#or hell just block me without a word I am kinda.. over the phase where I'd react painfully to that

[katyspersonal]

[narnie3313]

Let Me Burn-Chapter 2

Genre: Angst, Fluff, Romance, Eventual Smut

Warnings: Language, Violence, Explicit,etc....

Summary: The moment you saw those piercing eyes in the corner of the club, you knew you were hooked. There was never a question about it…You knew this man would burn you, yet you embraced the flames.

Pairing: Dabi x reader

Chapter 1  |  Chapter 2  |  Chapter 3

“It’s you….who are you? Why were you watching me? Who are you? What did you have to do with all this?” At this point you didn’t care that you were rambling and repeating yourself, you were too lost to care.

“I wont hurt you. I put you in the room so you didn’t get hurt. I’ll ex….”

“YOU put me in the room? Why? When? Why don’t I remember?”

“If you’ll shut up for a minute I’ll explain everything but I need to get out of here and I want you to follow me. If you don’t, you wont get your answers and you’ll never see me again.” Without another word he turns around and steps towards the door.  

Shit. I don’t need to be involved in this. But I need to know what happened…I need to know who he is. You turn and quickly snatch up your belongings and follow after him. The front door is gone….a hole where it used to be. That must be what the explosions were before the blue light… You walk out into the cold night air, feeling it more than usual because you would usually be drunk going home so wouldn’t feel the cold breeze. You try to stifle your shiver as you follow the tall man in the black trench coat. What the hell am I thinking. This guy looks like a textbook serial killer or some shit….my mother would kill me. You sigh and shake your head. But something about him feels….safe? He saved you from whatever happened in there and those eyes of his hold too many secrets that you cant walk away without unravelling. I need to know.  

You’re not sure how long you’ve been walking but you keep about 5 paces behind him at all times. It’s not until he stands in a side alley holding a door open and staring straight into your soul again that you notice you’re far away from the regular bright lights and busy streets of the city. He looks from you to the door as if telling you to go inside. You slowly move towards him and look straight into his eyes questioningly then move inside the door and look around. It’s not what you expected at all. You’re led off the street down a short hallway into an elevator where he presses the highest number. As the elevator begins moving, you can feel his stare on you while you’re just looking at your hands. You allow your gaze to move up his body towards his eyes, admiring the body under his open coat. Tight jeans show the curves of his calves and his muscular thighs but his loose singlet shows his collarbones and strong neck. Moving up to his face, you notice his scars, once again feeling drawn to them as if they were magnetic to you. Paying close attention to every one of the staples in his skin, your eyes move to stare into those endless blue pools again only to find him trailing his gaze over your body that you had all but forgotten was only covered in a skimpy black dress.  

“Enjoying the view?” You ask with a roll of your eyes, hoping he’ll ignore the fact that you’d just been doing the same thing to him.

“Could ask you the same thing, sweetheart.” He says with a small smirk as his eyes come back to meet yours.

“Where are we? Where are we going?”

“One of my safehouses. You wanted answers so I’ll give them to you. But I had to get out of there before the cops and heroes got there.”

“What are you, some kinda hit man or some shit? What normal person needs a safe house?” You say as the elevator doors open with a ding.

“I’ll answer anything you ask soon. You’re cold and still in that little dress so go take a shower first and I’ll set some clothes out on the bed for you to warm up first. When you’re done, come out and we’ll talk.”  

“You’re serious? 1. I don’t know where those clothes have been. 2. I’m not just gonna get naked in a strangers apartment and 3. I don’t even know who you are.”

“You don’t have to trust me but you’re safe here. Why would I save you just to hurt you? Seems like a waste of time don’t you think?” He says with a tone of disinterest.

“I guess…” You say as you walk away into the bathroom he pointed to. You couldn’t deny, you were really, really cold. The winter air on the street certainly hadn’t done you any favours.  

You spent longer than you care to admit searching every possible spot for a camera or something suspect but gave up when you found nothing. You got in the shower only after making sure the door was locked like 3 times and allowed the hot water to warm your cold body. Once you were done, you wrapped yourself in the fluffy towel and unlocked the door to peek into the bedroom to see if he was waiting for you. Surprisingly he wasn’t….although not all that surprising. Despite the abnormal appearance that may have frightened anyone else, you weren’t phased by the scars….they weren’t what drew you in, and for some unexplainable reason, the moment you laid eyes on him, you knew you were a goner.  

Warm and dressed into a set of what you guessed were a pair of his sweatpants and hoodie, you walked cautiously out the bedroom door and entered a large, open plan living room/ kitchen surrounded by large windows over looking a dark part of the city. You weren’t sure exactly how high you were but you could see where the city centre was from the bright lights a few blocks away. You looked around for the mysterious man you’d allowed yourself to be taken by…I can’t even say he kidnapped me. Damn it y/n, why do you make stupid choices? Why are you like this? You place the ball of your hand in your eye socket and throw you head back in frustration. You’d made stupid, dangerous mistakes before but they paled in comparison to this. This takes the cake.  

“You know,” that husky voice sounds from to your right, sitting in an arm chair watching you. “Most women wouldn’t follow a strange man home. Do you have a deathwish?”

“I don’t know. I needed answers about what happened and….” You look back down to your hands.  

“And…?” He asks, cocking a brow.

“And……I can’t explain it but….I feel safe with you. Your eyes tell me there’s more to you.”

Your eyes are still on your hands in your lap so you miss the way his eyes widen with shock at your words.  

“I’ll answer whatever you want honestly.”

You’re not even sure what to ask first. You look up at him through your lashes. “Why did you save me from….whatever it was that happened back there?”

“I don’t actually know. Something about the way I was drawn to you the whole night and then the way you approached me and touched me without even a touch of fear in your expression….I knew I had to see you again.”

Your face flushed at that. “Ok, so, you were watching me the whole night?”

“Couldn’t keep my eyes off you, doll.” The way the name rolled off his tongue had your body heating up from within your core as his eyes noticed the change in your breathing and smirked.

“Ok….then….who are you exactly?”

“Dabi.” Your heart sank as each syllable of the name rattled in your brain. Dabi. You’d seen that name on the news. Extremely dangerous, do not approach. Yet here you were sitting in his living room. Your eyes widen slightly, not knowing exactly how to react. The news articles never specified what he was wanted for, just that he was dangerous. But this man in front of you seemed so…..soft? Despite his appearance he just radiated gentle vibes. What the hell is actually wrong with you, y/n? First thing, 9am, I’m booking a therapist.  

“I’m guessing by that reaction, you know who I am.” He sits forward, slouching and resting his elbows on his knees at that statement. You shake your head gently. “No?”

You look up at him with gentle yet cautious eyes. “Well, I mean…I’ve seen you on the news. Wanted and dangerous was all they say so no, I don’t actually know who you are, I just know OF you.”

He can’t help but smile at that. “Hmm.” He sighs, leaning back lazily in his chair. “You’re interesting. You know my name and that I’m wanted for reasons unknown to you but bad enough that they say my name more than twice a day on national television, yet you’re still here, sitting in front of me, without running or looking at me in horror. Why?”

“Well, all I can think about is how you’ve had literally every chance to hurt me but you haven’t. You could have in the club, but you put me in the room away from whatever happened there. You could have while I was looking in the locker. You strike me as the kind of person that would be quiet enough on your feet not to get caught if you didn’t want to be. You had heaps of chances while walking the dark, empty streets here. Hell, you even had me in your bathroom and bedroom where no one would have ever known where I went and you still did nothing except offer me a shower and clothes… I don’t think you want to hurt me. Then again,” you say throwing your hands up and shrugging, “maybe there’s bigger, more torturous plans for me.” You say with a giggle as you watch him smile slightly. “Look, I don’t know why you’re being nice to me or whatever, but thank you. The next question I have is, what actually happened to the club? And why did I pass out while watching you?”

“Both questions I don’t think you’re going to like the answers to.”

“I need to know.”

“Ok. The club was broken into and robbed by the team I’m involved in. That club was actually a front for a black market. They had the biggest stash of priceless stolen items in the city in their cellars. My group needed the money so we took what we could grab and destroyed the rest of the club as a message to the owner. As for why you got passed out, I’m sure you would have been hot from the dancing and the body heat of the dance floor and its not uncommon for people to pass out from heatstroke in events like that, but I’m pretty sure what sent you over the edge was my flames.” As he says the last word, he rotates a hand to rest on his knee palm side up as a small blue flame dances in his palm. “My flames burn way, way hotter than most so it would have knocked you out since you were so close.”

You were mesmerised by the flickering blue light in his palm still, until he noticed your dazed expression and closed his hand into a fist, extinguishing the flames. Shaking your head, you look back at him. “So that’s what the blue light was?” He nods. “Ok. There’s one more question, but I’m afraid to ask.”  

“You want to know what happened to all the people in the club.”

You can only bring yourself to nod, still looking into those glowing blue eyes.

“The flames I released that you saw were aimed for gas canisters being thrown above the crowd. The gas knocked everyone out. Another one of the group teleported all the people into separate areas of the city except for the owner and the people in on the market. When we got what we needed, I used my flames to torch everything that could indicate we’d been there without letting them spread to the outside so no one showed up until daylight.”

“You’re very calculated. What happens to me now? You said you saved me because you had to see me again… but what does that mean? What do you want with me?”

“I don’t actually know about that yet. I’m not evil. I don’t do things just to kill and maim people and I certainly don’t want to hurt you. I can let you walk away and return to your day to day life since I know nothing you could say to anyone would get me caught anyway, but you’re interesting. I want to unravel you.” Keeping his eyes on you, he stands up and takes 3 large steps towards you, stopping when his toes meet yours. His hand reaches out to your face as his thumb and forefinger cup your chin, tilting your head back slightly. “I want to know what’s going on in that brain of yours…” He leans down till you can feel his breath on your ear, causing goosebumps. “I want to know what makes you tick.”

Now, you couldn’t deny this man was enticing, for lack of a better word, but you also weren’t easy. No matter how hot this man was, you still knew he was dangerous and weren’t about to give it up that easy.

Placing your hands softly on his chest you pushed while leaning back to put some space between you, just enough to give him a smirk. “You’ll have to work a lot harder than that.” With that, he stood back upright and chuckled.

Author note: Ok, chapter 2 is up. I’m currently working on chapter 3 but will also be off grid this weekend (8th August - 10th August) so next chapter should be mid next week but don’t hold me to that. As always, let me know what you think as feedback is always extremely appreciated! Thanks for reading!

[capricornus-rex]

Two Sides of the Coin (15)

Chapter 15: Forged Bonds | Jidné Sheedra x Cal Kestis

Summary: Hell-bent on exacting revenge and retrieving the Holocron, the dreaded Darth Vader is now on the hunt for the young Jedi Knight, Cal Kestis. Under the assumption that he still possessed the artifact, while fueled by the intrigue of the boy’s strength and skill with the Force, the dark lord hires the bounty hunter, Jidné Sheedra, to track him down and have him delivered alive. However, the task becomes a trial for young Jidné, as she faces a conflict that tests her beliefs of a scarred past she had hidden for so long.

A/N: Prepare yourselves for some wholesome Master and Apprentice fluff~ UWU

Also tagging @silver-is-in-too-many-fandoms​ @justtinfoley​ @berenilion​ @stellar-trinity​ @peterwandaparker​ @calgasm​ @queen-destenie​ @cal-jestis​ @ayamenimthiriel​ @calsponchoemporium​ @fallenjedii​ @sweeetteaa​

Also in AO3

Tags: Fem OC, Jidné Sheedra, Force-Sensitive! Fem OC, Bounty Hunter! Fem OC, Jedi! Fem OC | Special tags for this chapter: Initiate Trials, Apprentice Tournament, Nomara Anesh, Jedi Master! Fem OC, Togruta! Fem OC, Force Bond, Master and Apprentice, Youngling! Jidné

Chapters: 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10 – 11 – 12 – 13 | Previous: Part 14 | Next: Part 16 | Masterlist

15 of ?

25 BBY

Nomara afforded a whole day to meditate in the designated chambers within the temple. Lately, she has been having visions, though indistinct, and she could hear sounds but can’t completely understood what they’re saying. However, they weren’t negative feelings and yet they still intrigued her—motivating her to pursue the reality of these visions until they’re as clear as the things she sees with her naked eye.

Master Loriq joined her, settling himself on the seat across hers. He brought his legs up on the cushion and crossed them together, he sat with a venerable poise that made him appear respectable and noble. Despite his nearly-silent entrance, Nomara continued to meditate unable to acknowledge the man who went into the room; her former master found a serene expression on her face—remaining very still and relaxed, the only movement he caught was the rise and fall of her shoulders as she breathes.

Not meaning to interrupt, Loriq sensed the conclusion of the young Togruta’s meditation.

“Your thoughts dwell on the child, Nomara,” he uttered out of the blue.

“Frankly, because of the promise I guaranteed to her mother, Master. There is also another thing,” her response caused the older Jedi to shift in his seat, leaning an inch forward to listen closely. “It’s likely that her strong connection with the Force factors to it, but in a way I can’t really explain… Perhaps, to simply put it, I feel like I am the only one fully aware of her capability and potential as a Jedi.”

The old master gave himself a moment to ponder on this. He slightly slouched, propping his elbow atop his lap as he rubbed his bearded chin.

He smacked his lips, “The Force bridged your and Jidné’s energies, perhaps it began the moment you discovered her.”

This response caused Nomara’s head to slightly bob sideways and her eyebrows pulled with a hybrid of confusion and fascination.

“But Master Yoda said attachments are forbidden,” Nomara counter-argued.

“The Force linking you and child together is an attachment in a certain point of view, but not in the exact same definition the Jedi Masters in the Council believe in—the kind that they forbid. I wouldn’t deny the ways of the Force intervening with any occurrence at all, I’d like to think it is its way of communicating to us without the need of words.”

“If you look at it that way, Master, that kind of does make sense. Just a bit too much to wrap my head around it,”

The old master chuckled at the comment of his apprentice, she is still young and has a long way to go—both as a Jedi and a Seeker, he hoped that her post as such would allow her to see things in various perspectives.

“Nomara, if we sever ourselves from our feelings—whether towards ourselves or others—what does that make us then? The living Force is all about connecting those around you. It may be difficult to comprehend today, but you will soon. That is something the Jedi are lacking in virtue right now.”

“You’re lucky you’re confiding this only to me, Master Yoda and Master Windu would strongly disagree with you,” the Togruta meant that as a half-joke to which Master Caius received positively and agreed with.

“Even Master Qui Gon thinks likewise. If I could name all the Jedi who think similarly like he and I, perhaps the count could only fit within my one hand,” said Master Caius spoke in a dismal tone, somewhat hoping that there were more who wouldn’t dismiss his perspective as odd and “not the Jedi way” as some called it.

“I hope to become as open and wise about the Force as you are, Master,” Nomara consoled.

Loriq quickly zones out of his somber trance and then places his hand atop his apprentice’s shoulder with such affirmation, quickly squeezing it as they both shared small, sober smiles at one another. He excuses himself and prepares to leave the room in Nomara’s solitude.

“Master, another query,”

The Togruta stopped the man from getting closer to the door. Master Caius angles his entire body to face his apprentice.

“What is it, Nomara?”

Nomara had the words piling at the tip of her tongue already, she thought it was a bold question, and so she took a deep breath before speaking it out.

“If I were to become a mentor…” she trailed. “I hope to be as good as you.”

Her words intrigued the master, but it warmed him as well. He sensed that she yearned affirmation when she said those words. The old master had an inkling of her motive between the lines of her sentence, not once did he shun her for her ambitions or aspirations, in fact, he supported and encouraged her greatly—something that he found nearly absent amongst the Jedi.

“Worry not, Nomara, I believe you are more than ready than you think,” and with that, Master Caius gave a slow yet curt bow at the Togruta before departing the meditation chamber.

During one of the Initiates’ Training, Yoda personally visited the stands and observed the children. Jidné in particular seemed to have shown great potential—she was both athletic and nimble, her lack of brute strength against the bigger children were compensated for her dexterity.

Her performance has impressed the mentors, but one of her most prominent traits is her innate impulse to help those in need. Nomara spotted Jidné helping her two friends, Brese and Leane, in the middle of a practical application phase of the lesson.

“Bend your knees a little like this, Leane, that way there’s more balance for you!” Jidné coached.

“So…” Leane mimicked Jidné’s posture, lightsaber in hand. “L-Like this?”

“That’s it! You got it!” the girl squealed and quickly resumed her own stance.

“Kinda makes it less likely for me to fall off!” Brese added, Jidné agreed to the young Nautolan boy and then passed that knowledge to Leane.

The three younglings then faced their individual training spheres. They managed to block and deflect the non-lethal yet stinging blasts of the hovering balls, the three of them celebrated briefly but Master Yoda—who was today’s proctor—decided to challenge the children. With one hand, he summoned a number of large helmets that were too big for the younglings’ heads. Using the Force, each and every helmet was worn on their heads by Master Yoda’s whim.

“How are we gonna see the targets?!” Brese exclaimed openly, speaking for everyone in the room.

“The Force will guide you! Your surroundings, it connects you to, hmm.”

There wasn’t exactly any room for argument there. The younglings prepared themselves, the once tight and confident grips around their sabers became shaky and clammy—their self-esteem was left in the dark when the visors came down.

Some of them managed to deflect the shots, but only for a few times or so until they were stung in the arm, shoulder, or leg. The others never resumed the proper stances anymore, they simply stood erect while waving their lightsabers in the direction of the training drones. Jidné, on the other hand, buckled herself slightly—she was still unsure on where the drone was going in front of her, sometimes her saber doesn’t even go in the same direction as the drone does, but she remained focused.

In the last minute, she was able to deflect one shot. The drone zoomed to its upper left, Jidné turned her head to that direction—despite being virtually blind—and waved her saber around, antsy for more shots to deflect. It was a bit of a stretch, but she hoped she’d be given a barrage of it—that’s simply her being overly-excited with the thrill of success.

“Ow!”

Jidné’s clean streak of four blocks was cut by the fifth shot stinging her shoulder. Nomara—along with the other Jedi visiting the stands—examined Jidné’s demonstration. The whole time, the Togruta was stricken with the child’s progress over time. The youngling seems to have honed her lightsaber skills, even though they’re most probably still learning Form I: Shii-Cho.

At that moment, Nomara Anesh has fully made up her mind.

—–

24 BBY

The most opportune time for Nomara to speak up has come.

She waited outside the Council’s door, patient and impatiently at the same time. The longer she stood by the door, the more anxious she became. She rubbed her clammy hands together until the warmth fizzled out the jolting nerves underneath her skin.

The hiss of the door startled her, no one was there to greet her in, the door opening by itself gestured her to come in the Council Chambers. Nomara had only gotten a few paces into the chamber, from there she found all of the masters in their respective seats, her eyes quickly surveyed and named them mentally one by one.

She put herself in the center of the room. All of the masters gave either a piercing glance or an inquisitive, gentle one—Masters Aayla Secura, Shaak Ti, Plo Koon, and Yaddle to name a few, were the latter.

