyes snapped towards [Reader], everyone following the pursuit. 

“And why is that?” 

They grabbed their letter, flipped it but covered the top half only to reveal the message. 

“See.” 

“Fair enough. I also have that message.” 

Everyone else began agreeing. The question remained, what now? How do we get out of here? That was until a clicking noise was heard. They all turned their heads to the door, the lock came undone and the door was wide open. They exchanged looks before Masaomi walked forward, Saki wrapped her arm around him and shook her head. 

“What if it’s a trap Masaomi?” 

He stopped, her words had a reason but also stopped everyone from following. Masaomi turned to look around. 

“I’m not going if that’s what you’re thinking.” 

Namie responded rather coldly but it was the truth. Nobody wanted to risk their lives. Izaya sighed and walked to the door, looking to the sides and seeing nothing out of the ordinary. He proceeded, with [Reader] following suit. 

“W-wait-!?” 

“ It seems. . .safe. He hasn’t been harmed yet.” 

The others all glanced at each other and followed as well. The room they were in led to a hall that was vaguely lit, small traces of light seen every couple steps forward. The hall, however, did echo so their footsteps just added to the dark ambiance. Izaya placed his hand on the knob, turned it, and opened the door to reveal another room. It was circular so the space was minimal, but the main difference was that instead of another door on the other side, there were two. The others filled in quickly and with the last one, Takashi, filling it the door behind them shut closed. 

“H-Hey!” 

Takashi rattled with the knob but to no avail, the door wouldn’t budge. 

“It’s no use, the door is closed shut!” 

Izaya only shrugged his shoulders, 

“It seems that this game wants us to move forward, not backward.” 

“Game? Who said this was a game?” 

Namie questioned, Izaya smiled and pointed to the corner. Namie turned to look and saw cameras. As others followed, they too came to the horrifying discovery of cameras. 

“Cameras?” 

“To observe no doubt.” 

“Observe what? Why us?” 

Mika was asking the right questions but all at the wrong time. [Reader] turned to them and attempted to comfort them. 

“We need to remain calm. They have cameras so obviously, this is a trial of sorts. We could have been picked for a reason or were at the wrong place at the wrong time. If we don’t approach it carefully, who knows, we don’t know what lies ahead after all.” 

“You seem a bit calm.” 

Aoba pointed out, hands in his pockets staring at [Reader]. They shook their head, 

“No, actually I’m scared shitless and confused. I want to know where I am, why I’m here, how this works, what lies ahead, why us, and many other things. I also know that if I panic a lot, I’ll make rash decisions and don’t think things through. I don’t want a choice I make to be rash and lead to something worse. So for now, let’s try to keep calm and work together.” 

Reasonable enough, everyone once again nodded in agreement and went their separate ways to look for clues. Izaya stayed behind and went with [Reader]. 

“What were you saying before Izaya?” 

“Nothing important, but look at you. You’ve managed to keep yourself composed quite well.” 

“As have you and others. Strangely enough, I’m sure we all have our worries but we can’t express them at the moment. I wasn’t lying when I said I was scared, I don’t know what’s going on and what to do.” 

“You said you’re new to Ikebukuro?” 

“Yes that’s right, I recently moved here. I remember arri. . .wait. . .” 

“Hm?” 

“No, that's the thing. I don’t remember what I was doing. . .” 

Panic began to spread across their face. [Reader] turned to the others and loudly asked, 

“Do any of you guys remember what you were doing before now?” 

Everyone halted in their tracks and thought, but no one could remember a thing. 

“I remember moving here, but that was it. The last memory I have is setting my moving boxes down. I don’t remember anything.” 

“Same here, I remember walking around the city but that’s about it.” 

Shizuo stated, causing everyone to share about their day. 

“I was walking around with Seiji!”

“I was at my office the whole time.” 

“I was out on a job.” 

“School.” 

“We all went out after school. . .” 

“I was in my house all day.” 

“I was with Takashi all day.” 

“So nobody remembers how we got here, is that it?” 

Though some were confused, Aoba spoke up. 

“So what you’re getting at, is that someone probably took us here, correct?” 

“ Not exactly, but it would make sense. I mean nobody forgets their memory, do they? The camera also backs it up, no offense but I don’t think I would have agreed to be here at all.” 

“So you’re saying we’ve been kidnapped. Not surprising, Ikebukuro has always been filled with shady people. . .” 

“Hey sis, do you think Yagiri Pharmaceuticals was somehow involved?” 

“ I doubt it, I don’t remember signing this into place. Not that I would, I do not need for you all. Unless someone went behind my back. . .” 

“Alright, being taken by force does seem plausible, but what about Anri? Izumii? Or Shizuo for that matter. I doubt someone could forcibly take them.” 

Everyone turned to see them, patiently awaiting answers. 

“W-well I was with you guys so I was probably caught off guard as well. . .” 

“So that leaves the two of you. Izumii, Shizuo.”

“Don’t know, don’t remember. Oh well, I could care less about my current situation, to say the least.” 

Izumii spoke and it appeared to be the truth. He was quite laid back, leaning against a wall.  

“Real fucking  helpful.” 

Izumii got up and glared at Namie though it was hard to tell considering he still had his shades on. 

“ I told you the truth, why do you want to start something?” 

“Hmph.” 

“Fighting won’t solve anything!” 

Saki exclaimed but still held onto Masaomi, past trauma was slowly creeping on her. 

“ Hm, do you want your arms broken to match those legs?” 

“ THAT’S ENOUGH!” 

“W-wait Masaomi!” 

Anri, Mikado, and Saki did their best to hold back Masaomi who was fuming. The other’s simply stood by and watched, even Shizuo which was surprising, to say the least. 

“We’re just wasting time by doing nothing.” 

For once Shizuo was saying something smart. [Reader] was a bit confused, moving to this city didn’t seem like a red flag but it was alarming by how much bad blood there was between everyone. Izaya was hated by everyone but he didn’t raise any red flags, Namie was involved in the shady business from the confession she gave earlier, Izumii broke Saki’s arms or something? Shizuo had anger management issues, nobody liked Takashi and Haruna either, and Mika had a strange scar that went around her whole neck. Compared to them, everyone was so chaotic. 

“Since when are you the voice of reason, Shizu-Chan?” 

To everyone’s shock though, Shizuo didn’t budge. 

“What, you’re not going to manically attack me? Since when were you so obedient?” 

That, however, seemed to spark something. Though he was angry, he still didn’t budge. Just got close to Izaya and leaned forward, 

“Let’s get moving, fucking parasite.” 

With that, Shizuo just walked to the door and continued to examine them, leaving Izaya deep in thought. Though the tension was there, everyone seemed to put it aside while they examined the room. Namie and her group started playing with the walls to see if any loose bricks were there. 

“ I doubt they’ll use the same trick twice.” 

Aoba stated, simply turning around to examine the flooring.

“Better to be safe than sorry.” 

Again, tensions were strong but bearable. No one has hurt anyone else, yet. Time went on, about 5 minutes and nobody had gotten anywhere. 

“There has to be something we’re not seeing.” 

“Mikado is right, everyone double-checks the area!” 

“ Since when did we have to follow your orders?” 

That tension was hanging on a single thread. Small arguments were starting to rise, within the smaller groups too. 

“Stop hogging Seiji and get to looking.” 

“I just want to search with Seiji! Besides you haven’t found anything either so quit nagging!” 

“Oooh, a catfight. How exciting.” 

“You’re so disgusting! Have you even attempted to look? Doubt you can, your type is always so fucking clueless. There’s nothing in that brain other than desire.” 

“I’m not afraid to fucking kill you, bitch!” 

Izumii grabbed a nearby brick and glared at Namie, slowly making his way over. The only one capable of stopping him would be Shizuo, but he appeared to do nothing, making everyone panic. 

“ I got it.” 

That seemed to calm everyone down, turning to the voice that spoke. It was [Reader], Izaya by their side as they wiped at the door.  

“X marks the spot.” 

“Which would be that right there.” 

Everyone followed Izaya’s finger and there laid a normal exit sign. 

“An exit sign?” 

It was an old exit sign, the two small lights next to the bulky contraption. 

“I’m not seeing any other X here, are you?” Izaya teased, a small smile playing on his lips. 

[Reader] started to see why Izaya was slightly hated, his last statement was said with a teasing almost sarcastic tone. Almost as if he was doubting their intelligence or calling them all stupid. Probably not to a serious extent, but like a typical sibling dispute. Well, whatever, who were they to judge, and as far as they could tell, he hadn’t done anything serious other than some casual annoying remarks. 

“Makes sense, it’s quite big and those you can prop open to remove the battery. Is there anything to stand on?” 

“ I got it.” 

Shizuo walked over to the sign and ripped it out of the wall. 

“Here.” 

“T-t-thank you?” 

‘Holy shit, did he just?’ 

[Reader] was certainly struck, so THIS is what they meant when they questioned why Shizuo was here if they were taken by force. Pretty sure anyone who attempted to lay their hands on him would be on a hospital bed. They were thanking any deity they prayed to that he listened to reason and didn’t strike them down when they were defending Izaya. Who knows if they would have been on the hospital bed themselves! 

“W-would it be too much to ask you to open it?” 

“Hm? No.” 

Though his answers were short and straight, he seemed confused by their tone. Well, at least his answers were kind? 

Upon opening it, there lay an envelope. [Reader] opened it and skimmed the contents before reading it out loud. 

‘The door to the left holds societies outcasts while the door on the right holds societies insiders. Society is upheld by those who participate to keep it. The builder that builds it and the defender that defends it. The system that offers redemption is seen through the eye of the lover, the one tied down by emotion, and the scientist, the one tied down by curiosity and logic. The fool is eager and scared to discover the world and the blind, the one who struggles to see the clarity in the world but with room to improve. Society is broken by the sinner and the guilty party with no objective but to please their desires. The outsider who thrives on the attention of being the rebel, the observer who does nothing to help but only watches, and it's copycat, who strives to continue this destructive path. These are the ones who walk a condemned path and deserve no savior.’ 

“What an edge lord.” 

Though the comment came from Izaya himself, snickers and laughs were shared among all. That much is true, who left the discord moderator rampant? 

“Well, that’s all we got. So it seems our hunch was right Izaya, but aside from this. . .we don’t have much to go off on.” 

“It did mention the two doors so it has to be a clue.” 

“It talks about good and bad people, so that could be a clue too!” 

Mika points out the fact, but Namie is quick to shut her down. 

“ Good and bad are subjective. You could call yourself a good person but you’re just an annoyance.” 

“The both of you, stop fighting.” 

Namie just kept edging Mika on while Seiji 'attempted’ to settle it, which didn’t work.

“She’s right, those terms are subjective. We need a more concrete way of choosing.” 

“Who said anything about choosing, for all we know it could just be a riddle.” 

“Two doors, two options. Choose which one we are and go through the door, that's the only explanation.” 

Mikado was deep in thought. Anri, Masaomi, and Saki were both talking among themselves but Mikado kept wondering. Yeah, they were right. It’s subjective. It’s strange to assume that good and bad do exist too since it’s all a social construct. That’s the answer, but what answer did they want? What morals were they following? He pulled out his card and read the contents to see if they would provide a clue, 

“Is self-sacrifice worth the title of savior? Or is self sacrifice the atonement of one's sins?” 

That was all, aside from the ‘do not reveal your card’ warning, that was all it said. What could that mean? It was probably clear that everyone had a different statement, but what did his card mean? 

“Wait. . everyone take out your cards!” 

“Huh? Why?” 

“Masaomi, what does yours say?” 

“ I can’t show you, man-” 

“So don’t, we can’t show but we can tell! What’s the word that you have that [Reader] said?” 

“Uh, I do have one-” 

“That’s the answer! The word in your card is what your role is. We know what door we need to go through.” 

Everyone got their card out, read the contents, and moved to the side of the door that they needed to enter. On the left was; Izaya, Izumii, Aoba, Haruna, Takashi, Masaomi, and Mikado. The right door consisted of; [Reader], Shizuo, Anri, Saki, Seiji, Mika, and Namie. After everyone was in front of their respected doors, they were opened to reveal a dark and barely lit hallway. Similar to the one they used to enter the room they were currently standing in. 

“Mikado. . .” 

Anri called out with worry, though Saki remained silent she too shared the same worry. 

“Don’t worry Anri, we’ll all be reunited once again.” 

“ We promise not to keep you ladies waiting!” 

Despite the confusing and mind-stressing situation they were in, those four managed to remain hopeful. 

“Well, let’s go. Namie walked forward, though she was slightly worried about being first. The others followed suit, Anri and Saki were holding hands and Shizuo was behind [Reader]. Once everyone was through the door, it slammed shut. 

“Check the door!” 

Namie screamed with Shizuo and [Reader] turning to the door, trying to open it. Locked. 

“W-what happened? What’s going on? Seiji!” 

“T…that. . .” 

Namie was pointing to something, but her posture was getting sluggish. Stumbling around, Seiji rushed to help his sister but by then she had already collapsed.

“Sis? Sis!” 

A thud was heard, Seiji turned around to see Mika on the ground calling out his name, weakly. What was going on? 

“It’s gas!” 

Shizuo along with the girls and [Reader] were covering their mouths and nose. Trying hard to keep the gas from entering their systems, but in doing so, they triggered the pipes and vents to release a larger dosage at an alarming speed. Saki fell first, holding onto Anri’s hand as Anri also came undone by the gas. Seiji collapsed soon after, with Shizuo and [Reader] holding out. They felt their lungs burn, their mouth threatening to open and their nose inhaling. They needed air, fast. Sleep was slowly overcoming them, just before they passed out they saw a glimpse of a hand reaching to cup their head, preventing them from slamming it on the harsh pavement. 

“N. . .o. . .h. . lp. . .” 

~~ 

Cold. That was all Namie felt when she opened her eyes. Oh, and harsh screams. 

“ SIS! ARE YOU AWAKE?” 

“H. . .huh?” 

“Seiji!” 

“Seiji, what’s going on?” 

Before he could respond, Namie figured it out herself. A large chain was around her neck and as she was feeling it, she started to see what position she was in. The chain that wrapped around her neck was long and it trailed from the floor to the ceiling, but it dangled over a pole however something was blocking anything other than the chain from going over. Trailing that chain, she came to see that it was wrapped around Seiji’s foot. It was odd, but then she saw Mika across from her, also chained up in the same position as her, her chain was also connecting to Seiji’s foot as well. 

“What’s the meaning of this? Where are the others?” 

A light shone in a separate room. In that room, the others were inside but couldn’t open the door. The room resembled a control room, meant for construction. Buttons, levers, and other gadgets lie in the panel. 

“Can we help them?” 

 “ I don’t think we can!” 

“Shit!” 

“What does that say?” 

‘Play me’ 

Anri hesitantly clicked the button that had the note. A loud ‘click’ was heard and then a distorted voice spoke out, 

“Here lies the three of you, Mika Harima, Seiji Yagiri, and Namie Yagiri. Mika willingly scarred herself to become what Seiji loved, Namie has a morally questionable love towards her brother, and Seiji, who isn't interested in any of them but makes do with them until he has what he wants, Celty. Now, I’ll make you pick one. You’ll see the chains around their necks are connected to your feet. One of their chains on either foot is important. The chains that connect you three are long and are thrown over a pole. As you can see, there lies a metal contraption restricting anything bigger than the chain’s width to pass through, certainly something bigger would just dangle from such heights too. Don’t be alarmed! I have just the solution! The goal is to pick one, and when you have them walk forward to them, however, the one you turn your back on will certainly feel pulled and start to hang. Naturally, one of you will die. If you can’t pick one Seiji, there is a timer set to pull the both of them, they’ll both die but you’ll live. If the girls are feeling adventurous they could walk to the center, but that would force Seiji to dangle himself. The distance between the two of you is so far that if Seiji does struggle he’ll be torn in half! That’s perfect though, one half for each girl to be satisfied, wouldn’t you agree? The key to free the girls is around the hand that corresponds with what foot their chain is connected to, and the key to free your foot is around their neck. Simple enough right? Oh and by the way, one more thing. Those mental contraptions aren’t just to look pretty, once you reach a certain distance to the girl you want to save, that contraption will squeeze the chain tight of the opposing one to ensure you don’t pull a fast one to save the other. Once it squeezes, nothing is letting that hold go! So finally, you can pick one, Seiji. Good luck and I hope the surviving couple thrives! Ah, young love these days!” 

“SEIJI!” 

Mika cried out, running to him but the chain connecting his left leg was rising, causing him to trip. 

“STAY BACK! If you get any closer to him you’ll hurt him. Seiji, I’m your sister! You know I’ll never do anything to hurt you and all I want to do is protect you.” 

“Seiji! Listen, I don’t care about all that! Just being by your side makes me happy!” 

“Seiji!” 

“Seiji!” 

“SEIJI!” 

