#*gravity kills the guy carrying the body

[seungminsbaldspot]

Impenetrable - Chapter One

Pairing:  Hybrid/Poly BTS x Reader 

Series Link:  impenetrable masterlist

Word Count: 1,467

Warnings: Mentions of gangs, hitman behavior, mentions of killing

Taglist: Open

Notes: If you want to join the taglist, comment and I will get it sorted for you!

Chapter One

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Your day starts like every other. You awake and begin directly on your job. You quickly make your way to the secluded area spying into the pack’s house. 

Tall Guy and Alpha are already up, Which is no surprise to you. Tall Guy, the presumed human elder of the pack, moves efficiently around the kitchen, preparing a hearty breakfast for the members. You have watched his movements for several months now, almost knowing where all of the supplies are in the kitchen. Anyone could easily tell he has been handling this responsibility for a long time.

Meanwhile, Alpha, the unmistakable leader, is engrossed in the preparation of coffee. His demeanor exudes authority, and the way the other pack members acknowledge him hints at his significant role within the group. The house itself seems designed for their needs, a perfect blend of functionality and comfort in the midst of the wilderness.

The two were engrossed in a seemingly, very important and perhaps shocking conversation. The sudden shift in Tall Guy's demeanor captures your attention, prompting you to focus more intently on the unfolding scene. His widened eyes and the visible shock on his face indicate that the conversation has taken an unexpected turn, or perhaps he has received surprising news?  Alpha, seemingly aware of Tall Guy's reaction, maintains a composed expression but with a subtle intensity. The air between them carries an unspoken tension, and you strain your senses to catch any snippets of their conversation.

From your hidden position, you can't hear the words exchanged, but the body language and expressions tell a story of urgency and concern. Tall Guy glances around, almost as if expecting something or someone, and Alpha's stern expression suggests a gravity to the information shared. 

This newfound development in the pack's morning routine piques your curiosity and causes you to worry. What if they have found out about you? What would you do? You would rather them capture you and kill you than have to report back to Eanses’ leader.

The intense conversation is interesting but the other pack members, yelling and joking with each other as they enter the kitchen. As you observe, the dynamics within the pack become even more apparent. The other members, seemingly unaware of the gravity of the conversation happening between Tall Guy and Alpha, continue their morning routines with laughter and banter. Dog, Tiger, Strong, and Happy enter the kitchen, each contributing to the vibrant atmosphere.

Dog: Dog, the joker of the pack, enters with a playful grin. His infectious energy lightens the mood, and he seems oblivious to the serious undertones

Tiger: Tiger, known for his humor and passion for painting, adds his own flair to the atmosphere. His focus on art might act as a coping mechanism or a form of distraction.

Strong Guy: Strong Guy, with his imposing physique, contrasts the lightheartedness with his stoic presence. The disconnect between his appearance and the cheerful environment raises questions about his role within the pack.

Happy: Happy, true to his name, radiates joy and mischief. Joking with Alpha, unaware of the tension happening in the room

As they pile in, Alpha says something to them, causing them to stop joking around. They turn serious all of a sudden. 

The abrupt shift in the atmosphere, triggered by Alpha's words, grabs your attention even more. The once lively and carefree pack members now wear serious expressions, responding to Alpha's command with immediate sobriety. The change suggests that whatever was discussed between Tall Guy and Alpha holds significance for the entire pack.  

As an observer, you're left to wonder about the nature of Alpha's message and its impact on the dynamics within the group. The sudden seriousness among the pack members indicates a level of respect and obedience toward their leader. This could mean that whatever the group is discussing,  is not to be taken lightly, potentially involving a threat or challenge that requires their collective attention.

Min Yoongi, your target, finally makes his way into the kitchen, joining his pack at last. 

Min Yoongi's arrival adds another layer of complexity to this situation. As your target, his presence in the kitchen during this serious moment suggests that he, too, is affected by whatever information Alpha has shared with the pack. 

However, he did not look shocked. As he enters, the members all look at him. Concern coating their faces, even Alpha’s. Yoongi shakes his head, almost diminishing the worry, but none of them change their face. 

Yoongi talks to them for a few minutes, seeming to explain or reveal something to them, as the pack members, other than Alpha look shocked, concerned, upset and some even look angry. Yoongi and Alpha stand together for a moment, both talking to the rest of the members, and then leave the kitchen. The remaining pack-mates look around, concerned and upset. Some even look scared. 

You move away from your position, searching for Yoongi and Alpha. All of a sudden you can hear the two of them talking. “Do you think I explained things well?” Yoongi asks, “I think you did fine yoongi. You’ve gone through shit. And now this is happening to you, to us? It is painful to think about what you have done in your past is someone if after you like this.” 

You quickly analyze what you heard, The snippet of conversation you overhear between Min Yoongi and Alpha provides a glimpse into the emotional weight of the situation. It seems that Min Yoongi is grappling with his own past and the consequences that have caught up with him. Alpha's response suggests a mixture of empathy and acknowledgment of the challenges they now face as a group. 

But after analysis, you have to remain hidden, if they were to find you, as you can assume that they are looking for you, you were screwed. 

You quickly get your eyes on the two, thanking the sickos that took you into a lab and forced your scent to be almost concealed. The two let their noses guide them, looking for evidence of someone living on their property. 

Remaining concealed, you navigate through the trees and shadows, strategically avoiding any direct contact with Min Yoongi and Alpha. Your senses are on high alert as you observe their movements, ensuring that you stay hidden from their keen senses. Thirty minutes pass, and the tension in the air seems to intensify with every passing moment.

As you keep your distance, you notice that Min Yoongi and Alpha appear to be growing increasingly frustrated. The urgency in their search suggests that the threat they're dealing with is imminent, and the need to resolve the situation becomes more pressing. You continue to shadow their movements, careful not to leave any traces that could give away your presence.

As the search continues you begin to feel sorry for the pack. Min Yoongi’s past is the whole reason that you are here. You are here to end Min Yoongi. And unfortunately for this pack now it seems that the consequences of his history are catching up with him.  

As you weave through the foliage, you catch a glimpse of Min Yoongi and Alpha sharing a tense exchange. Their body language conveys a sense of frustration and helplessness, and it becomes clear that the situation is not going in their favor.

It’s dark out now, And the two are helplessly looking around for signs of you. One of the pack members leans out of the doorway of the packhouse, yelling at the two who have been outside for hours, searching for you. 

“Dinner’s gonna get cold!” Dog yells out. Alpha and Min Yoongi sigh. “We’re coming!” Alpha yells back. He pats Min Yoongi on the shoulder and whispers something in his ear. Min Yoongi nods, but they both still look frustrated. 

Reluctantly, Alpha and Min Yoongi return, and you retreat cautiously, staying well away from the packhouse. There's still a hint of dissatisfaction on their faces, and there's a general tension in the air. The haste and concern in Alpha's whispered words to Min Yoongi show how serious this issue is.

You find a hidden spot with a good viewpoint close to the packhouse, deciding to remain hidden for the time being. Without being in their direct line of sight, You watch them enter the house.

As the pack eats dinner, You can feel the heaviness from the stress of the day take a toll on you, causing your eyes to flutter. No matter the amount of training the lab or Eanses puts you through, when the body needs something it will either get it or break down. 

And unfortunately for you, your eyes close. 

And when they open, You see your target eye-to-eye with you.

taglist:  @sophiaj650 @danielle143 @sweet-nothings467

[morally-grey-girlbosses]

(Art for Commander Wake, John Gaius, and Ianthe Tridentarius used courtesy of @midnightcrows. Check her out, her art is fantastic!)

The top two characters will be eligible to proceed into the bracket!

Propaganda under the cut. Be warned, it is extensive - Locked Tomb fans are apparently... verbose.

Commander Awake Remembrance Of These Valiant Dead Kia Hua Ko Te Pai Snap Back To Reality Oops There Goes Gravity:

Leader of a terrorist organization devoted to killing God. After she died she hung on as a revenant through sheer self-righteous hatred, tried to kill two different saints, and tried charging God with crimes against humanity. Also she carried her daughter to term solely for the sake of killing her as a ritual sacrifice, and referred to the child only as "the bomb" throughout the series. She's morally ambiguous (instead of just awful) because she's probably right, but it's honestly a close-run thing.

She was the leader of an insurgent force who hate necromancers and want to destroy God, who are descended from filthy fucking capitalists. She was the most successful leader in years. She fucked a guy ordered to kill her and the guy's dead best friend who sometimes inhabited his body. She allied with two of God's saints to unlock the tomb. The saints fucked god and stole his cum. All the eggs the saints gave her died so she impregnated herself with the god cum and gave birth to a baby. She called the baby bomb. Her lover pushes her out of the airlock. Her ghost angrily recants his name and the people who find her baby name her after him. She possesses her daughter's two handed sword. Her daughter jumps on a fence to sacrifice herself for her homoerotic archrival slash best friend, and said best friend becomes one of god's saints. She possesses the body of one of god's dead saints to rekindle her relationship with the girl possessing the body of the guy who killed her. She invades her daughter's rival slash lover slash friend's mind and attacks ghosts contained in her fucked up dream bubble. She starts moving around the space station they're on in the real world while her daughter's consciousness possesses her arch rivals body after her arch rival enters said dream state. she saves her daughter with god's life. She argues with god and tries to charge him for war crimes. her ex kills her. but none of that matters what really matters is that “I KISSED YOU AND LATER I WOULD KISS HIM TOO BEFORE I UNDERSTOOD WHAT YOU WERE, AND ALL THREE OF US LIVED TO REGRET IT—BUT WHEN I AM IN HEAVEN I WILL REMEMBER YOUR MOUTH, AND WHEN YOU ROAST DOWN IN HELL I THINK YOU WILL REMEMBER MINE” this quote. this quote is amazing. “I WILL REMEMBER THE FIRST TIME YOU KISSED ME—YOU APOLOGISED—YOU SAID, I AM SORRY, DESTROY ME AS I AM, BUT I WANT TO KISS YOU BEFORE I AM KILLED, AND I SAID TO YOU WHY, AND YOU SAID, BECAUSE I HAVE ONLY ONCE MET SOMEONE SO UTTERLY WILLING TO BURN FOR WHAT THEY BELIEVED IN, AND I LOVED HIM ON SIGHT, AND THE FIRST TIME I DIED I ASKED OF HIM WHAT I NOW ASK OF YOU” also this one. anyways vote commander wake

Awake Remembrance of These Valiant Dead Kia Hua Ko Te Pai Snap Back to Reality Oops There Goes Gravity is commonly called Commander Wake. Her people are being colonized and oppressed by the Emperor Undying, the immortal emperor of a society of necromancers. Commander Wake is the leader of the resistance against this occupying force. As for her character: Commander Wake is unscrupulous and unyielding, definitely more prone to "the power of incredible violence" than "the power of love". She will use any methods at her disposal to fight back against the necromancers. She is described as proud and unforgiving. She never backs down and her strength of will and determination are unmatched. Some of her girlboss moments (spoilers for the entire The Locked Tomb book series): She is the only one the Emperor and his people consider a worthy foe. She colludes with the Emperor's most trusted soldiers and in fact has sex with two of them (who share a body but that's not important right now). She needs the Emperor's blood to defeat him, so she gets her colluding buddies to get her some of his semen to grow a child. When it doesn't go quite to plan, she simply decides to carry the child herself, fully intending to kill it for its blood when it is born. After she is killed, she haunts a sword (and the narrative) for years and years. Later she possesses a corpse and comes face to face with the Emperor, where she proceeds to argue with him about his warcrimes and never backs down. The woman she slept with is still obsessed with her a full book after her double-death. She had no necromantic powers but with technology and military strategy worked to understand and mitigate how necromancy works and what it can and cant do. She insists that the Emperor Undying use her full name, to his face, even when she is completely at his mercy! Her determination is strong enough to bend the genre of an entire haunted dream to her will! When the necromancers come at her with swords she comes at them with. Gun

John Gaius, His Celestial Kindliness, the First Reborn, and The Necrolord Prime

John Gaius, His Celestial Kindliness, the First Reborn, and The Necrolord Prime is the Emperor and primary deity of The Nine Houses. He is perhaps (major spoilers for The Locked Tomb) not technically a girl, but by god does he - Gaslight (Erasing his friends' memories then telling them lies about their past and imposing his perceptions of their personalities onto them) - Gatekeep (Telling his closest followers they need to kill their life partners in order to become immortal WHICH IS NOT EVEN TRUE. John keeps the method of how HE became immortal a secret from them!) - GIRLBOSS (creates a multi-planetary society that worships him as a God) He is also morally grey: He necromantically resurrected millions of people after a planet-wide cataclysm. He caused said cataclysm by nuking the earth. He only nuked the earth because he wanted to stop the billionaires from escaping the planet, because in doing so they left everyone else to die. He wanted to save everyone. He loves the Earth. Even though he is a man he is SUCH a morally ambiguous girlboss

Prince Ianthe Naberius the First, the Lyctor Prince, the Saint of Awe, previously known as Ianthe Tridentarius, the Princess of Ida, heir to the House of the Third, Mouth of the Emperor, the Procession, House of the Shining Dead:

shes tall pale and has no ass. she has the ability to manipulate her fat distribution so she chooses to look like a wet cat. everybody forgets about her because her sister is so hot, but while everyone else is fucking around and trying to figure out whose been killing people, shes been figuring out the secrets to an ancient necromantic theorem. it turns out her hot sister isnt actually a necromancer and ianthe has been doing the work of two necromancers her whole life. she regularly does cannibalism. she eats the soul of her cavalier, who nobody cares about, and becomes a saint of the king undying. her sister is deeply upset that she did not eat her. she gets her arm ripped off by one of the original states. she performs a lobotomy on one of the main protagonists because she asks her to. they have immensely homoerotic tension but its entirely one sided. she cries every night. her soup recipe amounts to burning onions on the bottom of a pot. the scene in which said main protagonists creates her an arm out of bones is the closest the series has to a sex scene. she meets the other main protagonist and says "but your fist is so large and my ass is so small". she stops god from being killed, which everybody hates. in the space between books, she has a terrible terrible no good friend ship with the main protagonist i mentioned before. i love it. they probably fucked and it involved chussy. they have friendship bracelets. she possesses the body of her dead cavalier who nobody cares about to gallivant around in. shes dangerously obsessed with her sister, who after not being eaten has been radicalised and now is a leader in an insurgent cell. she is the target of "then perish" during the epilogue. apparently in the next book she is going to do something horrible. i love her immensely. she has very few redeeming qualities. she is my best friend

listen. she ate a man's heart to become immortal. she is described as the shadow of her twin sister. she calls the protag a fruitcake. she will betray anyone and anything to get what she wants.

