#I hope the five are okay but if anyone goes down there again then whatever happens is just natural selection

[ismellpestilence]

Do y'all remember the part in Frankenstein where Victor Frankenstein looks directly at the camera and says "for the love of God stop looking for the Northwest Passage. You want glory but it's not gonna fucking work out for you. Hubris and science are a bad combo my guy."

And that the book was published in 1818, and yet for the rest of the century they continued to send people out there to fucking die?

Yeah. Me, too.

[xo-cod]

Hi my love! Hope you’re doing well 💕 no pressure, but if you were taking requests, would you be able to do a blurb of the 141 men learning how to braid their daughter’s hair? I’ve been reading your girl dad fics and it makes me so soft!!!! Imagining these burly guys trying to figure out little girl braids makes me laugh lol.

Again I love you blog, you’re incredible 💕 hope you have an amazing day 💕

hi lovely, you're so kind ily 🥹🩷 hope you're doing well! <3 this was so so cute omg, i loved this so bad 😭

i hope this was along the lines of what you wanted :")

price: "goddamn it, not again" lowkey getting very frustrated with himself because it's not turning out the way he wants it to be and he's a perfectionist. he's already run the brush through her hair gently for the umpteenth time, causing her to grumble and wanting to go play instead. but he holds her back carefully, determined to make her braids the prettiest anyone has ever seen. he holds her hair band between his lips as he frowns at the braid again.

"just a second, honey" it's loose and he doesn't know how to tighten it but he's determined. nobody is moving an inch until he perfects that braid. his back curved slightly uncomfortable and he's definitely going to get neck pain, bending a little down to get the best access to her head and he does finally manage to get it accurate. it only took an hour but he's very proud of himself :")

simon: "this bit.... goes underneath right? over the top, underneath the side, down back under.... piece of cake, honey" simon is a dedicated man, his tongue peeking out from his lips as he tried his very hardest to memorise what he had learnt from a youtube video. his daughter sat between his huge thighs, his big fingers working her hair very delicately in order not to pull on any strands. he has the hair grips secured between his lips, eyes narrowed very carefully as he braids her hair trying to get all of the hair. he is a man on a mission and he will carry out the task to the best of his ability.

"bloody hell, that took it out of me" he finally lets out a relieved sigh at his masterpiece, there might be a few strands sticking out and the braid might look a little lopsided but it's unique :") only to have his daughter shake her head once causing the braid to tumble down and his face in pure utter shock and disbelief

gaz: "keep your head straight okay, honey?" gaz should def open a hair place, he's already mastered the technique of braiding from his mom especially because his hair type is different and requires a certain amount of care. so he knows exactly how to braid, call it his secret talent ;) lowkey finds it therapeutic and will 100% decorates his girl's hair with different clips and grips, whatever her little heart desires. he loves brushing his fingers through her locks and he always manages to get the parting accurate on the first time. which saves a ton of tantrums on her end.

"my beautiful baby girl" best believe he's whipping out the camera to take pictures of her hair and send it to you, marvelling at how gorgeous she looks. he's all smug when she wants to come to him for her hair but it bites him back in the ass when he's half dressed needing to leave the house in five minutes to head to bade only to be tugged by his child by the wrist to have her hair braided in that specific way she loves.

soap: "christ sake, why would they add so many pieces?" soap definitely underestimated himself, he didn't mean to blow his own horn but now that he has, he doesn't not accept defeat easily at all. will memorise that youtube video back to front, his daughter seated in his lap both of the criss crossed as he works delicately. his face set intently, eyes slightly narrowed as he braids. he's confused by the movement but gets the hang of it after a while and then it's like second nature, he's so happy with himself.

"look at you, little lass. my sweet girl" his little girl perched in his lap as he tightens the braided pony tails, gushing at how cute she is and how perfect the braids he had done on her hair came out. will 100% parade her around so everyone can see how perfect his braids are but no touching his little girl or her hair at all, under any circumstances <3

[microwave-core]

The Leon Post

It’s my lesbianism and I get to pick the fictional man to obsess over

I don’t know where to start so I guess I’ll just throw whatever at the wall and see what sticks. Not that I don’t normally do that, but like, more than usual.

Simplest thing that comes to mind: Leon is tired. This man does his best to be a good influence, telling everyone to get a good eight hours of sleep each night. Meanwhile, he only gets about four or five hours on a good day. He’s busy so he goes to bed late, takes forever to actually fall asleep, and then wakes up early. He’s good at dealing with the lack of sleep, at least.

Or he usually is anyway. Every now and then, that sleep deficit catches up with him, leading to him conking out for about eighteen hours straight. The first time it happened, everyone was worried out of their minds because it was three in the afternoon and no one had heard anything from him. Eventually, they just had to send Raihan to his apartment to make sure he wasn’t dead or something.

Being bad at directions is a given, but my opinions on this are… conflicted. In general, he just has bad coordination (dyspraxic Leon is near and dear to my heart), so he does just get lost. That being said, I also think that Leon purposefully gets lost at times just to get a moment to himself. He doesn’t do it often, but sometimes he just needs a second to breathe.

Speaking of naturally getting lost, when that happens he kinda just wanders around until he sees someone he knows or, by sheer luck, ends up where he needs to be. If it takes too long for one of those two things to happen, he’ll resort to texting Raihan or Sonia, or anyone else that would be close by, really.

He loves his friends. He tells them that all the time. That’s it. That’s all I have to say about this. He would do literally anything to help those he cares about, and he goes out of his way to make sure they know that.

HOWEVER. Leon himself is absolutely terrible at reaching out for help. He’s supposed to be the best of the best, he’s not supposed to have problems or issues. So, he just bottles everything up, does his best to work things out by himself, and hopes that things don’t overflow at a bad time. Even when it’s obvious something is wrong, he will take forever to admit it. These things have to be pried out of him.

The whole Eternatus situation weighs heavy on him for several reasons, mainly because he wasn’t able to protect Hop and his friend, but also because it made a lot of people realize “oh, Leon has problems and really needs help” and he hates that. Again, he will deny needing help for as long as he can before caving. Deep down, he feels like asking for help makes him a burden on others, and no amount of reassurance will make him think otherwise.

Speaking on a lighter note, Hop. If there’s one thing I like more than Leon, it’s Leon and Hop. The Postwick bros are incredibly close, even if Leon can’t be physically around all that often. He calls home several times a week, talking to Hop and mum and his grandparents (and Purrloin), just checking in to make sure everything’s okay. He tries to visit whenever possible, but things get canceled often because his schedule suddenly fills up, and even when he makes it home he isn’t around for long.

But when he gets the time to actually stay for a day or two, without any league interruptions? He spends all day with his family. He plays around with Hop and Wooloo, and helps out with farm work, and helps his mum make dinner and deals with the dishes afterwards. He gives Purrloin plenty of scritches and tells all kinds of stories to his grandparents. He’ll even check in with Sonia and Magnolia if he gets the chance. It’s not much, but Leon takes what he can get. Also sends money home all the time.

And on the topic of family, Leon and Iris are cousins. I know that one screenshot of Masters where Iris says that they’re related is edited and not real, but they’re cousins. Canon is my bitch and it bends to my whims. And while we’re at it, he and Hop are descendants of Laventon. 

And because I’m already bending the canon because I said so, Leon and Sonia are still close friends. At least once a week, they get on a call for about 2-3 hours just to chat and catch up (and complain). Childhood friends from small towns are just built differently. I won’t dump all of my thoughts on this right now, but I will at least say that the two definitely grew up getting lost in the forest and hitting each other with sticks.

Let’s break more into the territory of friends/coworkers, gonna start quick firing some of these. He relates to Milo, country boy solidarity. Has high respect for Kabu and looked up to him during his gym challenge. Acts like an older brother to Bea and Allister. Get along fine with Opal, but neither of them can get a good read on the other. Also gets along fine with Gordie. Meloney reminds him of his mum. Oleana still kinda scares him. His feelings towards Rose are complicated.

Going in longer with some because I have more to say. Nessa is within his closer friend group, but she’s, like, a double friend of a friend. They’re both friends with Raihan and Sonia, so they end up hanging around each other pretty often as a result. She hates the cape.

Pretty good friends with Piers because big brother solidarity. They’re obviously pretty different people, but the kind of different that mesh well together. They organized a play-date for Hop and Marnie when they were much younger. Marnie bit Hop. Hop cried. Neither of them remember this. Leon also just likes his music.

Obviously, he’s close with Raihan because they’re rivals and all. They trash talk each other constantly, but there’s no hard feelings and it’s mostly just for show anyways. He tries more than anyone to break down Leon’s walls and help him with his issues, although the effort normally goes nowhere…

But Leon’s closest friend of all is, of course, Charizard. They’ve been together since the start, after all. Their dynamic is closer to that of brothers who annoy each other at times, unlike most of his other pokemon, where he’s more parental. Tends to drag Leon by his cape when he takes a wrong turn, and is also prone to begging for food. He always sleeps on the bed.

Okay, talking some more about his other pokemon. In general, he lets them roam around his apartment when at home. They’re well behaved for the most part. 

Dragapult likes to hide in the shadows and creep through walls, so it’s a good thing that Leon doesn’t get startled easily. Both Dreepy like to float around together and are usually tethered to Leon. Haxorus is a big ol’ baby who likes to be held, and she also likes to sleep on the bed. Aegislash likes to people watch and is also highly curious. 

Whichever starter ends up raising, he will baby, even when they’re fully evolved. He raises all his pokemon with tender love and care. But they won’t be his true baby, that’s Haxorus.

Leon loves his job, even if the constant excitement of battle and roaring crowds drain him, and he loves Wyndon dearly, but he can’t help but yearn for a simpler life, sometimes. He loves the charm of small, sleepy towns and the mundane, stability they bring. He just misses home.

SO, he planned on moving back to Postwick or even Wedgehurst if he were to ever lose  the champion title. Of course, that didn’t happen, because Rose did a little fuck up and turned himself into the police, so he was basically pushed into becoming the chairman in his place. It’s not what he planned, it wasn’t ideal, but he was happy for a change of pace, at least.

But I don’t think he would hold the chairman’s seat forever. I think he’d eventually step down, happy to let someone else take over in his stead and do Galar and her people good. And what do I think he’d do? Set up a bakery. That’s right, I just made you read everything before this just to read my Leon is a Baker Propaganda. 

Leon loves to bake. He didn’t pick up his mum’s cooking skills, but he’s got her baking skills on lock. Whenever he has an off day (or just can’t sleep at night), he’ll whip something up just for the hell of it. That being said, he doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth, so he normally gives the baked goods to his family or friends. He has texted people at 3am asking if they wanted a loaf of pumpkin bread and refused to elaborate. 

Let me tell you, if you’ve never really made headcanons for characters before, sometimes you conjure one up that just, like, festers. It just keeps growing as you put more and more thought into it. That’s what baker Leon is to me, because now all I want is for him to step down as the chairman and open a quaint little baker in Wedgehurst, spending the rest of his days in peace.

It’s such a funny image, too. Imagine walking into a bakery in a small town and the owner was one of the strongest champions the world had ever seen, and he ends up being one of the sweetest people you’ve ever met. Then he sells you a loaf of bread, and it’s out of this world. Incredible. Anyways, sorry for cringe posting, let’s move on.

Leon doesn’t have too many hobbies because work and training takes up so much of his time, but he does spend a good deal of time working out. It’s good stress relief for him, an outlet to blow off some steam. It also gives his team a break, which they more than deserve. In general, he is pretty damn strong. He’s not on par with Milo or anything, but he can pretty easily move, like, furniture and whatnot. He can easily pick up all of his pokemon and cradle them like babies, no sweat. 

I like to think that Mustard’s Dojo doesn’t just teach pokemon battles, but also, like, regular fighting. I choose to believe that Leon’s been taught to throw a punch. Probably owns a punching bag and gets some pretty good use out of it.

He also likes to read. He has plenty of books at home in Postwick, and even more within his own apartment. When he has a slow day and his social battery is completely drained, He’ll curl up on the couch and read something. Fast reader, too, the kind that can get through a pretty thick book in a day if he finds it interesting enough. Fantasy is his favorite genre. He’s also smarter than people give him credit for.

Always wanted to play an instrument when he was younger, but didn’t have the time. He tries to pick the guitar up after becoming chairman, but it takes him a while to get the hang of it because he’s not the most dexterous. When he’s more skilled, he totally jams with Piers.

His apartment doesn’t have a ton of decoration. It’s not a male living space or anything, his mum raised him right, but it’s not super interesting. Except for the hats. My god, the hats. He has at least an entire wall covered in them, not counting the one’s stationed in Postwick, and he just keeps collecting. He also really likes collecting patches. 

Not very good at video games. Never has been, and probably never will be, but he does like playing them with other people. He’s naturally competitive, but he’s also a good sport, so he won’t complain when he loses. He typically prefers co-op, though. I think he would really like Pikmin. I’m not projecting, he told me himself.

Massive nerd. He would absolutely love DnD if he ever had the time to play. When he and Sonia were younger, they’d reenact all kinds of fairytale and mythological scenes that they memorized by heart. It was pretty hard to do with only two people, but they made do. When Hop got a bit older, they involved him, too.

I don’t know if this makes sense, but he feels like “the generational gap between me and my friends who are of the same age” when it comes to his relationship with Raihan, and also Nessa and Sonia to a lesser extent. Which is not to say that he’s out of touch. Sorry if this didn’t make sense I just needed to write it out.

His alcohol tolerance is pretty high. He’s Galarian, after all. Doesn’t drink all that often, much less get drunk, but when he does he gets very touchy. He’s already a pretty affectionate guy by default, but when he’s drunk he’ll practically drape over the nearest person. Terrible with hangovers, but he at least gets some halfway decent sleep when he eventually passes out.

Also as a Galarian, he is a tea drinker, but he also drinks coffee. Coffee is his drink of choice in the morning, tea is his go to later in the day. He would probably drink his coffee black, because he doesn’t really care for sweet things, and I think he would like ginger tea. I’m not sure if I really feel that way or if I just have ginger tea on the mind because of the sheer amount of ginger I have in Sleep, but, uh, you didn’t ask. 

Okay, more romantic things. His love language is physical touch and quality time. He’s naturally a touchy-feely person. He often places a hand on another's shoulder, gives out the best hugs, and is a huge cuddle bug. His free time is pretty scarce, so he revels in what time he has to be around his loved ones.

When I put him in the wife guy (affectionate) section on my wife alignment chart, I knew what I was doing. Mans absolutely adores his partner. Just like Cynthia, he would totally be like “I love my girlfriend/boyfriend with my whole heart and soul” in interviews, and everyone makes posts like “get you a man who loves you as much as Champion Leon loves his partner”. Also, bi king.

He’s vocal about his love, but he also goes to great lengths to keep his love life private. He doesn’t get much privacy, and would prefer to keep the press out of his more intimate life if at all possible.

His favorite pet name is pumpkin. 

Lowkey repressed. He didn’t get into many relationships during his teen years because he wasn’t really allowed to explore parts of himself due to being champion, so he’s not very experienced. Tries his best, though.

Listen, Leon is literally THE quintessential pokemon protagonist. He comes from a home with an absent father whose absence is never brought up, goes on a journey at the age of ten with a very traditional starter, blows everyone out of the water and is a cut above the rest due to being a freakishly good protege, and becomes the champion.

BUT THEN he has to deal with the fallout that comes with becoming the champion at such a young age. His formative years were on display for everyone to see, wasn’t really allowed to be a kid or grow up at his own pace, and couldn’t be around his family or childhood friend as much as he would have wanted to be.

And ultimately, the only person that could stand up to him, the one to dethrone him, is another protagonist, the only other person viewed as a freakishly good protege who just seems to be a cut above everyone else. And when he loses, he just… accepts it. He moves on, and seems happier in doing so. Fucking king behavior..

[heyiwrotesomethings]

make them requests 8

Fav author of mine, hello once again.

I would like to humbly request a shinobu x she/her reader, mafia (AU).The reader is an assassin that works for about anyone if they have the requirements<friends w shin>.(💵) Shinobu is against douma's gang because he killed Kanae. But douma wants to hire an assassin to kill shin ,so he turns to the reader but having work with her and knowing the reason she is after douma–not me hating his guts– so she declines. the bastard asked around and found some trustworthy sources that told him about the relationship between his enemy and the interesting assassin.

So in order to make both of the people he's after suffer, he kidnaps shinobu and sends a vid/photo /calls the reader to let her know what he will do to her if she doesn't come.And she goes to save her.

I shall leave the rest to your capable hands.

No Loose Ends

Shinobu Kochou x She/ Her Reader Modern AU

A/N: These two were similar so I combined them. Hope that was fine! I had fun writing this one. Sometimes I get a little discouraged because I don’t see any improvements in my overall writing ability but I feel like I can say pretty confidently that this turned out better than the original assassin fic I wrote so I hope you guys like it too! I’m not well versed in mafia knowledge or writing decent fight scenes, but I did my best. Hope y’all like it! ~~~ = the past. Warnings: Profanity, very brief mention of sexual activity, guns and murder, quite a bit of murder. Word Count: 8,239

“Took you long enough,” Shinobu teased from where she laid sprawled out upon the couch, a laptop resting on her stomach as she typed.

(Y/n) was sure if the other leaders within their circle knew that this was how their boss conducted her business in the privacy of her own home, they would probably throw a fit at how unprofessional she looked at that moment.

“Ew, don’t you dare track any blood and guts on that rug, I just bought that.” She added when she took a moment to look over the edge of her screen.

“Maybe if your buddy Tomioka could have provided me with a little more info, I would have been back earlier and a lot less messy than I am right now.” (Y/n) huffed, removing what she could of her blood soaked clothes in the entryway.

“I could use some help here.”

Shinobu rolled her eyes and put her laptop on the coffee table. She sat up and stretched, but made no move to actually stand.

“Just leave them on the tiles, I’ll call someone to dispose of them properly. As for Tomioka, I’ll tack an extra five grand to his bill. Does that seem fair?”

(Y/n) pretended to mull it over before nodding, a smirky kind of smile tugged at her lips at the thought of a bigger pay day.

“Yeah, that seems fair for my pain and suffering.”

“Good. Now go clean up so we can decide what to order for dinner. It’s late enough as it is, we’ll be lucky if anything good is still open.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll try to be quick.” (Y/n) tip-toed as fast as she could to the luxurious bathroom, happy to see that Shinobu seemed to have filled the tub in anticipation of her late arrival.

“Anything in particular you hope is open?” Shinobu called from the couch as (Y/n) finished undressing.

“You know what I like. I’ll be fine with whatever place you want.” (Y/n) called back.

“Okay!”