The on and on voices were flooding his brain. Pick one. Pick one. PICK ONE! It’s so easy Seiji, you don’t even need to pick! Just leave them both to die and when the timer runs out, ah yes that lovely timer that he can’t even see. How much time is left? Ah, it doesn’t matter, he doesn’t need to pick one after all. Seiji just kneeled in defeat, head resting on his hands. 

“It doesn’t matter, I just won’t pick one. Yeah. . .that sounds about right. . .” 

The door was still locked for the others, so helping him was out of the question. In that room, there was a scuffle of their own. 

“ You can’t open it?” 

“No, the door is straight-up steel!” 

“ S-Shizuo? Can you break it down?” 

“ I can’t.” 

“W-What? You should be able to” 

“ Yeah, I should be able to but I can’t. I’m sorry.” 

Anri didn’t press too much into it, Shizuo was frustrated but with what? Shizuo IS strong enough to take down the door, but him choosing not to is a bit strange? Despite what others think, he is one to help when needed. Anri surely hadn’t spent too much time with him, but it was clear that there was another factor at hand. He was facing the floor, his expression quite visible and it was filled with regret. He wanted to help, but something was holding him back. [Reader] didn’t know much about them or anything, but they still wanted to help. It was only natural because there was strength in numbers. 

“Let’s see if we can find a crowbar or something to pry the lock open!” 

“O-Okay!” 

Meanwhile, Seiji was still undecided. 

“L-Listen, Seiji. It’s not true, none of it was true. True I’m just a lowly stalker, a criminal of sorts, or maybe just an annoyance. Yes, I did change my appearance, but I changed it, not scarred it! Anything I do, I do for you. I love you, you may not feel the same but that’s okay. I’m okay! It’s okay if you don’t love me, if you see me as an annoyance, or if you see me as a temporary replacement for the real head but-! But even so, I still want to be with you! I don’t mind all that, being with you is what matters the most to me and I’ll cherish every moment! I’ll happily do so because you’ve given me a reason to live! I love you.” 

“But I don’t love you. . . “ 

Seiji’s whispering was unsettling, Namie was unsure of how much time was left but she knew that there was no use trying to win him over with a cute speech. She was a woman of efficacy, giving the customer what they want, saying what the customer wants to hear, and that’s how you resolve conflict. 

“Seiji, Celty’s real head, Izaya has it! Once we get out of here, I’ll do anything I need to do to make sure you see Celty again. Mika is happy being a copycat, but I’m happy giving you what you want. You know that, right Seiji?” 

Seiji’s head perked up at Celtys’ name. He turned to see his sister, she didn’t appear frantic so sure what she was saying was the truth. It wasn’t a plea of desperation with him, it was the truth. Namie stood still, arms stretched and a small smile played at her lips. 

“Seiji, your happiness is my happiness. If you want to see Celty, I’ll help you see them. They’ll be all yours because I do care for you.” 

His feet shuffled, walking towards Namie. Mika’s screams were drowned by Seiji’s voice mumbling Celty’s name over and over again. She felt a small pressure pull her upwards, her feet lifting from the ground. Her hands immediately went to the chain around her neck and she desperately pulled it. 

“S-Seiji! C-Can’t breathe. . .” 

That smile on Namie’s lips widened upon hearing Maika’s pathetic whines. Mika at this point was dangling from the air. Her mouth was watering, her feet were going numb but still desperately kicking, her fingers shaking a bit, and the air leaving her lungs was pure anguish. Seiji was nearing Namie, who welcomed him with a hug. 

“ I’ll help you get her back, don’t worry Seiji.” 

The conclusion was a sad one, the contraption shut on the chains leaving Mika’s body to dangle from a high altitude. No doubt, she was dead. Underneath her was a puddle of liquid, a combination of spit and urine. Namie grabbed the key from Seiji’s hand, freed herself, and then helped Seiji free himself. A buzzing sound was heard, the door was opened and out came everyone. Namie paid no attention, she was hugging Seiji and whispering sweet promises into his ears. 

“M-Mika. . .” 

Anri was in shock, sure they had ulterior motives when they befriended one another but that didn’t mean Anri didn’t care for the girl. 

“There, there, Seiji. Everything will be alright. . .” 

“ How!? One of us is dead?!” 

Namie glared at Saki who didn’t hold back on her call out. Namie covered Seiji’s ears before lashing back. 

“There was nothing we could do, one of us was bound to die. I just made sure it wasn’t me.” 

“We should have worked towards a solution together!” 

“How? You all were useless and the one who could help didn’t.” 

Shizuo’s fist tightened, turning around and avoiding the looks he received. [Reader] grabbed Anri and turned her away from Mika’s body. Trying their best to console them. 

“Are you going to be a bitch?” 

Everyone, even Shizuo,  snapped out of their trance, turning to face [Reader]. 

“ This doesn’t concern you, besides Seiji made his choice.” 

“He didn’t make shit. He was too scared to even think, you decided for him and manipulated him into taking your side.” 

“I’m his sister-” 

“Who has a fucking crush on him. That doesn’t strike you as strange?” 

“I’m sorry, but who are you exactly? What have you done for Seiji? For anyone? You can’t scold someone for your failed actions. We did what we had to, it was survival of the fittest and sometimes that means adapting and working with what you have. Don’t misunderstand me, I still plan to help Seiji recover what he wants.” 

“Wow, imagine missing the point.” 

“Someone didn’t tell you, so I’ll tell you. You’ll soon come to realize that Ikebukuro is a place like any other, if you came trying to find a peaceful law-abiding city, you’re mistaken. You have that beast over there who sometimes goes rampant destroying anything in his path, that one harboring a spirit that manifests into a blade and anyone cut by it will obey, Mikado and Masaomi both creating groups full of misfits who wreak havoc on the town, Izaya who obtains information as a living by any means necessary and as a hobby places people into situations just to see their reactions, Izumii being a gangster, Aoba becoming into a mini Izaya, Mika was a stalker, Haruna also another one harboring another spirit, and Takashi a teacher who is rumored to be a pedophile. So no, nobody here in this group is sin-free. If you mean to lecture me on how Mika had much to live for then don’t bother. I’m not interested in hearing it.” 

They heard a loud click, the door on the far side of the room had been unlocked, revealing another hallway but this one was lit decently well. The others started to make their way there, but [Reader] just looked at Mika’s body. There was no use trying to retrieve it, none. Anri hesitated for a second, but grabbed [Reader’s] hand and led them to the door. 

“Hey, thank you for that by the way.” 

“I’m sorry, it seems only words are what I contributed to.” 

“No it’s fine, words are more than enough. I know that many people thought of her as strange and dumb, dumb for devoting her whole life to a boy who didn’t even like her but still. . .” 

“Maybe it wasn’t the best, but it was still a reason to keep living. Do you know? Sometimes all you need in life is a reason, a reason to keep going. I’m sorry for your loss. . .” 

Saki rejoined the group and also expressed her condolences. Once they made it through the door, it was slammed shut and locked. The vents were opened and out came more gas. 

“N-not again. . .” 

Everyone began to collapse, the influence of the gas overpowering everyone once more. Back with the boys and Haruna, they too experienced the same thing but let’s say their loss wasn’t that controversial. After passing through the door and bidding farewell to the other group, they too fell under the influence of the gas. When they all awoke, everyone but Aoba and Izumii was present. Izaya’s head was throbbing as he took quite a fall earlier, but he came to focus on the situation at hand. He, along with the others, was in another room. The room was all steel so any chance of leaving the room easily was through the window, speaking of windows there was some present for viewing purposes but reinforced. Some cracks decorated the window but to no avail, they didn’t break. Where were Izumii and Aoba? Well, they were on the outside of the secluded room and both still asleep it seemed. In the middle was a contraption of sorts with two chains connecting their necks (how original) however their placement was strange. Each of them on the opposite side, it seemed as if there was something attached to the chain. 

“W. . What? What the fuck!?” 

Welp, Izumii was awake. His hands trailed to his eyes and his horror, found that they were closed shut by what felt like a thread of sort? Opening his eyes was going to be a challenge and his hand started to follow the chain to the contraption in the middle. 

“ What the fuck is this? Somebody help!” 

Aoba was stirring, slowly going to wake. Once his peepers were open, he began to see the situation but came to find pain in his mouth. Trailing his fingers lightly, he noted that his mouth was sewn shut by some kind of thread. Any noise he made came out muffled. Izumii was perceptive and noticed the presence of someone else in the room with him. 

“Show yourself! I’m not playing any fucking games.” 

A button was in the control room, Izaya saw the ‘play me’ note and thinking nothing of it, click it. 

“Don’t click random things! You could put us all in danger!” 

Takashi panicked, but Izaya paid no mind. 

“It’s best to follow directions and do what’s asked of us, play by their rules until we know our enemy.” 

Meanwhile, following the initial push, a small tape recording click was heard. Everyone piped down to hear what it had to say. 

“I won’t take too long, as you can see, well at least one of you, the key that you need is around the other one's neck. The contraption in the middle once triggered will start reeling the both of you to death, essentially you’re working against the clock here. The both of you can live, but who knows if one of you harbors another agenda. Live or die, your choice.” 

“Who’s there!?” 

Aoba couldn’t say anything, but at the same time would he? The tape didn’t reveal their names so was this a trap meant for anyone and they were the unlucky few? No, that tape seemed to hint at something. Granted if they knew each other’s name he wasn’t exactly sure if Izumii would go easy on him. He knew that his brother harbored a deep hatred for him, but so did he. 

‘The goal is to get the key, but can I get it without him attacking me?’ 

Aoba was deep in thought, his brother on the other hand kept screaming profanities at him or to what he believed was another person in the room with him. He noticed something different about his brother minus the eyes shut closed, his movement was sluggish? Was he drugged? Aoba approached softly, one thing he could see was that the contraption wasn’t moving meaning it wasn’t triggered just yet. A race against the clock but the timer hadn’t started yet. He liked his odds, but Izumii was just shouting in rage. Izumii grabbed his chain and began to pull. Aoba fell to the floor and a muffled cry left his stitched-up mouth. 

“There. . .there you are.” 

A sadistic laugh left Izumii’s mouth as he rushed over to where Aoba was. Aoba quickly scrambled to his feet to get away but Izumii used the chain to his advantage, pulling it once more except Aoba pulled back and to his surprise, he managed to hold his own against his brother. Now he knew for sure his brother was drugged, his physical movements were restricted a lot by whatever he was given which Aoba could only assume was to make the playing field fair. Unfortunately, their tug of war was cut short when they were both lunged forward, their confusion was answered when they heard the sound of turning gears. The contraption was triggered so now the timer was set, Aoba thanked his brother's stupidity because now his brother was freaking out over the wrong thing. Aoba saw a nearby tool, a hammer of sorts which he grabbed and walked slowly to Izumii. The sound of the contraption helped blend his steps. When he was close enough he lunged forward to Izumii, jumping on his back and with the hammer hitting his head repeatedly. Izumii fell to the ground but managed to compose himself fairly quickly. By then he was too late, Aoba grabbed the key hanging from his collar and ran to a safe place to quickly free himself. Izumii began feeling around and managed to feel a crowbar. He started swinging it right and left, eventually giving up and throwing it. He managed to hit Aoba who let out a cry of pain. Izumii started to lunge towards him, Aoba, however, managed to get out of the contraption, and using the same key stabbed it into Izumii’s stitched-up eye. Izumii screamed and with Aoba fully free, ran to the door leaving Izumii to suffer his fate. 

“Help! Help me! HELP ME! COME BACK HERE YOU FUCKER! I’LL MAKE YOU PAY! I’LL FUCKING MAKE YOU PAY YOU PIECE OF SHIT!” 

Everyone in the control room just witnessed, Izaya was honestly surprised that nobody bothered to help. Granted, unlike [Reader] who knew nothing of each other, many knew of Aoba and his brother’s reputation. With a horrifying screech and the sound of a neck-snapping in half, Izumii was dead. Both doors, leading to the hallway and out of the room were opened. Once everyone left, they all turned to Aoba who was cutting into the threads with the same key he used earlier. In comparison to Izumii, his stitches weren’t that complex and fully shut. His mouth was in an okay state aside from the occasional blood. 

“L-listen, I don’t care who I’m up against. I’m making it out alive. I don’t care who I need to cross and hurt, I will survive.” 

Nobody could disagree but this made people wonder, if they were up against Aoba would he use a dirty trick like that against them. Masaomi grabbed Mikado’s hand, slowly walking away from Aoba who had a crazed expression. Izaya simply chuckled, typical. Despite his conditions, he couldn’t stop himself from enjoying everyone’s expression and mannerisms. Masaomi leads Mikado away and towards the door, the others quickly following suit. 

“ Mikado, listen. We need to do anything in our power to make it out alive if we get put into a trap. All four of us will survive, I promise you that.” 

Mikado nodded, this wasn’t one of those cliche moments where you think you’re friends but then at the end, someone pulls a fast one and you’re all alone. The four had a bond like no other, they were going to do anything they could to help each other out, that much was promised. Upon entering that hallway, some started to cough, the vents opened up and the gas started to fill in. 

“A-again!? What now!” 

Masaomi tried to cover up his mouth and nose along with Mikado but both failed. Before passing out, one could only wonder what would lie before them. What other traps and who would be tested? 

~~ 

“O-ow. . .my head. . .” 

“A-anri?!” 

“M-Mikado!?” 

They both rushed to one another, they shared an embrace before separating from each other. They turned to look around them but Masaomi was nowhere to be seen. 

“Where’s Masaomi?!” 

“ I don’t know, where’s Saki?” 

“She was with me. . .no! Do you think?!” 

[Reader] began to wake, noticing Izaya was by their side. 

“Hey, are you feeling any better?” 

“H. . .huh? Oh, Izaya. Yeah, I’m okay. Being gassed twice in a row doesn’t help though. . .what’s going on? Where are we?” 

“We all seem to be reunited, but two are missing.” 

“You lost someone too?” 

“Yeah. . .but I mean now. Two are missing.” 

“Who?!” 

“Masaomi and Saki.” 

“Shit, you don’t think?” 

“Considering what happened not too long ago, I’m sure that’s what happened.” 

“What happened in your group?” 

“Izumii was killed by Aoba.” 

“I see, Mika was killed by Namie.” 

“Namie? Didn’t strike me as the type to do something against someone herself.” 

“Well she didn’t, Seiji was forced to pick one and the other would die but Namie manipulated him into picking her. Also, she said ``you have ahead with you?” 

“ I had it.” 

“I’m sorry you ‘had’ a head!?” 

“Long story, one I’ll be happy to tell you when we get out. In the meantime, we need to find a way to get out of here.” 

Light’s turned on and from the room, they were in, another control room no doubt that was locked to prevent them from interfering with the rest, could see outwards. There, Saki was awake but scared. She was in a contraption that resembled a cross, despite that her limbs were spread apart and held by another contraption that was bolted to the cross. She tried to pull her arms out but the contraption was meant to prevent her from doing so. Her legs, arms, and head were held in place by them. She was beyond scared, but someone who also looked scared was Masaomi who was on the ground staring at her. She was crying, pleading with Masaomi to help her. 

“ Masaomi help me please!” 

“S-SAKI!” 

The trap wasn’t triggered just yet so it gave Masaomi some time to look around. Not too far from where Saki was, there was a clear box that held the key but a shotgun was inside the box with a string attached to the trigger. He looked back at Saki, who directed his attention to a recorder of sorts around her neck. He grabbed it and pressed the red button that was meant to play the tape within. 

“Masaomi Kida and Saki Mikajima, a match made in heaven. Your tale begins when you were devoted to Izaya, believing he could do no wrong. You listened to his whim and approached Masaomi. Fooled around a bit and at any minor inconvenience directed him to Izaya, the one who would test Masaomi’s will and resolve. This led to your capture, Izumii breaking your legs and you overplaying your injuries to hurt Masaomi mentally. Masaomi is too much of a coward to save you, living with regret since day one. Well, today is the day, Masaomi! Have you finally grown up and are ready to face the issue at hand? The contraption that your dear girlfriend is in is a personal favorite, no pun intended but it’ll do more than repeat history that’s for sure! Once the mechanism is triggered, the mental contraptions will work and rotate her limbs a full 360! Now, I’m no expert but I know for a fact normal limbs don’t do that, meaning, oh no! Her limbs will be broken! That’s not the worst part though, you see one around her neck, right? If she somehow manages to live through the pain and blood loss from her limbs, well, she’ll certainly die when the one by her neck rotates her head and decapitates her! Fear not, no need to lose our heads pun intended there, next to you is the key within the case but if you pull the key to free her, the shotgun's trigger will be released. . .and fire! Surely you love your girlfriend enough to get shot at least once right?? Or maybe you can work around it to safely get the key out if you have the time to spare. C’mon Masaomi, I’m sure you’re ready to do something. . .right? The choice is yours.” 

Saki by this point was sobbing hysterically, the trap hadn’t been triggered yet but boy was that tape horrible. Masaomi panicked, the tape was too cheerful despite the events that were about to unfold. He was scared, yeah it was true. He wussed out, he was too much of a pussy to do something but you think he doesn’t regret it? He wished he dared to help her, back then at least. Now, but now it is different. He should have the courage, so why is he standing still in fright? 