Wet Rat who sucks commits cannibalism for won her way through the lyctor olympics of the first books ate her cavalier to go to gods party swinger yatch. She has no fucking idea of what she's doing but she's slaying all day everyday, literally and figuratively. Made everyone believe that her twin sister was a super good necromancer while her sister has no powers by necromancing for her in secret. Idk she's just. She's just so.

The uglier of the supposed pair of the genius necromantic princess twins. Jk, she’s the only necromantic one she's just so good she seems like two geniuses combined, she flies under the radar, doesn't take part in gruesome lessons on powerful necromancy but just figures everything out by thinking alone, kills a dude she known her whole life the moment she learns it will give her more political and magic power, does a truly villainous monolouge when caught for that murder cause who cares about a male dying why are you so mad. Then later murders her much stronger beloved mentor the minute she's asked to gain even more power and prestige and from a princess of one planet becomes a saint and prince and military powerhouse of a divine empire, loyal only as long as her hotter twin sister is safe, truly an inspiration for all feminists everywhere

Harrowhark Nonagesimus was submitted without propaganda.

[j0ystix]

some more genderbend hc cause you guys enjoy it hehe

Fem Dazai:

- 176cm

- 15-22 long long hair but after the prison arc, she cuts her hair to a messy short “wolf cut” because her hair was poorly taken care of at prison

- Fem Dazai is a master at manipulating her emotions including her tears. She has the most angelic crying face

- There’s a saying in the port mafia that the men Dazai lock arms with never return alive🤫

- (Femskk) IMAGINE they are at a ball and they need to identify a man and kill him once the ball is over. Dazai spotted him in an instant. She kissed him and danced with him, leaving a lipstick stain on his cheek. Then when he’s alone, Chuuya saw the lipstick stain and she smirks. The lipstick stain was Dazai’s “mark” on her soon-to-be-killed target. Like I mentioned before, I doubt Dazai does the dirty work

- Dazai gets free rides in cop cars because she has a thing for men in uniform

- Dazai wears the ugliest PJs sorry.

- Fem Dazai definitely has a mommy voice

- Men pay for her meals outside

- Pretty When You Cry by Lana Del Ray is HER song

- she changes boyfriend every month, Kunikida accused her of trying to date every men in Japan

Fem Atsushi

- her PJs are uglier

- 165cm

- all her makeup is expired and broken and she wear hand-me downs from the other girls because she feels guilty for spending on nice things for herself :(

- Dazai brought her to do her nails once and she loved it so much but she broke it in two days

- BUT she loves Hello Kitty, she has a shrine of it in her room

- Atsushi volunteers at a nearby orphanage and the kids love her

- I imagine Atsushi having a gentle and soft voice

- Atsushi would see a group of female students and wish that she has a friend group like that

- Atsushi never wore crop tops because she doesn’t want to show off her scar on her torso until Akutagawa kept slicing off her clothes in battle (wink wink) then she stopped caring about her scars

- Out of all the girls, I think Atsushi has quite a toned body, she has abit of muscle

- Atsushi feels embarrassed that she eats a lot but the girls reassured her and said it’s fine (at the expense of Kunikida’s wallet)

Fem Kunikida

- 180cm (tall mommy)

- the exact same as her male copy lmao

- has never been in a relationship before. She gets damn red whenever a man flirt with her

- she looks different with her hair down and without her glasses, she’s a beauty

- men are intimidated by her height😤😤

- Nobuko Sasaki is 174cm and he’s the only guy who found Kunikida’s height beautiful

- Whenever Dazai gets into danger and comes back alive, Kunikida would run up to her (slap her hard) before engulfing her into a tight hug which is reciprocated hehe

Fem Ranpo

- 158cm (someone short than Chuuya??)

- she’s really cute and she looks way younger than male Ranpo

- she usually has her hair down but on special occasions, she adorns two braids with flowers in them (curtesy of Poe)

- she’s unaware of her surroundings most of the time. She would manspread or lie in the floor indecently even if there’s a man around. Fukuzawa reprimands her for this but she still does it

- she’s quite tiny even if she’s around the same height as fem Higuchi

- side eyes and roll her eyes A LOT. Fukuzawa scolds her for this too but she still does it

- she’s like an insect, she’s super hard to hold in one place

- she smells like cotton candy and all those sweet stuff

- got her period once when she was 16 and never got it again LOL Fukuzawa is concerned

- she gets people to carry her princess style

- she loves dolls

- Ranpo has soft features so she really looks younger than her age but she has notably very gorgeous eyes and long lashes

- she doesn’t wear makeup (she tries but she doesn’t know how to)

- made many grown ass men cry before

Fem Chuuya

- I’m a firm believe of big bust Chuuya. Sorry. Gravity defying boobz

- has long hair but she tied it into a ponytail using a brown ribbon

- 153cm…but she wears 10 inch heels…she has never worn flats except for when she was 15

- she changes her collar frequently

- wears red lipsticks

- wears the most revealing clothes during non-office hours but her sense of style is amazing

- her hat is bigger than male Chuuya’s

- was a tomboy before Kōyō “fixed” her

- fem chuuya laughs easily and she has the ugliest laugh ever. She snorts like a pig. Dazai and her use to laugh like pigs together

- FemSKK! Once, Kōyō was putting on make up for 16 year old Chuuya and Dazai for a mission to attract some men but nobody was attracted to Chuuya and they all went to Dazai. After the mission, Chuuya got pissed and told Dazai she felt like “lipstick on a pig”. Dazai wipes off the lipstick on Chuuya’s lips with her thumb and smiled while saying “ah you don’t need makeup. I love you just the way you are.” (Ref to beast) Chuuya got even more pissed

- I’m sure Chuuya wears pants not a short skirt because it’s more practical

- MANEATER OF THE PORTMAFIA!

- Queen of the sheeps and queen of the night.

- I can imagine men shrinking in fear whenever she says “what do you want”

- has a secret love for romantic novels/shows

- I got a feeling she has a random crush on some idol/celebrity and would fangirl in secret

- she has a walk in closet filled with shoes.

- “why do you have a billion pairs of shoe for one pair of feet?”- Kajii

- Dazai and Chuuya speak many different languages. They dated international people before

[imaginmatrix]

Prompt: Moonlight

I have no clue where the short that this one word prompt inspired came from, but I hope you enjoy

Percy’s mother used to say there was magic in the light of the moon. She said the silver rays could carry any number of impossible things from the stars to the earth; strange beings and mysterious items and concepts like fate and destiny would ride those gossamer bands like a tidal wave to shift the mundane to wondrous.

And then, of course, Percy got older and learned that the moon merely reflected the light of the sun, and was little more than a barren rock doomed to encircle the earth however gravity dictated until the day an asteroid collided a bit too hard and freed it to the lonely emptiness of space. He wasn’t necessarily a practical guy who dismissed fairytales and children’s stories, but he was a cynic, and his mother’s stories lost much of their shine in the wake of losing her.

She used to joke she might choose to become the moon when she died, so she could watch Percy grow and live even after her story was over. But they both assumed they’d have more time before that happened.

These days, the moon was just a rock, the stars just burning balls of gas, and magic was a lie of his childhood.

“Those things kill, you know.”

Percy’s dark brows raised, his face turning to the blonde girl who criticized his life choices before even having the decency to introduce herself. The roof party behind them was abuzz with life; string lights gave a hazy glow to the young adults lounging on sofas and sipping bottles of some sort of craft beer that tasted like shit but all the hipsters pretended was a divine elixir of craftsmanship.

He was on the outskirts, leaning on the stone wall of the roof, puffing smoke from his cig into the dark and staring at city lights.

And now she was too.

He huffed a laugh through his nose, shaking his head and tugging the cigarette from between his lips, “Pretty sure that’s common knowledge at this point.”

“And yet here you are, turning your lungs to raisins anyway.”

Percy was both annoyed and intrigued, almost impressed at her audacity. He didn’t care much for being scolded; he was an adult. He could make whatever bad decisions he wanted.

But this girl was direct. Plenty of people hated cigarettes, but most would wrinkle their nose and move away, or cough dramatically to make a point without words, or mutter to their friends about the disgusting habit. Not the girl beside him. She walked right up and pointed out the obvious, said what most wouldn’t dare say to a stranger.

Percy could admire that.

“Well?” The girl asked expectantly, as if Percy was supposed to answer a question that was never actually voiced.

“Well what?” He stubbed out the cigarette, leaning away from the girl to toss what was left into the bin nearby.

“Why do you smoke.” She said, as if it were obvious.

Percy shrugged, “I don’t know.”

But he did know.

His mother never smoked a day in her life. Yet cancer made its home in her lungs anyway. So maybe it was to spite the universe for that, or maybe it was to dare it to take him out the same way. Maybe it was just self flagellation for being here when she wasn’t. There was nothing to blame himself for, nothing he could have done to stop her from getting sick, but some sort of guilt gnawed through his chest anyway.

So he dampened that guilt by putting chemicals in his body.

Or maybe he was just an idiot who smoked because he tried it once and got hooked, like every other person who relied on the stuff to get through the day.

“Well you should stop.”

Another incredulous laugh rasped from Percy’s throat, “Never heard that one before.” He finally turned to face the girl properly.

And then something that was neither smoke nor guilt filled his chest.

She was pretty, but Percy had seen pretty before. This was different. This was…

Intense.

There was something in her expression that felt a thousand years old; she was clearly around his age, but her gaze had seen the rise and fall of empires, revolutions, tragedies, and everything that filled the eons between.

But she was just a girl, and Percy was a bad poet, and he swallowed a sudden bitter taste in his mouth as he found words to combat the way she seemed to see right through him.

“Do you usually berate people you’ve just met, or am I special?”

She looked thoughtful, “A bit of both.”

“Yeah?” Percy wished he wasn’t a smoker, just so it would be easier to catch his breath around this girl, “What makes me special, then?”

“You’re in my spot.” She turned back to the city, those eyes shifting from his face and her profile caught the light in a near halo. The sensation of her focus leaving him had Percy desperate to hold it again.

“So you live here?” He leaned beside her, back to the wall so he could better see the slope of her nose and the curve of her lips.

A nod, “It’s my roommate’s party.”

Now an answering brow raise, “I thought it was a housewarming thing?”

“It is.”

“So wouldn’t this technically be your party too?”

Another shrug, but the continued conversation saw that her head turned back to him and Percy felt himself drown in the impossible gravity of her attention once more. “I’m not really a party person.”

“Me neither.” At her pointed look that said ‘but you’re at this one?’ he clarified, “I was dragged along.”

This answer was satisfactory, “You’re Percy then.”

Hearing his name from the lips of a stranger, particularly this stranger, was startling. “Yeah, how’d you know?”

“Because you’re the only person here I don’t recognize, and Charles said you were coming.”

“Right.” A beat. “And you’re…?”

“Annabeth.”

It wasn’t a name Percy had ever heard before, but as soon as she said it, it became one he knew he’d never forget.

Annabeth’s gaze turned out and up again. A silence settled over them.

Percy was frantically searching for something to say, a question, a statement, anything to keep the conversation going, when Annabeth spoke again; “You can’t see the stars.”

It took a moment for his brain to catch up, “…What?”

“Light pollution.” Annabeth nodded to the city, “It hides the stars.”

Percy glanced up, the sky dark and empty while something old and primal tugged at his gut and whispered that it shouldn’t be. “You can see a fair amount in Montauk.”

“I’ve never been.”

“I’ll take you some time.” It slipped out before Percy could consider the fact that inviting a girl he just met to drive outside the city with him to look at stars was weird, but to his relief she smiled.

“I’d like that.” Annabeth fixed him with her gaze once more. And once more it was crushing, and Percy was close enough now to make out the color of her eyes.

Some people might have called them gray, but a word so colorless and boring couldn’t come close to what they were. Silver was the closest, Percy decided. Silver and seeing every little hope, fear, desire, and secret Percy had buried deep down, as if he was laid bare without clothes or even a physical form to hide in.

Percy cleared his throat, “At least you can still see the moon.”

