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x0401x · 1 year

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Yes, please do a post after every Tsurune ep, reading them from your pov is amazing!! :D

Ask and ye shall receive. Here comes my opinion of episode 7. Really sorry for taking so long with this!

I usually begin with the positive points when doing these reviews, but I have to break this default here because I've never thought we'd come to this with KyoAni out of all studios. I almost fell off my chair with the horrible CGI in this episode. Yes, 3D and 2D walk hand-in-hand, especially for anime like Tsurune, but the viewers are not supposed to spot the 3D. I did mention before that the animation quality suddenly decreases at certain moments in this season, and this episode has been the worst example of that so far. This legit terrifies me and what makes it worse is that there are several causes for it. And again, this isn't just KyoAni. All Japanese animation studios have been seeing even if just a slight downgrade in overall quality for a few years now. We've just lost another one to this horrifying trend. I know it doesn't seem so bad and sounds like I'm exaggerating here, but this is unthinkable to the standards of such big-name studios. Unfortunately, the tendency is for it to continue, at least for now.

Another thing that bothered me is that this episode seems to be focused on long shots and showing the character's faces as least frequently as possible in order to mask the drop in quality. This is actually a commendable decision, since they're not just giving us static shots that feel a few seconds too lengthy, and instead are using these moments to explore the locations (gotta love that drawing of Kaito on the black board, for example). But it's hard to ignore the discrepancy in art style between said long shots and the contrasting close-ups.

Okay, enough about the animation and on to the story.

It's easy to tell from the first few minutes that KyoAni is still pushing Seiya as the MVP. Just as Seiya was the one who got Minato to realize where and how he had messed up in the tournament with the brilliant idea to record everything, and just as he was an indirect assistance to Kaito and Nanao making up not just by arranging for them to meet up at the dojo but also giving Kaito a prep talk, we have him being ahead of everyone once again in this episode. It's obvious from the beginning that, whatever the boys are trying to grasp here, he already has it all down and is just waiting for them to catch up to him. Yamamura Takuya might as well just make Seiya the protagonist at this point.

The whole deal here was about teamwork once again, but this time around, it was specifically about synchronization. Which, I must say, is one more thing that we should've had in S1 and are getting only now, therefore creating a disconnect between the level that this team should be and the level that it currently is. Just as I discussed in episode 6 that Minato shouldn't have to relearn everything from scratch because that's narratively inconsistent, the same applies to the way that the boys' team is relearning how to... well, be a team. They'd already been doing all of this for a while now, so it's kind of confusing to see them act like it's the first-ever time that they're trying it (not to mention it makes the viewers wonder how the hell they won the prefecturals when they can't even line up properly). Literally all of these movements and tips that they’re just figuring out are things they had been doing perfectly fine until this point and they wouldn’t even be able to participate in tournaments without knowing these basics in the first place. Yet suddenly they don’t. Make it make sense.

Another thing I'd like to make sense of is... why is Eisuke poor in the anime? I get that KyoAni is trying to sell him as someone Relatable TM, but that's going a bit overboard. He already has biological disadvantages (photosensibility), mental disadvantages (claustrophobia), club-related disadvantages (no dojo, no coach) and even spiritual disadvantages (wrong mindset being a bitch in general). There's already enough to sympathize without actually rooting for him. The scenes of Eisuke working hard at a café and having no money to hang out with his colleagues coming right in-between Ryouhei visiting Shuu's extravagant estate are kind of... not a very good look. Eisuke's situation in the anime sort of validate his envy. Makes it seem reasonable, and the only motive as to why it's not truly reasonable is because envy is Bad and you shouldn't harbor it even when the world is so ridiculously unfair. Miss me with that bullshit. I want this little shit to be the spoiled brat he is in canon. Life gave him lemons and he decided to take them and throw on other people. No amount of handicaps can redeem him from the pettiness of having lost to his juniors one (1) time.

All right, now following in this reverse order, we have the good points coming up!

I quite like that this episode showed a side of Masaki we hadn't gotten to see in S1, which is the pure-hearted, childlike elation he displays at his disciples fumbling for solutions and working together to solve problems. S1 was hellbent on the weird revenge stuff and kinda forgot that this guy genuinely loves to see his pupils making progress. The whole point of Masaki as a character is that he doesn’t see himself as the best fit for the job, but he actually is. Because he actually cares about these kids. Because he isn’t using them for revenge in canon. Because that doesn’t suit his personality at all in any possible way. And apparently, KyoAni at last understands that now, thank you very much.

One more thing that got butchered in S1 and this episode finally gave to us was Masaki's second nickname, "pervy old man". I gotta say I was particularly pleased by the fact that Minato's face and voice when he said it were exactly like how I'd imagined it when reading the books, but I'm still not digging the way that this was framed to make Masaki look like an actual pervert for the things he says without thinking. I get that the animators are trying to go for some lighthearted comic relief here, but underneath the joke, it's evident that they're also using these tidbits to poke fun at anything that seems remotely not-heterosexual in the series.

Sounds like another exaggeration, I know, but looking back at S1 and then at this episode, it's easy to find a pattern where Masaki either spouts a double entendre or is caught performing an action that doesn't seem appropriate, and when confronted by anyone about it, he responds in either a desperate or exasperated manner in order to clear up the misunderstanding immediately. These double entendres or actions always frame Masaki as preying on the boys, which is, of course, something that would never happen, so it's all played as a joke. The message this sends out is that the other person is totally overreacting, because Masaki would never make advances on his pupils, except this card is only ever used on the boys, specifically. So what we get between the lines is that making presumptions about Masaki's reckless word choice is ridiculous not just because he clearly isn't into kids, but also because that would be gay.

It's a simple recipe. We viewers are shown ambiguity on purpose and yet we're treated like we're reading too much into it if we so much as assume that it's ambiguous in the first place. Because if we assume it's ambiguous, we're also presuming the presence of homoerotic subtext, which is then shot down as something far-fetched, if not near-impossible. You know those scenes in movies where someone’s trying to connect the dots and comes up with overarching explanations as to how A relates to B, only to be dismissed by other characters telling them that they’re watching too much TV or something? That’s the vibe I get from this cheap-ass narrative device. It’s almost as if KyoAni is speaking directly to us, like, “I know this seems gay as fucking hell, but how dare you assume it's gay! You're implying that this perfectly decent man is a predator!”

Don't get me wrong, of course Masaki isn't actually suggesting or doing anything other than what he's supposed to. But what rubs me wrong about this approach is the fact that it gets gayness and p*dophilia lumped together. That's how KyoAni subtly rids this series of any unjustified gayness (i.e. gayness where you can't pay the "they're really good friends" card). And this is probably the clearest example of the difference between how the anime handles the gay subtext and how the novel does it. The anime makes it come from Masaki, in ways that are wholly unnatural, mostly through word usage that anyone with the bare minimum of common sense would never go for. It then makes the kids react negatively so that Masaki can brush off the delusions of these silly teenagers, because just how far ahead of themselves do they have to get to assume that their coach would want anything of the sort with them!

True enough, he would never want anything of that nature. The novel totally agrees with this. Except it doesn't laugh the gay away as a joke, oh no. The novel takes the gay very seriously. Which is why it gives the subtext from Minato's perspective.

Always from Minato's perspective.

Whenever we have anything coming from Masaki that looks or sounds like something else, it's from Minato's POV, 100% of the time. Not even other characters. Only Minato. And when it sounds like something else, it's usually Masaki being funny, but when it looks like something else, that's mostly Minato being confronted with something he wants that is directly related to Masaki, but that he can't have. Take the scene that this anime equivalent was based off as an example. Everybody (Seiya also tipped in) getting to have an exclusive lecture from Masaki, except for Minato. And there's great emphasis on the fact that everybody got to touch Masaki while Minato didn't. Plus the fact that even Shuu got to have his own share of it, despite him being from a whole different school. And Minato keeps sulking at how unfair all of that is, for days. He wanted to be there. Heck, he wanted to be the only one who gets this privilege. He has to hold it back and it gnaws at him. The pinning is real and it's never framed as negative, because it isn't.

When all is said and done, he manages to keep his ground. And in the end, he gets some sort of compensation for it, which always comes in the form of a private lesson and quality time. That's where he gets to have twice if not thrice as much of what he initially wanted. This is Ayano Kotoko working in accordance to Zen principles: you fight your inner demonds and desires, and for that, you get compensated with enlightenment. In Minato's case, he gets compensated both with that and... with Masaki. As far as plot devices go, that's just mandatory in the novel. It has both a character development and storytelling purpose and acts as a nod to Japanese archery and Buddhist ideologies, so removing that part is very much a disservice to the author’s intentions, but hey! KyoAni can’t pretend that it isn’t gay if it’s from Minato’s perspective. This would be just a kid having a puppy crush, which isn’t a crime and has no reason to be frowned upon if it’s unrequited. Ayano knows this and she makes conscious writing decisions based on that fact. So does KyoAni when reversing the positions.

Basically, KyoAni uses gay subtext in order to dismiss it in a total dick move. It's kind of their way of signaling, "Don't worry, snowflake audience who can't take anything that isn't cishet seriously, you can enjoy this show", and I find this kinda gross, to be honest. Meanwhile, the novel makes the subtext into the text itself, because Ayano Kotoko is powerful like that.

Anyway. I digress. Back to the good things.

The dedication to detail keeps delivering. I love the little things. The way Ryouhei goes back from school on a bus that is headed to a hospital. The knock on his door after he raises his voice that he knows is from his sister. The lush vegetation on the other side of the window looking like it's sprouting from Ryouhei when seen from behind. Shuu's reflex on the dojo's floor being tinted green. The way that a maple leaf falls on the pond and the ripples push away the other four leaves when Ryouhei starts talking about how far behind he is in comparison to everyone else in his team.

But I also love the big, in-your-face things. Ryouhei's shirt having no print except for the word "nice" in a small font next to his heart. Toujou serving cola in porcelain cups. Sae having the exact same reaction as Shuu when he drank it for the first time. The way that the light bulb lits up when Ryouhei talks about how Shuu's family is really supportive of him. The close-up on their wish slips.

My favorite has to be that fucking arrow casting a shadow over Ryouhei and Shuu. Second favorite those paper stripes. All of them represent not just the Kazemai boys' team, but also the girls' team, Masaki, Tomio, Shuu, Sae, Eisuke, Koushirou and even Minato's mom. I dare guess that one of them also represents Ryouhei's sister.

Honorable mention to the most obvious visual symbolism of this episode: the paintings. They sure were used a lot this time around. The painting in Shuu's study and the way his head fits perfectly under the crown in the center. When Eisuke is coarsed into hanging out with Koushirou after work, there's a painting of a grey dog being patted on the head beside him. When Shuu finally asks how Ryouhei and Sae knew each other, we see a painting of opening doors behind him. And goddamn. Goddamn. The way that the rest of the painting is revealed in the next scene. And the way the little boy looks like it's running from Shuu to Ryouhei. Fucking hell, what a good addition. If only KyoAni would put as much effort into the plot as it puts into this.

Also, other than paintings, there was that hilarious coca cola poster behind Eisuke when he's meeting up with Koushirou. For those who couldn't read it, it says, "Beginnings taste good. Peak youth", and that's a referrence to what the characters are going through right now. We're onto a new phase and that's youth at it's max.

Speaking of coca cola, anyone else feeling like KyoAni's going a little overboard with the marketing? First it was the kyudo tools, which I don't really mind, but then the accessories and now this. It's one thing to promote culture and small businesses that keep it alive, but coca cola.......... was kind of annoying. Even more so when there are already so many shows that are basically just one big ad nowadays.

#tsurune #tsurune tsunagari no issha #narumiya minato #takigawa masaki #takehaya seiya #fujiwara shuu #yamanouchi ryouhei #nikaidou eisuke #fujiwara sae #tsurune kazemai koukou kyuudoubu

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a-s-levynn · 7 months

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3, 7, 9 & 38 for the nosy anon ask?👀

🫶🏻 Thank you for asking, you guys are a godsend with the multiple questions. I'm usually so bored on the train. 🫶🏻

3: Do you smoke?

I do, since i was 13. Which i don't recommend to anybody obviously. I don't recommend smoking in general.. but as long as it's my worst habit, i think i'm good. (Not entirely true but it's a funny thing to say, and it makes me come off as funny and normal which is not exactly a bad thing in social situations with the general public.) I smoke 4-6 cig/day on the regular but it might be more if i'm out somewhere or in high stress situations. I can go a day or two without it if i have to but i prefer not to. I'm usually the one in the friendgroup that talks everyone out of it if they are not a regular smoker. It's worse for the health if it's an occasional thing and yeah. It's enough that i do it, i'm not gonna promote it to those who aren't.

Hey everyone don't smoke if you have the option not to. It's not cheap and not the best for your health.

7: Have tattos?

I have only one so far (ST related, i know what a socker 😂 i'll insert a pic of it under the cut), but there are planssss 👀 i just have to figure out what i want for the long run for real, and where i want them. All i know is that as much as i admire coloured tattoos i probably not gonna go for them.. maybe red but that is only a maybe.

9: Got any piercings?

Besides my ears being pierced for regular earrings (also being at the very beginning of the strechig process) i only have one on my upper earlobe. I've been considering to have a couple more, probably even in the cartlidge parts of my ear but that's it. I was considering to have some in my face for a long time but i put it off and now i kinda can't really do it because of work.

Fun fact i did all three for myself and they turned out quite great. Especially considering that i was like what.. 15? But they are in the fleshy parts so somewhat less risk. Still would rather recommend going to a professional. Especially for the ones in cartlidge for which i'll go to professionals for myself because i like having my ears. You can fuck your ear up so bad i'm so tankful i was lucky with it. But boy was i stupid as a kid.

38: My childhood career choice

Oh man i wanted to be so many things as a kid. I probably would have been better of with any of them than becoming a librarian in the end but here we are. I wanted to be an explorer for the longest i think.. than an archeologist.. and a zookeeper or someone who works with animals in any capacity. A musician for sure but that was impossible in so many regards. (Among other things getting the family drumkit basically sold out under my ass literally just as i was about to began did not helped at all.. also my bass and acustic guitars are sitting in the corner for ages now untouched because i had no one to play with for years... i may pick it up again, i have the itch to relearn only for myself at this time around, but obviously only as a hobby at this point. We'll see.) I wanted to be a scientist as well. Maybe if i'd had have took the exam in physics and/or chemistry instead of arts at the end of highschool i'd be on that path by now. For a brief period i toyed with the idea of becoming an actor because i was in drama specialization in highscool but it wasn't ment to be.

So there were several things, addition to these as well but nothing really tangible to be honest. My interests were all over the place.

I only have one pic of it still, which i took a day after it was made.. i really should take a new at some point because it healed real nice.

The pic was took in a mirror but flipped so the runes are in the correct way.

I've been lamenting over what i want it to be for so long. And then i settled on this and this placement for a few reasons but i like how it came out.

#levynn answers #takemetoasgard #levynn tries to think

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plotbunnsies · 1 year

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Can I Save Them All

Part 3/?

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Louis looked around the abandoned apartment, pondering.

He looked the place up and turns out it's for sale. The whole building actually is, and for a low price, which is suspicious, and Louis can’t figure out why?

Louis has been here for a month now, and there’s nothing wrong with this apartment. He’s inspected this apartment 4 times, and after seeing the building’s price, he thoroughly inspected it again, and came out blank! He’s even done a day’s worth of research in case a quirk affected the building or something, but all he came up with was that it’s on the bad side of Musutafu (Which is bullshit. No one has bothered Louis until now and there are no heroes patrolling here. If anything, this is probably the safest part of Musutafu, just a bit dirty)

So, Louis decided he wants to buy the building, and after a bit of searching, he found a job that will help him get the money needed.

It’s at a cat café. He’s very excited. He’s never come near a cat before, and he’s very curious(a lot of people call them “Backstabbing” creatures, and yet people love them? To the point of people calling them their boss? interesting)

He’s filled up an application, got accepted, and now he only needs to go to the café so they know he’s a real person and not a liar.