“Masaomi!” 

He turned to hear the voice of Mikado and Anri, locked in the room. He was no fool, if it were anything like the previous room he was in then he knew it could not be opened that easily. Shizuo was there, so maybe there was a chance? Still, he was all on his own just like last time. 

“MASAOMI!’ 

Saki shrieked, the sound of gears was heard and that meant the trap was working. He was working against the clock. He ran to the clear box and was about to grab the key, but then his eyes met the shotgun and he let go. Could he risk being shot, to save the girl he loved? Was he strong enough to make that sacrifice? 

“S-Shit!” 

[Reader] began looking around the room, attempting to find anything of use. Anri pulled out Saika and tried her luck with the door to see if it would somehow help, but to no avail. Mikado was picking up whatever hard object he could find and started throwing it at the window in a frenzy. [Reader] managed to get a crowbar and placed it alongside the door, Anri joined them and using all their force tried to pry the door open. Izaya could only stare at them, they didn’t know them but we’re risking it all to help. It was strange, [Reader] didn’t strike him as the type to try to prove their worth or try to appease others, so what could be the reason. It could hardly be the ‘all life is precious’ reason, nah they didn’t seem the type. 

“If Shizuo helped, that door would have been laid to waste already.” 

Namie stated, but they didn’t make an effort to help somehow. They were holding onto Seiji and rubbing his back, he was still in his rambling mood. Aoba also inquired, 

“That’s true. Why don’t you help Shizuo? Or do you just not care.” 

Shizuo was looking at the camera that lay in the room. [Reader] and Izaya both noticed it, what did he have to do with the camera? 

“Typical behavior of a monster, not caring about anyone but himself-” 

“I CAN’T HELP EVEN IF I WANTED TO! IF I DO THEN SHE MIGHT forget it. It doesn’t concern you.” 

Everyone was quiet, it started to make sense. He was being threatened. [Reader] felt empathetic, he wanted to help but if he did someone he cared for would be hurt. Namie only mocked him more and more, without thinking [Reader] sprinted towards Namie and ripped Seiji away from her. Raising their fist, they brought it down on Namie’s face resulting in an array of stares and gasps. 

“Well, I didn't think they had it in them.” 

Izaya appeared to be happy? No, more like pleased. 

“YOU BITCH-!” 

“WHY DON’T YOU DO SOMETHING INSTEAD OF RUNNING YOUR FUCKING MOUTH! I DON’T WANT TO HEAR ANYTHING FROM YOU WHEN YOU DON’T EVEN BOTHER TRYING.” 

Namie started to fight back since [Reader] got a jump on them, but [Reader] wasn’t letting this go. They kept punching, hitting, and kicking until Izaya had to pull them off. 

“All you care about is getting in your brother’s pants, fucking bitch.” 

[Reader] released themselves from his grasp and went to help them pry open the door. Meanwhile, Saki’s legs had already twisted and her arms were surely next. Masaomi cried, 

“P-please! Help me! Anyone! I can’t do this by myself I-?!” 

“M-Masaomi!” 

He was scared. Confused. In shock, he couldn’t understand it but it hurt. Everything did. He knew what he had to do but didn’t dare to do it. Saki’s screams and pleas weren’t exactly the motivation they expected. 

“M-Masaomi, listen. . .I don’t blame you. I don’t blame you for being scared. I would be too and I don’t blame you if you s-still resent me! OW! AHHH! L-Listen. . .I don’t blame you. It’s my fault, don’t worry. I love you and I-I hope you can love me too, I know I’ve let you down!” 

“No. . .no-! You didn’t let me down, I let you down! You needed me, you wanted me to be there and I should have been there! I should have protected you as I promised! I’m sorry Saki, I’m so sorry!” 

Her arms were already twisted and her neck would be soon. He didn’t have time to second guess it. If he let her die, it would just be like what the tape said, ‘C’mon Masaomi, I’m sure you’re ready to do something, right?’ Was he ready? He had to be, or someone he cared for would pay the price. He let out a scream and lunged for the key, the moment he held it in his hand he pulled and moved to the side, the shotgun firing. The bullet missed any vital organs, he dodged the bullet. He ran to where Saki was, grabbed the lock on the chain, and attempted to open the lock but realized something, the key was bent and misshapen. The bullet missed, but the key took a light blow meaning it was unusable. 

“N-No, t-this isn’t fair-! S-Saki-. . .Saki?” 

Her neck snapped, her head was completely twisted and he could see visible bone Her legs and arms were completely shattered, bone protruding from the torn up and twisted skin. Blood was leaking everywhere, her body was in a horrid state and it didn’t help that the contraption released around her neck, leaving her head to roll down Masaomi’s arm and into his chest, the head is supported by his elbows that cupped it. Hyperventilating and then he released a loud wail, by the door to the area he was in opened, and out came everyone. He let go of the head that managed to stain his white hoodie with red. [Reader] sprinted to where he was and pulled him aside from her head. They embraced him to which he returned, burying himself into their chest and sobbing. Mikado also came to console his friend along with Anri who had slightly visible vomit around her mouth. Who could blame her, the sight itself was gruesome. Izaya only stared at the scene, mostly [Reader] consoling him. 

Despite it being cliche, it was human behavior. The need to comfort someone, even a stranger in dark and horrible situations. I guess, as much as Izaya enjoyed seeing the ugly sides of humans, he also found it somewhat peaceful that they exhibited some positive behaviors. Shizuo was in shock and his eyes wide, but he couldn’t bring himself to face Saki’s body or Masaomi’s state. Namie was still pissed but pretended not to be because Seiji needed her. Aoba remained quiet, he didn’t want to be that person, actually no scratch that he didn’t care. He saw this coming a mile away. Takashi and Haruna, who luckily haven’t been in any trap, didn't say a word. They didn’t seem to care or acknowledge their existence which is just what he needed. As long as nobody paid attention to them and he kept Haruna happy, he knew there was a secure method of survival. The door on the side opened, no doubt revealing another hallway that they would walkthrough. Everyone started to walk through, [Reader] let go of Masaomi who held tighter when they did. They gave him to Mikado and Anri who did the best they could to console him. As everyone was leaving, Izaya stayed behind along with [Reader] who grabbed a nearby blanket and went to cover the head up. 

“Sorry, a force of habit.” 

“What is.” 

“ Caring. Mika was too high up and we had no way to collect her body back, but if we did I would have done the same. . .I wonder. . why are we here?” 

“Who knows. I guess we’re just an unlucky bunch.” 

“Nice to know, I was expecting a, because nobody is innocent and we’re all sinners argument, then again it sounds like something Namie would say.” 

“ Nobody goes through life being 100% innocent, the same goes for me and you but I don’t believe that we should all suffer the same fate.” 

“I agree.” 

“ I’ll see you there [Reader], maybe you can enlighten me on the things Namie told you about me. We can talk about that punch you delivered though.” 

“Don’t remind me. . .” 

Izaya let out a chuckle, [Reader] letting one out too but then he left. [Reader] crouched down to let out a small prayer, that’s when something fell out of their pocket. A small clank, they turned to see what it was and there was a key. The key was weirdly shaped, but that’s when their heart dropped. Was it. . .? They grabbed it and tried their luck, they went to the lock that was still around Saki’s body, but the key in, and turned it. To their horror, the lock opened. It was a skeleton key and if that was true, that means they had the key to everyone’s survival in their pocket. 

“I-if they find out. . .I’m dead for sure!” 

They shut the lock and looked around, there was nobody in sight so hopefully, nobody saw. Except someone did, someone who was starting to develop a personal infatuation towards [Reader]. They shook their head and sped to the group, meeting Izaya who was waiting for them. With that, all of them were inside and the door behind [Reader] was closed shut. They all were waiting for some kind of gas to hit them, but nothing did. The door at the end wasn’t locked, and when they opened it they came to see a table with 14 plastic water bottles and a note in the middle. They could rest easy for the time being. Izaya picked up the note, skimmed the contents, and left it at that. 

‘ Congratulations for making it this far! Hope all 14 of you understand your purpose now.’ 

It seemed that all 14 were to survive. He left the note for everyone else to read which only made their mood all that more upsetting. Mikado grabbed water for all of them, helping Masaomi drink a little considering he was beyond broken and had no motivation to do anything. [Reader] grabbed two water bottles and handed the other one to Shizuo. He hesitantly took it and mumbled a small, 

“Thanks.” 

“No problem, listen. . .I won’t press you for details if you don’t want or can’t say, I know the card may have told you something along the lines but. . .I’m assuming you can’t do anything to help us right?” 

“Something like that.” 

“Someone important to you?” 

“Yeah, a girl.” 

“ A lover?” 

“No, a friend. She’s still in school. Funny enough, Izaya sent her after me at first. He fed her some lies about me and then she tried to hurt me, but once the confusion settled down we became quite close. She’s like a little sister to me. Her name is Akane, and now some bastard has her, and I can’t do any-!” 

“It’s not that you can’t do anything, I’m sure you can. It’s just a risk you can’t take, don’t worry I know that feeling. I’m not defending the people who have us here locked up but, I can say one thing, we can’t keep relying on someone else to help us. It’s not a bad thing to look out for yourself, selfish or not. It’s also not a bad thing to ask for help either, but at some point, we need to understand that we have to do it ourselves. Sorry for the rambling, I guess I wanted to talk to you. I’ve chatted with everyone here at least once, you were the only one missing.” 

“What about those two?” 

Shizuo pointed to Haruna and Takashi, who was in their corner. 

“Call me mean but they don’t look like someone I want to talk to. Besides, Namie told me some information and despite me not liking them already, I’ll play it safe.” 

“Fair enough.” 

Small talk was made between the two of them, but some time did go by. Their conversation was cut short when ‘click’ was heard. They turned to the sound and realized that the door was opened. The hallway was decently lit up, but then it branched out into two areas with doors at the end of the paths. Before the two-way path, in the middle was an arrow pointing to the directions with the roles on them. To the left was the ‘Builder, Copycat, Sinner, Guilty, and Blind.’ The right had had; Fool, Savior, Condemned, Defender, Observer, and Scientist.’ 

“Well, I guess this is where we part ways?” 

“ Yeah, I’m sure another game is ahead. Stay alive, will you?” 

“Sure.” 

Shizuo and [Reader] bid their goodbyes and went into their respective paths. Before [Reader] could advance, Izaya grabbed their hand. 

“Word of advice, try not to attract the attention of Aoba too much. He’s quite perceptive and made quite a display when he went through his trial. I wouldn’t want him taking advantage of you, so if you find yourself in a trap always look out for yourself. See you on the other side.” 

“ W-wait-?” 

By then, Izaya had already left, leaving [Reader] confused. Did he assume or know what the next trap would be? They didn’t dwell on the fact for too long, remembering a panicked mindset would lead to rash decisions. They proceeded to walk towards their door but stopped. The ‘shhh’ sound was heard, and when they looked back, they saw that the whole hallway was filling up with gas. 

“Again? Son of a b….ch. . .” 

Sleep overcame everyone. 

~~ 

When Izaya Orihara awoke, he had a hard time understanding the change of scenery. Two members were missing, but as far as they were concerned, the others and himself weren’t in the room. In fact, for once it was a free open space area that they could explore. Interesting. Everyone started to come to, Masaomi awoke and quickly realized that the ones missing were his friends, Anri and Mikado. 

“Mikado!?Anri?!” 

“Calm down, we’ll find them.” 

Masaomi turned to see Izaya awake and oddly enough, reassuring him. Gross. 

“Why should I trust you?” 

“You’re right, why should you trust me? Then again, you can only trust me. Namie already said she wasn’t going to help and Shizuo can’t, or someone he knows gets hurt. Your only option is me, Masaomi, like it or not.” 

He couldn’t argue, Izaya was right like always. Namie rested her head against the wall. She was quite pissed, she didn’t have to split up with Seiji before so why now? It certainly didn’t help that Seiji was with [Reader] who didn’t like the two. Shizuo however, did offer to help. It seemed that there were some things he could do. The room they all were in was different, it wasn’t locked and it was much more spacious. In the middle was where they all were, but hallways were long and vast and surely led somewhere. Masaomi turned and announced his plan, 

“Let’s split up. We each take different routes and if we find something yell. We’ll find you.” 

“Fine.” 

“Alright.” 

“I’m not helping you-” 

“If you don’t, we’ll stay here longer and who knows if Seiji is being tested again. You’ll see him faster if you work with us.” 

“. . .Fine.” 

Well, that certainly was one way to inspire Namie to assist. They split up and went to a different hallway, opening doors left and right but to no avail, they couldn’t find them. Mikado started to wake up, his body was quite stiff but he soon came to realize why. He was suspended up in the air and when tried to lift his arms, he couldn’t. Metal contractions were restraining his movements and there were four in total, each around his elbows and knees. The most frightening thing about it all was that sharp feeling that he felt, looking down he came to the reason why. On the ground in front of him were four jars each filled with blood. Upon closer inspection, he saw tubes trailing from the jar to his limbs. He was being drained of blood. The worst of it was Anri, who was in front of him. She was slowly waking, but that didn’t stop her peaceful face to turn into one of fear. They both were being tested. She turned around but could not find a room similar to the one she was in during the previous traps. She was all alone. 

“M-Mikado!” 

“Anri!” 

“I-I’m going to get you out of here okay!” 

The same ‘click’ that was heard over and over again came up, followed by a voice. 

“Mikado Ryugamine and Anri Sonohara. Ikebukuro certainly became a wild and crazy place right? The boy who moved from the countryside to enjoy that city life and the girl who always lived here, but rather observed the world through a different perspective. I’ll cut it short, okay? It seems as if this is a literal definition of leeching off of others. As you can see, Mikado is suspended in the air by a contraption that is being held by a level of sorts, sorry the schematics weren’t exactly something I was too concerned with. Anyway, the goal is to hit the target which is wired to the lever, once hit the lever will flip releasing poor Mikado from his trap. That’s all fine and dandy, but the target is quite high up and heavy with no other items to hit it with, it might be hard. This is why I propose a different tactic, consider it a more interactive experience. Cut Mikado with Saika, we’re always watching so granted once I see it happen myself I’ll release him from his trap. Oh right, forgot about the trap, sorry! He’s being bled dry, normal blood count ranges from 1.2 to 1.5 gallons of blood. He’s bleeding from four different areas in his body so perhaps you don’t want to wait around too long. As of now, he’s been bleeding out at a steady rate but once this videotape ends, the rate will be doubled and I don’t think you want to take that chance. Funny, I said I’d keep it short but here I am rambling. You’re so used to leeching off of others for your gain but it seems that with Mikado and Masaomi, you care for them. Just a small cut and you can keep him next to you at all times. Doesn’t that sound great? If you don’t want to go down that route, the level is always an option but who knows how to hit it. Maybe if you cut your arm off you can use that! Best of luck, Saika.” 

That conversation sounded a bit too familiar, but with who? 

“Anri, c’mon just cut me!” 

“N-No! I-I can’t!” 

“Anri, please!” 

She could, but would she? Leeching off of others and viewing the world through a second lens was always her thing. Her friendship with Mika was fake, using each other to benefit one another but that didn’t change the feelings she had for her. She was still a friend and all their moments were treasured, that’s why she was so worried when she went missing. 

“No. . .I can’t. For once, I made friends with no strings attached. It’s something true, not masked by lies or ulterior motives. I showed the real me to you both and even then, you still wanted me. You wanted the real me, so how could I possibly do that to someone who has accepted me. Even the parts I hate myself!? I can’t, I just can’t Mikado.”

“As your friend, the one who sees the real you and loves you, I know that you’d never hurt me. Even if you were to cut me, I know you’d never use me against my will but if you did, I wouldn’t mind. Cut me, I don’t care-” 

“BUT I DO! I CAN’T HURT THE ONE I LOVE!”  

With a hoarse yell, I mean it wasn’t that often you heard someone like Anri scream, she took the drawstring of her black hoodie dress, wrapped it around her arm, 3 inches above her wrist, and using Saika, cut her handoff. Screams and cries of pain echoed throughout the room. Using her strength, she threw her hand and it missed the target by a few. She sprinted to pick up her severed and bloody hand, trying again and again until she managed to hit it. That wasn’t all, her screams were loud, which was good because they finally attracted the right crowd. Izaya was the one who found them, he shouted alerting the group. The others came rushing towards the door, Masaomi shouting Anri and Mikado’s names to get their attention. When Anri hit the target, the trap let go of Mikado who fell to the ground. She ran towards him to help take out the needles. Once she took out the last one, the tape played unexpectedly. 

“Oh forgot to tell you, the door in front of you is rigged that when they open the door the trap will suspend him again and release a-” 

The door opened, Masaomi calling out to them as Anri cried out, 

“No Masaomi stay away-!?” 