“Seeker Anesh,” initiated Mace Windu, a quick gesture of the hand served as his greeting.

She bowed to return the acknowledgement before speaking her piece.

The green, sage Jedi Master slowly lifted his eyelids and then angled his head up to acknowledge Nomara’s presence—even though he already has when she stepped into the room.

“A request?” Yoda inquired.

Nomara shakes away the non-existent anxiety that the masters’ gazes inflicted on her as she stands at the very center of the council chamber, she hugged herself with her arms tightly underneath her sleeves—mentally rehearsing how she’s going to begin her speech.

“I wish to train the youngling I discovered,”

The Jedi’s long, pointed ears pricked up.

“Little Jidné Sheedra, hmm?”

Nomara nodded in reply.

All of the Council members knew that it was Nomara who brought Jidné into the Temple, but only a handful of them were aware of the young Togruta’s watchful eye over the youngling—unbeknownst to them, this is Nomara filling in her end of the promise.

“This is most unusual,” Ki-Adi-Mundi commented amidst the silence. “Normally, younglings are not assigned to a master until they finish the final phase of their training.”

“Jidné has not yet completed the Initiate Trials,” Windu interjected. “She and her batch will have yet to undergo the Apprentice Tournament in a month’s time.”

“Yes, Master Windu, I am aware,”

“Pursuing to train the child to become your Padawan learner…” Yoda trailed off. “Your Seeker position, you must give.”

“I understand and I have come to terms with myself on that subject,” Nomara’s voice firmed. “I am willing to relinquish my position as a Jedi Seeker, in exchange of me being allowed to become Jidné Sheedra’s mentor if she passes the Initiate Trials.”

“I sense that there is a much deeper reason within your request, young Anesh,” Plo Koon politely adds, leaning away from the backrest of his seat.

Nomara felt the need to finally disclose the promise she made to Tymara. In the middle of her piece, she blinked fast many times, coming upon a realization—stemming from that one promise, she and Jidné had already forged a bond. In the exact second when Nomara promised the mother that her daughter will be taken care of it, the Force has already molded and sealed their link. The other masters sensed the young Togruta’s conviction and commended her for it. The masters noticed her trail off and then pick herself up and her words.

They deliberate on the spot with mere glances amongst one another. Nomara hung her head low while keeping her eyes on the masters speaking with their eyes. It didn’t take long for them to come to a decision.

“Very well,”

Nomara’s head perked up from Mace Windu’s two simple words.

“Jidné Sheedra is to be your Padawan if she passes the Apprentice Tournament,”

Nomara is immensely elated. She couldn’t contain her excitement, the least she can do to hold herself is bite her lip. She struggled to calm and recompose herself, when she did—she thanked the Council as a whole, bowing to them ceaselessly before departing the room.

As soon as the young Togruta was out of the room, the masters exchanged looks once again. They’re intrigued by the connection manifesting within Nomara and Jidné, even if they haven’t fully interacted with one another quite closely.

One month seems to have passed by so quickly.

Jidné, Brese, Leane, and the other younglings eagerly waited for this day. But now that the time has come, they’re not sure if what they’re feeling is uncontainable excitement or nerve-racking anxiety or a mix of both.

“You guys ever ready?” Brese in the middle asked his two friends.

“Well, kinda…” Jidné shrugged her shoulders.

“My hands are sweaty!” Leane grumbled.

For the first time in these younglings’ lives, it’s only this day when they’ve seen the stands to be filled to the brim. Looking back to their training days, the number could only fit within each of their own two hands; now, there seems to be no space left between one Jedi to the other.

“Why do I have a bad feeling about this…?” Leane whimpered.

Jidné rests her hand on her friend’s shoulder, consoling her, “Don’t worry, Leane. We’ll make it—the three of us.”

By rote, a flock of thirty-two younglings shall be pitted against one another in pairs. Prior to the day of the tournament, the children were already briefed on the rules and how it will go; one day before the tournament itself, they already know who they’re dueling with.

They were also forewarned that the masters will be observing them, the coaches did their best in quelling the pre-tournament anxiety that they’ve borne into the younglings’ heads. Although fazed and ridden with anxiety—so much so that she couldn’t properly grip her saber—Jidné mentally coaxed herself and simply do what she keeps doing, she believed that such a mindset has taken her far.

I won’t let myself falter on the most important day of them all! She proclaimed, staring at the silver finish of her saber.

The flock of younglings were arranged in a column and split into two upon their entry to the arena, they marched in synchronization, lining up the border of the floor. Tera Sinube and Master Yoda stood at the center to give their opening remarks albeit a brief one; when the two old masters stepped away and stood under the shade of the stands—that was the first pair’s cue to come forward.

It was Brese against a green Twi’lek boy. The Nautolan boy capitalized on his innate nimbleness during the battle and keeping mind of Jidné’s own tips during their practical lessons—which he and Leane found greatly helpful.

A duel would normally last less than half an hour, depending on the caliber of both children. This is the only time the younglings would go all out with everything they’ve learned. Five pairs later, it was Leane against another human girl—both of them sensed one another’s anxiety, but eventually got into the thrill of the action. Green sabers clashed against one another, shining bright light around the arena as one parries the other—while not admittedly as strong as the bigger children, Leane was flexible and lithe like Brese, she was able to dodge and make a quick follow-up attack seconds after her evasion.

Jidné was only able to quell her nervousness by quietly supporting her friends from where she stood. Flashing secret smiles at them when they look her way.

“That child has an innate ability to put people at ease,” Loriq thought out loud, exclusively within Nomara’s earshot.

Nomara smiled, reminiscing the moments where Jidné makes everyone smile all too easily, beginning from the moment where she was staying over in their house in Eshyn.

“Yes, I think so too,” she concurred.

Now it was Jidné’s turn. Paz was standing beside her, the tall blond boy cheered her on, whispering “Good luck!” to her before she’d step forward. She beamed a smile and whispered back a quick “Thanks!” and then patted her saber dangling by her belt.

Jidné is pitted against a Mirialan boy. As per tradition, they bowed at one another upon stepping into the center, afterwards they take a step back to draw their sabers. The Mirialan’s green saber contrasted heavily with Jidné’s purple saber. The opponent was indeed nimble, at par with Jidné’s dexterity, but what the girl did next surprised everyone.

This was the very first time Jidné demonstrated her Force Shroud, although she’s still in the middle of refining it herself.

Regardless, she was able to render herself almost invisible—the lights and the gray walls helped her blend in, leaving a trail of visible Force waves lingering in the air. The Mirialan boy’ frenzied eyes did little to aid him in spotting his opponent, only at the last minute did he sense the girl from behind him and deflected her attack, she re-materialized when their sabers met. It was flimsy on his end, but struggled to avoid fumbling.

They continued to trade strikes one after the other, Jidné read her opponent taking on the rather aggressive approach with little to no defensiveness, thus she took advantage of her dexterity and evaded the charging attacks of the Mirialan boy. Whenever he would deliver a hail of attacks at her, Jidné deflected them with clean forms and coordinated footwork. Having her purple saber’s tip hovering just mere inches in front of the boy’s nose, that concluded her duel. The two younglings flashed an impressed grin at one another before doing the customary bow post-fight.

“Your youngling shows a lot of promise,” Loriq commented. “Her skill with the Force is impressive as well, despite being a little rough around the edges.”

The remainders of the tournament proceeded down to the very last pair. When the event concluded, the masters dispersed and conversed with one another in murmurs, cupping the sides of their mouths with their hands as they judge the younglings who have caught their eye.

The younglings who were done with their turn were instructed to retire to the Initiates’ dormitory to rest. Brese and Leane waited for Jidné’s duel to end before going together which has become a joint habit of theirs.

“You were great, Jidné! I bet a lot of masters are gonna come asking you to be their Padawan!” Brese beamed.

“I think you and Leane were pretty great too!” Jidné clapped Leane’s and Brese’s shoulders with her two hands. For her next few sentences, she’s become more animated as they walked along the halls. Her upbeat attitude made the two children laugh, practically washing away their anxieties from earlier.

“The way you two went—POW! And then Leane went—WOOSH!! Aww, it was awesome! No doubt about it, you two, I think we did a great job in impressing the masters!”

Jidné added a comical kick and punched the air in the uppercut to visualize what she meant. Her post-fight energy doesn’t seem to be running out any time soon.

“I’m glad you think our training will pay off, Jidné! It kinda makes me feel better about myself,” Leane chuckled gleefully, the heaviness that anchored in her stomach melted away after being infected with Jidné’s cheerfulness.

Jidné hooked Leane’s neck with her arm, nudging her closer until they’re cheek-to-cheek, “Aw come on, Leane, you’re such a worrywart! How many times do I have to tell you you’re great? Though I don’t mind saying it over and over!”

The next morning, Jidné was summoned to one of the lecture chambers, a warden has personally come to their room to call her. She and Leane exchanged puzzled glances but eventually she followed the servant out of their room.

“Did… Did I do something wrong?” Jidné asked when she walked up to the servant.

The servant chuckled, amused and endeared, “No, Jidné. But you’ll find out soon enough. Run along now.”

Jidné turned behind her, to her friend Leane, and waved at her before disappearing into the grand halls of the Temple. The girl navigated her way to the turbolift leading to the wing where the lecture halls are located. She eventually reached that specific room the servant had told her, with the push of a button the door retracted into its frame—revealing Master Yoda standing with a tall Togruta. Jidné recognized the second Jedi, it was the one who always watched at the stands, she recalled that this Jedi was also watching during the tournament last night.

The girl entered the room and stepped closer to the pair of Jedi Masters.

“I… I was told to come here by one of the wardens,”

“Indeed, you were, Jidné,” Master Yoda waddled towards the child, pegging the floor with his cane as he walked.

“Did… Did I do something wrong?”

The green, ancient Jedi chuckled delightfully, not intending to dismiss the child’s worry but rather uplift her spirit.

“Sought you, a master has; a Padawan, you are to be,”

The child’s eyes lit up, her heart skipped a beat, and her lips parted. Did her ears deceive her? No, she’s sure she’s heard it correctly.

The Togruta walked up to Yoda’s side, facing Jidné as well. She flashed a gentle, warm smile upon seeing the twinkle over the gloss of the child’s dark, soulful eyes.

“Hello, Jidné,”

“Hello,” she cooed.

“My name is Nomara Anesh, it’s nice to meet you…” Nomara stifled a chuckle. “Again.”

Jidné’s smile relaxed a bit and she bobbed her head to the side, “Eh? Again?”

Nomara smiled and knelt to the little girl’s height.

“I was the Jedi who found you and brought you here,”

The youngling’s grin reappeared, stretching from ear-to-ear, and the glint in her eyes shone twice as bright as the first one. The girl’s energy contrasted with her new master’s calm, warm, and kind demeanor.

“Really!? You did?!”

“That’s right,”

“That’s amazing!!” the girl leaped and squealed, butterflies filled her stomach so much that she could feel them coming out of her throat any moment now. “It’s strange though—but in a good way—that you’ve always felt familiar to me. But now that you’ve told me you’re the one who brought me here, that explains it… LIKE A WHOLE LOT!”

Jidné threw her arms up to emphasize her last words, her enthusiasm delighted Nomara; but when she realized that she’s behaving a bit too excitedly, she straightened herself up in the presence of Master Yoda and cleared her throat.

“Truly wonderful and pure her heart is,” Yoda commented, gesturing the girl to be at ease as there’s no need for such formality.

“Are you up for the task as my apprentice, Jidné?”

“Am I ever?!”

Nomara smiled at the child’s optimism. Deep inside her, she made a promise to herself to protect Jidné—not out of the obligation of a promise, but out of genuine love and care for the girl. Perhaps watching over her took her some time to realize, but it’s better late than never.

[mvssmallow]

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT: CWAC PHASE II: 02

Jiwon goes with Hanbin to his therapy sessions. It’s a big breakthrough to have a mediator there, providing education and dispelling all the myths and pointing out all those negatively reinforcing behaviours that people tend to do when they’re mad and frustrated. Hanbin chews his nails aggressively in the first session, convinced that Jiwon has another front row seat to his “Psycho Show” and will judge him relentlessly but because Jiwon’s no ordinary boy-off-the-streets, it does the opposite and there’s a real understanding from Jiwon, who slowly begins to realise that he has a few issues of his own too. Things don’t miraculously improve overnight, because Jiwon still has days where he has no idea how to process all this while having his ass kicked by his record company....but the therapist gently asks him if he wants to come back on his own some time.

And he says yes. 

Hanbin may have said, ‘What The Fuck?” out loud at that point. 

So they do sessions now. Together. Separately. It’s helpful. It helps.

Jiwon’s body and mind slowly but surely adjusts to the demands of his new career. He and Hanbin make time for each other, even if it’s just eating breakfast at the sink or having dinner together 3 out of 7 nights. They force themselves to do it because if you let your work run your life then you aren’t really living after awhile, you’re just going the motions. He hates it when they miss out on all the small things that makes life worthwhile, like having all the time in the world to sleep in, watching bad movies, eating take-out (vaguely off limits now that Jiwon is preparing for a debut soon). 

Things are okay-ish. 

The funny thing is, whenever a few areas of his life is going well, another will inevitably implode. This time, it’s his own writing career. He becomes despondent, watching newer employees get better and more high profile assignments and top page billings and by-lines. Donghyuk encourages him to hang in there as best as he can but it’s not really a problem Donghyuk has had for a long time, being the magazines star-writer and the editor’s favourite. 

Hanbin tries to write better, write stronger, write harder but all it does is churn out depersonalised pieces that not even he really cares about. 

It’s Jiwon, because of course it would be, who ends up being the catalyst. 

“If you don’t love it, why don’t you try something else?”

1 month turns into 2 months and by the third, the question is still cycling around Hanbin’s mind. And for someone who tries to plan everything within an inch of it’s life, he does something completely unplanned: he goes to work on a Thursday morning, walks past his office, knocks on the Editor’s door and gives his 2 week’s notice. 

After spending 30 minutes apologising to Donghyuk and promising to stay in contact he leaves the Daily Grind behind. In all sense of the word.

Then he has a panic attack in the car park. 

“Could’ve warned me about this in the morning babe.” Jiwon teases gently when he comes to pick Hanbin up and drive his car home. 

“I didn’t know I was going to do it today!” Hanbin grumbles in his seat. 

“So. How does it feel?”

“How do you think?! I didn’t even make a back up plan. What the hell was I thinking. You should always have a back up plan. What the hell am I going to do now? How are we going to pay the rent and-”

“Woah woah woah.....come on, you’ll be ok. We’ve got savings and I’m still working. It’s gonna be okay.”

“I can’t expect you to-”

“To what? Support you? Like you did for me before I got signed?”

“That’s different.”

“It’s not and you know it.”

Hanbin just humms in response. 

“Tell me how you really feel. Honestly.”

“Well.....” Hanbin sighs, pauses, looks out the window at the city whizzing by and basks in the knowledge that tomorrow is really a brand new day. He doesn’t have to wake up and go to the same place, only to sit down and force his brain to type words he doesn’t care about. Rinse repeat rinse repeat. 

A smile creeps on his face after awhile. Jiwon makes an amused sound but doesn’t say anything.

“I guess, I’m kinda....relieved?”

“That all?”

“And better?”

“Anything else?”

“A little bit excited?” Hanbin grimaces then. “God no, that’s just lame.”

Jiwon reaches over to mess with Hanbin’s dark hair. “Nah, it’s not. It’s good babe. It’s real good. I’m proud of you for doing this. As I said, when we have kids, they’re gonna have balls of steel genetically and that’s gonna come from you.”

Hanbin rolls his eyes in mock disgust. “What if we have girls?”

“Even better, haha.”

For the first few days of his unemployment, the apartment is just so quiet when everyone in the block is either at school, tai chi for the Eldery or at work. Except Hanbin. Hanbin is on the couch, holding the phone in his hand, his mum’s number staring back at him. He’d cleaned the apartment three times. Folding and ironing all his clothes then all of Jiwon’s. Making enough meals to last the entire week in one day. 

There’s just the small-big task of telling his parents that he quit his job.

And his parents? Well, they don’t take it how he expects them to but at the same time, it’s oddly typical. He chickens out of calling them and drives there instead. 

His dad scolds him for not having a back up plan and rambles on and on in a long-winded version of “I told you so”. But to everyone’s complete surprise, his dad doesn’t try to get him back into the business company again, he offers of course but Hanbin can’t do a job like that, it’d kill him and they all know it. 

When he leaves, it’s not on an entirely bad note. His mother is concerned. His dad is full of suggestions and demands Hanbin updates his resume and reads the list of options he provides. It’s kind of heartwarming, even if he knows that his Pre-Stroke dad would never be like this. 

And Hanbyul? Well, she has self interest in his unemployment. 

“Can we go get bubble tea and cake after ballet then?! And you can pick me up from school! But in Jiwon’s car!”

“Gotta check my schedule.....Oh that’s right! I’m free indefinitely!”

“YAY!”

And funnily enough, his days get filled up pretty easily. Playdates with his sister, lunch dates with Yun, hanging around June at the tattoo shop, not being mentally exhausted when Jiwon gets home, being able to have dinner and get up early to kiss Jiwon goodbye in the mornings without the time pressure. 

But most importantly. 

He writes again. 

[torendheavenandearth]

2.2

▼

“The King of Mouse-Deers, Lakan Shri-Pilandok, visited an unseemly town one day. There he met with San Pedro, Saint of Workers and Institutions. Shri-Pilandok greeted the Saint, and the Saint greeted him back. Shri-Pilandok was covered in tattoos and only wore a bahag, for tattoos were the only covering needed for him, while San Pedro wore a white priest's frock, and was wrapped in overflowing garments.

‘Greetings!’ Lakan Shri-Pilandok said, raising a hand. ‘There seems to be a problem in your town!’

San Pedro looked at him strangely, furrowing his eyebrows. ‘I do not understand? Our town is perfectly fine!’

And that was when Lakan Shri-Pilandok slit San Pedro’s throat. As he gurgled golden ichor, Shri-Pilandok said: ‘Look at your manufactured angels! Look at your mechanistic God! Is this how you wish to live?!’

And the people drove Lakan Shri-Pilandok away, calling him a demon, and they looked for another saint to install, for they knew not of a world where they weren’t told what to do.” - From the Travails of Panginoong Binabathala Hinimagsikang Rajah Lakan Shri-Pilandok of the Unconquered Isles.

▼

“Nila!” Angela rises to her feet and then stops, a mix of awkward unfamiliarity and her own tiredness working against her. 

Ang Nilapastangan is still drenched in blood as she nears the crew. “I have to look for some new clothes,” she says. “These ones are soiled.” 

Angela turns and looks at her four companions. Most of them have paused mid-eating, staring with eyes wide, mouth agape, as if they had just witnessed the second coming of God. 

“Is it truly you…?” whispers the Babaylan, a slow whistling tune accompanying her shaking voice.