But before he closed his laptop, something caught his eye. A question.

A quirk question, on a forum he was browsing for any signs of a character that he knows the age of (he’s still hesitant to hack with Nezu around). Louis knows next to nothing about quirks (he really needs to research more) but

He knows biology. He knows about human, animal, and insect biology and he knows physics and chemistry and he knows too much for an eighteen-year-old (he had personas he needed to perfect)

And Louis was curious (he’s been curious) He wanted to know whether this knowledge could help him or will it be of no use. If he’s literally going to have to relearn everything. And this question seemed harmless enough. Just asking if there's a way to control a hearing-enhancing quirk (they sounded desperate) The answer won't harm anyone

So Louis wrote a "quick" reply (it was three pages long) and ran out of the door. He had an interview? To nail.

Louis loves cats.

They're small and agile and light to pick up and furry and meows and purrs when you scratch them just right and-

Louis loves cats.

The owner of the cat café was pleased by that (he wasn't sure about Louis’s "I'm not sure" when the application asked him about his opinion of cats) but he still needed to ask Louis some questions.

"And it says here that you've worked in a café before?" The man, with greying hair and a kind face and the softest smile ever directed at Louis, asked.

"Yes"

"..do you have a manager's number? An owner I could ask about you?"

"No, that was when I lived in Europe"

"Ah, well how about you try making a drink? This is a café, after all. You'll need more than a love for cats to work here"

And that's how Louis got his job. He made a regular cappuccino with a caramel pump and drew a cat on top (oh my lord this looks adorable!) And the owner hired me (kid you were made for this) he said, which Louis laughed off. He was very much not made for this.

So he left the café, after giving every cat a treat, and promised the owner (just call me Komi, kid!) To come to work at 6 am. And so, Louis was on his way to the apartment.

But soon, someone started tailing him. Louis walked three blocks, took two turns and the guy was still behind him.

This caused Louis to panic (what did he do? He's only hacked once into the government database and that's only to add his identity. Nothing else! He didn't even steal that much, only going out to steal twice a week) so quietly, Louis whispered to himself.

"Two miles" he felt more than heard a confirming beeb, and just like that all cameras within a two-mile radius were disabled. Louis took a turn into an alleyway and quickly scaled the building, and is currently standing on a fire escape, calmly waiting for his stalker to come.

Soon, a guy entered the alleyway, looking around impatiently. He didn't call anyone upon not seeing Louis, instead kicking the wall angrily and then moving to get out of the alley.

No, Louis thought as he jumped down behind the man and held a knife to his neck.

"Why did you follow me" He asked, inching the knife ever so slowly into his neck.

"I-I didn't, I just wanted some money, man!"

Maybe the people complaining about this place were right. Perhaps it is a dangerous place.

Louis knocked him unconscious and continued his walk home.

"Disable two miles," he said absentmindedly. This is the first time he went anywhere without knowing everything about it. Sure he's not here for a reason, he just ended up here, but he does need to research this place more.

He just needs to find a way to do it without getting anyone's attention.

Well, Louis was not ready for this. (He's not been ready for a lot of things since getting here)

Fourteen people, fourteen different individuals, were in his DMs and were asking for help using their quirks. Five of them were willing to pay for his advice.

Louis is not ready for this.

But the promise of money keeps him from deleting his account (what part of staying unnoticed did he not understand?!) so stared at his laptop. He stared for 20 seconds, then he closed the laptop, put it in his backpack, and headed to the nearest bank.

He’s gonna need an account if he’s going to work online, after all.

It was four in the morning. Louis was researching how exactly touch-based quirks work when he heard something.

Footsteps. Light, quiet footsteps climb the stairs of the building to the last floor.

The floor Louis was in.

Louis got up, and crept to the front door, waiting.

The footsteps came closer, Louis took out his knife.

Knob started to move, Louis took a deep breath

The door was pushed open, and Louis lunged his knife at the intruder’s neck. Sharp brown eyes met startled blue eyes, and Louis froze.

He was holding a knife at Dabi’s neck.

He slowly lowered the knife, watching Dabi for any signs of aggression, and laughed nervously.

“Sorry, bad habit”

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

I knowww that Quirk analysis is what Midoryia usually do in bnha fanfics, but i also want louis to do it and it's good technically legal source of money! Louis cant go around befriending good people if he's doing very illegal things. gotta start kinda small and when you cement yourself into the friend group you start showing your more messed up side! anyway for anyone who's reading this hope you enjoy! Previous / next

#bnha fanfiction #bnha oc #bnha dabi #bnha #boku no hero acedamia #boku no hero fanfic #my hero acedamia #my hero academia #my hero academy fanfiction

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davidmann95 · 3 years

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Knew deep down the moment I lay eyes on it that I'd end up making a key to this cover and laying out who's who, ostensibly for anyone who doesn't know all these folks but really to satisfy my own mania - shame I never went into clickbait, love making me a good list. All of these are either obvious or confirmed by Doc on Twitter or Tumblr:

1. Superman. You know, that guy!

2. Superman as he'll soon be in the current comics in the wake of Superman & The Authority.

3. Steel aka Natasha Irons - the niece of the original, she took up the mantle alongside him.

4. Savior, the 'Superman' of Earth 34 and also a riff on Samaritan from Astro City, born in the 'super-civilization' of MU and sent to the future to escape its collapse.

5. Steel aka John Henry Irons, a technologist saved by Superman who inspired to make the most of his life designed a suit of armor to become a hero himself.

6. Lois Lane. You know, that gal!

7. Jon Kent, Lois and Clark's son, in the suit he'll be wearing when he takes on his dad's title in Superman: Son of Kal-El.

8. Earth 23's Superman who serves as President of the United States in his secret identity as Calvin Ellis, while also acting as leader of the team Justice Incarnate which works to stop problems threatening multiple universes.

9. Bizarro, I guess right now of Earth 29 aka Htrae but really all that matters across his disparate incarnations he's Superman but a clone who looks like Frankenstein and he talks backwards, guy's great.

10. Captain Adam aka Allen Adam of Earth 4, a riff on Watchmen's Doctor Manhattan (who was himself a riff on the original version of Captain Atom, with some bits of Superman iconography bolted on too), he's a USAF pilot who was exposed to an isotope that gave him godlike quantum powers that leave him permanently disoriented in our world due to his higher-dimensional senses.

11. Superwoman of Gaea aka Earth 11, a world where genders are 'reversed' and Themyscira has long led the world openly.

12. Superman of Earth 12, better known as the 'DCAU' shared universe of cartoons from 1992 through 2006.

13. Superman in the t-shirt and jeans he wore in his early career during the New 52 reboot, an evocation of his 1930s roots fighting cops and corporations alongside alien invasions; he briefly returned to this look a few times prior to being rebooted away, and a 'purified' version of this incarnation still rocking this look was saved and left wandering the multiverse to find new ways to help in Sideways Annual #1.

14. Superman right after his resurrection from Death of Superman, in his dubiously iconic black uniform and indisputably iconic mullet.

15. Superman Blue, from a time when Superman was changed into an energy being for a year and had to relearn how to use his new electric powers.

16. The New 52 Superman in his standard 'Kryptonian armor' outfit, after assorted shenanigans that saw him dead and replaced by the pre-reboot version they basically did a cosmic fusion dance and now some of his adventures were folded back into the 'regular' Superman, which means we all just have to accept Clark completely lost his fashion sense for a minute there.

17. Superman II aka Val-Zod of Earth 2, another Kryptonian survivor who was adopted into the El family before being rocketed to Earth and took up the Superman title after the death of the original.

18. Krypto the Superdog, he was the El family pet back on Krypton and was sent out on a test flight of a prototype of the rocket that would save Superman, knocked off-course instead of returning but eventually landing on Earth and getting powers of his own, which somehow wound up adorable instead of terrifying.

19. Beppo the Super-Monkey, another test animal of Jor-El's who actually stowed away on the rocket to Earth and just immediately ran away upon landing to hang out in the jungle for a few decades until he ran into Superman and got the standard-issue cape.

20. Streaky the Supercat, this time an ordinary Earth cat and pet of Supergirl's who was exposed to X Kryptonite (which just made its live-action debut on Superman & Lois) which grants him sporadic superpowers. The least plausible of the super-pets in terms of not resulting in global devastation.

21. Comet the Super-Horse, who has NOTHING to do with Krypton or Kryptonite or the like but instead is an ancient centaur who was accidentally turned into a regular 'ol horse by Circe and given superpowers by her to make up for it, eventually becoming Supergirl's pet who privately loves her and unbeknownst to her dates her as 'Bill Starr' during the rare times he becomes human when a certain comet passes by. Dude's a real creep!

22. Superman Red, created when Superman Blue from earlier split into two different beings shortly before recombining back into regular Superman.

23. Super-Man aka Kong Kenan, he was given Superman's powers in an experiment by the Ministry of Self-Reliance, but due to those powers being connected to Superman's own life energy Super-Man had to embrace the spirit behind his counterpart's actions in order to master them.

24. Power Girl aka Kara Zor-L, the elder Earth 2 counterpart of Supergirl who took her cousin's place alongside Val-Zod.

25. Supergirl aka Kara Zor-El/Linda Danvers, you know her deal, she's on TV (at least for one more season).

26. Jimmy Olsen, Superman's Pal.

27. The Superman of the 1940s Fleischer cartoon shorts, the first big-screen version of the character.

28. Superboy aka Conner Kent/Kon-El, a clone of Superman and Lex Luthor created by Cadmus to replace the former in the event of his death or corruption who was woken up before fully maturing and decided to instead become a 90s kid with major 'dirtbag with a heart of gold' vibes; he also has the extra superpower of tactile telekinesis that lets him telekinetically manipulate whatever he's in direct physical contact with.

29. Just barely poking his arm in is Sunshine Superman, champion of the psychedelic, transcendentally groovy Earth 47.

30. The older version of the DCAU Superman from the future of Batman Beyond.

31. Optiman of Earth 36, all that's really known about him is he fell in battle with a rogue Superman from another universe but happily he seems to be alive and well here; he was also designed by Doc for his appearance in Multiversity.

32. Superdemon of Earth 13, the demon Etrigan sent from the doomed planet Kamelot to Earth where he bonded to Jason Blood to fight evil in Merlin's name.

33. Superman aka Kal Kent, the 853rd century descendant of the original who continues the never ending battle, empowered far beyond his predecessors by the light of the Super Sun where the now all-powerful original resides in that time.

34. Apollo aka Andrew Pulaski; originally created as a Superman-type for the Wildstorm line of comics but eventually incorporated into DC, he has sunlight-fueled powers due to alien experimentation as a teenager and fights the bastards of the world alongside his boyfriend Midnighter. They'll be working with Apollo's inspiration in Superman & The Authority.

35. The Superman of Kingdom Come, officially set on Earth 22.

36. The Superman of All-Star Superman.

Plus:

* Knew I'd miss labeling one of them and it turned out to be Lana Lang from during her brief stint as Superwoman, you can see her arm sticking out just underneath the Steels.

* I'd mistakenly assumed the little Superman between 11 and 15 looked distinctive enough that it was supposed to be a specific preexisting character, when asking he confirmed that wasn't the case but tossed out that that's instead SuperDoc of Earth-85. As the creator of the piece and DC talent this constitutes canon in lieu of further statements on the subject by Detective Comics Comics.

#Superman #Doc Shaner #Art #Opinion

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akhillees · 2 years

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I need to like...vent for a moment because the racism (yes, by implying reverse racism exists, you're a fucking racist) and colourism (because even if he's a fucking devil, he exists in a form very similar to humans and has human skin tone) I had to see in the span of an hour is pushing me closer to actually losing it.

It hasn't been a full week since I started paying closer attention to Mammon's character and the content created for him and I think I'm done. I want to remain in this dopamine inducing space my mind has created for much longer and continue to indulge in creating content for this character myself because I like being in a good mood, even if it's because of a fictional character but it's honestly annoying to see how regularly Mammon gets whitewashed and also relegated to the punching bag role among his brothers, especially when he's the only darker skinned character among them.

Idk what else is there even to be said about the whitewashing by the developers themselves and the fans because this shit has been going for so long in fandoms in general, I feel jaded. I still see the same excuses again and again: "it's the lighting", "the artist is young", "the artist is still learning". You're gonna need a really, really strong light source to make a dark skinned person look that light. Even under the harsh lights of big halls, we look dark — even under the sunlight. As an artist, if you're getting criticism for whitewashing a character, the only next step is to acknowledge it and do better, not come up with excuses — apologise and learn. If you can use references to draw that chiselled 6-pack, you can use references to draw dark skinned people. It's not that hard to pull up a colour palette and use it. Artists are constantly learning and relearning theories and techniques throughout their career, this non-linear path is our journey.

It's this thing people do these days: hiding behind their inadequacies to escape scrutiny, to act small and inexperienced like a coward. The rest of us can admit to our mistakes and learn, why can't you? Don't point at the game's whitewashing to defend yours. If this is how you behave as an artist, go draw an actually light skinned character and leave these dark skinned characters alone. And to those defending these artists, shut the fuck up. The internet is already littered with unnecessary garbage, we don't need to see yours too. I'm not going to be nice about this. It took me years to unabashedly portray my own features in my own artworks because the field is saturated with preference towards light skin. I'm not going to sit here and see weakass losers trying to get way with their shoddy work.

The problem doesn't end there, does it? Why does a bunch of devils who should not be holding moral standards that humans do — they're devils, hello? — suddenly decided that Mammon is a "moron" and "scum" (I'm literally quoting the words frequently used in the game by the brothers to insult him) because he is the avatar of greed and thus acts with extreme levels of greediness? Why is it when the others act by the sin they represent, it is treated like a dorky normal daily occurrence but not when Mammon does so? Why the double standards? He takes the blame for almost every mishap. He is also the designated kind brother slash caretaker and I'm supposed to believe there's no stereotypes at play?

The game never fails to constantly remind us that he's stupid when his brothers are dumb at times too? When did one's intellect become their moral failings? And he isn't even that stupid, his strengths and interests are simply not rooted in academics. Lucifer barely has the emotional aptitude to not treat his own brothers like work, Levi doesn't even care to get his ass out of his little bubble and instead resorts to insulting people who are not obsessively into anime and games, Satan is neck-deep in "facts and logic is the ultimate solution to everything", Asmo is too vain and self-centered, Beel is so overwhelmed by his monstrous hunger that he cannot think straight at times and Belphegor decides to not sort out his traumatic past and takes it out an innocent human for a reason that wasn't the humanity's fault. They all seem stupid in one way or another so how is it different for Mammon?

I'm talking in defence of his character and the sort of state he is written into because when the only dark skinned character (among the brothers) is treated in this way, it's racism, or at the very least, colourism. I downloaded the game to relax and have fun, not to be reminded of the kind of treatments people like me are subjected to in life.

#obey me #obey me criticism #obey me mammon #i hate how i have to convince myself it's not that bad but why do i have to tolerate it #tsunderes are annoying but he's cute and in a way...endearing #even before i was fascinated by him. i found the treatment annoying #I'm gonna stick a little longer until i get mammon's demon outfit and his bedroom bg then I'm taking a break from this place

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deiitaelric · 3 years

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Split up - PART 6

PART 5 HERE

“We’ll leave you two alone this time” The young adult was practically dragging the feral teen away while talking. They both settled down on the bench where the kid was growing more nervous as the seconds passed by. The three of them watched the pair getting ready, making sure they both were ok before starting the practice fight. At first, it was only a few punches, one or another kick, nothing too special.

“What are they waiting for?” The kid said impatiente.

“Deku didn’t warmed up that much, they’re just making sure they’re both good”

“What’s his fucking quirk, anyway?” Teen said, pretending to not be paying attention.

“You’ll see” The oldest smirked.