It was still kind of surreal to (Y/n) how she had ended up here. When she was younger, she had been living alone on the streets and reached a point where she decided she was through waiting for help that would never come. She decided she would start helping herself.

~~~

The first time she killed was when she had been followed down an alley by a tall, foreboding man. He pulled a knife on her, but she pulled hers quicker, slicing and stabbing until he slid to the ground.

Her heartbeat raced watching him choke on his own blood, but she was surprised not to feel any regret or panic at what she had done. It was no accident, she made sure no one saw them enter that alley, she planned to kill him if he tried to attack her, but she didn’t expect to feel as eerily calm as she did.

She took his cash, easily sellable items that weren’t personalized, made sure that there was nothing around tying her to the scene and then stealthily left the alley with what she estimated to be about eight hundred dollars.

She doesn’t remember the man’s face, but she does remember that her belly was full for the first time in months and she slept in a room where the door could lock and had an actual bed free of mites.

She was careful, but it didn’t take long before people came sniffing around. People on the streets talked, and if you suddenly had yourself a decent apartment and a little money to spare, they were going to find out why sooner or later. Fortunately, that only seemed to grant (Y/n) more opportunities.

She liked to call herself a freelancer in polite company. It wasn’t a lie, but people typically pictured journalism or photography when she said that, not an assassin for hire.

The life she had then was a far cry from what she knew as a young teenager. She had a business. Whether one would call it respectable or not was up for debate, but the money was good and a valid job never went unfinished.

It was through her work that she had first met Shinobu. The freshly appointed leader of her gang after the murder of her sister at the hands of a rival group. A cult of all things. (Y/n) recalled it had been raining.

“You’re the assassin.” Shinobu stated it as a matter of fact as she matched (Y/n)’s strides, marching beside her in the flooded sidewalk.

“And if you know that much, then you know the rules.” (Y/n) had quipped, not even glancing at Shinobu as she walked on. “You stop at one of my designated spots, leave your info and I contact you. Got it?”

“I don’t have time for that.” Shinobu persisted. “I need to make him pay, now.”

“Well I hate to break it to you sweetheart, but I have a system and not even you are special enough to override that. You want my help, you follow the rules.”

Shinobu growled and turned abruptly in front of (Y/n), blocking her path.

“I am the leader of the Kochou Clan, and you will listen to me or you will be very sorry!”

“Ah, you mean that Robin Hood group that steals from the rich to give to the poor? I find that rather hard to believe, threatening me like this. Doesn’t sound like something leader of a respectable group like that would say at all.” (Y/n) taunted.

“And why would you come here yourself if you truly are in such an important position? Why come here at all, even? You should have really had an underling come in your stead. Not very smart, nor safe.” She tisked. She tried to sidestep Shinobu, but she blocked her path again, fire burning in her eyes.

“Kanae, my sister, the last of my blood related family after our parents were killed in a car crash, the kindest person to ever walk the face of this shitty planet, was just slaughtered in cold blood. I’m not going to sit back and trust that it will all just work out. I—“ Shinobu shuddered under the cold rain, “—I can pay. I will pay you, give you anything you want I—“

“Alright just keep your voice down.” (Y/n) sighed and took off her heavy rain coat, throwing it over Shinobu’s head. “You’re freezing, we’ll talk inside.”

This was why (Y/n) had a system. So pretty girls didn’t come up to her close to tears on the sidewalk where just anyone could overhear and now she had brought her up to her apartment so now she knows where she lives. She may be an assassin, but she was not heartless. That was her weakness.

They talked until well into the morning. Shinobu gave (Y/n) all the information she had and they negotiated the terms of their contract. (Y/n) had to school her expression to one of neutrality when she heard Shinobu was willing to give her half a million dollars up front and another half a million upon completing the job. There was no back and forth counter offers, that was just her first unprompted offer.

“That’s a lot of money.” (Y/n) stated the obvious, mostly because she was stunned into silence otherwise. It was all she could bring herself to say.

“For justice for my sister, it is nothing.” Shinobu replied.

(Y/n) rubbed tiredly at her face. She couldn’t believe she was going to say what she would next.

“I’m not taking a million dollars.”

Shinobu opened her mouth, to either cuss her out or raise the offer, (Y/n) didn’t wait to listen.

“I am not taking a million dollars because that’s insane. You use that money to help people. Your people do good things with that money and I’ve seen lives turned around since you guys started up. This bastard that killed your sister,” (Y/n) could really not believe what she was saying right now,

“I’ll kill him for free.”

Shinobu was insulted and refused at first, but in the end (Y/n) had convinced her that it would be a shame to have Kanae’s hard work wasted on an already well off assassin. That money had to go to people who really needed it.

Instead, Shinobu promised to give her no shortage of jobs. As pure as her gang’s intentions were, their means were very much not. She had many connections that could benefit from the help of an assassin. They shook on it and the deal had been struck.

It took about three months to find the man that had gunned down Kanae, and (Y/n) recognized him. A competitor in her line of business. She could have simply killed him. All Shinobu wanted was the head of her sister’s killer, but this man wasn’t the one who wanted her dead, he had simply pulled the trigger.

She tortured him until he squealed the name of the man who called for the hit.

“Douma!” He cried, “It was Douma of the Eternal Paradise Cult! I don’t know what else to tell you! He’s never even let me see his face!”

Douma, (Y/n) had heard of him. He was a very illusive man, however. Even if he wanted to meet with someone, the hoops he’d make them jump through were no joke. He was careful, calculated, and apparently wanted the whole Kochou Clan destroyed if the little wrinkled and outdated photo of Shinobu she found in the other assassin’s pocket was anything to go by.

She put the unfortunate conduit of Douma’s demands out of his misery and took his head back to Shinobu, telling her all that she could.

Shinobu sat stone-faced as she absorbed the information. She nodded robotically when (Y/n) asked her if she was okay. She had known that someone wanted her dead, but having it all laid out before her, to have a name, it was a lot.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet.” (Y/n) shook her head. “The job isn’t complete.”

“You killed the man who killed my sister. That was all I asked of you.” Shinobu reminded.

“He was only doing the job he had been given. Douma is the one who wanted Kanae dead. I don’t like loose ends and…”

And… (Y/n) had grown far too attached. Douma would find out that his hired gun was dead and he’d search for another. Shinobu’s life would be in jeopardy until Douma was dead.

(Y/n) hadn’t expected Shinobu to rush in to kiss her in that moment she paused, but she did. And (Y/n) certainly wasn’t stopping her. Maybe it was adrenaline from earlier, maybe all that teasing and flirting over the past three months had been leading up to this, but it seemed to mean more to Shinobu than just a way to forget about Douma’s plan for her.

(Y/n) knew she was in trouble the moment Shinobu came to her in the rain. Even then as she eagerly kissed Shinobu back and let herself be pushed into the gang leader’s bedroom, alarm bells sounded in her head as she broke all the rules she had so carefully placed for herself.

Don’t stray from the system.

Don’t form attachments with clients.

Certainly don’t sleep with clients.

And never ever ever fall in love.

~~~

Yeah, I’m in much too deep. (Y/n) thought to herself as she scrubbed, watching the water turn pink around her.

That had been over three years now, they had become lovers, moved in together, just decided to get engaged last week… it would have seemed like a happy ending if not for the dark cloud that still hung over their heads.

Still not a single helpful lead to find Douma after years of searching. In that time, (Y/n) had stopped eleven other attempts on Shinobu’s life. All the information she gleaned from the assassins completely contradicted each other, leaving Douma virtually untraceable. He definitely knew someone was trying to find him through these hired guns.

Some people had systems and knew how to stick to them it would seem, she thought bitterly.

Once she was clean, she drained and rinsed out the tub and put on some comfy clothes. She flopped onto the couch beside Shinobu and kissed her cheek.

Shinobu hummed, looking up from her phone’s food tracking app to appraise (Y/n)’s blood-free appearance.

“For as attractive as it is to see you splattered with the blood of our enemies, this is much better,” She kissed the assassin softly, “welcome home.”

“Happy to be home.” (Y/n) smiled wrapping her arms around Shinobu’s waist.

***

(Y/n) woke in the early afternoon, happy to see that Shinobu was still dozing beside her. She traced the colorful tattoos along Shinobu’s back with her eyes. An array of butterflies, dragonflies and flowers. Her gaze lingered on the largest butterfly that rested high against Shinobu’s shoulder blade. She had gotten that one done for Kanae. It was frustrating to think that they were no closer to avenging her death.

“I can feel you staring.” Shinobu grumbled, she took a deep breath as she flipped over. Her eyes remained closed as she tried to hold onto sleep, she slung her arm behind the assassin’s back, running her fingers up and down its length.

“Sleep another hour at least.”

“I’m supposed to meet a potential client at four.” (Y/n) reminded.

Shinobu hooked a leg around over (Y/n)’s hip to illustrate how much she disliked the reminder.

“I need to get ready,” she kissed the top of Shinobu’s head, “The sooner I’m done, the sooner I get back.”

“Fine.” Shinobu sighed and slipped her limbs off of (Y/n)’s body, cracking an eye open to watch her fiancée (Fiancée! She was still getting used to the word.) slip out of the bed.

(Y/n) hovered over her and gave her a quick kiss before pulling back.

“I love you, I’ll be back soon.”

“Love you too.” Shinobu mumbled through a sleepy smile. She buried her head into (Y/n)’s pillow and went back to sleep.

(Y/n) looked down at her adoringly for a moment more before getting ready for her meeting clear across the city.

***

(Y/n) went to sit at the chosen park bench overlooking the pond, and waited. If the client didn’t make an approach in another ten minutes, the window would close and she could leave, but a girl with long white hair came to sit beside her only a couple minutes later.

“What’s the job?” (Y/n) asked.

“My boss is particular. He’ll want to see you himself before he commits to your services.”

“Then he should have come.” (Y/n) shrugged.

Never let a stranger take you to a second location. That was just a general rule everyone should follow.

The girl reached into her pocket and (Y/n) pinned her wrist.

“Do not start pulling out cash here.” She warned.

“Listen, if my boss doesn’t get to talk to you, it’s my head on the line. You can search me, the car, hold a gun to my head on the way there, I don’t care. Just come.”

“Now I know it’s not that simple. If your boss won’t come here himself, he’s not going to like me knowing where he lives.”

“The location is off the grid. Even he’s never been there before.”

(Y/n) leaned against the bench and blew out a heavy sigh. This situation had bad idea written all over it. Yet something was telling her to go, and not just her conscious feeling bad for the girl playing messenger. She mentally apologized to Shinobu. This would probably take longer than she had previously estimated.

“What do I call you?”

“Call Me Daki.”

“Alright Daki, let’s get this over with.”

(Y/n) couldn’t believe she was doing this. She followed Daki to her car, noting the crisp license plates and fresh paint job. Whoever Daki’s boss was, was dangerously cunning and did not cut corners.

She’d need to be thinking three steps ahead or more with a guy like that. Curse her gut, she should have just listened to her brain.

Daki drove out of the city and into the mountains. That drive alone took three hours. Then she turned onto a gravel road and went on that for another half hour before stopping at a scenic outlook that looked like it stopped being maintained a decade ago. She parked next to the only other car in the lot. The only other car they had seen since they turned onto the gravel road.

“Get out.” Daki said, unbuckling her seatbelt and stepping out of the driver seat.

(Y/n) did, and found two men waiting on her side to pat her down and she tensed. She heard a laugh a ways off behind her.

“Don’t worry, you can keep your weapons. It’s just a formality, really.”

Against her better judgment, she listened to the man and allowed herself to be pat down. The men looked over her head shaking their heads at whoever was behind her.

“Aw, really? No phone?” The voice was closer now. “Why not?”

“Phones are traceable, personal.” (Y/n) replied simply, schooling her expression, she did not turn to face the man.

“Aren’t you smart. You haven’t even turned to face me yet. Afraid I won’t let you leave alive otherwise?”

“After all the effort you went through to get me out in the middle of nowhere? I’m considering it a possibility.”

The man giggled.

“You, I like you.”

A large, well manicured hand rested on (Y/n)’s shoulder.

“Seems like my sources are right, you are the real deal, and the real deal is what I need. Come now, turn for me, I want to see the face of the best assassin in the city, maybe even the country. I could never imagine killing such a fascinating human being.”

(Y/n) didn’t need to decide if she should turn, the man did it for her with surprising strength. She was met with vibrant eyes the color of rainbows, long hair so blonde it was more apt to call it white, but it seemed natural compared to Daki’s.

“Breathtaking,” the man crooned, “come sit, we have much to discuss.”

It was almost comical really, sitting down at a card thin folding table and a couple of camping chairs to discuss killing someone.

“Bring the cases, would you boys?”

The men that had frisked (Y/n) placed two hefty looking suitcases onto the table. Quite frankly, she was surprised the table hadn’t folded under their combined weight.

The men opened them with a motion from their boss and (Y/n) had to stop her eyebrows from noticeably shooting upward.

“Two million dollars.” The man boasted. “You may count it if you’d like.”

“I’m good. You haven’t even told me what the job is yet.”

“Ah, look at me jumping ahead! Of course, of course. I have to say you have me nervous. Looking at all this money without batting an eye… does ten million sound more appealing? Boys, pop the trunk.”

“That won’t be necessary. Target and specifications of how you want the job done first. Monetary negations last. That is, if we get that far.”

“So mean.”

The man pouted, though (Y/n) didn’t buy it for a second. For as expressive and eccentric as the man appeared to act, it all seemed to be… well, an act.

“I’ll weasel into your heart yet, my lady. Five million up front, five million after the deed is done. All you have to do, is kill this girl. Now, the photo is outdated unfortunately, she’s probably in her twenties by now…”

It took everything (Y/n) had to keep an impassive expression. She tilted her head and scrutinized the picture as if laying eyes on it the first time, but it would be the thirteenth time now that she had seen the same old, grainy photocopied school picture of Shinobu.

After years of dead ends, Douma had sought her out himself and was unknowingly propositioning her to kill her fiancée.

She could kill him, she could kill him right now. Except… his men were armed, Daki as well. She had seen the glint of guns in the forest as the sky turned orange. If she died killing Douma, Shinobu would bring her back to life and kill her herself.

She waited for Douma to finish his rambling, pretending to mull over how to proceed. She sighed and closed her eyes.

“Sorry, but I’ll have to decline.”

“Huh?” Douma blinked owlishly, “But why?”

“This either isn’t worth my time, or you are leaving important details out. I don’t understand why you would offer ten million for the death of a single woman.”

“Why does anyone do anything?” He moaned, slumping in his chair, “The Kochou Clan has been stealing my followers for years. Offering them money and resources when they have no where else to go, when all they have to do is come to me for salvation. They were really getting on my nerves.

Then they even took my dear Kotoha away from me when she went begging. Offering her the money she needed to take herself and her little boy far away without a trace. She thought me a monster, but what monster takes in a teen mother and expects nothing in return? She wasn’t very bright that one, so quick to overreact.“

Douma decided to lean in over the table instead, staring at (Y/n) with his big, empty eyes. Whatever Kotaha saw in this man, (Y/n) had no doubt she had every right to flee.

“I’ll admit, you’ll be the thirteenth assassin I will have had sent her way, thus the pay. Surely you would relish a challenge such as this. Is it still not worth your time?”

(Y/n) forced her voice to remain even, uninterested.

“No. I’m sorry. This just isn’t the job for me.”

“Why not?” Douma whined once more, flopping against the table.

“Because it sounds boring, frankly.” (Y/n) stood. “Will your friend over there drive me back to the city or do I have to find my own way back?” She bravely asked.

Douma giggled and shook his head in disbelief.

“You really won’t do it?”

(Y/n) fixed him with a stony look and let the question hang in the air.

“You are truly fascinating. I can’t get a read on you at all. Just what are you thinking in there? Who are you?”

“I’m sure you know as well as I, sharing that kind of information is the exact kind of thing that gets you killed.”

Douma bit down on his lower lip. Had he finally met his match? He wanted to know everything about this woman and he wanted to know now, but the chase would be good. He could wait.

“If you insist, then I guess we are done here,” he turned to Daki, “Take the lady where she wants to go, Daki. Get her back safely and you can keep your head.”

“Yes sir.”

As (Y/n) opened the passenger seat door and got into the car, Douma leaned down to look at her through the window and fogged the glass up with his breath. He drew a little heart in the steam and (Y/n) suppressed a shudder.

“I hope I’ll see you again soon, lucky number thirteen. I’ll be thinking about you.”

(Y/n) turned her head away and muttered to Daki.

“Could you just fucking drive already.”

“Shut up.”

Douma stepped away from the car and into his own. Before Daki could fully pull out (Y/n) could see him waving at her through his window.

Even now as Daki drove her back down the mountain she had to keep her cool. Had to act like she hadn’t just let Douma slip right through her fingers. She just had to keep chanting to herself that they had a face to go with the name. They would figure out how to proceed together.

“I can’t believe you turned him down like that.” Daki said for maybe the eighth time as she sped down the mountain. “You’re insane.”

“Can you tell me something Daki, does he usually let people who deny him get this far?” (Y/n) asked, watching the heart fade from the window.

Daki was quiet a minute, but shook her head.

“No, he doesn’t.”

Well, at least she had that going for her. He liked her for some fucked up reason.

When Daki got back to the city the sky was pitch dark and the street lamps shined like stars. So much for a quick meeting, but Shinobu would understand soon enough.

She directed Daki to the same park they had met and waited for her to drive off and waited twenty minutes more to monitor her surroundings and check her clothes for bugs and trackers.

Then she took the longest, twisty, back and forth path home that she possibly could. Traveling on foot, taking a bus several stops ahead of home, getting on a train to head in a totally different direction. She entered bars just to get swarmed in a sea of dancing bodies and disappear out the back door.

When all was said and done, it was about three in the morning when she allowed herself to slip into the backyard of her house and she almost had a heart attack when she found herself at the business end of one of Shinobu’s bodyguards’ pistol.

The young recruit apologized profusely upon realizing it was her and ushered her inside, warning her that Shinobu was not at all in a good mood before running back outside.

“Shinobu?” (Y/n) called out tentatively.

Now back at home, certain she hadn’t been followed or bugged, she felt exhausted.

She heard quick steps thudding against the carpet of the next room over and Shinobu came in like a charging bull.

“Where the fuck have you been? Quick meeting my ass, the sun has been down for hours!”

“Shinobu,” (Y/n) took Shinobu’s balled up fists in her hands, trying to hide the tremble in them, but of course Shinobu knew right away that something had happened and turned her hands over and held (Y/n) back.

“What, what is it?” She whispered hurriedly, matching (Y/n)’s volume.

“Shinobu, I found him.”

Shinobu froze. She needed no elaboration on who ‘he’ was.

(Y/n) sat her down and told her what had happened from the moment she met Daki to the moment she snuck into the back of their house.

Shinobu was deathly silent throughout (Y/n)’s story until she finished talking. She looked over the assassin, and pulled her steepled fingers away from her lips.

“Are you done?” She asked, voice low.

“Ye— ow!”