Annabeth didn’t look back to the sky when she said “Not tonight. It’s a new moon.”

Could have fooled Percy, the silver glow of Annabeth’s irises a fine replacement. Even better, as she carried two moons in her eyes, rather than just the one that hung in the sky.

“Ah. Well. Tomorrow then.”

“Mmm.”

Silence again. God. The silence hurt— not a sharp pain, but a dull ache, like the moment between comfort and burning when one held their breath for too long.

And he’d known the girl for less than ten minutes.

But in that time, he had decided to quit smoking, take her to see the stars in Montauk, and let her occupy every corner of his mind for as long as she deigned to stay for.

The numbness that plagued every waking moment for the past 3 years ebbed.

“Do you—“

“I think—“

They spoke at the same time. Annabeth laughed breathlessly, complimenting Percy’s own nervous chuckle.

“You first.” Percy said.

“No, no, you go.”

“I insist.”

Annabeth scrunched up her nose, making freckles Percy hadn’t noticed sharpen. “I think,” she started again, “that I’d like to go inside.”

Percy’s heart sunk, “Oh, uh, yeah, it’s kind of cold.”

Annabeth didn’t move, instead staring at him in a way that had him squirming, thinking there was something he should be doing that he wasn’t.

“…Are we going in, then?”

Percy jolted at the realization that he was invited. “Y-yeah!” He shoved his hands into his pockets, pushing off the wall.

Annabeth rolled her eyes, tucking a curly lock behind her ear as they walked back to the exit. Percy wondered what it would be like to do that, to reach out and brush errant locks from her face.

They stopped at the door to the stairs, and for the first time since they’d met, Annabeth seemed hesitant.

“I don’t… do this often.”

Percy furrowed his brow, “Do what?”

“Invite guys I just met to my bedroom.”

Oh.

His brain short circuited— inside meant inside, bedroom meant bedroom, she’d said inside, she’d meant bedroom, and he…

Holy shit.

Percy licked his lips, mouth suddenly dry and throat working to form a sound, any sound.

“R-right. Yeah. Yeah yeah yeah, me neither— I mean I have, but I don’t usually, it’s not like, a common thing, it’s not a normal weekend occurrence, I don’t go around picking up girls for one night stands and if I did I wouldn’t like, uh, leave it as a one night stand, I mean at least not these days—“ He bit his tongue to make himself shut up, because dear god that was way too much in response to a simple statement.

He’d made poor choices right after his mom died. Percy had never been one for casual: not casual sex, nor casual dating. He wasn’t that guy. He didn’t generally feel attraction unless he knew someone first, gotten to know them, fall in love with them.

But after his only family had died, he grew desperate to feel anything. Even self-loathing.

This… wasn’t that.

Maybe it was the fact that this girl, Annabeth, had no qualms about shaming him for a bad habit. Maybe he was just cold. Maybe it was the loneliness of a party he couldn’t find the strength to be a part of, to try and put on a smile and make friends and drink shitty beer and pretend everything was fine.

Maybe it was the moonlight in Annabeth’s eyes.

Whatever the reason, Percy couldn’t help but want this. Not in the self-destructive way of his past that left him feeling cold and empty. It was something different, it was…

He wasn’t sure.

Annabeth was smiling though, thankfully amused by his rambling rather than weirded out, and she reached a hand to lace their fingers together. “I’ll show you my record collection.” Her eyes drifted up and down Percy’s body in the least subtle way possible. “You look like a guy who likes music.”

Percy’s chuckle was strained, but his shoulders relaxed, “I’ve been known to sometimes enjoy sounds, yeah.”

Annabeth’s laugh made his skin tingle.

Her hand was warm and soft and fit perfectly against his calloused one.

Her eyes shone like the moon his mother loved so much did; they reflected the light in a way that Percy swore defied physics, holding all the things his mother promised moonlight would. Adventure. Magic. Mystery.

A promise of something more.

And as Annabeth blushed and ducked her head when Percy held the door open for her

as she led him down the concrete stairwell to a new apartment and room with lights so warm and comforting, they put those on the roof to shame

as they sat on the floor and looked at records and picked out their favorite songs

as Moon River played on the turntable and Percy met those eyes that held not just the moon, but the stars and sun and planets and entire galaxies

as he reached for her, tucking those blonde curls behind her ear like he’d been itching to, watching her lashes flutter and her breath catch and her cheeks flush with color and her eyes drop to his lips and back up

as they both leaned in

Percy thought that maybe, just maybe

his mom was right about the moon.

[hanibalistic]

#9DC9DB | GHOST.

genre | angst, fluff, platonic relationship au, grumpy dad x eager child dynamic

word count | 4530

warning | mention of human trafficking, death, injuries / violence, killing / i did watch the game and i got to know a bit more about ghost, but i am in no way an expert in cod lore! ​

note | same characters from this blurb i posted

Ghost was beginning to feel like he was more familiar with the game of Twenty Questions than the handle of the knives he had hidden beneath his vest for emergency usage.

He was not a man of small talk, nor was he one of big talks. He could carry a conversation if it was introduced to him; he would consider himself quite the (dad) joke bank, at least much richer than Soap. But, he would rather not have to do that often, especially when the topic involved his personal life.

With you, there was never an option. At least, the only option was to give the most outrageous answer to deter your curiosity just enough for you to shuffle your way to a somewhat related topic. Courtesy of your eagerness and talkative nature, you tended to stray away for quite some time before you would bounce back to ask him another question he had already refused to tell the truth about in the previous games of Twenty Questions, where you asks and he never actually answers.

"What color is your hair?" You shouted from the back of his waist, where your head bumped against as you were dangling upside down on his back.

Ghost gripped onto your ankles to make sure he would not lose you to gravity. He sighed silently, his chest heaving, and he replied, "Green."

"Liar!" You exclaimed with an elongated 'Ar.'

Ghost has no idea where you got the core strength from, but with a few good swings, you hoisted your torso upward to meet the back of his head. You did fall short last second, finding the strain in your tummy hard to ensure. In a desperate attempt to keep yourself from falling backward and bumping strongly into his muscular back, you grabbed onto both sides of his head and dug your nails into his mask.

"Hey!" Ghost hollered out strictly, losing one hand on your feet but leaning his body forward to keep you balanced on his shoulder. "Stop it, you brat!"

With his warning voice being used, you released your grasp on each side of his mask and placed your palms atop his head instead. You leaned your chin down on the back of your hand, relaxing into your new seat on Ghost's broad shoulders as he collected his posture. He has never stopped walking on the invisible path you guys have been walking on for days, waiting for a signal from his ComTac, which he let hang loose around his neck.

"Your hair can't be green," you told him.

"And why is that?" He unwillingly continued the conversation.

"Because you're in the military," you replied casually. "The military doesn't let people with cool hair in."

Ghost raised his brow under his mask, and for a second, he may have rolled his eyes even. The back of your dirty shoes tapped against his chest in a calm, erratic rhythm, and he kept his hands on your knees instead to ground you to his shoulders. Speaking of cool hair, that reminded him of someone.

"Actually, one of my friends has a mohawk," he said; mused, even, at the thought of Soap.

"You have friends?" You asked incredulously as you leaned your head down to block his sight. You widened your eyes to stare into his deadpan ones, daring him playfully to hold onto the stare. When you found your eyes watering from dryness and were about to lose this individual contest, you scrunched your nose in disdain and moved a hand over his face.

Ghost slapped your hands away from poking his eyeballs. Somehow, he knew what you wanted to do before you made it any close to actually doing it. He saw the peace sign on your hand, and he just knew. You tried it again, and again, and again, laughing as you did so, and Ghost silently removed your hand from the vicinity of his eyes each time.

"Can you still be in the military if you have bad eyesight?" You gave up and relaxed against his head. Your hands tried to curl around his wrists, but your fingers weren't long enough to go full circle.

"Yes. It's not a deal breaker," he answered.

"That means I can be in the military," you said, and you squeezed his wrists as best you could to demonstrate your bite-sized strength. "I can break people's bones just like this!"

"You don't want to do that."

"You do that, don't you?" You hummed nonchalantly. "You kill people."

And that wasn't a deal breaker for you. Ghost picked up on it long ago, and even now, when you did not flinch away from him or distance yourself from the topic of death and murder.

He wondered if it was your childish nature being unable to pick up the mortifying fragility of human life or if you have been exposed to death and chaos since a young age that you were desensitized to it. Or, perhaps, you subconsciously realized you got bigger issues than a philosophical topic; hunger, thirst, and—well, your young eagerness wouldn't allow you to be exhausted.

Either way, if Ghost has the merit to choose, you would be light-years away from the gruesome details. Within the line of mortifying fragility of human life, you would only know fragility, delicately and softly, and that shall be protected by him.

Because the angry man lingered in his memories, and the angry man was supposed to cherish him but did not. Because the little child in him wept until you came along and took his place, and instead of tears you only had joy to give.

"Ghost, I'm hungry," you muttered. "I want food."

"Let's find a spot to settle down first," he said, remembering the food cans you two received from the passing group of tourists and calculating how to ration them sensibly. He also had to think about heating the food up; not a necessity, but he figured you might be a picky eater. "Those people gave us Mac and Cheese."

You kicked your feet in excitement and flung your torso left and right, not an ounce of fear for gravity as long as you could feel Ghost's hands on your knees. You leaned backward for a drop and bumped against his back, your arms flailing in the air for more stimulation. For a brief moment, your eyes shifted from the moving ground to the sky, and you saw a moving silhouette duck behind a tree that you had never noticed you passed.

You tilted your head and slapped a hand to Ghost's leg, signaling him to let you down. He did so carefully, crouching on the ground and slowly helping you back on your feet. He looked at you when you turned around. He noticed your eyes pointing at the faraway tree he considered a resting spot when you passed it, and he sighed.

"We're not sleeping there." He said.

"No..." you exhaled quietly as you curled your fists. Without another word, you began jogging toward the tree. "I saw someone."

"Wait." He held you back immediately then, his eyes alert.

What did you mean you saw someone? Possibilities fired in his head. It could be anyone, or it could even be nothing. He would bet you were mistaken, but from what happened to him, he could never be too careful. If they did go back to clean up the mess and found that his body was no longer where they had left it, there would be a private search party for him. He was a loose end. There was no doubt people would be sent after him.

But would they be so confident to send a small squad after himself? His reputation preceded him. Even he knew how reputable his combat ability was. They knew it would have to take more than a measly squad of four if they were sending for a target on his head.

"It's just a person," you assured innocently with a pat on his arm before running off again, yelling behind your shoulder. "Maybe they can help us!”

"I said wait,” he shouted out firmly, causing you to stop in your tracks. He gave it a few seconds, focused solely on the tree far back. When he saw no signs of movement, he exhaled. “If there is anyone there, they probably already left.”

You puffed air into your cheeks and blew out raspberries. “It’s because of your ugly skull mask!”

“It’s actually quite the opposite underneath it.”

“I don’t believe you–”

You had turned around, ready to run back to Ghost and smack him across the arm; you have learned to avoid his stomach because he told you that was where the self-healing gunshot wound was located. But, the second you turned around, sneaking from behind Ghost’s tall frame was a man you had never seen before. He had malicious intent sprawled across his face, and his hand gripped a knife inching toward Ghost.

Sensing your unusual stiffness, Ghost immediately made his surroundings known to himself. Akin to the feeling one would get when they pop their ears by blowing their nose, the pressure of sheer concentration draped over his body and mind. His skin pricked under his thick armor, his joints popping into gears, and immediately—slow motion, behind him! He spun around reflexively with his hand extended out to grab the intruder by his wrist. The tip of the knife barely grazed his nose; Ghost did not flinch. He rarely ever does.

Ghost had the time to make physical observation of the man during their brief and unfortunate encounter. He almost felt relieved that the attacker was not in military armor like him, meaning he was just a random passerby.

“Ghost!”

The sound of your scream jolted him. He spared a glance behind his shoulder and found you in the violent arms of yet another stranger. Alright, his assumption might be wrong. Who were these people, and where did they come from? How has he not felt their presence? Most importantly, why were they taking you? Returning to the knife at his face, Ghost gripped the man’s wrist for immobilization, disarmed him, and shoved him off to the ground so he could run toward you.

The man was pulling you backward. Trying to drag you somewhere, it seemed. You struggled against his grip, but your kiddish frame could not fight against that of an adult, no matter the scratches and kicks. You hated it. This man felt just as strong as Ghost, but in his strength, he was not gentle with you. You wanted his arms off your body immediately.

“Get off me! Get off!” You screamed, futile attempts hitting the stranger’s ribs in the form of your chubby fists after he lifted you off the ground and trapped you beneath his arm.

Noticing how worthless your hands were against the stranger, you tried to spare a glance backward only to see blurry visions of nothingness. You were unsure where Ghost was or if he was even coming after you. Pursing your lips, you angled your head up to glance at the man in sunglasses, his emotions detached from the rest of the world, and you strangled your throat with mumbling noises of thoughts. Nearing his torso with your head, you dropped your jaw and bit his side through his shirt as harshly as you could.

Shocked and pained, he dropped you onto the ground. You landed with a harsh thud, and your eyes squeezed shit because you knew you would fall face first. Without giving yourself a second longer, you scrambled up and spun on your heels, finding Ghost's figure getting closer to where you stood.