“Release a gun that is wired to shoot one bullet so keep the other’s at bay and-” 

Mikado was suspended in the air again by the metal contraptions holding his limbs, the contraption slid out the barrel of a gun. His arm was forcibly lifted and the trigger was released. Shooting Anri straight in the back.

“Make sure you’re not in front of Mikado when it happens, wouldn’t want your self-sacrifice to be in vain.”  

Blood spewed from her mouth as she fell straight to the floor. The contraption released Mikado from the air and the ones surrounding his limbs as well. Masaomi didn’t move forward as he slowly came to accept what happened. 

“A-ANRI!” 

Meanwhile, [Reader] awoke next to Aoba and Seiji. It seemed that the layout was freer and open this time, however it seemed strange? Despite being open, they were inside what seemed to be a pen of sorts? [Reader] turned to see Aoba was staring at them. 

“Took you long enough, Haruna and Takashi are being tested.” 

“O-Oh. . .” 

In front of them was a deep cylinder-shaped container? Haruna was resting above it, and it seemed there was a ladder that led to the inside. There was a camera inside, so they all could see what was happening. There, Takashi was inside but he was held down. Arm and ankle restraints prevented him from being able to move. However, he was laying smack on the ground, which can't be good. 

“Hello. Haruna Niekawa seems your idea of love is twisted and Takashi Nasujima, your love demographic are minors! Do you get off on the idea of children? What a vile pig you are, speaking of pigs. You’ll see the trap you’re in, it’s complex and I’ll get straight to the point. The key to your lock is somewhere you’d never guess. Haruna, you love Takashi don’t you? I’m sure you wouldn’t mind digging deep into your guts for him, would you? Not clicking? The key is hidden inside Haruna’s intestines. The blades that rest there, they’ll cut up pigs into thin meat but the guts have also been slightly liquefied. Can you find it in yourself to save him before he drowns in the guts of the animal he so closely resembles? Then again, he might leave you to die and cheat with another woman. We can’t have that can we Haruna? Live or die. Your choice.”  

Haruna was quiet for a long time, Takashi was screaming at her to help. That’s when the machine was turned on and a pig came out sliding and the blade kept true to its word, the pigs were cut up and their guts were starting to fill up rapidly. 

“HARUNA PLEASE! YOU KNOW I’D NEVER CHEAT ON YOU!” 

Nobody was helping, Seiji was still unresponsive and Aoba didn’t care. If the audio was right, then that meant but if Haruna was that obsessed with him, would she kill herself trying to help him? [Reader] walked, climbed over the pigpen and made their way to Haruna. Haruna was only looking down at Takashi, using her small blades she cut her pink dress, revealing her stomach which had a black spiral on it. At least the place where it was located was marked. She didn’t seem to drag the knife across, she was deep in thought. 

“Haruna. . .you’re not going to cut yourself open are you?” 

“Who are you.” 

“It’s not worth it, you shouldn’t have to sacrifice yourself for him. Listen, I don’t know him but if that tape is correct, he’s not worth it!” 

“It is, the audio didn’t lie. I don’t care, I still love Takashi.” 

This bitch is insane! [Reader] couldn’t process what she just said, was she for real? 

“I’m sorry what? Don’t you understand, he’s not a good person. He’s only using you, cutting into your flesh to remove a key to free him? You wouldn’t, would you? The chances of you living aren’t high if you do that, don’t you understand! If you want to save him I won’t stop you but maybe, there is a different way to save him.”  

“Are you saying I should just leave him? Or are you after him yourself?” 

“What?” 

“H-Haruna! Help me!” 

“It seems to me as though you love him and you want him for yourself. You won’t have him, nobody will. You’re right, he’ll cheat on me and I might not make it. I wouldn’t do something so stupid as taking my life for him. If I die, he dies. If I live, he lives. Wait. . .I like that idea.” 

She grabbed her blade and pointed it at [Reader], 

“Don’t bother.” 

[Reader] grabbed dug into her pockets, but then quickly let go and took them off. Which didn’t go unnoticed by Aoba. Haruna went down to the trap where Takashi was currently drowning. She embedded the blade deep into her stomach, dragging it across, and once a wide enough slit was made, dug her hands and rummaged around. [Reader] was horrified, threatening to vomit, they left the area and to the pen. There, on T.V, everyone was seeing the small intestinal pieces falling out of her wound. She managed to get what she wanted, the key. She showed it to Takashi who seemed hopeful, but then she threw the key over the trap. The bloody key landed on the floor, by [Reader’s] feet. She got on her knees and smiled, peering over to Takashi. 

“ If I die, you die. At least we’ll be together from now on Takashi, I’ll still love you no matter what you do.” 

With that, the tub was filling up with the both of them drowning in guts. If any of them had to say anything, it would be what the fuck. Unlike the other traps, everyone was fighting or at least putting,as up a fight. Haruna just, not only let him die but also killed herself as well. Seiji started to wake, but by then it was too late. They just left through the open door that revealed itself at the end. [Reader] just sighed, their expression was a defeated one. This was not supposed to go like this but it did. . .how boring. 

When they reached the hallway, they opened the door of the room to see the other group already there. Namie rushed over to Seiji, while Aoba took a seat anywhere. Shizuo was well, in an even worse condition as before but his face didn’t compare to what Mikado and Masaomi exhibited. They were dead, well looked the part. Their faces were extremely pale but somehow their eyes were red and puffy, no doubt from crying too much. Izaya was sitting by himself and Anri, no. . .where was Anri? 

“Hey. . .where is Anri?” 

Mikado looked up and [Reader] instantly regretted that question. He looked like he was about to cry, which he did. Masaomi just threw his head back and hit the concrete wall. 

“Fuck! Fuck! FUCK! FUCK! WHY THEM?! WHAT DID WE DO TO DESERVE THIS!?” 

[Reader] didn’t press for details and yeah they wanted to console them, but they figured that at least for now. This was one of those moments where a hug might sound like a good idea but could make things worse. They all sat in silence, that is if you ignored Namie and her whispers. After a while, [Reader] and Izaya made small talk. 

“I take it, she didn’t make it?” 

“No, she didn’t. Mikado blames himself for her death. What about you?” 

“Haruna gave herself up. Well Takashi was being tested and Haruna was quite literally the key to his survival but she chose to kill them both. I wonder why she did it.” 

“Haruna had always had a twisted form of love, but to put it bluntly. When she was a student he took advantage of her, groomed her, and when he got bored of her she fought back. She went missing for a while, then resurfaced for a bit since then has been pinning after him. I wonder what lies ahead.” 

“Same here, are we going to keep playing until only one survives, or are we all done?” 

“Who knows.” 

Aoba noticed how close Izaya had gotten with [Reader] but to be a little problematic bitch like he usually was, he felt the need to say something. 

“So, what’s in your pocket [Reader].” 

[Reader] automatically paled and Izaya glared at him. 

‘Ah, so that’s what Izaya meant when he said he was preceptive.’ 

This managed to gather the attention of everyone, which was the worst thing to occur. [Reader] gulped down and turned to Aoba, Lying would only seem more suspicious which is exactly what they didn’t want to happen. 

“A key. It’s a key and if I’m right. It’s a skeleton key that I discovered I had since the ending of Saki’s trial.” 

Masaomi perked up at this statement. They fucked up. They know they did, but Izaya didn’t expect honesty though. Figured they lie or try to play it off. Namie appeared amused and with a smile, 

“You’ve been chewing out everyone when you had the means to survive the entire time. Mika’s death isn’t on us, it’s on you.” 

“[R-reader] i-is this true?” 

“I speak only the truth when I say I found it after Saki’s trial but yes, it’s true. I tried to use it with Haruna, but she wasn’t interested-” 

“ I don’t care about all that! You’re telling me, you could have saved Saki this whole time? WE COULD HAVE SAVED MIKADO WITHOUT ANRI DYING!?” 

[Reader] could feel tears threaten to spill, history repeats itself and it does hurt the same as it did before. 

“ I told you, I only found it recently-” 

“LIAR! YOU COULD HAVE SAVED US ALL! H-HOW CAN YOU BE SO SELFISH?!” 

“If I could have saved you, I would have. How could I save Mika when I was in the room with you all, STRUGGLING to find a way out to help. Same with Saki, I hit Namie who was ridiculing Shizuo, I helped Anri and Mikado try to open the door. If I was there, I promise you Masaomi. . .I would have. Now that I have a reason, why am I getting shit on?” 

“ [Reader]-” 

“NO! FUCK! WHY IS IT WHEN I FUCK UP WHEN I HAVE A CLEAR REASON AS TO WHY I DIDN’T DO SOMETHING NOBODY LISTENS TO. I COULDN’T OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR SO ALL OF THEM DYING ISN’T MY FAULT! OH, BUT WHEN PEOPLE LIE, CHEAT, MANIPULATE, OR DO THE SAME THING I DID IT’S OKAY?! I’m just so fucking sick and tired, why is everyone against me?!” 

“The guilty party usually get emotional when confronted-” 

“IS THAT WHY SEIJI’S CRYING? IS THAT WHY YOU’RE ALL SAD?!” 

Everyone perked down. [Reader] was certainly emotional but that’s what made Izaya let out a sinister smile. This shitshow was coming to an end. 

“The moment I saw that key I should have thrown it, but I had hope. Hope that I would get to use it on the people who needed it! Who deserved a second chance! God, I’m so stupid! I should have thrown it away! Fuck! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!” 

Unknown to all, gas was invading the main room. The same gas that had haunted them since the start of the game. Once more, one more trap, and it was all done. Just one more. 

~~ 

When Masaomi woke up, he saw [Reader] sitting across from him. They were wide awake but their expression was one of defeat. They looked mentally unstable. There was no tape in sight and no speakers, it was just the two in a single room with the door to their exit locked. He didn’t know what to say and after a nap, he calmed down a bit. It didn’t erase the events that transpired, but it did make him feel guilty for his accusations. Sure, a key that unlocked any trap was amazing but he knew from experience that there was no use trying to open the steel rooms that separated them at the beginning. Even if they had helped, that door was an obstacle so there was no point in arguing. An apology was in order but somehow Masaomi couldn’t muster the energy to say one or say anything for that matter. 

“Can I tell you something, Masaomi?” 

“Uh. . .” 

“I’m starting to remember a bit, I just wanted to tell you something. Before I moved to Ikebukuro I had a friend. . .” 

A story. Nothing too serious, just a story. [Reader] had a normal lifestyle, nothing too over the top. They weren’t poor, nor were they rich. They weren't the loser club that was being bullied, nor were they popular. They were in the middle, average. Open-minded, but that was about it. They had a friend, a lovely friend. They did what all friends did, gossip, talk, share media like memes, jokes, pictures, watch movies, have sleepovers, join the same clubs, crush over people, even though it was average they loved it and it was theirs. 

“So I met this boy. . .” 

“ A boyfriend, really [Friend]? Your parents will kill you if they find out” 

“Which is exactly why [Reader], you aren’t telling them.” 

“Obviously, but where did you meet them? I thought you hated all the boys at this school.” 

“Well, I was talking to Ari’s group and they introduced me to someone!” 

“Ari? Isn’t she super popular but also well known to hang around gangsters?” 

“ Well yeah, but I promise you he’s different! He’s a real sweetheart, not too bright but he’s not dumb either.” 

“Listen, I don’t want you to do something you’ll regret-” 

“ I won’t! Geez, you sound like my mother. Listen, he’s super nice and sweet. A rare breed compared to Ari’s boyfriend. Listen, Ari said if I was cool enough they'd let me join their group. I know you don’t care much about that but if I do this, I’ll be able to do a lot more for us. Promise me you won’t say anything. Please!” 

“ [Friend] listen-” 

“Promise me!” 

“. . .Fine, I won’t say anything as long as you’re safe.” 

“ I will, but remember don’t tell anyone.” 

Days went by, they stopped hanging out after school because their friend started to go out with Ari and her group a lot more. Their boyfriend was. . .weird. He seemed nice, but their friend would act strange in class. One day after school, they apologized to [Reader] and headed off with Ari. It was a letdown, it had been almost a month since they hit up that dessert shop, and [Reader] planned on taking them, but they chose to hang with Ari. With nothing left to do, they walked home. Their mother was making dinner but noticed that they arrived earlier than most. 

“What’s wrong? You didn’t hangouts,, with [Friend] today?” 

“Nah, they got a new group so they’re chilling with them.” 

“Don’t tell me you’re jealous they found new friends?” 

“N-No. . .” 

“Good, because I didn’t raise you like that. They’re allowed to have other friends, you know that right?” 

“I know that but it still hurts when you forget about your past friends-” 

“Friends come and go, besides you can always meet a new group yourself and then [Friend] would get all upset. Being jealous is not a good look, now get ready for supper.” 

A common occurrence in their household. It’s been a month since they got a boyfriend and [Reader] was certainly worried. They were sometimes missing class, showing up with bruises, sometimes not even having lunch, but hanging out excessively with Ari’s gang. 

“Hey, do you think maybe you should stop?” 

“What makes you say that?” 

“Well I mean, you’re never really there anymore but you also don’t look well. You’re never in class and when you are, you’re covered in bandages-” 

“You’re jealous? Wow. I thought you were happy for me, I’m finally doing something with my identity!”

“You’re putting yourself in danger! Is it, is it your boyfriend? Is he hurting you?” 

“He hasn’t laid a hand on me!” 

“So who is hurting you?” 

“That’s none of your fucking concern!” 

“Is it Ari?” 

“No, she hasn’t done anything to me!” 

“So then who? Who is hurting you?” 

“It doesn’t matter! You’re no longer my friend [Reader]!” 

“[Friend]!” 

With that, they started to hang out with Ari more and her friends leaving [Reader] all alone. [Reader] tried telling their mom what happened, but it was turned into a lecture. 

“[Friend] is living their life, no use looking in the past. Besides, as painful as it is to admit it, sometimes we hold other people from growing.” 

Another pointless conversation turned into a fucking lecture. The last straw was when [Friend] showed up to class with a black eye, it didn’t help that they were avoiding [Reader] like the plague. [Friend] was going to hang out with their boyfriend after school, so they took that chance to go to their house. Their mom opened the door, confused by the sudden appearance. 

“Oh, [Reader]! I haven’t seen you in ages, what brings you here?” 

With that, they spilled everything. The real reason they weren’t friends anymore, their condition, their boyfriend and their desire for new problematic friends. Their family was in shock, that made sense as to why they would wear excessive makeup or come home late. They thanked [Reader] for telling them that and they would take care of it. If only they knew, that following week [Friend] confronted [Reader], well mostly yelled at them. 

“I told you and this is how you repay me!? I did this for us!” 

“How does this benefit us?” 

“If Ari liked me I could have vouched for you! You would have been popular too!” 

“I didn’t ask to be popular!? I was more than okay where I was! You were getting hurt too, I did this to help you!” 

“I didn’t ask you to help me! My parents took my phone, Ari wants nothing to do with me, my boyfriend is in jail, and I might be homeschooled all because you couldn’t keep your fucking mouth shut!” 

‘Ah, so I’m the bad guy. . .?’ 

It didn’t help that [Reader’s] mom made it their mission to remind their child about the situation. 

“What you did was wrong, you don’t break a friend's promise you know! Besides, their mother tells me that their mental health has been declining. Why didn’t you stop to think about what could happen? If something happens, it’ll be your fault [Reader]!” 

After graduating high school, [Reader] began going online and managed to meet someone online, someone by the name Nakura. It didn’t take long before the chatting ensue and the oversharing. The pressure from their mother was too much, deciding enough was enough they took up Nakura’s advice on moving to Ikebukuro. When they did, it was a wild and chaotic time that they didn’t message them for a whole month. They settled in, got a stable job, and after chatting for a bit, decided to meet. 

[Reader] wore nothing too grand, casual clothes but something that fit well with their aesthetic. They were sitting in a booth at a local cafe when he showed up. This all happened in a time before people decided to send pictures or facetime online to make sure they weren’t meeting up with a creepy stranger, but he seemed to look legit. He looked young as well, his hair was well kept and despite the warm temperature, he wore a black parka with fur. Once he saw them, he walked over to them and introduced himself. 

“I’m Nakura, I take it you’re [Reader]?” 

“Yeah, sorry for not contacting you earlier, it had been a chaotic time as of late.” 

“Of course, no problem. Well, what would you like to do?” 

The entire day was spent chatting, walking around Ikebukuro as Nakura showed them around. Towards the end, he took them to a nearby rooftop area. [Reader] was a bit weirded out by it but tried not to pry. 

“This is a place I go to unwind, it’s relaxing isn’t it?” 

“Yeah it is. . .” 

“I’ll be honest. I hated today. You were  horrible company, always agreeing with me or apologizing, really dampening my mood.” 

“Huh?” 

[Reader] was taken back, was this the Nakura they had been chatting with the whole time? 

“You’re just as boring in person as you are online. All you ever say is sorry and agree to avoid fighting, really makes you wonder if your mom held some truth to what she said, wouldn’t you agree?” 