“What the fuck were you thinking?”Shinobu smacked (Y/n) again and would have gone for a third if (Y/n) hadn’t caught her wrist.

“He could have killed you!”

“But he didn’t and now we at least have a face to go with a name.”

“And now you are on his radar. Damn it, (Y/n) if I lose you too-“

“That’s not going to happen.”

“You don’t know that!”

(Y/n) pulled Shinobu into her arms, Shinobu hugged back, tugging at her shirt.

“We’re in this together just as before. Nothing has really changed. You have my back and I have yours. Whether he comes after us or we get to him first, it doesn’t matter. We’re gonna kill him, and then we’re gonna get married and not have to think about that bastard ever again.”

Shinobu breathed deeply and released a shaky exhale from her lungs, still holding the assassin as close as she could.

“He’s going to push harder now you know. I don’t imagine he’s the type to let an outsider of the cult see his face without some repercussions.” Shinobu murmured.

“He isn’t.” (Y/n) agreed. “But I think this is new territory for him. He just strayed from his system for the first time in who knows how long. He’s opening himself up to making mistakes. He’s just a man, he’s only human.”

Shinobu pulled back slightly to look her in the eyes. She stroked (Y/n)’s cheek and gave a smile that did not reach her eyes.

“I hope you’re right.”

***

The next few weeks were tense. Everything seemed to go on as normal but the couple knew better than to think they were in the clear.

The gang was put on high alert. Whether it was to search covertly for Douma’s location, providing protection for their boss and her bride to be, or making sure their investments and businesses kept running like a well-oiled machine, everyone was busy.

Shinobu would not let (Y/n) go out to take any jobs, worried that she would cross paths with Douma again. It was bad enough spending years with a bounty on her own head, but the thought of (Y/n) being in danger was unbearable.

She knew that (Y/n)’s profession had never been safe, of course she did, but Douma and his followers were not an average gang. It was a cult. They treated him like a god. Such devotion Shinobu was sure, was built on a foundation of fear rather than respect. And fear made people desperate, unpredictable. They would do anything, even if it was to their detriment, if they thought it would please him.

Shinobu felt like she was playing an intense game of Battleship. With all the information passing hands, she was sure it was only a matter of time before someone got a hit.

She closed her laptop, leaned back against the headboard of the bed and massaged her face in her hands. Beside her, (Y/n) slept. She looked down at her, smiling faintly.

They were meant to go to one of the warehouses tonight in the cover of darkness to deal with some complications, but Shinobu didn’t want to wake her since it had been hard for either of them to sleep well recently.

She pulled the blanket more snuggly over (Y/n)’s shoulders and quietly slipped out of bed. She left the safe house they had been moved to a week prior and she was flanked by guards as she entered the backseat of her car. Her guards filed in around her and they drove off of the property and down the dark, rural road.

The drive to the warehouse was uneventful. They rolled up to the building and the driver parked, turned the car off,

And was promptly shot in the head through the windshield.

The guard in the backseat with Shinobu pushed her down and took out his gun, shooting in the direction the bullet had come from while the guard in the passenger seat attempted to start the car up again so they could escape.

Unfortunately they were already surrounded, and before Shinobu knew it, she was being dragged out of the car, soaked in the blood of her people. She struggled against the hold fruitlessly until she was dropped unceremoniously to the ground in front of a pair of shiny black shoes.

The floodlights turned on with a loud mechanical twang and Shinobu’s jaw was tilted upward with a large, smooth hand. She was met with rainbow eyes and a sharp, sparkling smile.

Shinobu grit her teeth, blood boiling. So this was the man responsible for ordering the death of her sister.

“What a fire in your eyes,” Douma chuckled, turning Shinobu’s head in his hand until she yanked her head away. Douma giggled.

“I’ve been having others chasing after you for quite sometime. I’m flabbergasted by how easy this little operation of mine has gone. I guess that old saying is right. If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.” He said with delight, but then he pouted.

“But where is the assassin, your fiancée?”

“Go fuck yourself.” Shinobu hissed.

“So vulgar. Come on now, I don’t want to hurt her. She fascinates me in ways I have never felt. When my sources had found that she was engaged, and to you no less, it was not a good feeling.”

Douma motioned for his followers to bring Shinobu to her feet.

“I’ve waited for your head for years, I can wait a little longer to slice you open if it means (Y/n) will come to me… Ooo, hand that here, Gyutaro.”

Shinobu’s phone had fallen out of her pocket in the scuffle and the man Douma had addressed picked it up and tossed it to him.

“This is going to be so much fun.” Douma grinned.

***

(Y/n) awoke with a start and felt around the bed for her phone, frowning as she realized Shinobu was no longer resting with her. She managed to find the phone under her pillow and was bewildered to find that Shinobu was attempting to FaceTime her.

She sat up and turned on the lamp on the bedside table, then she accepted the call.

“There she is!”

(Y/n)’s blood ran cold and Douma kept talking.

“I understand why you turned me down now. Your impassiveness in the face of a man asking you to kill someone you are supposed to love… was that an act or did you truly feel nothing. I need to know.”

“Where is Shinobu?” (Y/n) seethed, gripping her phone tightly in her hand.

“Alive, for now. See for yourself!” Douma flipped the camera onto Shinobu, feet tied, hands behind her back presumably tied as well. She was splattered with blood, but (Y/n) didn’t think it was hers. She was roughed up, but alive just as Douma promised.

“Say hi, Kochou!” Douma waved cheerfully off camera.

“(Y/n), you stay far away from here, do you hear me?”

“What a rude thing to say!” Douma said aghast, flipping the camera back around, “I’m sorry, (Y/n). You’re fiancée has been so grumpy since we’ve met up. I’m sure she doesn’t mean it.”

His eyes looked cold as ice despite his easygoing expression.

“We’re waiting for you at the warehouse. I’m sure you know which one. If you want to keep her alive, get here within the next hour. We have a lot to discuss. Bye-bye!”

The call disconnected and (Y/n) launched out of bed to prepare her weapons. If Douma thought this was going to be some friendly little get together, he was dead wrong.

“Surround the place. Be discreet and for the love of god you better have them taken care of by the time I have to act or we’re all going to be dead.” She spoke hurriedly over the phone while she snapped a full magazine into a second handgun.

“It’ll be done. Good luck.”

“I’ll need it. Thanks Tomioka, consider your bill paid in full.” She hung up, strapped her weapons in, and ran to the garage. She threw her leg over the Ducati and turned the key. It wouldn’t be a quiet arrival, but she had wasted too much time already. She needed something fast and small to weave through any possible traffic.

She rocketed through the streets to the warehouse. Douma’s people took aim at her, but Douma held his hand up, motioning them not to shoot, but simply keep their guards up.

“What an entrance!” He clapped.

“Where is she?” (Y/n) tromped over in Douma’s direction, until she heard a couple guns get cocked by itchy trigger fingers.

“Inside with her little worker bees, safe and sound I assure you.” He grinned, “Come, come, let’s talk.”

“Anything you have to say, you can say it right here.”

“Why the rush? Didn’t you miss me? I thought we had a spark before.”

“You kidnapped my fiancée, killed good people and you’re holding more hostage. I’m not in the mood for pleasantries over tea.”

Douma blinked, then he looked behind him to a beautifully set table, then back at (Y/n) with a pout.

“But it’ll grow cold.”

(Y/n) took her time looking around. There were fourteen cultists milling about that she could see, checking the perimeter or watching her interaction with their leader, and standing outside the warehouse.

She could only imagine more were inside watching the hostages and she had planned on more hanging out in the surrounding woods. If things started popping off outside, she worried what orders the cultists inside might have been given.

“I’m cold. Bring it inside if you want to have tea with me so badly.” She snapped, nearly making Douma swoon.

He looked behind him and with a snap of his fingers, two of the people began moving the table inside. Then he gestured for (Y/n) to walk ahead.

Upon entering the warehouse her eyes scanned for Shinobu immediately and found her propped against the back wall. Their eyes met, and Shinobu looked furious as well as scared, but she did not speak up. Not wanting to escalate the situation.

The warehouse workers looked shaken, but otherwise fine. There were only five of Douma’s followers here including the two that brought in the table. A much more manageable number. Giyuu would still need time before he’d be ready to signal, but when he did, she was fairly confident that if she strategized her blows, she could kill the armed cultists before they could think to take aim at Shinobu or the workers.

She sat down in the seat that would allow her to keep an eye on Shinobu and the workers, but unfortunately that left her back facing the doors. It was a risk she was willing to take.

Douma sat across from her looking very pleased with himself and motioned for one of his followers to make his tea.

“How do you prefer yours?” He asked.

“It’s fine as is. Tell me what it is

you want from me.”

Douma sighed dreamily and rested his chin in his hand.

“I think I have a solution that everyone will favor.”

(Y/n) waited from him to continue. Subtly looking just passed his head to see Shinobu making use of the attention being off of her. She seemed to have found something to work at her bindings with. (Y/n) rolled her eyes at Douma, bringing her attention away from Shinobu so she wouldn’t be caught. Douma continued you talk, seemingly none the wiser.

“You stay by my side and work for me, and I’ll allow Miss Kochou to live against my own wishes and she may continue her work with ninety-five percent of her yearly profits reserved for me, but should you fail me,” he made a cutting motion over his neck and playfully stuck out his tongue, “I’ll make her death so much worse than a simple bullet through the brain like what her dear sister got.” He giggled.

“See, I can be reasonable.”

“And you think I’ll agree just like that?”

“I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t. I’m being very generous. I’ve never felt like this before. I’m breaking all my rules for you.” He said, sliding his hand across the table in an attempt to rest it on top of (Y/n)’s. Before he could, a thunderous bang of a gunshot rang from outside.

(Y/n) flipped the table and pulled a gun, firing it in rapid succession to kill the man beside Shinobu fumbling for his gun and the two walking amongst the kneeling warehouse workers.

She hissed as a bullet grazed her arm, dodging just before it could do any real damage. She rolled and took another shot at the remaining men covering their eerily calm boss. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Shinobu hacking away at the ropes on her ankles with a jagged piece of metal.

The doors were thrown open, but (Y/n) could see it was someone from Douma’s cult. She aimed for the fuse box, casting the warehouse in darkness, causing some of the warehouse workers to shriek.

She ran in the direction Shinobu had been in and whispered her name, searching.

“Here.” Shinobu whispered back.

(Y/n) reached her hand out and found Shinobu’s she squeezed it before sliding her gun into Shinobu’s hand and pulled out another.

“Are you okay? All untied?”

“Yeah, what’s the plan?”

“I hear ‘em!”

Bullets rained from the opening between the doors and (Y/n) used the light from the doorway to shoot at their silhouettes.

“Tomioka’s group is our backup. We have to hunt down Douma before he escapes.”

“Really, you called Tomioka?” Shinobu had the nerve to complain, shooting at another silhouette that was taking aim.

“I didn’t exactly have time to give everyone a courtesy call. Come on!” (Y/n) pulled on Shinobu’s free hand and stumbled through the dark building in the direction they had last seen Douma and his followers go.

They could hear footsteps clanging against metal steps overhead. Not wanting to waste any time, (Y/n) aimed above her head and took a shot, causing someone to yell. There was a scuffle and a body was thrown to the ground, making room for Douma and his remaining man to keep running.

(Y/n) and Shinobu kept following as best they could from the ground listening closely to the clattering feet above. As they continued further into the bowels of the warehouse, the steps above became more echoey and it made it harder to know which way to go.

Then the metal clangs stopped, causing Shinobu and (Y/n) to freeze.

Then there was a mechanical humming noise, a generator presumably. Row by row, the lights turned back on, causing the couple to shield their eyes from the sudden brightness.

“Peek-a-boo!” Douma sang, aiming a shot at Shinobu.

(Y/n) pushed Shinobu, both narrowly missing the bullets that came their way. They took shelter behind a couple concrete support beams.

“I think you’ve upset me, (Y/n), I really think you have.” Douma called peering down from the catwalk.

“I’ve been nothing but accommodating to you.”

“You’re delusional.” (Y/n) yelled back, tossing a fresh magazine to Shinobu.

“I’m going to have to retract my previous offer. I think Miss Shinobu will have an awful time now because of your obstinance.”

“Oh go fuck yourself!” Shinobu fired three shots, she clipped Douma’s follower in the side, but missed Douma completely. She quickly took cover before either of the men above could shoot her.

“Such a mouth! Was the rest of your family so tasteless?” Douma taunted.

Before Shinobu could do something more brash, a volley of bullets came from the direction of the main entrance.

There was a millisecond where (Y/n) thought that this was going to be the end, but then she heard Tomioka barking orders and a wave of relief washed over her.

Giyuu’s gang shot out the chains that held the catwalk, causing Douma and his follower to fall to the ground, not far enough to kill them, but they certainly had broken bones.

Someone shot the follower dead before he could lunge for his gun and (Y/n) shot twice, once to shoot Douma in the hand and again to blast the gun he had dropped away.

Giyuu signaled his group to hold fire as (Y/n) and Shinobu approached Douma together, guns aimed straight at his head.

Douma tried to move, but the fall must have done something to his back or pelvis, as he could do little more than raise his torso up on his elbows. Blood oozed from the top of his head, running down his face, but he kept a smile all the same, seemingly more fascinated by the state he was in than fearful.

“Am I… dying?” Douma chuckled disbelievingly, then it became a small coughing fit.

“Looks like it.” (Y/n) replied bluntly.

“How is this happening? I always get what I want… I’m a god.” He didn’t sound angry or indignant. Just mildly bewildered.

“You’re a man lower than dirt who did everything he could to stay hidden in shadow. Having your followers do all the dirty work.” Shinobu sneered, pressing the barrel of her gun to Douma’s forehead.

“I don’t know what went through your mind that made you think you were suddenly invincible after all this time, but I’m ever so glad for your hubris.”

Douma giggled, Shinobu dug the gun harder against his skull.

“You two,” he wheezed, his hazy eyes switching between Shinobu and (Y/n), “you two make me feel things I’ve never felt. I wish I had a name to put with this strange sensation. I’ve been chasing it since I met you, (Y/n). Perhaps one day, we’ll meet again in hell? Start fresh?”

“Shinobu, you can take your shot whenever you want, love.” (Y/n) said, ignoring Douma. “Unless you want to finish him some other way, but I’d be quick about it. He’s fading fast.”

“I’ve dreamed of this opportunity and I’ve probably imagined him dying a thousand different ways.” Shinobu muttered.

“But I’m tired. A nobody like him doesn’t deserve some grand, notable death. A quick bullet to the brain to avenge my dear sister. Then he shall be cremated and buried in an unmarked grave. Perhaps a scrapyard or a desert… somewhere desolate. I don’t want his ashes to dare nourish a single seed. I want no part of him feeding back into the cycle of life in any capacity.”

“Whatever you like my dear. I’ll see to it personally.” (Y/n) assured.

Douma took an intake of air, but Shinobu didn’t care to hear anymore of whatever he had to say. She took her shot, and it was over.

(Y/n) wrapped her good arm around Shinobu’s shoulders and placed a soft kiss against her hair. Shinobu leaned against her in turn, a shuttered exhale escaped her lips.

The Eternal Paradise Cult’s ‘God’ lay broken on the concrete, never to rise again.

***

That night had been a massacre. There was no way around that. Fortunately all of the warehouse workers survived, but the trauma they faced would undoubtedly follow them for possibly the rest of their lives. Shinobu gave them a dragons’ share of money for their ordeal, but she knew it would only go so far.

There was also the matter of the gang members she had lost. That had hit particularly hard. They were good people. She knew that the money she gave those families would never fill the whole that had been left, but it was all she had to give along with her sincerest apologies.

Then there were the cultists. Though they had followed Douma’s word, they were still human. Naïve, lonely humans with nowhere to turn. Shinobu commissioned a memorial to be built in place of the warehouse. It took a lot of research to find the names of all those that had been lost, but to Shinobu it had been worth it. It was purely for them. Douma’s name and visage were not included.

She had read a news clipping about the surviving cultists who had been left behind at the compound. Their feelings in the matter were… complicated. Shinobu could sympathize with that.

Then there was Douma himself. The authorities never found his body, obviously. He was cleaned up and discreetly cremated. Shinobu left the ashes to (Y/n) to take care of. She didn’t want to know where his ashes were as a final insult. All she needed to know was the he was a forgotten pile of dust in an unforgiving landscape and that would be good enough for her.

And as good a job as Shinobu and Giyuu’s gangs did cleaning things up and squaring things away, the authorities simply could not let a mass casualty event such as that go unchecked.

Tomioka managed to duck under the radar, but the remaining cultists made sure to drag Shinobu’s name through the mud. Again, she didn’t grudge them that, but it did make things a little difficult.

She liquidated what assets she could, giving what she couldn’t to her most trusted allies who she knew would carry on her mission, her sister’s dream.

And then she fled the country.

Shinobu took another sip of the refreshingly sweet cocktail she had purchased, sitting comfortably in a beach chair under the shade of a palm tree while she people watched.

She heard someone plop into the vacant chair beside her with a tired groan and she smiled, tilting her sunglasses to rest on the top of her head. She had been waiting for (Y/n) to make the flight to their new home all week.

“So where did you put him?”

“Oh you know, somewhere indistinguishable from the scorching sand I buried him under. Didn’t leave the urn. Wouldn’t even know how to find the spot again in a billion years.” (Y/n) shared with a yawn. “Ugh, this jetlag is killing me.”

“Aww, my poor baby.” Shinobu cooed, offering (Y/n) some of her drink. “Think you’ll be be better in time for the wedding or should we push it back a couple days?”

“What? No way, I’m tired of waiting.” (Y/n) stretched back against the chair, the scar on her arm poking out of the sleeve of her t-shirt. “I’m ready to be Mrs… whatever fake name we got saddled with.”

“Me too.” Shinobu hummed in agreement.

“It is nice here, don’t you think?”

“How would you know, you just got here and you can barely keep your eyes open.” Shinobu joked.

“Any place I get to be with you is nice.” (Y/n) yawned again, unable to keep her eyes open any longer.

“Aren’t you sweet.” Shinobu laughed. She watched (Y/n) sleep for a bit before turning her attention back to the surf, feeling as light as the foam rolling in on the waves.

[semie78]

Hey do you have any good Code Lyoko fics that focus particularly on angst or the trauma the Lyoko Warriors went through? I've been trying to find some good ones, I saw you mention a fic where Yumi went to therapy and I was wondering if there were any more fics out there thay examine the trauma the warriors faced.