Things were somewhat going in his favor for once. Ghost almost appreciated Lady Destiny for doing this one thing for him. His main objective was to grab you and get out of here as fast as possible. Unless new factors of the situation introduce themselves to him, such as firearms or a car, he would have a change of plan—kill everyone to avoid loose ends and take the car.

The distance between you two was closing until, in a flash, Ghost was jolted backward just as someone jumped before him to grip his shoulders. He grunted when he felt a slashing pain against his shoulder—the guy with the knife was behind him. He needed to take care of that now since shoving the man and running away clearly was no good. Besides, it would be better not to lead the knife toward you.

You gasped when you saw Ghost getting tackled, unsure if he would be fine when he still had an untreated wound. Your involvement may cause more damage than good, though. You should find a place to hide instead of getting close. You looked around in a panic, your senses overwhelmed only with what was happening in front of you that the malicious steps behind you went unnoticed.

"Ah!" You gasped again when someone yanked you backward by your hair, causing you to stumble.

"Little shit, you bit me!"

Ghost could see you struggle against the man's grip on you from afar, and then you were pulled up aggressively by your hair and threatened with a harsh grip on your jaw. He might have seen tears welling in your eyes. He wasn't sure. Soon, someone got waved over, and they wrapped a bag around your head, completely blocking your senses.

His eyes widened with loathing. How dare he, how dare he, how dare he! You were being taken away from him, with rough hands over your fragile skin that he promised to keep safe. He screamed in his head to act fast, to think, to fight—eyes shifted immediately upon motion coming from the back. There was a van.

Oh? So the plan was to kill, after all.

But it wasn't the establishment of a plan and the certainty of what to do that made Ghost finally start revealing his true nature.

The skillset he earned through training and military experiences wasn't even who he was. That was what people saw of him, presented through his decisions. That was Ghost. But beneath the tip of a knife and the barrel of a gun, beneath his mask was just Simon Riley. An angry man, a violent man, a traumatized man who has finally regained control over his life.

A man, who through a thousand agonies and unresolved grief, whose throat was squeezed by the hands of cruelty, decided there are spaces left in his heart for other people. And lord forbids anyone trying to hurt any of those people to forget that while his heart held gentle lives, it is still cold as his hands could be.

Holding his breath, Ghost disregarded the man before him to focus on the one with a knife. Instead of disarming, he took ownership of the weapon this time, saving the one hidden under his vest for later. Once the blade became his, he ruthlessly stabbed the man in the throat and turned around immediately to catch the second one off guard before killing him by repeating the offense.

Blood soaked the blade with a delightful gleam, a familiar sight. Ghost cracked the soreness away from his neck, the ringing in his ears closing into nothingness so his eyes could focus clearly on his surroundings. What was in front of him? A van and two men; one driver, the other one shoving you into the trunk of the vehicle. He could make a run for it, he might make it. If he couldn't make it then...

The van began to take off. Ghost kept the sharpness in his eyes focused on the dust surrounding the wheels. This may be a long shot, but he has to try, or he would break his body trying to race four wheels powered by an engine. Taking the knife from under his vest, his legs continued moving to close the distance as much as possible. He raised his hand, concentration muffled in the skilled angle of his wrist, and threw the knife.

The wind sang a line where the knife cartwheeled through, cutting molecules and atoms, cutting through vibrations. The first knife got caught against the top of the back tire. It struggled against the speed of it before, miraculously, its tip pierced through the thicknsss of the tire tread and popped the object open. Another knife came flying immediately after, this time it was a sure hit to pop the other back tire. Ghost hummed in satisfaction as he picks up his running speed.

Once he reached the van, he swung his body over to the driver's door and attempted to open it. It was locked. Without a second thought, he raised his elbow and slammed it toward the window. He had done this a hundred times before, and even if it hurt his bones, he would do it. Letting the scared yell of the driver brush past his ear like white noises, he reached in to unlock the door and swung it open.

Ghost glanced at the back seat to find no more enemies there. There was only the driver and the man sitting in the passenger seat who held you by your hair and yanked you like a rag doll. Fear struck that stranger’s eyes upon recognizing the immense strength Ghost possessed. Within the moment, he could recall what the informant had told him about the pretty child traveling with a large man in military uniform, and how everyone underestimated that large man’s ability.

It was a grave mistake. Everyone should have known never to tempt a man’s fury. Everyone should have known never to test a father’s protectiveness over their precious child.

This large man, this man in a skull mask and a military uniform, this ghost of a man—Simon Riley is going to kill him.

Hastily reaching for his pockets, the man pulled out a pistol and aimed it straight at Ghost. Of course, that reaction time was only laughable to a pair of trained eyes. Ghost clutched the back of the driver’s shirt and ducked his head below their shoulders, using the poor man as a shield for the misfired bullets. The pistol was quick to click with an empty shell. As soon as Ghost heard the sound, he pulled the driver’s dead body out of the car and tossed it aside. Then, with menacing yet emotionless eyes, he tilted his head at the remaining man.

“Woah! Wait, wait!” The man held his hands up in genuine surrender, but the nervous smile on his face was a misread of the situation. “Look, I know I fucked up, alright? I’ll admit it! Taking four men with me to go against a soldier was a terrible miscalculation on my part!” He shrugged with condescension, clearly hadn’t gotten past his habit of smooth-taking. Pointing the barrel at Ghost again as a gesture toward him, the man suggested, “Let’s strike a deal. How’s that sound, hm? I let your kid go, you let me go.”

Ghost was silent. He had no pleasure in making small talk, nor did he want to strike any deal with anybody. The only reason this man was still speaking was that he needed to know who scheduled this sudden attack and if he had to make haste with recontacting with his team. This could not happen again; he could handle it, but you may not, and neither should you have to.

He leaned forward on the driver’s seat and took the man’s wrist. He squeezed his fingers around those bones, churning through the fabric of his gloves to make a point that if he so wanted to, the man would be in immeasurable pain at any moment. Without losing his grip, Ghost leaned toward the man’s face and whispered, “What do you want from them?”

“Huh?” The man chuckled in disbelief. “Don’t tell me you don’t know the value of lost, poor children–ah! Okay! Okay!” His fingers twitched under the pressure of Ghost’s hand. He groaned in pain and threw a glare at the emotionless soldier, then he responded quickly, “Human trafficking. Do I need to spell out what that means to you, soldier boy?” Met with silence, he laughed. “Don’t overthink about it. It’s all just business! Young, pretty children like the one you have sell for great money–shit! Fuck! Fuck you!”

A crack echoed along with the pained scream, followed by the slump of a limp arm. “Fuck you! That kid was supposed to be ours anyway!”

“Explain.”

“Explain? To you?” The man gasped in disbelief, but he did not have to merit not to in such a vulnerable situation. “It’s all hearsay! Do you know how big a human trafficking ring is, soldier? I’m not the only person working for it. What I heard about that kid of yours is that they were in a loaded truck before some of them managed to break out.” His eyes twitched as he stared at Ghost. “Maybe you’re why that transport failed, but I doubt it. You only got one of them with you, and that truck was loaded with–mm! Fuck! My nose!”

Ghost took the time to think as the man screamed for his bleeding nose after Ghost conveniently slammed his head into the glove compartment. Human trafficking—he didn’t know much about it, come to think of it. It could be possible that you had already been taken once, but who broke you out? An insider? Did a group of children band together to save each other? It didn’t make sense for him to find you wandering in the middle of nowhere.

Besides, how did people find them? Someone must have told these people his location. Could it be the group of travelers a while back? Damn it, if it was, then he would have to throw away the canned foods they provided you two. For all he knew, they could be spiked. Ghost really hoped the canned foods were fine; he wasn’t sure how to tell you there would be no Mac and Cheese tonight.

Broken out of his trance, the screaming man paused when he saw Ghost lean back. He panicked again when Ghost pulled out a similar-looking pistol from his back, but this one was loaded with bullets. The man sighed in defeat. The sly bastard must have taken it from the driver!

“Wait! Wait! You need a messenger! You need a messenger!” It was the last attempt. “They will come after you if none of us go back. Someone has to warn them off, and I can do that! You will never see any of us again!”

“I think this is warning enough.”

“What?”

Ghost pressed the barrel to the man’s head and fired. After double-checking that the man was dead, he shuffled off the van and headed to the back of the vehicle. The whole backseat has fallen due to the flattened tires, and Ghost reached down to pick up his knife stuck to the tread. You could sense the trunk being opened, but you were unsure what was happening. All you knew was that the vehicle went through a terrible bump and made your head collide against the wall, and what came after were gunshots and the screams of a man.

Ghost sighed when he saw your shrunken form. You flinched away from him when you felt hands on your arms, paranoid with fright, and you kicked and thrashed about to keep them off you. “No! Get away! Get away from me!”

“It’s me, kid! It’s Ghost!” He clarified out loud, afraid of exerting force on your shoulders but having to steady you from struggling against him. “It’s just me!”

You recognized the voice. Despite being covered with a bag, you turned your head left and right as if to search for him. Your movement ceased when you felt rustling at your neck. You soon realize it was the cutting of the rope that tied the bag to your neck. It was a breath of fresh air as soon as Ghost ripped it off your head, and you panted from the suffocating feeling you were forced to endure in the trunk. When you saw Ghost in front of you, you widened your eyes.

His gloves were bloodied, and so was the knife he held. Judging from the violent noises you heard a minute ago, Ghost has killed someone. He has killed multiple someones. It was for you, clear as day.

You whimpered tearfully and scrambled up from your knees. You practically hopped onto his body, circling your arms around his neck and finally letting yourself cry like a child who has just been through something horrible. Honestly, his armor made him rather difficult to hug, but that was a detail you dismissed. Latching onto him was the only thing that made you feel safe.

This was unusual for him. Not that you have never touched him before, lord knows you have dangled yourself on his body however you could to cause him inconvenience—swinging from his back, dangling on his arm, sitting on his shoulders, clinging on his legs. Ghost was not a stranger to playful games where your skin touched, but he had never been hugged. You have never hugged him for comfort and safety before, with tears streaming down your cheeks and your head buried to his shoulder so you could hide from the world.

A stinging pain engulfed him. He forgot there was a wound on the back of his shoulder.

“I got you. I got you now.” He wasn’t sure how else to respond. His arms were hesitant to provide an embrace because he didn’t know how to do it properly.

Ghost let you hang around his neck, one hand on your waist to keep you from falling.

He was exhausted; not his body, his heart was. You almost went down a path he couldn’t follow, almost taken somewhere he might not be able to trace. He would not have known what to do if it did happen. Maybe he would follow the trail of tires on his two feet, walking and walking until he returned to where he first came from, to find that you’ve gone too far to be retrieved. Then the next to go would be him. Back to where this all started. Back when he was supposed to die, like you were supposed to.

Ghost would hate to see you after death. You could never belong where he would go.

Your sobs have mostly calmed down, so you drop yourself to the ground and stand next to him. He looked down at you, eyes puffed and dry, and he used the back of his index finger to wipe away something near the corner of your eye. There were no tears there. You have cried them all out. It was just an act of comfort. It was just a gentle caress of your eye that had unnecessarily exhausted itself.

You grabbed his hand, still sniffing away the snot that surprisingly did not fall. “I’m hungry, Ghost.”

“Yeah,” he nodded, “I know.”

Thankfully, you guys have canned Mac and Cheese.

[rachetmath]

Jaune vs Rwby

Yang: Guys it’s Jaune. We have nothing to fear.

Jaune: No.

Yang: What?

Jaune: Run it.

Yang: What?

Jaune: Run me my fade.

Ruby: Wait really? You really want to fight us?

Jaune: ABSOLUTELY!

Ruby: Why?

Jaune: Why?! Oh little bitch. I had to kill Penny. Endanger millions of people. Almost got blown up. Now, I’m trapped on island. Alone. No teammates. All because I was loyal to your dumb ass.

Blake: Jaune, I understand-

Jaune: Cat bitch, you best shut the F*** up, you first on my list.

Blake: Whoa why you mad at-

Jaune: After everything you been through. After confronting and coming with terms with your past. Why- please tell me WHY would you repeat the one thing that caused you a lot of problems? Which was associating with criminals!

Weiss: Well if wasn’t for those ‘criminals’ we wouldn’t have been able sneak in Atlas bases and be able to launch Amity Arena.

Jaune: True. But what happened after the launch? Did anyone show up? Did anyone come to help?

Weiss: … …

Ruby: Well it was more made to warn other kingdoms about Salem. They needed to be prepared.

Jaune: You do know that once everyone starts asking for conformation about Salem and learn about the fall of Atlas, which was known to be the most ADVANCED kingdom in the world, could cause panic. You know that right?

Yang: Well at least we were putting some effort.

Jaune: Goldy Locks your ass is all talk. You haven’t done shit. Even on my team, you was barely useful. Ren, Oscar and myself were carrying you the whole time.

Yang: … …

Jaune: Weiss, you had f***** dust in the chamber. Why did you not use that to repair the walls?

Weiss: I mean I-

Jaune: I have semblance to increase your performance, we could have done something.

Weiss: Well I proved my father cheated-

Jaune: Your father was just business man who we wanted no business with. In all honesty neither him nor Robyn were the best choice for council members. Plus the council barely did anything.

Weiss: … ….

Jaune: So again, run me my fade.

Yang: Okay fine. This will be easy anyways.

Ruby: Yeah. Jaune can’t beat us.

Me: oh its not about whether he can beat you or not.

Ruby: Huh.