Boy oh boy does trauma pile up. Had they been with their mom the entire time they would have agreed but this was a stranger who they trauma dumped on plenty of times. Enough was enough, after YEARS of hearing the same thing they needed to be heard. 

Getting up they turned to Nakura, 

“I’m done. I’m done with the same fucking shit over and over again, be the bigger person but were they the bigger person first? No! Nobody was! My mother was always giving her input in situations she never experienced, always making it seem like I was the fucking villain when I fucking wasn’t! ‘If they do this it’s on you!’ Like hell it is! I’m not the dumbass who thought popularity was the best thing that I started putting myself in harm's way! And ‘I raised you better, if I want to be jealous I’ll fucking be jealous. I have every right to these feelings anyway! You’re right, I always agree to avoid discussion because what's the point of talking to a brick wall! Always be kind and always be nice, be the bigger person, and put others first, but when did they put me first?? Yeah, I always apologize for being kind and courteous because it was engraved in me that I should always please others, but not anymore! I don’t care if you hated today or if I was boring-!” 

“Doesn’t that feel better?” 

“Boring because who do I think you are, I’m getting upset over someone I met online-wait what?” 

“Don’t get me wrong, it’s still pretty annoying when you apologize for everything but doesn’t it feel better to let your true feelings out? Now imagine if you let it out at that moment. Wouldn’t that feel even better?” 

“B-but-” 

“If you did, that wouldn’t be polite. It wouldn’t be proper etiquette, it wouldn’t be right. Would it? I disagree, I think we pay too much attention to labels rather than actions. Like you said earlier, jealousy isn’t bad. It’s natural, it’s only bad when it makes you act out but having it, in general, doesn’t make you a villain. Humans are so quick to decide what's good and what's bad, what’s proper and improper, what’s human and inhuman. I’m not debating against moral code, but I am saying that we make things out to be bigger than needed.” 

“I’m sorry, are we having a debate about human nature?” 

“I forgot to introduce myself, my name is Izaya Orihara. Nakura is just an online name I use mostly for chat rooms. The thing I love most is human behavior. I love to see humans act in all sorts of ways. I guess you can say you’re one of the lucky few that managed to meet me when you needed it the most. It seems to me that you have a habit of trying to help and please everyone, it wouldn't hurt to hear a no from you once in a while. I can fix that.” 

All in all, it felt like a fever dream. Meeting Izaya. His ideas were strange and it certainly didn’t help [Reader] that they would see him occasionally at their workplace, or on the streets, or at their favorite sushi joint, basically everywhere. As [Reader] tried to understand his behavior, he helped them embrace what he called, the true human. 

“Most humans are afraid or say certain things in fear of being judged or appeasing others. [Reader], would you do me a favor?” 

“No.” 

“There, now you’re getting the hang of it. Most respond with ‘what kind’ and then decide afterward if you were to say ‘no’ right off the bat, well they’d give you a look. Saying no isn’t bad, you don’t owe anyone anything and aren’t entitled to help them. Being honest isn't a bad thing.” 

“So be more honest?” 

“Let me explain it better, I love all humans and human behavior, even the ugly parts we don’t show everyone. Being human, is being able to have free will and choice. I like to observe what they choose to do, what they say, how they act in a certain situation, and more. Both good and ugly sides of humanity, being able to coexist with them is what being human is about. Morals still stand, but being able to act within that range is what makes humans, humans. Act within the full capacity of what you can. Be free, you’ve earned that much by being human.” 

“So make my own decisions within that free range of normal behavior and morals.” 

“You got it.” 

Days passed from that conversation but they still kept in contact. [Reader] managed to meet a lot of people aside from Izaya during their stay in Ikebukuro and it was much easier to communicate with them. Taking in what they learned from Izaya, they were able to stop apologizing as much and agreeing. Offering points here and there that led to an effective argument. They were working a late shift, almost 12  hours in and they were ready to leave. Until their boss arrived and asked if they could stay longer. 

“No.” 

“O-Oh. . .do you mind if I ask why?” 

“I do.” 

“You see we don’t have anyone else-” 

“I understand, but I’ve been here since 8 a.m and I was supposed to get off 4 hours ago, I only stayed because I had nothing better to do and I had to wait for the other worker. I’m done. Find someone else.” 

“L-listen this behavior isn’t-” 

“Would you like everyone to know that you like overworking your employees? I could easily inform the higher-ups that you don’t respect the times you laid out for your employees.” 

“N-no need.” 

“I see. Well then, see you tomorrow.” 

[Reader] left their workplace, but their heart was racing. This certainly was a first. They were so scared, the old them would hesitantly agree and come to regret it soon enough. They liked the idea of being able to say how they felt without their mother hating them for what they did. Turning something reasonable into a lecture about poor behavior. They went to find Izaya who congratulated them on their achievement. It didn’t take long for their friendship to turn into something else, well at least hinted at it. He checked up on them a lot more, went to their work often enough, or dealt with business near them. Picking them after work to hang out with them, observing people. After a few months, Izaya proposed an idea. 

“A game? What kind?” 

“Something extreme, you can consider it a survival game.” 

“Like in those survival mangas and shows?” 

“Something like that. When you dig deep you can find some connection between all of the players or in some cases, it is an unlucky batch. We can set up trials and pin them against each other, their survival at stake or in some cases, someone else.” 

“Where would we get the people for it?” 

“I know some, don’t worry about those details. The main thing would be their reaction during the whole thing. We could give them something, a clue as to why they’re here but I could care less about that.” 

“I get it, you want to observe what they do to survive right?” 

“Bingo. Above all emotions, the strongest one is fear. Fear dictates our lives, we’re too scared to take risks so we miss out on the things we don’t like. Take in case this survival game, humans are naturally scared of death for many reasons. You don’t know what lies ahead, you’re scared of how you die, where you end up, and it’s a spiral. When you put two people against one another in a game where their life is at stake or someone they care so much about, fear takes over. I want to see what they do to save themselves or others. What lines are you willing to cross, can you remain the same person you were at the beginning, and can you accept what you become as a result of it. That’s the purpose of this game.” 

“That makes sense, so Izaya. Do you want help?” 

A whole two years of planning, stalking, investigating, and getting ready. [Reader] looked over at the list they’ve compiled and read the names. They were ready, they memorized their schedule to find the perfect way to kidnap them and put them in the warehouse that they had built for this. As they set up, Izaya gave [Reader] a key. 

“What’s this?” 

“Your test.” 

“I’m going to be put in a trap?” 

“Yes, we all are, however, your trap isn’t physical. Two years is a long time but not enough, your trap is simple. That key will unlock any trap out there. Your test? How long can you go without freeing someone with that skeleton key?” 

“You think I’ll save someone?” 

“Who knows, that’s why it’s your trial. From the people we’ve collected, we have those who look out for themselves and may prove to be more harmful than the trap itself, those who have ulterior motives or have their people they want to save, and then those who want to save everyone. Who knows, maybe one of these players will pull at your heartstrings and you’ll save them. Well, are we ready?” 

“I am.” 

“Perfect, so let the game begin.” 

~~ 

Izaya, along with the others, was starting to wake up but there was no trap. Everyone was still okay, safe, and sound. Free reign to look and explore. It seemed as if they were in the common area of a warehouse. Based on the outside surroundings, they were still in Ikebukuro so they hadn’t gone far. As far as everyone was concerned, all the doors were still locked but they were able to walk freely now. There was a timer on the wall that had already counted down for some time. They only had 15 minutes left. After a while, Izaya stood up, the timer was down to 10 minutes, 

“Alright, I think that’s enough.” 

Everyone perked up at what he said. It was coming to an end. 

“They should almost be done there so allow me to congratulate every one of you guys. You all did a wonderful job on surviving but most of all, a great job entertaining me. This has been fun.” 

“So you’re the one behind this?” 

Aoba replied, yeah there was the emotion behind it but he suspected it already. Namie however was conflicted. Yeah, she had been expecting it to be him but with him being a player it all seemed a bit off-putting. Shizuo was pissed but was right of course. From the beginning, he suspected it was Izaya all along. Mikado saw it coming as well, but he had no strength to do anything. 

“SO IT WAS YOU! YOU’RE THE ONE HOLDING AKANE HOSTAGE THIS WHOLE TIME?” 

Shizuo was walking towards Izaya, 

“Yes, and she is still in my possession. I have a wire on me so if I say the command they will shoot. I’d think twice about hurting me. You don’t know where she is still, so I suggest you calm down. Let me explain it to you, this was just to amuse me and to appease my curiosity.” 

“Why us?” 

“There was no reason, we designed it so that you would assume you were here for a reason. It was all theatrics really, but it made it oh so fun!” 

“We?” 

“Oh, it hasn’t clicked yet? I wasn’t working alone.” 

Masaomi paid attention to [Reader’s] story, but he was beyond horrified. They were behind this. 

“The place is rigged to blow up when the timer reaches 0, but I can’t bring myself to leave any of you here. I know we haven’t known each other for long but, it was nice meeting you. There was no real reason we kept you here, it was more to see your responses and reactions to a situation that was tailored towards you. You beat yourself up for not having the courage and everyone judges you for it. Including yourself. I can’t judge, I ran away from my house because some stranger online told me to. I never would have guessed that, that the person would be Izaya and that we would get so close. Well, whatever. Here.” 

[Reader] tossed Masaomi the key to unlock the door. 

“You already know of my trial, so I failed. I do, however, want to say that I don’t mind saving you. I truly care for everyone, a little too much if I may say so. I’d always agree to prevent things from blowing up in my face, keep promises even when they were harmful, be the mediator between everyone and I’d say this all started because of my mother. When I got older, I started to realize that it was a bad thing but I still couldn’t stop, Izaya helped me though. To accept the ugly parts of humanity.” 

Masaomi took the key but turned to face [Reader] one last time. 

“Are you going to stay?” 

“I have no intention of dying Masaomi. I will, however, flee and never come back. There will be no evidence or record of what happened aside from your memories. I want to say there was a fair chance, but there wasn’t. I’m sorry, I wished we met under different circumstances but we didn’t. I will, however, say one last thing. We all die someday so try to die without regrets. I want to say that fear was a driving factor in some of your decisions, but after seeing Anri, it seemed that she was content with the sacrifices she made to save her friends. Don’t waste that.” 

Masaomi just unlocked the door and left, entering the room everyone was in. Izaya was still safe but he seemed pleased with the events that transpired. He pulled out a remote from his pocket and pressed the button that unlocked all the doors. Nobody wasted a second before leaving. 

“Oh, Shizu-Chan, Akane is in the green storage around the corner.” 

Shizuo wasted no time rushing over to the location. [Reader] left the room and was reunited with Izaya. 

“How did it go?” 

“I gave him a sappy speech and that was it. I expected more of a conversation but at the same time, they’ve been through a lot. Did you get enough footage of what happened here?” 

“I did. Thank you, [Reader].” 

“No problem, also how do you think he’s going to react? Y’know, when he finds out.” 

“ I don’t know but I don’t want to risk a fight so I suggest we leave as well. There is a camera in the location so I should be able to see what happens after. Let’s go, [Reader].” 

They both took their leave to a safe location away from the bombs’ point of impact. Shizuo found the room and wasted no time in busting the door open. When he did, however, he was met with a puppet instead. He was confused but there was a tape already there to do it one last time. 

“Are you piecing two and two together Shizu-Chan? Akane was never captured. I quite like my connection with the Awakusu group so I didn’t want to push my luck with that one. The dummy made a very convincing performance wouldn’t you say? How does it feel to know that you could have saved all those people?” 

The recording was cut short because Shizuo destroyed it. What followed along were screams of anguish and disappointment. The bomb did go off, but nobody was close enough to it so they all lived. Were they all mentally stable? Probably not. Shizuo had to live with the guilt, even though he was manipulated, it didn’t make it hurt any less. Masaomi and Mikado had to continue their life but there was no one there to support them. Mikado stayed in the hospital longer due to his injuries, but both were put into therapy. Namie, well she couldn’t locate Celty’s head so she had to deal with Seiji who also was going insane. Aoba managed to get his mouth healed and went on his own. Everything returned to normal and the warehouse along with the bodies were all burned down so there was no evidence that could point them to Izaya and [Reader] being the guilty party. About three years passed, [Reader] and Izaya were still together, that much hadn’t changed. 

“Hey, Izaya? This whole thing has me thinking again if I were in a trap like Saki, would you save me? Probably not right?” 

Silence. 

“I’d do it in a heartbeat.” 

“Now I know you’re lying.” 

“You may think so, but I mean it. You’re the only person I met that sees me for what I am, a human. You’ve come a long way than you give yourself credit for. You manage to put me in my place when I need it but you happen to see me behind all my antics. I’m serious, [Reader].” 

“Oh, it's still a bit weird to hear that from you of all people but I’m glad. So, when is the next game going to start?” 

“Soon. Patience is a virtue after all.” 

“Say. . .do you wish to play a game, Izaya?”

[thefanficmonster]

An Impostor In Love

Sequel to ‘Love For The Faceless’ (’Body Reveal’)

Corpse Husband x Reader (Female)

Warnings: Swearing (maybe)

Genre: Fluff

Summary: Rae can’t stay mad at her best friends forever. Them being absolutely adorable doesn’t help her ‘pissed off’ act either. Y/N’s outing Corpse like she’s a human lie detector. Corpse is gushing about her every second word that comes out of his mouth. And the rest of the lobby are getting one hell of a kick out of the Among Us romantic comedy - An Impostor In Love

Requested but, once again, not in a typical way. I honestly wasn’t expecting all the positive feedback I got for Love For The Faceless (Body Reveal). I was star-struck! You guys are so amazing I have no words to describe just how much I love you all! Thank you for everything! This story is for all of you 🥰🥰🥰

“Mr. and Mrs. ‘Totally not dating’ have entered the call!“ Sean announces when I hop into the Discord call to play Among Us with the usual gang. I hear Corpse’s laugh from down the hall, bringing a smile to my face.

We’ve gotten used to playing in this arrangement, a few rooms away from each other, ever since we moved in together - Corpse is in his recording room and I am in our shared bedroom. When one dies, they go in the other’s room to troll them. I’m usually the one dead, but that’s besides the point.

“Hi everyone!“ I say in my typical cheery tone before kicking it done a few notches, making it an octave deeper just to say: “Hi Rae.”

The whole lobby laughs, they all know what I’m trying to do here. Everyone’s aware this is the first time Rae is in the same call and lobby as Corpse and I after you-know-which incident. Sure, I’ve been poking sticks at her, waving a white flag and admitting I was wrong several times by now. Who knew my sweetheart best friend could act so cold? I know it’s a front. I know she’s fighting to stay mad. There’s a ton of pressure on her to finally forgive us, but she’s been holding up better than I would be if I were in her situation.

I honestly felt, and still feel, slightly guilty. I know best friends are supposed to tell each other everything. They are supposed to be the first ones to know whatever’s going on in each other’s lives. And I know I broke one of the main rules of friendships, but the decision wasn’t only mine to make. I’m sure she understands where I’m coming from, she’s just giving me and Corpse a hard time.

“Hello, Y/N.” She replies, her tone strictly formal.

“Progress, people! Progress!“ I say joyously, the smile turning into a grin 

“Don’t worry, babe. We’ll get her eventually.“ Corpse reassures me as he’s done for the past week or two. He knew I wasn’t as unbothered by Rae’s anger towards me as I tried to appear - a pro and simultaneously a con of living with someone: they pick up on everything about you. You become as familiar to them as the back of their hand.

“I know, I know.“ I giggle, “She’ll cave.“

“Yeah, good luck with that.“ Rae has dropped the formal tone, now sounding like a stubborn child which is something I’m way more familiar with. I’ve dealt with her tantrums and childish outbursts - I don’t know which number it is, but it’s somewhere in the rule book of friendships - and I at least the approximate meaning behind it. 

Ken puts an end to our friendly, stick-poking, sorta one-sided banter, ushering us to start the game. We all oblige, muting our mics and getting our heads in the game as though we’re about to enter an actual warzone with upmost stealth.

To my dismay, the screen flashes ‘Crewmate’. I head out of cafeteria to do my task in Weapons, staying weary of anyone within my proximity. Once I’m done, I head on down to Shields and complete my task there as well. I cringe when I’m done, knowing my last three tasks are in Electrical. Like, the fuck kind of luck do I have?

I make my way through the halls, running into Sykkuno and we circle around each other a few times to show we’re safe before we each continue our own way. I enter Electrical and.....oh Felix is dead. And oh lookie who’s right there...

I report the body before the impostor can and we all unmute our mics.

“Found him in Electrical.“ I say nonchalantly, “Didn’t see anyone in there though.“ 

“Anyone sus?“ Sean asks

We say our ‘no’s and ‘I don’t know’s and skip the vote. I’m smirking to myself as I head back down to Electrical. Walking in, I see the same person as before - Rae. I stop dead in my tracks and we just stare at each other for a few seconds before she comes towards me, circling me twice, bumping visors with me and venting out of the room.