I'm a week late but hello~ I have a few recs but not all of them fit 100% on examining their trauma, you might have read these already but I hope you enjoy them! (and if anyone has anymore pls share!!! I haven't gotten a chance to read much lately)

Out of Time by That_G3_Obsessive

Dr Elaine Charpentier was well-respected in her field. As one of the best psychotherapists in the Paris area, she was no stranger to strange and difficult cases. However, when fifteen-year-old Yumi Ishiyama came into her office with reports of troubles at school, something seemed off about the girl. For starters, no one had been able to find out what exactly the problem was. Well, if there was one thing Elaine loved, it was a challenge. She was determined to figure out exactly what Yumi's problem was... Whatever the cost. This is the therapy fic that anon mention if anyone is curious it's so good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And So They Lived by Sheep_with_teeth

He was staring out the window at the rapidly darkening sky when his phone buzzed, and his heart jumped into his throat. Adrenaline shot through him and then drained away, leaving him flushed and dizzy. U kn com bk now. It didn’t say XANA. It never does anymore. Now all his phone screen ever tells him is: You are a normal teenager, Odd Della Robbia. We’re sorry for any inconvenience that war over the entire planet might have caused you. Please get back to your regularly scheduled programming of being a dork with roommate problems. Another message popped up on his screen, a real one: Buy twinkies. This one is more light hearted and more odd/sissi focus and I definitely need to reread this again<3

Goodbyes by amorekay

"Did you read my diary?" Odd stills, and then turns his head toward Ulrich, frowning. "Yes," he admits, hesitantly, after a beat. A short but good one~ man I miss kay's fics <3 def check her other works too

You might need me more than you think you will. by amorekay

If Sissi's noticed that Aelita's nightmares have gotten worse steadily over the past week as she looks paler and paler in class, she's not going to admit anything.

Solace by dame_de_la_chance

Odd has been avoiding Jeremie for some time now, and Jeremie attempts to get to the bottom of his strange behavior. This fic man!!!! I love fics like these and even tho this fic doesn't mention it, if you like the garage kids plot with powers on earth chance has some other fics you can read like that!!

Old Habits Die Hard by BewitchingNotes

Everyone's having trouble grasping the fact that they aren't the Lyoko Warriors anymore. Sissi knocks Aelita down during gym and finds herself being kicked to the ground by Odd.

List by lunesolei

Here-in lies the twenty-five things Ulrich is unlikely to mention. Here-in lie the twenty-five things Yumi keeps quiet about. Here-in reside the twenty-five things Jeremie doesn't really disclose. Hear ye, hear ye, here-in are the 25 things Odd doesn't really bring up. THIS SERIES MAN IT'S SO AMAZING DEF ONE OF MY TOP CL FIC RECS I DONT KNOW HOW TO EXPLAIN IT, EACH STORY HAS SUCH A GOOD FOCUS ON THE CHARACTERS AND IT JUST GIVES YOU A WHIPLASH OF EMOTIONS. It's currently on odd's chapter which has 5 chapters left then aelita is next, but yeah I really like this one everyone should check it out.

Saturday Morning Cartoons by YoshiStack

Their fight is over, but sometimes old habits still die hard. At least it'll make a great story one day down the line. Yoshi's fics >>>>> def read their other works!

Celui qui n’avance pas, recule by quiter10

Odd organizes a videogame tournament, Sissi gives the okay, and Jeremie reflects on the past, present and future—because whether he likes it or not, life goes on. Really great read love all the little details put in!

15 by YoshiStack

Kiwi has been a very good boy for a long time. He'll be 15 in June. I apologize this one is just pain B')

That's What Friends Are For by YoshiStack

In the aftermath of the Franz Hopper incident, the others realize they never got a chance to properly celebrate his birthday. Jeremy has feelings about it. And he's bad at feelings. kids being kids with a mix of pain my favorite B')

[lmanburgmcytcare]

Transcript of Philza and L’Manberg Meeting /rp

[click!]

[Taiyo]: Is this... yep, yeah, that’s on, or the blinky lights means I’m about to get exploded, one of the two! I think... [shuffling sounds, clears throat] Hello Tumble Peoples! Hi! I’m a recording! It is currently.. hold on.. about five minutes before my sister arrives with Philza! And I’ve decided to record the interaction so that I’ll have a more accurate record of how things go down, but I also don’t wanna show my face and neither does my sister, so we’ve agreed on using audio instead! 

[sounds of multiple MCYTs chittering curiously, plus many small footsteps coming closer]

[Taiyo]: Say hi to the Tumblr people, you guys! 

[more chittering, some of it sounds very enthusiastic]

[Taiyo]: [giggles] Yes Tommy, you’re very amazing on camera, I know. This isn’t a camera though, it’s a voice rec- heY-

[muffled sounds, more chittering that sounds a bit like evil giggles]

[Taiyo]: Tommy, stop- I know you like stealing but you can’t have this right now!

[hissing, a different MCYT starts chittering at Tommy, muffled sounds continue]

[Taiyo]: No need to get all hissy, I didn’t even touch you- Wilbur please don’t encourage him.

[another MCYT starts chittering along with Wilbur, and Tommy makes a proud chirp]

[Taiyo, fondly]: Oh my gods, you guys’ll be the death of me...

[muffled sounds stop, there’s a slight thud as Taiyo places the recorder on the table]

[Taiyo]: Okay, are you guys ready to meet up with Phil again?

[nervous chittering from various MCYTs]

[Taiyo]: I know, I know, it’s pretty scary. Don’t worry, though, I won’t let him hurt you guys this time. He won’t be able to actually touch you, even. I promise

[nervous chittering continues, interrupted by knocking]

[Taiyo]: OH! She’s here early!

[Footsteps, door opening]

[Taiyo]: Come on in, you can put Phil’s carrier down here if you want.

[Sister]: Okay, cool, thank you. Again, I’m really sorry about what happened last time-

[Taiyo]: It’s fine, I’ve told you! You didn’t know I had any new MCYTs, and I didn’t know Phil and Techno would react so badly to them. Speaking off, how’re they doing? I know that it can be hard getting them separated sometimes.

[Philza chirps happily, which is responded to by various chitters]

[Sister]: [chuckles] Well, it wasn’t too this time, the second I told them what was going on they agreed to it. Techno does NOT wanna come back here, so it seems. Phil only agreed to see Wilbur again

[Taiyo]: I’ll bet.. Okay, so here’s the deal you guys. Phil’s gonna stay inside the carrier until we can be sure that you all will get along, and as long as nothing goes wrong they’ll be leaving in an hour or two.

[More chittering and chirping back and forth, ignoring Taiyo]

[Sister]: Is it just me, or does Wilbur sound really aggressive?

[Taiyo]: Yeah? He’s just being protective, cus the others are nervous. Hey, hey, calm down Wil, it’s okay. It’s just Phil, you remember Phil. He’s not gonna hurt them.

[Angry chittering backed by nervous chittering, Philza chirping in response]

[Sister]: I don’t like this.. Should we get Wilbur away from the group so they can interact without him getting all fighty?

[Taiyo]: I doubt that’ll go well for anyone. That’d just make him more aggressive, if anything.

[Sister]: Maybe if we just let them go about.. whatever this is, they’ll resolve it on their own?

[Taiyo]: That’s the hope, I’m pretty sure,

[Angry chirping, Wilbur’s chitters stop completely]

[Taiyo]; Oh, what the hell did Phil just say to him..

[Sister]: Nothing good..

[Fire crackling, hissing that sounds a lot like a blaze]

[Taiyo]: OH SHIT!! GET THE CARRIER!!

[Sister]: ON IT-

[Philza makes a pained cry]

[Taiyo and his sister shouting various curses, loud chittering from all the MCYTs]

[click]

[End of transcript]

So uhh... Jack has fire powers apparently! Phil is.. uh.. relatively okay? We reacted fast enough that he didn’t get burnt too badly, but he’s going to the vet to treat the burns still. This did not go according to plan at all..

[itsdappleagain]

CS WEEKLY #2 BABY! Oh yeah two part opener. Also ummmm its still Saturday right?? Haha...I'm late.

ANYWAY HERE WE GOOOO

How. did they not hear her in there lmaooo

If Player was tracking her altitude as well can you imagine what he thought when she suddenly plummeted from a plane wheeze

I love the "I don't have a parachute" line 1/ its so black sheep. its so cute 2. YOU DIDN'T??? THINK OF THAT??

gay people. also glad el topo got over his fear of heights with his bf around

tigress meowing and flailing around whe gray kicks her out of the helicopter is the funniest fucking thing also can helicopters even get to heights that you can parachute from? I guess so

black sheep is so lucky cracker was the last one to jump can you imagine she just grabs tigress by the shoulders or something

POV you have a parachute

I LOVE THE HANDHELDISH CAMERA AS THEY DROP OUT OF SCREEN AND THEN IT FOLLOWS THEM DOWN AS THEY SPIRAL AND ZOOMS THATS MY FAVORITE ANIMATION STYLE EVER

here starts my gripe (well publicly) with gina rodriguez for being a mediocre voice actor imo. like black sheep, plummeting at maximum velocity and only clinging on my her fingertips to safety: um don't let go :/

gray sounds like such an older brother wheeze WHAT'LL MOM AND DAD DO WHEN THEY FOUND OUT U SNUCK OUT WITH ME

also black sheep is so funny. who cares >:) I'll be long gone WHERE. WHERE ARE YOU GOING. also, at this point she isn't trying to defect. what is she going to do? steal something? that seems like a good way to get forever grounded, stealing something random without authority

the little "uhg" scoff black sheep does. she's such a teenager

what is emitting THAT MUCH LIGHT FROM THAT ARCHWAY

chickens do fly, cleo, chickens do fly

mime bomb is so funny its such a shame they couldnt have him in season 2 because they couldn't get his voice actor back

ohhh i forgot they did the title card after the ominous cleaners thing i love that so much

CASABLANCA!!!! SHE IS IN MOROCCOOOO also my headcanon is that casablanca was the first movie carmen ever saw when she escaped vile. I HAVE PROOF TOO she references the movie in TSONTS so hah.

i hope she still has that picture she took

all these doorways are blindingly lighted

ALL OF BLACK SHEEP'S BRAINCELLS RUBBING TOGETHER TO COME UP WITH A REASON SHE'S AT THIS RANDOM ASS DIGSITE

carmen was a dinosaur kid confirmed

i LOVE how she jumps down the ramp its so. shes such a kid

i like how black sheep is characterized- doesn't care about stealing, finds it like a game, interested in reward and loves the risk. i just...find it hard to believe that one guy changed her mind completely from 15 years or whatever of conditioning from VILE. idk. i guess i understand how seeing some guy almost die at the hands of your brother figure would shake you up but carmen puts her WHOLE pussy into taking down VILE after that one five minute conversation

THERE'S NO EXPRESSION ON HER FACE AS THE DIGSITE GUY TALKS TO HER AT ALLL ITS SO FUCKING FUNNYY shes just like brrrrrrrr ohg i have morals now...

i love the order of black sheep going "gray must have cut the power" then thinking about it and being like hmmm and THEN realizing that it must be the caper

i love the way le chevre runs up that wall

IM DYING

why did le chevre??? climb up that wall and then....use the rope...to jump down again.... i mean i know it was for the dramatic split kick to knock out the guards but STILL

the blown kiss ahag

OKAY ANYONE ELSE SUPER CONFUSED BY WHERE EVERYTHING IS HAPPENING OKAY WAIT

it shows us super up close le chevre and tigress taking out guards and workers but then??

WAY UP THERE??

why are they so far away??? the eye of vishnu is right next to black sheep?? or wat no it was far away but then el topo stole it and tunneled...further away? but closer to BS?? why did he do that and not just go offsite to get away? im so confused

also i love that digsite guy sees black sheep confronting the thief and goes wow she must be working with them not that he was wrong but

very strange that graham is sort of...the muscle? like he turns out the lights but this time he's also sort of a bodyguard for the gem

as much as I complained about it earlier the moment of realization for black sheep hits so hard

also what was tigress doing up there. did she kill all those people or what because if they left no witnesses did they just. leave a whole digsite full of people dead. like they totally killed Digsite Guy after Black Sheep got chloroform'd right

why did they need to many people for this job wheeze what was le chevre doing there either...its. idk

also she did NOT protect the face HAH

"gray" *smacks him with the stick*

they should have let carmen attempt to hit people violently with a stick more often because she failed so bad it was hilarious

the chloroforming is such a cool thing the cleaners do. like. i know its cliche but the fight way later on in season 4 is so much scarier because carmen is so weakened. i'll get to the parallels of that scene with this one way down the line in s4 tho

the added animation of carmen and gray gently rocking as the train stops/starts is my FAVORITE DETAIL EVER

oh fuck i forgot they do let carmen hit gray violently with a stick later on in the ep nevermind

OKAY HEY JACKIE AND I FOUND OUT (via CS Dream's big analysis video) THAT THEY CHANGED GRAY'S EXPRESSION POST-RELEASE IN THE GRADUATION SCENE? SO HERE'S THAT HE USED TO BE SMILING

The absolute delicious irony of Shadow-san being the one to say "No one or thing must stand int he way of achieving our goals" when HE brought Carmen back OH MY GODD

"you've earned your place at our elite table" all of season two's VILE arc entirely disproves that

evil evil evil evil evil evil evil ev

that sneer carmen let's lose when she repeats "evil" is so fucking good they almost never let her be that expressive or disdainful again

also the lean forwards as she says her entire upbringing was a lie is so. idk. almost intimate? she doesn't say it nonchalantly, sitting back and sneering. she leans forward. its important to her.

"steal lives" could be the worst decision the show had to make due to the young rating. but also consider: its funny carmen is going on about how her life was a lie and how crime causes irreparable harm and then she goes STEALING LIVES

anyone else forget chase exists every time they watch this episode. ALSO HEY. SHOUT OUT TO MOTIFS BECAUSE CARMEN'S THEME AND CHASE'S THEME ARE SO DISTINCT AND ARGEHGGSHDSHGRHGWH BARK THEY'RE SO GOOD THEY REPETITIVE HEAVY BRASS OF CHASE'S THEME BRAZENLY ANNOUNCING HIM IS SUCH A GOOD DECISION

the hood flying off of the car i mentioned it in my last cs weekly post but. its so funny

they get to that point so fast the steals from other thieves thing. i dream to see a mystery unveiling of that but only in my fanfic dreams

did he ever hang up on her or did she just hear him kick the door and then distantly commandeer a plane

he's so sinister about "your name" like why was that so menacing girl

carmen putting on that confident mask after crackle crackles on the crackle rod

someone's already mentioned brunt's bone-crushing hug foreshadowing and just. ough.

when black sheep comes back to the island and coach hugs her there are to uniformed students in the back...i wonder if thats the new class or if they're leftover from last year? because black sheep says she's all alone

girl it wasn't an escape attempt you didn't want to defect from VILE the first time

i love the raindrop running down her face like a tear when she decides to leave the dolls

ITS BEEN LIKE A YEAR WHY ARE THEY STILL TALKING ABOUT BLACK SHEEP'S PHONE

i like the detail of black sheep looking up before its revealed that she hid in the ceiling

strudelhaus of dusseldorf

"strange people have been answering your phone" i wonder if player ever talked with the faculty jshagjhfad

player's like OH YEAH YOURE A CRIMINAL and then shes like yeah but not like that and hes just like oh ok sure. cool

RITAAAA

i love the precursor to the comm earrings

maelstrom and booker give ex energy

the type of physical comedy they use with carmen saying that she has to be undetected and then showing mime bomb watch her say it is so fucking funny and so fucking underutilized

ALSO WITH CARMEN SAYING SHHH QUIET TO A MIME

i also like the detail of mb throwing the flower away

that animation of bs's hair as she whips around at mb is so cool

also the gag of mb running in place he's so funny

OKAY hi i'm obsessive but the details of both here and in the boston episode (carmen's first caper) bs/carmen is OUT OF BREATH when she's running but she isn't in later episodes WE CAN SEE HER GET IN SHAPE AS SHE DOES CAPERS isnt that cool???

the music picking up as black sheep races towards the elevator!!

HI OLD WITWICS THEME MUSIC IN THE ELEVATOR <3333

this is an underrated scene i think. of course later there's the physical "passing on of the hat" from rita to gina but this conversation is kind of...that. the old from the new. idk its really cool :)

"my you've grown" you saw her last year and she looked exactly the same

i like to think that black sheep realized she was being a dick to cookie booker after the eye of vishnu heist because idk. you know what its a cool little development moment

she looks so happy about the apology being accepted its so sweet <3 i mean. she does steal from her seconds after but

does she switch the hard drive as cookie exits or when they shake?? has to be when she exits but how the hell did she do that

RED LIGHTING!!!! we gotta know carmen's gonna come out on top now <33 ALSO the coat!!! the coatttttt

i adore how black sheep slumps down in the muck defeated and screaming no she's so dramatic about it

its like she dies

THE RED LIGHT ON THE SWORD GGRR R RBARK BRBWERB BARK CS COLOR THEORY HE'S ACTUALLY HELPING HER THE WHOLE TIME

THE SKID AS BS BACKPEDALS WHEN SHE SEES BOOKER IS SO COMEDICALLY PERFECT

CARMEN'S THEME GOING OFF FOR THE FIRST TIME (WHILE WE SEE HER AS BLACK SHEEP) WHEN SHE SEES RITA'S OG COAT AND HAT IS MY FAVORITE ITS SO GOOD AGHHH

how those stilts are staying in the shoes i will never know

also we never see those stilts again, kinda sad :( woulda been cool to have an operative who used em

the arrivederci imitation was SO BALLSY

cookie after the kid she made up with and gave life advice ties her up and shoves her in a closet five minutes later:

i love the shot of carmen running down the beach towards the boat in the coat from far away

realizing that shadow-san came directly from cutting the heli wires when he told the cleaners to prep air support...

captain was super ready to straight up shoot bs with a spear gun

THAT RUN AND JUMP WITH THE STILTS AND HEELS? I DONT THINK SO

also the look of regret when she knocks out the captain like maybe she wishes she could apologize to him too..

i like that boris seems to have a bit of a soft spot for black sheep- both of them, actually

OH MY GOD THE WIRES BEING RED TOO this sounds like "WHAT COLOR IS THE DOOR AND WHAT DOES IT MEAN" but i swear to god its intentional its theory its

shadowsan, barreling at the boat with a sword out: this surely looks friendly and approachable, and i should keep the sword up though i am much too far away from anyone who could stop me

do you think they have a driving class on vile island but bs was too young to take it or

anime protag?

again. the score is so good RELEASE AN OST RELEASE IT

black sheep. he cant hear you

THE VICTORIOUS USE OF HER THEME AS SHE DRIVES AWAY IT KILLS MEEE

carmen presses the arrow key to call player

the tenderness and relief in her voice as she tells him she made it out absolutely kills me every time. also player being comparatively nonchalant when he answers because he doesnt know how dangerous vile really is yet..

player u already triangulated her position like 8 months ago when she got off the first time but ok

also shocked carmen didnt figure that out herself after they landed in MOROCCO? CASABLANCA, MOROCCO BY HELICOPTER?? what other islands were there????

anyway

pulled her name from a hat

also. her theme again. yes i will keep pointing out themes and motifs

the only thing about the cs artstyle is...those 3/4 profiles. yikes.