Ang Nilapastangan stretches. “Yes. Ang Nilapastangan. But please, call me Nila.”

“Nila,” Angela says, turning back to Ang Nilapastangan. “Why the hell do they know you?”

The babaylan begins sputtering out words: “Ang Nilapastangan, the Blasphemed One! She is one of the being sung and spoken tales of. She has a stage play based on the tragedy of her life. We sing the Ballad of Ang Nilapastangan during times of great mourning, during the death of a great leader, or when someone’s spouse has been killed in horrible combat.”

Angela blinks, unsure what to make out of that spiel. She turns to Ang Nilapastangan and mouths: “Ha?”

Ang Nilapastangan sighs. She goes over to the babaylan and bows by the waist. “Iginagalang na bai, I thank you for your respect. Know that it goes a long way.”

Angela looks over to Jaime, Adlay, and Damian. Jaime is saying something along the lines of “I told you!” To Adlay and Damian, while the other two are still stuck in that gawking phase. Angela turns to Ang Nilapastangan, now just a tad more suspicious as to who she truly is.

I guess she did say she won the Hagdanan, Angela thinks to herself. But does that really mean… anything? Angela ponders about her knowledge, and how she doesn’t really know anything. 

“If it does not trouble you, I don’t mean to leverage my reputation, but I will pay for a new change of clothes. We have been chased away from our town, you see. We are in need of some accommodations.”

The babaylan nods and gets on her knees. “O-Of course, o great Karanduun! Anything you ask, no payment required.”

“Oho, let’s not do that, bai,” says Ang Nilapastangan as she helps the babaylan from her knees. “No, but I insist. I’ll give you guys the money when I can. In the meantime, perhaps a place to sleep for the night?”

“Ah, yes, of course Miss Karanduun,” says Adlay. “We have a guest house that you can use!”

Ang Nilapastangan nods and then turns to Angela. “Come on, let’s get some rest.”

“Ang Nilapastangan?” It’s Jaime, standing up. “The amalanhig?”

Ang Nilapastangan nods once. 

Damian leaps to his feet as well. “Then that means we’re safe for the night!”

Ang Nilapastangan raises an eyebrow.

“Ah, yes,” the Babaylan speaks again. “You see, almost every night, the amalanhig from the barangay attack our little commune. Thankfully most of them are blocked away by the rushing river, so we are safe for now, but we have to kill them else they pile up.”

Angela feels a chill run down her spine. “So you have to kill these… amalanhig?”

Babaylan Salinas nods. “Unfortunately.”

“And since they’re amalanhig from your barangay…” voices out Ang Nilapastangan.

Angela looks up to the Babaylan, and then at Ang Nilapastangan. Ang Nilapastangan nods. “All right, well for now let’s get some rest, Angela. Change clothes and then eat some dinner.”

Without another word, Adlay leads Ang Nilapastangan and Angela to the guest house they have up. It’s a simple bamboo stilt house, with a small annex for cooking and the restroom. “I didn’t think you’d have a guest house, seeing as you’re doing all you can to survive.”

“Ah,” Adlay rubs his neck. “That’s… because this used to be a scavenger’s house. He… never came back from one of our runs.”

Ang Nilapastangan is silent again. She walks into the home. Angela turns to Adlay and says, “Condolences.”

“Thank you,” says Adlay, before closing the bamboo door and leaving the two of them together.

Angela stares at the door for a bit before turning around. Ang Nilapastangan is there, kneeling on the bamboo floor, placing the larawan of Inaginid upon the soft cloth she laid beforehand. She then puts both hands on the floor of the house and bows. 

“What the hell are you doing?”

“Asking permission from the owners,” says Ang Nilapastangan, muttering a few more words and then standing up straight. “A simple acknowledgment. Just a small piece of acknowledgment is usually all anyone ever needs.”

“Even if you haven’t met them before?”

“Death appreciates life,” says Ang Nilapastangan shrugging. She puts the Inaginid likha on top of one of the tables and then makes for one of the banig. “I’m going to get some rest.”

Angela walks up to her. “Wait, no. First of all, I still want to finish my dinner, so I’m going back out there.”

“All right then,” she says as she removes her baro shirt and puts it to the side. She’s wearing a simple brassier underneath. “I’m not gonna stop you.”

Angela swallows something down. “R-Right, but wait. Tell me: why do those people know you? They act like you’re some kinda celebrity? Some kinda superhero?”

“Go and ask them while you finish your food.” She then removes her skirt and then slips underneath the blanket of the banig.

Angela is frowning, and she doesn’t know why. She decides to go out and shut the door behind her instead.

There Jaime is alone, cleaning up the dishes to be washed. As he’s doing so, his eye sees Angela. He rises up and smirks. What a dark smirk. “There’s some food left if you want it.”

Angela manages a smile. She climbs down and walks over to him. “Thanks. That’s really kind.”

“That’s the little things we can always afford to give,” says Jaime, although he’s not looking in her direction.

Angela sits down and works to finish the steamed rice and tuyo on her plate. As she does, she takes the initiative as Jaime is working. “ Jaime, if you don’t mind me asking, can you tell me why you guys reacted that way upon seeing Nila?”

Jaime is bending over to pick up a glass when she speaks the question. He straightens up, eyebrows furrowed. “To have no knowledge of Ang Nilapastangan--at least outside of Biringan--one would usually have to be from another country or continent, or, I don’t know, universe.”

Angela nods. “I am.”

Jaime turns to her, raising one nonchalant eyebrow.

“I’m from the Philippines, which doesn’t exist here, apparently.”

Jaime nods. “That explains a few things then. Well, let me indulge you: Ang Nilapastangan is known as what is called as a Karanduun here.”

Angela nods, and she makes a mental note to ask him why he took the news of her being from another universe so easily.

“A Karanduun is basically a hero. A real hero: one that people talk about, sing about, make stories about, make plays about. A folk hero. An epic hero.”

“A superhero,” mutters Angela.

“To become a Karanduun, one usually must have lived a long life that is worth telling. A life worth singing about. Ang Nilapastangan is well known for her Weeping Tragedy, and she has the Pamagat of Swordbreaker.”

“Pamagat?” That means title in Filipino, thinks Angela.

“Hm… think of it as a sobriquet. It’s what that Karanduun is most well known for.”

“Swordbreaker…” Angela swallows down some more rice and tuyo. “What, did she break swords?”

“Yes. Well, it was said that she broke the Sword of DYOSVETA, the Father.”

“Who?”

“DYOSVETA,” he says. “One of the Holy Trinity Triumvirate, the Father. GOD The Father. It’s… complicated. I’m not the best to teach it. I’ve never had a close connection with the Trinitarian religion.”

Angela simply nods and gestures for Jaime to continue.

“She broke the Sword of God. The Sword in her pamagat ‘Swordbreaker’ became a term for horrible tragedies that have made her bleed. She now breaks those that have hurt her. At least, that’s what most stories say.”

“So…” Angela finishes up her food. She’s surprised at how fast it vanishes. She’s ignored how hungry she really is. “You’re telling me that Nila is some kind of superhero in this… world, and almost everyone knows about it? Why didn’t she tell me? And why does everyone in Barangay Laurel ignore her if she’s that popular?”

Jaime gathers up Angela’s empty porcelain plate. “I’ll have to wash these by the river. Come with me.”

Angela glimpses at the house that they’re staying in, where Ang Nilapastangan is resting. She just breathes and then nods. “Yeah, all right.”

Angela follows Jaime over to the river that they crossed earlier that night. The horses have been securely tied to one of the bamboo poles of one of the houses. “Don’t worry, we have some spare leftovers we can give to the horses,” says Jaime. Angela mutters a thanks.

Jaime squats by the bank of the river and begins washing off the leftover food scraps from the plates with a rough cloth.

“So,” says Jaime, as he washes the dishes. “You see, what Ang Nilapastangan looks like right now? That’s not what she looks like.”

“What?”

“At least, that’s not what the stories say she looks like. According to those, she looks like an immaculate pale-skinned woman with perfectly cut black hair, and with a corona that looks like the crescent moon behind her head. She’s said to have a mole on her chin, perfectly full lips, slender eyes that shine brightest indigo. She was said to have six gems upon her brow, and she walks around with a walking stick. Apparently, she’s supposed to have six wings, which drape around her like robes.”

“That’s… not what Nila looks like at all.”

“Exactly. Also,she is also supposed to be predominantly blue, so her glowing crimson power also threw me off. But now that I know, I know. I guess she’s hiding.”

“Yeah,” says Angela. She is. But she doesn’t say that out loud. “So there’s a bunch of presumptions already when it comes to Nila, huh?”

Jaime nods. “I guess that’s why Barangay Laurel didn’t recognize her. Hell, it’s probably why we didn’t recognize her either, when we went over there. We used to trade with Laurel, you see. But then the amalanhig came and trade was cut.”

“That makes sense, I guess, though cruel,” Angela sits down a few feet away from Jaime. “You’re not sad about it?”

Jaime raises an eyebrow.

“About your barangay? Being overrun?”

Jaime shrugs. “The time for grieving is past me.”

Silence. Nature sings--a chorus of rustling leaves, muttering wind, and babbling river.

“Is there… no way to bring them back?” asks Angela eventually, staring at the stars. She’s in awe for a brief second, seeing all the different colors and the myriad stars that speck the night sky here, as if God poked holes in the sky.

“No,” says Jaime, taking a moment to pause and stretch his back, as he has been squatting and bent over while cleaning the dishes. “They’re dead. The bite of the amalanhig simply turned them into amalanhig.”

Angela bites her lip. “How about your family? You had a family, right?”

Jaime nods. “But not blood, no. The barangay is family. All of them, part of the interconnected veins of blood that made up an entire body.”

Angela is staring down at the rushing river, her mind wandering back to her family. They aren’t perfect, not in the least, but they try their best. Is this the same feeling? The same feeling that you’ll never see your family again?

She brushes the thought from her mind. She’s going to find a way out.

“Well, hopefully if Nila is the person you’re saying she really is, then we’ll be able to liberate your barangay from whatever’s happening.”

Jaime smiles. “Giving their tired old bones rest, yes.” 

▼

Eventually they finish up, with Angela and Jaime appreciating each other’s silence. Jaime tells Angela to go to sleep first, and Angela agrees. She bids him goodnight, and she retreats to her house.

There, Ang Nilapastangan is facing the door, staring at it. “Flirting?”

Angela blinks, and then shakes her head. “No. Learning.”

Ang Nilapastangan turns in her bed and stares up at the ceiling. “What?”

“About Karanduun,” replies Angela, walking over to the middle of the room and then immediately spacing out.

“Karanduun?” Thankfully, Ang Nilapastangan’s voice zaps her back to the present. She nods.

“Yeah. Sorry, is there like, a sink here or anything? Can’t I brush my teeth, wash my face?”

“Those are luxuries we can’t afford right now,” says Ang Nilapastangan, turning away now.

Angela sighs. “But we do have a change of clothes, right?”

“Mm.”

“All right then. I guess I’ll just… shower tomorrow?”

Ang Nilapastangan doesn’t answer.

Angela simply sighs. She lies down on the banig that is a few feet away from her. The wind is cold, and the air is fresh, despite the dead village a few kilometers away.

“Nila?”

No answer.

“Will I ever get back to my home?”

There is a long period of silence, with the dread of an answer becoming white noise, mixing with the soft babble of the river. 

Just when Angela is about to give up, about to turn over in her banig, close her eyes, and force herself to sleep through the tears, Ang Nilapastangan says: “If you win the Hagdanan, perhaps. I’ll help you.”

And with that, silence overtakes them.

Table of Contents

[chalabrun]

between the dirt & desperation, ch. 1

Word count: 3,753 Pairings: Symbrock Rating: T Warnings: None Summary:  Sequel to “Angry & Half in Love with You”, it’s been well over a month since Eddie moved away from San Francisco to start over in his hometown of Manhattan. Yet, it’s difficult to return to a normal life when what you were once addicted to becomes addicted to you.  A/N: This is a crossover between Venom (2018) and Sam Raimi’s Spiderman trilogy (2002-07)

( READ ON AO3 )

Cities had moods. They had character, and personalities. It was hard explaining to someone from the suburbs or a small town of 5,000 where everyone knew each other. Eddie had been born in the city of cities, the one that everyone from Helsinki to Beijing and everywhere in between thought of when asked to imagine America, even for the tiniest of moments. Even Americans themselves. Manhattan had a personality so large and old that the entire East Coast looked like it. Like the Big Apple could be any city from Maine to just a stone’s throw above the Bible belt and they wouldn’t be wrong. Not entirely.

New York was steel and teeth. It was craggy concrete that bubbled like rivers of dried and cracked lava through the streets. A raw, industrial creation. When Christ told his disciples to be fishers of men, he wondered if they’d anticipated it’d look anything like this, that the net they threw would bring people together in a new Noah’s ark. Expansive, secretive, old, haggard, but also alive. Old and new. Fast-paced and robust and industrial. It claimed chilly winter nights and congested traffic as its temple, old jazzy film noir and sleepless, caffeinated nights as its sacrifice.

San Francisco had always been different. A bright tendril of Los Angeles, soaked in sun. If the sun made its harbor in Hollywood, then San Francisco was where its rays touched first, but also where its shadows were longest. It didn’t have the steel and shadiness New York did. Or ever would. It felt like your favorite relative you saw on the holidays, of palm fronds and brisk walks on a beach crested by an ocean so brilliant it was bluer than the sky it was supposed to get its color from. Peeled away and without secrets.

Maybe that’s why he never really felt like he’d belonged. Why he finally up and left after the whole Life Foundation incident. And after divorcing himself from the Other, when it finally became apparent how utterly at the mercy he was at the symbiote, they had to part ways. Lest he lose himself on top of all sense of normalcy. Of Anne and Dan and how utterly suited and picture-perfect they were for San Francisco.

It’s why New York’s rough and tumble called him back like a siren, and he just couldn’t refuse.

“Hey, I think ya dropped these.”

The subway emerged from a long and ghastly dark tunnel that made your reflection too easy to see. The back car for the early morning train from Brooklyn was mercifully sparse, all things considering. The man in question had dropped a sheaf of photos the lights blocked its glossy contents of, until it became apparent as to what it was.

Opaque, wide eyes set in a mask made of webbing. Red like blood, like slaughter. Interrupted by a Pacific blue on the chest, crawling up the side of a skyscraper in stunning detail. Eddie became shell-shocked at the sight of it, mind phasing to a rapid negative of the photos. Blinking, it went away.

“Oh, sorry about that. Guess I’m still kind of clumsy in the morning.” The brunet who speaks with wide blue eyes and earnest, smiling thin lips is the picture of someone untouched, but not innocent.

Eddie remembered himself and smiled back. “Yeah, no, no. These are some killer shots, though. You the guy who’s been getting Spidey’s mug in the papers? Man, even I gotta envy that kinda skill.”

The other man chuckled modestly. “My boss tends to differ on that front. He thinks all my stuff is pretty mediocre.”

Eddie’s brows bounced in disbelief, sputtering, “You serious? This shit looks like you got Spidey to pose for you in a SoHo photo studio. And he thinks this is subpar? Man, I wouldn’t wanna be workin’ for him.” Handing the photographer’s material back to him, he added, “Y’know, I do investigative journalin’ myself. Hell, I just got hired on to the Daily Bugle just the other day. We might actually see each other around.”

A boyish and incredulous look crossed the brunet’s face almost shyly. “Wait, seriously? What are the chances of that? —Oh, I’m Peter, by the way. Peter Parker.” He offered his hand to shake. “I’m more freelance, but I guess this makes us coworkers, huh?”

“No kidding. Can’t say I’m adverse to the idea. You photographers are like the muses of us journalists. At least, I think I got that off’a fortune cookie somewhere. You headed to HQ or somethin’?” Smiling crookedly, he shook Peter’s hand a little too enthusiastically. Blame finally getting something resembling a friend on that. “Oh, uh—yeah, Peter. I’m Eddie. Eddie Brock. Real name’s a bit longer, but kinda pointless, y’know?”

Their hands finally released, Eddie backtracking to whether or not he’d shaken it for too long. Clearing his throat, visibly fidgeting, he awkwardly ushered Peter through when they’d finally made it to a mutually apparent destination. “Hey, uh—after you, Pete.”

Peter smiled thinly at that. “Bugle’s this way. It’s not all that hard to miss.” Completely oblivious as to the sudden change in demeanor, Eddie shrugged and alighted on the platform with the other. At least he wasn’t going it alone this time around.

“Will you shut that thing off! If I have to hear one more goddamn word out of that smug Daily Planet’s reporter’s mouth, someone’s going to get fired!”

John Jonah Jameson leaned back in his rickety reclining chair, proudly smoking a thick cigar, a smug and politically incorrect aura bleeding from it. Thick brows raised dubiously as he went through Peter’s crop of photos like an inspector of choice swine at the country market, sticking a knife in the fat to gauge its leanness of the meat. And by the way his cigar hung from his teeth, he didn’t look too impressed.

“This the best you’ve got, Parker? I’ve seen brats on Instagram take better selfies at 3 AM after getting the damn munchies.” Peter himself looked tense, jaw gritting but too subtle to be noticeable or angry. Even Eddie found himself morbidly fascinated by the exchange and feeling vaguely bad for Peter himself.

“It’s the best I’ve got, Mr. Jameson. I got better lighting, and everything,” Peter reasoned, bordering on protesting, splaying his inventory out more. “Like for that one scoop you were talking about. I got this,” he pointed to a photo of the Friendly Neighborhood Spider accelerating up a wall in the wake of a crime scene, “in exactly the kind of context you were looking for and everything.” Incriminating, but falsely planted. Just what sort of deal had they made, anyways?

“It’s crap,” Jameson rebutted bluntly. “You think stories are made from HD screenshots? Nah, I want in-action pictures, Parker. Hell, I think it’s why teaming you up with Brock here will do you some good. You’ve got promise, but I just don’t see it—”

“Sir, your wife she’s—”

“Tell her I’ll call her back! Can’t you see I’m busy?” Jameson barked to his secretary who shrunk back, gazing sidelong as though the employees at desks behind her back were a captive audience. Jerking his head towards Eddie, he quipped gregariously, “What do you say, Brock? You up to heading to Oscorp to interview Doctor Octavius?”

Eddie needed a moment to mull over the name, feeling a pit open in his stomach at the realization. Oh God. Oh no—this was turning into San Fran all over again. Exactly what he’d been trying to escape. Except—Eddie calmed his breathing. It didn’t have to be a repeat. He’d get the interview, get in, get out, and not stick his neck where it didn’t belong like last time. Easy.

“You can count on me, Mr. J. I’ll keep Petey here from takin’ photos that look too good, eh?” As if to prove a point, Eddie circled an arm around Peter’s shoulder and shook it for emphasis, Parker glancing at him in bemusement, brows furrowed.

“Yeah…what he said, Mr. Jameson,” Peter replied stiffly, shrugging Eddie’s arm off and offering him a distantly apologetic look.