“You’re welcome.“ I mumble, smiling widely.

I finish my tasks and leave Electrical just as Corpse enters our bedroom, giving me this tired-parent look like he’s half disappointed and half amused. “You just threw the game, didn’t you? Don’t lie.” He raises his eyebrows, fully adopting his parent role.

I giggle, shaking my head, sending him the briefest of glances before my eyes fixate on the screen in utter shock - Sean just killed me. Oh, for fuck’s sake...

“I was gonna come clean eventually, but I guess they won’t hear it from me now.“ I shrug, lifting my laptop and setting it aside so Corpse can join me on the bed. I snuggle up to him immediately, drawn to him as though he’s a human magnet.

“Who was it?“ He asks me, running his hands through my hair in a soothing manner.

I frown, pulling away from his chest to look him in the eyes, “Wait, how did you know I threw the game if you don’t know who I threw it for?”

He smirks, shrugging, “I didn’t know. You were smiling downright evilly when I came in so I just assumed.” He boops my nose. “And you ratted yourself out.”

I narrow my eyes at him, blowing some air out my nose - a gesture that has become my only way of showing anger towards him. I literally can’t even voice when I’m upset with him cause the grudge lasts like .5 seconds. I let him get away with more than he should.

Seeing as how I can’t argue to his statement, I lean back into his chest and pull out my phone to pass the time while I pretend to give him the silent treatment. Among my notifications is one for Rae’s stream. I smile and tap it, being taken to her YouTube channel and her live stream.

Just when the stream loads, Rae finds my dead body in Storage.

“Oh, nooooooo! Y/N!“ She wines as she goes over to it, “Sean must’ve killed her.” She reports the body and unmutes herself in game, “The body’s in Storage. I was on my way to call an emergency meeting cause I saw Sean vent in Security.”

“WHAT?!“ Sean exclaims in shock, “I didn’t! Rae’s lying. I swear I didn’t! I wasn’t even in Security!“

“Sean has been following me around this whole time. Just saying.“ Ken joins the discussion, throwing even more suspicion on Sean.

“We gotta vote someone.“ Charlie says, “Might as well be the most sus person at the moment.“

The voting results show all the little astronaut icons on Sean except his which is on Rae. Sean gets launched into space and the game continues. Having muted her mic in-game, Rae speaks up: “Y/N has been avenged. No one kills my best friend.”

I’m staring at my phone screen, eyes wide, eyebrows raised, a huge smile on my face. I take a glance at Corpse out of the corner of my eye and see he’s just as pleasantly surprised as I am.

“For those of you asking if I’m still mad at her and Corpse, the answer’s no. Actually, I think I was never mad. I was just in shock and a little hurt that I wasn’t made aware sooner.“ Rae says as she keeps wandering around the map, “Then I realized not talking to my best friend hurt more than the betrayal, you know. The only reason I still pretend is because it’s really funny to see her trying to soften me up.“ She laughs, “But yeah. I don’t know what I’d do without her or Corpse in my life. I love them both and love them even more together. My best friends are dating, I still can’t wrap my brain around that! They are sooo cute, you guys! I wish they posted more content of them together. I’m literally simping over their relationship! But shh, don’t tell em I said that.”

I laugh, overjoyed by what I just heard. I knew she couldn’t still be mad at us. I know she has every right to be, but she’s too sweet to actually hold a grudge against anyone ever.

I suddenly want nothing more than to give her an enormous hug and hold onto her for as long as she’d let me. I just now realize how lonely it feels to have never hugged your best friend because you haven’t hung out together in person. The only reason Rae now knows what I look like is because I sent her a full body picture of myself as one of my sad attempts to get her to start talking to us again. We have never met in person, and that thought kills me. It makes me impatient for this pandemic to end even more than before. 

“Told you there was nothing to worry about.“ Corpse’s arms tighten their hold on my body, pulling me even closer which I didn’t know was possible. The most fulfilling and endearing feeling - being in the arms of a loved one. Being held so close and so tightly that you feel like you’re untouchable. Like you two can’t be hurt by anything in the world as long as you have each other.

“Yeah, you were right.“ I sigh in content, putting my phone down and covering his hands with mine, our rings clinking quietly when they touch.

“As usual...“ he whispers theatrically with his lips against my hair.

I playfully roll my eyes, catching glimpse of the screen showing Rae’s demise. 

“Oh no, they caught her.“ I say, a bit disappointed she didn’t win and more than a bit responsible for her defeat.

I somehow manage to convince myself to get untangled from Corpse’s embrace and join the new round. I hear him groan as I settle my computer in my lap, unmuting my mic.

“See ya, kitten.“ Corpse kisses my temple, standing up.

“Oh my God, you two are too cute.“ Poki says sweetly, having heard what Corpse said to me.

“SIMP!“ Sean and Felix shout in unison causing the whole lobby to laugh. Corpse is as red as Rae’s avatar as he exists our room, running down the hallway.

“Ok, ok, ok. Hold on. I have to address this. I really hadn’t stepped foot in Security, let alone vented in there. Rae why were you lying?“ Sean’s voice cuts through the teasing directed towards Corpse and I.

“While we’re on that topic...“ Felix speaks up as well, making me break out in a nervous sweat, “Y/N, you literally saw Rae kill me, but you said you didn’t see anyone.“ He laughs, “Not gonna lie, I was a bit pissed.“

The call falls silent for about five seconds until Rae and I speak simultaneously.

“I was avenging Y/N.“

“I was helping Rae.“

Silence follows our statements, not for long though, as our friends break out in amused laughter.

“Fuck’s sake, you two make a good team.“ Sean says through genuine laughter which Rae and I soon join him in.

Felix and Sean and the rest of the lobby forgive us for throwing the game from both the crewmate and impostor’s side and we move onto another round. This time I have only one task in Electrical which I leave for last as always. I don’t feel like dying right from the get-go. I start by doing the card swipe in Admin and then the fuel task in Storage. As I make my way to Upper Engine, Corpse leaves Electrical, falling in step with me. I immediately get nervous, but still make my way to where I’m supposed to go, hoping he’d go his own way eventually. 

I stay wary of my boyfriend as I do my task, praying he won’t take my head off. When the task is finished, I find I’m trapped in the room with the doors shut. And Corpse right there. With every right and opportunity to kill me and vent. No one would know. No one saw us. 

That nervous sweat is back. 

I’m counting my last seconds of being alive.

And it happens...

A body is reported

“Oh than you so so so much! Corpse was gonna kill me in Upper Engine!“ I don’t let the person who reported the body speak, thanking them for my survival. “I was sure I was a goner.“

“Babe, come on now. You know I wouldn’t kill you even if I was an impostor. I love you too much.“ Corpse hurries to defend himself, “I’m following you around to keep you safe.“

I can tell he’s capping, but I have no concrete proof. He knows I’m onto him. His best bet is having me killed by the other impostor. He might have been capping the majority of his defense, but I know he won’t kill me.

“I’ll vote for myself because of that one.“ I mumble

The vote is skipped except the one vote I placed on myself and the round continues. I follow Corpse around the whole time, making sure he’s completing tasks - not that I can be 100% certain he’s actually completing them.

All is well until we walk into Admin and find Felix there, uploading data. Corpse, dead-ass, goes up to him and kills him, reporting the body right afterwards.

“IT’S CORPSE!“ I don’t give him a chance to start his brainwashing of the rest of the players. “Felix, this is my redemption for leaving your death unavenged last round.“

“Yeah, it’s me.“ Corpse laughs, that adorable laugh of his melting me despite the need to stay strong and carry out my argument, “Just vote me out so I can go troll Y/N.“

“Sounds like a plan to me.“ Ken says, the remainder of the crewmates, and the impostor probably, agreeing with him.

The votes are put in, all on Corpse obviously, and he is sent off into space. Not even five seconds later I hear his footsteps approaching. 

I look up when he pops his head in the room and says, “I have come to annoy you to death with my love for you.”

I can’t help but laugh, shaking my head. The things this man does to me are insane. It’s insane that I let him. 

It’s amazing, really. We’re amazing.

And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I pat the spot on the bed next to me, “I’ll allow it. But only cause I love you too.”

@susceptible-but-siriusexual  @simonsbluee  @save-the-sky  @hacker-ghost  @itsminniekat  @bi-andready-tocry  @imtiredaffff  @jazzkaurtheglorious  @hereforbeebo  @fandomgirl17  @chrysanthykios  @maehemscorpyus  @loraleiix  @letsloveimagines  @annshit  @i-cant-choose-a-username-help  @enigmaticmaze  @divine-artemis

[withcolebrock]

I Drew That

Corpse Husband x fem!reader

Summary: Corpse finds out that Y/N has a drawing of him as her background

Warnings: swearing :)

Word Count: 1,818

Author’s Note: I’ve spent weeks trying to write this piece :/ I just couldn’t find a way to make it how I wanted it if that makes sense but I tried my best. This idea was very cute because I can totally see this happening lol. Especially with like the whole flirty voice thing Corpse has been doing with like Brentman and like James and stuff haha. I hope you guys enjoy it!!

~~~

Tonight was one of the many nights that she was playing Among Us. It had taken over her life, a flood of success followed her once she had played with Sean and Felix. She had gained over two hundred thousand subscribers on her YouTube channel. It had changed her life for the better, in many ways.

For the last three rounds, it had been strict imposter wins. Felix won two of those. Everyone was shocked when it was him the second time, Felix was getting great at the game. The group then decided to switch lobbies because Felix was throwing a fit about getting imposter too much. It was the usual group of Felix, Sean, Poki, Rae, Sykkuno, Leslie, Toast, Dave, Corpse, and Y/N.

Over the last few months everyone in the group had gotten a lot closer. Especially Corpse and Y/N. After the first time they played together, a lobby Sean had created, they had talked for hours after the first game they played. This had continued almost every time they had played  Most of the time, Corpse would be editing his videos while talking with her. It calmed him as he worked. She would be working on her art or scrolling through Pinterest or Tumblr.

They had even FaceTimed several times, where Corpse revealed his face to her. He made a big deal out of it, saying a whole monologue before he turned the camera to his face. She followed in pursuit being very dramatic as well. Whenever they would talk he would play her his music, waiting to see if she liked it. She loved any song he put out, despite it not being her usual music taste.

One night she was scrolling through Tumblr and found an artist who was drawing Among Us players with their little characters. One particular character made her smile and her heart flutter slightly. It was an amazing drawing of Corpse and his little character sitting on his shoulder. It was an art style she was familiar with, she loved supporting smaller artists. It was the cutest thing she has ever seen. Weirdly, it perfectly described him. She loved it so much, she decided to keep it as her phone Wallpaper.

The round started on Mira, where Y/N was a crewmate again. Throughout the whole night, she still hasn’t gotten imposter. “Dammit,” she groaned at the screen. She stood still at the start of the map, waiting to see if anyone would fake tasks at the start. Everyone ran off, not doing them. She quickly followed.

After a long thirty seconds lights get shut off. She ignores the emergency and continues doing her tasks, she stood by the vending machine when Felix killed her. “It’s fucking Felix again!” she leaned back in her chair groaning. She covered her face with her hands. “He’s gotta stop killing me first,” she shook her head. She tried to hide how annoyed she was.

Her body was called by Poki, she was the only dead one. “Oh my god,” Poki said once the screen popped up.

“Y/N no!” Rae yelled, “You guys, she’s died first the last three rounds,”

“Wait really? Oh Jesus, sorry Y/N,” Sykkuo said, a breathy laugh leaving his lips.

“I’ll protect you next round, Y/N, I promise,” Corpse said. Y/N tried to hide her smile and the heat rushing to her cheeks.

“We’ll avenge you, Y/N!” Sean yelled. Soon after everyone grieved her death they began asking each other where they were. Everyone had a solid alibi making it impossible for them to figure out who did it.

“Guys, guys, Y/N died first the last three rounds right?” Toast started, everyone hummed, “Who was imposter these past few rounds?” he explained. Everyone gasped.

“You really think I would kill her first three rounds in a row?” Felix tried to defend himself as the voting time clock turned red.

“You’ve done it twice already!” Sean yelled, voting Felix. Felix was saved since half of the group skipped. She floated around the map trying to get her tasks done quickly so she could talk to her chat without holding back the rest of the group.

She glanced towards her chat, reading a few questions, she shifted her gaze to the game and thought about the questions. “I’ve been working on a cute little animation for you guys, I might do another art stream with you guys. Only if you guys want it, of course.” she read through a few more questions while answering them, while she waited for the meetings to end.

Once all of her tasks were done, she began to talk about her art and fanart. “Yeah, there’s an artist on Tumblr, they are amazing, they deserve so much more recognition,”  she explained as she showed them her lock screen with the drawing of Corpse; without thinking about her chat being curious as to why it was him. Turning her phone back towards her, her eyes widened as realization dawned on her.

The chat began to flood in with questions, begging Y/N to tell them why she had Corpse’s drawing as her background. She chose to ignore the question and continue talking about her own art and showing fan art. Despite trying to change the subject, she sighed dramatically. “Chat, there’s no reason why Corpse’s character is my background, the artist is just good, stop talking about it,” she giggled as the victory screen popped up on her screen.

“Felix what the fuck!” she unmuted in discord. He began laughing as he began to defend his actions. “No, no it doesn’t matter if I know your liar voice, Felix-” After about five minutes of everyone talking the next round started. She was a crewmate again, “I feel like I’m bugged,” she groaned as she started running around doing her tasks. Corpse’s little black character was following her.

“Looks like I got myself a little body guard,” she smiled as she spoke. They walked passed the medbay room, as Corpse moved his character dramatically. She rolled her eyes as they both walked into the medbay room. She didn’t have medbay, but she sat waiting for Corpse to finish. They continued doing tasks together until a body was called. It was Sean’s.

“Y/N’s cleared I was with her the entire time,” Corpse said confidently into his mic. She said the same about him. Poki was acting a little weird during the call, which made Y/N a little suspicious of her.

~~~

When the lights were shut off Corpse was killed by Poki, and he groaned as his body was killed immediately. Poki called out Y/N right away, saying that she was with Corpse the whole time. Corpse glanced towards his chat, finally able to try and read everything everyone was saying. His eyes lit up as he saw her name flash the screen several times.

One person kept spamming the chat saying, Y/N’s has your Among Us character as her background, he smiled as he read it. He knew exactly what the picture was, “Oh really?” he hummed as he continued reading. Everyone was saying how nervous she got when they kept asking her about it. He pressed his lips together nervously. He decided to drop it for now, but he was curious. He looked back up to the screen and began to listen to what was happening during the meeting.

“...You really think I would spend this whole game marinating Corpse for me to kill him in front of Poki? What about that double kill that happened, there was no way I would’ve done that if I was with him.” Y/N explained, over Poki trying to defend herself.

“I think she’s got it guys,” It was down to Toast, Y/N, Sykkuno, and Poki. Everyone quickly voted for Poki. The Victory screen popped up. “I knew you had it, Y/N,” Corpse said as everyone started shouting into the discord.

After a few minutes of them discussing the round, they decided to switch over to Polius. “Hey, Y/N, can I ask you something?” Corpse asked, the group quickly went quiet.

“Sure,” she giggled.

“My chat keeps saying you have my character as your phone background, is that true?” he asked, teasingly. He smiled widely. The entire group started cheering while teasing Y/N and Corpse.

Her mouth dropped open as she tried to find a way to explain it, “Well, uh,” she cleared her throat, “I do actually, it was great art, what was I supposed to do?” she laughed.

“Oooo, someone has a little crush,” Sean teased, Felix quickly joined. The rest of the group was simply laughing along. Corpse stayed silent while the group was teasing Y/N, and Corpse for that matter.

He pulled up Y/N’s Twitter and began to scroll through her feed to find the perfect drawing. He took the drawing that Y/N did of her own Among Us character. It was a drawing of Y/N holding her little character in her hand. It was his favorite piece of art she has done. Mainly because she drew it while on FaceTime with him. He quickly changed it to his iphone background, he glanced back towards the screen, seeing if the game started. He took a screenshot of it and immediately texted it to Y/N.

“Y/N, look at our messages,” he said simply into his mic. The group slowly stopped talking as they waited for Y/N to open the message.

“Corpse, I’m scared,” she whispered, everyone started laughing.

“Just open the message,” he giggled.

She sighed dramatically while she pulled up the messages with Corpse, seeing the screenshot. Her lips fell into a pout as she saw it. “I drew that,” she mumbled into the mic.

“You did,” he whispered, as he felt heat rise in his cheeks. He loved hearing her voice. “It’s my favorite,” he continued.

“Corpse,” she whined as her eyes began to tear up. She didn’t know why, but her heart felt so full. “You didn’t have to do that,” she mumbled, readjusting herself in her chair. She shifted her gaze towards the contact name, Corpseyyy.

“Of course I did, It was beautiful art,” he muttered while he looked back towards his phone, admiring his new phone background.