Me: It’s about whether can he give you that work.

Ruby: Well-

Me: Ruby, you do know Jaune was almost able to react to Tyrian’s speed right?

Ruby: Well my semblance-

Me: Mercury was able to knock you out of it. Plus, I don’t know if that was fluke but Jaune was fast enough to defend Oscar out of nowhere. Neo didn’t even see him coming. In fact, neither did Cinder.

Yang: My semblance-

Me: How much power can store in your body take?

Yang: Um.

Me: Remember Jaune can amplify you and you will eventually have to release your semblance because it could build up to where you can’t contain it.

Yang: So.

Me: Meaning just like Izuku with One for All,if your body can’t handle the output of your power, then you could end up breaking a few bones.

Yang: Oh dear god.

Blake: Don’t worry Yang, Jaune can’t handle-

Me: Make sure you plenty of dust in chamber.

Blake: Why? I don’t want to hurt Jaune.

Me: Amplification effect the semblance. Remember Ren semblance was unable to cover thousands of people. Jaune helped with that.

Blake: And?

Me: Your semblance literally leaves a past version of yourself for one second. Imagen what could happen if Jaune grabs that clone and amplifies it to stay longer.

Blake He’s just grabbing a- oh my gosh.

Me: Yeah if something happens to your past self wouldn’t it affect you in the present?

Blake: Oh shit and I’m out of dust.

Weiss: Then it’s up to me.

Me: Name one time your summons were useful.

Weiss: Jaune not fast plus it’s four against one.

Me: True you right. But let me add on a special detail in a form a question. Has ever used his grand sword mode?

Ruby: No.

Me: Did Pietro ever removed it?

Ruby: We don’t know.

Me: Not only that doesn’t Jaune have hard light dust and gravity dust?

RWBY: … …

Me: And if I’m correct Jaune uses gravity dust to create waves right?

Ruby: *nervously* And?

Me: Hmm so wouldn’t using it offensive basically be equivalent of using a Gestuga Tensho or Excalibur.

Weiss: Oh my goodness! Give us a break!

Me: Also, fun fact, hard light dust can burn you skin. I wonder how would it affect metal.

Yang: OH COME ON!

Me: Good luck ladies.

RWBY and Jaune fan: … … …

Me: What?

RWBY fan: You do know everything say is not canon and is only a theory.

Me: I mean, yeah, duh, I’m no fool. But if everything I said could be true, then ya’ll would hate him and RT even more.

Jaune fan: How come?

Me: If what I said is to be true, then why didn’t Jaune try none those methods on any of his enemies.

RWBY and Jaune fan: … … …

Jaune fan:  My god man.

RWBY fan: The plot damn it.

(Hello. It’s been a while since I lasted posted anything. I’m not died though so please hear me out. I’ve been working on a few projects to get used to process that I really want to learn. I will show you shortly. Also I will release some artwork.)

[tarnishedinquirer]

Case: The Cave of Awakening 2

Looking down from the cliffs, I noticed a second, smaller beach with no obvious way to get down. I wouldn't have thought much of it if I hadn't also seen a campfire down there too, and someone walking around. If those Spirit Springs can get me up, they can probably get me down too?

When I landed, the beach hermit walked out of his little shelter to greet me. By which I mean, he started shooting dark purple energy at me and trying stab me with his sword. When he got closer I realized that I'm not dealing with some crazy mage. 10 ft tall and built like a scarecrow, with heavily scarred grey skin. From the Sellian glintstone chunks, I now know that he's using gravity magic. I even recognized one of his attacks from Old Knight Istvan. I wonder if there's a connection, there?

When I brought him down, he dropped an Ash of War with that very ability, called Gravitas.

Once the grey giant was dead, I finally got a long, hard look at him, and noticed the extensive scarring over his back and buttocks. Smaller scars on his calf and other places...I know there was some on the front, but he was too heavy for me to roll over easily.

It brought to mind some of the tortures I suffered in prison, and I felt an uncharacteristic pang of empathy for this guy. Maybe he got these scars some other way, but either way, someone had done a number on him. No wonder he attacked me.

Didn't seem to be too much else, but I noticed some messages on the ground off near the cliff wall. I've been ignoring them mostly. One plunge off a cliff because some malicious Tarnished said "Try jumping" was one too many.

Still, there must be something over there, and lo and behold, there was. A cave, deep into the earth. And at the end, a very familiar cliff over another very familiar cave.

Back where I started, then. I must have washed up on that shore. The hermit then dragged me into this cave and tossed me in, if for no other reason than to keep his beach clean.

It looks like someone tried to crawl back out but didn't make it. On his body I found a Haligdrake Talisman, a twin to the one the Beastman was carrying. I could see his body still smouldering with magical flame and wondered what could possibly have burned him like this.

That's some mysteries solved, but a few more raised.

As I made my way back out, I heard a cacophony of screams. Boarding the elevator, it only got louder the closer I got to the surface.

Gods. They're all still alive.

Who was the grey hermit?

How did he get those scars?

Was he a starcaller?

Who was the escaping corpse and how did he get the talisman?

What killed him?

They're still alive. All of them. Still alive.

[spectrum-spectre]

Part 3 (THERE'LL BE ONE MORE I'M SORRY)

Eddie Munson was dead.

Key word being was.

For exactly 4 minutes and 36 seconds, his heart did not beat.

The last minute and 14 seconds of those were spent being resuscitated by one Steve Harrington; former lifeguard, CPR certified. Those four and a half minutes were the worst moments of his life. His soul mark turned black, like charred steak. His sight went hazy around the edges, almost as if he had tunnel vision. He was focused on one thing and one thing only: not losing his motherfucking soulmate, again.

When Eddie's heart beat again, his chest rising and falling without Steve needing to inflate his lover's lungs himself, it felt like he was the one finally able to breath again. He picked the body-no, Eddie, up as gently as he could, Robin grabbing hold of his legs, and Nancy supporting Dustin next to them. The ragtag group of teens hobbled their way to the gate where Fred was killed, since they wouldn't be able to lift Eddie through the portal in the ceiling.

The gravity change wasn't nearly as harsh this time, which thankfully made the process much faster. Every second counts when you're carrying an formerly-dead man. Steve didn't even notice his mark was back to normal, too concentrated on keeping Eddie from losing any more blood.

Truth be told, he doesn't remember what happened next; he can vaguely recall hearing sirens, and the next thing he knew, he was waking up in the hospital two days later. Turns out he should've been focused on slowing his own blood loss as well, the Dingus.

Eddie woke up three days after him, as his wounds were much more extensive and required more time to heal. Someone named Dr. Owens came and politely shoved a stack of NDA's towards the whole Party, in exchange for clearing Eddie's name. Nancy tore him a proverbial new one and negotiated for a solid 9 minutes before he caved and promised full medical coverage for monster-related issues (including extensive therapy for those who so wish), as well as monetary compensation for any property damage brought upon by the Upside Down (and she would know if they were shortchanged, this girl took AP Econ in the tenth grade).

When Eddie was finally allowed visitors, Steve was the last in line to see him. He barely knew the man for crying out loud, why should he get to go before the guy's actual friends? So he waited. He was used to waiting. He could wait.

It was driving him up the fucking walls, though.

Once it was his turn, he almost-ALMOST chickened out. It doesn't count as chickening out if you get your shit together at the last second. Robin (bless her weary soul) held his hand physically and emotionally all the way to the door. He'd told her, because of fucking course he told her, she's the best friend he's ever had and he can't hide a thing from her all-seeing eyes. Right. He could do this. Okay.

Thank you for being so patient with me folks. This is my first time writing anything fandom-wise that's longer than like a couple hundred words and it's a lot harder than it used to be before the brain damage. Sorry for the wait and that this is a bit shorter than the other ones; I'm working on it and hopefully it should be Finished by the end of Saturday night :)))

Taglist: @warlordess @adaed5 @bxlthazar @sadcanadianwinter @darkwitchoferie @grtwdsmwhr @swimmingbirdrunningrock @notaqueenakhaleesi @panicatthediaz @booksandsience @thedragonsaunt @lovelyladylaudanum @vampireinthesun @reportinglivefromsoda @gregre369 @danili666

[sun-undone]

OBX details that make me feral (8/?)

JJ's fear is used for comedy until . . . it isn't (aka how JJ's status as the comic relief is used to fully shift the tone of the show in 1x05)

1x02: After John B and JJ encounter the creepy dudes (one of them is named Ratter apparently, which is so fucking funny oh my god, but they’re just The Creepy Dudes to me), JJ is super shaken up about it as he relays what had happened to Kie and Pope.

His entire monologue about getting paint in his hair, waiting for death, and not taking mental polaroids is very, very exaggerated and obviously played as a comedic moment (which Rudy kills btw it cracks me up every time). While I do think that his anxiety here is genuine to an extent, especially with the detail that the guys remind him of people that his dad hangs out with, I do think that the scene itself is clearly trying to play up that fear because JJ is the main source of comic relief. But I also think that the writers’ decision to do this is brilliant because it makes JJ’s real fear even more striking when we finally see it for the first time. 

1x05: When Luke picks up JJ from the police station, JJ’s body language says it all. He barely makes eye contact, keeps his head down, stands a few feet away from Luke at all times, and has his hands in his pockets the entire time.

He barely says anything, and when he does, the words are brief, apologetic, and chosen very carefully. He follows his father’s every order, which is very different from the authority-hating JJ that we have come to know so far, and he is visibly hesitant to get in the car with him outside of the station.

It’s the first time that we see JJ without his usual confidence and bravado. In this scene, he seems like a small, quiet kid, when he’s usually this larger-than-life, quick-witted personality. In the scene that came just before this, JJ's usual cocky attitude and disdain for authority is showcased with how he plays up his casual body language as he's talking to Peterkin.

But then to have all of this usual JJ-ness so quickly stripped away in the very next scene makes for such an impactful reveal. Because we've never seen JJ so meek, the audience is completely disarmed in the same way that he is in the presence of Luke.

Contrasted with the more comedic fear from 1x02, we can clearly see that this fear from JJ in 1x05 is much deeper, so it makes the reveal of JJ’s home life even more heartbreaking and jarring. The fear from 1x02 saw JJ turn outwards, making an exaggerated show out of the situation, but the fear from 1x05 sees JJ turn inwards, and he feels like a shell of the character that we thought we knew. This makes us feel even more caught off guard when we finally see the full extent of JJ's home life and put the pieces together about his personality.

To add onto this, the writers also use JJ as a vessel for introducing the real danger of the treasure hunt to the Pogues (John B, specifically). Along with his fear of Luke, we also see him show that same kind of genuine fear after Peterkin shows him the photos from the creepy guys' autopsies.

Before, JJ was freaked out about the "square groupers" in his more outward, comedic way, but now he is genuinely scared for John B's safety, which prompts him to try to get John B to give up on the treasure.

I just love how the writers have the comic relief character be the first one to realize the gravity of the situation that the Pogues have gotten themselves into because it makes the audience pay even more attention to it. At this point, we know JJ as the funny one, so of course we can't help but listen when he's suddenly showing a completely different side of his personality.

TL;DR, In the police station, we first see JJ the way that we know him: cocky and overly confident in front of authority figures. But once he sees the pictures, there's a noticeable shift in his attitude where he gets uncharacteristically serious. And then by the time Luke gets there, everything about the way that JJ carries himself and speaks has shifted within a few minutes of screen time. Before we even see the title card in 1x05, the tone of the show has been flipped on its head through the writers' use of JJ's fear, both about the treasure hunt and his own father.

God it’s such good storytelling, it really is. The Pates really did that huh

previous post // next post

[femboyhorror]

i've grown tired of this body - fall apart without me body

【A/N: cross-posted from my ao3! if you enjoy this feel free to check out my other works and consider buying me a coffee maybe. :3 this one shot came out of the blue. as you can probably guess by now this is just one big vent one shot that started out just being me wanting to make a fic about trans!dipper dealing with his period while i was having to deal with mine and ended up spiraling into me projecting my own experiences with my parents being awful and transphobic onto sir dippingsauce here and imagining what'd it be like having a found family. tw ahead for some impled/references child abuse of the verbal kind, transphobia from dipper's a+ parents, some semi graphic descriptions of the fun times that come with menstruation and one use of the word queer. (it's not used in the context of bigotry, btw!) big shout out to anyone out there dealing with the red beast, to my fellow cisn't individuals who may deal with it. i hope life is kind to you, that you have some rad people you can turn to comfort or at least get to have some nice snacks during these trying times. 】

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The bus carrying him back to the forests of Oregon rattles and shakes as it makes track across the winding roads. By the second hour he's feeling a decent amount of claustrophobia, his legs wave back and forth with a need to get up and walk and a spring in the seat he was in had popped out and was just scratching at him enough that it made him want to scream.

And yet despite the minor discomforts, a sense of comfort washes over him when he sees the familiar towering pine trees slowly replace the long stretching plains in the window. It was a feeling that he'd sorely missed throughout the last ten months and was never more evident until he saw the green of those trees. By the time the old weathered sign passed by, proudly proclaiming 'Welcome to Gravity Falls', a full smile spreads across his face. One that he didn't need to look to know that his sister shared with him.

They were finally back in Gravity Falls.

They were finally home.

Ignoring the shouted reminder from the bus driver to wait until the bus had fully stopped, the mystery twin duo practically flew out of their seats and rushed off the bus with their suitcases in hand and - in Mabel's case - pet pig at their side. By the bus stop, sporting warm smiles, were their Grunkles Stan and Ford.