“It is a cool one? He’s gonna be my hero partner, so it has to be very cool and strong!” The kid was starting to bounce in place again. The teen rolled his eyes, annoyed, and shoved his hands inside his pockets, straightening his legs up front and resting his back on the wall behind him.

At that moment, Izuku started to ignite Full Cowl. “Here it comes” Older Kacchan smirked as the kid started shaking his little fists, very excited to finally see it.

Green flashy lights illuminated Izuku’s face as pink lines cover his skin, forming an x between his eyes. In a moment, all of that disappeared, but the light was still in him. Izuku then smirked, and at that, the little kid yelled “So cool!”

They heard Katsuki provoking him and Izuku attempted to Detroit-Smashed his face, but Katsuki evaded it. When Katsuki was immediately aiming at Izuku’s back, the younger teen smirked. “I told him”

But even before finishing the sentence, Izuku was no longer where he was supposed to be. And he kicked Katsuki’s back, sending him flying a good amount of meters away. Katsuki got up and charged again against Izuku. Both were smirking like feral animals at this point. They punched, kicked, dodged and exploded until they both were exhausted. They paused for a break and Izuku was suddenly filled with compliments and questions for part of the little cute kid.

Teen Kacchan had gone quiet. He was lost in his own thoughts, heavy breathing. The original sighed and sat beside him. “Don’t fucking panic. He didn’t lie to you, he remained quirkless till fourteen”

The boy looked at him with enormous eyes, still in shock. “I… How-? What-? I-”

Katsuki sighed. “I know how you feel. I’ve been there. Just accept what you saw and the fact that Deku and I are now rival-friends”

“How-?” The teen shook his head and lost himself again in the panic settling at his chest. Katsuki sighed again. He knew.

“Are you aware of why you pushed him away in the first place?”

“I- what? This makes zero sense and now you’re talking shit?” The teen was shaking off the shock and starting to get angry instead.

“Are you aware or not?”

“Yeah, fucking yes, okay? What does it have to do with all this?”

“Don’t you see it? He made it” Katsuki took a sip from his bottle and rested his back on the wall. “He entered UA. And he has a strong quirk”

They shared a silence while the teen decided if to open up with his self-future self or not. But that didn’t make any sense, because they were the same person. To some extent at least.

“Fucking hell. He’s gonna get her ass in so much trouble having that fucking power and actually being a hero. This is a worse case scenario.”

“And on top of that, his quirk is fucking cursed” Katsuki clicked his tonge, looking at Izuku out of the corner of the eye.

“What?” Katsuki only shrugged in response. After the eternal second in silence, the teen frowned deeplier than ever. “Stop him”

“I won’t”

“You have to”

“I’m not. You have to stop being afraid of him” Katsuki finally looked at him, frowning.

“I’m not afraid of him” Teen commented, offended.

“You know what I mean” Katsuki just rolled his eyes.

“...That’s ridiculous”

“I did. You will”

“What I would do is stop him in my present” Said the teen, looking at Izuku. “Fuck. But I won’t ever remember this shit when this is all over. Fuck . You have to do it”

“That’s not what you have to change, asshole. Are you listening?” Katsuki bonked the other’s blonde head with the bottle.

“What, do you pretend I befriend the nerd? Don’t be ridiculous!”

“You’ll do, because I’m his friend. I just need you to understand”

“That’s bullshit” The teen got up, towering over the other.

“Look, fucking brat. I’m the future, this’s gonna happen either way. He’s gonna made it and we both know it’s better if I’m there with him”

“...nonsense” Murmured the other.

“Being an asshole to him didn’t keep him away from you, right? And as you see, we are even closer now. So instead of that, try to stop what you’re gonna regret later”

The teen stood still, knowing the truth but not wanting to face it. He shook his head. “It doesn’t fucking matter, ok? I’m not gonna remember shit”

“It might leave something in you. It might leave a sparkle, a feeling, I don’t know… You just try to accept things the way they are and stop running away. You will grow up from inside with him. I’m improving with him, and he’s improving with me. Faster, I mean. We… We gave each other this... constant challenge. Of being better, of doing better, of making things better… And it’s something valuable, very valuable. Heroes are not what you think they are, brat. And they ain’t what Deku thinks they are either.”

“Who the fuck are you now? What the fuck happened to made you this… fucking stupid?”

“If you think you’re scared now, you don’t know anything. Hero society is shit and we suffered for it. We still are. We now have to reinvent all this shit and… Listen, I almost died a couple of times. Deku almost died a couple of times. I got kidnapped. I ended All Might. And all of this happened because I was weak. And I’m not talking about the fucking quirk, I was week inside. My beliefs were wrong; Deku’s too. Even All Might’s. Heroes. Quirks. I had to relearn what all that really were”

“That’s… It-It doesn’t matter, okay? It doesn’t fucking matter because I’m not gonna remember shit. I ain’t gonna change anything.” The teen was moving around, tousling his hair. It was just too much for him to handle at once. “And if I could, what? I only want to reach my dream, I don’t care about nothing more”

“We both know that’s not true. I- Look, I know you, okay? I fucking know how you see things. And it’s okay to be wrong because do you see that fucker?” He points to the oldest blonde, who was further apart talking with the other two boys. “You made it. I made it. We reached the goal, but he is the consequence of the path I choose. And that path started with you. But with you panicking because things weren’t the way you thought they were. And that’s the good part, because he wouldn’t be there if you hadn’t learned. I’m just trying to push you to learn faster in the past so I can do more here”

Teen Katsuki let himself fall on the floor and sat there, hugging his knees to his chest. “But I can’t. I won’t remember”

“At least try to understand. It would be easy for all of us around here if you do” Katsuki got up and patted Teen’s shoulder, heading towards the others to resume the practice. Enough chat for today for both of them.

PART 7 HERE

___

#bkdk #bakudeku #bakudeku fic #bkdk fic

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shawtygonemad · 3 years

Text

VERMILION: Chapter 2

Daryl Dixon x OC (Rose Dixon)

Vermilion Playlist

Vermilion Masterlist

-Rose-

“Where do you think the term ‘horse-powered’ came from?” I joked as I situated myself on the animal’s back.

“Heh, ya really think that thing can go faster than my bike,” the man, whose face I never seem to see, chuckled.

“Alright, wise guy, I’ll race you down to the railroad tracks and back,” I challenged with a smirk.

“What’s the wager,” he asked.

“If I win then you have to take over my night shift, tonight,” I grinned, cheeky.

“And if I win,” he asked.

“Then I’ll let you kiss me,” I blurted out. I don’t know why I said that. The thought just fell out of me so easily.

“I don’t wanna hear ya cryin’ when ya lose,” the man said as he revved his engine.

“Try to keep up,” I yelled as I kicked my heels into the side of the horse.

TWe both took off down the road. Realistically, the bike would win. Horses don’t typically run over 55 mph. But there was a reason I chose the railroad tracks. Down the road there was a tree down which covered the path. He’d have to swerve around the entire thing in order to make it there and back. However, with my horse I’d just be able to jump right over it. Some may call it cheating, but I call it strategic thinking.

For a while we were neck in neck. When we approached the road blockage I could hear the man curse before he fell out of my peripheral vision. I smiled at this as I encouraged the horse to make the high jump. Happily, he did it effortlessly. I knew my big guy could do it. Unfortunately, I could hear a familiar revved engine come up fast behind me. The man easily passed us. With a huff I flicked the reins and ordered the animal to go faster. No way in hell was I going to let this guy beat me. Although, the idea of his prize wasn’t something I’d be mad about.

“Mom.”

The scene before me started to fade away. Darkness surrounded me before my mind was brought back into consciousness.

“Moooom! Wake up!”

I groaned as I started to wake up with a shake to my shoulder. I scrunched my eyes as they were bombarded with a bright light. Out of the light came the outline of a little girl. My vision came into focus and it turned out to be my beautiful daughter. It was almost like looking in the mirror since she was a spitting image of me. Except she must have gotten those bright blue eyes from whoever her father was.

It's been 6 years since I've been with the CRM. Things have been crazy ever since waking up in that hospital bed. I was banged up, confused as to what had happened and how I even got there. The last thing I remembered was visiting Rick in the hospital and then nothing.

As it turned out I had missed out on a lot. Like the end of the world for example. The virus had spread worldwide and caused the dead to rise. They walked amongst us and fed on us. When we died then we too would become one of them unless impaled into the brain.

Rick was also alive and had been involved in the same accident I had been in. Somehow we got caught in a explosion, but the Civic Republic Military found us and took us in. They were the last form of government our world had left. The woman, Jadis, who had found us must have knew us prior. She had informed the CRM that I was a doctor, had discovered a cure, and seemed to be immune to the virus. Of course I remember being a doctor but the other two I have no recollection of.

They classified me as an 'A' and placed me in the lab to rediscover my cure. It took a lot longer than they'd have liked since I was starting from scratch. I had to relearn everything about this virus. Rick was also placed as an 'A' thankfully. However, they never allowed us too much time together. In fact, they tried to keep us at different facilities until the strangest thing happened - I found out I was pregnant. After some tests it turns out that I must have fell pregnant before the CRM took us in. Unfortunately, that was part of the time I didn't remember.

The doctor here diagnosed me with Retrograde Amnesia. Leave it to me to get the most rare form of amnesia. They've been working with me for 6 years, but I still can't really remember anything. Rick has been dying to tell me everything and catch me up, but the doctor's forbid it. They said it would worsen my condition. Personally, I don't think that's very accurate, but I'm not a psychologist.

Either way, I was blessed with my amazing little girl, Hope. She's the light of my life and keeps me going everyday. At the age of 6 she's already smarter than most people at this facility. Her favorite thing to do is to read or be read to. Talking with her I sometimes forget that she's a child.

"Moooom, get uuuup," Hope whined.

"5 more minutes," I groaned as I shielded my eyes with my arm.

"Mom!" My daughter said as she pounced on me. "You're gonna be late, and I wanna go see uncle Rick!"

"Alright, alright," I groaned as I rolled out of my bed.

Then entire time I got myself and Hope ready I kept thinking about my dream. They haven't been reoccurring, but that mystery man has been. He's tall, tan, muscular, and has long hair. I never see his face though. I have no idea who this man is. I didn't ever remember meeting him, but I just feel like I know him somehow. Dwelling on it didn't help because I usually ended up with a splitting headache.

Rick met us in the hallway outside of my lab. By this point I was already running late and had spilt scalding coffee all over myself. Hope happily greeted her uncle which he returned. I quickly gave Hope a kiss before fumbling with my keys to find my access card to get into the lab.

"Rose, you got a minute?" Rick asked.

"Sorry, Rick. I'm running really late and need to some stuff done. We're giving out the first doses of the vaccine tomorrow and I still have so much to do. I'll meet you both for dinner. Love you," I called as I quickly entered the work space.

Entering the lab it appeared that I was the only one working today. With what was happening tomorrow I figured I'd have at least one other person in here with me. Maybe they finally ran out of people to work in the lab. For the past couple years we've had a constant rotation of people coming in and out of this project. I just always thought this line of work wasn't for everyone. However, the strangest thing is that I'd never see any of these workers again.

The facilities are rather big, but I always find myself recognizing some people's faces even though I never learned their names. There is the possibility that they requested to transfer to a different campus, but that's not likely. Not knowing was really frustrating. So much was being kept from me and it got under my skin. I was probably the most qualified out of anyone to be working on this project and yet I'm kept in the dark like a child. They wouldn't even let me participate or observe the experimentation part. I had no idea who the test subjects were and what was being done. That is until my curiosity got the best of me.

It was getting towards the end of the day and I finally had everything ready for tomorrow. I still didn't feel good about it though. It didn't feel right to injecting people with a substance I wasn't involved in 100%. And why were they keeping me in the dark for so long? Something wasn't right and I needed to figure out what it was before I distributed anything.

Once the decision to investigate was made my feet lead me to the door that was normally heavily guarded. With no one but me here it was easy for me to get it. Surprisingly, my access key even worked. Clearly what they were trying to hide from me wasn't too big of a deal.

The room was pitch black and I had to fumble around of a light switch. Once I hit the button a dim green florescent lights illuminated the room. My breath hitched at the sight. Muffled groans filled the air. People and walkers both restrained in pods. Each pod had a chart with all of their information on it. Cautiously, I made my way through the room and looked at each chart. The walkers restrained had once been people who lived here at the CRM. Most importantly, they were all labeled 'B'.

This finally helped solve the puzzle as to who were labeled 'A' and 'B'. 'A''s must be people who are willing to follow and become workers. 'B''s are those who are designated to be bitten and used as test subjects for the vaccine. These are people they knew wouldn't fall in line easily. As I went on things got scarier. I finally figured out where my staff had gone.

Each one had their own pods that they were strapped up in. None of them looked good. They were pale, sweaty, and looked deathly ill. This is what the virus must be doing to them after they were injected with (what I like it call) walker venom. The ones who were taken early one didn't seem to have made it, and were now restrained walkers.

So this is what they had been doing all along. They've been injecting the B's with venom to study the virus before creating the vaccine. The subjects who made it through the first symptoms were given the vaccine. Their charts stated 'Vaxxed'. Even though this shook me to the core, I kept going. What else were they hiding?

I stopped when I came across a row of empty pods. My stomach churned at the many thoughts as to why they were left empty. Each one had a chart with the subject information on it as well. Fear completely flooded me when I saw 2 names on the list. Rick's name was on it with his A crossed out and replaced with a B. Below that was my own daughter's name. Next to it was a B and a question mark. If I was immune then there was a 50/50 chance she could be too. But that was something I NEVER wanted to find out.

"Dr. Wagner," a voice called from behind me which caused me to gasp and jump. "We really hoped you wouldn't go snooping. Jadis tried to warn us about who you were before, but we hoped your amnesia would change that. It looks like we were wrong."

I turned around to put a face to a voice. It was Lieutenant Colonel Kublek. She was one of the top leaders of the CRM. Finding out she was behind this though wasn't much of a surprise.

"I was really hoping we'd be able to continue to work together in the future. But now you know too much, just like your coworkers," she tsked before raising her gun to me. Something in my body shifted. Instinct kicked in. I spun behind a pod for cover as the woman unloaded rounds in my direction. My heart pounded and adrenaline pumped as I quickly thought of what to do. I needed to get out of here. Rick and Hope needed to leave as well. Somehow I had to get to them.

I stayed low to the ground as I went. Knowing this woman wanted to hurt my family brought out a darker side of me I never knew I had. As I silently crept through I grabbed a metal tray along the way. When I was able to get eyes on the high ranking woman I stood up. She was slowly walking through the lab trying to find me. Little did she know my body was acting like a hunter, and she was now my pray.

Swiftly, I trotted up behind her and clocked her in the back of the head. She stumbled forward which I took the opportunity to kick her in the back on her knees. This caused her to fall onto her knees. I then took another large swing with the metal tray and landed it onto the base of her skull. The woman instantly slumped forward onto the ground.

I quickly grabbed her keys and gun, even though I hated the mechanism, and left the lab entirely. As I speed walked through the facility I kept thinking on how we could escape. There was one thing you learned right away with this place. Once you join the CRM you can't leave.

Even though I wanted to run I had to act casual. Once to Rick's unit I quickly banged on the door. Within seconds the door flew open, I was grabbed by my lab coat, and drug inside. Upon my sight Hope instantly ran towards me and hugged my waist. She was all packed up and looked like she was ready for a trip.

As I looked around the room I saw many people from our community with their families looking the same way. They all looked packed and ready to escape. Rick must have known what was happening. That's why he wanted to talk to me this morning!

"Rick," I called as my brother approached. "I just saw what they were doing to the B's. Rick, we need-"

"I know," he cut me off as he handed me a bag. "We're getting outta here. I've been planning this for a while now and been meaning to talk to you about it. Now's the best time as any."

"Where are we going? What do you mean you've been planning this for awhile," I asked confused.

"6 years, actually. We're going home. There we might be able to round up the numbers to go against this place, but we need to be smart about it," he told me.