“Is this..a possible.. New relationship starting?” Sean whispered dramatically into his mic.

“It sounds like it,” Rae interjected. Corpse rolled his eyes dramatically, but he didn’t oppose the idea; neither did Y/N. Rae quickly started the game, letting the tension ease between everyone. Corpse and Y/N got imposter together.

“Oh my god finally,” Y/N said into the mic as she started faking tasks, “Chat, please stop saying I’m blushing, you aren’t helping,” she giggled as she continued the game. She raised her hand to her cheek, feeling the warmth.

[superphantom]

Enthralled with the idea of Danny from Danny legit dies and has a physical corpse but can still kinda be human au and the Winchesters from just regular canon bumping into each other while... hiding bodies.

Three teens carrying a fourth by his arms and legs into the woods. Would they even be able to tell that it’s Danny’s corpse? It’s gotta be pretty much cooked through at that point. Hold on, I’m going to write something rq, apologies for any mistakes/bad writing but the concept is just too fun. If you think so too, go ahead and try your hand at it, this has so many excellent interpretations.

Edit but not really cuz I haven’t actually posted anything yet: I’ve only read back through this once but I’m pretty happy with how it’s turned out, just wanted to add a quick warning for horrific death and descriptions of a corpse and all that. 

--

Digging graves always sucked, naturally. It’s hard to plow through a good six feet of rocks and dirt and bones and whatever other crap might be waiting below the surface (one time, in some backwoods in Ohio they’d hit a bathtub around three feet down. Never got an explanation for that one). But, of course, the muggy pits of July made things much worse.

Sam had shed his top layer in the car, and was now down to a single shirt. He probably would’ve taken that off too, had it not been glued onto his back from sweat. Dean, who’d made a dig at Sam earlier that night for not being able to “take the heat like a man” still wore his flannel over his shirt, though it was beginning to soak through.

Laborious elements aside, what really made grave digging so tedious was the inability to fill it with anything else. It wasn’t like they could play music or anything, when they were in graveyards they had to keep a low profile, and all the other smart places to go hiding a corpse don’t get radio reception. And talking? With the amount of dust and dirt they kicked up, not to mention the work itself, it was more like trying to reason with a bully as they threw sand in your face. Gritty, painful, and overall, not worth it. So the brothers dug side by side with only light from a half-dead camping lantern and the singing of insects to keep them company.

Sam hit a rock with the tip of his shovel to knock it loose from the wall, the scooped it up and heaved it over the side of the grave. It was still only about knee height, meaning they’d have to put in another two hours minimum if they wanted to get the man hidden.

He’d been working with a witch to dodge death as he cheated his way through some shady business dealings. Actually, he’d been fairly easy to subdue- probably why he needed the witch in the first place- but once Dean had yanked the hexbag from where it hung around his stick-figure neck he’d begun to convulse and when he stopped, well, he wasn’t going to start convulsing again. That, however, was a problem for tomorrow.

Sam knocked a few rocks loose this time, letting them pile around his feet then launching them all over his shoulder at once. With the sound of metal clacking against rock gone, he realized Dean had stopped digging and was leaning against the handle of his shovel cautiously looking out into the woods. Sam moved in next to him and tried to figure out where he was looking.

“What are y-“ he asked. Dean shushed him before he could finish, then signaled for him to listen and pointed just past a thick bramble, to a gap between two trees. It would’ve been impossible to spot without years of hunting experience, out about 100 yards away were little moving. They weren’t even shadows, it was simply just movement in the dark. “Dude-“

Dean shushed him again, and shot him a dirty look before pointing more forcefully in the direction of the movement and focusing back in place. He gestured once again for Sam to listen. For a few moments they stood in silence, barely breathing. It was faint, but Sam began to make out what was unmistakably English. a dull beam of light swung around towards them then went back to facing the other direction, effectively re-blacking out the figures. Sam reached back, not taking his eyes off the movement, and now occasional glimpses of light, and snapped off the lantern.

It took a few seconds for their eyes to adjust to the dark. Once they could see each other again, Dean tilted his head to the left, pointed a few times with two fingers in a two directions then held one finger against his mouth. Sam nodded and they both began creeping in opposite directions with the intention of surrounding who or what was having a chat out in the woods at night.

Sam moved as if he were gliding above the forest floor. He could vaguely make out Dean doing the same, though he was now could see Dean about as well as he’d been able to see the... three? He hovered further. Definitely three people (or, by his guess witches), earlier. Now that he was getting closer, though, he began to take note of a few things.

There were three short witches(?) standing fanned out around something slumped on the forest floor, their dying halogen flashlight held limp in one of their hands, flickering sadly. The witch farthest from flashlight-witch and closest to Sam held a shovel, though didn’t make any moves to use it. None of them moved, they all just stood there and stared at whatever was at their feet.

He signaled to Dean that he was going to go in from the front. He was pretty sure he saw the shadows nod to him, so he took that as an okay. Like a mouse on cotton, he positioned himself just far enough into the forest that they couldn’t quite see, Dean doing the same but behind them.

“I- What do we do?” the one holding the flashlight muttered. His nose was awfully clogged, it sounded like he’d been crying.

“I don’t know, Tuck.” The one holding the shovel answered. She also sounded upset, but more like she was doing everything she could to push back tears, a tone that Sam knew very well. “Danny, are you sure you wanna do this?”

The one in the middle, Danny, shook his head. Each of his arms reached across his middle, like he was trying to hug himself, or maybe more like he was trying to make himself look small, trying to hide. “I-“ his voice cracked and he let out a few sobs. The leaves and sticks made a simultaneous crack as he fell down onto his knees, folding over himself and shaking with pure, cutting sorrow.

Flashlight, or Tuck apparently, and Shovel got down beside him, hugging him from either side. They held one another and sobbed, one of them, Shovel, creaking out some pained “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry”’s between wordless wails. From the looks of them, they couldn’t be more than 12 years old. Or maybe they could, Sam wasn’t a pediatrician. They were undoubtedly much too young to be in the middle of nowhere, all alone in a fragile mental state doing who-knows-what.

Sam looked to Dean then gestured with his head to let him know he was going to talk to the kids. Dean shook his head and violently gestured with his gun at the kids. Wait. Not /at/ the kids, beyond them. He’d neglected studying the white-wrapped body in front of them. That explained the tears. He couldn’t help but feel for them, even though for all he knew they’d just murdered someone in cold blood. He looked back to Dean and nodded, then signaled again.

Keeping his gun at the ready, but tucking it behind his back he slowly and deliberately stepped out of the trees, intentionally making noise so they’d see him coming. Tuck looked up with bloodshot eyes and a runny nose. Danny and Shovel tensed but didn’t further acknowledge him.

“Um, hey,” he said, trying his best for nonthreatening and landing at the border of creepy and awkward. “Are you guys good?”

Tuck’s eyes flooded with tears, but he got up on shaky legs, trying to pull Danny and Shovel up with him. They weakly joined him, leaning against one another for support. Despite the warm night, all three were trembling.

“I’m, uh, I’m not here to hurt you,” Sam started, not really sure where he was going with this, “I’m Sam Winchester, what are your names?”

Tuck gave him the same watery stare he’d had the whole time, like Sam was the saddest thing he’d ever seen. Shovel looked up next, she was more angry. Maybe her smeared and ruined makeup should’ve made her look silly, but all it did was add to the aggression she exuded. He could see her squeezing both her friend’s shoulders and tugging them very slightly to the left, wordlessly signaling- or at least trying to- an escape plan. Sam pretended not to notice.

“I just wanna know what happened here,” he inched his way towards the corpse. As he got closer he could smell burnt hair and flesh, another thing he was all too familiar with. He didn’t break eye contact as he squatted down and gently pulled the sheet back from a tuft of what he assumed was hair.

He bit the inside of his cheek upon seeing the boy. Fried was the only word that could describe him. His mouth hung open, as did his eyes- or at least, what was left of them. Ooze had dribbled from every orifice and re-solidified in horrible mauve blobs. His hair was barely more than a charred mess, his skin was peeling and bubbled in places, and so discolored Sam could barely make out the dusting of freckles across his nose. This was a death in agony if he’d ever seen one.

He folded the cloth back over the boy’s head and straightened up, pulling the gun from where it had waited behind his back.

“Alright,” he said firmly, “I’m gonna need some answers.”

Danny looked up, letting Sam properly see his face for the first time. His red-rimmed eyes widened at the sight of the gun, lips tightening into a thin line. It was a look of fear and resignation. He ran the back of his hand across his nose. Sam noticed a dusting of freckles on it. He looked to the sheet and then back to Danny, then checked once more.

“What the hell is going on here.” Sympathy gone, Sam allowed himself to posture intimidatingly. Whatever freaks these- these- these... freaks! were, they weren’t about to get away with cooking some kid alive. “Talk.”

The “or I’ll shoot” was silent, but understood. Danny cleared his throat, one hand rubbed nervously on the back of his neck.

“It- I-“ he stuttered, then in a barely audible trembling voice he said, “I, uh, I think I’m dead.”  

[deafsignifcantother]

me and my husband

♥ summary: having him as a husband was fun until you discovered what he did in his spare time - and all the lives he took.

♥ relationships: asa emory x deaf gender neutral reader

♥ word count: 1,985

♥ warnings: abusive relationship (using fear as a restraint), reader is mute, reactive abuse

♥ a/n: on my past asa post i got a comment (which i deleted) of someone saying "Deaf and listening to music? Hmmm" which - by the way - a simple google search will tell you that deaf people listen to music. and i hope you guys realize that i am deaf. writing these. so if deaf people didn't lsiten to music (if IIIIII personally didn't listen to music) why would i even include that? i'm so pressed sorry anyway here is an songfic LOL

You clench your chest while hiding in your own home. There are so many things running through your mind. You think about the way he smiles and how it always appears like a cocky smirk. Then, there's the way he laughs, a short chuckle, always cutting off as he composes himself. So many things could have alerted you to his danger. Are you stupid for not detecting it before?

The closet has become your safe place. You sit in here, away from your husband as his proud footsteps vibrate the floor beneath you. You can feel where he is. It calms you. He can't sneak up on you like this. That is what you are worried about - him getting you when you are not paying attention. When you had found out about his hobby (hobby, what a simplistic way to describe it) it stopped you in your tracks. The reaction came delayed and the information was too heavy to even consider. When you think back, you are sure that he had tried to confess to you. He had made past comments about how he kept people, but you thought it was a metaphor, and you had brushed it off.

"Ah, but look at the legs." He had once said, gesturing to the beetle on the ground below. "I have made figures similar in my museum."

When you step out of the closet, you silently close the door, breathing as slowly as you can. The air around you is still. When you breathe it in, it feels as if it is going to be your last breath.

He knows that you know. The energy in the house had shifted - from both parties, and it became something hostile. The hospitality within your home had dissipated alongside the smiles he would give you in the morning.

That night, before he undresses himself to slip into bed, he holds a threatening hand to your neck. He doesn't grab it, nor does he even tighten his grip, but the implication is there. He signs with one hand,

"Without me, you are nothing, so don't you even consider forgetting that."

It's true. Your job, your friends, the chance of a future being single, the idea of making money on your own - it's all gone. It has been for a while. Time in the house was all day, every day, and even if you wanted to leave, you had no car to drive. He keeps you here. Keeps you sane, safe, up until now.

"I won't tell anyone." You sign with an empty facial expression. It feels pointless. All of your memories mean nothing to you. With him, now, you feel like a walking corpse; somebody who is already dead.

Your eyes, your body, your brain, and your heart will be gone. Just another body in his collection.

His hand moves up to your cheek, where he pats you, tilting his head in the slightest. "I know."

And after that, he stopped treating you differently. He went back to kissing your face every morning, to leaving the house after cooking you breakfast, to doing all the husband-y things he was doing before. The days went on and on, and you were beginning to get used to the dial back.

But whenever he walks up behind you and places his hands on your hips, you jump. He has gotten quieter - sneakier. Is he planning something?

When you're alone in the house, you eye the phone, wondering if, in another life, you could pick it up, call someone and leave the house without having to worry about what would happen In a perfect reality, you could talk and tell the police everything.

You can't even imagine Asa in jail.

It would be your fault if anything happened to him. Would you be able to deal with that?

How could he even hurt someone? You try to imagine yourself doing it, standing in that museum and torturing someone. You decide that it would have to be for a reason. In that spot, as the evil one, you actually see your place. If someone pressurized your harmony, or if they threatened your life, you would find it in yourself to hurt them.

Does that make you just as bad as him?

For the last couple of years, it has just been you and him. He was all you needed and all you cared for. You didn't notice that he was stripping you of all your relations, your friends and family, stripping you of your independence and the things that made you human. He gave you enough in return. You talked to his coworkers and his students while he interpreted for you. You went on dinners, ones that his job hosted. You were always flashed as if you were a prized possession.

Maybe that's all you are.

You read his facial expressions even closer now. There is always the furrow of his brow or the pursing of his lips that makes your whole body tighten. What will he do if he's mad at you? Will he hurt you?

You try to search in your memory: has he hurt you before?

There were moments during sex where he would slap you, impact play to an extreme, trying to see if you would make any noises. When none came out, he would give up, but that sadistic twitch in his eye would continue to your romantic life.

His hands have a consistent way of touching your body as if he was examining it.

You think about these things while you do the housework, waiting for him to come home from work. Throughout everything: the fear, the sorrow, the guilt, you continue sticking by him. What else could you do?

When he comes home from work, he puts his jacket around the shoulders of a chair, stepping close to you. You can feel his body - his warmth and his touch. Without saying a thing, he rolls up his sleeves and helps you with dinner. When you look up to him he doesn't advert his eyes to look at you. A part of that makes your cheeks warm.

That night, he signed, "It's your turn."

You were too busy gazing into his eyes to even realize he had taken his turn.

It was when you first moved in with him did you bring, in boxes, your board games. Whenever Asa would bring company, he would force you to bring them out, and he would be friendly as he played with them. Now, alone with you, he is being competitive. It's cute. And it's the Asa you have known.

When you move your piece, he eyes your hands, tilting his head at the view. Your breath stops. There it is again: he's examining you, his eyes searching parts of your body as if you were an opulent display.

"What's work like?" You asked, and when he meets your eyes, you see nothing but a killer.

"Same as it has been."

You nod your head, glancing at his hands, trying to think of how many lives they must have taken. Does he choke people? You can imagine that. The thought of him using a gun is beyond you, you've never even seen him hold one. What about knives? His cooking - skilled, far off from clumsy... it is possible that he uses knives.

He lifts his chin. His eyes ask the question: what are you thinking about?

There's a vacantness in the space, the lack of words between the two of you. You are chewing the inside of your mouth, grinding your teeth before you raise your hands.

"Do you use knives?"

He straightens his shoulders.

"When?"

"At your museum."

He smiles. The one that looks like a smirk.

"Throwing knives."

You just nod, your cheeks feeling like the color red. He's a killer. It's true, he admits it, and he doesn't shy away from the fact. But still, in your head, you can't seem to force yourself to be too worried about it. He hasn't hurt you, not unconsentually, and this thought taunts you like a loaded gun.

What do you have to be scared of?

A lot, you remind yourself. He's the danger: the stranger in your house that you need to be cautious of. Yet, ever since he had been revealed to you, he has done little to further the narrative of psycho serial danger. He's still your husband. He's still the one you belong to.

When he walks through those doors, you know you are being loved - whether it is a normal love or deep admiration, one that goes past your heart and your brain, but the body that you live in and the organs inside of you.

That's why, when he comes home bloody, you shower with him before helping him bandage himself. You're the one that ruffles the towel through his hair and against his shoulders, catching the spare droplets. The two of you hardly even talk to each other as you press bandaids against his skin. You kiss each one.

Your lips touch the skin of his bicep, and then you peck upward, continuing to his neck, where you linger in the space between his jaw and his scruff.

His hand falls to your thigh, cupping the side of it, and he rubs the skin up and down. He doesn't move it from there, doing nothing salacious, not without your direct intention stated to him. It makes your heart race. At that moment, you forget about everything violent about him.

But with those kisses, with the way his lips suck on your skin, you wonder if it is contagious. The violence, the wrath, and the war seeped into your skin like poison. You felt it corrupting you: the innocent front you had began to melt away, and suddenly, you were exposed.

Because when one of his victims had broken into your house: your home, your safety net, you did what you knew Asa would do if he were here. You had grabbed a knife, hiding behind a wall, feeling their footsteps as they stepped closer. And when they rounded the corner, you struck them in the face with the back, knocking them down before holding the blade above your head.

You saw them, got a good look, imagining your kitchen tiles as a carpeted, patterned floor and the walls around you as sound-proof lines of metal.

You think about the times Asa had held you behind him when people tried to talk to you. You think about the times he would protect you from the outside world, the ways he would drive himself insane to make sure you were safe.