"Grunkle Stan, Grunkle Ford!" The twins had greeted them in near unison. The two opened their arms just in time for their niblings to practically tackle them in a big hug tight enough to make a few parts of Stan's back in particular pop courtesy of Mabel.

"Whoa whoa there kids, you tryin' to kill your old man?!" Protested the old con-man, though his own smile betrayed his joy to see the two. Eventually the group hug came to an end and Stan helped the twins put their luggage into the Stanleymobile.

"Welcome back, my boy." These words, spoken to Dipper in a gentle, caring tone, made a wave of emotion swell in his heart and he barely kept himself from crying right then and there as he replied,

"I'm glad to be back."

'My boy' he thinks with pride.

Because that's who he was here. In Gravity Falls he wasn't expected to be the quiet and polite little girl. Instead he was a beloved great nephew. He was a protecting twin brother. He was Dipper Pines and the sense of joy he feels when he thinks this brings some tears of relief to his eyes.

If Ford notices his sudden burst of emotion then he chooses not to comment on it to Dipper's relief, and Stan soon pipes up as they all pile into his old car.

"Alright, I don't know about you guys but I'm hungry enough to eat one of those multi-headed cows. Why don't we go back to the shack so I can make us some…"

"Stancakes?" Mabel guesses with a bright smile.

"That's right! And Mabel's helping me out this time since Ford's still banned from the kitchen."

"For cosmo's sake, Stanley, the last time I burnt anything was months ago!"

"Yeah, and I still have no idea how you managed to set the entire kitchen on fire just by pouring cereal!"

"Oooh, good thing I brought my special rainbow glitter!"

"Pumpkin, that glitter is edible, right?"

Dipper relaxed during the car ride home, comfortably letting himself get lost in the familiar family banter and, at least for the moment, letting himself drift off and forget about all the pain from Piedmont.

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Breakfast back at the Shack was, as expected with the Pines, a lively affair. Mabel, naturally, manages to make her own Stancakes into what Dipper could only describe as a rainbow colored death wish of syrup and sprinkles with perhaps some renments of pancakes in there but he couldn't tell for sure. The four of them conversed about stories from their time apart, from their grunkles tales of their sea-faring adventures to Mabel providing stories from school such as amusing misadventures and some extracurricular activities they had gotten into.

Dipper tried to chime in as well, though he was somewhat distracted by a dull ache that had come up occassionally over the past few days. Radiating from his lower stomach area, it made it hard for Dipper to focus and he could barely manage to eat more than a single pancake despite having not eating anything that morning.

At one point he catches Ford giving him a look of concern but he simply waves him off, mouthing a silent 'I'm fine' to him.

Not long after breakfast was finished the twins took to their old room in the Mystery Shack's attic to unpack as their great uncle's assured them they could handle the dishes on their own.

"Hey, Dipper…?" Mabel's words, spoken in a tone unusually soft for the bubbly girl, break through the silence in the attic. "Don't you think we should tell Stan and Ford what ha-?"

"No." He quickly cuts in, harsher than he meant to and he immediately feels guilty but he doesn't doesn't doesn't want to think about Piedmont yet. "I just… I'm not ready… I just want to be Dipper a little longer…" The last part was barely above a whisper but still cuts through the silent attic like a shotgun blast.

"You are Dipper. To me, and to Ford and Stan. Nothing will ever make then treat you otherwise." The words 'unlike mom and dad' hang in the air, unsaid but understood by both twins. He wants to believe her, wants to trust that he'll always be seen as their great nephew but the echoing words of their parents make him falter.

"I will tell them, just…" He takes a deep, shaky breath. "…just not yet."

A beat passes and he almost expects Mabel to tell him that he should know by now to trust family, to tell him that honesty was the best policy and that he won't have to feel this weight on his chest if he just opened up to them.

"That's alright, just tell them when you're ready." She said instead.

The guilt remains.

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The dawn of what Mabel has dubbed their first official day of summer begins with the dull ache from before now returning as the sharp pain of many needles as well as an unwelcome crimson visitor.

And while Dipper had expected to have to deal with good old shark week after the pseudo-cramps he'd been feeling for the last few days it still never made the day it finally started any less difficult. As if he hadn't had a hard enough time with dysphoria before returning to Gravity Falls the world seemed to have it out for Dipper with a wholly unwanted visitor would add insult to injury.

But, after some extra time cleaning himself in the bathroom, he resolves to push away the pain and stress and makes his way down the creaky stairs of the Shack in a slow and shaky manner…

..and is immediately greeted by the distinct smell of smoke. Confused and maybe a little bit panicked, he follows the scent to the kitchen where he discovers the source; a pan of half charred yet somehow also half raw eggs. Holding the pan was Mabel, unsuccessfully trying to salvage the mess with Stan standing by. By Dipper's guess he was trying to teach Mabel to cook with… mixed results. Smiling at the duo's antics, he takes a seat at the table where he spots his great uncle Ford, nursing a cup of coffee and seemingly entirely unbothered by the disaster that is Stan's cooking lesson.

"Good morning, my boy." He greets Dipper with a kind smile, and the gender euphoria of being called 'my boy' is almost enough to make him forget about his current pain and discomfort. Keyword: almost. Seeming to notice this, Ford furrows his brows in a concerned manner. "Are you feeling quite alright, Dipper? You look pale?"

"Oh, uh, I'm fine, Grunkle Ford, just tired is all…" He lied, forcing himself to pick up and bite into an apple despite how little he wanted to eat just to further prove he was alright. As he robotically chews into the apple Ford continues talking.

"Well, I was going to ask if you wanted to accompany me on a little walk to check on the forests around here, but if you're not feeling well…"

"Nononononono! We can go for a walk!" He quickly cuts in to Ford's owlish surprise. As much as he - in his current state of mild to extreme pain - wanted to spend the day in bed reading, the idea of being alone in the attic felt awful. Even if the cramps would kill him, he really wants to spend more time with his great uncle.

"Alright then, we can go after breakfast if that's alright with you?" Dipper forces his pain away to smile back to Ford.

"Y-yeah! Sounds great, I'll go grab my shoes."

And so Ford watched his great nephew run out of the kitchen, and he frowns at the barely eaten apple as a sense of growing worry settles in his gut.

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The Gravity Falls forests were always a beauty to be able to behold. From the fantastical sorts of creatures and flora that called the woodland their home to even the more mundane sorts of plants and animals that shared the forest with the strange. This morning was no different as the sunlight filtered through the treetops above lit the forest in a soft light that made the whole place feel nothing short of enchanting.

Ford lead the way through the forest, chattering casually about the different points of interest and pointing out some of the newer pieces of intrigue that he thinks his great nephew will enjoy. And as hard as Dipper tries to focus on following and nodding along he can barely concentrate on his great uncle's words through the haze of pain he was drowning in.

After a few minutes of this that feel more like hours, Ford comes to a stop and looks back to Dipper, a frown speaking to deep worry on his face.

"Dipper, are you absolutely sure you're alright? You know you can tell me if you're ever hurt or sick, right?" Dipper had to near bite on the inside of his mouth to keep himself together. The genuine care his great uncle was showing him combined with the guilt he felt at ruining their walk on top of the pain that was still radiating through him made it hard to hold back the tears.

He wants to tell Ford that he was fine, maybe blame it on sleepiness again and keep walking, but a particularly sharp stabbing feeling hits and all he can do is lean pathetically against a nearby tree, trying to breathe through the sudden pain.

"Dipper! You need to tell me what's…" His great uncle's shout of alarm slowly trails off and it wasn't too long until the realization of why fills Dipper with pure shame. Running down his legs were bright red trails of his period blood.

He wants to disappear. He wants nothing more than a spontaneous bottomless pit to form underneath him and take him away right then and there. Unfortunately for him no such pits appear and he can only settle for locking his gaze onto the forest floor. Despite having outgrown the hero worship he held for his great uncle that fateful summer, Ford was still someone he held high respect and admiration for. And now that he's seen Dipper in such an embarrassing position - bleeding on himself in the middle of the woods - he doesn't know if he can ever face him again. He could only imagine the look of disappointment, disgust even.

His thoughts of self-loathing are cut off by a hand laid on his shoulder.

"Dipper, please look at me. I'm not mad at you, I just need you to tell me what's wrong." His great uncle's voice oddly seems to hold none of the disappointment or disgust he had expected. He chances a look up and Ford's expression was not one of frustration but one of a deep concern but also a look of knowing.

"It's… a lot to explain… can we go back to the Shack first?" He curses the way his voice wobbles as he voices this but Ford doesn't seem to mind, only nodding before helping him walk the short way back. No other words are exchanged on the way back and Dipper is quick to duck into the bathroom to clean himself up. A quick shower later and he leaves the bathroom to find a bottle of pain medication left on a nearby table along with a glass of water. A brief smile crosses Dipper's face as he can easily guess who left the items.

Soon enough the four Pines were all brought together in the kitchen as Dipper prepared for another difficult conversation, inwardly praying to a god he didn't believe in for things to go better the second time around.

"…My name wasn't always Dipper…" He slowly began, trying to relax his tense shoulders. "Growing up, I always felt like there was something wrong about me. I hated being called by my birthname, hated being called a girl. My parents would tell me that all girls feel that way, but it was more than that. Eventually I start to realize that I maybe wasn't a girl at all…" He chances a look back up at Stan and Ford to see their reactions. A part of him expected to see judgement but instead the two of them are attentive, waiting for Dipper to continue. Feeling a boost of confidence from this, he speaks again.

"I ended up discovering the term transgender, and right then I felt like things suddenly started to make sense. The way I've been feeling, the way I saw myself… and when my parents told me and Mabel that we were going to be going to visit a new town full of new people for the summer, I realized that was the perfect chance for me to try out being a boy for the first time. And that summer ended up being the first time in my life I felt like I was able to be myself." Just thinking about that first magical summer brought a smile to Dipper's face. He remembers the way his hands shook when he first introduces himself as Dipper. As Mabel's twin brother. Remembers the trials and tribulations he went through the summer, and yet despite it all he truly felt like he'd grown into a proud young man by the end of it all.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys sooner…" He finally says as he finishes his explanation. For a moment, the two older men seem to take this in before Stan speaks up.

"I'm glad you feel safe enough to tell us, kid, although I kinda knew you were trans already."

"Wait, you knew?!" Dipper shouts before he can stop himself. He suddenly starts to panic, wondering if he hadn't really passed as well as he thought he did. Stan quickly puts his hands up and puts his fears to rest as he adds in,

"I mean I was there when you two goobers were born! I'm not a spring chicken, Dipper. I've had my fair share of experiences with the gays and the queers. When you two got off the bus and you were introducing yourself as Mabel's twin brother Dipper, I thought to myself 'As long as the kid's happy, good on him!'"

"The concept of gender is, frankly, one that is much closer to a spectrum than most people realize. There are plenty of dimensions out there where gender is explored much more than here, for example I've been to one dimension where gender was traded with and bartered like a sort of currency!"

"What my nerd brother is trying to say," Stan finally cuts in, knowing Ford was likely to go on a full hour long tangent otherwise. "is that he's happy you felt safe enough to tell the both of us."

"Yes, of course, my boy!" A bright smile is spread across Dipper's face, the acceptance given from both his great uncles filling him with relief.

"See, Dipper? I just knew that our grunkles wouldn't have treated you like mom and dad did." His sister chimes in with her own knowing smile. Ford, however, quickly catches onto what she said.

"What do you mean 'like mom and dad', Mabel? Did your parents not take it well?" His question, although asked with no ill intentions, has the immediate effect of making both of the twin's moods fall. While Dipper shrinks in on himself, Mabel adopts a look of frustration and lets out a huff.

"Mom and dad are poopheads!" Ford and Stan both frown. That certainly didn't sound good. After a moment, Dipper speaks up.

"I… I hadn't told them about the whole 'being transgender' think before going to Gravity Falls. I was still just trying to figure it all out back then. Of course, they catch onto the new name I was using here. Not too long after me and Mabel came back they start questioning me about what was going on. Why I was hiding things from them…" He remembers that day all too well. Of being cornered with questions and not being able to rely on Mabel because she had been out with friends at the time. "I tried to explain to them how much happier I had been bit they wouldn't listen. They kept saying how their 'poor sweet daughter must have been brainwashed' and that 'it's just a phase you'll grow out of'…" Dipper then trailed off, his voice shaking more as he becomes more choked up. Mabel quickly scoots her chair closer, letting her brother lean on her for comfort.

"We hoped that they would end up coming around but they wouldn't even try to understand him. They kept using the wrong name and pronouns for him no matter how much we tried to correct them or ask them not to!" She angrily adds in. "One day they even told him that he should be grateful that he hadn't been thrown out!"

Knowing how unaccepted and uncared for their beloved nephew had been in the last ten months was already deeply troubling for Stan and Ford, but hearing these especially cruel words hit the two far too close to home. The hopes they had that Dipper and Mabel would at least have the caring and safe home that they never got were dashed, and they share a look of regret before turning to look at their niblings.

"Dipper, I… I'm so sorry your parents have been treating you like this. I had no idea."

"You're not going to send us back, are you?" Dipper asks quietly. At their great uncle's looks of confusion, Mabel explains.