Alright, that was something. Only one more head-ducking event to go, and he’d be in the clear!

Several days later of navigating his way through an apartment at various stages of unpacking, and Eddie cobbled together an outfit that seemed decent enough: a button-down dress shirt, crisp black slacks, penny loafers, a dark jacket, and tie. Dressy, but still informed the world that he wasn’t some Washington Post shill. Remembering his past mistake with Carlton Drake seared the reminder not to get involved, not to fuck this up. He did enough time with what happened and paid dearly for it.

Even if he’d turned a new leaf, that didn’t mean he didn’t lie awake thinking about the symbiote. He did. God, he did. It was just the little things, mainly. Buying chocolate and tater tots and wondering why the hell he had. Thinking something and pausing, waiting for a response. It was messing with him, but he had to move on. If Venom was really that hellbent on keeping him, it would’ve. But, it didn’t. He had to remember that and move on. All graceful, and shit.

That didn’t make the memory of their parting any easier. Why did it still come back and bite him in the ass? It had been a month, maybe more. Why did his heart still ache like there was an emptiness to fill?

“C’mon Eddie, get your shit together,” he muttered to himself after stepping off the platform in Midtown Manhattan where the Oscorp tower rose in rivalry to that of Stark Industries’. It was an enviable life, being able to live so richly and without much complication, building an empire off the wit, grit, and ambition that made the American Dream. …Eddie mentally jotted that down. That could make for a good opener in his article.

“There you are. Right where I left you.” Eddie smiled at the sound of Peter’s voice. Sweater vest over some dress shirt and crisp trousers; the glasses made Parker look like a classic point Dexter. Guess that made Eddie the classic rebel to match.

“Yeah, yeah. Least Aunt May spiffed you up pretty good, eh? We ought’a start going; looks like it might start soon, an’ all.”

After their first meeting, they’d met a few times at a bar. First, it was logistics. The sense and sensibility that came with networking that any New Yorker in any industry worth his salt knew how to do. Brock wouldn’t have gotten nearly as far otherwise. Then, it was real friendly talk. Bonding over being born and bred city slickers felt like a homecoming he didn’t ask for, but sorely appreciated. It was nice having friends that didn’t quite stick as much in San Francisco.

“You ready to head on up, or does your hair need more greasing?” Peter teased as they crossed the street in unison. “Could stop at McDonald’s, too.” God, the shit-eating grin. Parker had a real mouth on him when he wanted to. A real potshot when it came to sarcasm and its humor.

“Can it, wise guy. Let me look a little bit smart ‘ere.”

Little more words were exchanged when a familiar professionalism beholden to men in journalism overcame them both almost in tandem, greeted by a front desk secretary who gave them both guest passes specific to the press conference Doctor Octavius was holding in one of Oscorp’s more “public-friendly” labs. Fair enough, even though the investigator in him wanted nothing less than to pass through all restrictions and really see the seedy underbelly. No corporation made it this big without a few body bags along the way.

At the demonstration proper, an enormous curtain separated the small gathering of reporters and journalists like them from the class act behind it. Eddie folded his arms and Peter appeared equally pensive, but a lot less out of place amid shined shoes and news anchor smiles.

“So, this guy, this Otto Octavius—any idea what he’s got cookin’, or we just gonna be surprised?” Eddie turned to Peter to ask who was like a kid in a candy store. He was still in is later college years, far as he knew. Practically a friggin’ baby, which explained a lot. That put a couple years between them. “’Cuz I ain’t really the surprises type.”

“Well, yeah. That’s kinda the whole point, right? Besides, it looks like it’ll start soon.” Peter’s eyes were wide as saucers and totally affixed to the front row. “Let’s get up front. I want a good view of what we might see.”

A flutter of anticipation and nervousness flowered in Eddie’s breast, practically feeling preemptive adrenaline pump through his veins. “…If ya say so, Petey. Guess it can’t hurt.” Why did it feel as though a sense of foreboding hung over them like a cloud? Along with something damnably familiar? Eddie swallowed down a clout of nerves he hadn’t felt before, following it tow as Peter dragged him to the front where no one seemed to mind. The lab’s ampitheater slanted downwards, anyway, so it’s not like they were blocking anything.

Clutching his camera in hand, Peter looked as though he might unleash a barrage of snapshots in his excitement. Which suited him just fine. Not that the camera shutters weren’t going off already like Peter was trying to commit to memory via his camera. Eddie, meanwhile, ticked on the portable recorder he kept on his person at almost all times, checking the small mic clipped on his jacket’s lapel.

And just in the nick of time, too. The lights dimmed substantially from their florescent blaze. Across the stage did a middle-aged and stocky man come unto the podium, smiling in a way that did little to offset the brooding intensity beneath heavy, thick eyebrows. The face of a scientist who grimly saw the failing condition of the world and had many a sleepless night trying to contrive of ways to offset the inevitable flatline. Cartlon Drake had that look, he remembered. This man wore it more intensely, and that much was exceedingly obvious.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we stand upon the brink. We live in a world where we’ve yet to explore the unknown while what we do is on the verge of collapse. And in response to it, it is the burden of those gifted with an aptitude of their calling to answer that call and play their part in saving this planet. The only one of its kind that we know of.”

With all the aegis of someone of his stature, of his eminence as a scientist, it still made Eddie feel wary of him. Even before the crawling sense of déjà vu, it clung to his tongue like gum and stuck there. What he wanted to speak out against before he even knew what it was. Clapping once, the maroon curtain rose and slowly did that sensation return stronger than it had ever before.

He should’ve known something out there was conspiring against him. Before him, in a cylindrical tube, was the symbiote. He could feel a low pulse that hummed softly, knowing exactly what it was doing: subduing the Other. Slowly did Eddie’s arms unfold, completely transfixed, and he had to resist every urge in his body to leap on stage and bash the glass in.

It was in pain.

Dr. Octavius gestured at the tank with a sweeping gesture, a dark humor in his smile. “I present to you the symbiote. Roughly a month ago as I’m sure you are all aware, the Life Foundation discovered these beings on an unsanctioned space flight. In San Francisco, innocent human lives were subjected under the machinations of Carlton Drake to try and bond it and others like it. Inhumane, and completely reprehensible.”

Venom stirred in the tank, almost in a stupor before rousing to life. Familiar, achingly agonized eyes widened in recognition of Eddie and the symbiote began writhing madly in the tank, inky tendrils crawling up its curve in futility, as if trying to escape to get back to him. His heart caught in his throat that throbbed sympathetically, every protective instinct in his body revving to high gear that wanted to spirit it away. As if knowing his thoughts, Venom thrashed in desperation and he swore he could hear it whimper and whine as though it were next to him, panicking once it knew he was here.

“It’s alive. Instead of subjecting this creature to the harms of bonding to a human host, we mean to study it, to replicate its properties without bringing harm to humans. Through this being, this symbiote, we intend upon harnessing its potential as both armor and protection and regeneration to benefit mankind. Think of it: a suit that could heal the infirm and disabled, helping them walk again. Or, sending people armed in this suit to hazardous places to save endangered lives in the wake of disaster. Even going beyond that, at no cost of life.”

While Octavius continued orating, Eddie tried to maintain his composure, but it was difficult with every passing second. His field of vision completely whited out save for his view of the symbiote, how it was practically ready to capsize the container in its desperation with Eddie so near. He hardly heard a word spoken until Octavius mentioned him by name, Peter’s perplexed look matching that dozen who stared at him in unison.

“Mr. Brock, is it? I’ll admit, I was surprised to find you among the list of those who were in attendance, but pleasantly surprised. Please, why don’t you come up here? Maybe you can hold their attention better than I can.” There was a murmur of polite laughter, though there was nothing humorous in the scientist’s eyes. If anything, it looked more like he was sharpening a knife and Eddie was the whetstone.

“Oh—right, yeah, sure thing, Doctor Octavius,” Eddie responded automatically, smile tense as he vaulted on the stage instead of taking the short set of stairs nearby. No one seemed to really mind, despite the formalness of the event. Hooking his thumbs in his pockets, it was a struggle not to keep his eyes wholly trained on the symbiote that loosed a long-pitched whine at their close proximity.

“Now, as many of you may be aware, Mr. Brock was one of two known successful hosts that bonded with one of the symbiotes, notably this one. I’ll admit, I’m quite curious: what was it like, being at the mercy of this fascinating creature?”

Eddie swallowed thickly, Peter’s blue eyes intense upon him that he only surreptitiously met. With every moment under the limelight, he felt his self-control crumbling and a white-hot rush of adrenaline take its place. He was sick. He was so fucking sick and he hadn’t even touched the Other in over a month, their time together having been brief enough as it was. “See, that’s the thing. It’s not really a ‘creature,’ y’know what I’m sayin’? It’s alive. Maybe not our definition of alive, but it thinks, it feels—it knows what it is. Who it is.”

Disguising his adrenalized state as thoughtful pacing, he rounded away from Octavius who watched him hawkishly, conspiratorial murmurs ringing the crowd like mist, like gathering storm clouds. And he could hear it in waves. “Humanity often thinks we’re the only ones out there capable of thinkin’ about our place in the universe, of makin’ bonds so profound that even the sun feels cold to us.” A flash of red along the wall: a fire extinguisher. It looked heavy. Heavy enough.

In the calm before the storm, he placed his hand on the glass, barely aware of the flashing bulbs of the cameras. Venom reacted intensely, that familiar, savage purr as it pressed itself yearningly to the glass, a passion so heavy it weighed like blood. “’s alright. I’m here now, baby. I’ll get ya outta there.” If it could devour the oils from his fingers, the milky clear prints left behind, the lingering heat—it would. Starved, so starved, not even meat could sate that hunger.

“What was it like being its host, Mr. Brock?” one of the reporters prompted, a stern blonde with flinty-ash eyes. “Were there any detriments to your health? You look fine, by looks alone.”

Eddie cleared his throat, coughing into his hand. Octavius’ gaze was like irons on his, having seen it from the sidelong view he had of the tank. Eddie’s own faltered as he pretended to focus exclusively on the crowd, Peter’s enthusiasm faltering. Like he knew about the chaos to unleash.

Posturing to look as though he were preparing to answer the question, he instead bolted for the fire extinguisher and paid no attention to the sudden shock upon the crowd while Octavius’ smug darkness shifted to a frenzied possession. Lunging for the tank, Eddie manfully smashed the glass, taking several tries before there was a fissure enough for Venom to seep through and spring into Eddie’s arms. Despite the whizzing of bullets from the security guards stationed nearby, Venom craned up to lick Eddie’s lips in a semblance of a kiss, wanting to sink into it. To be enveloped and taken by that tar pit he’d feared.

“Eddiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeee,” Venom crooned adoringly, wrapping around the blond with aplomb and all the anxiousness of before melting away. A massive black tarp of its nebulous miasma unfurled like crow’s wings around them, the bullets repelled uselessly. It nuzzled into his neck, content to stay there forever.

“Hey, Ven, we gotta get outta here. Y’think you can help me out here?”

A toothsome, wolfish smile of all fangs spanned its black lips, eyes narrowing in a feral cheer. “We’ll protect Eddie. We’ll keep him safe,” came its savage purr, all before the proximity between them closed with a harsh entanglement of mouth and tongue, Eddie forgetting to breathe and almost glad not to. Gradually, the eddies of his vision clouded away to a soothing blackness, one he never thought would’ve been.

And I’ll keep you safe, too—promise.

All he could remember last was rocketing into the very sky, smashing through skylights that rained down like shards of ice and incited a panic, Octavius enraged while the rest scattered. It was to be a state of emergency, sure, but little else mattered now.

All faded to black.

[bolontiku]

“Bulletproof”

Part 1

Word Count: 1,777

Summary: The story of Faye as told by Wade (& Tiku)...its chaos

*****

“Of course I could tell you everything from the beginning. How we met, the eventual fuck-fest, how she found me irresistible...”

‘What’s the point of that?’

“Shut up you.”

‘Wade get on with the story-’

“So Faye, we knew she was a mutant right? Buuuut we had no idea what kinda mutant,” Wade pauses. 

‘C’mon man, get on with it...’

“Fine!!! You see apparently these strays find me and I mean, I try to get them to fuck off. Nothing good comes to you when you hang out with me. People eventually get hurt.”

‘Wade, your being too hard on yourself, y’know Cap secretly loves you.’

“Is this my story to tell or yours??” Wade huffs irritably.

‘I am the writer.. but okay tell the fuckin story Wade.’

“As I was saying before....She’s crazy... Faye that is. Faye is incredibly crazy, insane really. She hulks out, but y’know in her own way! Like that time in..where was it??” Wade sighs and raps himself on the head quickly. “Now, talk now...”

‘Ooooh, nowww you want me to say sumpin? It was...’

ELSEWHERE

Wade hums quietly to himself, stealthily creeping down the warehouse between rows of crates. “..bus go round and round...round and round...round and round...”

“Wade that isn’t even a theme song, why can’t you just pick something normal like fuckin’ Mission Impossible?”

“Faye shut the fuck up, you’re not even supposed to be here!”

“I took the contract! I don’t understand why the fuck you’re even here?!” she shot back.

He caught sight of her little lithe body moving in the shadows already ahead of him, “How the fuck did you get in front of me? Faye hang back!”

“I got a clear shot..”

“Bird-brain you just keep an eye on immortal over there,” Wade bit back into the earpiece. ‘We didn’t mention? Clint decided to tag along as well.’ “Yeah well, he’s just supposed to be covering Faye’s ass...thinks she’s the Highlander when she’s really a fuckin-”

“Stop talking to your other self Wade, little miss muppet has started the show without you again...” Clint brought him back and Wade groaned as he heard shots ring out.

“MOTHERFUCKINSHITFUCK! OWWWW!! I KNOW I HEAL BUT YOU COULD BE A BETTER SHOT!” he yelled at her.

“Shut up already Wade!” Faye shot back as he moved to her side, she bent so that he was leant over her blocking her from oncoming bullets and she aimed for the five men that were behind him. 

“Carrying her Smith & Wesson 3913 she shot off 33 shots in the pool scene of ‘Constatine’ which is pretty good for a pistol that holds 8 rounds in the magazine!”

“Goddammit Wade don’t you ever shut that fuckin mouth of yours?” Faye asked. She could feel his smirk, “dont you dare-”

“I am sure you could find something to keep my mouth occupied...” he paused looking around, “is that really it?” he asked noting that it had become quiet. ‘Did she really think you weren’t gonna say that?’

Faye laughed, “see? Had it handled!”

“Pffft, okay, lets not mention the ones I took down.”

“Shut up Clint,” Faye ran a hand through her dark hair. “Best way to make money.”

“Guys, be careful that was too easy..” Clint was already packing up, “meet you guys in ten?”

“You’re not even supposed to be taking contracts little lady!” Wade groused stomping his foot angrily as she pulled a cigarette out. He caught it and snapped it in half, “those cause cancer.”

Faye looked up at him, rolling her eyes, “you know it burns out right?” Wade dropped his head, “Wade, this was my contract, I needed to take these guys out. You know why...”

“Well, there’s no need to go half cocked and without back up!”

She smirked up at him, “Yeah okay burn vic.”

“Scar from Lion King,” Wade gasped and backed away hand over the bottom portion of his mask. ‘You did it now...’

She swung fast, landing a hit on his side and Wade cackled loudly, “jerk... WADE!!”

‘Wade was used to being shot, it really didn’t phase him anymore, still hurt like hell of course, but what she did then...’

Faye shoved him, the pop from the gun resounded through the air and Wade doing some fancy foot work he learned from Captain America himself, twisted firing of a shot of his own, the bullet lodging right between the eyes of their assailant. 

“BINGO!! LOOK AT THAT SHOT! Bet even bird-brain will be jealous of that one!!” Wade chuckled. “Faye?” ‘Down there Wade.’

It was nothing. Bullet in her shoulder, Clint dug it out but Wade paced the entire time. Then once it was out he moved to the front of the jet and pretended to fly, he wasn’t allowed to touch the controls. Clint forbade him.

Still, it took him a minute to go back and talk. 

“Wade it wasn’t your fault, you took so many other bullets today,” Faye groaned eyes closed. “Holy shit this morphine crap is amazing, you think the doc will give me some on the low low?” She let out a little sigh, “cauterized it...shit burnt out the morphine... Clint?! I burnt the morphine out of my system!! Can I get some more?!”

“Shut up Faye, don’t you do that ever again.”

Faye’s brown eyes opened and she glared at him, “look, I don’t give a fuck what you do, you’re gonna do you, but don’t presume to tell me what I can and cannot do.” Clint halted in his steps watching the two bicker back and forth, before maneuvering around Wade and administering the shot.

“The fuck I can’t!! So long as you live under my roof-” he groaned and face palmed hard enough to make himself step back. ‘Wade you might not wanna go there...’ “The fuck I don’t!”

“FINE!!” she screamed back before catching Clint by the front of his shirt, “I’m staying at your place!!”

Clint caught Wade by the shoulder as she stomped to the front and shook his head, “let her cool off, you know how she is. I mean, she’s fire man. She’ll be back at your place by the end of the day. Don’t forget to get her flowers alright?”

Wade lowered himself and waved his arms around, effectively flailing, “OH, I’M IN THE WRONG HERE?!”

Clint frowned, “you know better than anyone else why she’s doing this...” he frowned and shook his head before going to join her in the cock pit.

‘A FEW MONTHS AGO ON A RAINY DAY...’

The alley was dark as usual, Wade had been trekking along happy as a clam headed to Weasel’s bar when he noticed the woman. She was limping along, which that in itself was enough to catch anyone’s attention. But that wasn’t it, ‘just keep moving Wilson, it’s none of your business.’

So he did, he walked right on past her. It was the smell of smoke that caught his attention. Fire that was put out by the water, he wondered idly if he had missed a fire, ‘how sad..’ “Shut up already!”

“h-haven’t said anything really...”

Wade stopped, her voice was all breathy and tired... ’just the way you like it Wade.’ “HA ha, who might you be?” he asked the girl backtracking. Wade watched as she looked up at him, black hair splattered across her face didn’t hide the ugly looking gash reaching from above her eyebrow down to her jawline. “I know someone with a scar in the same spot! You might know him?! Super built, metal arm, he’s completely in love with me?”

Wade watched as she leaned against the wall, “fuckin pissed is what.Where am I?”

“Planet Earth.”

“Where?”

“The United States of America?” when she peeked an eye at him he smirked, “here?”

“You’re useless...”

Wade cocked his head to the side, “actually my name is Wade Wilson.”

A little giggle escaped her, “well, Wade Wilson, ya think you might know where a girl can get a drink and get herself outta this here rain?”

‘I think it was that giggle that was your downfall, looking back now,’ “Shut up, not you...the voice in my head,” he pointed at his temple. “Ah, yeah, I know a place.”

She kept an eye on him, still leaning heavily on the wall for support. “Hm, well at least your honest about your insanity... how about that drink?”