"Home? What are you talking about? This is our home. And taking this place down? Rick, this is the United States government we're talking about. If the damn apocalypse can't take it down, then I don't think anything can," I tried to rationalize.

"We're going back to Alexandria. That's where home is. Where our people are. Our family," Rick said as he looked out the peep hole.

"How do you plan on getting this large of a group out of the front gates," I asked.

Rick was silent. I could tell he was thinking of different ways of escape in his head. One thing was for certain, even with the cover of nightfall they would discover us. Someone needed to stay behind and cause a distraction. Rick seemed to know what he was doing and this group of people needed him to lead them. There was only one logically solution and that was for me to stay behind. This place was probably already looking for me. If I stayed behind and brought all of the focus on me then the others would be able to escape.

When I'm caught they'll either imprison me or execute me. I'd take either sentence if it meant that Hope and Rick could escape. I couldn't have them stay here any longer and risk being captured and infected. If it meant them living long lives after this then I'd gladly sacrifice myself.

"Rick," I quietly said as I pulled him to the side. "I need you to listen to me. I know you're not going to like what I'm about to say, but just listen. Someone needs to stay behind."

"No," he quickly interjected.

"Just listen to me. There is no way we'd all be able to escape without some kind of distraction. This place is probably already looking for me..." I was cut off by Rick.

"I'm not leaving you behind," he sternly spoke.

"You have to. I need you to take Hope far away from this place. I discovered the lab where they were infecting people. Both you and Hope were on the list to be infected. I won't let that happen," I said.

"Do you have any idea what they'll do to you if you're caught," he stressed.

"Yeah, I have a few ideas... But they won't kill me. At least not right away. I'm still an asset to them. Without me, none of the vaccines get distributed. It'll save me enough time to figure out a plan to get myself out of here," I explained.

"Would it save you enough time until I can come back with more people," Rick softly asked.

"Bro, this is the government we're talking about. There is no way in hell you're coming back with a little militia to try and take this beast down," I scoffed.

"Then you're not staying behind," he said stubbornly.

"Rick."

"Rosalynn."

I sighed in frustration. Sometimes I forget that my brother can be as stubborn as I am. Stressfully, I ran a hand through my hair.

"Alright. I'll make it so that I'm indispensable for the time being. I'm not sure how, but I'll figure something out," I told him. "Just please, get Hope somewhere safe. No matter what happens to me, Rick. Please make sure she gets to live a happy and healthy life."

"I promise, and I promise that you'll be there with her to live that long life," Rick spoke as he gave me a hug.

"I should go soon to give you guys some time to escape," I said as my eyes slowly started to water.

I turned to my daughter who was looking at us with confused eyes. I crouched down to her height and smile. Gently I pushed some hair away from her face in order for me to see those gorgeous blue eyes. Taking a minute to just soak her in made me want to cry even more. My chest tightened as I prepared myself to say what could be our final goodbye. There was a chance I wasn't going to make it out of this alive. But what I was doing was for her. She'll always come first.

"You're staying, aren't you," she whimpered. Man, I wish she wasn't so smart sometimes.

"Baby...I'm sorry..."

"No!" She cried. "I'm staying with you."

"Baby, you need to go with Uncle Rick. You have to listen, and do everything he says, okay," I held back tears as I held her. "I'll be right behind you, okay?"

Her lip still quivered as she shoved her pinky in front of my face. With a watery smile, I wrapped my pinky around hers as we both leaned in to kiss our thumbs as the seal of agreement.

"Hold hands through it, when it's scary. You've got me," I softly sang offkey a part from our favorite song.

"I love you, mama," Hope told me as tears dripped down her face.

I wiped them away before leaning forward and kissing her on the nose then the forehead.

"I love you too, Hope. More then you'll ever know. I'll see you soon," I told her with one final hug.

Leaving those two behind was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. My heart squeezed at the idea of never seeing them again. However, my determination kicked in as I strutted down corridors. I was doing this to protect them. If I could figure out how to make myself indispensable then I could bid my time to come up with a plan to escape myself. But how would I do that? The only thing that makes me useful to them are the vaccines which have been completed.

Unless something were to happen to the vaccines before distribution in the morning... They got rid of the rest of my lab team. If the vaccines were destroyed then I'd be the only one who could recreate them. Yes! The easiest way would to simply set the place on fire. A smile grew on my face as I dug into my lab coat and pulled out my cigarettes. I just needed to make sure I got out before the fire spread and got too dangerous. Hopefully the Lieutenant Colonel was gone by now. They're probably looking for me all over campus. No one should be at the lab. That's the last place anyone smart would go to hide out. Luckily for them, I take pride in my stupidity.

Cautiously, I entered the lab once more. My suspicions were correct and no one was here. However, I needed to work fast before the caught me on the security footage. I had to quickly work with what I had. The easier chemicals to work with was the ammonia found in the cleaning closet. Using the jug, I spilt the liquid all over the lab and on the stored vaccines. Once finished I tossed the jug to the side. With shaky hands I grabbed my cigarette and lighter. When I neared the exit is when I lit the nicotine stick. I inhaled deeply, trying to enjoy the one and only drag I'd get from this stick, before flicking it into the middle of the room. It bounced and rolled a few centimeters before catching the chemicals on fire. I quickly made my exit.

As I walked down the corridor I wasn't really sure where I was planning on going. My only thoughts were on Rick and Hope. I prayed that this would be enough of a distraction for them to get out safely. I prayed the hardest I ever had in my entire life to whatever higher being was listening. Rick said that they were heading to a place called Alexandria in Virginia. That's where home is supposed to be. If that's where they are and what they'll call home then that's the one thing in need to focus on during what was yet to come for me. Alexandria. Alexandria. Alexandria. That one word is what will keep me going.

------

Next Chapter

If anyone was wondering what this song referenced is, it's called Slow Down by Nichole Nordeman.

#romance #adventure #daryl dixon #the walking dead #daryl dixion imagine #daryl dixon fanfiction #daryl dixon fic #daryl fanfiction #the walking dead daryl #daryl dixon x oc #twd daryl dixon #twd daryl #daryl #daryl x oc #twd #Spotify

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kaen-ace-of-diamonds · 4 years

Text

Homecoming

Word Count: 6,800+ (chapter 6) [AO3]

(chapter 5) (chapter 4) (chapter 3) (chapter 2) (chapter 1)

Genre: Angst/Hurt/Comfort

Pairing: one-sided Emerald/Cinder

Characters: Cinder Fall, Salem, Tyrian Callows, Emerald Sustrai, Mercury Black

Summary: Making it out of Beacon alive turned out to be the easy part of the whole disaster.Returning home in agony and shame, learning how to take the first steps forward into living in this newly broken state...that, Cinder has decided, is definitely going to be the hard part.

Warnings for implications of abuse and graphic descriptions of injury.

~0~

“Does it get your blood boiling, does it make you see red?

Do you wanna destroy it, does it get in your head?

'Cause it gets my blood boiling and I'm coming unglued

It would hit you like poison if you knew what I knew.”

- Angry Too, Lola Blanc

~0~

After so many months, Cinder was beginning to feel a nervous shake in her stomach every time she turned the corner and saw the door to this training chamber.

Ridiculous, really, she chided herself. It wasn’t even as if it were an intelligent human opponent she was facing, just a pack of the same Grimm she’d been exterminating ever since she was old enough to hold a blade. It didn’t matter how many there were. Power would always triumph over everything else, up to and including a beast’s instincts.

But then again, there were far more frightening things in this world than the Grimm.

Salem had nothing to say to her as she opened the door and stepped inside. What had at the start of this new wave of training been reassuring smiles and instructions, had now faded into a cold glare. A warning to prove herself for another day.

Her beloved bow and arrows still wouldn’t come to her, which twisted her heart every time she tried and failed to get them back. And even if she did, it would be another trial entirely to relearn how to use it sans binocular vision. A small, bitter voice at the back of her mind told her it wasn’t even worth it to try.

However, a single sword was getting easier to form with every attempt, and the one that molded itself into her hand now was like a slab of molten rock. It didn’t feel the same as Midnight, which she had been unshakably confident would never break. This one felt somehow incomplete. It was narrower than before, with far more visible imperfections and cracks running through the surface. And if one perfect sword was unachievable, then two was entirely out of the question.

Cinder did not like to have Emerald’s voice running through her head as well as talking her intact ear off, but she could still hear her infuriatingly gentle reminder, One step at a time.

So she would make this do for now. She had no choice.

She brandished the sword before her, and braced herself. Mere moments later, the shadows began to move.

The clicking of claws and gnashing of teeth followed soon after. A small pack of Beowolves stalked towards her in a semicircle, surrounding her. She hadn’t had to fight down her fear of death like this since she was a child...

(“Feel nothing,” rumbling in her ears as the hilt of the knife slips around in her small, sweating hand, shaking more than ever. She tells herself it’s from exhaustion, but the eyes boring into her always know better. “Fear nothing. You’re still too weak to matter.”)

She grit her teeth, burningly aware of the scar on her face. It had taken years for her to understand. But he was wrong. She did not fear. She was not small. And she was not weak!

Heedless of danger — for nothing could be more dangerous than the eyes boring into her back — Cinder threw herself into the fray with a vicious slash of her blade. The Beowolves howled with hunger and fell upon her, all six of them. She couldn’t take her eyes off their claws, long as her arrows. A chill settled in her gut that hadn’t in years: the one that chased away all thoughts of battle and replaced them with those claws curving underneath her remaining eyeball to tear it out and blind her completely.

(“ — no point in keeping broken tools. If you’re no longer useful, you’ll be thrown away.”

“Like they threw you away?”

Her heart leaps into her throat, afraid that she’d blurted out too much. But the mouth twists further, into a sickly smile.

“Exactly.”)

She was no longer the refuse of Mistral’s underbelly. She was more than him, more than all of them, like he’d wanted but never believed.

Just a few months ago her flames had been second nature to her. Now, to swing her arm and bring a swath of fire with it was like pulling teeth. Well...her arm worked just fine, more or less. It was this thing stuck to her that was holding her back. She swung and clawed back, as she weaved her way around the thrashing limbs and snapping jaws. Her heart pounded, to flood her veins so strongly with adrenaline that she barely felt it when they tore her dress and grazed her skin.

She felt nothing. She feared nothing. Her determination to kill, the wrath that spurred her forward, were all that mattered.

It was as natural to her as breathing, why were only these pathetic spurts of flame coming out now, after everything she’d done?!

Even now her attacks still hit more often than not; she wasn’t entirely broken. But still it took her what felt like an eternity to do what once took only minutes. She stood like a cornered animal at the side of the room, as the final Beowolf advanced on her, growling and slavering. It wasn’t like the Wyvern, or any other Grimm. It did not see her as a hand of its master, or as one of its own. Only as prey. A worthless little thing to be slaughtered and tossed—

(“Alone now, girl?”)

The beast surged towards her, towering over her, gold shining from its faceless head as the giant hand reached for her — no —

Hands —

Blade —

Claws —

Her blood hasn’t spilled yet but gods, she can smell his, sour and heavy, filling her nose and polluting the fresh air, and that’s what she’ll look like, they’ll rot together, if she doesn’t do something right now!

A sharp white point starts to dig under her skin, snapping her back into the present with a gasp. Why had she been reaching for Scorching Caress when the blade was in her hand? This wasn’t — she wasn’t the one who —

Sunlight and wind were worlds away. Everything now was darkness and smoke and how long had she been frozen, her shoulder swelling and burning? She didn’t have time to consider it. Before she knew it, fire was flaring from what felt like every pore in her body, beyond any semblance of her control despite the arm she had thrown out in front of her much too late.

The Beowolf didn’t have time to howl as it burned away, scraps of filmy black floating into the air before disintegrating. Cinder heard it anyway, in the ringing of her ears in the newly silent room.

As she crouched there — like a cowed animal, the small rational part of her sneered — she realized several things in rapid succession. She realized that she was frozen, unable even to tremble. She realized that a thick, warm drop of blood was trickling down her good cheek, her depleted Aura delaying in patching up the claw graze beneath her eyelid. And she realized that the narrow place around her left shoulder, where flesh met Grimm, was a ring of searing pain. The only reason the arm hadn’t dropped limply to her side like the rest of her was —

Her gasp of horror came out sounding more like a cough, but it seemed to burn her throat all the same. The arm was rippling, stretching, elongating and springing off like the branches and twigs of a dead tree. Every muscle in her upper arm felt ablaze, and her mind raced trying to remember her lessons, what to do to make the Grimm inside her bend to her will instead of letting it run free and wild on its own.

But she couldn’t, her head was too full of glittering gold and burning, burning silver to fit a single other coherent thought in.

And then there came a different kind of burning, a cold and ice-white burn, and all of a sudden she felt as if her entire limb was shriveling, sucking itself inward. It didn’t hurt, exactly, but the pressure and the wrongness of the sensation took Cinder’s breath away and nearly doubled her over. A soft, disappointed sigh came from just above her shoulder, and without thinking about it she went utterly still.

“Cinder. Did you listen when I taught you how to control your gift?”

Her instinct, shamefully, was to cringe. But she fought it — her master was not the sort to be sated by groveling — and turned to look her in the eyes as she nodded.

Salem fixed her with a glare that would shrivel lesser humans like weeds in frost. “Then why do you continue to let it control you?”

Cinder did not whimper as her master’s claws retracted from her skin, their tips thinly lined with blood; after all her treatment sessions, she was used to it by now. The Grimm in her was cowed back to its proper shape and size, but she could feel its roots buried deep in her muscles and nerves. It was a part of her now, it would obey her like any other part. It should obey her...

“You already know, don’t you? You still dread it.”

She swallowed hard, uncaring of the twinge of pain it still caused her throat. Sometimes she truly hated it when her master was right.

“In the spawning pool, while it was bonding with you, it communicated with you, didn’t it?”

Cinder startled badly. It was only a vague memory now, like a childhood nightmare. But still, it had happened, and she was glad for the concrete confirmation. She nodded.

“I told you before I put you under what was in there: everything a Grimm is. Hunger, desperation, fear...the things that were buried deep inside you and that now have been brought to the surface.”

Cinder had to try very hard not to stare. So that was why...

“You must be better than that part of yourself. If you’re not, after all the time and effort that’s been put into you, then at best you’ll never unlock the Maiden’s true power again. At worst, the Grimm will realize it’s the dominant presence in your body, and consume you from the inside out.”

There was a stirring from deep in her muscles, right around her shoulder bones, that felt almost spiteful. As if it were agreeing. She remembered when just the thought of rage and vengeance would bring tongues of leaping flames to her fingertips, warm her like boiling water from the inside out, the Maiden’s power surging up at her command. Now, she could practically feel it being quenched the instant she tried to let it loose. It was the closest she had come in seven years to feeling helpless again...

Without Emerald there to translate for her, it took a painfully long few seconds to choke out, “I...will...m-ma’am.”

She could have sworn she saw a smile ghost across Salem’s face. “One more question, Cinder. Do you think you’ve earned your voice back?”

Cinder didn’t enjoy feeling as if she was now the one having a carrot dangled from a string in front of her face. And she especially disliked that she didn’t have to think about the answer: not what she thought her master wanted to hear, but simply what was.

“...No.”

“Very well, then. You are dismissed.”

With a bow, Cinder made her exit. Now that she could walk unassisted again, she appreciated the long and thankfully lonely walks around the castle. She thought she had learned as a child never to take a single thing she had for granted, but after this, the lesson was burned into her like any one of these scars.

Now the immediate question was: where was she going?

Before heading to her training session, she had instructed Emerald and Mercury to go to the castle library and get some research done for her, but she was hesitant to go join them just yet. The weight room appealed: her muscles still weren’t in one hundred percent fighting form, and a few runs through the basics she’d perfected years ago, and had no chance of screwing up, might make her feel better. Exhaustion was no excuse to avoid training...but it wasn’t exhaustion that made her decide against it. It simply didn’t feel like enough.