"We… kind of didn't tell them we were visiting…" She admits as she diverts her eyes sheepishly.

"They tried to forbid us from coming back this summer, saying how this town 'corrupted me'," Her brother explains with air quotations and an eye roll. "So we both combined our allowances and bought some bus tickets without telling them." There it was.

This was certainly a difficult situation. It was only a matter of time before the twins' parents figured out where they went off too, and once they figured out that they were staying with Stan and Ford they would naturally demand they bring them straight back to California. And trying to keep them away could result in some legal trouble being sent their way.

And yet both Stanley and Stanford, unfortunately, had some personal experiences with being forced to hide who you were. Memories of hiding love letters, of repressing their true selves for fear of their old fashioned father finding out, and they refused to make their poor nephew suffer through the same type of hell. And thankfully, they had a whole town of people who would be willing to help them.

"Well there's no way I'm going to pay to be sending you dorks back, so it looks like you're stuck here." Stan declared gruffly, although it was obvious enough that he wanted his niblings to be at Gravity Falls just as much as the two of them wanted to be there.

"Dipper, in the time I've been back in this dimension I've seen you as nothing less than a brave and strong young man. And if your parents are too blinded by their own narrow-minded beliefs to see that, too, than at least know that you'll always be our amazing grandnephew." By now, Dipper was crying in earnest. Not the tears of frustration or sorrow that he had experienced all too often in Piedmont but tears of pure happiness. Stan and Ford both stand up and go to give their great nephew a hug.

"By the way, Dipper," Ford says after the hug ends. "I forgot to ask but did those pain meds I give you help.

"Oh, honestly I hadn't really thought about my cramps for a while, but now that I think about it they're much better. Thanks." Ford simply smiles.

"Don't mention it, my boy. It's the least I can do."

"If your cramps come back I probably got a heating pad somewhere in this place. Used it whenever my back hurt worse than usual." Stan chimes in.

"I heard there's going to be a cheesy movie marathon starting in a bit! Maybe we can grab some snacks, relax around Stan's chair and watch?" Dipper smiles at his sister's suggestion, feeling his appetite come back now that the worst of his pain was taken care of.

"Sounds good to me."

And so that's how the Pines family found themselves all settled around the living room, Dipper lounging comfortably on Stan's chair and Mabel settled on the floor while Stan and Ford sat leaned against the chair. While Ford and Dipper would take turns in pointing out the inaccuracies of the monster movies, ("Please, a tiny splinter like that would never take out that powerful of a vampire.") Stanley would more often make jokes about the cheesy effects ("Pshh, I could put together taxidermy parts that look more realistic than those werewolves!") and Mabel was happy to just happy to comment on dreamy actors and things she thought were cute. ("Aw, it's too bad that bat had to get shot, it was so adorable!") At one point Stan and Ford playfully argue over who would be able to defeat the most zombies which then devolves into the two throwing popcorn at each other.

And all the while a single thought stays in Dipper's head, bringing a sense of comfort with it: "I'm finally home."

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[cyber-scribe]

The Psychological Dissection of The Great Papyrus

The character being dissected is Papyrus. He is a magical skeleton monster from the indie video game "Undertale". He is a very optimistic, high self-esteemed, caring, friendly, emotional, and energetic guy. He often refers to himself in the third person as "The Great Papyrus". He loves puzzles, cooking spaghetti (which he is terrible at due to being taught by someone with little to no cooking expertise), and dreams of joining the royal guard, the king of monster's army. He is obsessed with joining the guard to the point of making his own "battle body" costume, all in order to gain tons of love and popularity from it. He is also a big human capturing fan due to his obsession of joining the royal guard, attempting to use puzzles to jape the player, aka the human Frisk. However, he is unable to commit to capturing them. Instead, he befriends them after battling them and tries to help Frisk become friends with the other monsters and solve puzzles they are stuck on. He also takes care of his lazy, care-free, pun-loving brother, Sans. He gets quite annoyed at his brother's puns and complaining about his laziness, though still loves him.

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Biological: From a biological perspective, psychologists might attribute Papyrus's energetic/emotional nature, high self-esteem, and high physical/magic strength to him possibly having much more magic in his soul than a normal monster. A monster's soul and body are mostly made of magic. Papyrus has highly advanced bone projectile patterns and being the only monster other than his brother able to use blue magic, a powerful soul technique that causes the player's soul to be affected by gravity, shown in his battle with the player. This all supports this theory. Undyne, the captain of the royal guard, further proves this, admitting that he is almost better than her when it comes to power and fighting technique. She only refuses to let him join the guard due to his friendly nature and unwillingness to kill. Instead, she tries to teach him cooking despite her inexperience and convinces him it's guard training. She does this to keep him from losing hope. This large amount of magical energy would explain why Papyrus seems to have a lot of energy, rarely ever sleeps, and his optimistic view on life, and, based on the evidence supporting this theory, this seems very likely to be the case.

--------

Evolutionary: Evolutionary psychologists would most likely say that Papyrus's high levels of energy and positive thoughts could be a result of his ancestors having similar traits. Such traits would carry over through the generations due to positive thoughts increasing mental health and high energy resulting in more productivity. The biggest evolutionary trait, however, would be Papyrus's obsession with puzzles. Puzzles are found all around the underground, where the monster species live, and is said to be the main form of entertainment and expression for monsters and their ancestors. Its even suggested it was this way since the monster species was conceived, and, as such, would explain why papyrus is so obsessed with them.

--------

Psychodynamic: Psychoanalytic people would explain Papyrus's behavior. This would be by pointing out Papyrus never had parents or, based on the widely accepted theory that his only parent was the mysterious doctor W.D Gaster, who fell into his own creation and was shattered across time and space, had parents for only a fraction of his childhood. He only had his brother for emotional support since he could remember and is shown to now be obsessed with joining the royal guard in order to be popular and loved. They would say that this means that Papyrus is unconsciously trying to make up for the lack of attention and love he needed as a child. This would be done by trying to gain popularity, fans, and friends through joining the guard. This would also explain Papyrus's willingness to give up his dreams of joining the guard to make friends with the human Frisk, despite trying to capture them, even trying to date them, as he, at this point, is desperate. Making friends with the human is simply a more immediate way to gain a friend.

--------

Behaviorism: The behavioral perspective would try to stop Papyrus's bad behavior of trying to capture humans. Since his main and only way of capturing them is with puzzles and traps, psychologists would try to make him despise those things. However, simple solutions such as shocking him every time he tried to make a puzzle/trap would not be effective. This is because he's been shocked before by his own trap with no discomfort and because a character like Papyrus would require a more creative approach. As such, the best solution would be to tamper with every trap and puzzle he makes. Specifically, whenever a puzzle is completed or a trap set off, an audio recording of Sans saying a bunch of puns relating to the puzzle/trap would play. Due to his hatred towards puns, this would eventually lead Papyrus to disliking puzzles. Papyrus would eventually discontinue his practice of trying to capture humans due to associating puzzles, his only method of capture, with the one thing he hates most: puns. This tactic would rid him of his bad behavior.

--------

Cognitive psychology: The cognitive approach would try to understand Papyrus's desire to join the guard. The psychologist would determine the source of this desire and try to persuade him to think that joining the royal guard is not the best/only option to gain friends. They would introduce Papyrus to other ways to gain his desired attention and care, such as talking to others, joining a club, finding friends through common interests, etc.

--------

Sociocultural: Papyrus is naturally very different from other monsters, being there are only two of his kind including him and having a very over the top personality. Because of this, social-culturists would rationalize that Papyrus is attempting to outweigh these odds. They would explain that Papyrus is trying really hard to fit in with the culture of monsters in order to gain acceptance and care. This is shown with his obsession with puzzles, desire to capture humans, and being very positive towards others. This is all behavior typical of all other monsters. This way, he can relate more to other monsters and gain more friends. This is already difficult for him due to his exaggerated personality and, as such, needs to make up in those areas. This would be by being more like other monsters in other areas, such as their culture.

--------

Humanism: Humanists would look at Papyrus and try to convince him that being obsessed with joining the royal guard isn't healthy. They would say this obsession is holding him back from his true potential and would try to show him other ways he can achieve success and friends. Such ways would include using his skills and passions to his advantage. This could include becoming a master chief (through training with ACTUAL chefs), a self defense trainer using his combat expertise, or a puzzle creator using his experience with puzzles. All of this would allow him to focus all his attention on one career or hobby. This would both help him reach his true potential and use those skills to make new friends along the way, which he so desperately desires. They could also try to convince Papyrus that being popular or joining the guard is not the only way to make friends. They could show him the many ways he could normally make friends, explain why its harder for him to make friends, and what he can do to make it easier to make said friends, such as listening more than talking or being less forceful in his approach of friendship.

--------

This is a modified version of my answers for my old high school psychology project, were students take an over-the-top fictional character and apply the basic principles of all types of psychology covered in class to them. I chose Papyrus for my character, and I thought I'd post my answers on the internet and decided DeviantArt was the best place to post them first. Oh also spoilers for Undertale. (P.S: I do not own any of the images shown, I just found them on google and put them here to help better explain points, all images are owned by their respective creators. If you wish to not have your art used in this essay, feel free to message me)

[fanficwriter284]

The Boys had been in the middle of a street fight the odds not in their favor. 12 to 4.

“Eh I’ve done worse. We each take 3. Got it?”

“Yep”

“Yeah”

“Understood”

The four of them lunged and tackled em to the floor. Chucky resorted to his usual stabbing tactics followed by Jig who was more clean with his attacks preferring traps over this. Billy was beyond pissed and resorted to ripping out tongues. Slappy, focused on more hand to hand combat, more agile than the husky guys trying to attack him. Despite all odds they managed to kill all of them but one. He was quite lanky, with a wiry build, and fearful expression. The four cornered him all smirking. However the man grabbed dirt and tossed it mainly focusing on Chucky, knowing about us bad eye.

“ARGH!!! FUCK!!!! MY EYE!!!”

He then grabbed a long metal pipe, while the others were distracted and whacked him across the head, knocking him unconscious. Chucky fell to the hard cold floor as the man attempted to flee. Jiggy on the other hand wouldn’t allow that to happened and swiftly threw a blade into the man back watching him all the the floor.

“Shit Chucky! Come on help me lift him. Billy grab his legs, Jig help me with his shoulders.”

He three of the carried their injured brother back to his place. Setting him on the couch, waiting till he came to.

“Is he gonna be ok?”

“I don’t know”

They both looked at Jig hoping he knew since he knew the most about human body with him know exactly how to set straps without instantly killing one of his victims.

“We’ll, he took quite a hit to the cranium. He’ll most definitely will have a concussion and will need to take it easy for awhile.”

They all turn their attention to Chucky as the heard him groan in agony fluttering his eyelids open. He tired sitting up but the force of gravity was too strong.

“Argh…Fuck…Argh. My head….W—What the hell happened?”

“Easy bro, you got smack by a metal pipe on the side of the easy. Jig saw ya need to take it easy for a while.”

“Argh…I got a bitch of a headache”

“Glad ya have ya back”

[kudosmyhero]

Transformers (Phase 02) Spotlight: Trailcutter - The Reluctant Specialist

Read Date: October 08, 2022 Cover Date: April 2013 ● Writer: James Roberts ● Art: Matt Frank ● Colorist: Thomas Deer ● Letterer: Shawn Lee ● Editor: John Barber ●

Synopsis: The Lost Light suffers a hull breach when it scrapes against debris floating in space, but Brainstorm, Chromedome, Highbrow and Trailbreaker are able to fix the damage before it tears the ship apart. While working, Trailbreaker praises the others for their skills, but Chromedome responds that none of it would be possible without Trailbreaker's forcefield to seal the breach until they can finish their parts.

36 hours later, Rodimus is holding a ceremony to honor the ship's saviors: Brainstorm, Chromedome, and Highbrow. He awards each with the Rodimus Star, a medal in the likeness of his own visage. Trailbreaker, bitter at being passed over, drowns his misery in drink at Swerve's. He confesses the source of his unhappiness to Whirl, who then, against Trailbreaker's protests, asks Rodimus the reason for the omission. Rodimus explains to Trailbreaker that generating forcefields is just what he does, like Drift carrying swords, and thus doesn't warrant special recognition.

Hearing all this, Whirl takes it upon himself to help Trailbreaker re-make his image. Among his suggestions is a name change, since "break" makes him sound like a screw-up, and Trailbreaker decides on "Trailcutter." Trailbreaker/Trailcutter contends his real problem is that everybody only thinks of him as "forcefield guy," not as an individual, so Whirl suggests he get a new weapon. Towards that end, they find Brainstorm, currently in Shuttle Bay 3 examining the stowed space debris, but the weapons engineer's creations are all back in his workshop. Besides, Brainstorm asks, why would Trailbreaker want some handheld weapon when he has his built-in… "magnawheels"?

A tired Trailcutter heads back to his habitation suite to recharge. With his roommate Hoist away on a mission, he savours the solitude… only to be interrupted by a video call from Swerve. The ship's resident chatterbox has been promised a Rodimus Star if he can get through a sponsored silence, and he'd like the aid of a forcefield to cover his vocal synthesizer. Trailcutter angrily hangs up and goes to sleep, truly unhappy to be "forcefield guy."