Wade moved to wrap an arm around her but she refused, her own arm wrapped around her midsection. So Wade did what he always did. He talked. 

Weasel set two shot glasses down, “Where’d you find this one?”

“Out in the rain, pretty sure she’s bleeding all over your stool.”

“Waaade!!” he hurried around the bar and cursed, “need the med-kit...”

“No, no...it’s okay, just needed to get out of the rain.” She said peeling her jacket off and dropping the hoodie onto the floor with it, both men watched as she gingerly took her shirt off, leaving her in a bra and pants. “What? Never seen a chick in her bra?” she shot at them.

“Well, of course we have, just...usually they’re on the bar counter dancing and there’s you know...singles being placed in their waistband. Plus, they usually have flawless skin, not covered in all those scars,” Wade chattered, “what the fuck is that noise?” he asked looking around, Weasel nudged him pointing at the woman in front of them. 

Steam rose from her skin, and her hair sizzled lightly. Both men winced as they witnessed her skin burn and seal around her wounds, yet she hardly made a noise. 

“That. Was. Fuckin. CRAZY!!” Wade shouted excitedly, “and disgusting!!! Did you really just cauterize your own wounds? Is that why you’ve got fucking scars all over you?”

She raised an eyebrow, fresh scar still tender causing her to sit heavily back on the stool. “Figures the burn vic would have some shit to say. Name’s Faye Malakai, mind getting me a glass of whiskey? I had a shit day...”

‘In case you missed it, our new found mutant friend could play with fire, we weren’t sure if she would play nice or not.’

*****

A/N: If you wanna be tagged send me an ask, comments are appreciated (so, so, much!!!)

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[dolanmedown]

Hate You (E.D)

Authors note: I’m sorry for being so inactive but I’m going to be on all day today so if you requested anything it will most likely be up today or early tomorrow!!

Request: i’m running on three hours of sleep so my inspiration is running low but for some reason i really love imagines where like they both hate eachother for..whatever reason and so eventually they just kinda yk yk. it could be fluff or smut with either boy.

Warnings: Not really, maybe language or light smut

There were many reasons as to why I hated Ethan Dolan. In first grade, he poured Elmer’s glue down my back. My mom gave me a 2 hour shower when I got home. In 4th grade, he threw my notebook in the garbage during lunch. I was a goody tissues, and my notebook had all my homework in it. I cried to my teacher for 25 minutes. In 7th grade, he took a video of me sleeping and put it on vine for out entire school to see. I didn’t go to school for 3 days.

But the biggest reason that I hate the Ethan Grant Dolan: he left me in 10th grade.

I’m not talking about we were dating and he left me or whatever. I’m talking we were best friends. The Dolan twins and I. We were the 3 musketeers. I was featured on some of their vines. I was the one who pushed them to continue doing vine and chasing their dream, even when they were getting bullied in 9th grade.

When they continued to be homeschooled, it was a little weird to get used to not having them annoy me in school. But I still got to see them when I came home. And I was happy for them. They could continue doing what they loved to do.

I remember I came home from the last day of and I raced over to the Dolan house. With school ending, we could spend more time doing stupid crap together like we usually did. I didn’t bother knocking because I never knocked. I walked into the living room where they were usually sitting. They weren’t there. Cameron came down the stairs.

“Hey, where’s E and G?"I asked. Her face dropped and suddenly became super red.

"They didn’t tell you?"she asked.

"Tell me what?"I asked.

"They um, well they-”

“Cam"I almost demanded.

"They flew out to LA and have an apartment there. That’s where they’re living for know on"she said. Now my jaw dropped.

"Why didn’t they tell me?"I asked, my voice cracking. Cam responded by hugging me.

"I’ll kill them"she whispered in my ear.

I didn’t bother texting or calling them. Even when I wanted to. I wanted to so bad. But they were the ones who did me wrong.

I ended up becoming closer with Cam then ever. Even though she went to college, we still talked everyday. I ended up focusing on basketball. I always played with E and G, but now that they weren’t here, I put more focus on it.

So flash forward 2 years. I’m going to college in 2 months. The UCLA Bruins with a full scholarship ride. I couldn’t wait. Cam told me the best thing about college is the experiences. For now, I was just counting down the days until I took off.

Anyways, I went to the closest ice cream place I could find to get a gift card for my coach. He’s done so much for me that man and I know he loves ice cream, so I wanted to give him a little gift before I left for college. I went up to the cashier and asked for a $50 gift card. After handing the cash to her, she handed me the gift card. It was super cute, with sprinkles and hot fudge all over. As I was admiring the gift card, I accidentally bumped into someone, or a wall for that matter.

"I’m sorry!"we both said at the same time. I looked up, and I came face to face with Ethan. After not seeing him for 2 years, here he was, standing right it front of me. He looked different. Before it was sort of hard to tell apart him and Gray. Now they look nothing alike. He’s gotten bigger too. Way bigger. And tanner.

I didn’t know what to say. Do I even say anything? He was staring at me the same way I was staring at him. Jaw dropped, inspecting every element of each other.

"Yo E why are you-holy shit. Y/N?"he asked. He knew the answer to that, but clarification I guess.

"Uh, hi"I said, pretty awkwardly. I didn’t know what to do. Or say. I haven’t spoken to them in 2 years, do I act like everything is fine or still be mad? How about neither. Instead I do what no one should do but I always end up doing. Run away.

"Look I really gotta go-"I said almost running to the door.

"Wait Y/N!"Gray said but I didn’t let him finish.

"Sorry!"I said as I was out the door, speed walking to my car. I took a look back. Ethan had the same face on from when we first bumped into each other, while Grayson seemed sadder. I put my car in reverse and drove back to my house.

The way home was nothing but thinking. Why were the twins in NJ again? Did they come home to visit family? How long are they going to be staying home for? What if they’re permanently staying? Overthinking was really just the gist of the whole car ride. I walked inside to see my mom with her car keys in her hand.

"Hey mom. Where are you going?"I asked.

"Just some food shopping. I’ll be back soon"she replied.

"Mom it takes you 3 hours for food shopping"I said. She chuckled.

"Oh sweetie. Did you know the twins are back? You should go say hi!"she suggested. I gave her a look, and she read my mind.

"I know you didn’t leave off good but you guys are the 3 amigos. Maybe not right now, but just try to talk to them?"she asked. I groaned and plopped down on the couch. She left, locking the door on her way out.

I was scrolling through Instagram, Snapchat, twitter, everything. And I was stalking the twins. I’m almost 100% sure that when they left, I blocked them on every social media possible and deleted their contact so they couldn’t follow me. 14 minutes when by when I heard a knock on the door.

I got up, fixing my jeans a little bit before opening the door. I was again, face to face with Ethan. Why does this keep happening to me?

Again, I didn’t know what to do. But he looked like he had everything thought out. He pushed past me, entering my house without even saying a word. I closed the door, suddenly my blood starting boiling of anger.

"Can you leave my house?"I asked. Except I didn’t want him to option. I wanted him to leave my house.

"No. We’re going to settle this once and for all,"he said.

"Settle what? Did we go to war or something?"I remarked.

"Why you hate us so much!"he exclaimed.

"Oh let me think. Maybe it’s because all of the sudden, you left for LA without even telling your best friend! Or I thought I was your best friend at least. I had to find out from fucking Cameron. Who just leaves and doesn’t tell anyone?"I yelled.

"How could I try to tell you when you blocked me on everything?"he started to raise his voice too.

"Me? You’re blaming this on me now?"I asked, almost at shock. My voice was still high.

"I wasn’t the one who just totally cut off ties with someone!"he yelled.

"I wasn’t the one who got a plane to across the fucking country and didn’t even tell their best friend! Do you speak English? I wouldn’t have done what I did if you weren’t such a dick!"I yelled. We just looked at each other. My heart was beating out of my chest. My face was flushed from yelling. My face went into this RBF. Ethan’s hands were in his hair, tugging on it. His jaw was clenched and his face was flushed as well.

"Why didn’t you tell me?"I asked, my voice back at normal. He didn’t answer, instead he just turned around, his hands going to his hair for support again.

"Wow great. I can’t believe it,"I said.

He walked towards me, getting closer and closer. And didn’t stop until he grabbed my face in his hands and planted his lips right onto mine. I melted right into the kiss at first. Not going to lie. But then I realized, why am I kissing Ethan? I pulled back and pushed him back a bit, to which he stumbled a bit being taken off guard.

"No Ethan. You can’t just kiss me and think that’s going to solve everything. You didn’t answer my question"I demanded.

"Ok fine. You wanna know why I didn’t tell you?"he asked.

"Kinda"I scoffed.

"Because I was madly in love with you. I still am. How was I supposed to say that I’m leaving for who knows how long to someone I can’t stand not seeing for more than 2 seconds? I couldn’t bring myself to say bye because if I did I didn’t know what else might come out of my mouth. And I thought it was a phase. I thought I would get over you after a couple of months of not seeing you everyday. Hell, I even got a fucking girlfriend to try and distract myself from you. But I can’t. I can’t seem to get you out of my fucking head Y/N. Every girl I see I try to look for you. And I can’t. Because you are the only person that I want. Ok. There I said it"he ended his speech with a quick gasp, like he lost all the air he had inside when he spoke.

For the third time today, I was speechless. I didn’t know what to say.

"I know, I ruined our friendship and now you don’t want to talk to me"he said, walking towards me, except to go to the door. Except this time, I grabbed his collar and pulled him towards me, connecting our lips. He backed us into a wall, my the top of my back using the wall as support as his hands grabbed the small of my back to bring us closer.

We didn’t stop kissing. Things only got more heated from there. His tongue slipped in my mouth, as his hands traveled lower towards my ass giving it a good grab.

Eventually I needed to breathe, so I pulled away.

"Let me make it up to you,"he said, lifting me off the ground as my legs wrapped around his waist. He placed me on the couch, hovering over me.

You probably know what happened after that. It was a good night. But afterwards it was even better. Catching up on each other’s lives, we finally put the last behind us and moved forward. I was happy to say the least. I finally had my best friend, or even more then that, next to me and back in my life.

[theimpressionnant]

RANT (because I don’t express  my feelings in real life)

DISCLAIMER : *i’m really bad at writing down my thoughts, so if they appear all over the place, and just messy, you know why :/*

This is also the first time i’ve ever written down my feelings, so its pretty must just a vomit of words

So 2016 and 2017 have probably been one of the worst years ever, in terms of personal and academic. 

I feel like I’ve lost myself. I don’t know who I am as a person, if that even makes sense. It’s like things have gotten so bad for me, and my expectations so high, that I’m not really the person I feel like I imagine myself to be? I like to think of myself as a smart person, but then looking at my ‘achievements’ nothing says ‘smart’. And as a result Ive kinda lost who I am as a person. Am I that smart, productive confident person I was? Or was that just a phase? At the same time, I feel like I know myself so much that I end up second guessing myself, mostly telling myself that something bad will happen, and that I wont achieve my goals. And it often, it does happen. These two years I’ve been trying to figure out who I really am, but i’ve reached no success.

And also, I cant seem to achieve anything. Putting myself down has sort of become a second nature to me. Any aspect of life I feel like i’m a failure. And to a certain extent I do believe it. Its sort of like a ‘why me’ sort of thing. Why would I succeed? Why would I be successful? ‘nothing successful happens to me, so why should I be able to achieve anything?’ And as a result, to be honest, I don’t feel like I’m going to graduate in the coming year, because I don’t see myself there. The students in my class are freaking geniuses. Im literally the dumbest person there. They’ve got all their shit together, and then there’s me. Its been stressing my out so much that I completely trashed my mid year exams, and as a result, had to sign a contract saying that if I don’t pass all my classes in the end of year exams, I’ll get kicked out of the international baccalaureate programme, because I may not be able to cope with the workload. Thing is, I feel like I can, but then i have this load of negativity on my back that I can’t shake off because I feel like everything i tell myself is true. And I dont say it out of self pity. I say this out of objectivity. I can’t handle lies like 'I will succeed’ or that ‘i’ll make it’ when I know I won’t.  And its so annoying. I wanna believe in myself. But I don’t wanna disappoint myself, and put myself even further down by telling myself that I will succeed, but then fail. Because that means i just lied to myself, just gave myself false hope. I feel like thats my biggest fear. To promise myself, or to tell myself that I’ll succeed, and then not do so. Because I’ve done that too much. Worked so hard and then failed when I told myself that I will succeed. I don’t have the emotional capacity to go through it again and again, because it makes it even more painful than it already is to just be me. I feel like I cant love myself if I fail. And i’m going to be honest. At the moment, I hate myself. I really do. Sometimes I cant bear looking at myself in the mirror, because I dont feel like looking at a stupid piece of failure. Intelligence has always been something i liked to define myself as. And I always used to define myself with it. But now i feel like nothing. Because i have noting to define myself as.  Those numbers I used to define myself as are not worth even mentioning. So I’m kinda nothing right now. 

And I know i shouldn’t define myself as my grades. But its pretty hard to do so when my whole life is determined by the number I get in the end of next year. It’s an obsession I really want to get rid of.

but Its not only me that can’t understand myself (lol what?), its others.

And I don’t say it out of 'coolness’ or 'ugh, nobody understands me’

It’s a genuine feeling of isolation.

Since was a child, I would have this really bad habit of rejecting people in general, because I feel like they hate me, even though they’ve done nothing wrong. I just feel like it’s safer to get rid of them first then have go go through the pain of being told, go away or something. Because that makes me think of myself horribly, which again, I don’t have the emotional capacity of doing. And as a result. I’ve blocked out everyone I feel like I could’ve had good connections with. And I just feel so alone lol help.

But then again I have my family, the only people I haven’t crossed out of my life (and never will) and thats better than anything. 

  Come to think of it, I kinda feel everyone hates me. Teachers, family friends, people I sometimes talk to at school. Its crazy. And the thing is, i know they probably don’t, but yet I can easily convince myself otherwise. Ask for a pen in class? Yup they hate me. Who wouldn’t? I literally asked for a pen in the middle of class. Asked what we had for homework because i was away? They probably think i’m dumb, and therefore, they hate me. Its as simple as that. But its so convincing. I don’t know how to explain it. I know it’s stupid, but I believe it. And as a result, I feel like the whole world is watching me, because they hate me. Like every move I make is being judged. Walking to next class? Eating? Walking into a shop? I’m so annoying. They must hate me. And it gets exhausting. I dont want to deal with it. Even my siblings get annoyed with my constant cringing in public places. 

But the thing is, I can’t talk to people about my personal feelings, i find it so cringe. But at the same time I want to get rid of it. Because it’s been affecting my studies a lot. And Since I’m starting year 12 very soon, I want to fix it before the stress starts. 

I don’t know, it’s just one of those things about myself that i just cant articulate.

I think its because of my general self esteem as well? Like I’ve picked up this really bad habit of never looking at my grades after a test. I remember when my grades used to be really high, i would be reaallly eager to get my grade. Expecting nothing under a 90%, and I would get just that. But now, when i get the paper back, I would just put the paper in my folder without looking at the mark, and have to prepare myself over hours to look at it, so that if i would get a bad mark i wouldn’t panic and tell myself negative things. Which AGAIN, I don’t have the emotional capacity of doing. Its gone to the extent that I haven’t opened my exam results, and they were released three weeks ago. I mean,  I haven’t been called, like other students have, about their bad results, and it’s summer holidays now, so schools done, but I feel like they’re saving the worst till last. I don’t intend on looking at my marks, because I just don’t want to disappoint my family, who think i’m a dream student. I don’t even know if I failed or passed the exams. And I studied for them like no tomorrow, but its just a fear of looking at my results. Even if i where to look at my results, I feel like nothing is enough for me. Regardless of my grades. Even if I get a reasonably good score, I’ll find an excuse to tell myself such as 'any idiot could have gotten a 97%’ or 'it was by chance (whatever the hell that means) or anything else  along those lines.

And I’ve realised how dumb I sound when i think all of these thoughts.

and so i’ve come to realisation that if I want to at least pass year 12, I really need to stop with these toxic thoughts. Because they’ve messed me up emotionally and academically.

I really miss years 2014, 2015. Those years were the best. Remembering them makes me really sad. I just miss the simplicity, grades, and good memories :)

For me, 2018 will be a year of working on myself, good grades, healthy lifestyle and just good vibes <3 Oh, and also graduation hopefully^-^

Im sorry if this is so dull. I promise I’m not as sad and depressed it looks like. Words dont show tone and facial expression lol

[nicolesqueloquence]

So it dawned on me.. yesterday. At dawn.

That there’s this cliche little conspiracy thing for us in our mid-20’s that 25 is THE worst age, ever.

And while I can attest to 2017 so far being more ambivalent in its extent of BS compared to others (2009, 2012, 2015?!!?!?)….

I have to say that I agree, and I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel with 26.

Suddenly I saw the last ten years weave itself around my mind, counting all of the victories and tragedies and it made way too much sense.

Of course I’m lost right now, as any child byproduct of the dysfunctional American household is going to be. I’m a fucking millennial inheriting nothing but a broken economy and a bullseye painted on my back for everything from financial ruin, emotional self-destruction, and potential kidnapping to a terrorist attack, psychopath killer from my past, and potential Armageddon as we may know it soon.

I think, a lot of other people would feel pretty fucking lost, anxious, and depressed too.

And for the most part, I don’t feel that bad. Maybe it’s my meds zombifying me, maybe it’s just blind optimism because I’ve been too drained of the energy to feel anything stronger than that, or maybe since everything passes- that includes all the negative stuff too.

But I’m fine. I’m on my way to better. I’m almost there. For the first time, I kinda feel it.

26 sounds like a paradise, in fact. And I’m one that HATES getting older. HATES my birthday. I break down. I relapse. I turn into a human tornado of self-destruction. It’s bad, like Marilyn Monroe level of bad.

But not this year. I’m building an empire for myself, just like I have for the past ten years even if I keep breaking it down like the U.S. did to their own towers (oops).

What I did for myself in the midst of all the chaos and ruin was established myself as a writer. I found my words, or they found me, and then they found themselves on paper. Whether it was some mediocre essay project that my teachers inevitably A’d and hailed me for, or my Dragonball Z fanfiction that I still fuck with but with a lot of intermittent adult absences due to my grown up writer’s block from all the imagination that’s left me in my dry and cynical 20’s.

I also got published in both UNLV and my high school’s newspapers. Luckily these are the first things to come up with a google of my full name, and not any mug shots or crazy things like that because those things can stay in the MF past okay.

This is all while my parents divorced, my mom dated and remarried, and I got exiled to my dad’s place all the way across town to another high school- effectively killing the dead end that way my destructive social life at the other school, which was somewhat of a great thing and a terrible thing. I didn’t have people fueling my already turbulent home life with more drugs and alcohol, but then I didn’t have anybody at all either unless they existed in the chat room I dominated as a teenager.

Ahhhh, yes. I will always be proud of such a minuscule feat, with my social anxiety establishing itself and all, because I came up with the MOST LIT AF nicknames. Nikkachu, VenerealCereal, and my very first, Lovily_Lili17- my daughter’s name that I discovered at 13.