chase looks great 👍 also where the hell did he land that thing

i find gray's orders to kill carmen if she didn't come home surprising, seeing as for the rest of the damn series they try to just capture her

carmen took all that time to say her name HE LITERALLY COULD HAVE JUST KILLED YOU your last words could have been "i told you i go b"

this fight is actually really fun. the arcs of electricity as gray smashes down on where her head was three seconds earlier, their physical strength grappling to keep the other away as carmen figure out how to disarm him

god the setup for the finale with this fight right at the very start. i KNOW it wasnt supposed to be setup but it is now

oh wait she doesnt hit him with a stick she kicks him. shit. nevermind. still a cool ass kick tho

they don't ever protect the face. PAPER STAR DOES THOUGH ACTUALLY she's cool

that must have hurt her knee so bad snapping the crackle rod. the metal crackle rod

SEE HERE NOW PLAYER BEING CONCERNED OVER HER DISAPPEARANCE

THE WAY SHE LOOKS BACK AND DISAPPEARS BEHIND THE POLE MWAHG CHEFS KISS

also chase is so funny too

julia's still so polite to him </3 u dont have to be girl

ive never noticed players little pat of the hard drive when he talks about the entries that was cute

cs does a pretty good job of transition sentences between episodes. this one mentions indonesia, indonesia mentions ecuador, ecuador mentions the vermeers, so on and so forth

its almost like...you'll always have paris...right? riiight

they literally only use "red-eye" because it has red in it i love it <3

and we've set up acme!!! ahhh this is good

AND THE CUT TO BLACK WITH THE MUSIC MMM

okay. solid episode <333333 sorry it was so late. BYE NOW!

p.s. ah yes, vile "never leave a witness" and also "hide in plain sight" crime organization...makes sense

[meowzfordayz]

sickness/health

Author’s Note: Tanjirou = 👌🏽

sickness/health

Kamado Tanjirou x Reader

Word Count: ~800

CW: none

Emergency Request Fulfilled: hello ;; i'm very new to tumblr so forgive me if i'm getting this wrong somehow- but i've been dealing with a lot of health issues lately, and i was wondering if you'd be up for writing a fic with tanjirou and a nonbinary reader? where he takes care of them throughout their health issues (muscle pains and aches, weakness, headaches, heart palpitations), hums them to sleep when they can't manage, helps them stand, washes their hair, etc? thank you, i hope i'm doing this right ;;

~faqs~

Writing hcs bc my goodness this weekend’s heat has me lethargic and blarrrgh and vwygfuiwnwbibw lmao, buuut I still wanna write !! 🥵😵‍💫🤗

Also, just a friendly reminder (I promise this is a general reminder *not* directed toward anyone !!) that emergency request fanfics are typically shorter than my usual fanfics bc they’re (emergency requests) bumped to the front of my wips queue

In other words, to balance the fact that I prioritize them, I don’t necessarily write as much for them either

Muscle aches and pains

At the first sign of any discomfort, Tanjirou offers his touch

Gentle fingers circling your shoulders; tender thumbs pressing firmly into your neck; warm palms rubbing delicately along your ribs

Oftentimes, you don’t even have to ask

Subconsciously massaging your stomach?

Grimace, wince, or frown?

Exhale a little too loudly?

He’ll notice in a heartbeat, make his way to your side, and murmur, “Can I help?”

Doesn’t initiate contact tho w/o your consent (unless you’ve consented to him initiating w/o asking first)

If you’re not one for touch, then he’s happy to bring you ice packs, heated packs — whatever temperature tickles your fancy

Keeps track of medications (i.e. ibuprofen) for you

Weakness

Def the type to go overboard in assisting you, but never intends to be belittling or overbearing

Best to just have an honest convo w/ him about what you might want and need help w/

Outline what he can do for you on good, okay, and bad days

He’s just such a sweetheart, and will coddle you as much or as not much as you desire — leaning toward much if you don’t discuss boundaries beforehand

Believes you 100% whenever you tell him I need help

Doesn’t ever assume you’re taking advantage or exaggerating

Nor is he ever bothered by anyone badgering him for caring for you so diligently

“Isn’t it t e d i o u s?”

“No,” he’ll state with finality, tone leaving no room for further argument or harassment, “Loving them is a choice, and I will always choose them.”

Headaches

Serenades you (Tanjirou’s canonically tone deaf lmao) 💀

Again: keeps track of medications (i.e. ibuprofen) for you

As well as how much you’re drinking !! #hydration is key

Will drink w/ you in solidarity

Bc drinking water can be a struggle

Reads to you, goes on walks w/ you, prepares baths for you

Simple pleasures—activities—to hopefully distract you

If your headache’s really bad, then he’ll darken the bedroom, lay in bed beside you, and reassure you as many times as necessary that, “It’s okay to just lie in bed. It’s okay to be here. To be with me. Okay?”

Heart palpitations

Ngl

Idk a lot about these, and I don’t feel like researching ‘em rn 😅

But dw !!

Tanjirou would def feel like researching them for you 😁

And do what he can to ease/observe their symptoms/affects 🥺

Can’t sleep

Lets you arrange the bed however you please

No pillows? Five pillows?

Two blankets? Seven?

Sleep on your side? Back? Diagonally? Upside down?

W/ music or the tv on? No noise at all?

Fan whirling in the middle of winter? Comforter at the end of the bed in the middle of summer?

Whatever coaxes you to sleep, Tanjirou’s willing to tolerate

“Tan?” you whisper softly, voice tinged sour with guilt

“Hm?” he rasps immediately, strong arm snaking carefully around your waist, pulling himself closer to you, eyes barely open, “Bad dream?”

“No,” you sigh quietly, grabbing onto his hand, tucking it into your chest, “Can’t sleep.”

“Ah,” he nods slowly, kissing lightly behind your ear, “Want me to do the thing?”

“The thing?” you stifle a sleepy giggle

Low humming caresses your skin in response, time stilling for a languid moment, rhythmic rise and fall of his body curled against yours lulling you into security

If he waits until faint tendrils of dawn illuminate your hair—for you to truly, deeply, fall asleep—then he doesn’t mention it

HeLp he’s so precious 😭

Washing hair

Adores preparing baths for you

Bubbles, salts, oils

Tanjirou def goes on weekly excursions to local farmers’ markets or whatnot to stock up on handmade, independently crafted supplies

Remembers allergies, sensitivities, preferences — has yet to buy something that’s irritated you (as in, your body/skin)/that you’ve disliked

Took trial and error for him to master washing your hair, but nowadays you swear he could get a job at a celebrity salon or something

Your hair seems happier being washed by him ??

Shinier, fewer split ends, can go longer between washes

Altho perhaps that’s bc he uses fancy products…

“Smells good,” you smile tiredly, “New shampoo?”

“Not exactly,” he chuckles fondly, “Bought this a few months ago.”

“I love it.”

He loves it too

Loves how you melt under his ministrations, tension in your spine dissipating ever so slightly; the sweet, flickering scent of your contentment mingling with the lingering calmness of the rose tinted bath water

[mrs-maximoff-barnes-smith]

Stay With Me

Steve Harrington x Eddie Munson

what to expect: angst lmao, slight allusion to smut but it’s pretty small

A/N: this came to me while listening to Ghost’s cover of “Stay” with Patrick Wilson (they use it in the credits of the last ‘Insidious’ movie), i heard it and could picture Eddie and Steve so clearly with it. highly recommend you give it a listen!! this whole thing was a bit of an escape for me since i’ve been so busy lately. and while we all know how things go in the Upside Down, i decided to leave the ending as ambiguous otherwise i would’ve cried a bunch. AND gif credit goes to @acecroft​

word count: 1.4k

If this world is wearing thin

And you’re thinking of escape

I’ll go anywhere with you

Just wrap me up in chains

        Eddie couldn’t believe his ears. “You’re telling me the most sought-out ladies’ man of Hawkins High is lonely? I don’t see it.” Steve’s shoulders fell as he grumbled. “I’ve never…connected with any of them, ya know? Why do you think I haven’t actually stayed with anyone?” Eddie thought about what he said. Really, he understood. Eddie never truly felt a pull to anyone either. He had some nice hookups here and there, but no one was worth seeing another time. 

       “Well if it helps, our dear little town probably isn’t the best place to find love, or whatever, anyways.” He grinned at Steve, happy to see a small smile breaking out on his face. “You’re not wrong. I might have better luck somewhere else. Somewhere with less close minded people.” Two instances of common ground with Steve Harrington in the span of five minutes? Not a chance. “When have you dealt with close minded people? You’re not a so-called freak.” Eddie noticed Steve’s gaze stick to the ground. “I mean, not that it’s impossible. Like we agreed, there’s plenty of shitty people here.” Steve quirked a brow and nodded. “I just meant cause you were, ya know, before graduating.” 

        Steve looked up at Eddie, a secret swimming in his eyes, not yet ready to come out of hiding. “I also hated who I was. I was a dick. I wasn’t myself. It was all…bullshit. Everyone just ate it up because it didn’t make them uncomfortable.” 

Uncomfortable. 

         Eddie felt the unspoken truth behind Steve’s words. He also felt how nervous Steve was to even say such an ambiguous statement.

        “I understand.” Steve’s eyes brightened just a fraction. Was he hopeful? Was he relieved? Did he really realize what was being said? Eddie had no idea, but he knew he needed to keep that light in Steve’s eyes. “Tell ya what, after all this is said and done, we can just go. Anywhere you want. We’ll find a place for you.” For both of us. “I-yeah, yeah okay. That sounds nice.” 

In the silence of your room

In the darkness of your dreams

You must only think of me

There can be no in between

         Steve tossed and turned on the couch next to Eddie’s room all night. His mind was plagued with visions of Eddie disappearing. He wasn’t a stranger to calling the Munson boy “Freak” in the past, thinking he was an outcast for a reason. In a way, Steve was right. Eddie was an outcast, just not in the way he perceived. Getting to know him over the last few days, Steve grew to understand that Eddie was one of few people who truly saw him. Someone he connected with. Someone he didn’t want to lose. 

         Eddie held himself in a bed that wasn’t his own, wishing he could just sleep. He didn’t know if he’d get to go back to his trailer again but he was finally out of the boatshack. And yet, his eyes wouldn’t close. He stared at the wall, deep in thought. The conversations between him and the Harrington boy played over and over in his brain. He was a clueless asshole in school, Eddie taunted him more than once for being referred to as “King”. Apparently he actually had a heart, a fragile one. But he’s still just as clueless. Eddie laughed to himself, the sound echoing in the otherwise empty space.

When your pride is on the floor

I’ll make you beg for more

      “Damnit, Harrington. This would go a lot smoother if you sat still.” Steve winced. “It would go a lot smoother if you were actually being gentle, Munson.” Eddie narrowed his eyes. “Wanna patch yourself up?” Steve kept his mouth shut. “That’s what I thought.” 

       Steve winced a few more times, trying his best not to move too much. Eddie focused on wrapping Steve up after his wounds were clean. “Is everyone else okay?” Eddie nodded. “We were scared out of our minds, still kinda are, but we’re alright.” “...Thank you.” Eddie adjusted the final wrapping and nodded. “Of course. I mean, we can’t have our dear king Steve dying on us before the real battle starts.” If Steve didn’t know Eddie was joking, his glare could have very well killed him. The tiny smile underneath betrayed his fake annoyance at the title.

      “I can’t believe you went headfirst like that without thinking of any threats on the other side.” Steve could tell it was a compliment of sorts. He knew Eddie meant that he was brave, the Munson boy having told him more than once before that he was always one to run away. But he couldn’t let go of the words “without thinking”. He wasn’t thinking. Again. He made a stupid choice. Again. 

      “Do you think it was a dumb move?” Do you think I’m dumb? Eddie frowned. He knew what Steve really meant. He knew how Steve felt about himself. “Honestly? If I had the courage you do, I would’ve done the same thing.” Steve tilted his head and scratched the back of his neck. “Ya know, I’m not as brave as you seem to think I am.” Eddie rolled his eyes. “And you’re not a coward like you claim to be.” Eddie looked up and blinked. “W-what?” “You talk about running from your problems, but you forget to acknowledge the part where you continue going back, facing them again and again. You could’ve dropped out, but you’re still going to school, you’re still working towards graduating. You could’ve left town, finding an escape elsewhere, away from Jason and all the other players who hurt you. But you go back every day with your head high and live your life. You’ve chosen to stick it out in a place you’ve never really felt you belonged and made it your own. You–” Steve didn’t get to finish his sentence. Eddie’s lips covered his with a kiss that filled his very soul. 

       Steve started to kiss him back just as Eddie pulled away, leaning his forehead against Steve’s. “Please tell me I haven’t been reading this all wrong.” Steve’s only response was to pull Eddie in for another kiss. The two felt each other’s smiles on their lips. 

       Steve broke away first for air. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that.” Eddie’s lips maneuvered down to his neck, speaking between kisses, “I think I have a pretty good idea.” Steve used one hand to hold himself up against the table from before and the other ran through Eddie’s hair. Eddie left one more kiss on his shoulder before leaning back just enough so he could see Steve’s face again. Thank God. The light in Steve’s eyes was brighter than ever. 

       “I told you you’re braver than you give yourself credit for.” Eddie rolled his eyes and laughed at Steve’s words. His eyes flicked down Steve’s body, making sure the wrapping was still intact and there wasn’t any blood seeping through. “Hey, I’m okay.” His eyes flicked down a second time and noticed Steve’s pants. “You sure, Stevie? Cause I can think of at least one part of you that could use more of my attention.” He grinned when Steve’s face turned pink. He didn’t expect anything, but he enjoyed teasing the Harrington boy.

        Steve surprised Eddie when he leaned in to kiss him again, whispering “please” against his lips.

You’d better hope and pray 

That you’ll make it safe back to your own world

You’d better hope and pray

That you’ll wake one day in your own world

        The boys trailed after Dustin and the girls through the Upside Down, keeping their eyes out for anything that might swoop down or sneak underneath them. “You still wanna get out of here after this is over?” With me. Eddie looked at Steve, reading his face. “Of course I do. There’s nothing I’d rather do more.” They exchanged soft smiles and kept walking. 

        The party reached its destination to split up, everyone looking between each other with worry. They went over the plan and nodded at each other. Nancy and Robin exchanged glances, Dustin hugged Steve harder than he probably should have in his recovering state and saluted the girls. 

         Steve Harrington looked into Eddie Munson’s eyes, full of hope and fear at the same time. Not caring what any of the other party members may say, the two held each other’s faces and met with a kiss. Short but filled with words that both were afraid to say out loud, “You better come back to me,” “I promise I’ll be okay.” They pulled back at the same time, each taking their own deep breaths.

  “Don’t be a hero.”

Stay with me

[fanficfish]

i'm working on a fic so i hope y'all don't mind if i cracktype my nation headcanons and thoughts. I'm sure they're not original but i haven't seen them yet soooooooooo (rhen again i only really come on here to shitpost random things and like nordic five stuff)

also theres def some things i got from reading stuff but it's all scattered around idk where so kudos to everyone that had posts that gave me ideas

Okay so my thoights are that in the hetaliaverse it's an open secret. Like moat of them won't really go out blaring about it but they'll answer if you ask. Like France, he'll just kinda hang out in his place and be another friendly guy, but if you come up to him and ask if he's France he'll say yes. A few countries with more questionable populations will keep it more on the down low for security and then there's America, Poland, and Canada, who don't give a ahit and run active YouTube and Twitch channels and and quite happy to hang out with the modern day crowd sure why not.

most people don't really know though, like if you know who to look for you can find America's youtube feed but if he goes drinking with the boys he'll probably just call himself Alfred sk it's less weird.

Most of them have some kind of governmwnt job because it's the 21st century and it's too troublesome to explain things sometimes. Especially for younger looking nations, like Hong Kong and Latvia and Iceland, who have all at one point or another had to explain that they aren't homeless minors. And especially Latvia, kid's tiny lol. Arthur (and Sweden) had to explain a few memorable times to CPS that no, Ladonia and Sealand do not need to go to school. A good few nations have just given up and have all the documents ready in a pile when someone comes knocking because some new neighbor gave them a tip about unsupervised children or "shady activity".

also, Amwrica really doesn't want to have to keep explaining all the stat3: and territories under him sometimes.

anyways so yeah human names are mosstly rhe countries picking something to go by, usually their governmeent knows but it's more just to keep it easy at Starbucks. With each other they'll use country names, unlesss they're mad in which case UNITED FUCKING STATES OF FUCKING AMERICA YOU BETTEE SIT YOUR ASS DOWN RIGHT THIS INSTANT YOUNG MAN-

i like that headcanon, i know i got that one from a post somewhere. Also got the one about bcountries being able to go into a kind of second "world" where things are a bit closer, so for example America could just open a door into Canada's house and take a quick boat ride to get to England's. And then to get into the regular world they have other doorways, like America can jump states by going into different doors and popping out in the state capital of choice in his office or whatever. And then a select few, like Cuba, can just

teleport. Hop, if you will. It's a selwct ability. Whole different bag of worms.

also theres stares, regions, and provinces, but not anything less then that. We don't need LA as a personification. One florida is enough. Especially the US, since each state is it's own mini country technically.

anyways yeah. Tldr most people think of the nations like myths, a bit like say hearing "my great great great great granddad was the assistant to George Washington" or something, but a bit more tangible.

unless you're norway and switzerland in whoch case you won't be actually meeting anyone you will be sitting at home or in a forest ifnoeing everyone and everything that isn't part of youe inner circle.

Oh and i love that idea that citizens of a country can kinda sense their country and vice versa but won't really realize who they met unless they figure it out they'll just get a vague "you're familiar", and countries will know because well. Country.

edit 1: i forgot to add some countries probably take less interest in their goveernemtn happenings. Like Iceland is more invocled with his tourism, like that boy has one goal in Paint it White and that's to get tourists. But then you have America who's kinda just there, probably lets democracy do its thing and just hangs outt and just does stuff relating to personifications. And heaven knows Estonia's too busy blogging to do much. ThereMs some logistics to nations and international relations but whatever not my thought process today lol

idk i'll add more if i think of it

[icecreampotluck]

fic stats meme

twas tagged by @jeeyuns

rules: give us the links to your fic with the most hits, second most kudos, third most comments, fourth most bookmarks, fifth most words, and fic with the least words.