Going back to her room to rest wasn’t an option, either. Sleep had never been much of a respite for her, but she hadn’t had such constant nightmares since...well. And this time they came twofold. Gold and silver, gold and silver...

Both her fists clenched tightly; it appeared she and the Grimm were of one mind about one thing only, and that was the thirst to kill. She envisioned sinking her claws into Ruby’s flesh, the optic nerve tearing free, soft tissue shredded with a swipe of her fingers. Like the gold before it, the silver would be drowned in blood, and the girl’s scarless body ruined until even her sister couldn’t recognize her. Justice for her own body at last; she would never trust anybody who said that justice and vengeance weren’t exactly the same thing. All that was left was how to achieve it...and for that, she could not be caught off guard again.

Fortunately, she already had the spark of an idea. She just needed information, more relevant than what she had gathered from her spying at Beacon.

And unfortunately, there was only one person she could go to about that.

Cinder bit back a frustrated growl and made a sharp turn, towards the other side of the castle.

~0~

Tyrian didn't think he was ever going to get used to this.

It certainly wasn’t the worst part of the whole disaster, but the nagging feeling of being off-balance just wouldn't go away. Perched on a wide spike jutting out from the castle’s surface, he could feel how his whole center of gravity had shifted just from losing part of his tail. He had never used to wobble up here, never feared that he would fall.

Now, though...

Carefully, so as not to lose his balance, he brought what remained of his tail out in front of him, grimacing at the leaking blood and venom that still stained the thick bandages on the stump. He knew that the others wouldn’t notice or care, but whenever he moved, he felt as ugly and ungainly as a one-winged bird, flying helplessly in circles.

It hadn’t had to come to this, had it? What more could he have done, what must he remember so that he would never again fail his queen so shamefully? Would he have to change his fighting style to compensate for the loss of a stinger? What was —

All right, what the hell was that incessant thumping noise behind him?

He turned and looked below him to see Cinder standing by the large window he’d climbed out from, glaring up at him and banging impatiently on the outer wall with her gloved hand.

Tyrian’s face broke into a grin. “Why, Cinder, how long have you been there?” he called down. “If you wanted to get my attention, you should have said something!”

He didn’t understand why the girl made such a fuss about being rendered essentially mute. As she demonstrated now, she could still perfectly communicate ‘I’ll kill you’ with only her remaining eye, and really, wasn’t that all anyone could ever need?

Despite her clear irritation, she was now gesturing insistently for him to come down to her level. Well, considering how, whether she’d wanted to or not, she had watched as he was humiliated before their queen, Cinder was perhaps the last person he wanted to interact with at the moment. But, on the other hand, the sooner he gave her whatever she had come for, the sooner she would go away and leave him alone.

So, he stood up, darted forward, and leaped from the spike, front-flipping twice in mid-air before landing hard in front of Cinder. (He managed to land on his feet well enough, but hoped that the way his legs quivered wasn't noticeable.) Before, this would be the part where Cinder would roll her eyes and call him a show-off. Now, she just gave him an unimpressed look.

“Well, then, what is it you want?” He glanced around the hall, and realized that the little green-haired girl was nowhere to be seen. “And where's your pet rat?”

Cinder made an indignant noise and pulled out a small notepad, with a pen stuck in the spiral binding. With some difficulty, she balanced it on her new left hand, which Tyrian couldn't see underneath that huge sleeve, but which seemed to be remaining stubbornly stiff. And with her decidedly smoother functioning right, she started to shakily write something out.

Tyrian snickered. “Look at you, you’ve managed to get some of those fingers working! What an amazing accomplishment!”

She ignored him. After a moment, she held out the notepad for him to read: Tell me about your fight with Ruby Rose.

Any happiness Tyrian had gleaned from mocking her dissipated. “You get right to the point, don't you?” he drawled, narrowing his eyes. “Have you come all this way to gloat?”

No, for once I’m taking the high road. Cinder paused, then wrote some more. You weren't really doing it for my sake, but I appreciate your ‘eye for an eye’ offer. But you understand how I can’t exactly go out and take a tail for you. For a number of reasons.

“Yes, that is rather unfortunate. It would have been an interesting little experiment had I succeeded, though, wouldn’t it? What would happen to you, I wonder, if we stuck one of those precious silver eyes in your empty socket? I ought to bring it up to our dear doctor, don't you think?”

Cinder grumbled unintelligibly: clearly, the idea of such a replacement didn't appeal to her. She has to have changed since the fall of Beacon. Tell me what she looks like now.

“Why do you need to know that? You think she’s undergone as drastic a transformation as you have?”

It’s part of my training. I won’t hold back when I’m killing her. That should be enough for you.

“Hmph. You’re not exactly in a position to be making demands of your superiors, you know,” Tyrian reminded her, crossing his arms and pointedly looking away.

He didn’t know how Cinder managed to make a cough sound so annoyingly high and mighty, but she did. The trademark smirk didn’t help either, as she gestured with the notepad at his poor bandaged tail: Superior? You?

“That’s right. My failure, though tragic, has left my body largely in one piece.” His goddess’ displeasure had cut far sharper than the little rose’s scythe, but Cinder’s loyalty did not quite go that far. “And my priority above all is making up for it. Where do your priorities lie, dear sister? Do you wish to further our cause, or only yourself?”

Cinder grit her teeth. Good luck, then. But that has nothing to do with this.

“And why should I help you with anything? Consider yourself lucky that I’m taking time out of my busy day to speak with you at all.”

With a disgusted noise and a roll of her eye, Cinder wrote for a very long couple minutes, while Tyrian waited. Technically, he didn’t feel the need to tap his foot impatiently, but oh, how he did love that growl of irritation the action elicited from the back of Cinder’s throat.

You can’t tell me you don’t want to see that girl beaten and bloody. Broken beyond repair, while we recover. Move on with our lives, while hers ends here. You know more about what that might entail than I do, don’t you?

“Oh? Don’t tell me you intend to go against our lady’s wishes by actually killing the little flower?”

Aggressive scratching of the pen. You can end someone’s life without killing them. Trust me.

“And you’re satisfied with that.”

Being captive here would be a fate worse than death.

“You really think so?” he prodded further, fighting valiantly to repress his grin.

Whatever Salem wants her alive for—

Oh, he couldn’t help it any longer, he burst into a fit of giggles. “How did you manage to infiltrate the academies with such terrible acting, little stepsister?”

Cinder nearly cracked the pen in half. She bared her teeth, hissing through them, and took a threatening step forward. Tyrian’s eyes were drawn to her fingers and the way they twitched, straining for fire and barely achieving sparks. What a far cry it was from when she had first won the Maiden powers, raising and commanding powerful flames as if she’d been born doing it. How awfully sad. How funny.

“I would love to help you, Cinder, you know that. But in order for me to do that, you’re going to have to be a little more honest with me. Why do you actually want my help? What’s so important about hearing this, of all things?”

Why do you care? Cinder wrote, pen tip threatening to pierce the pad. The details don’t matter so long as we get what we want.

“Oh, there’s no fooling me, dear sister. You have something in mind, and I think you ought to share it with me if you want to get anything out of this conversation. If not...” He gave her a dramatic shrug. “Well, then I suppose you’ll just have to get used to being left in the dust by the privileged few, after all.”

Before she could do anything but look outraged, he spun on his heel and started away, idly waving his tail as he went. Most people, he assumed, would have left it at that, deciding that they’d thrown enough fuel on this fire for now. Tyrian was not most people.

“My, what would your father say?”

The reaction was as immediately explosive as raw Dust. Tyrian felt the heat washing over his back even before he saw the fire.

He whipped around to see Cinder much closer than she had been a second ago, having clearly just caught herself while lunging for his throat. Flames flared from her eye, poured from her hand, and spun in a furious wheel around her feet. He could feel the sparks flying off of it, catching him in the neck and chest, and grinned.

“Oh, what’s the matter? Daddy still a sore subject?”

Cinder glared absolute murder at him, and a series of awful hissing and rattling noises came up from her throat, like a snake about to strike. Even without speech, the message was crystal clear: Not my father. Not from you.

Perfect.

“I have to say, it’s been a long time since you wore your heart on your sleeve like this, sister. I’d say...what, seven years?”

She ground her teeth harder, plainly regretting being fifteen and far easier to trick into letting slip her deeper vulnerabilities.

“You surprise me. If I had brought up your little family just a few months ago, you wouldn’t have batted an eye. But now...what’s made you so sensitive? Something remind you of him?”

Cinder looked at him suspiciously, sensing that he already knew. Very astute of her; he would never taunt somebody with a question he was not certain of the answer to.

“When you can, you really need to tell me exactly what it’s like down there in the depths of the spawning pool. I hear it has such sights to show you. All the things you like to think you’ve already overcome and put behind you.”

Her lips pulled into a stiff, crooked smirk as she picked the singed notepad up off the floor and scrawled, ink bleeding through the paper, I bet you’d love to relive how you got those scars on your chest, wouldn’t you?

Tyrian’s tail stump twitched, and his eyes narrowed. She clearly thought that two could play at this game. Well, she was sorely mistaken.

“I’m not ashamed of any of my scars, Cinder. Can you say the same?”

Her smirk broadened, but she was...shaking her head? The much-abused notepad burst into a high flame in her hand, and it stayed burning that way even after the paper was ashes on her glove.

What a confusing girl. No matter, his guesses were usually good.

“You will one day? How optimistic. Tell me, when?”

If she tapped at that glass mask just a little more aggressively, it would probably shatter. Not that it could do much more damage to that half of her face, but still. The fire in her fist burned even brighter.

“When you get your precious revenge? How lovely. I’ll be waiting with bated breath for your next riveting performance. And I suppose I can give you the little leg up you need from me. If you fall again, it won’t be my fault, after all.”

Cinder continued to glare, and he could picture her new claws flexing hungrily inside her billowing sleeve. But that was all: with a sharp nod, she turned and started away, considering their business here finished. Tyrian wasn’t quite satisfied yet.

“Let’s just hope that when you finally face your little Huntress in battle, you’ll have more luck than Daddy did with his Huntsman.”

Cinder whirled back around blurringly fast. A truly feral growl ripped its way from her throat, and though she was visibly fighting to keep from flying at him again, her eyes burned murderously. She could only make a harsher rattling sound instead of words, but in their place, fire poured from her mouth, gleaming off her bared teeth.

Tyrian quirked an eyebrow, still snickering. He wondered if that was the look she had worn as a child, hands about to be filthy with blood.

This was certainly more like the Cinder he had known for so long, the one who had swapped barbs with him and shown off her new powers the same way she had the day before she left on her long mission. And yet, even with all that fuel, she still couldn’t quite bring her fire back the way she used to. It was almost a shame.

“What’s the matter, little stepsister?” He leaned forward, tail reflexively curling upward. True, it was no longer intimidating with its end blunt and bandaged, but it was just second nature. And they both knew it was far from his only strength. “Itching for a real fight? I have to say, I don’t know how well that will turn out for you. As we both have wound up with handicaps, I see no need to go easy on you.”

Cinder kept up the growling for a few seconds more, then broke off into a frustrated huff, her shoulders sagging as the flames went out. It looked like it was physically painful for her —and, Tyrian realized, it probably was — but she surrendered the bout to him and wrenched her body around, stomping back off down the hall. Rage still radiated from every inch of her, from her frizzing hair to the downright aggressive clack of her heels.

When she was raw and irritated like this, it was so easy to poke her into an entertaining rage, and he hadn’t seen her in such a fun mood since she was a teenager. Whatever she wanted with the information he had to give, only time would tell if her plan would work.

It was no real concern of his, anyway. Perhaps if the troublesome girl still failed to live up to Her Grace’s expectations, it would start to redeem him somewhat in her eyes.

Giggling to himself, Tyrian spun on his heel and bounced cheerfully back out the window, swishing his tail in a far more jovial manner. It was like when Her Grace sent him out as her liaison with the sects of Grimm worshippers, scattered out there in the shadows of Remnant: conversing with the less fortunate never failed to make him feel better about himself.

Back and forth his tail swung, slower and more purposefully this time, and he made his way to the edge of the crystal spire with far better balance than before. He supposed that only time would tell whether Cinder’s stability would improve as well.

For now, he decided, it would be home life as usual: skulking in the shadows and waiting for the next bit of fun to arrive, before he had to leave again on his endless duty.

~0~

In hindsight, Cinder thought, she should have expected to walk away from this conversation seething, no matter how calmly she had entered it. Tyrian could be perfectly tolerable when he felt like it, but in the past few months he had made himself just as unbearable as Watts. She had hoped that being beaten and mutilated just as she had would humble him somewhat, but apparently no such luck. Perhaps it was the ability to speak that made all the difference.

Well, no matter. She would get what she wanted out of him, and that was what counted, she had to remember. She could not be mired in her own self-pity any longer: she was one step closer to grabbing a rope that would pull her out of it, that she would climb back where she belonged with. Now she could, for a while, put her teammates out of her mind.

It was a ten-minute walk from Tyrian’s chosen brooding spot to the fortress’ library. When she pushed open the heavy door, she had barely taken a step into the cavernous room before Emerald’s head popped up from behind the huge book she was perusing at a nearby table.

“Cinder!” she said brightly, sitting bolt upright.

She flipped over the book and left it on the table, heedless of what it might do to the spine, and darted out of her seat and over to her leader. Cinder’s leg had healed and she hadn't needed help to walk in weeks, but Emerald still felt the need to hover over her anyway, just in case of a relapse.

(Of course Emerald would never say it out loud, but Cinder could tell: Salem’s method of healing was not one she trusted at all.)

Cinder had been doing her best not to mind, which she had to admit had gotten much easier as she gained more and more of her autonomy back. But still, she was glad that Emerald didn't try to touch her as she walked her to the table. She didn’t think that she quite needed to have her chair pulled out for her when she got there, but she wasn’t going to complain.

Emerald did seem to be put in better spirits by Cinder’s presence, but she still let out a huff as she sat back down in the wooden chair.

“This whole library,” she groused, “this whole gigantic library, and only four books on sign language!”

“Well, actually...”

The two of them looked up (and up) at the towering bookshelves next to the table. Against one of them was laid a long wheeled ladder, and twenty feet high on that ladder was Mercury, pausing from pawing through the books to smirk down at them.

“We've only looked through half a row of these.” He waved his arm around at the dozens upon dozens of rows of floor-to-ceiling shelves, and his voice echoed in the cavernous room. “We still have the rest of this freaking place to hunt through!”

Cinder rolled her eye. Maybe the library could do with some reorganization, yes. But if a little bit of frustrated searching was the price to pay for unrestricted access to the collection her master had been patiently putting together for millennia now, then she didn't think it was anything to complain about. She caught Mercury’s eye and pointed emphatically to the chair next to Emerald.

“Fine, fine...”

Mercury gave himself a strong push on the ladder, zooming on squeaky wheels down to the end of the row and leaping off the top. Rather unnecessary, Cinder thought, giving him a supremely unimpressed look as he made his way over to them.

“So,” he said, flopping down in the chair and immediately leaning it back onto two legs, arms behind his head. “This is going to be a fun time. Does anyone remember any of the stuff Neo used to do?”

He glanced at Cinder, who shrugged. She’d reasoned back in Vale that she wouldn’t be working with Neo long enough to justify the effort of learning to understand her completely, so she hadn’t bothered to pay too much attention to the sign language that the girl had been trying to teach them. Oh, well. It wasn’t as if she’d ever see her again for any further conversation. She suspected that the Fall of Beacon had gone even worse for Roman and Neo than it had for her.

From the blank looks Emerald and Mercury gave each other, it appeared that they hadn’t been paying enough attention either.

“Okay. So we know nothing. Great start,” Mercury said flatly.

“That’s not true! Remember, she did that spelling thing with her fingers? We can start with that, can’t we?”

Cinder tried to answer properly anyway, lifting her hand and twisting her fingers into what she recalled of the fingerspelling alphabet. It was about the only part of the language she did remember, and only because an increasingly exasperated Neo had resorted to spelling things out when her temporary teammates couldn’t understand her words. Closed fist with the thumb outside, A. Flat hand, thumb inside, B. Curved hand, C. D...