Oh yeah. That too. READING. I couldn’t stop. I was addicted to those huge adult novellas like Lace, Where the Heart Is, and anything Stephen King once I had my way with R.L. Stine and his many endeavors to placate his teen base.

Wow. The nostalgia. I can’t.

I still have almost every book from that era. I went and bought a ton of them off of Amazon, but I’ll have to replace some that arrived less than the library form that I originally read them in. I can’t do paperback, they’re much too small.

But that library smell.. My favourite is the one by my mother’s house, where I looked down at my Converse at 12 years old and realized that I was becoming a woman already.

HAHA. Seriously. 12. A woman. Okay.

That moment was just me feeling myself because I had a lot of older male fans that I’m quite sure held a rap sheet for child-related sex crimes, okay.

In that moment, I felt sheer power. My dying self-esteem that had wilted from years of verbal abuse and a total lack of male attention minus that of bullying was suddenly blossoming from the attention I would get from old men. It was exhilarating, and just as addictive as anything else I decided to get my all too curious hands on for the next decade.

At the end of this decade though, I can say I’m no longer phased by it. I get all kinds of attention now, and it’s more of a burden than it sounds like I’m making it. It comes from guys with whole entire relationships waiting for them at home and at work, guys who have kids already (ew), or guys I’m just not into. Period.

So I have a drought of a love life, but I knew this was coming once I recycled my ex’s as much as I could without anyone getting killed. It came close… LOL, but we’re all okay and we’re all separated thank God.

Everybody went their own way to something better, hopefully. Moreso hopefully for me once this drought is over and I can stop losing sleep with all of the PTSD I’ve mustered through the years with all the nightmarish shit I’ve put myself through.

I really went through the ringer, especially my early 20’s. Before I could even legally drink, I had charges. But that’s the territory, right? Being a human Tasmanian devil will do that to you. Having the most unstable self-image will put out a red flag to society that you are disposable, trouble, a force to be reckoned with, etc. So I don’t recommend it.

I’ve really calmed down though. Especially in the past few weeks. Normally after an event like the one I just suffered, I’d be halfway back to my early grave again just like countless times before. But I’m actually way more okay sooner than I thought. It only took a good 3 or 4-day binge of unhealthy, toxic, and intoxicating substances for me to snap into a depression and then somehow snap out of it completely averse to that stuff.

That’s how you know you’re adulting, when life knocks you over for the thousandth time and you just… lay there.

And I type all of this with a huge grin on my face, because it’s great. I can enjoy being sober and feeling like shit at the same time. I can enjoy going to the store at almost 11 o’clock at night for bagel bites and taquitos and feel accomplished for leaving my apartment for all of twenty minutes. I can enjoy binging YouTube, laughing at memes, and obsessing over current event stories in my favourite forum message board places.

So, I’ve moved into my phone. Big deal. My dopamine receptors have to be stimulated by something other than the sun blinding me through my window.

I will say I am neglecting the Tindr app for my own sanity. I think last time I tried to venture it, I got a really fussy man-baby throwing a fit over my very delayed and very mundane response. Okay. That was that, then.

I have a feeling that I can’t rely on electronics for this one. It’s going to have to be some sort of divine intervention to get my love life back on track. I really won’t settle for less, either, because we don’t have the technology advanced enough yet to weed out the assholes, the fuckboys, and the lazy have-nots that I simply can’t build anything with.

There’s always med school. Some very savvy ladies attend just so they can enter the meat market of medicine and date an up and coming doctor. I know I would. Medical terms during foreplay? Needles and a papoose during roleplay? Hell yes.

Okay maybe not anything with phlebotomy but you catch my drift. I think overall, even if they don’t share all the same quirky interests of mine, I would just want someone who is in love with me and stays in love with me. Even if I can’t stay in love with myself.

But I’m trying. This is me trying. This is me giving myself a fucking break because the last ten years have kinda sucked, right? On and off. Sure. But it doesn’t matter. All of the friendships, the relationships, the scandals, the stories.. My God, do I have a story.

I want to publish it, but not in its raw form of pure sugar and salt just piled up in the middle of the table. I want it to be in the form of fiction, set in outer space, in the dark corners of an emotionally dysregulated teenage girl’s mind…

Yep. I got the ideas spinning in my head and everything, it just won’t form a tangible shape.

And it won’t make any money because I’m fucking insane and no one will get it: the big picture, the metaphor, what actually went down.

So I have to make it make money and make sense. Two very difficult things in a day and age where something as basic as Fifty Shades of Grey is hailed as top-notch. Wtf.

At least Twilight is over, thankfully.

And finally my last contribution to this planet and this life of mine in the past ten years is…

BUTTONS.

Yes, my cat. Why?

Because I adopted the most beautiful, loving, playful, and stubborn salt-loving creature on this planet.

So even if I died right here, today, this second.. I will have known true, unconditional love just because of him.

And even if it’s single chick cliche AF… I adore him to death.

So there’s that.

Looking forward to the next 6 months coming and going by so I can be a whole year older, and a whole lot wiser with a lot more laidback to me than before.

But so far, enjoying the ride at 25… (and a half).

Thanks for reading a random rant of mine again! :)

Nostalgic ramblings & revelations about being 25.5 on the way to 26, and much much better. So it dawned on me.. yesterday. At dawn. That there's this cliche little conspiracy thing for us in our mid-20's that 25 is THE worst age, ever.

[animewolfgamer]

Dangan Ronpa! Analyzing is Despair!: The big , the horse, and the famous(Investigation)

Finn… Darkedge… Two ponies that I have know for quite sometime now. Why must it come to this? I...I can’t even process of why this happened. I’m so sorry Finn! I’m so sorry Darkedge!

All of us headed back to the Rift Cafe. Seeing Kamen glaring us down from the stage was a bit heart pounding.

“Alright everypony!” He flung his arms up in the air, giving a huge devilish looking grin.  

“JUST GET TO THE FUCKING POINT!” Keyframe did not sound the least in holding back.

Kamen’s teeth gritted together with his left cheek puffed up. “Well I had a opening montage but I might as well get to the point.” His smile became more blatant. His eyes focus on us like a hawk stalking its prey. “Since two ponies were killed, I thought I make this case interesting.”

“Interesting…” Sapphire rolled her eyes, angrily sighing. “Interesting how?”

A sudden devilish laughter put us all on edge. “To the pony who committed the murder, I will be able to revive one pony that you care most.”

“WHAT!? “WAIT!? YOU CAN DO THAT!?”

Everypony darted there heads, chatting at this recent known of information.

“Yes that is right my members of the rift cafe!” A hat appears right in his hand, shooting out confetti. “If the culprit can get away from getting caught, I’ll revive one pony of your choosing!”

Toon bursted out laughing, “As if you have the power to do so!” A wide grin forms, “We may be candy colored horses but death is not something you can just mess around with.”

His eyes glow brighter. The grin on his face grew more wider by the second. With a single snap of his fingers, A body appears right in front of us. A body of a fallen friend, “hope this gets your attention.”

Everypony was speechless. GoldenFox… he looked like he was just like himself.

KeyFrame tears drip across her cheeks. “Golden… GOLDEN!” She raised her voice, pressing her chest down. “GOLDEN IT'S ME!”

“Oh he is not alive...yet.” His laugh gets lowered by the second. “You see, my powers is able to bring back somepony in his most healthy state.” He glared us down, snickering at our confusion. “Even when they were murdered or executed.”

… Damn you. DAMN YOU!

“You are a sick griffon!” AnY Pointed fiercely, “Using my friend like that!”

Toon gritted his teeth at intense pressure, “I'm so going to fucking murder you.”  

Kamen sigh annoyingly, “Oh fine if you can’t stand looking at them.” The body disappeared with a single snap, “but that is my reward so hope you win my little culprit.” Kamen makes his grand exit, cartwheeling his way backstage.

“This is bullshit!” Brush Stroke veins pulse at a fast rate. “HOW DARE HE MESS WITH US LIKE THAT!”

Foxwell wraps her hooves around her, giving her small pats on the head. “Let’s… try to keep calm here.”

“I don’t know what feel about this…” Sapphire gritted his teeth together, with her eyes close shut. “This is just wrong and yet…”

“Keyframe?” Scriptless stands in front of her, “are you hurt?”

Shaking her head violently, her face became a lot more aggressive than before. “Everypony, we should not let that distract us!”  

Toon faces away from everyone for a moment. His breath started to get louder, till it garble up into growl noises. “FUCK! DAMN IT ALL!” A sudden burst of anger caught everypony off guard. He grabbed the nearest chair, launching it across the cafe, destroy the shelves of prize vanka in process.

A tear sheds around AnY left eye, holding in all the pain.

Sapphire rolled her eyes, unable to look at him. “Big baby,” she whispered.

Toon suffered a huge lack of breath, “Damn it….”

“You're done?” MasterCode walks up to him, giving a more serious look. It’s his serious mode again. “Listen, I know you’re not in the least bit happy but what’s done is done.” His head slowly faced towards Keyframe. “That goes the same to you.”

Toon turn straight at him, giving off a frightening glare. “I don’t even know who you are anymore.”

“Well don’t bother! There is a reason people could only take me as seriously as they can get.” His voice changed back to what I recognize him the most. Yet those words didn’t sound like something he would say with that tone. “But we all should focus on one thing and that is exposing the killer, wouldn’t you agree?”

Please MasterCode, don’t ruin the image I see you as.

“Well…” Foxwell scratch his mane, taking in a deep breath. “Let’s… get this over with.”

Everypony else looked a little on edge. Things are just going to get a lot more complicated with two murders. Darkedge… Finn… I promise to find the answer of what happened to the both of you.  

                                    Investigation Start!

Right on time, our iPads vibrated like crazy. Tapping the file, two autopsy reports open side by side.

Finn died around 5:30 pm

His body was found next to a taxi carriage next to the diner.

Cause of death was a huge amount of blood loss around the stomach area.

Dark died around 6:00 pm

His body was found in the alley wall of marble walls.

Cause of death was a huge fracture around the Skull, causing his brain to swell up.

So Dark died just 30 minutes away from Finn’s death.

“You know…” Toon daze off for a moment. “I’m kinda glad I avoided the crime around that time period.”

“Wait!” Keyframe zooms in on Finn’s time death. “If the time period is correct, then the murder was happening just a block down where we were!?”

“It would appear so,” MasterCode circled around Keyframe. “I ask, did Dark show any signs of struggle or something?”

“Well Dark teleported us without warning but…” She paused for a moment, “Before we got zapped out of spots, I remember his vest looking beat up.”

“Wait!” Toon barges right in, “Come to think of it, where were his clothes when we found his body?”

Cat Avenger’s eyes widen, with her cheeks burning bright red. “I believe the culprit took it off from him?”

MasterCode bursted out laughing, “Probably to get rid of some blood he got.”

We gotta finish this case soon…

         Truth Bullet Obtain: Finn’s Autopsy Report

                        Details of the body contain within

     Truth Bullet Obtain: DarkEdge’s Autopsy Report

                         Details of the body contain within

            Truth Bullet Obtain: Keyframe’s Testimony

     For a split second, Keyframe remembers Dark’s bruise up vest

“Well what are we waiting for?” AnY sprinted towards the door, “Let’s get a closer look at this, shall we?”

Well… time to see our fallen friends again.

It’s funny. All of us heading to the diner feels like we’re at Bronycon. Only instead of eating homemade pancakes, we’re investing who among us did the killing.

All of us huddle around Finn’s crime scene. The smile on his face became a lot more unsettling.

“Ok…” Foxwell turned his whole body around. “I… just can’t look at him with that expression.”

“You think he went out with style?” Toon tips his hat, giving off a smile. “I know that is how I would go.”

Brush Stroke gently taps the sword lunge in his stomach. “I wonder how the killer manage to get the sword away from him?”

MasterCode nodded slowly, “He was too nice to see anyone as a threat.”

Keyframe leaned her head, giving him the stink eye. “You're not saying he just let the killer have the weapon, do you?”

He chuckled dismissively, “I am only saying a theory.” MasterCode turned his back on her, giving off a smug. “Besides I let the evidence decide if it's true or not.”

Sapphire glared at him, holding back on her anger. “I swear if we find anything that relates to you being the killer…”

Nothing is able to phase him. He just laughed it off, straightening out his tie. “How about we let the evidence decide?”

Oh man… I really hate it when he acts like this. But the thought of Finn just giving his sword was… ludicrous. I didn’t want to think that but Finn never was a person full of doubts.

                    Truth Bullet Obtain: Finn’s Sword  

The culprit use his own sword against him. How he manage to do that is a whole different can of worms.  

Cat turned away, “The blood is making me sick a bit.”

Scriptless took a second look, “Hey guys!?” Her tail quickly picks up a purple feather, floating on top of the blood. “Look at what I found!”

Is that a chicken feather?

“Wait?” Keyframe’s horn glowed at a rapid pace, bringing the feather right in between her eyes. “Isn’t this Darkedge’s feather?”

Toon leaned right on her face, getting a closer view. “It is one of his feathers!”

“Guys…” Sapphire leaned down. Her eyes widened with her jaw dropped. “I think there is more than just one feather.”

All of us leaned down, seeing the amount of feather floating around underneath the carriage. They’re like small boats traveling around the river.

“Ok…” Brush eyes darted back and forth. “How did they got there?”

“Well, well, well.” His grin grew a lot wider, snickering with his tongue sticking out. “Guess my theory might be true.”

“OH HELL NO!” Toon angrily stomps his way, stopping right in his face. “If you think Finn is stupid enough to give the sword to anypony, especially Darkedge, then you got another thing coming!”

Ya I just don’t believe it.

“MasterCode,” Cat Avenger’s voice is raised up a bit. “With all due respect, It’s best you keep your conclusions to yourself until we get more evidence.”  

His smile looked more like his normal self for once, “Well okay there, little one.” With his hoof under her chin, he gave her soft little scratches.    

She couldn’t be any happier.  

Sapphire isn’t amused. “I really don’t trust him.”

Sometimes I ask the same questions Sapphire. But the evidence doesn’t seem to be lying…

             Truth Bullet Obtain: Darkedge’s feathers

         Feathers flown around Finn’s Blood, indicating a struggle.

MasterCode turn around in a 360 degree angle. “I think this is time to split up.”

“I’m not so sure about that…” Sapphire walks up to him, face to face. “How would I know you won’t pull some strange shit behind us?”

A soft snicker cause her step back, “What I am saying is that we split in teams.”

He does have a point there.

“Now that I made this clear, I want all unicorns to come with me.” The horn glowed as bright as day. A bubble shield pops out around him. “We got a second body to investigate!”

I hate going back there but there is no other way isn’t it?  

The three of us stand right in the entrance. A lingering scent continues to cover the entrance. With all my strength, my magic bubble is air sealed tight at around 90% max. Gotta get a lot of air in while I’m at it.

It wasn’t long till we reached Dark’s corpse.  

“Alright!” MasterCode faces towards Keyframe, “Can you kindly put a large magic bubble around the area please?” Him going back and forth with his voice tones is starting to get a little annoying.

Keyframe aims her horn right up in the air. A ball of light forms around it before firing up in the sky. A huge bubble shield surrounds the area.

“Finally,” I took a huge deep breath. The fresh air here is very much needed.

I felt a light tap on my shoulders. “If you’re done, let’s get ourselves some evidence!” It’s good to see MasterCode’s cheery attitude but seeing it here just makes it not as memorable as I hope.

The frying pan floats away from Darkedge’s head, holding right in front of Keyframe view point. “Well I guess dark recieve a kung pow chicken surprise here.”

A crack on that pan? Wow, the killer must of been a lot stronger to pull that off.

MasterCode took a closer look at the head. His eyes widen a bit, “There is no blood trauma anywhere.”

“If there is,” Keyframe pause for a moment. “There should of been blood around the pan.”

You know looking his head, I notice something off about it. “Hmmm I wonder?” I patted his head for a bit. Now that he is dead, I don’t think he wouldn’t mind. “AH!” I felt a crack around here.  

Keyframe gave me wide eye look, “Feeling anything there?”

Looking at myself touching his forehead, I feel a lot more awkward. “Umm I…” Ugh, get it together Unova! “I felt a crack around the forehead here.”

“That could explain why there is no blood lose around its head.” MasterCode leans down, getting a closer look. “From the looks of it, the frying pan must of hit so hard to crack his head like an egg shell.”

Keyframe growled, nodding slowly. “That can’t be. A hit like this should of cause his head to bleed at least a little.”

“That may be true but,” He takes the pan. “What if the crack got bigger with each passing minute?”

That could explain why there isn’t any blood. The crack on his skull must of gotten wider with each passing second. Meaning he must of been alive to feel every second of it.

                       Truth Bullet Obtain: Frying pan  

                The weapon that collided with Dark’s forehead

             Truth Bullet Obtain: Skull fracture detail

The fracture seem to take form with each passing second before his death.

“Huh?” I instantly grabbed what looked to be a white feather. “Is this Darkedge’s feather?”

“No, that can’t be;” Keyframe took a long look at his body. “I don't see any part of his body that could have white feathers.”

MasterCode snarls, nodding slowly. “Could be the killer's way to deceive us.”

I feel I have seen this feather somewhere…

                      Truth Bullet Obtain: White feather

                          An odd color sticks out from the rest.

I leaned my head back, letting out all the frustration. “Huh?” Well that is something. There is a sharp pointy edge there.  

“Unova!” I stumble back a bit. MasterCode pointed right next to Darkedge just a few inches apart. “You might want to look at this.”

Facing at the same direction, my eyes quickly caught a hoof print in the sand. What makes it easy to spot is that it’s cover in some blood. “What!?”

Keyframe Sigh, “I had the same reaction.”

“But… how can this be?” Especially when there isn’t any sign of trauma around his body.

She took a second look, rubbing her chin. “I think that Dark’s body was moved.”

You know...that actually makes a bit more sense. “But that doesn’t explain why this is the only hoofprint?” If his body really was move, then there should of been more hoofprints.

“This could only mean one thing!” Mastercode turn his head slightly, giving off a smirk. “We have either a pegasus or unicorn that could commit the killings.”

“If that were true...” I turn away. If that is true then the ponies that are near me, could be involved in the murder. Slowly, my head turn around and all I can see is the shadow covering their eyes. I know my minds are playing tricks on me but...the sense of paranoia is starting to get out of hand.

“Unova?” I felt a light pat on my shoulders. Keyframes eyes looked a lot clearer now. “You feeling okay there?”

I didn’t wanted to worry here. As I shake my head, a smile begins to form. “Ya… I’m feeling just fine.” All this paranoia is starting to get to me. Just wait till the trial Unova…

                   Truth Bullet Obtain: Blood hoof print.

    Imprinted on the sandy floor, indicating that the body is moved.          

“Hey Unova!?” I ran to his call, skidding right next to him. “It seems someone has been doing a little digging.”

I looked at the same direction. My jaw dropped, “Wait what?”