SIDE NOTE: i have not published 911 fic!!!! trust me i am also mad at me for this!!!!! i am working on it!!! so instead everyone gets a look into the history on my ao3 profile that hasn't had anything updated since 2021 and my most written for fandom. (i am not going to publish anything in 911 fandom until it's fully written to avoid the unfinished fate of a lot of these works dw) but I WANT TO PARTICIPATE!!!! so here goes!!

most hits: i've tried goodbye a hundred times (not one of them true)

Check, Please! (Webcomic), Derek "Nursey" Nurse/William "Dex" Poindexter

The first time it happens, it’s daisies. Seven year old William watches in fascination as the flowers appear, line by line, around his wrist and up his arm. They’re just black outlines, with little yellow dots in the middle, but they fascinate him, and he watches as they grow all the way up to his elbow. And then Mitch slams his desk.

yeah i'll be real with you besties. this will probably never be updated again. which is so sad because apparently it's my work with the most hits. but i'm a polyfrogs bitch now!!!! people change!!!!! i don't even remember where the plot was going. this is not the target audience of this apology but you're the ones who get it.

second most kudos: Amy Parson Takes No Shit

Check, Please! (Webcomic), Kent "Parse" Parson/Original Character(s)

She hates this. She hates knowing that for all the talk of acceptance and anyone being able to play, it doesn’t matter. If she told the team, she can’t imagine what they’d think. And God, management would be a nightmare. She shouldn’t have to pick between hockey and being herself but she does and she’s made her choice. Someday, she’s gonna find a way to have her cake and eat it, too.

oh my god so. okay. the tag "im tired of cis bullshit" on this work is so funny. 1) the "cis bullshit" in question was genderbends which is the most 2017 discourse imaginable. 2) when i wrote that tag I identified as cis. LMAOOOOO. i thought i was being such a good ally writing this fic. and then somewhere along the way i was like "goddamm why do i relate so much to Amy's choosing to ruthlessly be herself and why am i jealous of it." and here we are. so this work holds a special place in my heart and i will finish it if it kills me and also probably rewrite the early chapters because they are SIX YEARS OLD oh my god i was FIFTEEN. they could be better, and they will be.

third most comments: all the gun fights, and the lime lights, and the holy sick divine nights

Check, Please! (Webcomic), Derek "Nursey" Nurse/Kent "Parse" Parson

Nursey rolls over in bed the morning after Epikegster, and finds himself face to face with Kent Parson. Kent is drooling, and still asleep, so Nursery takes a moment to assess the situation. Kent has all the covers and is kind of hogging whatever bed they’re in, which appears to be in a hotel room. Nursey is naked, and a quick inventory of the floor leads him to believe that most if not all of his clothing is there. He glances down at himself, and notices a not insignificant number of mouth sized bruises littering his torso. His therapist has been teaching him about not jumping to conclusions, but he’s starting to think he hooked up with Kent Parson.

you won't get it unless you Get It but this is the funniest possible rairpair. i'd love to finish this someday and fix the haphazard characterization. the plot was good as shit i just have to hope i get inspiration back after *checks notes* five years! we'll see!

fourth most bookmarks: i've got you (and you've got me)

Check, Please! (Webcomic), Eric "Bitty" Bittle/Jack Zimmermann

    He’s done it.     He’s graduated, and he’s got his degree, and he’s got an internship lined up, and he can’t wait to get on with the rest of his life.     And he’s got Jack. Oh, lordy, how could he forget Jack?     Jack who is currently waving at him from across the quad, waiting by the lake. Bitty has been saying his goodbyes to his parents, and now, he turns and heads over to him.     “Hey, you.”

yeah i don't have a lot to say about this one! it was okay! least words: would you love me less (if you knew the beds that i've been in)

Check, Please! (Webcomic), Eric "Bitty" Bittle/Kent "Parse" Parson/Jack Zimmermann

Eric Bittle, struggling baker, runner of a not so struggling premium snapchat, frequenter of the Seattle Fitness Center. Jack Zimmermann, history teacher, boyfriend of Kent Parson, frequenter of the Seattle Fitness Center. Kent Parson, part-time wedding planner, allosexual who's demisexual boyfriend has approved his porn habits but has no interest in partaking, frequenter of some blond twink's premium snapchat.

ZERO words baby!!!! that's what happens on the archive's backend when a fic is told ENTIRELY THROUGH FAKED SCREENSHOTS (and some gym membership cards)!!!!!! i wanna redo some of the things in here and also. you know. finish the entire fic. trust me it's GLORIOUS. if you click on nothing else in this post because you aren't into check please click on this and be proud of some of the edits. (not the reddit one i like. quarter assed that one rather than find a template) this is the fanwork of mine im most proud of i love it so much PLEASE ask me about it even if you haven't read check please i'll happily gush about the plot.

that is all sorry that this is literally NO wee woo content. tagging @evcndiaz @lucydonato @shitouttabuck @housewifebuck and anyone else who wants to do this!

[stackthedeck]

What are your thoughts on the new Spiderverse run? I'm only reading it because of Cooper and I managed to find some bits here and there.

Have a good one!

I HAVE SO MANY THOUGHTS! First off, there's never been a spider verse that I didn't enjoy because I just love all the creative spins that writers and artists put on the spider mantel!! And usually, a spider verse run means that at least one of the new spiders will get their own mini series or even a full run (Spider-Gwen and Spider-Punk my beloved)

okay this got long specific thoughts and minor spoilers under the cut

And I love the five issue series of end of the spider-verse because all the new spiders are so cool!! And I think the evil wasps work really well because it allows us to check in on the other spiders we know and love but they're turned evil so that we can focus on the new spiders! It's a very visually engaging villain and it really doesn't need to be that complicated for an end of the multiverse story you know

I love Web Weaver more than words can I express I have not stopped thinking about Cooper since I read his issue!! I just want him to have a mini series after all this is over marvel please I will write it!! I think he honestly has the strongest introduction out of all the new spiders because he actually does stuff and it's not just his origin story. His design is gorgeous but also his panel layout was so engaging like that beautiful web page that summoned up his origin story!!! I love his writing and the jokes he makes, you can tell that a gay man wrote his dialogue like yes!! (Steve Foxe, sir I hope marvel lets you write more of this character please Slott can't be trusted with him!) But like he'd have such an excellent mini series because there's a plot hook established before he leaves for the multiverse and it's his relationship with Albert Moon!! It's a love square with two people I'm literally gaging yes please marvel please I need to see how this goes!! Like Cooper and Albert are exes, but Silk and Web Weaver have crushes on each other and Albert kissed Web Weaver! Like oh my god the drama and if I don't get a comic for either of them soon I'm going to fucking write it myself

I also adore the other new spiders!! I like the new spider UK, she's an interesting character with a cool design, but her writing was a little clunky but I think that would have been fixed if she had a whole issue rather than like a quarter. Same with Sun Spider, love everything about her but the writing could have been stronger but also this isn't her first appearance so idk why the felt the need to go over her origins again. I would love for both of them to get their own solos. The character I'm really excited about is Spintress!! I thought her universe was so creative and the way they translated the typical spider man villains into Disney princess stuff. I hope she gets like a children's book or since Disney owns marvel maybe a little animated short in the traditional 2d style like I'd literally kill for that!!

Okay, I love this spider verse, but its whole is less than the sum of its parts. Like it moves into Slott's Spider-Man run and it instantly stops being charming and exciting. It immediately focuses on Peter despite the fact that this whole series started with Anya Corazón and Julia Carpenter! And they started calling Peter the chosen one which fuck no!! The whole point of spider verse is that Peter Parker isn't special, that anyone can take up the responsibility of spider-man, that anyone can be behind the mask!! And then they take away the tension of the evil wasp turning the spiders by saying that 616 citizens can't be turned which like way to bring down the stakes! Noir now has a sword that erases people from existence which fuck fine okay whatever. But the new spiders are instantly pushed to the background so that Peter can have the spotlight! He makes a homophobic comment to Web Weaver, he's nasty to Spintress, and he hates Felicia for no fucking reason!! Like he's so out of character, but it's Slott so idk what I expected. I'm going to read how it ends, but fuck I wish like the core of the story actually cared about the new characters introduced because what's the point of having them there if they don't do anything

[twosroos]

Hello, Nurse!

chapter five: slowly, then all at once

( bradley “rooster” bradshaw x oc, eden benjamin )

(previous chapter) (next chapter)

Eden isn't sure what to do, swimming beneath the ice, but a few hands will reach down to pull her back to reality.

-

word count: 4695

notable characters: pete “maverick” mitchell, bradley “rooster” bradshaw

tws: cursing

ao3 link! 

The suitcase Eden grabbed slammed on the floor as it fell out of her closet and it took everything in Eden not to fall in sobs with it. She grabs her makeup, or what she can fit into her travel bag, and throws it into the suitcase along with her hair products and personal care items. She grabs every military outfit she has in dress bags inside her closet and throws them in there too. And a steamer. Just in case they wrinkle. And then she grabs just random things of clothing. There’s no rhyme or reason as to why she grabs the items, she just does.

Her phones have been ringing for ten minutes straight, she realizes when she comes out of whatever deadset haze she’s in and she curses to herself. Grabbing her phone off the carpet, she clears her throat and answers it.

“Hello?”

“Eden,” Bradley sighs, “are you okay? What’s going on?”

“I—“ Eden pales, realizing she has to explain this to Bradley somehow. She curses under her breath, sitting down and curling her knees to her chest, “I… Bradley, I need somewhere to stay. Just until the mission’s over.” or until I can leave this place goes unsaid, “do you have space..?”

Bradley pauses before responding, “yeah. I’d just have to move some boxes around and such. It’ll take me like twenty minutes. What happened, Eden?”

“Can I tell you when I get there? I think I might start crying again if I say it right now.”

“One question,” he asks, “is anyone hurt, sick, dead, or dying?”

“No, no, no, and no.” Eden replies softly, slowly dragging herself to a standing position, “and that was four questions.”

“So?” He says, and Eden appreciates his attempt to at least crack a smile on her face.

“Just knock before you open my door, okay?” He says, “It’s unlocked. I’ll text you my address.”

“Thank you.” She murmurs.

“Of course, Edes.”

Once he hangs up, Eden grabs the rest of her essentials, a spare blanket, pillow, and the teddy bear that was a gift from Miss Carole years ago for her third birthday. She shoves her suitcase closed, surprised she can zip it. Then, she’s grabbing her purse, keys, and phone off her dresser and her mental clarity before she leaves.

She makes sure to grab the picture books her mom left for her too.

 As she makes her way downstairs, she drags her heavy suitcase behind her and luckily finds the kitchen tmpty, the silence deafening her iblissfully But before Eden can leave, Amelia comes through the little entryway from the front door. She'd kinda been hoping to leave in secret, but she's glad it's not her mom. She can’t do a screaming match tonight.

“Eden?” Amelia asks, “Are you leaving for the mission?”

“Uh–” Eden cuts herself off, mentally cursing, “Not the mission, but I am going to live on base. It’s easier for me, and they want us on base because they’re not sure when we’re gonna have to leave, it might be sooner than later.”

Amelia seems to buy Eden’s quick thought lie and she nods, before swooping in to give Eden a bone-crushing hug as she whispers, “Come home to us, okay?”

“Of course, Elia.” Eden murmurs, hiding her shaking lip by biting it as she squeezes Amelia tight between her arms, “You keep Mom on her feet, okay? Just like we did after your dad bounced.”

“Always.” Amelia smiles as she steps back from the hug, “Give ‘em hell for me, Eden. I love you, I always will.”

“Hey, this isn’t my goodbye, it’s my see you later.” Eden chuckles, grabbing her suitcase, “I love you too, don’t forget it. See you around, I’ll be in the area for a few days, so call me if you need me.”

“I might need a ride tomorrow,” Amelia admits with a flush on her cheeks and Eden starts to laugh as she nods.

“Just give me a time.” She says before one final hug happens between the sisters, then Edens out the door. She shoves her suitcase into the backseat of her little Honda Civic, before she climbs into the front seat. Her mom’s car is still in the driveway, so Eden honks as she pulls out of the driveway, a small goodbye to her mom too even if she can’t face her right now. She knows she’s mad at her mom, but the more she thinks about it, mulling over it on the thirty-minute drive it takes to get to Bradley’s house, she realizes she wouldn't want to be in her mom’s shoes either. It hurts to think about though, so she opts for cranking up some old CD full of rock music Carole gave her years ago. Suddenly, the name on the tape being ‘MAV CD 1’ makes more sense to her as Iron Maiden comes through her speakers.

She parks on the road, a good ten feet away from the mailbox, before she’s climbing out of her car. Eden can tell it’s Bradley’s house because of the bright blue Bronco in the driveway.

“Hey, Eden,” A voice calls and she turns to see Bradley walking over in a hoodie and sports shorts. She smiles at him, waving with one hand as the other swings open the back door to her car a little forcefully.

“Hey, Bradley.” She smiles back at him as he makes it up to stand beside her. He offers to take her suitcase and she smiles, letting him grab it. Awkwardly, Eden stands a bit off to the side as he pulls it out of her car. She’s holding one of the picture books to her chest, the small image from a baseball game fluttering out and falling onto the mud by her feet. Before she can process what she's doing, Eden leans down and grabs the picture, nearly pushing Bradley over so he doesn’t step on it.

“Woah–” He stumbles to the side, huffing out a soft laugh before he freezes. Eden’s eyes stare down at the picture in her hands, and she looks up at him. Once she’s able to blink away the tears that blur her eyes, she turns the picture to him.

“My mom.” She starts, shutting the car doors behind her as she turns to Bradley, “She told me who my dad was. I freaked out. It was like, suddenly I just. Let me restart, it was like someone else opening a door with a key you've always had in your junk drawer, but never knew what it went to.”

“I… I’m slightly following?” Bradley begins dragging the suitcase inside, leaving Eden to follow like a lost puppy. She does, the only thing that would make it more like a sad cartoon is if she was kicking a rock, or if it was raining.

“I’ve known my dad my whole life, Bradley, that’s what’s so… mind-blowing about it.” Eden huffs as they make it to his porch, she opens the door for him and steps inside, “My mom always kept him at a distance, but Miss Carole would let me hang out with him. Mister Mitchell.”

“Maverick’s your fucking dad?!” Bradley turns in the doorway, his exclamation echoing around his quiet neighborhood. Eden finds it impossible to not laugh, bringing her hands up to her face in disbelief.

“Yes! He’s been here the whole time and I… I never…” Her lip trembles, a hand coming to cover her mouth as she finds her knees beginning to buckle. Bradley wastes no time grabbing her arm and pulling her to him. Her suitcase is left to tip and fall over in the middle of the foyer as he kicks his front door shut before dragging her to a small couch just barely inside the living room to the right.

“Hey, breathe, it’s okay Eden.” He coaxes her, sitting her down before taking a seat on the coffee table across from her. 

“I can't believe I’m so stupid. How did I not remember this?” She cries, wiping her hands across her face continuously, “I just– I’m clearly not smart enough for this mission and for everything I’ve done, have I just been lying to myself this whole time? I don’t get it, how do you not–”

Bradley leans forward to grab her face, cradling it in his hands, “Hey. Relax. You’re not stupid. You’re freaking out right now, Eden, You just learned life-changing information. Take a breath and relax, okay? Just… Do you need to be grounded or something, do you want me to talk so you can focus on it? What can I do to help you?”

“Your touch is grounding.” Eden murmurs after a pause, “I’m sorry for not remembering you.”

“I’m not mad you didn’t remember me. I’m not all that surprised, I barely remember much from before my tenth birthday,” He squeezed her hands, then let one of his hands drag up to begin rubbing her arm. Eden physically melts into the touch, eyes fluttering slightly as she sighs.

“I'm a mess right now, maybe it would be the best if I pull out of the mission.”

“God, no, don’t do that.” Bradley murmurs, leaning a bit closer and Eden watches his face contort in some sort of sadness, “We need you here, Eden. You’ve helped the team so much more than you could ever know.”

“I just… I love you guys and I love my job but I can’t stand the fact that I’ve been living a lie this past… Well, my whole life I’ve been living a lie, but more so this past week.” Eden leans forward so her forehead bumps against Bradley’s shoulder, and he brings his other hand up to her back where he rubs it, the hand on her arm falling to rest by her elbow.

“Eden, I would love for you to stay. To help us, to be there on the carrier during the mission, but I also know I’m not ever gonna understand the way you feel right now. Do you want to sit here for a bit and think about it, or do you wanna rip off the bandaid?”

“Rip it,” Eden murmurs into his shirt, but she makes no attempt to move. So, neither does he. They end up sitting there for a while, Bradley rubbing an attempt of comforting circles into the skin of her lower back, squeezing her elbow to ground her. Eden doesn’t cry, surprising herself, but she soaks in the grounding presence of her childhood best friend. Once she feels ready, she nods to Bradley and he gently brings her out to his car.

“Listen.” He says as they start to drive away, “I don’t want you to make a decision you’ll regret. Talk to the admirals about this, see what they say, and take time to think. We have three days until we leave, Edes. And no one will be upset if you choose to drop this mission because of what you found out today.”

Eden nods, leaning her head on the window, “Part of me wants to stay, but the louder part of me wants to leave. I don’t know if I can face Maverick again.”

He nods, staying silent for a moment before reaching over at a stop light and pulling Eden to his side. She melts into his touch, letting a soft huff leave her as he whispers, “No matter what, we still care about you.”

“Thanks.” She murmurs into his shoulder before the light turns green and he pulls away to shift into gear. Once they pull up, he drops her off at one of the office buildings, and after fishing her ID card out of her pocket (where she shoved it after going in the gate) she makes her way into the office building where she knows she’ll find Warlock at the least. Though it’s decently late, and she’s not sure if he’ll actually be there. Every office she checks ends up being empty, and Eden finds herself at her wit's end. 

“You’re fucking with me.” She mutters as she turns to the last office they could possibly be in and finds it empty again. She runs a hand through her hair, biting her lip to hold back the tears that pool in her throat and try to break past to her eyes. She swallows them down and drops her hands to her sides in defeat.

“Are you lost, Eden?” a voice calls and Eden’s head snaps to the side at the source. Standing with keys in his hand, and a leather jacket draped over his shoulders, is none other than the man she was hoping to avoid.

“Mav—“ she goes to say but her voice gets caught, and he softens his teasing gaze instantly.

“Hey, Eden.” He whispers and it doesn’t take long for the tears to start trickling down Eden’s cheeks. She tries to swipe them away, but they only get replaced by more.

“Sorry—“ Eden laughs, “my mom told me… and…”

“I’m so sorry I never knew.” Maverick takes a slow step forward, giving her a soft look as he brings a hand to tuck her hair back. She stutters out a breath and bites her lip, taking a moment to calm herself down.

“It’s not your fault, Maverick. You didn’t know any better. She’s the one who kept it from us.” Eden blinks away more tears, and though she sees Maverick nod, she can tell he doesn’t one hundred percent agree with what she’s saying. He then sees the way she’s tightly gripping her phone, and her fingers rest on the door handle as if praying someone will open it, and he gets it.

“I assume you didn’t come here to find me.” He murmurs and Eden nods.

“Bradley dropped me off. He’s waiting outside for me.”

Maverick sighs softly, letting his hand finally fall from where it cups Eden’s cheek to his thigh, “Don’t drop this mission because of this, Eden. The team needs your morale.”

“Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I’d ever be able to face you again without feeling sick.” Eden runs a hand through her hair, and MAverick notes how similar she looks to him as she continues to speak with gritted teeth, “Like, I’m learning my grandparents knew, and they never said a thing! Did she tell them she told me? Who else knew? Did Amelia’s dad know, I don't think he would, but what if he did? He was in the Navy too! God, why did she wait until the end of the training to tell me this?!”

“I don’t know why she did it, Eden. I wish I could tell you because I’m in the same boat as you.” Maverick sighs, biting his lip for a moment as he looks away, “She told me after your graduation when we were all at the Hard Deck. We fought over it all weekend, and I told her she had to tell you before the mission because I refused to fly it if you didn’t know who I truly was.”

There’s an implication of ‘refusing to fly’ actually meaning ‘refusing to die’ but Eden doesn’t comment on it.

“I had to distance myself because I couldn’t even imagine being a father. It’s something I’ve always wanted, don’t get me wrong, but it was never the right time and then I was too old to have a kid, or too career-focused, but mostly…” Maverick sighs, “I’m too reckless. Bradley’s right when he says I fly the way I do because I have no one to come home to.”

Eden’s breath hitches in her throat when she sees the tears glistening around Maverick’s eyes, and she bites her lip as he gives her a watery smile, continuing to speak, “but now… now I have you to come back to. God, I’ve never been one to settle down, and now here I am, with a fully grown daughter I watched grow up from a distance.”

“Miss Carole let me spend a lot more time with you than my mother would.” Eden chuckles and Maverick laughs too, and the two spend a second just looking at each other before Maverick pulls her into a tight hug.

“I’m never letting go of you again, ever .” He whispers, “No matter what happens on sea, on land, or in the air, I will always find a way to come back to hold you.”

“Please do,” Eden whispers back, afraid of breaking the gentle serenity she finds herself in as her knees buckle against Maverick’s grip. He tightens it.

“I can't reverse time, but I can make up for it.” He says, holding her in his arms so tight he’s afraid it's hard for her to breathe. Eden never complains, so he doesn’t loosen his grasp, even when she buckles and falls against him in a heap of sobs. He stands there, being her rock, holding her up even when she can’t support herself, and when she regains her composure and steals a few tissues from a random office to blow her nose, the two find their way back out to the parking lot. 

Bradley gets out of his Bronco when he sees Maverick, ready to come to Eden’s defense, but he notes the way she leans on him a bit to walk, and he’s walking to the passenger's side to open her door instead.

“So, I’m staying on the mission.” Eden wipes her face and Bradley laughs softly, holding an arm out to her, which she takes as an invite to smush against his side.

“Good to hear, Edes.” He murmurs into her hair, letting his eyes close as he presses a soft kiss to her temple. After a pause, Eden detaches from him and climbs into the passenger's seat, tucking her legs in as Bradley shuts the door.

“Thanks for helping her.” Maverick says, his hands shoved in his pockets, “Seriously, Bradley.”

With a bit of hesitance, Bradley nods and clears his throat as he looks back at a sleepy Eden with her knees tucked up to her chest, he sighs, “It’s no problem, Mav.”

“I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” Maverick waves and Eden murmurs a goodbye through a yawn as Bradley waves and watches Maverick walk away until he tucks back into the building. He contemplates calling Maverick, asking a hundred questions, but when Eden shuffles behind him in the passenger's seat he simply turns around instead. As he climbs into the driver's door and turns on the engine, he peers over to see Eden with her body in a ball, almost asleep.

Something in it makes his heart soar. So he drives off, the radio low and the windows down, letting Eden sleep as the wind blows her hair about.

–

Dog fight football is going about as great as Eden had expected it to, but also way better than she had imagined. The first few rounds were rough, and she ended up having to ref with Hondo because the boys kept claiming the calls against them were bullshit and trying to fight each other over it. But soon, as the sun soaks into everyone’s skin, they actually start to work together. It started with Maverick deciding to play, and Bradley saying he could join his team, and then it slowly started to spread through the whole squadron.

“This is the most teamwork I’ve seen through all the whole deployment,” Hondo murmurs to Eden between games, and she giggles, throwing a spare third ball back and forth in her hands as she watches MAverick dip out in favor of walking over to a beach chair he’d set up.

“Watching the fruits of your labor, Mav?” Eden shouts, and Maverick responds with a shrug that makes Eden burst into laughter.

The only thing that makes the day awkward, for Eden, is the presence of her mother only around a hundred feet away. No one seems to notice that the two keep sending glares and glances in each other's direction. Except for Bradley, who is all too aware of it.

So when Penny offers to have the Daggers inside for lunch, and Eden detaches from the group with Maverick, he does his best to distract the group from the fact that the two didn’t follow them inside. And even later, when Maverick’s gone home, but around half of the squadron stays to keep playing and relaxing in the sun and Penny offers them dinner, he decides that it’s time for him and Eden to leave. So, he also decides that they can have a little dinner of their own with whatever he can fish together in his kitchen.

“What is this supposed to be?” Eden teases as Bradley brings her into the kitchen, though her expression doesn’t lift as high as it usually does, “a date?”

“If you want it to be,” Bradley says as he lets go of her shoulder and uses his phone to play a random cooking playlist on his phone.

“Is this Chiquitita?” Eden laughs, “Do you listen to Abba?”

“Of course I do,” Bradley closes his fridge, happy he’d decided to buy some groceries earlier in the week because now he has enough food to make a simple chicken-based dinner. He hopes, mentally, that Eden is not some sort of vegetarian, because this is all he has. The two end up singing along to the music, Eden helping him out where she can, and sitting back when there's nothing else to be done.

“Oh, I love this song.” Eden giggles as some generic love song plays through the speaker as Bradley slides the chicken off the hot pan and onto a plate to serve it.

“Really?” Bradley says and he holds a hand out, Eden gives him a weird look, but takes his hand and squeaks when he sways her around, “My mom and dad used to dance to this song, then my mom and I did.”

“That’s so sweet.” She smiles, letting him guide her through a small simple sway around the kitchen. As the song comes to its swell, Eden finds herself in a mini-waltz, the chicken forgotten on the counter as Bradley grins down at her.

“I haven’t danced around the kitchen in years,” Eden giggles, “It’s such a romantic thing.”

“You know the one thing that would make it more romantic?” Bradley murmurs and Eden looks up at him, her pupils dilating when they make eye contact.

“A kiss?” She teases, expecting Bradley to be joking around, but when she sees him nod– well, she turns as red as the tomatoes on the counter.

“Well, if you’re up to it.” He whispers as the song begins to twindle out.

“I’m a bit nervous.” Eden chuckles and Bradley hums softly,

“Why?”

Eden’s face flushes as she rocks from side to side with Bradley, “It’s you.”

“It’s just me.” Bradley chuckles softly, leaning back so Eden can see him fully and she flushes.

“That’s my problem.” She murmurs, sliding her arms from his arms to wrap around his neck as she pulls him down slightly. Her chest is heavy against his as she breathes deep, her eyelashes fluttering as Bradley dips in to connect their lips. But, the connection is never made.

Amelia’s ringtone plays from Eden’s phone, startling the two away from one another. Eden curses, pulling herself away from Bradley as a rock song starts to play, and the romantic tone of the night is crushed as she lifts the phone to her ear.

“Well…I can come to get you,” Eden sighs, “I don’t think Bradley would mind.”

“Who are we getting?” he asks leaning down to grab tinfoil from a cabinet by his hip.

Eden sighs, “Amelia, she’s actually just off base at a friend’s house.”

“I can put this in the microwave when we get back, it’s probably not that good anyway,” Bradley grins, “We can dance more when we get back too.”

Eden perks up at the second part, a small smile on her lips, “Sure. That sounds great.”

–

The ride with Amelia isn’t as awkward as Eden thinks it will be. Bradley lets Eden answer all the questions about her living on base, why she was with Bradley, and similar topics so she can say what she needs to. She’d explained on the car ride over that Amelia thought she was living on base to prepare for the mission, not living at Bradley’s house because she’d run away from her problems. He understands, even if he doesn’t like to watch the way Amelia hangs on every word that leaves her sister's mouth, even the lies, he understands having to lie.

That’s how he’d survived this long in the Navy.

So when he wishes Amelia goodnight and gives the sisters privacy as they hug outside his Bronco, he stares at the motorcycle parked in front of him and tries not to think how someone is most definitely not coming back from this mission as he looks at the Navy patch crappily sewn into the back of the seat of the motorcycle.

Eden slams the door when she’s back in, and he turns to her.

“You good?” She asks, “You look a bit frazzled.”

“Thinking about the mission, we’ve gone through a lot as a squadron, we have two more training days, and then what?” He sighs, “I don’t wanna lose anyone on this mission.”

Eden squeezes his shoulder, “Who says you have to lose someone?”

“It’s like Mav told me, if you fly long enough, you will.” He sighs, rubbing his face with one hand before looking over at Eden, “I haven't lost one yet. I’m not about to.”

“Again, Bradley, who says you have to lose one? You guys can fly this mission, I know it in my heart. Tomorrow, you all will kick ass at the practice and you’ll bring everyone home.” She says, “I swear, everyone will come home.”

Bradley sighs, “I don’t wanna leave for this mission without covering my bases though.”

“Then cover them, you still have some time–” Eden’s cut off by Bradley grabbing her jaw, and her stomach flutters as he tilts her to look at him. Their faces are less than an inch away and Eden can feel his breath fan across her skin.

“I’m going to kiss you now if that’s okay?” He whispers and she laughs softly, her cheeks dusting red.

“More than.” She replies, and Bradley wastes no time finally connecting their lips. They lock into each other, slotting together perfectly, and Eden’s never had a kiss like this. Her fingertips go numb as he leans into her, and when they disconnect and reconnect right after, Eden brings a hand up to tangle in his wavy hair. When they break apart, Eden panting slightly, he kisses her jaw, lips soft and delicate, before he lifts up to kiss her lips softly once more.

Eden has to raise a hand to block the headlights that shine on her face, and the two pull away at the light, only to recognize the man on the motorcycle who zips past them, as Maverick.

“Oh,” Eden whispers.

“Oh.” Bradley echoes and then Eden punches his chest as she groans

“That was my fucking dad, Bradley!”

“Oh, right, he’s your dad.” Bradley blinks and Eden pauses, before groaning as she slumps down in her chair and he smiles, reaching across the center console to rub her thigh.

“Relax, I’m sure he didn’t see us or at least recognize you.” He tries to console her, “Why don’t we finish what we started when we get back to mine?”

“Only if you let me eat first, I’m fucking starving,” Eden says and Bradley starts to laugh.

“Of course.” He grins, leaning over to press a soft kiss to her lips, before he puts the old Bronco in drive, and pulls down Penny’s street to the intersection where he has to turn to get to the highway. He pretends not to see the giddy smile on Eden’s face because he knows if he does, he’ll fall in love with her all over again.

[daylandeangelo]

TOP TEN THINGS? MAYBE.

I don't really think categorizing my apples and my oranges by which are better is a very useful exercise. However, making lists is fun and reflecting is fun. So that's what I'm going to do here. This was originally going to be a list of top ten games of the year but I don't want anyone thinking I'm a gamer so I'm adding in ALL forms of art that I have consumed with my little brain. This year was filled with misery, but at least the art produced was good. So let's just get right to it.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Okay. I am already cheating. And I will certainly cheat again later, but for now I want to throw some stuff in this section that I don't feel quite comfortable ranking in my mind because either I haven't finished them or there is some external psychic force preventing me from making a proper judgment.

THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: TEARS OF THE KINGDOM

Hey so. I didn't beat this game. I put like, 70-90 hours into it and completed exactly 1 temple. So, if I do the math there, that will be roughly a 400 hour game at this pace. I doubt it gets that crazy, but I do plan on playing this game for years to come so there's really no reason to try and chug it or force it on a list that I don't wanna put it on. It basically takes everything about Breath of the Wild and elevates it by a step or five, depending on the area. This one seems to have a much better fleshed out story too, so that's pretty cool. I will be making off putting contraptions and patrolling around the seemingly infinite depths for some time to come. Yippie! :)

BALDUR'S GATE 3

I did beat this one. Ruh oh. This would probably have made the top ten in some universe, and that universe is one where it didn't take me nearly 200 hours to complete it ONCE due to progression blocking bugs, character arc bugs, and so on and so forth. I am very tolerant of bugs and such, and I wouldn't say this is a bad game because of them by any means but I also can't pretend my experience, particularly in act 3, wasn't hampered by things either not working or not being fleshed out for one reason or another. I often play games like these for narrative or at the very least characters, so when that stuff starts actively breaking at the seams I start getting a little anxious. At certain points, it was hard to tell what was intended and what wasn't due to the jank of some of the narrative stuff towards the end.

I still love this game, I still will be playing this game, but I eagerly await the next couple of patches in hopes that they not only fix some of the bugs, but give more satisfying narratives to some of the party members who seem to just kind of get left by the wayside writing wise. Also I don't think the main story is very well fleshed out, personally. There is so much good writing in this game, but I think that most comes from the 'side' paths. The peak of the game, for me, personally was 'the' house in act 3. Legitimately incredible stuff.

Oh, also, I haven't played durge yet so maybe that would have put this higher on my personal list. Who knows.

STARFIELD

At one point I thought this might be my game of the year, or whatever. I haven't really cooled on it, per se, I simply don't think I've explored enough of the questlines yet to get a comfortable read on the whole thing. With Bethesda games, I find it hard to quantify how good or 'okay' they are until a few characters are made and a few routes are taken. Just personal preference, y'know.

That being said I think this game is a step up from Fallout 4 in almost every single way. No voiced protagonist, wildly different ways to TALK as your character, better writing, the list goes on and on.

I think Starfield does suffer from being a little to... sterile. It's a taste thing, sure, but Bethesda is going for a much more 'down-to-earth' version of space, which I know might not sit well with some people. I do think this has become the dogpile game of the year (because there always has to be one!) which makes criticizing the game, uh, not fun! There have been so many bad faith conversation points around this game that I don't even wanna say something mild like 'the companions are kind of weak overall' or whatever. It's a little tiresome!

That being said if you're in the mood for a Bethesda game with a slightly different flavor of exploration, this scratches that itch. It's very meditative in some ways, very interesting in others. There really isn't a game like it. You get in what you put out, I'd say.

DEAD SPACE

One that nearly got lost in the early year shuffle, especially considering another survival horror remake was right around the corner. But I HAVE to give this game it's due. A game that, by all accounts, didn't sound overly promising. I discounted any looks at the early footage, because I have half a brain and know how game development works, but I was still skeptical. After EA destroyed its own franchise, here it came—with a remake by a different studio. I try not to be cynical, but in this instance I was.

What I got was a polished, incredibly reimagined, and spruced up version of the original Dead Space that—to me—puts it nearly on par with Dead Space 2, one of my favorite games ever made. They heft of the weapons, exploring an open and interconnected Ishimura, and having Isaac be a character really brings up the overall experience.

The added flavor, altered sections, and rebalancing of the navigation (added backtracking and substantial rewards) makes this game an easy recommend for Survival Horror heads all around the world. I still haven't done my NG+ Run because Too Many Games came out, but I am genuinely in awe with how well this game turned out. Didn't expect EA to be the major western publisher to have the best track record of game releases, but here we are.

SUZUME

Okay, last Honorable Mention I swear. I said I would only do five, so I'm only gonna do five. Suzume I didn't see till late this year and might have liked it more than Your Name.? I'm not sure on that one, quite yet.

Good road trip vibes, light on a questionable age gap romance, and heavy on introspection about loss and grief. Very good, big recommend, incredible visuals and soundtrack. It's got the sauce. Also Shinkai's movies seem to have a slightly depressed older woman in them that makes me feel insane. Without fail.

I haven't seen Shinkai's full body of work or anything like that, but I don't think anything is topping his work on the OP for Falcom's Ys Eternal in 1998.

Okay. Now it's time for the real list. Where champions come to fight upon the Mountain Between Heaven and Earth that exists within my mind.

10. FIRE EMBLEM ENGAGE

This one kind of sneaked (hate that word, by the way) up on me. I forgot it came out this year just by virtue of it being a January game. It released early, this year was long, hell is real. I'm still more of a Three Houses dude, but a nice walk back towards the 'Awakening' style of fire emblem was nice because, after all, that was m first REAL experience with the series.

The game play is cracked in this one. I could leave it at that but that would defeat the purpose of this list, wouldn't it?

One look at this game and you can kind of tell what all it encompasses. The popping colors, the slick animations, and the wildly varying character designs (almost all of which bang, for the record) paint the picture of a game that is much more 'pop-y' than the previous entry in the series. This is not really a dark tale of war and tragedy, this is a fairy tale. And a damned good one. The main character, Alear, is a walking filter. Bright red and blue, accused of being a 'v-tuber', and a top notch freak. I love them.

It is the most snappy—did I already say that?--srpg I've played, while also having plenty of depth. I played on hard, which was hard, and constantly had to tweak and really dig into how my characters were built. This involved different classes, skills, weapons, and emblem rings to make each build feel completely unique. Though I think the support system—and overall narrative—was a bit on the weaker side, it still had a pretty great finale with one of the most satisfying 'says the name of the thing in the thing' I had witnessed all year. Top notch, all around. Shout out to Yunaka, who carried my entire playthrough.

9. BARRY SEASON 4

I love the show Barry. From dark comedy, to surrealist comedy, to surrealist drama? It's really hard for me to quantify how much this show changes, while not really changing all that drastically. It's a sort of slow crawl.

The pitch is simple, for season one. 'Hitman turns actor decides which life he wants to lead' or something like that. And we get that, sure. They could have easily kept that concept going for years but after season 2 finished, and season 3 started walking a certain way, I can't help but feel season 4 was inevitably going to be... strange.

However, I didn't expect to feel like I was watching several arthouse experiments crammed into a single season of television. I cannot help but wonder if the staff saw the direction HBO—and WB writ large—was heading, and decided to wrap it up as quickly as they could. To tell a complete story, instead of getting canned halfway through one for no reason.

So yeah, that Hitman sure did become an actor. And American society was deeply diseased all along. Sometimes people can't become any better than they were made to be.

8. FINAL FANTASY XVI

I almost didn't expect to put this on my list. I liked it a lot, even if I think it ended kind of weak. Not that it was a whimper, but I do not think it reached as far as its wings would carry it. With combat that becomes a little too simple and trivial by the end, and a story that shaves off much of what makes it interesting, I find myself dwelling more on the lows than the highs these days.

But there were highs. Highs that culminated in maybe my favorite moment of the year, a mission that involves the wildest ride of set pieces in the game—a high octane ride that reached so high it became an impossible task for the rest of the game to live up to it. And that's okay, truthfully. I love Clive, Jill, Cid, Joshua, and Dion quite a bit. It's a game that has, despite it all, stuck with me in a very impactful way. I still pray, every night, that they release an update that will juice up the combat JUST a bit. Because as an RPG or an Action game, it sort of fumbles.