Twelve hours later, he wakes up to find that things are amiss. Everyone else on the ship is frozen in place, in some kind of mysterious stasis. Worse, Decepticons have boarded the Lost Light! He encounters the bloodthirsty pair of Chop Shop and Venom, only to discover that his forcefield's inexplicably not working. Instead, he escapes the duo by means of his magnawheels—magnetic wheels that let him drive on walls—and leads the hunters to the medibay, where he's able to take them out with the equipment on hand.

He then heads off to confront the remaining Decepticons, who number practically a small army and are gathered in Shuttle Bay 3. Their leader, Lockdown, explains their M.O.: They're Titan hunters. They hunt space for Titans, kill them, and then scavenge the mythic giants' technology for their employer, who goes unidentified. They're here because the space debris is actually part of Metroplex's body, shed in transit.

Trailcutter bluffs that he's an incredibly powerful Autobot with amazing forcefield capabilities, so they had better retreat. To lend credence to his lie, he secretly hits a remote he grabbed from Brainstorm's lab, deactivating the artificial gravity for a few moments. With his magnawheels to keep him grounded, this gives off the illusion that he levitated the Decepticons with forcefields. He tells Lockdown that he's also generated a tiny forcefield in his spark, which he can expand to kill him. Psyched into believing he can feel the forcefield's pressure, Lockdown agrees to retreat.

Later, after everything's gone back to normal, a battered Hoist returns from his away mission. Trailcutter explains what happened: The ship-wide stasis was the result of one of Brainstorm's inventions acting up. Trailcutter had fallen asleep while angrily making forcefields, so there was one protecting him when the effect occurred. His forcefield generator shorted out in the process, but it's been fixed now. He proudly shows off the Rodimus Star he's earned for his little adventure… only for Hoist to one-up him: He pulls out a giant crest emblazoned with Rodimus's full figure. Hoist explains that everyone who was frozen received one for "exceptional endurance in the face of adversity." He's about to explain why he himself received one as well, but Trailcutter stomps off. He's going to Swerve's to get drunk… but first he intends to give Rodimus a piece of his mind.

(https://tfwiki.net/wiki/The_Reluctant_Specialist)

Fan Art: The Feels: Trailcutter by Grafeeni

Accompanying Podcast: ● Married with Comics: Rod Pod - episode 06

[eznii]

im putting this here because im bored but anyway if anyone wants to see all the media ive ever consumed then go ahead >>

bolded and underlined  interests are media i am in love with

just bolded interests are media i actually like

italicized interests are media that i dislike or don’t care about

and all the rest are media im indifferent about/dont remember well :)

GAMES:

ace attorney

alicia online

all the homestuck games

among us (lol)

ark:survival evolved

assassins creed (first 3 games)

creativerse

danganronpa

disco elysium

doki doki literature club

dont starve together

dragon age

fez

friday night funkin

hades

horse isle 2

howrse

jackbox games

minecraft

moonbase alpha

persona 4 and 5

portal 1 and 2

robot unicorn attack

scribblenauts

shelter 1 and 2

slime rancher

star stable online

stardew valley

subnautica

terraria (kinda)

the sims

the stanley parable

the witcher (1 so far)

undertale/deltarune

wobbledogs

BOOKS:

all for the game series

beast quest series

brothers lionheart

curious incident of the dog in the night time

carry on/wayward son/any way the wind blows series (rainbow rowell)

cinderella is dead

gentleman’s guide to vice and virtue

good omens

grishaverse

hitchhikers guide to the galaxy series

locked tomb series

lycanthropy and other chronic illnesses

narnia series

omniscient readers viewpoint

percy jackson series  (minus the kane chronicles and the trials of apollo)

rainbow magic fairy series

sherlock holmes (assorted stories)

song of achilles

warrior cats (minus the latest two series)

wings of fire

witcher series

MOVIES:

https://letterboxd.com/eznii/films/ (my letterboxd account for literally every movie i remember watching, the ones with 5 stars are the ones i like the most)

SHOWS:

a series of unfortunate events

arrow

austin & ally

bbc ghosts

bbc sherlock

body of proof

bones

brooklyn 99 (acab)

bunk'd

castle

derry girls

dirk gently

doctor who

dog with a blog

elementary

euphoria

first kill

galavant

ghost whisperer

good luck charlie

good omens

h2o: just add water

hannah montana

hannibal

hbo betty

heartstopper

i am not okay with this

jessie

kickin' it

killing eve

kommissar rex

lab rats

letterkenny

leverage

leverage redemption

liv and maddie

lucifer

macgyver

mako mermaids

medium

merlin

my babysitter's a vampire

my cat from hell (lmaoo)

one day at a time

our flag means death

parks and recreation

prehistoric planet

powerless

pushing daisies

riverdale (only s1 tho)

schitts creek

sonny with a chance

squid game

stranger things

supernatural

taxi brooklyn

thats so raven

the addams family

the blacklist

the curious creations of christine mcconell

the flash

the good place

the mentalist

the suite life of zack and cody

the suite life on deck

the witcher

tuca and bertie

umbrella academy

what we do in the shadows

wizards of waverly place

zeke and luther

ANIMATED SHOWS:

6teen

adventure time

american dragon: jake long

arcane

avatar (the last airbender and legend of korra)

camp camp

carmen sandiego

centaurworld

clone high

danny phantom

daria

dreamworks dragons

family guy

fantastic four

futurama

gen:lock

gravity falls

harley quinn

hilda

infinity train

invader zim

johhny bravo

kick buttowski

kid vs kat

kim possible

kipo and the age of wonderbeasts

lolirock

love death and robots

miraculous ladybug

monkie kid

moomin

motorcity

my little pony (gen 4)

over the garden wall

owl house

phineas and ferb

randy cunningham: 9th grade ninja

rapunzels tangled adventures (not caught up yet)

rick and morty

rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles

rwby

samurai jack

she-ra and the princesses of power

sonic boom

south park

star vs the forces of evil

steven universe

supa strikas

teen titans

the dragon prince

the midnight gospel

total drama island

voltron: legendary defender

wander over yonder

ANIME:

aggretsuko

ajin

another

ao no exorcist

assassination classroom

banana fish

beastars

boku no hero academia

brand new animal

castlevania

cowboy bebop

danganronpa

darling in the franxx

deadman wonderland

death note

death parade

demon slayer

devilman crybaby

dr stone

fairy tail

flip flappers

fruits basket

full metal alchemist (brotherhood)

ghibli movies

ghost stories (english dub)

girls' last tour

great pretender

haibane renmei

haikyuu

hunter x hunter

interviews with monster girls

inuyasha

inuyashiki

jojos bizzare adventure

keep your hands off eizouken!

kill la kill

komi-san cant communicate

little witch academia

madoka magica

mirai nikki

miss kobayashi's dragon maid

mob psycho 100

neon genesis evangelion

no.6

no game no life (smh)

noragami

one punch man

ouran high school host club

parasyte

pop team epic

promare

puparia

re: zero

revolutionary girl utena

revue starlight

saint young men

school live

sk8 the infinity

so im a spider, so what?

soul eater

spy x family

steins; gate

sword art online (smh)

that time i got reincarnated as a slime

the disastrous life of saiki k

the promised neverland

toilet-bound hanako-kun

tokyo ghoul

toradora

violet evergarden

way of the househusband

wolf's rain

wonder egg priority

zombie land saga

PODCASTS:

alice isnt dead

archive 81

ars paradoxica

death by dying

dreamboy

girl in space

imbalance (taz)

kaleidotrope

king falls am

love and luck

marvel's wolverine

mbmbam

scp archives

stellar firma

the adventure zone

the bright sessions

the magnus archives

the orbiting human circus

the penumbra podcast

the strange case of starship iris

the two princes

time bombs

welcome to night vale

wolf 359

wooden overcoats

zero hours

COMICS:

17776

amaranth

avas demon

castle swimmer

fangs

heartstopper

homestuck

lore olympus

lovebot

muted

scoob and shag

YOUTUBE:

aphmau’s mc diaries

all the life series (3rd life, last life, double life)

brian david gilbert (+ his polygon series)

ena

freemans mind

gayle

half-life vr but the ai is self-aware

half-life: alyx but the gnome is alive

hermitcraft

monster factory

penny snapcube dubs

red vs blue (rooster teeth)

scp confinement

the gay and wondrous life of caleb gallo

the most popular girls in school

the walten files

MUSICALS:

a very potter musical

beetlejuice

dear evan hansen

firebringer

hamilton

heathers

the guy who didnt like musicals

MUSIC:

100 gecs

glass animals

idk how but they found me

lemon demon

lil nas x

marina

mother mother

my chemical romance

panic! at the disco

the hoosiers

they might be giants

twenty one pilots

weathers

UNRELATED INTERESTS:

astrology

dinosaurs

greek mythology

horses

[darkmoon-dolt]

thank you for answering my question about the elden ring i have another small question -> whats up with the giant guy with the tiny horse boss fight

AHAHHAHAAA

STARSCOURGE RADAHN, THE FAMED RED LION IS A FEROCIOUS WARRIOR!

Radahn is another shardbarer, half brother to Mohg and Morgott. He studied Gravity Sorcery for 2 causes. The first was to combat fate, as it was told that the fate of House Caria (their family) lies in the movement of the stars. So the big guy HELD THE STARS STILL! SOME OF THESE WERE MEANT TO FALL TO THE EARTH! The other cause was so, even in his giant body, he could ride with his faithful but frail childhood steed Leonard :). He floats so his horse doesn't carry as much weight.

During the Shattering, he fought his half-sister Malenia and her Scarlet Rot to a standstill in the Caelid Wilds, which have since become horribly infected. While the battle was considered a draw, Malenia returned to Elphael and the Haligtree, while Radahn remained at the battlefield and his sanity died as he succumbed in part to the scarlet rot. He now wanders there, devouring the corpses of both his felled enemies and his own fallen soldiers, like a diseased stray dog.

There is an event in game where you meet up with other champions who seek to kill Radahn in a massive Festival of War, held by his right hand man, and last castellan of Redmane Castle. It was his request before he succumbed to the rot that he be given a valorous and glorious death.

It is only after his defeat that the stars resume their course, meaning that even in madness and in grueling hellish battles, HE HELD THE COSMOS IN PLACE LIKE A BADASS!

If you choose to get the game and still have lore questions, please turn to me, I will take any opportunity to rant about this, though I can not promise it will be as linear and cohesive as this.

[mishkakagehishka]

Korka would you be open to elaborate on the "prank gone wrong" angst potential for the Halloween event? I just have ideas but again, I'm busy and I cannot really develop then we'll but I want to make a mental note for it even if it's uh... Out of season skdldkdk

You focus on studying, don't worry!! Don't worry about ever being out of season, we can use carnevale, too. Besides, my theme is living doll mika all year long, we live by the horror and die by the horror here. And time is an illusion, also.

Now as for an elaboration. I really like the existential dread that would come with this.

Put yourself in Anzu's shoes for a second. Considering the Sakumas, Natsume, Wataru, Kanata and so on, I don't think she would find it entirely unrealistic for something like "zombies" to end up existing. Especially considering the explanation given by Eichi - very scientific and plausible. Parasites that kill the host and then "control" the host's body have been observed in deer, I believe, and it even made them cannibalise other deer. Or maybe it was a different animal. A bug? Unimportant, what I'm saying is - if you dress it in scientific terminology, it's more believeable. "A random virus in the air" isn't as believeable as "A faulty product contained a microorganism that multiplies quickly in the people who consumed said product, alters their brain and speeds up the decomposing process, makes them cannibalise other people, and is transmitted like a virus by saliva and blood". Of course I added my own details, but that's the spirit of it. On top of this, it seems that ES fell into disarray, there were zombies everywhere, and Anzu didn't really have much of a reason to not trust Eichi. What I'm saying is: there is no reason why Anzu would have suspected it was fake.

And what else made it more believeable is the ones who got bitten. I haven't yet compiled them all as I'd promised, but even if she were in denial - and as such not believing it - something like death is pretty much guaranteed to make her realise the "gravity of the situation". She can tell herself it's fake, until Kaoru tells her to stay away from him because he was bitten. Until Niki starts talking about how delicious she smells. Until Mika cries to her about how he doesn't want Shu to see him all rotten. Especially if these guys are good actors (and is it not true that a lot of them do also act?), she would likely be pretty gutted.

As Leo pointed out, she never lingers with the characters and the "open the doors going up the floors" format makes it look likee. She's always going from one door to the other, very likely trying to find the survivors - her friends. So door to door, hoping she'd find all her friends, and they'd all safely leave. And then every once in a while, happy to see a friend! Only to be told it's too late for them, and she has to leave them, likely to die in agony.

And here's where we get "prank gone wrong". Anzu strikes me as a very mentally strong person, and as a very compassionate person. Kaoru might be fine, considering he told her to stay away, but what about someone like Mika? Who outright (okay, maybe not outright since he used a euphemism) asks her to kill him so he'd avoid becoming a zombie? It's easy for her to assume that Mika fighting her off is just his survival instinct, fight or flight kicking in even if he wants her to kill him, as he'd said himself. And, well. What if she does kill him? She already has to carry the weight of having taken her friend's life, even if he did ask her to do so, even if it was an act of mercy, but then to find out it was a prank. That Mika was never "dying" in the first place. The majority of the angst is supposed to come both from her dealing with her friends dying and her killing a few herself, trying to convince herself it was the right thing to do because "zombified they wouldn't be themselves", only for it all turn out a prank. And now what? How does she deal with that? Could she?