The place where I ditch all those books… somepony dugged them all up.

“You think it might of been Darkedge?” MasterCode scratches her main, sticking her tongue out.

A loud growl emerged as she nodded her head. “I have no doubt about it. He was the one who teleported me and my friends away from our guard post.”  Her eyes squinted, having her eyes brows getting a little closer to each other.

“Hmmm?” I kneeled down close, moving all the sand covering the books around. From Keyframes to Sapphire, to AnY and Dark… wait a minute? “Is this Darkedge’s book?”

“Well you’re holding it,” Keyframe took a closer look. “Hey… this shade of purple doesn’t match his color.”

The book flies off my grasp, floating straight into MasterCode. “This book likes like it came from one of Dr. Wolf’s offices.”

So that means that Dark hid his book?

“Wait a minute!” Keyframe walked towards him, “that is not possible! We bury all the books!” A glow of magic surrounded around his suit, pulling straight up in her face. “We all gave the books to Unova!”

His giggle became unnerving there, “well looks can be a bit deserving,  man.”

If Darkedge gave me a book similar to his, then where is the real one?

                  Truth Bullet Obtain: Book from Office

      Instead of Darkedge, we got a book from one of Dr. Wolf’s offices.    

“UGH!” Keyframe face hoof, “I can’t believe I didn’t notice that!”

“Now calm down, Key,” He fooled all of us but why is that?

MasterCode circled around, stepping out from the force field. “Let's get a little personal, shall we?”

I feel a little creep out but as long as we are far away from here, then I’m ok with it.

Tooked us an hour but the moment we exit out of that hallway, I took in all the fresh air that I needed. “Oh that is the stuff…” In fact I took in so much fresh air, I didn’t notice Keyframe and MasterCode leaving. “HEY! Where you two going?”

MasterCode stop in place. He stood still without turning back. “We’re gonna looks in a place where no one will think to look so it's best that you catch up with the others and see what they're doing.”

The two headed off, leaving me all alone. I slowly turn my head back, seeing the dark alleyway one more time. I drifted off as fast as I could. Seeing the sight of Finn’s crime scene actually made me a happy for a bit. Why do I feel this way?

“You ok Unova?” The soft voice of Cat Avenger was pleasant hearing too.

“Oh I’m just as peachy as ever Cat.” Shooked my head, getting myself back to focus.

Scriptless gently tap me by the shoulder, “Did you found anything over there?”

I nodded, “we got a lot but I wanted to see if anything else come up?”

Cat sighed, looking down on herself. “Toon, Sapphire, and AnY are in the diner while Foxwell and Brush are at the hotel.”

So I got a split path here. Well since I’m close at the diner, “Thanks you two.” Gave them a friendly wave before stepping hoof in the place. Still just as I last left it. Except the bloody mess here...

“Unova!” Sapphire pushed me back, “You might want to watch your step there.”

I guess the killer did leave a blood trail but where are the hoofprints?

“Guess you're as confused as I am huh?” Toon face looked a little annoyed there.

I nodded, “How did blood get in here if there is no sign of a trail!?”

“Simple!” AnY pops out from the seat behind the blood puddle, “Someone teleported here with the blood!” His hooves directly pointed at some soot around the seat. “Looks like someone wanted to get out of site.”

I wonder? “Sapphire did you saw anypony near Finn’s body?”

Her face turned away. For a split second, I saw her teeth gritted together. Holding back all her anger. “Unfortunately no… once I got there, Finn was already heading to a better a place.”

Ugh...I feel bad for asking now. But this really didn’t help me stop thinking of the possible suspect being a Unicorn. Is it really Key or MasterCode?

“You sure, Sapphire?” Toon faced towards her, looking a little more concern. “You didn’t thought of checking here?”

Her face turned from sorrow to anger within a matter of seconds. “I was out right depressed, you know! How would you feel if you find your best friend dead like that!?”

Toon raised his hoof with his mouth open wide. Not a single word came out from him.

She nodded slowly, letting out a huge sigh. “You should know this by now.”

Sapphire...

                     Truth Bullet Obtain: Pool of blood

                        Blood surrounds one of the diner chairs.

                               Truth Bullet Obtain: Soot

              Found around the chair, indicating teleportation

            Truth Bullet Obtain: Sapphire Testamony

    Sapphire saw Finn's dead body right after the Culprit escaped.  

“Wait a minute!” Everypony focus their attention to me. “If Darkedge was covered in blood, how come he doesn’t have any around the body?”

AnY turned back, walking straight inside the diner Kitchen. The rest of followed him, only to be received a few garbage pieces right in our way. If only toon was so lucky.

He growled, having a banana peel slide down on his face. “AnY, what the hell are you doing?” Toon flicks the banana.

I manage to dodge it but Sapphire wasn’t so lucky.

Her face is completely covered. As much as I couldn’t tell what she is feeling under there, a distinct growl makes it a whole lot clearer.

“I think I found it!” AnY knocks the garbage down. Bunch of crunch up and half eaton stuff didn’t help out stomachs at all. However a bunch of water bottles takes up most of it. “If the Killer had to wash down the blood, then water bottles should do the trick.”

Toon smirked, circling around him. “Well I gotta say, that makes a lot of sense.”

“Ok…” Sapphire flicks the banana, taking a quick breath. “So then our killer could be a unicorn then?”

“From the looks of it, It seem that the killer brought the bottles in with magic.” That could also explain no blood trail when we enter here.

Toon turns around, tapping AnY on the shoulder. “I guess that is where the killer got the water bottles.”

I turned at the same direction, seeing a whole case of water bottles with one already open. But yet that would mean that either two would be the killer… oh boy.

                   Truth Bullet Obtain: Water bottles

         Bottles upon bottles were used up to wash up some blood.

Hmmm I wonder? “Can you excuse me for a bit. I need to head to the kitchen.”

“Why the rush?” Toon looked at me with one of his eyebrows raised up.

“Well I wanted to see if anything is missing there.” I immediately responded.

Toon nodded, “Well then show us then.”

Well he seems a little pushy for a moment. All of us headed straight to the kitchen. My eyes quickly spot a kitchen tool holder with a very obvious open space.

“AH HA!” I pointed fiercely. “Just as I thought! The murder weapon was also here!”

“Wait a minute…” Toon grinned, with his lips pushed back as he struggled. “You mean to say Dark was killed by a…” He couldn’t hold back any longer. “Oh dear sweet Celestia, how ironic!”

AnY slowly facehoof, letting out a growl. “Ignoring Toon’s little outburst, that would mean the killer was in the same room with DarkEdge.”

“Judging by that,” Sapphire looked at the diner hall threw the kitchen view. “Maybe Dark must've seen the blood and then while he is not looking, wham!”

If the killer was hiding here, then it makes more sense that the pan wasn’t held. It was flown but it doesn’t sound right. The evidence doesn’t makes a complete puzzle like before.

           Truth Bullet Obtain: Kitchen tool open spot

        The space is wide enough for a frying pan to be place here.

I gotta head to the hotel. Something over there might make a clear picture for this.

Entering the hotel, a foul odor covers the entire hallway. “Ugh… what is that smell?”

“Oh…” Foxwell came from the far left of the hotel hall, “you’ll get very use to the smell.

Really? He think this is nothing!? What a tough Fox there. “Umm..did you found… UGH!” The smell is really starting to annoy me. I grabbed my scarf, covering my entire mouth and noise.

Foxwell giggled, “Well… if you’re talking about evidence, Brush is waiting for us up at the third floor.”

“Oh please tell me if the smell gets any better.” I wasn’t hesitant to follow him at a fast pace.

The smell is just so bad, I wanted to just teleport out of here. Covering my mouth and nose with my scarf didn’t really help at all. But as we step foot on the third floor, it is such a breath of fresh air. It still stinks but its not as strong as the last two floors.

Brush waved his hoof, “You guys!” She enter the bathroom door.

The two of us enter, seeing her standing next to the shower.

She pointed at the shower repeatedly, “Noticing anything wrong with this?”

My eyes gave a weird look, scratching my mane. “Ummm… it looked like it was being use?”

“Yes…” he walked up toward the shower, “But none of us has use it during our time together.”

“Time together?”

“Yes…” Brush Stroke cheeks burned as her eyes faced away.

It tooks a few seconds but my eyes opened wide at the thought. “Oh…” I didn’t expect to hear something….suggestive. I quickly shook my head, “Ok! You’re saying that you two didn’t use this shower?”

The two nodded slowly.

“Ya,” Brush tilted her head, “Which is very weird because as the two of us were having fun, we both heard footsteps which is followed by the noises of the water running.”

Fox nodded, “the...two of us were two doors from the one being use.”

“I’m gonna assume that the pony using this shower was gone?”  

Brush pointed at a open window, “the pony must’ve escape thru here.”

Wait… this doesn’t add up? Why would the culprit climb thru the window if teleportation is a option? It doesn’t make too much sense.

“Something… wrong?” Fox tilted his head, raising his left eyebrow.

Ok… something is just not right here.

                    Truth Bullet Obtain: Shower window

      The shower was in full use before the culprit exit thru the window.  

        Truth Bullet Obtain: Brush Stroke’s Testimony

During Bush's private time with Fox, footsteps were heard along with the show running.  

Seem that is all right now. I teleported my way outside, avoiding any contact with that horrible odor. “Ok…” I sat on the steps of the hotel, drifting my train of thought.

Why would the killer just exit out of the window? The culprit can’t be just lazy? Hmmm. “Wait a minute!”

I took a look from the right side of the steps. Just as I thought! “Everywhere looks wet here.” From the windows to the brick wall, it looked like a dog has shaken itself dried. “Ok if the killer really is a unicorn, I think he or she forgot how they work.”

                           Truth Bullet Obtain: Wet spot

   The walls, fence and cross walk are covered in many spotty water drops.  

“... I wonder where Keyframe and MasterCode left?” They’ve been gone for quite a while now. I know they headed down here so…

It only took me a few minutes to realize there not even in the city anymore. I sit back as the rock takes me back to the Rift cafe. Once I stepped foot into the bar, Keyframe and Master code were just about to bump into me.

“Oh good you’re here!” Without any hesitation, MasterCode handed me a book. “I believe this is the real deal here.”

Ya this is Darkedge’s book! “Where did you found this?”

“We both found it underneath his bed,” Keyframe snarled a bit. “What a obvious place he put it in.”

As I gaze at the book, I notice a bookmark at the very end of the page.

“Notice that too?” MasterCode holds the book in his hand, opening the page where the bookmark was. “It looks like Darkedge has been doing some late night reading.”

Darkedge… you have fallen for MangaKamen’s trick.

“Here is the interesting part,” A open package envelope flows right off Keyframe back, landing right into my grasp. “This is apparently the prize you earn for finishing the book and I guess Darkedge was very excited for the prize.”

I flips it upside down, being greeted with a snowfall of tear paper.

“So excited that he just ripped it all to shreds,” Keyframe said dismissively.

I looks at many pieces as I could. All of them looked like screenshots of messages? Even in its jumble mess, it seems to be related to our victim.

“From the looks of it,” MasterCode snickered as he picked up a bunch of torn paper. “He wasn’t very happy on what we ponies had to say with him.

“What?” Come on like we say that any of that right? I know Darkedge is hard to hang out with but nothing that vile…

                Truth Bullet Obtain: Fully readied book

                         Darkedge did a lot of late night reading.

               Truth Bullet Obtain: The prize envelope

The prize came with a ton of screenshots, only with none of it came untorn.    

A bell like sound began to ran all over the Rift. The TV turn itself on with Kamen sitting right by his throne. “ALERT ALERT! Attention members of the Rift. Your investigation time is up. Hurry to the Trial as fast as possible!” The screen went pitch black.

It’s time…

Keyframe rubbed her neck, gritting her teeth. “Time to find out who killed our friends.”

The three of us waited for a while. In about a few minutes, everypony is here. Looking at the group now, I notice a lot of mix emotions. Ranging from annoyance, sad, to anger.

“Guess everyone doesn’t know how to feel today.” The third trial is about to start and yet it just feels like a normal thing here.

After a few more minutes, all of us were calm enough to collect our thoughts.

The rock moves towards the tower at a slow pace. All of us stand in a single place, not moving a muscle. I can feel the tense atmosphere getting more harder to swallow. Breathing at a smooth pace I cannot.

The Rock stopped at the third floor entrance. All of us stepped foot at the courtroom, now all city theme. The lights are very bright in here.

Kamen rolls his way to his throne chair, kicking his feets out along with his arms across the backside of his head. “Alright everyone! You all know the drill!”

We all stand into our podiums as before. I notice three new picture stalls were added. Finn and Darkedge were cross out while GoldenFox face is cross out with the words Professional Reviewed.

“Gah..” For a split second there, a tear rides down on Keyframe cheek. Her head turned away, as her eyes are directly at Kamen. The burning pierce in her eyes just became more noticeable by the second.

Third time’s the charm right?

This is going to be one hard case for all of us.

The evidence just doesn’t give us a clear picture.

But whether it does or not, we need to find our culprit and soon....

Yet I feel that I won’t be completely happy if I do...

[thederailedtrain]

The Mark of Oblivion: Home [Two]

“So what color candle would you recommend to a customer crafting a spell to study better?” Kira asked, smiling her most encouraging smile at Gus.

He couldn’t see her, of course, not when he was focused so intently on the wall of candles before him. “Yellow!” Gus exclaimed after a moment’s deliberation.

When the werewolf turned around, Kira was already waiting with a high five. “You’re picking this up really fast,” Kira told him, with her signature good-natured shoulder punch. “Not gonna lie, I kinda hate you right now.”

“You could never hate me,” Gus grinned.

There was an odd tension in his jaw Kira spotted when he smiled. For a second, Kira thought she was imagining it. But then a customer bumped into him from behind and Gus nearly jumped out of his skin. However, once he spotted the woman and the infant in her arms, the tension left. They both murmured apologies before parting ways. Gus groaned, rubbing frustratedly at his cheeks.

“Full moon coming up?” Kira guessed.

Head still in his hands, Gus nodded. “It’s this weekend,” he confirmed. Well, considering the weekend started the next day… “For some reason, it’s really bad this month.”

“Maybe it’s the supermoon,” Kira replied and Gus blinked up at her. “Come on, like you haven’t been all those Facebook posts?”

“You know I hate Facebook,” Gus frowned.

Well, that was fair, Kira hated Facebook too. It just surprised her that a guy who had a lunar phase calendar app on his phone didn't know about the upcoming supermoon, nevermind hearing about it from other members of his pack of werewolves.

Hell, Kira heard it plenty herself around the shop. Tomorrow was going to be the perfect time for everything from dedications to kitchen witchcraft. And if Gus had somehow missed out on all that with his superhuman hearing, then he really was distracted.

“Hey,” Kira said, dropping her voice. “Is something else going on? You know you can tell me.”

“I just...I have a lot of stuff on my plate right now,” Gus sighed. He deflated with the admission, sinking into himself. “Rent’s been tight without the track scholarship, even after picking up shifts here. And now there’s all this drama about whether or not my parents can make it out for graduation.”

Kira wanted to say something comforting, but she wasn’t good at this kind of shit. These kinds of delicate responses took time for her to craft. As she was working on one, her phone buzzed in her hand. She looked at the message notification on her screen, eyes going wide.

“Well, safe to say I understand you’re coming from. Families are a lot,” Kira replied. She opened her messages, turning the screen to Gus.

Based on Gus’s facial expressions, she could tell the exact moment he got to the message in question. “She wants to get lunch?”

“I mean, she is going to be my…” Kira had to wince at the absurdity of it all, “-future step mother. I guess.”

“Alright, you win this round for sheer absurdity,” Gus held his hands up.

Kira, who hadn’t realized they were competing, could only shrug. “At least if it’s awkward, it’ll be over soon. Once Cedric finishes damage control, we’re saving them a table at that diner on the end of the block.”

“Wait, if you and Cedric are gonna be gone, who’s going to watch the shop?” Gus asked. He put two and two together before Kira could answer the obvious. “Oh, no. Kira,no,  I can’t. I don’t know enough about magic and the- the moon phase!”

Shit, Kira realized, he was right. For as good as Gus was picking things up, he just didn’t have enough experience to run the shop during peak hours by himself. But Salazar had specifically requested Cedric’s presence and Kira sure as hell wasn’t attending what was sure to be the most awkward lunch ever by herself. Maybe Gus could join her instead-

“Hey, do you think Toni would want to come down?” Gus spoke up. “I mean, we did pretty okay last time, right?”

Actually, that was a pretty good idea. “Yeah, hang on, let me text her.”

As Kira worked on a text explaining the situation (oh, she couldn’t wait to hear Toni’s response to this one), she picked up on a familiar presence. Ravid’s rings might’ve made sensing harder, but Cedric’s magical signature was the first one she’d ever become familiar with. She sent off the text and looked up at the door just as the bells jingled.

Immediately, Kira could tell that something was wrong. The set of his shoulders, the lack of focus in his eyes - even his beard looked like it could use a good trim. Not that it was particularly long, but he generally kept it very neat. Cedric picked the two of them out of the crowd quickly and made his way over to them.

There was a question ready and waiting on Kira’s tongue, but a customer intercepted him first. She watched as Cedric’s face changed from serious and determined to the smile he wore around all customers. As much as she preferred a smile on Cedric’s face, this one was quite right. It sat a little too perfectly on his features.

“What did Toni say?” Gus asked. Kira nearly gave herself whiplash turning back to look at him. His words hadn’t fully processed yet and all she could do was stare blankly at him. Gus just gestured eagerly to her phone.

Oh. Right. Kira opened her phone to see a new message staring back at her. lmao sure why not? gotta be done by 7 for my night shift tho

“She’s in,” Kira told Gus. She sent Toni a Yeah we should be back by then it’s just lunch before looking over at Gus. Instead of the sigh of relief she’d been expecting, Gus let out a rather enthusiastic ‘Yes!’ complete with a victorious fist pump.

“What are we celebrating over here?” Cedric cut in. Kira was disappointed to find that smile still on his face, just like they were any other customers.

“Toni’s coming over to help Gus watch the shop while we’re out,” Kira explained.

That seemed to do the trick. Cedric’s smile wavered before devolving into a much more sober look. Without the smile to hide it, the tiredness in Cedric’s eyes was more plain. On second thought, maybe Kira did like the smile better.

“I mean, she’s just an interesting person to-” Gus began

Cedric cut through his excuse, perhaps accidentally, with a curt, “You ready to head out?”

“Yeah, let me grab my jacket,” Kira nodded, already heading over to where she’d stashed it behind the counter.

After waving goodbye to Gus, Kira hurried over to the door where Cedric was waiting for her. They caught Toni as she was coming around from the alley in back of the shop. When Cedric greeted her with that same customer service smile as earlier, that was all the confirmation Kira needed.

However, just because she knew something was up didn’t mean she knew what to say. It was like the situation with Gus all over again. They’d gotten to the diner and were in the process of being seated before Kira had even gathered the courage to bring it up.