But as a single-player MMO where you do big combo? It is very fun, cool, and interesting to think about. Final Fantasy games always sort of have that quality about them. For the good and the bad, they are always interesting experiences to digest and think about. Even one as 'safe' as this.

7. PLUTO

This might be higher, truly, but I wanted to write these feelings down as soon as possible. I had never read Pluto—I barely even knew it existed. I knew it had SOMETHING to do with Astro Boy, which I'm only really familiar with because I got really into Megaman a few years back and that naturally led me to the thing is is largely based upon. I knew about facets of Astro Boy, had seen SOME of the 2003 anime and such, but this would be the first piece of it I'd be comfortable in saying I properly digested.

And what a piece it is. Every hour long episode encapsulated a volume, a volume of beautifully crafted stories that ask just as much about human nature as it does the nature of robots and artificial intelligence. Also is has A LOT to say about the War on Terror. Which, especially for the time the manga dropped, is very salient. I don't think a single story moved me more than this one this year.

It has a more grounded approach to the world of Astro Boy, yet it doesn't dwell in cynicism or misery. In fact, it confronts it. Fights against it. And, by the time credits roll, it is asking you to ask yourself what you feel about these things. What do things like suffering and hatred mean to you? Violence and love? I don't have the answers, and neither does Pluto, but we will keep on searching for them, together.

6. JUJUTSU KAISEN SEASON 2

Okay here comes the first rule break. I've been watching this dubbed so TECHINICALLY I still have like two episodes to watch, so yeah. But whatever, Hidden Inventory alone would be enough to put this here. This might be the single most openly spoiled manga of all time, so I kind of knew what I was expecting walking into this.

Or, I thought I did. Sure some of the stuff people said happened, happened. But the way it was all animated, the sheer creativity on display, made me feel like I was experiencing it all fresh anyways. I hope MAPPA animators get rest. They have earned it.

Regardless of the wild and incredible visuals, the actually story of the two arcs within this season are peak Battle Shounen. I do wish that some of the main characters had more time to breathe before being thrown in The Perils, but at this point it feels like a nitpick.

At this point I think Yu Yu Hakusho is my favorite anime at all time, due in no small part to the Sensui arc. So, when I arrived at the Shibuya Incident, I was wonderfully greeted by a single premise. “What if we took the Sensui Arc, and sprinkled a little crack on it?” Every fight within this arc whips, cracks by at a lightning pace, and is narratively meaningful in one way or another. I have watched through 'Thunderclap' onward several times at night, just to watch fights again. I do Not do that. Like ever. A special show, that everyone warns me is going to get 'bad'. I'm not sure if I believe them :).

5. GODZILLA MINUS ONE

This was easily my favorite movie of a year. I can say easily, because I did not watch many movies. Still. I feel like between this and Shin Godzilla, we are in a new and wonderful era of Toho produced Godzilla films that both have something to say, and are creatively inspired.

Godzilla Minus One is a movie about life and living. Both of these things are important, and dying for one's country or cause is a sacrifice too casually made. We cannot devalue ourselves, we cannot devalue others or the impact they make. Because no matter how much you survived, there is always more to live for, in the end. The human spirit really is unbreakable.

I think I sort of forgot how good movies can be, in a way. Not to say I haven't seen NEW things that I enjoyed, I'm more talking about the artistry of it all. This felt like a blockbuster, in many ways, but one with heart and soul that you might often find missing from the disaster/big monster genre. I don't think it's necessary to drag other things down to prop this up, because even without those things this movie is a masterpiece, but I think it's important for my frame of mind going in.

I wasn't expecting to be on the verge of tears at every moment, I wasn't expecting to care about the human characters quite as much as I did, and I wasn't expecting to leave that movie with a fire in my heart that life remains undefeated. I love you, Godzilla Minus One.

4. ARMORED CORE VI

I like big robots. No, more than that, I LOVE big robots. I think they are cool, and the stories told within the genre are normally impactful in one way or another. So, when I finally played my first Armored Core (at least on my own, not rented or borrowed or at a friend's house) I was floored by just how much it felt like it was designed for robogooners everywhere. Building your mech, tweaking every little part of its design—from aesthetic to actual gameplay builds—and unleashing hell upon enemies was genuinely some of the most fun I had all year. It also helped me crawl out of the worst depression of my life, maybe, so that was neat.

The story itself is rather... good? Which I wasn't expecting! Not that I thought it would be bad, I just didn't think it would actually make me cry. There are no human faces in this game. Just robots, callsigns, and insignias. Yet somehow Rusty, Carla, and Ayre are three of my favorite characters of the year. I haven't got the 'true' ending yet, because I've only completed one route, but I can still safely put this in the top five of my list. At one point, I was convinced it was my favorite game of year.

Incredible combat, great characters and story, and music that will make you feel like you are ascending to the next plane. Sometimes, I still think about 'I won't miss' and feel my heart skip a beat. Play this game.

3. Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed

I have very complicated feelings on Xenoblade Chronicles 3 that I one day will finish writing about. Maybe I will even make a video, who knows. But for now I just want to say this. Future Redeemed was what I THOUGHT the base game was going to be. A narrative bookend, to the Xeno series as a whole, it has me extremely excited for the future of what Monolith might do, now that they are completely untethered to the saga they started in 2010.

It's bittersweet in a way, just how goddamn excellent it is to play Future Redeemed. It may be a little on the easy breezey side for me, but the act of exploring, questing, and fighting has been gamified here to the point where not a second felt unrewarded. The story is pretty fantastic, the music is fantastic, and the way it ties together all left over narrative threads had me more than satisfied.

One of those things that makes you grateful to be invested in the series as a whole. Cannot wait to run through it again, even if they don't mention Morag ONCE.

2. Resident Evil 4

Resident Evil has been on an insane hotstreak lately, and RE4 Remake did not change that in the slightest. For context, I never was a HUGE lover of the original game. I played the shit out of Resident Evil 2 original, Resident Evil Remake, and the old-styled games in general. I loved them. Zombies, inventory management, detrimental controls... what's not to love? So when 4 came out, and I was a dumb 9 year old baby, I just kind of... didn't love it. How could I have possibly understood the magnitude of the game I was playing? That it would change video games forever? I played a lot of mercenaries with a friend, played up to the castle a million times, and that was where what little love I had for the game ended.

Well, of course, I was there for the remake day one. From 7 onward, I don't think Capcom has put out a bad game. I expected this to be no different. And, it wasn't. It was of the quality of Resident Evil 2 Remake, only expanded outward into an action game that should make most other third person shooters blush a little.

Knife parries, gunplay, suplexes, and even a grapple gun (post DLC) make the combat feel like butter being spread over my brain. It's not often I run a game multiple times in a year, I'm normally the type to do a playthrough of something 'once a year' or whatever, but this game just kept me coming back. Over and over.

Everything about it is expertly crafted, and I think it deserves to be recognized as one of—if not the—best games of the year. Whether it's a remake or not.

1. THE LEGEND OF HEROES: TRAILS INTO REVERIE

Sometimes you just need to be fully honest with yourself. I really didn't think, for months now, that this game was going to top my list. I put off getting to it, because I had to drag myself through the Crossbell games first, and the aforementioned depression really put a damper on me doing, well, anything!

Besides, I had basically every aspect of this game spoiled for me to some degree by the most annoying people on the planet—so I assumed my experience would be somewhat hampered by that. It wasn't.

Though I knew the beats, I didn't know how much impact they would have on me. This is a series I've been with for like six years now, and I've played every entry up to this point. When game TEN serves as an epilogue to an arc, not blinking from the parts people supposed didn't like, and turning haters into believers—I think that's something special.

Rean Schwarzer is legitimately my favorite protagonist in the entire genre of RPGs, maybe even video games in general. The way he gets reduced online does bother me a little, but I let it slide—I can sleep easy knowing he is a wonderfully realized and layered character. Though he is only one of the three main protagonists in this game, it still is very much his game, and he is still very much explored to a degree even his own arc didn't. I felt such resolution by the end. The lessons he has learned, the growth he had undergone, it has all culminated in one of the best games in the series.

As for C, the less I say here about him the better. But just know I was always a believer and that paid off in SPADES. Just a wonderful look at what it means to live, to carry on a woeful legacy, and to truly 'atone'.

Lloyd was fine too, I guess. I like him—he is the shounen man. :)

I know this game TECHINICALLY came out in 2020 in Japan, but it's a new release here so it counts damn it. I won't leave it off my own list, with made up rules, just because NISA and Falcom make questionable decisions.

A game that you need to do some homework for, but a game that makes the homework all worth it. Cold Steel remains undefeated.

And. That's it. There's some other stuff I thought I would put on here, like Hi-Fi Rush and even Cyberpunk Phantom Liberty. But I guess I didn't! I was just winging it, and my feelings were my guide. If you read this, thanks for caring about what I had to say. I spent my entire New Year's Eve day writing this out, and I think it was fun and worth it. Here's to a good 2024! :)

[giannitaa]

ASK: heyy!! can I request when jjk boys have a very understanding partner, like when they come home from work and they're just really tired and accidentally lashes out on their partner and then goes inside their room.

then a few moments later he comes out thinking their partner is angry, but their partner is just like, "oh don't worry about it, you were tired." so he's just like "don't ever let me speak to you like that ever again, okay? hit me if you have to."

hope you understood that, thank you 😭 and can you specifically put gojo in?

a/n: hey anon!! this is actually my first request ever😭 i'm kinda nervous lmao. i hope you like and i reached your expectations 😞. sorry if there's any misspelling or any preposition wrong, i HATE prepositions as a non-native english writer and i don't know how/when to put them.

characters: gojo satoru (i'm gonna do more by the next week, but now it's just gojo)

warnings: nothing, just satoru screams at you. fem!reader (i still don't know how to write for male!reader, sorry)

content: your boyfriend comes tired from their job and he is mean to you when he gets home (angst [if you are a little bit sensitive, like me]/comfort).

w/c: 0.5k (aprox)

GOJO SATORU

you are sitting on the couch reading a book, waiting patiently for your boyfriend. you had texted him "what do you want for dinner?" because you know that when he shows up he'll be tired, he will just want to shower, eat dinner and then go to sleep with you.

then you hear the sound of the door opening and keys being thrown at the furniture that's next to the entrance. he looks exhausted. by the look on he face you notice that he obviously needs to rest. you get up to hug him.

"heyy! you haven't replied to my text, so i haven't done anything. what do you want? i'm going to start cooking it right now." you say, while you take off his jacket.

"cook whatever you want. now please, shut up. jus' leave me alone, i'm going to shower. don't come."

"huh? are you okay 'toru? has anything happened today?"

"i said, don't talk!! i jus' need to be alone!!" he angrily says at you.

"okay then, go to shower. when you get back dinner's gonna' be ready"

he steps to your room furiously, and you hear him slamming the door. you sigh, knowing that probably he had an extremely rough day and he doesn't want to be with anyone. that's okay, that happens to you a lot of times, even though you don't react like this.

you open the fridge and grab some vegetables and meat. that's when you start hearing the sound of the water running down.

satoru feels his heart rip apart when he remembers how he treated you five minutes ago. you don't deserve it. you are probably the only person that treats him with love, appreciation.

he feels his eyes forming little tears, but he doesn't want to cry. the water helps his body relax and make his muscles being less hard. satoru gets out and he dries himself. he steps out of the room when he already got on his pajamas. whatever you were cookin smelt so good.

you feel an arm wrapping around your waist.

"'m sorry" you feel gojo say that in the crook of your neck.

"'s okay, i get it"

"i yelled at you. you're the most precious thing i have. i should not have done that." he kisses your hair, while he says repeatedly that he's sorry.

"the next time i appear like that, in that shitty mood, yell at me or get angry. you don't deserve this treatment"

"no. i will not do that. 'toru you have to understand that it is completely normal being stressed"

"that doesn't justify why i talked to you in that way"

"anyway, let's just eat dinner 'cause i'm starving"

"yeah, and then go to sleep. i need to rest immediately, and you need it too."

you smile because you know he is really sorry, even though it didn't bother you.

this is horrible, sorry anon😞

want to read more? -> gia's masterlist

[deadnightcoffeetime]

The Monster Of Willow Creek (Tales Of Horror Segment 2) (COPY RIGHT) Page 30

“Yeah, we’ll, this isn’t exactly ideal. Like they say, take it, or leave it.”, said Eric. They all lie their back against the wall, sliding down on the ground and stretching their legs while every person’s leg touch each other. Hoping the night goes okay without any disturbance, they all try to sleep.

The monster arrives at its den, dragging Isaac inside. Isaac’s front side of the body is scraped, having scratch marks on his chest and face, due to being dragged on the ground. His shirt is covered with dirt, blood, and tears, long stretched tears. His vision blurry snd dizzy, having his head hit repeatedly by rocks, logs and broken branches. The monster let’s go his leg, as Isaac uses whatever energy he has left to slowly crawl. Couldn’t go on, his body collapses to the ground. Grabbing his leg again, the monster pulls him back and flips him to his back. As soon as Isaac was flipped on his back, he turns his head to the right, seeing Tanya’s Steven’s meatless bodies. The monster stabs Isaac in his stomach with its sharp nails, he screams while spitting out blood. Digging deeper in his stomach, the monster starts to open it up. Tearing out the innards and skin, the monster starts to consume the raw meat. Isaac dies, as the monster continues to eat him.

It’s 3:30 a.m., and Alyana is the only one who’s awake, everyone else is sleeping. Since everyone is sleeping, Alyana takes the opportunity to call her father. She takes out her phone from her pants pocket, and dials. The phone rings. Zahn is sitting at his desk doing paper work, his phone rings. He sees it’s Alyana and answers. “Hey, honey, what’s wrong?”, said Zahn. Alyana quietly, and softly replies, trying not to wake anyone up. “Dad! We need your help! Can you pick me and my friends up?!”. Zahn is now concerned. “What happened?!”, said Zahn. Alyana replies in a hysterical manner. “The wendigo is real! It killed two people, one of my friends and the receptionist of the registration cabin! And took two individuals!”. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down, honey! What happened?!”, said Zahn. “The wendigo is real! It killed two people! Which was one of my friends, and the receptionist of the registration cabin! And took two individuals! I’m scared dad! Please, come get us! I don’t want to die here!”, said Alyana. “Are you sure?!”, said Zahn. “Yes, dad, yes!”, said Alyana. “Okay! You and your friends, just stay where you at, and Ill be there in a couple of hours!”, said Zahn. “Okay! Me and my friends will meet and wait for you at the registration cabin.”, said Alyana. “Do what you gotta do! Just be careful!”, sad Zahn. He hangs up the phone and is really worried about his daughter. Alyana hangs up her phone too. Zahn enters the captain’s room. “Boss, I’m going to Willow Creek.”, said Zahn. The captain replies, as he’s doing paperwork. “Willow Creek? That’s five hours away from here. What’s the problem?”, said the captain. “There’s a problem at Six Rivers National Forrest Inn, with my daughter and her friends.”, said Zahn. “Are you sure it’s not a domestic dispute, or something like that?”, said the captain. “No, sir! Nothing like that.”, said Zahn. “Well, go then.”, said the captain. “Thank you, sir.”, said Zahn. Zahn goes on to leave the station, as the captain continues doing paperwork. Exiting out the police station, Zahn walks to his police car and enters. After entering the car, he pulls out his phone again, and calls Sarah. The phone rings, Sarah picks up. “Hey, what’s wrong?”, said Sarah. Zahn sighs. “Aly called me, and is in trouble.”, said Zahn. “Does it have to do with the wendigo?”, said Zahn. “Yes. But I will get our baby back! I’m not going to let her die.”, said Zahn. “Be careful. And bring our baby back.”, said Sarah. “I will. I’ll see you once I return with Aly.”, said Zahn. He hangs up the phone, and drives off to Willow Creek.

Monday, the third day. It’s 7:00 a.m., as the sun rises, the gang are still sleeping. It’s cold. Eric awakens and Checks the time on his watch. It’s 7:05 a.m. “Guys, wake up!”, said Eric. Everyone starts to wake up, feeling stiff and sore. “We have to start moving now.”, said Eric. Everyone gets up and stretches. “Fuck! It’s cold!”, said Becky. “Guys, before we leave, I called my dad last night, and told him about our situation. And I also told him to meet and pick us up at the registration cabin.”, said Alyana. “He’s coming here?”, said Becky. “Yes!”, said Alyana. “That’s good to hear. Good news to start the day. All we gotta do is try to survive. So, are you guys ready?”, said Eric. They all nod their heads yes. “Scoot back. So I can open the door.”, said Eric. They scoot back, but it’s still not enough space. Eric uses the force of his body to open the door again. The door fully breaks down. “Wow. You fully broke down the door, congrats!”, said Leon. “Shut up!”, said Eric. It’s foggy outside. Eric exits the shed first, checking if the coast is clear. “Is it safe, or what?”, said Becky. Eric replies, as he looks around. “I can’t tell! It’s really foggy.”. “Oh, well, that’s bad.”, said Michelle. “Yeah, but we have to take our chances.”, said Eric. They all exit out the shed. “Before we go to the cabin, let’s go check if the monster left a trail of dragging Isaac. Maybe we can find its home and find Isaac.”, said Eric. The tea. Is hesitant to check. “Look, let’s see if there’s a trail. If there is a trail let’s just follow it. If it leads to a place, we’ll just go wait at the cabin and wait for your dad. He can call for help, and we can search inside the place for Isaac.”, said Eric. They all agreed and goes on to check for a trail. Walking deep in the fog, the gang are having a hard time searching, due to the fog. Luckily, Leon spot some blood on the ground. “Hey! I found something!”, said Leon. Everyone arrives ar the area, sees the blood trail too, but there’s a problem. “Um, guys, which way was it, that we came from?”, said Becky. No one remembers. “Shit! I don’t remember.”, said Eric. “Neither do all of us. This place is disorienting.”, said Leon. “The only thing we can do is, split up into two groups, and follow each side of the blood trail, sees where it takes us.”, said Eric. “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.”, said Alyana. “What other choice do we have?”, said Eric. Alyana sighs and stood silent. Becky chooses to go with Eric. “I’ll go with you.”, said Becky. Alyssa and Michelle chooses to go with Leon. “I’ll go with Leon.”, said Alyana. “Same here.”, said Michelle. “Oh, if any of us find anything, let’s try to call each other by phone.”, said Eric. “Before we go, let’s at least check if we have any signals.”, said Alyana. They all luckily have signals. “Does everyone have signals?”, said Eric. The gang replies a yes. “Okay. You guys go that way, and we’ll go this way.”, said Eric. “You guys be careful.”, said Alyana. “You too.”, said Becky. The two groups goes on walking opposite directions of the blood trail.