She narrowed her eyes at her hand, as if it were to blame for her lapse in memory and would reveal its secrets if she just glared it down.

“The D, it’s like this, right?” Mercury put his pointer finger and thumb together, holding it out to her sideways.

“No, no, like this,” Emerald said, putting her middle finger and thumb together with the pointer sticking out. “That’s D.”

“What? No, it’s not!”

“Yes, it is!”

One hiss from Cinder nipped their argument in the bud. With her good hand — it was still hard to think of it as her human hand — she flipped back several pages in Emerald’s textbook and pointed.

“Oh.” Mercury blinked. “Point for Emerald, then. It’s kind of cheating to look at the answers, though.”

“It’s not a test. We are all just learning this language together. Wasn’t it you who said learning was fun?”

“When do we learn the swears? Neo taught me the swears but I forgot.”

“That’s not in the book, Merc!”

Cinder tapped the thick pages with her knuckles, pointedly glaring and making the next letter sign with perhaps more aggression than was called for.

“Okay, finish the rest, we got it...”

The rest of the section went by with few hitches. Cinder found it much more palatable to remember that it was just learning a new language, instead of relearning how to talk, of all damned things. It was...surprisingly calming, as well as interesting. This, however, only lasted until they moved on to the Basic Words and Phrases section.

Mercury thumped his chest with a flat palm and tapped both his middle and pointer fingers together — My name is... — and then looked over to Cinder and tilted his head in concern. “Uh...you think you’re gonna be able to do the rest of this okay with, um, your little buddy there?”

Both of them went tense in their chairs, as if trying not to flinch away, when Cinder shrugged her sleeve back and lifted the Grimm arm. She experimentally flexed the long-clawed fingers. They were stiffer than she would like, and still felt like whatever was inside the limb was actively fighting her when she tried to move it. It would be difficult to bend them to her will...but not impossible, she decided. Fine motor control practice, and all that.

It took her several moments longer to do it than it did Emerald or Mercury, but she managed to perform the signs properly with both hands: My name is Cinder. She peered over at the book —Emerald helpfully turned it around so she could see more clearly — and added a slower, careful I learn MSL with both her arms.

Emerald watched, copied her movements. “It took some digging, but we found an Upper Mistrali dialect book and a Lower Mistrali one, a Valerian one, and one with lots of dialects from all over. I wanted to focus on Mistral, but maybe the variety will help?”

Cinder nodded. Even after getting her voice back, it could come in handy to be able to communicate nonverbally when necessary...when they were back out in the field together.

Emerald and Mercury weren’t specifically trained for stealth missions like she was, but they could learn. Though the element of surprise regarding their Semblance and prosthetic weapons, respectively, had been spent, they could still be plenty useful. She could keep them by her side until the day they eventually exhausted their usefulness, however far in the future that ended up happening.

It might even never happen at all, it occurred to her, and the thought brought a small smile to her face. Perhaps they would stay following at her heels for the rest of their natural lives, existing only for her use.

Emerald blinked, hands pausing mid-sign. “Cinder? What is it?”

Cinder glanced at the book once more — yes, she was reading it right — and her smile broadened. She rested her head in the Grimm hand, and she pressed the fingers of her human hand to her lips and then extended them towards Emerald, locking eyes with the girl as she did.

As expected, Emerald startled and went wide-eyed, and Cinder could almost imagine a blush on her cheeks. “Uh...”

Mercury looked puzzled for a moment, then squinted at the book and sighed. “She’s not blowing you a kiss, Emmy. She’s saying ‘thank you.’”

“Oh! Thanks for...helping you? With this?” Cinder tapped the book and nodded, and wanted so very badly to laugh at the way Emerald’s face lit up. “Don’t worry about that, I’m happy that I can do this for you!”

Emerald subtly bit her lip to keep herself from rambling on further, as she used to do very early on, but Cinder still knew her well enough to hear the unspoken I would do anything for you. Now that she had her attention, Cinder checked the book again, looking to see how to construct the sentence she wanted.

Before she found her answer, her eye landed on another diagram, and stuck there for a moment. Without thinking about it, her hand rose to copy it...but stopped as her fingers brushed up against her throat, before it could say father.

They faltered there for just a second, and she swallowed against them, remembering another pair of hands around her neck: warm and rough, fingers interlocking, so much stronger than her...

No. This was her hand, his no longer mattered. She gave herself an imperceptible shake, and focused her attention back where it needed to be. The first word, naturally, was easy enough.

I...

Cinder pointed to herself with the Grimm hand while rifling through for the rest with her human one, so as not to shred the pages in her claws. This chapter didn’t seem to tell her any way to say she had something, so she ground her teeth in annoyance and went ahead even faster to the nouns section. And...there, that would work. She laid a flat palm on her chest, then pressed the tip of her pinkie finger to her forehead and pulled it back out into the air again.

My idea.

“Your...I know it was your idea, but —”

Ugh. Cinder cut her off with a frustrated shake of the head. “N...n-new.”

“Hey, I thought this was a no-talking game,” Mercury said with a smirk. Cinder didn’t think that hissing and slashing a clawed finger across her throat was an official MSL gesture, but it got the message across perfectly clearly anyway.

“You have...another idea?” Emerald guessed. “Do you want us to put the books away, then?”

Cinder groaned again. This was going much less smoothly in real life than it had in her head. She searched through the book again: this was going to take so many words to explain...

#rwby #cinder fall #emerald sustrai #mercury black #tyrian callows #rwby salem #team wtch #kaen's fics

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twilight-town-zombies · 4 years

Note

For the ship thing. Axel and Isa. Somebodies and Hot Topic where it would differ

How do much do I ship it?: Never heard of it/ Notp / Dislike / used to ship / maybe / ship it / aww / otp / IS IT CANON YET?

2. What non sexual activities do they like to do together?

Somebodies:

When they were kiddos, Lea and Isa spent a lot of time outside of academy hours roaming around the city and trying to sneak into places they weren’t supposed to (Their loftiest goals being the clock tower and castle). They considered this more their ‘job’ than anything, though.

For fun, they played a lot of frisbee and tag with the other local hooligans or just with each other, which Isa preferred. They would read books and comics together late at night when Lea would sneak over to Isa’s house and often reenacted these and the stories their fathers told them on the beach or in the town square.

Sometimes Isa’s father would take them both out in his fishing boat. Isa would help, and Lea would also ‘help,’ which often involved fumbling bait and fish over the side. Other days, one of the bartenders, cooks, or servers at the Lea’s parent’s pub would take them under their wing for an evening and let them help add spices to dishes or collect bottle caps off the floor or wash tables, which would last until one of the customer’s complained or Lea’s parents caught sight of them and kicked them out.

In Somebodies, as young twenty-somethings, they spend most of their free time focusing on academy training and school, especially with Isa trying to steer Lea away from his delinquent friends and tendencies. Isa’s much more studious than Lea and helps him relearn material that he was too distracted to learn in class, and convinces him to take time to sit and focus on completing homework and readings.

They love to spar and work out together on a regular basis and often give each other advice or teach each other new techniques. They’re both competitive and have some unchecked aggression, so sparring is a good outlet, and it teaches them to give their all, while maintaining self-control, because they don’t want to hurt each other much, although a few bangs and bruises have always been forgivable, and they give each other a fair amount of medical care as well.

In their free time, Lea and Isa enjoy taking their dog Neptune on walks in the park or along the beach, going sailing, and playing frisbee for old time’s sake.

Some nights Lea helps Isa babysit his sisters and entertains them with wild anecdotes. They both appreciate how gentle each other can be with kids and animals. Other nights, Isa visits Lea while he’s bartending, and when Lea has time, they tell each other stories about their day, reminiscence and try to make each other laugh.

Hot Topic:

Axel and Saix have embraced island life in a big way. Whenever they can get away from work, they spend their free time on the beach, going on long walks or jogs, or surfing and playing frisbee or soccer with Xigbar and Demyx. (They played soccer together in high school for a while.) They enjoy being active and getting fresh air, and it’s been helpful for Saix’s mental health. They often go to the gym together, spot each other and give each other advice and encouragement.

When they need a night in, they enjoy cooking together and then Netflix and cuddle. Sometimes they watch terrible shows just to amuse each other making snide comments. They’re also very good at spending down time together, with Saix reading and Axel sketching tattoo designs, either on paper or on Saix’s skin.

When they want to go out, sometimes the pair of them will go to a club to dance and hang out exclusively with themselves (because if Saix loses sight of Axel for two seconds he will jump to conclusions and freak the fuck out). Though they don’t have a lot of time for it, they enjoy shopping for clothes together and have been known to spend literal hours in the fitting room, making each other try on a hundred different things.

(God, this is long. I will try to be shorter)

3. Who does chores around the house?

I would say in both stories, they try to split chore responsibilities evenly, because Isa doesn’t let Lea slack. Having a clean and organized house is incredibly important to Isa/Saix because it gives him a sense of security and control over his life. Lea/Axel is not a naturally neat person, and doesn’t entirely understand, but he recognizes how important it is to his boyfriend and tries to take his responsibilities seriously. HT Saix is a little more extreme with his organization than Isa is, (I think I mentioned an alphabetical spice rack?) so Axel has a harder time of it. Every now and then, Lea/Axel will get tired and forget to do something or leave his things lying around. Isa is more likely to shake his head and do it for Lea, while Saix is more likely to give Axel a lecture about his laziness.

4. Who’s the better cook?

Somebodies: Lea. He grew up watching cooks in his dad’s bar, he works in a pub, and he’s had to make a lot of his own food because his parents are pretty negligent. Also, he enjoys cooking and loves to try exotic foods, probably because there wasn’t always enough to go around and he occasionally had to accept food from whoever would give it to him. Isa’s mother does a lot of the cooking in his family and keeps recipes pretty simple. His father’s a fisherman so there’s a lot of seafood and bread, which are pretty much the only thing Isa feels comfortable making well. He tends to prioritize school over learning to cook and sometimes forgets to eat if Lea doesn’t remind him.

Hot Topic: Saix. Under the advice of his therapist, Saix tries to embrace the healthy body, healthy mind lifestyle and spends a lot of time learning to make healthy and delicious foods. He’s thinking about going vegan. He approaches cooking like something to be studied and perfected. Axel can cook fairly well too, and sometimes they cook together, though Saix can be bossy in the kitchen. Axel can’t entirely blame him though. Axel is more about tastiness than healthiness and tends to burn things or make them too salty or spicy.

5. Who’s the funniest drunk?

The funniest would probably be Lea/Axel when he’s a little buzzed, but mostly just up to his normal antics.

When Isa/Saix is drunk and in a good mood, he gets very affectionate and clingy with Lea/Axel and forgets to care how much he dislikes/is cautious of PDA, which their friends find both funny and a little sad. If he’s tired or stressed he tends to get broody and quiet, Isa more likely to get depressed or opinionated, Saix more likely to be jealous or hostile.

While Lea/Axel is funnier in general, and he’s more likely to make people laugh with his sense of humor, getting drunk actually tends to make him less funny, because he’s more likely to make jokes that are a little crueler, more personal, less tasteful, which he otherwise would have kept to himself, and Isa/Saix is less likely to keep him in check and more likely to get pissed about it.

6. Do they have kids?

Somebodies: No, just a dog that they are very devoted to. Lea and Isa would have liked to have adopted a kid or two in the future.

Hot Topic: No. They’ve been on and off again enough that the topic of having kids is kind of a vague and distant concept in their minds at this point in time. Saix especially wants to focus on getting himself into a better place before he even considers the idea. Axel prefers to hang out with other people’s kids so he can give them back after. He sometimes baby-sits his friend David’s niece, Lilo. He’s a little afraid he’d mess his own kids up.

7. Do they have any traditions?

Somebodies: They used to meet at the fountain in the local square to walk to school together every day. Even after their fake public break up, they still get together on special occasions, like birthdays, holidays, and graduations, and spend the whole day together, and they usually meet up in that same spot.

Hot Topic: Both Axel and Saix did not have great home lives growing up, so rather than going home for the holidays, they spend them together making their own traditions, inviting their friends over, or if they’re really just not in the mood, making them as low key as possible. They only decorate for Halloween. They are an order take-out on Christmas kind of couple. Although they would probably go surfing before-hand. Attempts to break from these into a more traditional holiday tends to cause discord.

8. What do they fight about?

Somebodies: Mainly, Lea’s bad habits, smoking, stealing that sort of deal. He has some friends like Elrena that poverty has pushed toward the criminal side, of life and Isa wants him to be successful. Every so often, they’ll fight about the uncertainty of their future. Lea wants to be on the Castle Guard, and Isa’s also considering it, but guards aren’t supposed to be in relationships, and they don’t actually have a plan to deal with that, nor are they able to sit down and talk about it without emotions running high.

Hot Topic: Commitment. Lea’s a bit of a flirt, and Isa’s childhood abuse has left him with an extreme sense of insecurity that manifests in his jealousy. So, Isa’s constantly questioning Lea’s commitment to him and relationships with other men and keeping tabs on him, and Lea’s questioning why the other areas of Isa’s life seem to be improving, but not Isa’s ability to let Lea be himself, spend time by himself, and make new friends.

9. What would they do if they found their pairing tag on tumblr? (If they have one)

Somebodies: Isa and Lea would be incredibly concerned with the extreme personality changes and murder they see in their futures. (And how the hell does that lead to domestic life with two teenagers? Or are they adults? Or are they preschoolers? Isa and Lea are barely not teenagers themselves, and are not feeling ready for this.)

Hot Topic: Saix is Concerned. Axel loves the murder and intrigue, he’s definitely going to spend hours clicking through fanart and fics and showing Saix highlights.

10. Who cried at the end of Marley and me?

(I’ve never seen Marley & Me, I’m just going to assume a very cute dog dies)

Somebodies: Isa’s reading Marley & Me out loud to Lea, who’s lounging on the floor in front of the fireplace, hugging Neptune. Lea’s eyes start getting misty and Isa’s voice breaks. Lea brings Neptune over to Isa, who is not full on crying, but maybe about to be. Group hug and they decide to take a break from the book and take Neptune outside to play for a while.

Hot Topic: Axel starts bitching about the ending as soon as he realizes what’s happening, but he gets quieter and quieter as the story plays out. Saix is holding him and rubbing his back and Axel thinks he’s doing okay and then abruptly Saix starts straight up sobbing into Axel’s shoulder, and Axel hushes and quiets him, and they make plans to go adopt a puppy the next day.

11. Who always wins at Mario kart?

Both: Axel is much more into video games than Saix is but Saix somehow always comes up from behind at the last minute and beats him in Mario Kart, no matter how many times they play.

12. One thing I like about this ship?

I love their history. They grew up together and know each other inside and out and have stood by each other through whatever life’s thrown at them. I like their personalities. I see them as two people with wildly different personalities who, nonetheless both understand and value the other person for and in spite of those differences. I like that they are both strong, loyal, and dedicated to what they believe in and care about to the point where they stand by each other when they lose their hearts and straight up commit murder because they want to be able to feel love for each other again. That’s fucking hard core. Oh that was like five things. Whoops.

13. One thing I don’t like about the ship?

Controversial take, I know, but I’m a huge Axel/Roxas fan, so I kind of prefer to see Lea/Isa and Axel/Saix as past tense, a couple that broke up because life threw too much at them and they betrayed each other, but have happily moved on and still mean the world to each other, just in a different way.

Sea Salt Fam: I don’t like that they’ve somehow become the Dads of the group? I always imagined them in their early twenties--at most--just a few years older than the rest of the group, so seeing them put in these parent roles, for Roxas and Xion, who tend to get treated like young children, (Daddy, braid my hair and read me a story is, like, not something any teenager has ever said), kind of weirds me out.