He did so much for you, and what have you given him in return? A home filled with paranoia and unnecessary caution? It was unfair to him. You have been lashing out for nothing. So, you decide to gift him this: a new sense of ego. A pride, something that cannot be hidden, something that developed from a realization.

In this lifetime, you had one beam of hope: him. With those vows, you both swore to stick together. Through sickness and health, through life and death.

He is your husband and this is the house where you will spend the rest of your life.

When Asa stands in front of the dead body, he places both hands on his hips, tapping his fingers before signing.

"Is the mess for me?"

You are still breathing heavily. He can see it in your eyes, the way they are wide and craved, the way the person's blood still stained your hair and the skin of your cheek. Your serenity is in the dark gloom yonder.

But you argue against him and his assumptions. When he asks you if you are okay, you just smile and nod your head.

"I'm feeling better." You say.

[thefirstknife]

The Fall of a Pyramid Ship

Besties, I have a thought. Many of them actually.

I recently went on a long tangent about how there is a possibility that some time during Season of the Lost a Pyramid will appear in the Dreaming City and we will be bringing it down. That Pyramid will then end up in Savathun's throne world which is where we will be going into it for the Witch Queen Raid. Post with the details here.

The rest under the cut because it's long:

The original post was mostly spurred someone asking about Sjur's dream from the lore on Sleepless. The relevant parts:

"I was dreaming," Sjur says, wiping her mouth off with the back of her hand. "I saw you on a great black triangle. You split it in two with your bare hands."

"Mm."

"And I was dead, I think." She cracks her neck with a deliciously loud pop. "Or… trapped? Like in a maze. But pretty close to figuring my way out."

"Mhm."

Sjur stands up to stretch. She does not mind that Mara is not listening. Let her read. "And there was another woman with you."

"On the triangle," Mara murmurs.

"Mm. Yeah. She was helping. Then your brother showed up, and…" She shakes out her arms, frowning thoughtfully. The dream is already fading. "He said, 'Tropaea.' Or maybe it was, uh, 'Tropical.' Anyway."

I bolded the most relevant sentences. The original post really wasn't about the whole Pyramid business, but I had to add my thoughts now that we know more than we did back when this lore was released. Not only the stuff I mentioned in the post, but also now we know that Savathun is (allegedly) trying to help us defeat the Black Fleet and the same was said about the reason why Mara wants her Techeuns back.

And I was just re-reading lore, as I do, and I remembered something. The lore book Stolen Intelligence details some of the records made by Ikora's Hidden and other Vanguard agents. Specifically, the page Fragment is what caught my attention. In it, an agent FEN-092 (most likely the one, the only, the man, the legend: Fenchurch Everis) reports a strange incident on the Moon:

2. Around 1900 hours yesterday afternoon, I began to experience a crushing headache and excused myself from patrol to recuperate. Though I originally intended to lay down for a nap, I fell asleep instead, and experienced multiple vivid dreams over the next 11.5 hours. In all of these dreams, I was trying to catch up with agent ERI-223 in a crowd. She was always out of reach, whether by 200 m or 20 m. I had the sense that I needed to speak to her.

3. When I woke, I found that my headache had not improved. I prepared my armor and exited my bivouac to find a single stationary Thrall crouched nearby. It stood as I approached, but made no motion to attack me. I fired one shot, killing it immediately. Upon stepping forward to examine its corpse, I saw a solid black fragment of an unknown material embedded in its chest cavity. The fragment resembled a flake or a shard of some larger object, not dissimilar to a high-gain photovoltaic panel.

ERI-223 is Eris Morn. The fragment was peculiar at the time this was released (Forsaken), but now post-Shadowkeep and post-Beyond Light, we can definitely identify this artifact as a piece of the Pyramid. Fenchurch's Ghost also reports:

5. I requested that my Ghost attempt to contain and transmat the fragment for quarantine on my jumpship. He was unable to establish a Light link with the object, describing the fragment as "slippery" and "tiring" to try to catch hold of.

To me, it is most likely that this is literally a shard of the Pyramid, like those little pieces you can see on Europa when a Pyramid scale ripples. But more important is what follows:

8. At this point, I broke protocol and did not request additional backup. Instead, I picked up the fragment by hand and immediately experienced a vivid hallucination: I stood over VIP #0704's shoulder as she dressed a seven-inch gash on agent ERI-223's thigh. Both #0704 and ERI-223 were dressed for combat. Hundreds of fragments of the unknown material hung in the air around us, apparent shrapnel from the wreckage of a nearby ship of unrecognizable make and model. ERI-223 looked directly toward me and said, "Патетическая."

Obviously none of this made any sort of reasonable sense at the time. But now?

"Hundreds of fragments of the unknown material hung in the air around us, apparent shrapnel from the wreckage of a nearby ship of unrecognizable make and model" is a pretty clear hint at what we now know is a Pyramid ship. Specifically, a wreckage of one.

As we've established, ERI-223 is Eris Morn. Who is VIP #0704? As of now, it is undecided. I've done a bit of a search and most of the guesses are 2 years old and they usually settled on it being Eriana-3 OR Mara Sov. I think it's pretty obvious that it's Mara, if we pair it with the Sleepless lore tab.

But there's another link. The lore book The Dreaming City has a page called Letters. This lore book in general is kinda all over the place and details some lore that doesn't really have a place elsewhere, but it generally revolves around the Awoken and characters adjacent to them. There is a lot about Mara, including information about how Eleusinia and the Oracle Engine were created, as well as her relationship with Riven.

Anyway, in Letters, we see several letters written by Eris to various people, but never delivered. We kinda have to assume a lot here because nothing is explicitly named, but we can for sure say that these letters were written by Eris. To whom? It's up to debate. Some of these seem to be for Mara, one is most certainly for Asher and one is most likely for Ikora. The one I want to focus on is one I can't decide where to place but it features a word we've seen before:

Undelivered, burnt.

Патетическая. The swelling of strong sentiment in your chest even as you mourn the world that is and was and will be. I did not go to Mars. I will not go to the Dreaming City. There is only the plan.

"Патетическая" is Russian and it means "pathetic." I'm thoroughly lost on why this is repeated twice as coming from Eris in two different instances. Truth to Power claims that Eris was born during the Golden Age in Russia, but Stolen Intelligence disproves this. Hm.

Either way, there are several things that seem to fit together in all of this:

1. Destruction of the Pyramid ship (Sleepless, Fragment) 2. Eris and Mara involved with some sort of an ongoing plan (Sleepless, Fragment, Letters) 3. A battle that involves a Pyramid, Eris (who ends up wounded), Mara and Crow (Sleepless, Fragment) 4. Eris saying the same peculiar word seemingly completely out of context (Fragment, Letters)

I want to point out something about the Letters entry. It's not chronological. As in, the entries in that lore page aren't all from the past or current plot from when the lore book was released. Observe the final part of Letters (which released in Forsaken):

Delivered.

I have been inside. I have nothing but beautiful and violent words for my report. I will meet you at your throne.

Lore book Letters from Eris, from Shadowkeep, page Regarding the Pyramid:

[DELIVERED, RECONSTRUCTED.]

It's coming, my Queen.

It's coming for US.

We have been manipulated. We are right where it wants us. The Darkness orchestrated its plan magnificently; the Nightmares were so impeccably calculated to draw us in, make us vulnerable, and leave us exposed.

The Darkness plans to use us. We are to do its bidding. I don't know how to stop it.

I detect no fear on the part of our nemesis. We aren't even a concern. We pose no threat.

The Darkness needs a reason to fear our Light, and I intend to provide it.

I have been inside. I have nothing but beautiful and violent words for my report. I will meet you at your throne.

This makes the entire Letters lore page entirely up for debate.

I believe these entries are connected and that both Fenchurch's hallucination after touching a piece of the Pyramid and Sjur's dream are telling us about the same future event that involves Eris, Mara and a destruction of a Pyramid ship. And I absolutely believe that we will see this at the end of the season, considering there's a downed Pyramid ship in Savathun's throne world. Other connecting details are very confusing for now and may have something to do with Savathun's involvement. After all, she also claims to be interested in fighting back the Black Fleet and ends up in possession of the Pyramid.

[justyoursimpleflower]

A Letter of Love, A Letter of Apology

Warnings:- just angst, no fluff, nothing mentions of death, sucide, crying, death eaters. Not the best of me.

Word count:- 2k

A/N:- this is short and not my best of work, I actually list inspiration for it after sometime. The gif belongs to its respective owners I got it from Pinterest.

July 12th 1978.

Lily was sitting in her apartment that she shared with Marlene and Alice, drinking a glass of wine. Who cares if it's ten in the morning? She wanted to, so she poured herself a glass. Last week had been hectic for Lily, moving out of Hogwarts, and then James proposing her, healer training and so much more. It was as if she didn't even get a moment for her.

It had been not so long since she left Hogwarts, though it felt like a distant memory. Getting out of Hogwarts, joining Order, leaving some friends, leaving some memories, leaving-

"Lily!"

Marlene's voice broke her out of her thoughts, no one knows what would have happened if she hadn't broken her out of her thoughts, she didn't need to go back to those thoughts.

Turning around she saw a horror struck face of Marlene, immediately rising panic in her mind. She left her glass of wine on the railing of the balcony, she rushed to Marlene.

"What is it?" Her voice was heaved with panic, a million of what ifs swirling in her head.

"Another attack." A gasp left Lily's lips, as the words came out of Marlene's lips. Another attack. Another death. Another pain for the people.

But something was different in Marlene's eyes. It wasn't the usual, hatred or sadness at the name of attack, her eyes were teary. Assuming the worst Lily whispered,

"Who?"

"Y/N"

At that moment Lily wanted nothing more than the ground to swallow her or the sky to fall on her. Tears started streaming down her eyes, her heart felt heavy, her mind went fuzzy. Lily couldn't hold herself anymore and fell to her knees, sob racked her body. She was now crying completely, Marlene kneeled herself in front of Lily and held her in a hug. Rubbing her back, she kept whispering,

"I know, I know, she was my friend too."

She didn't know. No one did, and that pained Lily more.

Collecting herself up Marlene made Lily look up, the pain in Lily's eyes was breaking her too but she was supposed to take her for the mission, they can mourn later, but they had to go now.

"C'mon Lils, it's time to go, we have to investigate the place."

Lily didn't even hear her, she was feeling only the voidness she had pushed you into. It was all her fault, you didn't deserved that, maybe if she had never pushed you till there, you would still have lived.

She felt a hand shaking her. Marlene. She wants her to come and investigate the place you took your last breath. She didn't even has a choice in this. She had to. Slowly, she stood up and nodded her head.

Marlene clasped their hands together and they apparted to the small home. It was just like you used to describe, Lily had never visited your home but she knew how it looked, you had painted a perfect picture of it in her head.

James was already there, he, Lily and Marlene were to investigate the place for any traces of Death Eaters. He saw Lily looking broken, his heart broke too, he knew that you and Lily were good friends, but the look in Lily's eyes was pure sorrow.

He was quick to his feet and reached to her, he enveloped her in his arms. Lily's arms never went around him, she just started sobbing on his shoulder, she knew what she was doing was betrayal but how could she stop the pain, coming in the form tears.

"Shh...calm down, love."

Knowing that if she didn't stop now, she won't for long, Lily removed her face from James' shoulder. She gave him a weak smile and nodded her head towards the house, signalling him to enter. James was hesitant but entered anyways, his hand still holding Lily's.

Marlene was standing in the hallway, looking around the pictures, in case any clue. Lily and James joined her and roamed their eyes on the pictures, your smiling face, their joyful days, everything, in the most perfect way. And here are they, falling down by the insurmountable grief, mourning your death, investigating your house.

Lily was slowly breaking, the more she looked at those pictures the more suffocating became the pain. She felt like she's betraying everyone, you, James, her friends, herself.

James rubbed her back and gave her a sad smile, she smiled back but it was genuine, not anymore at least.

"I think we should seperate. Marlene you check the kitchen, I'll go for the living room and Lily you should check bedroom." James said, nodding they all seperated.

When Lily entered your room, everything was mess. Maybe you came here to hide from the death eaters. Shaking the thought from her head, she started looking for any evidence that Death Eaters came.

She flipped the pillows, she racked the desk, she looked in cupboard, but she found nothing. Sighing, she sat on your bed, looking around the room, the mess she made.

Lily's eyes landed on the drawer beside your bed, knowing she won't anything she almost didn't check but something in her was telling her to, believing her instincts, she opened the drawer to find it empty except an envelope.

She was going to leave it when James' voice called her but in the end she turned and stuffed it in her pocket. She reached the living room to find James and Marlene there.

"Did you find something?" Marlene asked.

Lily's hand touched the envelope in her pocket, but she shook her head. She can handle this alone, and she would.

Marlene and Lily apparted after that to their apartment, and Marlene left Lily's side saying, she wants to rest but Lily knew better, she knew that Marlene only wanted to grieve alone, she was never the one to show her emotions openly.

Lily entered her room, and changed into more comfortable clothes. As she sat on her bed, she took out the envelope and looked at it. She turned it few times to check if there was anything she could understand by it, when she found no signs, she hesitantly opened it. Inside it was a folded parchment, no doubt a letter. Lily didn't want to pry but she found herself opening it. So, she started reading.

Dear Lily,

I don't even know if I have the right to call you that anymore. You seem distant more than usual now, I knew it be bad but...this is unbearable. It's eleventh of July, it's my birthday tomorrow, but I think you wouldn't remember. I don't want a lot from you, I would just address this letter and send this to you, just want an acknowledgement from you that you read it.

It's been such a small time but it feels like an eternity when we used to meet, secretly, it hurt me that you didn't want to be seen with me but no worries, no hard feelings, it atleast gave me some thrill.

Okay, no more small talks, I would just tell you want I want to know.

Lily, was it necessary? Was I that bad? Even on my worst day, did I deserve the hell you gave me? What changed?

You promised me, didn't you? You promised me an infinity, but here I am dying slowly, why? Because I can't take this anymore. Till the time you'll find it, I would be long gone. Away from you, away from everyone, away from everything. Look at me, what a coward. I didn't even fight, for the better world. I don't even have it in myself to go with grace, and you are a hero, flying around saving faces.

Our love was calamitous, we were never meant to be, but Lily I hope you live happily.

I won't say don't grieve on my death, do, atleast that'll assure me that even a little, sometime, you loved me, I meant something to you. But Lily, did I actually?

I am happy for you, happy for James that he finally got you. I am happy for your upcoming future with him. Say yes to him, he is a nice guy. Or atleast better than me.

Do you remember our first kiss? Everyone was drunk that night, so drunk that it took two vials of hangover potion, per person to make their headache go. You didn't drink that night, I did but not too much. We both were sitting near the fireplace, you asked me what kind of person was I interested in, I was hesitant, cause to me, you were the only person I had even thought about having romantic feelings. When I didn't answer, you put your hand on mine, I turned around and saw the fire reflecting on your face. You truly were a blessing for eyes. We didn't notice that we leant towards each other until our nose bumped, you initiated the kiss, your lips were on mine, all I could taste from them was strawberry chapstick. Our lips touched softly first, then your tounge swept across my upper lip, my mouth opened on its own, and you took over the kiss, just like you did with my mind, my heart and my soul.

Just like you took over the kiss without me noticing, you took over my life. I was so in love that I never noticed you slipping away from my fingers. But now, I want to tell you that I love you.

I love you, for the best and worst, till my last breathe, until my end. Wish I could tell you that.

I fought with my inner demons, but maybe they were stronger than my love for you. Just so you know, it not entirely you, its me too.

Yours truly,

-Y/N

Tears ricocheted on the parchment, Lily was more than ever broken now. This is what she caused. Death Eaters were not the ones who killed you, you killed yourself, because of her. A sob wrecked her whole body, was she such a bad person?

She loved you, she did but she knew her family would never approve her relation with you, you weren't some

Questions pondering in her head, Lily didn't noticed when she drifted off to sleep.

The next morning was glum, no one talked in the whole apartment, everyone was getting ready for the funeral. It was going to be a really small one, only family and close friends.

Just like that the funeral was over, everyone was quietly talking to each other. James was talking to Lily when he noticed the jewel on Lily's neck,

"Lily, is it the one Y/N got you?"

Lily slowly nodded, she felt hollow, you were the dead one but Lily felt like a corpse.

James sighed and said,

"At least Y/N died a hero."

The furrow between Lily's brows told him that Marlene didn't actually told her the truth, so he said,

"Death Eaters, Y/N killed them but a killing curse during the end..."

That's when it clicked in Lily's mind, you never gave her the letter, meaning you were still contemplating your decisions but till then the Death Eaters...

Slowly, everyone started to return back and towards the end it was only Lily left. She made her way to the grave and fell to her knees, tears started falling, she cursed herself for not telling you how much she loved you. She cursed herself for not one more time telling you how brave you were.

She put the envelope on the grave and left without any other thought. It killed Lily, that she did that but she couldn't do anything now.

The envelope remained there for years, was it the love behind it or was it something else, it was always there, with two words written on it,

"I'm sorry."