“Oh, I didn’t expect you to…” Cedric began when Kira slid into the seat next to him.

“And then who would Lix sit next to?” Kira narrowed her brows.

A resigned sigh came from Cedric’s lips and he quickly turned to stare out the window. It was beginning to dawn on Kira just how small this booth was, and Cedric’s broad shoulders certainly weren’t helping. She watched as he actively tried to shrink himself down every time they brushed against each other, which was an impressive task for someone with Cedric’s frame.

Up close, Kira could see something in his body language she hadn’t noticed before. It wasn’t so much that he was uncomfortable around her, more like he was trying to make himself uncomfortable.

Something bubbled up in Kira’s veins alongside worry. This was a job that was probably better suited for someone with a more delicate touch. Someone who could empathize with Cedric and talk him through it. Unfortunately, Kira was not that person.

“Okay, what the hell’s up?” Kira asked, unable to keep the frustration from her voice. Cedric turned back to her and seemed to be in the middle of formulating a pleasant and convincing way to say ‘Oh? Hmm, nothing’. Kira cut that shit out with the raise of her hand. “No, you don’t get to to just tell me nothing’s wrong, alright? I’m not some random store regular. I know you. I know you’re not just tired.”

That seemed to do the trick. Cedric’s casual customer service smile cracked before dissolving completely. “Well, I am quite tired,” Cedric said eventually. He leaned back against the window sill, but at least he was facing her this time.

Kira leaned her chin on her hand and stared back. She wanted to let him know that she was listening, but also that he wouldn’t get away with such a simple answer. Cedric managed to hold out under her intense stare for all of five seconds before he let out a defeated sigh.

“This morning was more work than I’ve done in a single day since-” The incubus cut himself off, blinking as he tried to recall some kind of memory. “I honestly couldn’t tell you. It’s been...decades. And this wasn’t necessarily work I enjoyed either.”

“Well, if you want to talk about it,” Kira offered with her most casual shrug. She watched as the debate played out across Cedric’s face.

After a quick glance around the diner, Cedric leaned in and dropped his voice to a whisper. “This is the largest case of Otherworld exposure in recent memory. Not just in my Ward, but Wards across the country. I think I was able to contain it, but between cleaning up the site and all the memories I had to erase…” He ran a hand over his face, which had the added effect of muffling a groan. “The other Wardens haven’t had the highest opinions of me since Central Park. And now, this?”

Guilt crawled up Kira’s throat. How selfish was she for thinking this was all about her? “If there’s something I can do to help - you know, as your second-in-command,” she said, slowly letting her fingers wander over to where Cedric’s hand was sitting on the table. “I mean, it’s what you hired me for and all.”

At that moment, Cedric finally noticed Kira’s hand encroaching on his personal space. Good, she’d done it slowly on purpose in order to gauge his response. For a moment, Kira feared he would flinch away like he’d been burned. Cedric’s whole body, not just his hand, froze. But then, he relaxed again. This time, he was the one to close the distance. It may have only been the barest brush of fingertips, but it was something.

Touch had never been something Kira used to show affection. There weren’t many people she trusted in her personal space, nevermind to put their hands on her. Cedric, however, seemed to prefer it. This was probably an incubus thing, Kira realized long ago, something about drawing energy and emotions through contact. She remembered all the ways he used to reach out to her, like when he was proud of her for learning a new spell. But he was also so respectful about it once he figured out her personal boundaries. Now, Kira couldn’t help but wish she’d appreciated it more before. Maybe, she thought, touch wasn’t so bad after all.

While they were in this good place, Kira wondered if she could ask him what else was going on. What had been going on. However, just as Kira was drawing in a breath, Cedric’s head whipped towards the door. That air rushed back out her mouth when her eyes landed on the couple that had just entered.

It made sense that she didn’t sense Salazar. Even without the Mark, he was a powerful neutral mage. The woman at his side, however, Kira really should’ve picked up on. She was surprised she only noticed her presence after spotting her. Had she really been that distracted?

Upon seeing Cedric and Kira, Salazar’s face lit up. He gave them a friendly wave before heading over, a hand on his partner’s lower back.

She was rather petite, which was the first thing Kira noticed. Maybe it was just an issue of scale - herself, Cedric, and Salazar were all well above average height. The second thing Kira noticed was how beautiful she was. Her skin was a smooth, light brown and her thick, black hair had been curled neatly over her shoulders. She was smiling as she walked over, giving her a youthful look.

Or maybe she was that young. Despite appearing to be in his late thirties, Kira had to occasionally remind herself that Salazar was, in fact, eighty-something. As if that weren’t a strange enough thing to think about, his fiancée was certainly closer in age to her than to him. Kira might’ve even been older than her. It was an uncomfortable thought until Kira remembered the age difference between Cedric and everyone else in the room.

Cedric was the first to stand and nearly tried exiting the booth until he realized Kira was boxing him in. She jumped up, managing to get out just as the other couple reached them. The two Wardens hugged like they hadn’t seen each other in months, not hours. Not that she would ever tell them, but Kira found it adorable when they got like this.

“Lix, congratulations!” Cedric exclaimed, turning to shake her hand. “Though I must say, I’m quite jealous. You’ve found yourself a wonderful man.”

“Oh, please, I’m the lucky one here,” Salazar shook his head. The way he smiled down at his fiancée actually made Kira’s heart warm. She almost had to look away. “I still can’t believe she said yes.”

“You’re telling me,” Lix said flatly. Then she broke out that big grin again, leaning back into Salazar’s embrace. “I tease, I tease.” Okay, Kira liked her already. Next thing she knew, Lix was turning that smile on her. “And you must be Kira?”

Kira stumbled for a second, almost forgetting what it was she was supposed to do in this situation. Saying um, yeah, that’s me probably wasn’t the right answer here. But what was the right answer when you were meeting the woman engaged to a man you only just found out was your biological father? “Kira Nguyen. It’s nice to meet you,” she settled on.

“Nice to meet you too,” Lix echoed. Her accent was just as pretty as she was. “My full name is Calixta Maroun, but everyone calls me Lix. You’re welcome to as well.”

“Well, now that we’ve all been introduced,” Cedric gestured to the booth. “Why don’t we get started on lunch?”

Everyone made noises of agreement, settling into their seats. Kira found herself across the booth from Lix, who busied herself with undoing her jacket and hanging up her purse. Although they’d hardly said five words to each other, and Lix seemed like a nice woman so far, she couldn’t help but stare awkwardly. The situation was just so strange and Lix was acting like it didn’t faze her. How the hell was she doing that?

“So,” Lix began once she’d settled in. “Tell me a little about yourself, Kira. You’re the only one here I haven’t met and I would like to get to know you better. You are the daughter of my future husband after all.”

Wow, okay. That was so straightforward, Kira couldn’t help but think. So that’s how this lunch was going to go.

[smartoptionsio]

[Signals Review] Universal Crypto Signals by Saviour – Cheap as F. and Accurate as Hell!

Oh-oh-oh – one of the other will give me some bad looks for recommending this channel, but I am going to do it anyway, as this one is one of my long kept secret favs. One, which I am a bit afraid to share, but well, this channel just deserves it for its work.

Universal Crypto Signals / BitMEX Saviour has been recommended to us by a reader of our community. He was literally angry at us for having not yet written about them, and yeah, I get it somehow why.  Great Altcoin/Binance signal channels are pretty rare. Binance/Altcoin Signal channels with ultra-high accuracy even more. Extremely accurate altcoin AND BitMEX signals are almost impossible to find (still we located the top channels for you on our site).

Universal Crypto Signals has it all and costs less than taking your girlfriend out to the movies. I mean, yeah when the bulls are at the table, everybody can shine like Warren Buffet and tell you about their God-given talents. These bear times – they are putting the gems from the crap apart. And we with these guys we might significantly increase our stack while dreaming of the next run.

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Disclaimer

This article is for educational purposes only. We are no financial advisors. Do not make investment decisions based on this informations. The information provided from Smart Options is for informational purposes only. It should not be considered legal or financial advice. You should consult with a financial advisor or other professional to find out what may be best for your individual needs and risk tolerance. Please do your own research and let never anyone trade for you. We do not support or advertise "FUND MANAGEMENT", we only review signal providers/analysis/education. Please read this disclaimer and leave the website if you disagree with it.

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Signals Review:

Universal Crypto Signals by Saviour are split into three channels:

Binance / Bittrex Channel (Altcoin Signals)

BitMEX Swings

BitMEX Scalps

Saviour makes use of the Cornix trade replication bot and another API solution for full auto trading. One thing I liked very much about this channel is a thing I observed very often: bad/missing marketing + excellent trader. It is like finding a rough diamond, which most folks would not pay attention to and falsely rate as a glass shard. I observed the troll box for quite some time now and there are quite some gamblers to be found, I assume due to the cheap price. They are trying to push him for more, more. more signals and while Saviour keeps cool like a rock in the sea, he suggest some trades here and there, but never, really never rushes into an “official trade”. People trying to squeeze a signal out of him, get most replies like “wait, not safe now – I cannot enter anything”. What makes Saviour very special is his view on the market. I assume his technical analysis is kept relatively simple, but he does one thing many signal providers do not: his signals consider the entire crypto environment, instead of just what the charts are printing – and this gives him an edge over many other traders. I personally think the main reason for his success is, that he considers the market cap development against the charts. Example:

If, for example, the technical analysis gives him a short signal, but the market cap is increasing, he stays out of the markets until both factors align with each other.

One thing to mention for the Altcoin signals: Depending on the market situation, there is often no stop-loss. This looks pretty dangerous to some, though I had a close look at this one: Saviour makes this depended on the current Bitcoin situation. If Bitcoin gives him the impression that it might drop, he gives a stop loss. If he thinks it is stable and provides a safe environment for alts to develop their price action, he prefers to leave it without. It is a bit of a walk on the edge and surely this gives him a very easy game to generate good looking stats. On the other hand, I can’t say that Saviour doesn’t make use of stop-loss in a loose or unreliable way – it is a dynamic way and his success proofs him, his customers are raving over their growing accounts. I have to pull off some points for risk management here. If stops are given, they come with a very reasonable risk:reward ratio of four to five percent. Difficult to decide. It seems, though, he closes failed signals with the Cornix bot for his customers manually (publishes S/L once sentiment has changed), so the customers likely won’t ride into deep loss.

In January we had 46 Altcoin signals. 42 signals hit at least the first target and 4 got stopped out. They altogether created a possible maximum gain of about 1300% (Always remember that these gain percentages are virtual figures to give an impression about win ranges and have only limited meaning for your real account growth.) Impressive: If you scroll back to the aggressive bear phase of of March/April ’18 you will see a big phat win streak: 178 won signals in a row. ‘-‘

The BitMEX Signals

The post is mainly talking about unleveraged signals for Binance/Bittrex, though he offers two more channels: one for quicker scalps and one for swings with maximum safety. I am not going to review the scalps as we don’t encourage to make use of them as unexperienced trader, based on signal channels. These come with extra risk and you need fast actions – and naturally the hit rate is much lower.

However, the swing channel is very good and provides rare signals. I am with them since January now and am quite flashed about his hit rate here as well. This guy is definitely on fire and only two trades saw stop-loss/ and two breakeven exits since January, which makes a confirmed hit rate of 31/35. Nice.

Signal Example:

Please have a look at this very nice altcoin signal above and how precisely the targets have been defined up front (the last target did not fill for some folks, so he didn’t mark it as cleared in the tracker). This is a great example for a trade where a trailing stop plays out perfectly and enables you to reap the full range of profits. The Cornix bot makes it easy to configure that (well, not that easy, but at least it makes it possible).

The Results

The results shown by this service have been overall very positive. You need some kind of trust into Saviour’s skills sometimes, but he knows what he does. The unleveraged altcoin signals can take some time to develop sometimes, but most of the time they explode very fast and they are there, in front of your eyes, as sharp as in Ultra HD. Most of his signals hit much faster than the signals from other channels, so your capital is not bound too long on one place, though if we wanted to take full profit, we’d need to stay in a trade sometimes for two weeks and more, so the altcoin channel by Saviour is a kinda “patience pays” one if you want to reap the full profit available on each trade. Absolutely nothing wrong with that, it can give the right learnings for the own trading career if just followed and the first targets hit very fast – much faster than other people’s signals.

He surely scans the sea of altcoins and detects early where the money pumps in slow and steady, so the majority won’t recognize. To me, he made unleveraged trading fun again. The only big drawback I see with Universal Crypto Signals is the thing with the stop loss. Risk-averse traders might enter such positions with shivering fingers. For cool guys, that don’t play emotions here, it is a very cool ride with much profits to be made.

To be fair, I have to mention that the BitMEX signals came always with a defined stop-loss and he would never let his customers become liquidated.

The BitMEX signals are not behind his Altcoin services, so I want to mention them as well. They also show juicy profits and his positions can be found on the right side of the trade most often. The scalp signals often shoot pretty fast, so sometimes it might not be possible to get in with a limit order. Personally, I prefer to wait for the rare but very safe swings.

The Support

The support is provided in a separate chat room by Saviour. Especially as I observed much rude talk recently in other chats, I was happy to see how calm and friendly he kept with his customers. He is constantly working to advertise the right trading attitude and gives interesting insights into his view on the charts (and additional information he uses to source the signal). However, don’t expect advanced trading courses and the big bells and whistles here. He provides a good support for his trades, updates his community with current support and resistance levels and gives insights in his trading style from time to time.

Critical Notes

Saviour knows how to navigate his followers through the wild waters. His signals are very well – this both bullet points have been covered to exhaustion now. What we did not like was the way to market his channel on the free channel. Surely, he provides some of his valuable signals there as well for free, but you will face cross promotions and have the look and feel of the classic pump and dump channels like from 1-2 years ago. I assume he just doesn’t know it better – and at first, it really turned me off and I left the channels as per our quality guidelines. However, his picks have been outstanding over a long course of time, so I went back to observe the language in the chat he uses etc . to get a better impression. He really seems like an honest person to me, who is not super hungry for membership fees. My personal guess is, he designs the stuff as he sees it with other channels – and this puts him into a bad light without a reason. My suggestion: no cross-promotion, less hype, and big words – that would make a much better impression.

End of SmartOptions.io Review

Customer Review

As you know, your trust is everything for us, hence we started to pull in customer reviews where we grant access to the reviewed channel to one of our Telegram channel readers. For this free review opportunity, we have chosen the user “DRE“, and you find his summarized experience of a test period here:

“Every trader is different: different risk management strategies, different goals for profit targets and length to be in trades. I tracked the January results for Premium Universal Crypto Signals and found the following (screenshot included) results for Binance Altcoins.

**Approximate 80% win rate (a few trades were on Bittrex so I didn’t track their W/L but included in the Loss/Open group) [ Customer results, likely taken only a part of the signals ]

**20+% of trades hit T2, average time in trades to T1 target 2.59 days (several hit same day or next day)**Assuming absolute worst case scenario (meaning ALL entries were at the top of the entry zone, all Losses were at their suggested 7.5% below the lowest entry zone AND ALL profits were taken at T1 to be conservative) the overall % ROE was 55%. Obviously, getting in at a lower entry, taking partial profits at T1 and leaving some for T2 and T3 could increase that return. As being said, 55% return was the worst case scenario.

Overall, I like the ease of use for this channel, especially if you are a fairly new trader. They offer signals you can follow with a bot which makes days like Feb 7, where 8 trades were posted, easier to follow and track. Signals are clear:

Standard Signal Example

Crypto Signal with Auto Trade Option

Results Tracking; provided by the Bot

Pros and cons based on my conservative trading style. I definitely prefer to use a moving target stop strategy as they do hit T2 and T3 on occasion.

Customer Conclusion:

I was originally skeptical of Premium Universal Crypto Signals claim that they had 95% accuracy. Being that Jan was a rough month and they achieved 80+% [Customer results, likely taken only a part of the signals], I do think it’s possible. I also think the very loose use of stop losses helps to achieve high accuracy. Overall, I would definitely recommend this channel. They really appear to strive for high quality signals and do have great accuracy.  I would also suggest looking into their Premium Bitmex channel as well.

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FACT SHEET for UNIVERSAL CRYPTO SIGNALS

Please contact @cryptosaviour by Telegram to enroll. Discount code: Use the discount code SMARTSAVIOUR for 5%.

Website:  In Progress

Telegram Contact: t.me/team_ucs1 and t.me/cryptosaviour

Discount Code: SMARTSAVIOUR (5% off)

Features:

Daily 1-5 HIGHLY ACCURATE signals as per market conditions

VIP chat group for members

Portfolio advise and Personal Support

Crypto News, Special Information

Trading Strategies

Hidden Gems

Short, Mid, Long Term Signals

Semi-automated and Fully Automated Trading

Dedicated BitMEX Premium Channel with great accuracy ( separate Channel)

BitMEX Dedicated Premium channels for Swing and Scalp Trades and All Trades with great Risk Management

Upcoming Features: 1. Margin Trading on all alts available on binance 2. Confidential report

Pricing and Plans:

Plan A. Semi-automated Altcoin Premium Price: 1. $66 one month | 2. $171 three months | 3. $306 Six Months | 4. $540 one year

Plan B. Fully Automated Altcoin Premium Price: Plan A + $234/year ($25 per month)

Plan C. Semi-automated Margin Trading Premium Price: 1. $81 one month | 2. $199 three months | 3. $351 Six Months | 4. $621 one year

Plan D. Fully Automated Margin Premium Price: Plan C + $270/year ($30 per month)

Plan E. Semi-automated Altcoin + Margin Premium Price: 1. $120 one month | 2. $295 three months | 3. $484 six months | 4. $900 one year Plan F. Fully Automated Altcoin + Margin Premium Price: Plan E + $300/year ($35 per month)

Auto Trader: Semi-automated + Fully Automated Both (Binance, Bittrex, Bitfinex, BitMEX)

Special Features / What makes the channel unique: High Accuracy, Fast Target Achievement, Automated Trading on Binance/Bittrex, Fully Personal assistance and learning activities through VIP Trollbox, Hidden Gem Signals

Exchanges: Binance, Bittrex, IdEx , Huobi, Kucoin, and some Hidden Gems on other exchanges.  Also Dedicated Premium channel For BitMEX signals with high accuracy

Results Tracking: Altcoin results https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Rqi3CUHusccoHBMl0tSXZC6Q7tGt7kJDRiGhv1fxi0k/edit?usp=sharing BitMEX results https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Av2pxJT8zXKKxqG57ylrQzXGjvTb57WTqhtebtf981k/edit?usp=sharing

Signals with technical analysis (for manual entries): Yes on Demand. Full Support about Analysis and Educational activities in Chatbox/Trollbox

Trading Timezones:  24 hours

Free Channels: t.me/universalcryptosignals (Warning: Cross Promotions!) and t.me/bitmexsaviours

How the paid signals channel looks like:

Please contact @cryptosaviour by Telegram to enroll. Discount code: Use the discount code SMARTSAVIOUR for 5%.

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