14. The song I would say fits them?

Somebodies: Mars (Sleeping at Last)

Hot Topic: Kills You Slowly (The Chainsmokers)

15. Another headcanon about the pairing? (Free space)

Somebodies: Isa and Lea have never officially told anyone in their families that they’re romantically involved, because they’re not supposed to be, but they are all perfectly well aware, and do not believe for a second that they broke up.

Hot Topic: Saix is hugely in love with Axel’s voice and guitar-playing, and even though seeing him at the front of a band makes him incredibly uncomfortable and Demyx drives Saix crazy, he’s trying really hard to be supportive of the whole endeavor and listens to the band’s EP on a regular basis.

#asks #kingdom hearts #saix #axel #lea #isa #akusai #leaisa #my writing #somebodies #the other day at hot topic #akuroku #twilight town zombies #adult language

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ninthfeather · 4 years

Text

because your smile still remains

Also on AO3!

A/N: This fic is a commission for FabHawk, who wanted Haruka interacting with his father post-Summertime Record. Please note that I play pretty fast and loose with canon, which is to say that everything except the songs is basically “guidelines” to me, but this takes place in a timeline that’s basically “the music timeline except everyone lives at the end like in the anime because I like Ayano.” Haruka’s dad doesn’t have a canon name, so I gave him one for convenience.

Title is from Will Stetson’s English translyrics for “Remind Blue.” Thanks to FabHawk for beta-ing her own goshdarn commission because that’s just how awesome she is.

Warnings in the end note!

because your smile still remains

Loving a terminally ill person was a balance of hope and realism. Hiroshi learned that with his wife and relearning it with his child was like having his heart ripped out all over again. At first, it was easy to believe that his child might beat the odds, might survive what his mother didn’t, but eventually, Hiroshi had to be realistic.

So, while he kept pressuring the doctor for more treatments and looked for other doctors with new ideas…he’d also had Haruka write up a will. Haruka had, of course, smiled through the whole thing, even while Hiroshi tried not to cry in front of a stranger.

He’d trusted Haruka with information about his own health all those years ago because he thought knowing might…help. He sometimes wondered if that was a mistake. It was so easy to overthink and second-guess, when your time with a person you loved was running out.

Then, on August 15th, Haruka went missing, and suddenly, everything turned inside out.

When your child was missing, Hiroshi learned, you never knew for sure if they were dead or alive. You always had an image of them out there, somewhere, unchanged from the last time you saw them, living a life without you. You also had an image of them dead by a roadside somewhere. You never knew which image was correct, and it kept you up at night.

Hiroshi knew that Haruka couldn’t have lasted more than a week without his medications. Some part of him still screamed that his child might be out there, somewhere, waiting for his dad to rescue him.

In the end, he waited a month to hold a funeral, but he did hold it. It was a small affair, mostly family and a few people from the hospital. None of Haruka’s friends came—one had gone missing along with him, and another had killed herself on the same day. The last one still alive had shut himself up in his house and was refusing calls. According to his sister, he wouldn’t even open the boxes of light novels and manga that Haruka had willed to him.

On one level, Hiroshi understood. On another, he was incredibly frustrated. Didn’t his incredible, selfless son deserve this much? One friend, at his funeral?

He tried not to be bitter. He tried to reach out to Kisaragi, but all he got were increasingly embarrassed responses from his younger sister. Eventually, he gave up.

He threw himself into his work, tried to move on, became the kind of distant, weird researcher Aoi and Haruka often accused him of being. He wrecked a good half of his friendships and didn’t talk to his co-workers outside of job-related matters for months. But he’d done this before, when Aoi died, and his oldest friends knew what was coming. They waited him out and were there for him when he finally broke.

After two years passed, he could honestly say that he was…not okay. Okay wasn’t the right word. He’d lost a spouse and a son and that was more than one person should have to bear in a lifetime. But he was moving forward again.

And then the world turned inside out on him once again.

It was two weeks after the anniversary of Haruka’s disappearance. This year was better than last—instead of spending the day working, he’d gone for a grave visit with old Mrs. Enomoto. They’d thought about inviting Dr. Tateyama, too, but Hiroshi was still a little angry that he hadn’t come to Haruka’s funeral, and anyhow Mrs. Enomoto’s calls to him never went through properly.

By now, the grief was more like an ache than an open wound. He could look at the reminders of how his home used to belong to three people instead of one and think “This place is really too big for me,” instead of just starting to cry.

He still wasn’t that much of a social butterfly, though, so he was surprised to hear d a knock on the door around 6:30 pm.

He always had regretted not having a peephole in the door. He’d wanted to install one, once, but both Aoi and Haruka had told him he wasn’t good enough at DIY, and he’d never bothered having a workman over to put one in. So, in the end, he had to open the door and hope that whoever was knocking wasn’t a murderer or a door-to-door salesperson.

It…was not.

Hiroshi blinked. Then tried, again, to make sense of what he was seeing.

There were two teenagers in the doorway, one seated in a hospital-issue wheelchair and one standing behind him. The one who was standing looked somewhat familiar, although Hiroshi couldn’t quite place him. But the one sitting in the wheelchair…

His hair was grey, and there was an odd pattern on his face that looked almost like a tattoo. He was thinner than Hiroshi remembered. But in every other way possible, this person looked exactly like Haruka.

“Hi, Dad,” he said, and it was Haruka’s voice, too.

Hiroshi didn’t understand.

This couldn’t be real. He’d had dreams like this, of course, but there was no way...even if Haruka had been kidnapped, even if the kidnappers had meant to keep him alive….

The doctors had given Haruka a year to live a little under two years ago.

“I don’t understand,” he said aloud.

His voice was probably shaking. He wasn’t sure anymore.

“Yeah, join the club,” said the other teenager. Thin, dark-eyed, wearing a bright red jersey--it took Hiroshi a while to place him.

“Kisaragi?” he managed.

“Yeah,” Kisaragi said. “And this really is Haruka. Things have gotten...weird. Can we come in?”

Too stunned to do otherwise, Hiroshi stepped aside and motioned for them to come in.

“Why wouldn’t it be me?” Haruka asked, all innocent curiosity.

“We had a funeral, moron,” Kisaragi said. “And you were...sick.”

“Oh, yeah,” Haruka said. “I...kind of remember? It’s blurry.”

“That’s fine,” Kisaragi said. “You don’t have to remember everything.”

“You...what?” Hiroshi asked, shutting the door behind them as he scrambled to keep up.

Kisaragi slipped off his shoes at the genkan. “Haruka’s memory is a mess,” he said.

Haruka himself was also wearing shoes, which he took off and passed to Kisaragi. “Yeah, uh, it’s a long story.”

“What happened?” Hiroshi asked.

Kisaragi gave him a careful look. “Why don’t we sit down for this?”

They settled in the living room—Haruka still in his wheelchair, wedged awkwardly next to Kisaragi on the recliner, as Hiroshi took the couch.

“So, uh, how well did you know Tateyama Kenjirou?” Kisaragi asked.

“He never returned our calls,” Hiroshi said. “I don’t think I’ve seen him since, uh—” He blinked, realizing. “Haruka, Dr. Tateyama’s daughter—”

“She’s fine, too,” Kisaragi interrupted. “He faked her suicide.”

“He—what?”

“And kidnapped me,” Haruka added. “And Takane.”

Hiroshi was on his feet before he realized it. “No, seriously, what?”

Haruka blinked at him, wide-eyed.

“All this time—two years—you were right here—” Hiroshi probably sounded hysterical. He didn’t care.

Haruka held up his hands. “He had us in, uh—Shintarou, what’s the word—”

“Medically induced coma.”

“Yeah, that! He wasn’t hurting us!”

Something in Hiroshi’s chest loosened, even as he heard his voice rise in pitch. “He still let us think you were dead!”

“Yeah,” Haruka said, quiet. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” Hiroshi said. “It wasn’t your fault, so don’t apologize.”

He crossed the room, then leaned down to wrap his arms around his son. To his surprise, Haruka stood, meeting him halfway and squeezing him tightly enough to ache.

After a few seconds, Hiroshi gently lowered him back toward the chair, then released the embrace.

“So, the wheelchair is until you finish up PT from the coma?” he asked.

“Actually, the doctors think I should keep using one,” Haruka said.

“The doctors don’t really know what Dr. Tateyama was doing, but whatever it was, Haruka’s heart is doing better,” Kisaragi put in. “They suggested that he avoid basically any strain and they wanted access to his full medical records, but they sounded a lot more optimistic about his, uh, outlook than they were before.”

“So, Tateyama stole my son for two years and fixed his heart problem?” Hiroshi asked numbly.

“Maybe?” Kisaragi said. “I think they wanted to run more tests.”

“Do you think whatever he did is also what changed your hair color?” Hiroshi asked.

Kisaragi and Haruka exchanged a look. Hiroshi was pretty sure that meant ‘it was actually hair dye but we don’t want Haruka’s dad mad at us.’

“So, do the police have Tateyama in custody?” Hiroshi asked.

“About that!” Haruka said. “He’s, uh—he’s—”

“He’s dead,” Kisaragi said. “He did something stupid, he died, and it wasn’t any of our faults, but we don’t have evidence of that, so we’d really like it if you didn’t get the police involved.”

“Who’s this ‘we’?” Hiroshi asked.

“Me, my sister, Haruka, Takane, Ayano, Ayano’s 12-year-old aunt, her newly-traumatized friend, Ayano’s siblings, and their friend who lives in the woods,” Kisaragi said. “I think that’s everyone. Haruka, is that everyone?”

“I have memory problems; you have a perfect memory,” Haruka said. “Why are you asking me?”

“Mean,” Kisaragi complained.

“Why were all of you involved?” Hiroshi asked.

“There were several more attempted kidnappings,” Kisaragi said. “Some attempted murder thrown in for flavor. It was a fun two days. If I think about them more, I’ll have to have a panic attack in your bathroom and I’d really rather not.”

Hiroshi glanced at Haruka, whose expression was completely serious. Not exaggerating, then.

“Okay, fine,” Hiroshi said. “I, uh, Haruka, your bedroom—”

“I know, you followed the will,” Haruka said. “And I doubt you’ve had time to clean it regularly. It’s fine. It’s been…rough, after everything. I miss you, but I also don’t wanna leave the others alone. So, I’ve been staying with Ayano and Shintarou and Takane at their house, for now.”

“You’re still welcome to come home if you want,” Hiroshi said. “Your room won’t be ready right away, but I can have it cleaned up pretty soon.”

“I’d like that,” Haruka said. “I want to stay over sometimes. But I’m 18, you know! And I have a lot to figure out, now.”

Yes, yes he did. A whole life ahead of him, even, if those doctors were correct in their assessments.

“Still, I’ve missed you,” Hiroshi said. “I want to see as much of you as I can.”

“You can always visit us, too,” Kisaragi said.

Both of them looked at him in surprise.

Kisaragi flushed. “Well, he can,” he said. “I’m sure the others won’t mind, if we ask.”

“Kano probably will,” Haruka said.

“Kano can kiss my—” Kisaragi broke off. “And Ayano can handle him, anyhow.”

Hiroshi smiled. “I’ll take you up on that, I think. But in the meantime, can you stay awhile tonight?”

“Yeah,” Haruka said. “The others won’t expect us back until later.”

“You haven’t had dinner yet, have you?” Hiroshi asked, already knowing how his son would answer.

“What does it matter?” Haruka asked. “You know I’m always hungry. What are you making?”

Hiroshi got up to look through the fridge and revelled in the opportunity to cook for his son again. There was still a tiny part of him that thought this might be a dream, and he still had so many questions. But he could savor this, without letting himself doubt or worry, just for now.

A/N: Warnings for discussion of terminal illness, end-of-life preparations, child death, kidnapping, and comas, as well as mentions of suicide and murder. Also, the narrator briefly believes himself to be hallucinating.

Yes, I know there’s some debate about how old Haruka is. In my fics, he’s 18, because I decided he was. Similarly, my characterization of Haruka’s dad does not necessarily cleave perfectly to the LN, because I don’t do well with discussion of terminal illness (yes I realize the irony, I can handle writing it but it’s a pretty hard squick for me in media) so I didn’t reread the relevant LN portions and mostly used the wiki.

For anyone curious, Hiroshi’s name is written (天 ) and means “sky” or “heavens.” I chose it to fit Haruka’s association with sky motifs and to be alliterative with his name.

Finally, yes, Haruka uses a wheelchair, yes, he can stand; ambulatory wheelchair users exist and given Haruka’s canon health situation it’s my headcanon that he can stand and walk short distances.

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#fanfiction #kagerou project #kagepro #kokonose haruka #kisaragi shintarou #terminal illness tw #death tw #nobody in the fic actually dies but it's discussed pretty heavily #long post #ninthfeather's fic

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mrneighbourlove · 4 years

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Evil’s Bane: Ch 6. Yield to Damnation

The village had a little more excitement as the sun set. Outsiders were a commodity here, and another Mortuus from outside who wasn’t mad was a treat. Kenshi sat with Black and Leere, recounting a tale of woe. “My daughter loved to wear a red coat, exploring the forest outside the village. There used to be no real danger. She knew what to do when she saw an animal, so I assumed we’d always be safe, if not imprisoned here. I still don’t know if she’s dead or not.”

Bonegrinder had opted to avoid the villagers for the most part. He had told Black and Leere in very clear tones that the Mortuus were not happy about an Echidnan being here. So, he had chosen a comfy tree to rest for the evening until hell break loose. Black, on the other hand, had been instructed not to leave Leere's side. He listened to Kenshi's story but had no words of comfort.

Leere nodded, as her brain was trying to figure out if she liked the villages ale or not. “That’s terrible Kenshi. Maybe we can find her?” Outside, Bi-Hanzo stomped up to the tree with a group a robed Mortuus. “We request your presence.”

When Bi-Hanzo approached with other Mortuus, Black stood as well as Leere. He still said nothing, just ready to follow the princess. Though, he was still apprehensive in this place. He felt the danger, sensed it.

Leere looked to the window, curious what the Mortuus wanted with Bonegrinder.

"Why?" Bonegrinder did not budge from his tree. "This Anagari figured you would not wish for a 'cowardly' Echidnan to grace your presence."

“You are cowardly, God of Life.”

Leere tensed next to Black. Bi-Hanzo’s tone wasn’t friendly. This could easily turn into a powder keg.

"God of Life?" Bonegrinder actually snickered. "Try again. Let's see, the Lorleidians know him as 'Ba'puu' and his counterpart as 'Zarazu'... what do you call him?"

“We call you Proxamus, Creator to the brother Destroyer.”

"What makes you so sure this snake is who you believe him to be?" Bonegrinder snorted. "After all, an Echidnan couldn't possibly be the host of your beloved deity."

“We are certain. Now you will join us for council. Or we can take you by force.”

"Oh?" Bonegrinder turned to face the group with a leering smile of jagged teeth. "You can try. Please do so. Give him a reason to rip your kind to shreds. He will revel in it."

"Don't tempt him." Black finally spoke, standing in front of Bi-Hanzo. "You do not know what he's capable of."

“You do not know what I am capable of.”

Leere ran out, hating how quick Black almost teleported he was so sneaky. “We don’t want to fight.”

“We don’t want a god who has failed their duties.”

"Failed?" Black repeated, casting a glance at Bonegrinder and then Leere. "What do they mean?"

"Oh yes, do so elaborate." Bonegrinder flicked his tail. "Let this snake guess... Prama did not bow to your every little request so you're pissed at him."

“There has only been one request Prama. To liberate us from our hell.”

Leere stood her ground, not wanting a god to break Bonegrinder’s mind because the snake couldn’t hold it together. “Bi-Hanzo. I’m certain that the one you call Destroyah is the architect of your most recent suffering. Why target Proxamus, even if the god were here?”

"They're looking for someone to blame, tiny princess, so they point their fingers at the monster." Bonegrinder was growing so very tired of this prattle. "Go away. You know nothing."

“We know a god lies trapped in a snake.” Bi-Hanzo ordered the town cultists to surround the tree. With necromantic energy, they focused a pentagram around the tree. “Don’t move. Release the god in you willingly, or suffer.”

"... you think you can take on old Bonegrinder with that pitiful magic?" Bonegrinder... laughed. And Black knew when the snake had that mocking laugh that shit was about to go down. Placing his hand on Leere's shoulder, he morphed them away from the tree, reappearing in the shadows in the clearing. "Don't you know that while he may host Prama, that doesn't mean his magic is limited to just light. Oh, no, no, disgraceful ones, you see, Bonegrinder is a shaman. And where he hails from, a shaman studies all forms of magic." He raised his hands with palms upturned then slammed them down on the tree. "Mother of the Monsters abhors necromancy, but you think Bonegrinder didn't take the chance to learn his enemy's magic to use it against them? So yes, yes, he learned... even this one."

The undead rose from the earth, much like what Leere had summoned before, except more so... malicious. Pieces of the undead stitched together from creatures and people ceased a thousand years ago. The Anagari was enraged at their accusations. These fools knew nothing of his torment and suffering. They knew nothing of Prama's shattered memories and his broken mind. No, they deserved to suffer. "He'll ask once again... do you really want to challenge him?"

"... fuck." Black rarely cursed and was rather eloquent with his words at time, but this was alarming. "He's snapped."

“I do.” Bi-Hanzo raised his hand. With a squeeze of his fist, he pulled back his arm. Every undead’s head popped like a balloon as the air was sucked into their ears and mouth, an explosion of icicles pultruding from its neck. Leere was amazed how much mastery he had over necromancy; that even if one couldn’t control undead, they knew how to quickly dismantle them. What surprised her most, however, was a different magic. When one undead drew too close, Bi-Hanzo held a hand out to grab its head, and the moment his palm made contact, the undead turned sizzled, steam burning the monster into a mushy mess of flesh.

"Childish trick, for sure. You think this is all Bonegrinder knows? Hrm... well, he did give you a warning." The Anagari used his finger to cut through the space and suddenly disappeared into a portal. It was several moments before he reappeared, this time, behind Bi-Hanzo. Holding the man up by his throat, he dug his claws into the man's skin. "Let's see how long this snake has to squeeze before your head goes 'pop'."

Bi-Hanzo took a breath and his body turned into mist, escaping Bonegrinder’s grasp. Solidifying again, he threw a hand forward, freezing Bonegrinder’s lower half to the ground. “Paralyze him.”

As other cultists readied a spell again, Leere lashed out, using shadows to trip them up. “Enough! I agreed to help you! You’re attacking the wrong side.”

“We know that the god hides within.” Lady Jackalen hobbled down on a walking stick. “I will speak to my god! Not a wretched snake.”

The spell was a nuisance he could easily wave away with his magic. Yet, if he used too much, the Anagari would risk drawing attention. Before he traveled here, Prama had warned him against using his full power. It could draw more creatures, or worse, if Destroyer was here, he might appear before them. Lifting the spell, Bonegrinder pivoted on his upper half and slammed his tail into the ring of cultists by spinning. True, he knew magic, but also how to fight dirty. Squeezing his coils around the old hag, he threatened, "Tell them to piss off or you're mush."

“Bonegrinder, holy Din, stop! Listen, you aren’t going to kill any of them. And none of you are going to get to talk to your god. Least not here.”

Bi-Hanzo raised his brow. “Here?”

“I can give you another promise. You can learn the truth in Hyrule, outside of Malus.”

"None will speak to him if Bonegrinder has anything to say about it." The Anagari hissed. "This was a mistake, Leere. He warned you of what resided here and now look. These fools want to speak to Prama, to a god they claimed failed them. And for what purpose? Prama barely recalls creating this earth. He had to relearn; he even knew not of the damn prophecy. Worst of all, he's trapped in this snake!" Bonegrinder was severely agitated and it was really starting to show. "His soul, Bonegrinder's soul, two minds, one body, this is torment!!! And these filthy, child murdering cultists want to speak to him?! Beg them to save him?! Let them all fucking rot! They slaughtered Echidnans and we did nothing to them!!!"

"Master, let's just go back to the underground." Black had to do something or the snake was going to have another episode like he did in Omisha. He had heard all the details from Blue and White. The last thing he wanted was for Bonegrinder to sleep for days on end in this hellish place. "We'll go back through the portal and forget about this day."

Leere felt her heart race with adrenaline at trying to get through the snake’s dense skull. “Bonegrinder. Not every one of these people deserve to die. You can’t paint one colour for an entire race of people!” The sun set, with the sound of an owl muttering in the distance.

"Oh, he cannot, can he?" Bonegrinder sneered. "Isn't that what they have done to his race? Hypocritical, tiny princess, is what he says. Shall he slaughter the adults and save the children? Perhaps he should just have them throw at his tail the ones responsible for hurting his people. Tell him, Leere, tell him, for he'd really like to know just how he is supposed to act when this race is responsible for the death of so many."

"Don't make him target you," Black whispered to Leere under his breath. "He's starting to grow unstable."

“You’re an egomaniac drug kingpin who profits off the suffering of others, don’t you dare think yourself any better. You’re overly sarcastic and rude to everyone you meet. It’s like you enjoy scaring people. Having met other Echidnans I know you’re one of the few, no, the only one who acts upon negative impulses on a whim.” Leere ignored Black, pointing to the houses people stared out at. “Look at their faces. Look at them! You inspire fear! They’re just people Bonegrinder! The Gerudo have just people. The Echidnans have just people. And the Mortuus can be just people.”

"... did he scare you, tiny princess? All those years ago when he found you wandering his tunnels?" Bonegrinder grinded his teeth together, dropping the old hag. "He was kind to you because he could smell it on you. You are innocent of the crimes which were thrust upon you. The magic engraved into your very skin could call forth Chaos itself and he knew that you should have died but he wanted you alive and well because you deserved a chance. You were a child. These people would have wanted you dead." The Anagari snarled. "He likes to scare people, Leere. He wants those who would use drugs, hurt others, or even dare to sell their own kin to a brothel to suffer. He lurks in the darkness to inspire fear and it has served him so very well." He had almost a maniacal laugh. "Would you like to know why Prama didn't stop him? Why he has continued all these years to persist after you and your family? Perhaps he should even tell you of your little niece's upcoming fate if she is to be the host of Kaksa? Hrm? Or will you listen to him for once and not seek out such heartbreaking answers? No? You never listened to him when he warned you not to seek answers from this country. It's in the prophecy, tiny princess." He spoke, "Don't ever laugh as death passes you by, for you might be the next to die. The grim reaper walks beside of thee, she comes for all, for you and me. Darkness and shadows bring nothing but dread, two can keep a secret if one is dead."

“Fear. You wield it like a drug. It consumes you. I should have never met you if that’s how you really think you can change the world.”

"If he was a true 'monster' like these bastards believe, then he would have scared you before he ate---"

Before the air could be still with tension, it exploded with the arrival of a new danger. Something had risen from the lake, running with a sprint. Sixty tiny eyes of vision lead it through the forest, past bushes, scaring a group of fairies, down a path, and into the clearing of the village. A giant bipedal creature broke the argument, grabbing a cultist by the head, and running back into the darkness of the forest. More ran out of the dark, drooling pincers cackling together as they ran towards more prey. Leere immediately drew a scythe, slashing ones head off. Bi-Hanzo blasted a body away, encasing it in ice. “Something new! Villagers, disperse and hide!”

The argument was interrupted by the sudden appearance of the creatures. Bonegrinder groaned aloud, and looked more so annoyed than he did disturbed. "Black. Keep an eye on the bratty princess." The Anagari used his long body to crush, squeeze, and maim several of the fiends. He was an efficient fighter despite being so large.

What made the creatures unique was what their bodies did after being crushed or dismenbered. Oozing slime, they instantly started to regenerate.

"... Bonegrinder? What are these things?" Black had already taken down as many as his master, but was not expecting the enemy to rise once more.

"Creations of Destroyer or Chaos one, he cannot remember." Bonegrinder then summoned a searing hot flame in the palm of his hand. "Burn them."

Bi-Hanzo froze one whole, shattering it into fragments with a kick. “No! They might still form again from ash. Freeze their movements to a stand still.”

Leere didn’t have any ice to use, and it didn’t seem any other Mortuus did either. A scream next to her rang out, and from the corner of her eye she saw Lady Jackalen being swooped up by a bug with wings. It had a straw like appendage on its face, and quickly jabbed it into her head. Leere winced as she watched the woman be drained into a husk. One of the fly creatures came silently for Black from behind. Throwing her knife, she hit it right in the eye, causing it to veer off course.

"Good eye, princess." Black commented as he spun her around and used her feet to whack another demon away from him.

"For the love of Mother..." Bonegrinder cursed under his breath. This situation was not good. There were only a handful of these useless bastards that could use magic. Maybe if he used it, just this once to keep Black and Leere safe... then he'd teleport them out of this hell. Hades was still alive. He could feel it with the magic in his scale that the Lynel consumed. The Anagari could seek him out later. "Don't move." The snake instructed as he placed his hands on the ground. Slowly, the dirt started to turn to quicksand around those fiends, trapping them. One by one, the demons were frozen... and stopped. For now. Turning his attention to Leere and Black, he stated, holding no room for objection. "We are leaving."

“Not without the rest of these people.” Leere didn’t falter, still looking around for more threats ready to spring from the darkness. Worse case was they were still surrounded, and she always prepared for the worst case.

"Either you come willingly or he will drag you with him, princess, don't make him act on it." Black warned Leere. "Besides, he cannot transport all these people through a portal. That kind of magic would drain him. He'd be lucky to take a few at most."

“Then he can use my reserve as well to tap into. I won’t doom these people to damnation.”

"You do recall what happened the last time you gave Bonegrinder some of your magic." Black quirked an eyebrow at the girl. "He was drunk off his scaled tail for a full day."

"These people are already damned." Bonegrinder snorted as the rest of the village went quiet. "They want Prama to come and save them. Don't they realize that their deity can hardly remember who he was? Who Kaksa was? His own brother? He could barely recall some of his creations. He cannot hear prayers or whispers while he is trapped. And yet, they have the gall to call him a coward when he's suffered so." He growled. "This old snake may not like his predicament with Prama, but he does know that this hell isn't Prama's fault."

“Then be the bigger person and help then regardless of what wrongs they did to you! That’s what a hero would do!”

"Hero? Hero?!?! You want to know what being a hero for these bastards all those years ago earned him, Leere?!" Bonegrinder's voice was so loud, it pierced throughout the entire village. "Mother went soft! She asked us to try to save a few of the 'good' Mortuus, just like you want to do! It was a mistake! One that was erased from the history books so we would never again try something so foolish!!!" He slithered closer. Then closer, towering over Leere. "So, good Modoc, wanting to please Mother, be honorable, and try to set an example for our future generations went to save who he could. He opened up his home, kept them safe, kept them warm... and when the monsters came after them?" He hissed. "Ask him, Leere. Ask him what those bastards did."

"Bonegrinder, now is not the time---"

"Shut. Up. Black."

“Your family was killed.” Leere wasn’t even phased. “Because you were tricked. Because your enemies were clever to disguise themselves, right? That why you don’t like letting people you can’t outright control close anymore, right?”

"They had a choice whether to fight with the enemy to slaughter us, or die with us." The Anagari scoffed. "So those who were 'good' turned on the very Echidnans who saved them. And they... they were... slaughtered, Leere. And they were innocents. Much like you."

As the argument was boiling, Jang was checking on the body of Lady Jackalen. Many didn’t like the churches leader when it came to killing those she deemed ‘doomed to sin’, but her wisdom had kept them whole for generations. As he sighed at the loss of life, he glanced down at a movement. Was she alive? How with that ghastly wound?

Peering closer to listen to a heartbeat, Jang’s head exploded with the old woman’s chest when a giant tree stalk of flesh shot upwards into the air. A snarling new version of Lady Jackalen snarled downwards at them. With the mimicry of a pained human scream, leeches shot outwards from its body towards hungry prey to feast on.

Leere couldn’t believe the anomaly she saw as she backed away from the flesh eaters.

Bonegrinder took notice of the infection of demonic energy on the old hag's body. It seemed Destroyer or Chaos one had been busy. This was rather new design. Perhaps he was changing his fiends. Usually, he was more concerned with ripping something apart entirely, not causing slow torment. It hardly bothered the snake. "Fleshlings."

Kenshi ran forward and hacked at every leech that lunged at him, furious his best friend was slain. “JANG!!!”

Bi-Hanzo was ready to freeze the monstrosity apart, when the flesh creature uprooted itself from its just host body. Sickening slender spider legs allowed it to move about. It’s first direction was to flee the village. The village protector scowled behind his mask, his eyes visible with fury, “After it! It must not be allowed to escape this realm alive!”

Following Bi-Hanzo and Kenshi, Leere sliced another leech in half with her scythe, running into the dark forest with them.

"... why does she always run headfirst into danger?" Bonegrinder groaned, watching as Black chased after her. He started to do so himself when he felt it. Sensed it. Every scale on his body twitched. Destroyer... his brother... was very, very close.

The group ran through the dark scenery. Finally, they reached the lake they first met Kenshi and Jang. There, the fleshy abomination was trying to submerge itself in the water. Bi-Hanzo dipped his hand in, freezing the water around it. “Kill it!”

The mimicry of Jackalen bloated it’s flesh up. At a critical mass it barfed a putrid acid, attempting to burn its attackers.

Black managed to yank Kenshi back before the acid burned the fool. Decapitating the creature, Black then resumed his place beside of Leere. He shook the guts off his sword before sheathing it. The Wraith looked unnerved. "I stand by Bonegrinder. We need to go---"

"LEERE!!!!" The Anagari had zoomed through the woods at top speed, and he wore an absolute panicked expression. "KALAKUTA!!!"

Now that got Black's attention. Bonegrinder hardly ever used his given name. This was serious. "What is he yelling about---"

"HE'S HERE!!!"

As Black hopped up to slice the head off, Leere used her blade to cut the body in half, causing it to crash backwards like a falling tree. The husk of Jackalen melted in a smelly goop of flesh into the lake. Leere turned to Bonegrinder, he adrenaline still running from the fight. “Who’s here?!”

This quest would only bring one nightmare after the other. From the lake, the water erupted in a fierce explosion, splashing everywhere. A black shape kept moving upwards, upwards and upwards. Finally, the shape arched forward. The body of a massive serpent shook its titanic head. With sunken eye holes, it looked down at the group of five. Kenshi dropped his sword, put into shock by the sight. “What in oblivion.”

"GET DOWN!!!" Bonegrinder saw the serpent looming over the group, the jaws wide. He could make it, just a little more! He had to be faster. Stretching out his long body, he managed to wrap around Black and Leere... before the serpent striked.

The son of the Destroyer opened wider. Suddenly, the air downwards started to inhale inwards. A second later, every body, leaf and living person was being sucked upwards into its mouth with the force of a tornado. Leere reached out to Bonegrinder, light as a feather as they were reaching their destination of doom. “Bonegrinder!!!”

Black flailed as he was nearly ripped away from his master, but held on tightly to his coils with one arm. He managed to sling his belt around the huge snake as a way to increase his grip. Leere, however, was barely holding on by her finger tips. The Anagari managed to grab her, slamming her into his chest and then coiled in on himself, covering Black and Leere with his body.

Bi-Hanzo and Kenshi flew up with them. When they reached the throat, all three Mortuus screamed as the jaws of the serpent closed. With that, darkness enveloped them, swallowing them whole.

________________________________________________________________

Previous Ch. https://mrneighbourlove.tumblr.com/post/626093697379008512/evils-bane-ch-5-belief-scattered

Next Ch. https://mrneighbourlove.tumblr.com/post/626094887593443328/evils-bane-ch-7-entering-the-tower

#Crossover #Love Comments #ridersoftheapocalypse #leere dragmire #Leere #Bonegrinder #Black the Wraith #Malus #Monsters #Mortuus #horror

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